A Hospital in Another World?-Chapter 826: The King and the Church Snatching Money! Should We Rebel?

Count Ostend stared at the letter before him and sighed deeply.

On the letter’s seal, deep red wax was imprinted with a sun radiating light in all directions... evenly distributed seven rays, plus two more in the center, distributed very unevenly.

There was no doubt that these seven rays represented the seven-colored sunlight and the newly discovered infrared and ultraviolet rays. According to the latest revised doctrine, this pattern symbolized the nine sacred powers of the Radiant Lord, spanning from the highest heavens to the deepest underworld.

Who knows what the Church plans to do if the council discovers another ray.

This wax seal was imprinted by the archbishop’s signet ring, representing the authority and power of the diocesan archbishop. There are only 17 such signet rings in the entire Kingdom of Brolin, each a high-level divine artifact, consecrated in the Holy See Cathedral for over a hundred years.

To engrave two more lines on the signet ring without damaging the divine magic circuits, one must wonder what kind of expert achieved this. But if another line is added, will it cause the ring to break?

"My dear, aren't you going to open the letter?" the Countess’s gentle voice sounded. Count Ostend looked up and gave his wife a bitter smile.

"I really don’t want to open it... it’s either urging for food or taxes, or orders to arrest heretics and blockade the port. All troublesome matters."

"Troublesome matters still need to be dealt with," the Countess moved behind her husband, massaging his temples with her delicate fingers, her voice soothing. "At least we cannot withstand the power of the Church right now. If we could, we wouldn’t have to worry about our child and could send him across the border directly."

Recently, the other side published two papers. One detailed the first successful case of scoliosis correction in a 12-year-old boy, with satisfactory post-surgery recovery;the other described ten cases in 3-4 level warriors, with the War God Temple evaluating and recognizing their muscle strength, agility, and balance, noting their potential for further improvement.

The paper also mentioned that Master Nordmark would perform surgeries on over a dozen severe cases of congenital scoliosis with complications such as pectus excavatum, spina bifida, syringomyelia, and cardiopulmonary dysfunction.

Count Ostend knew this was directed at him and his wife. If these severe cases could be cured, then their son, their only remaining son, might also be cured.

"Let's see what the archbishop wrote."

He sighed long. From Ostend to the Kingdom of Kent, there were constant ships coming and going. Even the Church tacitly allowed these merchant ships:

Importing large quantities of wool from the Kingdom of Kent, processing them into textiles in the Netherlands and cities around the Radiant Church;

Exporting fine wine, leather goods, especially exquisite leather carvings from the Kingdom of Brolin, and the light, luxurious wool and silk products produced around the Radiant Church to the Kingdom of Kent;

And spices from the East, exquisite glassware, blue, white, and yellow glazed pottery, armor, and weapons.

These merchant ships, or smuggling ships, brought the kingdom and the Church tens of millions of gold coins in taxes every year. The purchase license cost about one-fourth of the goods' value;customs duties were another cost. If transported overland, additional taxes were required in each city and lord's territory.

Moreover, without smoothing out all the connections and bribing the Church, the lord’s mansion, and the handling officials, your goods would either be seized or not allowed to land for sale.

"Yesterday, another ship was caught. The ship was confiscated, the crew imprisoned, and the owner cried at my place for two days."

"To safely send our son across and bring him back, we cannot offend the Church now," Count Ostend sighed. He twisted his signet ring and pressed it lightly on the wax seal. A burst of divine light scattered, and the wax seal split into eleven pieces along the engraved lines: ten outer pieces and one inner circle. After shaking off the fragments, the letter could be opened without being burned by the divine seal's power or suddenly exploding.

Count Ostend opened the envelope and read line by line. With each line, his frown deepened. The Countess leaned over his shoulder, reading silently with him, suddenly exclaiming:

"The Church is so strict this time? Are they declaring war on the other side?!"

The letter contained few words but was shocking. In the name of the Radiant Church and King Charles II of Brolin, a series of new edicts were issued:

1. Discussing and disputing the holy scriptures, doctrines, and other classics of the Radiant Church is forbidden, violators will be deemed heretics;

2. Interacting with heretics and collecting their goods is forbidden;

3. Secretly or openly advocating, supporting, or disseminating heretical doctrines is forbidden;

4. Anyone found guilty of these behaviors will be deemed apostates and traitors, facing execution by beheading, burial alive, or burning at the stake, and their property confiscated;

5. Pleading for apostates and traitors will be treated as the same crime;

6. Local Inquisition courts will enforce these rules, and local lords must cooperate unconditionally.

The neat handwriting on the letter, each stroke gleaming faintly with gold, seemed written with ink mixed with gold powder. The Countess, seeing this, saw only a deep, bloody red.

