Empire Rising: Spain-Chapter 55 - 54: Exchange of Interests

Upon hearing Prime Minister Prim’s questioning, Archbishop Pedro couldn’t help but swallow.

The oppressive feeling brought by Prime Minister Prim was still quite strong, especially considering he had just recently quelled the rebellion of the Carlos Faction.

Of course, Archbishop Pedro did not want to be at the mercy of others, but was there any good way to resist the Primor Government at the moment?

With the precedent of the Carlos Faction, Archbishop Pedro had no confidence in the Church’s resistance.

"No, it’s not like that," Archbishop Pedro quickly said, "I certainly won’t resist the government. I’m just expressing some views on the arrest of Church members."

"Archbishop Pedro, I already know your views. But the assassination incident is of great importance, and it needs to be thoroughly investigated to determine if there is any suspicion," Prime Minister Prim said.

"Please be patient. If those who were arrested have no suspicion, they will naturally return safely."

Needs to be thoroughly investigated to determine if there is any suspicion? Upon hearing Prime Minister Prim say this, Archbishop Pedro almost wanted to laugh.

If the arrests were truly carried out so diligently and responsibly, how could so many Church members have been arrested?

There wasn’t much evidence when arresting, but releasing requires complete evidence to prove innocence? Isn’t this just fooling people?

Moreover, even if people are finally released after thorough investigation, the police will still continuously arrest other Church personnel.

Release one, arrest two, Archbishop Pedro did not think Prim was incapable of doing this.

"Prime Minister Prim, what exactly needs to be done to prove the Church’s innocence? I swear to God, the Spanish Church was absolutely not involved in the plan to assassinate you, those bishops who were arrested are innocent," Archbishop Pedro said rather helplessly.

In the current situation, he had no choice; having the government cease its arrests of Church members was the most important thing.

As for whether to retaliate against the government’s actions, relying solely on the Church’s power was not enough, and help from other forces was needed.

And before that, temporarily reaching a compromise with the government, to ensure the Church could safely get through this assassination incident, had become Archbishop Pedro’s only thought.

"You know, Pedro. Because of this assassination, a lot of government work has been delayed for a long time. I originally planned to issue the second batch of industrial bonds, but after the assassination incident, how can you expect the citizens to confidently purchase government bonds?" Prime Minister Prim suddenly mentioned.

Upon hearing this, Archbishop Pedro immediately understood what Prim wanted.

To ensure the Church’s temporary safety, Archbishop Pedro had no choice but to painfully sacrifice the Church’s interests: "Although I am certain the Church has nothing to do with the assassination incident, as a Spaniard, how can I turn a blind eye to the country’s development?

I believe God would not want to see this situation either. I am willing to represent the Spanish Church to purchase the government-issued industrial bonds, and donate 2 million Pesseta to the government."

Archbishop Pedro’s tact greatly satisfied Prime Minister Prim, but the Prime Minister’s goal was not merely the few million Pesseta.

The wealth accumulated by the Spanish Church over a long period may be even more astonishing than that of the Bourbon family, and a few million Pesseta was likely just a drop in the bucket for the Church.

Moreover, compared to this relatively small amount of money, Prim was more interested in the Church’s lands.

Frankly, what use did the Church have for holding so much land? They exploited the government’s low taxation on Church land to excessively accumulate wealth, then used that wealth to buy more land.

In the areas surrounding Madrid alone, large tracts of land were occupied by nobles and the Church, while land in the hands of commoners became the minority.

This was extremely detrimental to the development of Spain. If these lands could not be reclaimed, it would severely impact Spain’s future development.

"Alright, Archbishop Pedro. For God’s sake, I’m willing to believe in your sincerity. I’ll instruct the Madrid police department to conduct more detailed screenings when making arrests to avoid harming innocent people.

Of course, I’ll also have them carefully screen the arrested Church members, and if there’s no issue, they will be released.

Someone will contact you at the time. I deeply apologize for the troubles caused to the Church, and I believe things will be resolved satisfactorily in the near future, without wronging a single Church member," Prim said with a smile.

Once it was confirmed that Archbishop Pedro was willing to sacrifice the Church’s interests for those bishops, Prim had achieved his objective.

As for the more detailed negotiations with the Church on how to use money and land to bail out those Church members, that was not something Prim should be doing.

As the Prime Minister of Spain, Prim had more important things to attend to, and naturally wouldn’t abandon other matters for some Church lands.

Anyway, the officials in the financial department were professionals at negotiating, and they certainly wouldn’t let the government suffer losses.

Upon hearing Prim’s concession, Archbishop Pedro finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If Prim insisted on arresting Church members, Archbishop Pedro truly didn’t know what he would do.

To talk of resistance, the current Church had no good means against the government. Perhaps they could incite some brainwashed believers to organize a protest, but such a protest would quickly be suppressed by the government.

Rebellion was even less likely. A protest might still attract people through brainwashing and deception, but a rebellion could not deceive the commoners into joining.

With Prim’s reforms, the living standards of farmers and workers were gradually improving. Under such circumstances, farmers and workers were not foolish enough to stand against the Primor Government.

"Prime Minister Prim, can we also join in the investigation of this assassination incident?" Archbishop Pedro inquired.

Archbishop Pedro was well aware that the Church’s considerable concession was unavoidable, which made him very angry at the real mastermind behind the assassination.

If it was just an assassination, fine, but why drag the fire onto the Church?

No matter which force the mastermind belonged to, Archbishop Pedro had only one thought: to make the mastermind or force pay a greater price.

"Of course, Archbishop Pedro," Prim nodded with a smile, looking as if it were only natural: "Catching the mastermind as soon as possible would be best; it’s advantageous for both the government and the Church."

It’s undeniable that the Church at this time still remained a rather large force in Spain.

To talk of resisting the government, the current Church was certainly incapable. But if it came to investigating the assassination case, the Church could still play a role, at least being able to assist the government in investigating the assassination’s mastermind more quickly.