Hearing Archbishop Nelga's question, Allen's lips slightly raised, but he didn't answer in a hurry.
He put his left foot on his right leg, took out a piece of paper from the pocket of his hunting suit with his right hand, looked at it intently for a few seconds, then took it back, and then answered:
“Negotiation, negotiation, you must have chips on hand to achieve the purpose of negotiation.
"I dare to ask, Lord Bishop, if these things had not happened, would you be willing to sit here patiently with me as equals, bargaining, and discussing future matters?"
"Indeed." Archbishop Nerga nodded, convinced.
In his opinion, if Allen did not secretly plot against him, then in his eyes, Allen would be at most a slightly outstanding junior, and he would definitely not be qualified to sit on both sides of the negotiation table and negotiate face-to-face with him, let alone
Don't let it go as high as it is now.
After all, as the archbishop of a diocese, Arcelga is a direct subordinate of the Pope. Even the king of a country must show courtesy to him. Ordinary magicians or heirs of nobles must show respect to him.
Salute respectfully.
However, although Allen spoke straightforwardly, Archbishop Nelga breathed a sigh of relief quietly.
From Allen's words, Archbishop Nerga understood that the reason why Allen was causing trouble for him was to increase bargaining chips in the negotiations, and ultimately wanted to reconcile with him.
It's not that I want to fight him to death.
"Mr. Bishop, you said that today we are all sitting in front of the goddess as believers, and we are all equal. You just asked me three questions, and I also have three questions I want to ask you," only Allen heard
Then he said, "Excuse me, is it your idea to reduce the funding subsidy for the Mage Tower?"
"Yes." The Archbishop replied calmly.
"Is it also your idea to increase church tax to 15% of personal income?"
"Yes." The archbishop nodded.
After hearing this question, he felt that he roughly understood where Allen's hostility towards him came from.
The increase in church tax is not just for common people, but for everyone nationwide. Wealthy families like the York family also have to pay taxes according to this ratio.
Every year, the economic income of the York family is almost as much as the fiscal income of a county.
And sky-high income often means sky-high taxes.
Someone once joked that the taxes paid by the York family every year could feed the residents of several cities.
Although this may be an exaggeration, it can indeed be seen from it that the York family makes a huge contribution to the financial income of the Braden Kingdom and the Church of Light every year.
At this time, he rashly doubled the church tax. It is no wonder that Allen would be dissatisfied with himself.
"But I have no choice," Archbishop Nerga said silently in his mind, "I don't want to offend new wealthy families like the York family. But if I don't do this, I won't be able to gather enough financial resources to recruit a new army.
, fighting the remnants of the Black Temple.
"My Guardian Knights and the Northern Tribunal have been destroyed at the hands of the Black Temple. If I don't teach those evil god believers a lesson, I'm afraid His Majesty the Pope will really regard me as an incompetent waste."
At this time, Allen sipped the black tea and then asked the third question:
"Your Majesty, your true purpose in doing these things is to suppress the Mage Tower and the New Party, and to maintain the authority of the Church of Light within the Kingdom of Braden, right?"
"Not entirely." This time, Archbishop Nerga did not give a completely affirmative answer. "In fact, the main purpose is to deal with the remnants of the Dark Temple in the Far North Icefield. Since the last total solar eclipse, their activities have become increasingly active.
It is rampant and has made people in the northern border miserable.
"The church has sent knights to deal with them many times, but because they are too cunning and cunning, it is difficult to completely eliminate them.
"At the same time, the church has also suffered a lot of losses in the conquests one after another. If we don't increase taxes and increase the government's financial subsidies, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to continue to maintain the financial and material consumption of the Knights.
"Mr. York, I understand your dissatisfaction with this, but you must know that supporting the crusade against heretics is the duty of every devout believer in the Goddess of Light."
Using righteousness to pressure people has always been something Archbishop Nerga is very good at. Over the years, he has often used this tactic in negotiations.
First, with the help of your identity, you can label the other person as a "devout believer". In this way, you can stand on the moral high ground and accuse the other person of being "not pious enough".
It can be said that it works repeatedly.