Once this edict was conveyed, countless families would be ruined, and heads would roll. In the entire Ostend territory, those involved in maritime trade, sailors, those producing sails, ropes, and caulking, producing various goods...

If even the slightest connection led to a crackdown, at least one-tenth of the households would lose lives!

Count Ostend gently clasped his wife’s hand, softly patting and stroking. His body was tense, but his voice was gentle, trying to comfort her:

"We will be fine. Don't worry, we will be fine. A lord’s position stems from power. Neither the king nor the Church would break ties with us without reason."

"But what about the lesser lords? The knights? The merchants? The fishermen?" The Countess’s delicate hand trembled, her fists unknowingly clenched, nails deeply embedded in her palms, drawing blood.

"Why... why suddenly?"

"I guess the king has no money," Count Ostend fixed his gaze on the edict, suddenly laughing coldly: "Our esteemed Charles II, blessed by the Radiant Lord, ruling the land under divine light, the holy, the great, the invincible, protector of the faithful in the Kingdom of Brolin..."

He listed dozens of titles before stopping, snorting coldly:

"That wedding was quite costly. The wedding, the banquet, the ball, the performances, the jewelry, and fine clothes for the new queen, and the tribute to the Church... if not for loans from big merchants, the royal family might have been bankrupt already."

"So, they use this edict to grab money?" The Countess was astonished. For the wisdom-prizing mages, the feasibility of such an edict was secondary;it was simply foolish. If you lack money, raise taxes. Why adopt a stance of killing and confiscating property? Forcing unrelated people to a dead end, is this pushing for rebellion?

"Of course, they use this edict," the Count’s cold laugh grew more pronounced. "Raising taxes without cause would stir trouble, putting the royal family at a disadvantage. Wielding the banner of faith and partnering with the Radiant Church grants righteous justification. Discussing the scriptures, questioning the doctrine, and consorting with heretics equates to treason and heresy."

"Under the banner, killing and confiscating property is justified. Although the loot must be shared with the Church, they contributed the justification and effort."

The Countess's face turned even paler. She silently bowed her head, reading the letter again, whispering: "But this won't yield much... they won’t dare rob the big ones, and the small ones don’t have much to steal... our king must have other tricks up his sleeve?"

"I think so," Count Ostend nodded heavily. Before he finished speaking, hurried footsteps approached, and the secretary at the door called out: "Your Excellency! Urgent message from the capital!"

"Bring it in!" The Count responded loudly. The carved oak doors swung open, the secretary holding a silver tray with an urgent message sealed with two feathers, placing it on the Count’s desk. The Count quickly opened it, reading it briefly, his face darkening further.

"Our king... our king! Ha!"

Refusing to pay the national debt! All of the roughly 9 million gold coins owed to the Netherlands, fully repudiated! Not negotiating for delay, not proposing collateral or interest deferment, but outright refusal!

Raising export tariffs on wool from the Kingdom of Brolin to the Netherlands! Two-thirds of the Netherlands' wool industry relies on wool from the heartland of the Kingdom of Brolin, this increase will bankrupt many workshops!

Restricting Dutch merchants from entering the kingdom’s ports!

Prohibiting Dutch merchants from trading with the kingdom’s overseas colonies! If they want goods, they must buy at high prices from the kingdom’s big merchants, enduring over 100% markups.

"Indeed, all borrowed money must be repaid... Brolin merchants took the lion’s share, the Radiant Church took the lion’s share, and they are squeezing us this way!"

Want to avoid being squeezed? Want to resist? Want to find another way out?

Ha, the edict against heretics awaits you

.

The Count waved the secretary away, closing the heavy study door tightly. Holding his wife’s hand, his voice softened:

"Darling, should we send the child across the border?"

If chaos ensues, the hidden child might not be safe... it would be safer to send him across the border. "No rush," the Countess shook her head slightly. "No rush. This edict targets the entire Netherlands... let's visit the Duke first and hear his thoughts?"