The carriage and horses of the archbishop of the Central North Diocese did not keep Du Wei waiting for too long and arrived early the next morning.
The arrival of an archbishop who was in charge of the academic affairs of several provinces naturally caused an earthquake among the local officials. The status of an archbishop was only higher than that of Duke Duwei. Not to mention the fact that he controlled several industries.
The provincial church office has a large amount of fiscal revenue every year, and is also in charge of an order of holy knights, millions of believers in the diocese, and may even become the future pope.
Such a person does not seem to be as arrogant as Du Wei imagined. Different from what the mayor said before, this archbishop does not have many followers. In fact, Du Wei originally thought that a motorcade would be ushered in, but in the morning
At that time, there was only one carriage on the dock.
Surrounded by local officials, several members of the archbishop's entourage boarded the ship and met Du Wei.
The first meeting was very friendly. Archbishop Maximus was a very elegant old man. He was wearing a black clergyman's robe. It can be seen that he was dressed very simply. This robe
It was also old, and there seemed to be some signs of wear and tear on the corners. And his silver hair stood up neatly, with a warm and warm smile on his face, and kind eyes. From any angle, he looked...
He looked like an archbishop in charge of the religious affairs of several provinces, but he looked a lot like the priest in a small local religious center, an old man with an ordinary appearance and a kind smile. The only difference was probably his eyes.
His eyes were clear and deep, flashing with the wisdom and shrewdness unique to an old man of his age.
"Dear Duke." Archbishop Maximus bowed slightly to Du Wei: "First of all, I want to express my gratitude to you. Thank you for allowing me to take your boat back to the imperial capital. Thank you for waiting for me here.
night."
Du Wei smiled and returned the gift: "You are too polite, Lord Bishop. It is really an honor for me to have such a distinguished guest as you on my boat. Moreover, staying here for one more night is nothing. You see, the river bank
The scenery up there is very nice.”
After a few pleasantries, the archbishop introduced his attaché.
In fact, as an archbishop of a diocese, Duwei was surprised that Archbishop Maximus's entourage was too few. When he boarded the ship, there were only three people besides himself.
There was a coachman, an old man wearing a clerical robe, probably a deputy bishop or something like that. There was also a knight in armor, but the knight was helping the coachman carry the ceremony.
Later, Duwei dismissed the local officials who were seeing him off and welcomed Maximos into his cabin.
"Please take a seat, my archbishop." Du Wei smiled and asked his men to bring tea, and then said: "To be honest, you are the highest-ranking cleric I have ever seen."
"Oh?" Maximus' expression changed: "Your Majesty, Duke, you were born in the imperial capital. With your status, haven't you ever met His Majesty the Pope before? Although His Majesty the Pope has rarely appeared in public in recent years,
But His Majesty will still personally preside over the annual temple ceremony."
Du Wei shook his head: "No. Oh, I'm sorry, I am not a believer in the temple. So I have not participated in the ceremony of the Temple of Light."
Maximus was indeed very personable, and he did not show any strange expression after hearing this. He just smiled casually: "I hope that the Duke can enter the embrace of God as soon as possible. If you change your mind one day in the future,
I am willing to baptize you myself."
Maximus then introduced the other old man beside him to Duwei: "This is my close assistant and most loyal friend, Father Rams, who is also one of the vicar generals of our North Central Diocese."
After a moment, he smiled and said: "We are rushing back to the imperial capital this time to attend the annual temple ceremony. At the same time, according to tradition, we have to meet His Majesty the Pope and personally report to him on our work in the diocese last year. Unfortunately,
Our boat broke down and we had to go ashore temporarily. I wish I had brought dozens of followers with me. But because the large group of horses and carriages moved too slowly. In order to get here, I had to leave the large group of horses and horses and take a light carriage alone.
Came here first."
Du Wei nodded and thought: You are anxious to go back and report to work, just to please the Pope and gain more weight in the competition to succeed the Pope. No wonder you are so anxious.
But he smiled and said: "Master Archbishop, don't worry, I have many servants on the ship. You will be treated like the most distinguished guest with me. I have already had a clean cabin cleared for you to rest."
.Well, also, I think you must not have had breakfast yet, so I’ll have someone prepare it.”