He was looking forward to seeing the panic look on Allen's face.
However, after hearing his words, Allen's expression did not change at all.
He took out the white paper in his pocket again, took a look at it, and then chuckled and said:
"Sir Bishop, I understand the difficulties the Light Church faces in terms of funding. After all, the Dark Temple... is indeed a group of enemies that are not easy to deal with.
“But when you encounter something like this, why not speak out about it publicly and directly solicit donations from believers?
"I think as long as you are a devout believer, you will be willing to do your best for the church. Like my father, didn't he just donate 50,000 gold pounds to the church?
"Increasing national taxes and deducting funds from the Mage Tower like now will cause unnecessary misunderstandings."
Archbishop Nelga had to admit that Allen was more cunning than he thought.
When he suppresses others with his righteousness, Allen immediately imitates the gourd and then uses it on himself.
As long as Allen mentions the fifty thousand gold pounds, the York family will always be devout believers; and due to some ulterior reasons, he cannot put too much pressure on the other party.
It’s really hard to get off the tiger!
"Mr. York, I will seriously consider your suggestion," he scratched his head and said bravely, "but the policy has just been promulgated. If it is changed rashly, it may cause unnecessary chaos."
"I understand." Allen replied calmly.
Judging from his attitude, he seemed to have guessed that the Archbishop would say this.
"It's good to understand." Archbishop Nerga felt tired in his heart.
Today's negotiation was short, but Archbishop Nerga felt unprecedented pressure.
The purpose of the negotiation was achieved.
He indeed tested Allen's intentions, and Allen indeed expressed his willingness to reconcile to him.
The answer Allen gave him was similar to what he expected. Allen did not want to fight to the death with the Church of Light. He only planned this matter secretly for the economic benefit of the Mage Tower, the family, and the new party. In order to gain more power in the negotiations,
Some chips.
But intuitively, the Archbishop still had a vague feeling that something was wrong.
Although Allen showed negotiation skills far beyond his years, the whole thing seemed to go too smoothly.
He felt that if Allen could force him to consume three golden pieces of paper, it would be normal for him to show something unexpected.
But he didn't have time to ask any more questions for now.
At this time, he needed to find John as soon as possible and then find a way to silence the Prime Minister.
As long as he reaches an agreement with Allen and resolves these potential risks, he can still sit firmly on the throne of the archbishop.
"Mr. York, in the past few days, in order to prevent secrets from being leaked, you will stay here for the time being!" The archbishop stood up, looked at Allen and said, "I hope you will not dislike the simple environment of the church. After we reach a final agreement,
I’ll take you back again.”
After he finished speaking, before Alan could answer, he turned around and left the room.
The moment he left, a golden light curtain slowly rose and enveloped the entire room.
This is the magical barrier inside Hagia Sophia, driven by the divine power of the goddess of light.
No one can enter or leave the magical enchantment freely without the permission of Archbishop Nerga.
In other words, Allen was put under house arrest in this room in disguise.
Although it is not a polite behavior to treat the negotiating partner like this, Archbishop Nerga has already had a psychological shadow on Allen's previous actions, and is afraid that he will secretly cause some trouble in the process of solving other matters.
.
Moreover, in the negotiation process, using both soft and hard tactics is the right approach.
Simply bowing your head to please the other party will not work. When it is time to establish authority, you must also show your strength.
If some of the strength and heritage of the Light Church can be properly demonstrated without actually harming the other party, it may be possible for the other party to retreat and lower the conditions and requirements put forward during the negotiation process.
No matter how great his background is, no matter how talented he is, no matter how flexible his brain is, no matter how many tricks he has, he is essentially just a first-level magician, and it is impossible to get out of the magical barrier constructed by divine power.
It's safest to keep him under your nose.
As for whether it will cause dissatisfaction on the other side... well, it is not a problem if it can be solved through negotiation later.
He didn't believe that Allen would really fall out with the Church of Light.
I just ask Allen to stop doing things secretly.
"Keep an eye on him," Archbishop Nerga ordered the priests next to him after walking out of the room. "No matter what he asks for, agree to him. But you must not let him come out."