Chapter 38 Imperial Meeting
The morning of September 1444, 9 in the Imperial calendar.

Bright sunlight streamed in through the windows, illuminating the floor of the Stag Room in the Papal Palace.

Although there are dog heads hanging on the wall, it does not prevent this palace from being called the Stag Room.

Because in the Papal Palace in the Holy See City, the Pope's study is also called the Stag Room.

The Gulag Monastery is still the Gulag Monastery, but the Gulag Church is no longer the Gulag Church, but the Papal Palace.

Because the great Pope Horn lives in this palace.

The Apostolic Palace is where the Pope resides.

The three-meter-wide and six-meter-long hall of the Stag Room stretched as far as the eye could see because it was filled with crowded people.

The whole room was shrouded in amber sunlight, as if it were really in amber.

The great newly crowned Pope, Horn Garrar, is in this chamber, meeting with his four close cardinals and two Knights Templar.

Six important officials of the Gulag Papal State came forward one by one, kissed the back of Horn's hand, and then took their seats.

"Welcome to the Stag Room, my dear cardinals!" Horn removed the original square writing desk and replaced it with a round table.

He had said in advance that the round table represented equality without distinction of high or low, allowing everyone present to speak freely.

Having said that, Horn looked around the table and still found that the seemingly unbreakable alliance between Townley and others was actually divided into three factions.

Townley, Chilvis, and Grampven sat together on Horn's left.

This faction is mainly composed of armed peasants and ruffians among the villagers. They currently control part of the monastery and most of the refugee camps.

Madeleine sat alone on Horn's right hand side. Judging from the fact that Horn was crowned Pope that day, Madeleine did not agree to become Pope.

He should represent the interests of refugees and public farmers, but his base is outside the Gulag Monastery, and his military force is weak, and his influence is not as great as that of the other two factions.

As for the other side of the table, there were Jeanne and Danji.

Although the two men were sitting together, they both looked unhappy, and it seemed that their previous communication was not pleasant.

Headed by Danji were the priests and monks in the Gulag Monastery, as well as the remaining three or five knights and seven or eight night guards.

Among the intelligence collected by Horn, this Danji was the most bizarre. Logically, he should be on the side of the priests and be their protector.

But in fact, he was more inclined to the common people outside the monastery, feeling as if he was in Cao's camp but his heart was with Han.

It turns out that there are no factions within the party, and there are all kinds of weird things.

But this just gave Horn an opportunity. If they were united, it would be a headache.

"The first reason I came here today is to inform you of one thing: Thanks to the grace of the Holy Father, I have completely recovered from my illness."

"Praise our Lord!" The important officials in the hall praised in a scattered and uneven voice.

"Secondly, we need to discuss the future and how to distribute food during this period. Everyone can speak freely. How about it? Let's discuss it."

As he spoke, Horn leaned back, leaned his back against the backrest, crossed his legs, and looked as if it had nothing to do with him.

"Your Majesty." Tang Li frowned, "Yesterday you proposed to tell us a way out, why do you want us to discuss it again today?"

"If you don't discuss it, how can I know whether my way out is in line with your wishes?"

"If you don't tell us, how can we discuss it?"

"Madeleine, what do you think?" Ignoring Townley, Horn looked at Madeleine who seemed to be hesitant to speak for many times.

Madeleine glanced at the three of them, nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I think we have to elect a pope because we have no choice. We are imitating the pope to appease the people.

We can send someone to Cassia County to seek the help of Dean Juanno. He will definitely be willing to protect us and help us explain the misunderstanding."

"Kasha County is so far away. By the time we find it, we will have been wiped out by the church's army. Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst." Chilvis immediately objected.

"What is there to fear from the Church's army?"

"Oh?" Horn looked at Danji in surprise. "What do you think, Captain Danji?"

"We are here to protect civilians." Danji said righteously, "In the face of such a great cause, even if the church wants to attack us, it will only be melted by the sun like snow.

If we explain first, they will definitely understand. But if they really come to attack, I can go to the front and just give them a few words to shame them into retreating!"

The smile on Horn's face suddenly fell. I really thought you had some brilliant ideas, divine gold.

“Your Majesty, I think that although what Lord Danji said is biased, his words do make sense.

In my opinion, instead of worrying about whether the church’s army will wipe us out, we should first consider the refugees’ stomach problems…”

"Didn't we just release grain three days ago? Why are we releasing grain again?" Before Madeleine could finish, Tang Li interrupted hurriedly.

