Chapter 26
The priests, having received a sweet offer, were sent back to their respective homes.
Suddenly faced with a major turning point in their lives, they each fell into deep contemplation.
'Overthrow the entire upper echelon? Is that even possible?'
'Carolus, that crazy bastard. Has he decided to make treason a trend in the Kingdom just because he rebelled?'
Their reactions were only natural.
They were being asked to destroy the very system they had been obeying and submitting to since becoming clergy. And not through some reform movement, but by risking their own lives and using force.
For priests who had never experienced battle, let alone combat training, this was an extremely harsh ordeal.
However, their contemplation didn't last long. Everyone soon reached the same conclusion.
'...But there's no guarantee that others won't do it if I don't, right?'
'What if I miss this opportunity? If that bastard from the next church steals the bishop's seat in our diocese, I'm screwed.'
'Vice Chairman Carolus promised that the government wouldn't interfere, right? Then isn't it worth a shot?'
'Surely others will rise up in other regions as well. If we all revolt together, we have a good chance of winning. We can overthrow everything.'
The perfect conditions, which would never come again in their lifetimes.
If I don't do it first, someone else will.
If I don't become bishop, someone I hate might.
It is human nature to not want to see others succeed, even if it means one's own failure. This holds true even for those who have devoted themselves to a religion that values sharing and giving as virtues.
No, it was even more so for them.
Having abandoned sexual desire as clergy, their ambition for fame and fortune had become even stronger than ordinary people's.
'What the hell, I don't care. I'll just consider myself dead and give it a try!'
'Even if I fail, I'll just be beheaded, right? I'm going all the way now.'
Faced with the desire for promotion, their individual morals, self-control, and priestly dignity quickly crumbled.
What remained was the tenacity that showed how far humans would go to climb higher.
The threat of death? A dangerous challenge that could cost them their lives? Who cared? They could be promoted.
Four days after the meeting at the training grounds.
The curtain rose on the collective treason of the priests in a small city near the Royal Capital.
"Lambs of the Goddess! The one who sucks our blood and sweat dry to build a grand mansion and live in luxury is right there! Let us punish him together in the name of the Goddess!!"
"Brothers and sisters! Take a torch in your right hand and the Bible in your left! This is a purification ritual to punish the heretics who have violated God's word!"
"Follow the priests! Let's beat those bastards who exploited us to death!!"
Starting with the decisive action of a passionate young priest, the uprising quickly spread throughout the country.
First, in Lahator and other surrounding villages and cities. Then, in the adjacent rural areas and ports.
The fervor of the uprising quickly spread even to areas where Carolus hadn't made his offer. Even they weren't oblivious to the changing tide.
They quickly grasped the situation and rose up, wielding spears, each vying to become a bishop.
It's easier to follow than to blaze a trail.
It took less than two months for the Kingdom to be engulfed in the flames of a religious revolution.
"No crime in revolution, early birds get the worm! There is no sin in revolution!! Everyone, join the holy war to reform the denomination!"
"Make those bastards self-criticize! Purge the money-grubbing pigs!"
"Building offerings, seasonal offerings, relief offerings, thanksgiving offerings! We can barely afford the tithe, and how many kinds of offerings are there?! Let us live too!"
Although there was incitement from the priests, the commoners' participation was entirely voluntary. They too had much pent-up resentment.
The Goddess Sect had been extorting donations under all sorts of pretexts.
The methods were so diverse that few people understood them all.
As a result, the commoners, barely able to make ends meet after paying rent and taxes, always struggled with hardship.
So, they jumped at the chance as soon as it arose. To punish the hated higher-ups and reform the denomination.
'Even if it just means a change of names at the top.'
Well, with such a large-scale upheaval, some reforms were likely to occur. The priests, having used the believers for their own ends, would have to show something in return.
Even if they didn't, Carolus planned to force them to abolish several miscellaneous offerings.
Thus, numerous cathedrals and churches across the country were properly 'normalized.'
By the Red Guards of the faith.
