"so..."
In the church, after Katerina finished talking about her ambitions, the corners of her mouth raised slightly: "I need a... no, I should say a group of supporters."
"Please have no doubt that the Truth Church needs my support, and I also need the church's support."
"oh?"
Ma Wei was a little curious. After all, from what he said just now, it seemed that the Grand Duke Mosk in front of him, the former First Princess, was definitely ambitious.
Judging from the situation in which she transferred civilians in advance, her method was unusual.
Status, ambition, ability...
It can be said that Katerina already has most of the conditions for success. All she lacks is some luck, or the right timing.
That kind of people...
Why turn to the church?
"Do you want to use God's gift to fight against other kingdoms?"
"Not exactly." Katerina shook her head slowly, "I heard Dino say that God came half a month ago, but before that, I had the idea of introducing the church."
"Why?"
"Because I want to launch a reform." Katerina said: "Land policy reform and the complete abolition of the long-standing abuses of serfdom. This is a drawback left behind when my father Peter I was in power."
As if she was afraid that Ma Wei wouldn't understand, she explained: "You should know about my father Peter I expelling the church. Yes, he used iron fist to eradicate the greedy and corrupt Apocalypse Church at that time, and declared Romanov The kingdom became a non-religious state, but he was able to do this because he had the support of the nobles in power."
"My father is not a king who lives in a temple and is indifferent to worldly affairs. He knows how miserable the life of the serfs at the bottom is. Twenty years ago, in order to revitalize the Romanov Kingdom, he was determined to get rid of the Apocalypse Church that was hindering the development of the kingdom. At that time, the Apocalypse Church In its hands, it holds a large amount of land, and the church also has taxation, complete territorial autonomy, and even intervenes in the political affairs of the kingdom."
"So he secretly united with the nobles, gained their support, and launched a bloody purge during the cold winter. Afterwards, the church's land fell into the hands of the nobles, and the kingdom enjoyed a brief period of prosperity, but soon returned to its original state. "
"This is just the first step for my father to revitalize the kingdom. If he directly abolishes serfdom after taking office, it will force the nobles to join forces with the church. Then he will have no chance of winning. He can only resort to the second best, eradicate the church first, and use the Great Purge to promote people. It is a pity that civilian officers took advantage of the nobility, took control of the military, and then implemented the policy of abolition of serfdom..."
"He passed away from his illness before he could take the next step."
Ma Wei nodded and said thoughtfully: "So you plan to inherit Peter I's legacy and continue to abolish serfdom?"
Katerina smiled and said: "My father originally planned to pass the throne to me, but the will he made was not issued and was hidden by the nobles who joined forces to force my brother to take the throne. I can only Return to the territory with the officers loyal to my father and wait for an opportunity."
Katerina, who was only 23 years old, could not gain the same high prestige as Peter I. The army was also divided into two factions. The civilian faction supported Katerina and the aristocratic faction supported Paul I. But it was obvious...
The aristocratic faction was far more powerful than the civilian faction. They forcibly supported Paul I to ascend the throne and drove Katerina to Mosk.
Katerina, who lost her support, could only find other ways to introduce the church and start the next game.
"The number of serfs in the Romanov Kingdom is tens of millions. If they can be turned into free citizens, then the kingdom's finances, conscription, or other various policies can be improved." Katerina said: "A hundred years ago, instead of abolishing serfdom, I would have strengthened the control of serfs. But times are different now, revolutions are breaking out everywhere, and serfdom has become a stumbling block to the development of the kingdom and must be removed. Together with those nobles who are fighting on the ropes!"
"But..."
Lai Wen, who had been listening in, finally couldn't help but speak: "But by introducing the church, didn't you overturn the policy of Peter I? Even if you suppress the nobility, how will the church deal with it?"
Katerina glanced at him, "Now and then, if my father lives to 60 years old, the serf system will be abolished. There is no problem with his policy. The problem is that he died too early and the successor king does not have enough prestige. Controlling the army led to the rise of the aristocratic faction, leading to today's situation."
Bidige
Dino, who slightly twisted his mustache, nodded and agreed: "Yes, the reason why Her Royal Highness Katerina chose the Church of Truth is because she saw the hope of reform in the Church of Truth. She believed that Father Mavey would not be like Like the Apocalypse Church, they established serfdom to make money for themselves."
"Ideology." Katerina looked at Ma Wei and said, "I need the help of like-minded churches to use the ideological program they preach to awaken the will of the people at the bottom and overthrow the rule of the aristocracy!"
"Father Mawei, I can't promise you anything. The abolition of serfdom is not good for the church system and will even affect your interests. But I am willing to believe in the truth you are pursuing. If you are still not benefited after success, Blinding the heart, it becomes filthy..."
Katerina stood up and stretched out her hand to Mavey: "I will recognize the Church of Truth as the state religion of the Romanov Kingdom and believe in the truth from now on!"
"What if we become the second Apocalypse Church?" Ma Wei asked quietly.
"At that time, we were enemies." Katerina said without hesitation: "No matter whether you have the gift of the gods or not, or how powerful you are, I will be your enemy until I expel you from the Romanov Kingdom. land or until death.”
Mawei saw pride and confidence in her eyes, as if everything would be as she said, and she firmly believed that her judgment would not be wrong.
She has no fear of failure, some...
Just unwavering faith!
Ma Wei held her palm, but did not lower his head to kiss her fingers. A simple handshake showed that both parties had equal cooperative status.
"There's one thing I want to correct you on."
Katerina suddenly said: "It's not that you made me the king, but that after I became the king, I recognized your status as the pope."
"But you are not the king yet, so it is too early to say this."
"In my heart, I've always been the king."
After saying that, Katerina put on the black velvet hood and walked towards the door of the church: "Father Mavey, hurry up and prepare. We need to leave New Ross City as soon as possible and embark on the journey back to the Romanov Kingdom."
"Where are you going? There are spies from the Church of the Three Destinies outside."
"I'm going to visit a cousin..."
Katerina said without looking back: "You call him His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince."
