Inside the vast and luxurious Madrid Royal Palace, a conversation laden with deep aning was unfolding.
“Your Majesty, what is Pri Minister Primó trying to do? Is he going to ruin the entire Spanish Church?” Archbishop Pedro displayed his innocence and indignation the mont he saw Carlo, trying to win Carlo’s sympathy.
“What happened? Bishop Pedro.” Carlo certainly understood what had happened to the Church’s people, and Carlo was even one of the planners of the plan to purge the Church.
But at this critical juncture, it was best to pretend not to understand. At least, Archbishop Pedro’s indignation was entirely borne by Pri Minister Primó, and it wouldn’t cause Carlo any loss.
“I know the assassination of Pri Minister Primó is a major matter, but they can’t arrest the Church’s bishops without evidence, right?
Your Majesty, the governnt has currently arrested more than ten bishops, and the arrest operation is still ongoing. If you don’t stop it, I’m afraid tomorrow I will also be arrested by Pri Minister Primó.” Archbishop Pedro continued.
“It’s not that serious, is it? Bishop Pedro. I approved the citywide search in Madrid. If bishops are arrested, it must be because they are also suspects, right?
If you have any questions, you can go protest to Pri Minister Primó. Marquis Primó is not an arbitrary person. If you can prove those bishops’ innocence, the governnt will definitely release them.” Carlo would not hinder Primó’s purge of the Church. The best way was to kick the ball to Primó.
Carlo’s aning was very simple. If Archbishop Pedro possessed sufficient evidence to prove those bishops were innocent, then of course he could pressure Pri Minister Primó to demand the governnt release the Church personnel.
But the difficulty was precisely here.
Although Pri Minister Primó did not have complete evidence to prove the Church’s responsibility, it was still easy to produce so evidence to pin cris on these Church personnel.
Proving guilt is difficult; proving innocence is even harder.
Archbishop Pedro clearly did not have sufficient evidence to prove those Church mbers were innocent, which also ant that Pri Minister Primó possessed sufficient evidence to continue detaining those Church personnel.
Seeing that he could not seek any sympathy or protection from Carlo, Archbishop Pedro finally realized that the situation was serious.
Either Carlo truly knew nothing and naively believed that the governnt’s arrests were all justified.
Or Carlo knew everything, and even this arrest of Church personnel was sothing agreed upon between Carlo and the governnt, with the purpose of settling accounts with the Church.
But regardless of which outco it was, it was not a good thing for the current Church and Archbishop Pedro.
If they could not obtain the king’s support, relying solely on the Church’s strength to confront the current governnt would truly be like an egg striking a stone.
Just the fact that Primó controlled the army dood the Church to be unable to contend with the governnt.
Moreover, Carlo’s words also reminded Archbishop Pedro. Compared to the Church, the governnt was clearly standing on the side of public opinion.
The pri minister being assassinated leading to a citywide manhunt was reasonable, right? Discovering suspects during the manhunt and arresting them was reasonable, right?
As for why most of those arrested were Church personnel, what responsibility did the governnt have?
As long as Archbishop Pedro could not prove that these arrested personnel were all innocent, the Church would have to bear the cri of being suspected of murdering the pri minister.
Looking at Carlo’s calm smile, how could Archbishop Pedro not understand that the young king before him was playing dumb.
Archbishop Pedro was certain that most of the Church’s mbers were unrelated to the assassination incident, as the Church’s top leaders knew nothing about it at all.
But at this mont, the Church could not shake off the suspicion, because in Primó’s reforms, the decree to abolish the tithe made the sole victim precisely the Spanish Church.
The Church, dissatisfied with the governnt abolishing the tithe, assassinating Primó who was promoting the reforms in an attempt to restore tithe paynts, seed like a very reasonable motive.
No matter how Archbishop Pedro and the Church argued, they could not get rid of their suspicion and could only passively endure in this incident.
After leaving the Royal Palace, Archbishop Pedro sighed and still decided to head to Primó’s residence to find a solution for this matter.
The Church was currently at a loss for words, but allowing the governnt to arrest Church mbers unchecked was absolutely unacceptable.
The only way was to negotiate with Primó, reach a compromise on certain interests, and exchange for the governnt to cancel the arrests of Church mbers.
Primó was not a simple man of army background. Archbishop Pedro understood that if he engaged in talks with Primó, even if he could resolve this incident, it would inevitably cost the Church enormous interests.
But at this mont, there was no other way. If it were the Church’s heyday now, Archbishop Pedro would definitely challenge the governnt no matter what, without the slightest shrink back.
Unfortunately, religion’s influence on the public had greatly diminished, and it currently possessed no ability to subvert the governnt.
More importantly, even the Pope was trapped in the Vatican Palace. What could they, these archbishops, do?
The facts had already proven that ecclesiastical authority could no longer be ntioned in the sa breath as regi authority. Before the massive institution of the national governnt, religious forces had to yield and had no choice but to yield.
Inside Primó’s residence, Pri Minister Primó was inquiring about the situation regarding the arrests.
Hearing the news that Archbishop Pedro sought an audience, Primó smiled, appearing not surprised at all.
“Respected Pri Minister, when will you abandon the arrests of Church mbers?” The mont Pedro entered the room, he appeared furious, quite dissatisfied with the governnt’s arrest actions.
“Bishop Pedro, shouldn’t you go ask the Church’s bishops? When all the fish that slipped the net are arrested, that will be when the police stop acting.” Primó said with a smile on his face.
“Pri Minister, those you are arresting are all Church personnel, bishops of the Church, not traitors who planned the assassination! I hope you can give a reasonable explanation. Is this how you treat God’s devout believers?” Archbishop Pedro always wanted to keep himself in the dominant position, continuously challenging Pri Minister Primó.
“No, Bishop Pedro. If they have nothing to do with the assassination incident, I believe no police would go after them. If you want to exonerate them, please bring sufficient evidence at best.” Pri Minister Primó was not a weak person. After hearing Archbishop Pedro’s incessant questioning, he stood up and said with a cold smile: “
If you don’t have sufficient evidence to prove their innocence, can I understand that you intend to challenge the governnt’s authority for these bishops?”
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