The Rise of the European Emperor

Old Kusen did not bring back two hundred and dozens of people, but only 180 people. It turned out that some of the more than 200 priests with administrative experience had passed away or were too old to leave the mountain soon. And those who came back with old Kusen were mostly middle-aged priests who didn't want to retire so early.

Marin didn't blame the old Kusen, after all, the situation of birth, old age, sickness and death is not something that the old Kusen can master. In his previous life, he had heard that some leaders aged quickly after retirement, and their health began to deteriorate. Old Kusen and others have been standing on the sidelines for six or seven years. Some people can't accept such a difference in their hearts, and it is inevitable that their bodies will collapse.

With these 180 people, Marin can solve a lot of things, although it is still far from enough. What surprised Marin was that these 180 people, who had previously held positions, were generally more critical. For example, the old Kusen directly participated in the core government affairs of the war, so it goes without saying. And a 50-year-old priest named Arnold, who used to be the finance minister of the Bishopric of Munster, was one of the confidants of the former Bishop of Munster, Henry III. Others have also served in key departments such as personnel appointment and removal, finance and taxation, public security, and foreign affairs.

It is precisely because they are in the vital department, but they are not the people of the new Bishop Conrad, that they will be replaced. After all, these key departments must be in their own hands.

Moreover, after being replaced, these people were also suppressed by Conrad. In life, the treatment has also become very poor. The higher the previous level, the more severe the repression. Like old Cousin and Arnold, the robes on their bodies are very worn. Obviously, their living conditions are very bad. Otherwise, they would not be all forty or fifty years old, and they would have to come out to find opportunities.

Old Cousin used to be an assistant bishop, but now he has been demoted to a priest. Moreover, it was the priest who was ordained. Arnold was previously an auxiliary bishop and is now a priest without real power.

Although these men have held important positions, Marin is not very clear about their abilities. So Marin selected a few monks who had held senior positions and held a symposium to listen to their opinions. At the same time, it is also a test of their abilities.

If there is a good suggestion, it will naturally be reused by Marin. If he has no ability, although Marin will use it, he will definitely downshift to use it.

Arnold, who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, first spoke:

"My lord, according to my memory, the Bishopric of Münster has a total of 350,000 Eugrams (700,000 acres) of arable land, which is the economic lifeline of the Bishopric of Münster. However, the distribution of these lands is very uneven. About 280,000 Ugram's arable land is in the South Munster area, and only 70,000 Ugrams are in the North Munster area."

"However, most of the church's land is concentrated in the South Munster area. Of the 70,000 Eugram arable land in the North Munster area, only 20,000 belong to the church."

"And the land of the church,

The secular princes cannot be moved easily. Therefore, the South Münster area is more prosperous though. In fact, my lord, your rule here will be greatly hindered. "

Marin nodded, then deliberately asked:

"Father Arnold, it is true that the church's land cannot be moved. However, what should I do with the non-church land that originally had the Lord?"

"Redemption!" said Brother Arnold with certainty.

"My lord, the Bishopric of Munster does not have hereditary nobles, most of them are priests. The so-called nobles are only knights recruited by the 80 bishops from other countries. Other land that does not belong to the church is actually controlled by the real power in the church. relatives."

"A relative of a powerful figure in the church?" Marin was a little surprised.

"Yes, relatives of powerful figures in the church. The monks in the church never marry and have no descendants. However, they have their own families."

"Those powerful figures in the church often choose to help some destitute relatives in the family, or even some illegitimate children, to buy manors in the bishopric to gain wealth."

"However, generally speaking, the estates purchased by the relatives of these powerful figures in the church are not held in perpetuity. Generally speaking, when an archbishop dies and the power figures in the bishop's country change, the ownership of these estates will also be Changes occur."

The old Kusen next to him also nodded in agreement:

"Yes, a few years ago, when Lord Henry III was alive, some poor relatives of Arnold and I owned several manors in the Bishopric of Münster. But after Bishop Conrad came to power, his favorite ministers , let my relatives buy those manors from our relatives at a very low price."

"Yes, this is a potential rule of the Bishopric of Münster. That is, the land rotation system. In the Bishopric of Münster, out of the 100,000 Eugrams that do not belong to the Church, there are about 50,000 Eugrams. Mu's farmland belongs to this kind of manor," Arnold continued.

"This kind of manor basically belongs to the powerful and favored ministers in the bishop's country. When paying tithes, the powerful and favored ministers often find excuses to prove that these manors have suffered disasters and make them pay as little tax as possible."

"Moreover, the income of the manor does not belong to the relatives of the powerful and favored ministers, but half of the profits should go to those powerful and favored ministers, and the rest will go to their relatives. And this is also those who are in front of the bishop. An important means of profit for favored characters. After all, 50,000 Eugram's arable land can feed a lot of people."

"This...this is really weird..." Marin is a long-term experience.

"Generally speaking, of the 50,000 Eugrams, 10,000 Eugrams belong to the relatives of the bishops. The remaining 40,000 Eugrams belong to the relatives of the priests who are in power throughout the country according to their respective power levels. Divide."

"So..." Marin nodded.

10,000 Eugrams are 120,000 acres of land. With so much land, half of the income goes to the bishop himself. Even if he only gets 50 pounds of rye per mu, he can get 6 million pounds of rye for 120,000 mu of land. According to the purchase price of grain merchants at 0.8 pfenni per pound, it is also worth 80,000 gold coins.

"So, the reason why Bishop Conrad strongly resisted me taking over the Bishopric of Munster has something to do with the 10,000 Eugram arable land?"

"Of course, seven or eighty thousand gold coins per year. Such wealth can make people take risks. The Count of Rietberg is only a small and poor country, and the arable land controlled by the Count of Rietberg may not have as much as 10,000 Eugrams. Basically, Bishop Conrad's income from the Bishopric of Münster and the Bishopric of Osnabrück is the biggest source of income for the Rietberg family."

"When you entered the Bishopric of Munster, according to the usual practice, you have to redistribute the ownership of the 50,000 Eugrams. This is equivalent to mobilizing the interests of all the priests in power. Therefore, Bishop Conrad intends to resist desperately. of."

"What if... I don't move the 50,000 Eugram's land for the time being?" Marin asked tentatively...