* * * * *
In my office, located in a detached palace within the Royal Palace.
"The recovery of donations and the power shift seem to be going well."
I muttered to myself as I read the report sent by the Intelligence Department.
The Cultural Revolution project, initiated by the priests, had been remarkably successful. Almost too grand for the results of simply gathering a few clergymen and giving a rousing speech.
"Honestly, I thought it couldn't be helped if it failed...but I certainly welcome this."
I hadn't been entirely confident in a complete power shift or the total destruction of the denomination. Of course, I had done my best to prepare and ensure success.
I would have been satisfied if it just caused enough disruption within the denomination to prevent them from focusing on external matters for a while. I could use that time to prepare countermeasures against the nobles' schemes.
But if the annoying bishops and cardinals were all beheaded, it saved me the trouble. I wouldn't have to bother dealing with the religious community.
"Adjutant. Tell our Central Army to control the Capital to prevent crimes against the people. Absolutely no suppression."
"Understood. Anything else?"
"Tell the Intelligence Department and my brother to confiscate the denomination's property, like farms and treasures. We need to recover the wealth they've accumulated."
The current chaotic situation, where property management was impossible, was the perfect opportunity to plunder the Church of the Goddess.
They hadn't paid taxes, claiming to be the state religion, so it was time for some payback. We would put the seized wealth to good use in our budget.
"Oh, and try to prevent the rioters from destroying ancient documents or setting fire to buildings. Those are valuable assets."
Preservation of cultural assets was also important, so I emphasized minimizing property damage.
"I'll pass that on."
"Good work. I'm going to see the King."
After patting my adjutant, now a Major, on the shoulder as a gesture of encouragement, I left the office.
To admonish our King, Charles VII, and the nobles who foolishly attempted to regain power.
* * * * *
"The Vice Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction is entering!"
As I entered the audience chamber with my guards, the foolish sinners greeted me.
The one sighing, anticipating why I was here, the idiot still radiating killing intent, and His Majesty, pretending to be calm.
Facing their unfriendly gazes, I spoke confidently.
"It's been a while. I'm sure you all know why I'm here."
Unlike last time, my tone was somewhat polite. I wanted to lace every word with curses, but there was no need to bare my fangs all the time.
Having vented some of my pent-up frustration while leading the Supreme Council, I decided to show some minimal courtesy.
"You've done something quite audacious. Trying to manipulate the religious community. It's caused me quite a headache."
"....I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't lie. We both know what's going on."
I lightly rebuked Charles VII's excuse.
If the power struggle was over and the victor decided, he should at least stop denying the truth. Wasn't he ashamed, as a King?
"Did you hate it so much that I took your power and used it? Enough to hand over even the authority essential for religious control to the Papal See?"
They were truly disgusting.
Why did I, why did the Revolutionary Army rise up in the first place?
Wasn't it because you tried to discard us and treat our sacrifices as nothing?
You betrayed us and looked down on us, yet why can't you understand our position now that the tables have turned?
A coup d'état is treason, but handing over the country's core interests to a foreign country isn't? Where is the logic in that?
'You vermin.'
No, they never had such a concept to begin with, did they?
They had lived their entire lives as privileged elites. They had probably never considered the possibility that they might be wrong.
Then I would teach them. There was no other way but to suppress and beat them until they understood.
Until royalty and nobility were no different from commoners. I would strip them of all their authority and privileges, one by one.
"From today onward, I will take over the authority to appoint bishops. It will now be used correctly, through consultation with the majority, not by the Monarch's arbitrary decision."
"The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction will take His Majesty's authority? Do you think such an outrage will be tolerated?!"
"Did I say the Supreme Council was taking the authority?"
But I wouldn't act recklessly and throw the system into chaos. If I was going to do this, I would do it through justification and political maneuvering.
"We will soon establish a Kingdom Assembly. A new deliberative body for the Ulranor Kingdom, to replace the Three Estates. The authority to appoint bishops will be transferred there, keep that in mind."
And the beginning of that would be a constitutional monarchy.