The two chatted for a while, but the deputy bishop Rams always looked vaguely uneasy. Compared with the demeanor of Maximus, the deputy bishop Rams seemed a bit more wretched, looking like a man.
He seemed to be the most ordinary skinny old man, his eyes were more white than black, he was skinny, and his appearance was quite unpleasant.
Watching Maximus and Du Wei chatting, he seemed to be hesitant to speak several times.
At this moment, a powerful and powerful voice came from outside. It sounded like thunder through the door panel.
"Your Majesty, the ceremony has been completed."
When Maximus heard this voice, a sincere smile appeared on his face: "Ah, this is my accompanying bodyguard Rhine. Your Majesty, please let him in."
With Du Wei's permission, the cabin door was pushed open, and a majestic man walked in from the outside!
Even Du Wei is used to seeing all kinds of fierce generals in the northwest, including Longbottom and Gaida under his own command, who are all burly guys, and after a trip to the Northwest Army, he also met Lu Gao's command.
Many brave generals...
But even so, when he saw Maximus's guard for the first time, Du Wei couldn't help but take a deep breath!
Is this guy... really a samurai?
From a visual inspection, this guy named Rhine is at least two meters tall! And he is probably as tall as a little giant! Because he was standing in the cabin, his head had just reached the ceiling.
He was wearing the largest set of knight armor. It was also in the style of a knight of the Holy Knights. His body was as thick as a giant bear, and seemed to be full of explosive power! And the parts of him exposed outside the armor were tangled with muscles.
I'm afraid the so-called "bodybuilders" Du Wei had seen in his previous life were far inferior to such a giant man... Du Wei just made a visual inspection and immediately determined one thing: this guy's arms are definitely bigger than his own.
The thighs are still thick! And twice as thick!
Such a monster...is he still human?
His appearance is also very strange, with a square face. The outline still looks like a normal person, but the appearance is really not like a human being. The lion's nose is wide, and the eyes are like copper bells.
It looks like a lion transformed into a human. With his long brown hair, it looks even more like a lion's mane!
If you see such a person not during the day, but by chance in the middle of the night, you will definitely be scared to the point of weakness. You will think you are seeing a monster with a lion's head and body.
He just stood in the cabin, and the two guards under Du Wei who were following him looked as if they had turned into dwarfs. Moreover, no matter how Du Wei looked, he seemed to be able to feel that this person was called
The Rhine guy's eyes are filled with an indelible wild flavor.
Seeing Du Wei sizing up his guard, Maximus smiled: "Your Excellency, this is my guard and my most loyal subordinate, Rhine. I gave him the name Rhine. His appearance
He was born weird and his life experience was very pitiful. Many years ago, I found him in the wild. He actually grew up with a group of wild beasts. It seems that he was abandoned by his parents in the wilderness and raised by wild beasts since he was a child because of his strange appearance. I saw him
It was pitiful, so I took him back to raise him. Now that I think about it, it has been more than ten years. Although he looks rude, he is actually a very good child."
After saying that, he looked for his hands, with a loving expression on his face: "Rhine, salute the Grand Duke Tulip."
"Yes." There was another thunderous voice. This Rhine immediately knelt down on one knee and performed the most solemn kneeling salute of a knight. Seeing him kneel down heavily, Du Wei was even worried.
This guy might kneel down and crack the floor of his cabin.
"I've seen Lord Tulip Duke." The thunderous voice almost made Du Wei's eardrums hurt. Seeing such a mighty and majestic man, Du Wei couldn't help but feel a little fond of him, and quickly asked him to get up.
Someone brought a chair for him to sit on. But for his size, there was no suitable chair for him to sit on. When his butt pressed against an ordinary chair, it immediately cracked and shattered.
Seeing Rhine's confused look, Maximus laughed: "As a knight, I am much heavier than an ordinary person. His weight is five or six times that of an ordinary person, and he cannot sit on an ordinary chair. Your Excellency, Duke,
Just let him stand."
Du Wei also laughed and said: "I have a relationship with the grassland people in the northwest. My favorite place is usually the powerful generals like the Rhine Knights. It doesn't matter if the chair can't sit on it!" Then he shouted loudly and immediately had people move it.
