The cold wind that leaked in from nowhere swirled around the hall.
All the cabinet ministers couldn't help trembling.
The Imperial Prime Minister Baron Heidegger, who had been silent all this time, finally couldn't help but said:
"Your Majesty, it is not a good idea to anger the church at this time."
Emperor Reinhard dissatisfied: "What? As a part of the empire, shouldn't the Church of Radiance make due contributions to the fight against the orc invasion? The empire's finances are tight, and it is impossible to borrow any money from them?"
Baron Heidegger shook his head firmly and said: "Maybe we could discuss it before, but now, absolutely not!"
"Why?"
"Your Majesty, do you know that just this morning, the Archbishop of the Eastern Region was buried in the Holy Sepulcher under the arrangement of Pope Gregory.
How can an archbishop, He De, enjoy such an honor
This is obviously a way for the Pope to express his anger to the outside world. If you come to the door at this time, even if you borrow money from the church in a negotiated tone, the Pope must sternly reject you in order to maintain his tough attitude. "
Emperor Reinhard suppressed his anger, gritted his teeth and said, "Should we just let the church stay out of it?"
Baron Heidegger said blankly:
"Your Majesty, according to the "Glorious Code", it is the noble's responsibility to protect the territory from foreign invasion, not the church. Therefore, even if the church is really out of the way, there is nothing to blame."
Boom!
Emperor Reinhard slammed his palm on the armrest of the seat, and the sound made all the cabinet ministers tremble in shock.
"Then the "Glory Code" also stipulates that the church must not interfere in secular affairs. Did they strictly abide by it?"
Baron Heidegger was silent.
After Emperor Reinhard's anger calmed down a bit, he spoke again:
"Your Majesty, if you think about it from the pope's point of view, once he agrees to your loan, can the actions of the lords of the eastern border be considered reasonable under special circumstances
Then how will the church punish those eastern nobles in the future
Isn't it a joke that the Pope buried the Archbishop of the East in the Holy Sepulcher this time? "
Emperor Reinhard's face became extremely gloomy, he stared at Baron Heidegger coldly, and asked:
"Heidegger! As my Prime Minister, you are actually considering the Pope's difficulties?"
Baron Heidegger looked at Emperor Reinhard without giving an inch, and said lightly:
"Your Majesty, I am not speaking for the Pope, but this matter has indeed touched the bottom line of the church, and if it is not handled properly, it will have extremely serious consequences.
And this consequence, under the current situation where the orc invasion is imminent, the Glorious Empire cannot bear it.
So, you must not irritate the church at this time.
What's more, we have already taken advantage of the changes in the eastern border. Now we only need to stabilize the current situation, repel the invasion of the orc empire, and then take it easy with the church. "
Emperor Reinhard was silent, and the hall was filled with an extremely oppressive atmosphere.
The powerful aura of the sixth-order knight made everyone feel a tremor from the bottom of their hearts.
But Baron Heidegger, an ordinary man who was not even a knight, stood there with his head held high, quietly watching Emperor Reinhard with a clear conscience.
After a long time, I don't know if he figured it out, or found that such a threat is useless to Baron Heidegger, a stinky and hard stone. Emperor Reinhard finally restrained his aura helplessly.
But still said in a bad tone: "Then how do you solve the problem of military expenditure?"
Baron Heidegger seemed to be prepared, and immediately said:
"Your Majesty, I also don't think it's necessary to gather an army of millions so early. Firstly, the local lords don't have time to organize it. Secondly, it's too costly to maintain such a large army.
Therefore, we can ask the lords to send troops to the western region in two batches to assemble, and the first batch will arrive at the scheduled time. In this way, if the orc army arrives early, we will not be completely unprepared.
As for the second batch of troops, there is no need to be so anxious. You can wait for the definite news of the dispatch of the orc army before setting a time for assembly.
In this way, a lot of military expenses can be saved, and the lords in various places will have more time to mobilize the army. "
Emperor Reinhard glanced around the hall with a cold face and asked, "What do you think? What is the Prime Minister's suggestion?"
"I fully agree with the proposal of the Prime Minister!" Earl Lloyd, the Minister of Finance, immediately said.
The rest of the cabinet ministers also echoed their words.
Emperor Reinhard's expression softened a little, but he still seemed a little upset, and said, "Then we really let the church stay out of the matter completely, without any bloodshed?"
Baron Heidegger saw that Emperor Reinhardt was always scheming against the church at such a critical moment, and he lamented in his heart, but he still said patiently:
"Your Majesty, if you want the church to participate in this war, you can't use strong means, but you can only start with public opinion."
"public opinion?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. You can send someone to secretly announce that the church is about to send the Knights Templar to participate in the war against the orcs. As long as this news spreads among the people of the empire, even if the Pope is unwilling, in order to maintain the church in the hearts of the people The lofty prestige, also had to send the Knights Templar to the west."
Emperor Reinhard's eyes lit up, but he was still a little dissatisfied, saying:
"Only the Knights Templar?"
"A similar method may allow the church to send military chaplains, but that's all. As for the 'tithe tax' and the like, your Majesty, you should give up this idea as soon as possible."
Emperor Reinhard glared at Baron Heidegger, but he didn't bother with this question anymore.
"Okay, let's do it according to the Prime Minister's wishes." Emperor Reinhard stood up and announced confidently, "In addition, you don't have to worry about the candidate for the commander of the Imperial Coalition Forces this time. Personal conquest!"
As soon as this remark came out, all the ministers in the hall were shocked.
Baron Heidegger just wanted to dissuade him, but found that Emperor Reinhardt looked at him coldly, and said quietly:
"What? The Prime Minister thinks I am not worthy to be the commander of this coalition?"
Baron Heidegger would like to remind this confident emperor—you have never been on a battlefield!
A person who has never really experienced a battle actually wants to command a million troops... This is simply joking with the survival of the empire and the lives of soldiers.
But no matter how bold he was, he didn't dare to say "you don't deserve it" in person.
What's more, he also knew that his remonstrance just now made Emperor Reinhard dissatisfied with him. If he continued to stimulate him, I am afraid that the emperor who wanted to flex his muscles would not forgive him anymore.
Sighing secretly, Baron Heidegger bowed his head in silence.
Seeing that even the prime minister of the empire has died down, the rest of the cabinet ministers of course dare not talk too much.
During this period of getting along, they have already figured out the impatient and headstrong character of Emperor Reinhardt, and they knew that going up to dissuade him at this time would definitely not end well.
Seeing that no one objected, Emperor Reinhard nodded in satisfaction and said:
"Okay, that's it, let's go prepare separately, don't make any mistakes!"
After speaking, he strode away.
The moment the door was opened, a biting cold wind blew in, causing all the cabinet ministers in the hall to shiver uncontrollably.
(end of this chapter)