I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 307: Reformation (10)

The Emperor nodded as he listened to my words.

He then gestured for the people present to leave.

"Everyone, except for the chamberlain and the captain of the guard, please leave."

"But Your Majesty, what if Lord Rothschild—"

"What benefit would it bring if the lord were to kill me now? Let only the minimum number of people remain, and send everyone else away."

The captain of the guard and the chamberlain exchanged uneasy looks but did as ordered, sending everyone out.

After they had left, the Emperor spoke again.

"These two are my foster brothers. They are loyal subjects I can trust in any situation."

Right now, within our Rothschild family, Chloe has directly breastfed Leo and raised him.

However, in most noble families, it's extremely rare for a favored concubine to directly nurse a child, let alone the wife of a knightly family with any sort of economic standing.

That’s because nursing a child is no ordinary task.

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If I’m to exaggerate a bit, it’s as difficult as being on call 24/7.

‘That’s why wet nurses are hired.’

"These two have been with me since I began to walk. They were always by my side, even when I secretly did wrong things behind the Emperor’s back."

Noble women, especially in high-ranking families, usually don’t have time to focus on raising children, so the responsibility is often left entirely to the wet nurses.

This naturally leads to their children becoming close to the wet nurses' children.

Just like that.

‘So, in effect, they are like brothers, or even more than that.’

If I were to mention this to these two, even I would struggle to avoid criticism.

"Anyway, because Father Stefano has completely destroyed the false authority of the Church, the influence of the Deus Church in the Holy Roman Empire will plummet."

It was the same during the Thirty Years' War.

After the spread of Martin Luther’s Protestantism, the proportion of Protestants in the Holy Roman Empire reached as high as 90%.

It’s amazing how a religion that had ruled European thought for almost a thousand years was so easily uprooted.

‘Though, I know why, and it’s a phenomenon that seems almost ghostly.’

"If that happens, the Deus Church will no longer wield the same authority in the Toscana Empire as it does now."

"The Pope and the clergy have no land or soldiers. But they have wielded such strong power because everyone in the Empire, including me, has feared the afterlife. However, now that they no longer have the authority to shake up the afterlife, they are effectively just puppets."

The authority of religion and the authority of money work on similar principles.

Religion depends on whether you believe in the threat of hell or not, just as money depends on whether you believe in the value of something or not.

If you think about it, both religion and money are essentially forms of mass hypnosis.

No, they’re no different from brainwashing.

Thinking about it this way, religion and money both feel a little dirty.

"Already, their authority has fallen to the ground, but it’s still not enough."

"Do you have a method in mind?"

"Currently, the newspapers are covering the crimes and absurdities committed by the nobles. However, there have been no negative stories about the clergy. Now that the situation has changed, how about we write and widely distribute articles exposing their crimes?"

The newspapers published by our Rothschild family in the Toscana Empire aren’t meant to inform the public of the truth.

Modern journalists would probably call me a trashy, unprincipled reporter, but I don’t care, since that’s not in my interest.

What’s important is that the Empire's newspapers are tools to move the people’s sentiments in the direction the Emperor desires.

Until now, we’ve written stories that lower the authority of the nobles and raise the Emperor’s stature.

‘Now, those Church people are completely useless trash.’

"Let’s further lower the Church’s authority so that they can’t sell indulgences and make it hard for them to collect tithes, making it difficult for them to indulge in luxury."

I wouldn’t say this, but I truly believe that religious people should live more honestly than anyone else.

But for a high-ranking preacher to send their children abroad, drive luxury cars, and wear expensive clothes...

Isn’t that betraying their own faith?

How can someone who claims to have devoted their life to God live such a life of pleasure?

While this aligns with my interests, it also satisfies my personal beliefs.

"The Pope and the surrounding countries will criticize us, though."

"The Pope has already lost the financial backing from the Holy Roman Empire. If the Empire cuts ties with the Vatican like the Kingdom of the Union did, they will soon be worrying about their next meal."

In neighboring Japan, they say the person who manages money best becomes the prime minister, not the one with the greatest political ability.

If you have money, you gain and maintain power, but if you lose it, you lose everything.

‘When you have money, everyone wants to be your friend.’

"The neighboring countries will only criticize us, but they won’t use this as a pretext to declare war. They can’t enforce sanctions either, because they’re all deeply embroiled in civil wars within the Holy Roman Empire."

"When the time comes, we should invade the Holy Roman Empire and aim for territorial expansion. There’s no need for us to turn against them."

"And this is purely from a political standpoint," I added.

"Speak."

"As I see it, the new teachings Father Stefano spread will help Your Majesty."

"What makes you think that?"

Perhaps because I am a merchant, I noticed that Father Stefano’s catechism explicitly stated that lending capital for reasonable interest is in accordance with Deus’s will, and that merchants making profits by selling goods is also something Deus would approve of.

If the Church begins to highly regard merchants, who are often seen as a lowly profession—even by the serfs—and promotes Protestant capitalism...

The Church will be able to collect more welfare taxes from merchants, and they will work even harder. This would naturally lead to an increase in the national power of the Toscana Empire.

But if I say this out loud, people might start wondering what my relationship with Father Stefano really is.

"The Church with its new teachings will have to compete with the old Deus Church in the Toscana Empire. Who will they turn to for support?"

A smile spread across the Emperor’s face.

"So you mean the Church will fall under my control. They’ll try to curry favor with me in order to survive."

"Exactly."

"However, we can’t immediately accept those advocating for the new teachings. On the surface, we must pretend to suppress them, while in reality, we shouldn’t suppress them at all. It’ll be like cracking down on brothels."

Under Imperial law, brothels are prohibited from existing in this world.

However, brothels are full of trafficked women from all over, with all kinds of people utilizing them, and the Empire only takes a portion of the money but rarely actually enforces any real crackdowns.

‘If they make too much noise, the military might come to break things up.’

"As long as we only pretend to crack down, the Pope won’t be able to do anything. It’s their side that’s in a desperate situation, not ours."

If the Pope had simply stopped selling indulgences, I wouldn’t have dared take such a stance.

But that fool kept selling indulgences and playing with purgatory, which made this all possible.

‘If the Pope hadn’t sold indulgences, I would never have had the courage to do any of this.’

Thanks, Pope. Because of you, I can finally play the role of a true mastermind on a global scale.

Later, if the Papal States ever face a "Shaco di Roma," I’ll mourn for 30 seconds.

"And focus the attention of the Toscana Empire’s nobles entirely on the Holy Roman Empire. Then, when war breaks out, we will issue a large amount of war bonds and, by winning, we will provide them with immense profits."

"Are you telling me to buy loyalty with money?"

The Emperor looked displeased.

But really, is there anyone in this world who doesn’t love money?

A person who says they hate money is often the most materialistic person, after all.

"Traditionally, monarchs have granted lands as a reward for loyalty. But granting lands is the same as giving away part of the Empire."

I’m in the position where I must survive.

It’s the most extreme position for a royalist.

‘I’m objectively too capable.’

And those who cannot manage what they are given must show blind loyalty to survive.

"Your Majesty cannot own all the money, land, and people of the Empire. However, if you continue to reward loyalty with wealth and power, you will earn absolute loyalty from the nobles."

As long as you don’t fall into corruption.

"And I am in the same boat as you. If Your Majesty becomes the greatest ruler of the Empire, I will continue to enjoy wealth and power as well."

The Emperor tightly gripped my hand.

"...You will make the same vow {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} to the Crown Prince later."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

He then alternated his gaze between the chamberlain and the captain of the guard and gave his command.

"You two are witnesses."