A bed was folded, and then Rhine sat down. He also asked someone to bring the prepared meals, and he ate with Maximus and the others in the cabin.
They also specially asked people to prepare a large barrel of fine wine and a basin of beef for this Rhine.
Du Wei was the most interested in Rhine. Watching Rhine drink happily, he casually picked up the huge barrel of fine wine, widened its mouth, gulped a few times, and his thick Adam's apple went up and down.
, and immediately drank half of the bucket. He put the bucket down hard, sighed, looked at Du Wei, and said with an honest smile: "Thank you! I haven't drank so happily in a long time."
Du Wei was startled: "Why, don't you drink alcohol on weekdays? I remember that although the Holy Knight requires penance, he is not afraid of drinking."
Maximus next to him, his face darkened: "Rhine, have you forgotten my words again? Why don't you pray before eating?"
Rhine immediately put down the wine barrel, his handsome face full of shame: "Yes."
Then Maximus and Bishop Rams joined together, the two of them hugged their hands, closed their eyes and prayed to the food in front of them, and murmured: "Thank you God for giving me food to eat and clothing to wear..."
Although Du Wei disapproved of this kind of prayer, the piety on Maximos's face came from the heart, without any pretense or saying anything. Out of politeness, he put down his knife and fork and waited for them. Finished praying.
Finally, after several people opened their eyes, Du Wei smiled and said: "Your Majesty, you are too harsh on this knight, isn't it? Such a fierce general, doesn't he usually drink?"
Maximus smiled bitterly, and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, and said in a low voice: "This... Your Excellency, Duke, you don't know that Rhine is much taller than ordinary people, and his appetite is also amazing. He eats every day. The food is worth five or six times that of ordinary people, and the amount of alcohol is probably more than ten or twenty times. Although I am an archbishop, my salary is limited. I usually don’t have much money to buy him wine. Drink."
When Du Wei heard this, he couldn't help but be amazed.
salary?
What a joke! The dignified archbishop actually lives on his salary?
Although Du Wei also knows that all formal clergy members and temples are paid salaries...but what is the identity of the archbishop? He is equivalent to a prince under the church! He is in charge of the church's finance and force in several provinces!
Does such a person want to show his integrity by saying such things to himself? Du Wei has never had a good impression of the people in the Temple of Light, because in his opinion, these guys are nothing more than magicians who cheat money. In In the northwest, the local bishops of several temples he knew were all fat-headed. They looked compassionate in front of them, but behind them they had good wine and delicious food. All they ate were the blood and sweat of ordinary poor people!
The same thing is collecting taxes, but there is a big difference between giving money to the officials and giving it to these magicians. At least Du Wei asked himself that in the northwest, although the officials collect taxes, they will build a bridge today and a road tomorrow. They still have to be responsible on weekdays. Civil affairs, the so-called taxes are taken from the people and used for the people.
But what did these fat-minded godheads do after collecting taxes? They just sat in a temple that was warm in winter and cool in summer, and prayed to the gods. Then they took away a sum of the blood and sweat of those believers?
But this... Archbishop Maximus showed a kind of integrity in front of him that was completely different from other magicians?
Is this kind of behavior true or false?
In Du Wei's opinion, such a person is either a truly compassionate and moral saint, or he is a treacherous and evil person!
Seeing Du Wei's expression, the Vice-Bishop Rams smiled. Not only did this guy look wretched, he also seemed to speak sharply and harshly: "Your Excellency, you probably have some prejudice against the people in our temple. I don't think so. I deny that in other places, some clergy behave in a manner that is unworthy of the divine robes they wear. However, within the jurisdiction of Archbishop Maximos, including ourselves, every clergy lives strictly according to their own salary standards. There is absolutely no behavior of short-circuiting the religious tax of the temple, and there is no such thing as greed and corruption."
As he spoke, Bishop Ramsay pointed to the exquisite delicacies on the plate in front of him and said with a smile: "Today, thanks to the blessing of the Duke, I was able to eat such delicious food. On weekdays, in the religious center, Maximus and I
The adults' lunch is nothing more than a plate of beans and stew."
Du Wei had a strange expression on his face, and Ramsay continued: "As for wine... Lord Maximus has always advocated frugality. Wine is a luxury product, and a large amount of food is wasted to brew it. Therefore, in our North Central
In the diocese, the bishop has always warned those believers not to promote drinking."