"You only put out one day's rations at a time. There's food in the warehouse, so why don't you put in more?"

"Will you die of starvation if you don't eat for two days? Ah? Will you die of starvation if you don't eat for two days?" "What's the difference between what you do and Durdaffer? We help you break into the monastery, not to find a new Durdaffer!"

"What do you mean, accusing Your Majesty of being Durdafo?"

"Don't distort my words. When did I say that Your Majesty is Durdafu? I was talking about you!"

"You are a goat-sucking swineherd and a thief and a fugitive!"

"A fatherless horse thief! A bastard! Look at you, no wonder your father doesn't want to acknowledge you!"

"Shut your filthy mouth, you lowly thief!"

"Shut your dirty mouth!"

The argument gradually turned from practical matters to personal attacks and began to escalate, with both sides banging the table and spitting.

In the end, it was unclear who started the fight first, but the two bishops jumped onto the round table, grabbed each other by the collar, and walked around on the table like tumblers.

"Fighting in front of the Holy Saint! How shameful!"

"Stop, don't fight anymore, His Majesty is still here!"

"Get down quickly, the table is very slippery! Hey, be careful!"

Horn didn't want to pay any attention and let them argue further and let the conflict ferment for a while, but he really didn't expect that the two of them would actually start fighting.

What Horn didn't know was that during the time he was unconscious, the conflict between the two sides had already fully fermented, and they just lacked an opportunity.

Horn just provided this opportunity.

This wouldn't do. Horn picked up the papal scepter and banged it frantically on the wooden tabletop.

"Silence! Silence—Silence—"

With a loud tug and a collapse, the round table turned over on its side, with tablecloth, candlesticks, scrolls and ink falling to the ground.

Amid the sound of cloth tearing, Madeleine and Townley fell to the ground wrapped together.

But the two of them hugged each other on the ground and continued to struggle. Sometimes Madeleine locked up Townley, and sometimes Townley locked up Madeleine.

The two men rolled around on the narrow ground, knocking over all the tables, chairs and benches, and even the dog's head on the wall was knocked off.

In a short while, the two men's clothes were torn, their shoes were lost, and their eyes were swollen. Tony's beard was pulled out to a bald spot, and Madeleine's butt was mostly exposed.

"Silence!" Horn knocked on the Pope's scepter and shouted almost at the top of his lungs.

But the two men still did not stop, rolling on the ground cursing.

Perhaps he just couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so Danji walked forward, grabbed one with each hand, and separated the two completely.

Looking at them standing at one end of the room, they were still like two fighting bulls, with red eyes and heavy breathing.

Standing in the middle of the room, Horn felt so tired for the first time.

Take a look around at these high-ranking officials in the Papal States:

Archbishop Townley is a gangster, Archbishop Madeleine is a fugitive, Archbishop Chilvester sells fake liquor, Archbishop Grampven is a circus clown, Grand Master of the Knights of the Holy Grail, Danji, is a psychopath, and Knight Commander Jeanne is a witch.

There are so many talented people here.

Under Madeleine's grateful eyes, Horn walked forward, pulled off his belt and helped him fasten his pants.

Holding the Pope's scepter, Horn turned around and faced the messy Stag Room. He didn't play any tricks and said directly: "This is what I think about the future. If you want to go to Black Snake Bay to hide, go to Black Snake Bay. I have a way to keep you safe.

Those who want to go to Cassia County can go to Cassia County to find Juanno. You can go by yourselves. Those who want to stay can stay. As for the food, Tangli, you can keep it for another day."

"But, Your Holiness..."

"I told you to leave a day's supply. What? Do you want to stay?"

Touching his bald beard, Tang Li glared at Madeleine with resentment: "Okay! I'll release the grain."

"I have met all your requests. You must also meet my requests. Based on this, I make three requests." Horn raised three fingers.

“First, I demand that my constituents, the villagers of Red Mill Village, be given the right to live freely and that you cannot interfere with their behavior.

Second, I ask you to find orphans between the ages of 10 and 14 among the villagers, have them join my Children's Army, become my godsons, and protect my safety.

Third, I accept your surveillance and protection, but I ask to be able to move freely within the Gulag Monastery."

"I've finished speaking. Who agrees? Who disagrees?"

　There will be another chapter later

　　
　
(End of this chapter)