After hearing this, Du Wei looked at these guys carefully and began to have some doubts. However, the divine robes worn by Maximus and Ramsay were both old and worn, and there were many wear and tear. And this Rhine,
The armor on his body was also very old, and even the leather boots on his feet were obviously worn for a long time.
These guys were on my own boat temporarily and had nothing to do with me. If they were lying, there was really no need to pretend like this in front of me.
Moreover, at first glance, this Rhine looks like a heartless rough man, and he definitely does not look like a guy who can lie.
Could it be that... the people in these temples are truly unique and devout believers who are compassionate and compassionate?
Thinking of this, Du Wei couldn't help but feel some respect in his heart, and asked someone to bring him a barrel of wine, and said with a smile: "In this case, let this Rhine knight drink to his heart's content on my territory today.
.”
But this Rhine, after drinking a barrel, put down the barrel honestly and said solemnly: "Thank you, Lord Duke, but... one barrel is enough. I am responsible for protecting the safety of the godfather, and I don't dare to get drunk."
godfather?
Du Wei glanced at Maximus. Maximus smiled slightly: "Well, yes, I raised this child since he was a child. I have officially baptized him, and he has recognized me as his godfather."
Du Wei nodded and looked at Rhine. Suddenly his heart moved and his eyes fell on the knight badge on his chest. He couldn't help but feel a little stunned.
Hussein, who was next to Du Wei, was originally the Grand Knight Commander of the Holy Knights. Hussein had already told Du Wei how to identify the various rank symbols of the identity badges of the Holy Knights.
Generally speaking, Holy Knights will wear two badges on their chests, one is a badge that symbolizes the official knight level issued by the Knights Association, and the other is a badge that represents the knight status of the Holy Knights.
But this Rhine does not have the badge of the Knights Association on his chest... In other words, he does not have a formal knight level?
And even his only badge that symbolizes the identity of the Holy Knight... According to the badge level Hussein told Du Wei, the badge on Rhine's chest is the lowest among the levels within the Holy Knights.
of one!
A "Candidate Holy Knight" badge!
Alternate place?
In other words, such a giant man is not yet a formal holy knight, but just a candidate.
Du Wei was not a fool who judged people based on their appearance. He certainly would not think that just because he was big, he must be very capable.
However, this Maximus dared to take such a guard on the road, which can be concluded. This Rhine must have outstanding skills.
Just, a... alternate knight?
Du Wei's heart moved, and he deliberately asked: "Since Rhine is a holy knight, he should also have a salary on weekdays. I heard that the church treats holy knights very favorably. From this point of view, do Rhine knights usually have a salary?
Don’t you have money to drink yet?”
Ramsay seems to be a person who is very good at observing people's emotions. He laughed when he heard it and said: "This... Rhine is not an official holy knight yet. It is just a name for the convenience of following the bishop."
Maximus smiled and said lightly: "Rhine has been following me for a long time, and I don't want him to leave my side. You know, Lord Duke. If you want to become a true holy knight, you must leave me and become a knight."
The regiment headquarters received strict training. This child has never left me since he came to me ten years ago, and I couldn't bear to let him leave. So, I just gave him a name."
After a pause, he smiled and said: "Besides, Rhine has never practiced any martial arts or swordsmanship, and all he relies on is brute force. If you tell me, until now, he doesn't even know basic swordsmanship.
Therefore, I am afraid that even if he goes to participate in the training of the holy knight, he will probably fail. Ramsay is right, letting him take the identity of an alternate knight is just to follow me, which is more convenient in name.
.”
When they got here, Du Wei didn't want to ask any more questions. The few of them casually chatted about the local scenery in the northwest and talked about some things in the diocese.
After finishing the meal, Du Wei was about to send them back to the cabin to rest, when suddenly Lao Yan walked in from outside, with a slightly off-looking look on his face. After entering, he said: "Your Excellency, there is something strange on the river in front of us."
"What's wrong?"
Lao Yan hesitated for a moment, then Du Wei said: "Just tell me."
"Yes!" Lao Yan said solemnly: "The front section is the narrowest part of the river. There was a big boat across the middle of the river blocking our way. We flagged it and asked them to give way. They replied that the boat was broken.
Already."
"Can't we go around it?" Du Wei frowned.
"Sir." Lao Yan took a deep breath: "Their boats are not small, and they are placed across the river. They also put several small boats around. Our flagman told me that the other party said they were preparing to let the small boats carry the big boats.
The goods on the boat were transported to the shore. However, this blocked the river and we could not cross. Moreover, I think there is something strange about those small boats... I have asked people to slow down and told the brothers to be on guard. Let's see what they do.
eccentric."
Du Wei hummed, his expression showed no emotion or anger, he just glanced at Maximus and the others beside him.
Sure enough, Ramsay's expression changed immediately, but Maximus looked calm. He just glanced at Duwei, and then sighed: "Your Majesty, it seems that we have caused trouble for you."
"Trouble?" Du Wei smiled.
Maximus seemed a little embarrassed. He pondered for a moment: "Your Majesty, please stop the boat and give us a small boat. Let's go ashore now. This matter is coming to us. You are of high status.
It’s better not to get involved.”
As soon as he said this, Du Wei also muttered in his heart: "What did the bishop say... It's clear. As the archbishop of the diocese, does anyone dare to intercept you in the middle of the road? Is it the Pope's?
Order?"
Vice-Bishop Rams snorted: "How could His Majesty the Pope do such a thing! Hum, His Majesty has always appreciated our Lord Bishop... It's just..."
At this point, Maximus coughed, and Ramsay quickly closed his mouth.
"Your Majesty, please give us a small boat and let us go ashore." Maximus said sincerely: "This is an internal matter of our temple. If you are involved, it will bring you big trouble. I thank you.
You let us take the boat. But I don't want to let you get into this kind of thing."
After saying that, he shouted to Rhine: "Rhine, those guys came the day before yesterday, let's get ready to leave."
"Yes, Godfather, you wait here, I'll go out and take care of them first!!" After hearing this, the giant man immediately threw away a leg of cow in his hand. He stood up and was about to walk out.
Lao Yan looked at Du Wei, waiting for Du Wei's order.
Du Wei looked at Maximus and then at Lao Yan.
That's right. There is really no need for me to get involved in this kind of thing...
However, if someone comes to visit someone on their own ship and something happens, they will be kicked off the ship... If this is the case, how will I, the dignified Tulip Duke, survive in the future? I will lose all my face!
Besides...it looks like there's probably an internal fight within the temple?
Internal fighting... is very good! Very good!
Thinking of this, Du Wei said expressionlessly: "Master Bishop, please sit down. Since you are on my ship, you are my honored guest. Although Tulip is not a great person, he is not a coward who will intimidate others casually."
Then Du Wei also stood up and ordered Lao Yan: "Go and raise my tulip flag! I want to see who dares to intercept my ship on the road!"
After Lao Yan went out, Du Wei took a deep look at Maximus and said in a deep voice: "Master Bishop, you don't have to say anything about getting off the ship! Since you are on my ship, no matter whether you get off the ship or not, this trouble is mine.
There is no way to escape. No matter what, you are my guest on my ship. If my guest is harmed on my territory, will I, Duke Tulip, still be a human being in the future?"
Then, he took two steps closer and whispered: "What is the trouble? I think you should tell me something."
A trace of gratitude flashed in Maximus's eyes, and then he let out a long sigh. He did not directly answer Du Wei's words, but said something like this in an understatement:
"His Majesty the Pope has been getting worse and worse in health over the past two years..."
These words seemed to have nothing to do with Du Wei's question, but when Du Wei heard it, he suddenly realized something, seemed to smile on his face, then turned to look at Ramsay, and asked an inscrutable question:
"Are you from the south?"
Ramsay hesitated for a moment and whispered: "It should be from the Southeast Diocese."
When Du Wei heard this, he felt a little more at ease, and soon came up with an idea.
Is there internal strife in the church?
Since this is the case, even if you ask me to hide this matter, I won't hide it anymore!
He deliberately showed an angry look on his face and said loudly: "The people from the southeastern parish actually reached out to the north! Do you really think there is no one in the north of us!"
After saying that, Du Wei strode out of the cabin.
