With the destruction of the Eastern Roman Empire and the crushing defeat of the Crusaders, the arrogant Church finally tasted humiliation.
Although Li Chengdao was worried about a civil uprising and did not completely destroy the existence of the Holy See, he still put the core members of the Holy See under house arrest.
There was no freedom to speak of.
The reason why the Holy See was able to contend with the imperial power was not only because of the faith of the people, but also because of the existence of the 300,000 Crusaders of the Holy See.
The Holy See's Crusaders were the Holy See's army and only obeyed the Pope.
In terms of combat strength, they were even more elite than the regular army of the Eastern Roman Empire.
However, out of the 300,000 Holy Church Crusaders, 100,000 had died under the iron hooves of the Great Qian Empire, while 200,000 had become captives.
Without the Crusaders, what could the Holy See use to fight against Li Chengdao?
Therefore, even the Pope had to yield to Li Chengdao to a large extent, even kneeling down.
But no matter what, the Pope still had a big bargaining chip in his hands.
That was their influence on the people.
"Holy Emperor, have you finally decided to cooperate with us?”
The Pope breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
Even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were smoothed out.
In fact, no matter how the dynasty changed its regime, it would not have much of an impact on the Church. Or rather, the Church did not care about this at all.
This was because theocracy and imperial power were different in nature. They were separated from each other, but imperial power relied more on theocracy.
This was the divine right to rule.
The Pope had been trying to cooperate with the Great Qian Empire, so that they could continue the relationship between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Holy See.
But Li Chengdao ignored him.
However, when Li Chengdao said that he wanted to discuss something, he almost could not help but laugh out loud.
So what if your army is strong and you are cold and heartless?
If you want to rule the people of this land and maintain the continuation of the Empire, you must rely on our Church!
Without the recognition of the Holy See, you can't rule over all the people!
At the thought of this, the Pope could not help but smile coldly and proudly, his chin slightly raised.
"Cooperation? Did you misunderstand something?"
Li Chengdao was expressionless as he looked at the Pope coldly." I will give your Church a chance to announce to the people that I am the King of Gods who has descended to the mortal world. My existence is higher than God."
"Impossible!"
The Supreme Pontiff spoke decisively, directly interrupting Li Chengdao's words.
His face was flushed red, and his gaze toward Li Chengdao was filled with unprecedented anger.
"You're simply dreaming! God is supreme, you are just a mortal, a butcher! How could he compare to a god? This is blasphemy!"
The Pope flew into a rage, smashing his golden scepter onto the ground again and again.
Because Li Chengdao's words had directly touched his reverse scale.
If he really made such an announcement, then the Church and the Theocracy would forever bow to the imperial power. From then on, the successive emperors of Great Qian Empire would all call themselves the descendants of the gods, and the Church would never rise again!
This directly affected the fundamental interests of the Church!
He had never thought that Li Chengdao's ambition and courage would actually be so great!
"Zhen said that this is an order, not a deal or negotiation. You have no right to refuse!”
Li Chengdao took a step forward, his tone unyielding.
"Even if you kill me! I won't agree either!"
The Supreme Pontiff's face was ashen as well. He straightened his neck and looked at Li Chengdao with a look of generosity.
He could not let the Holy See not fall into his hands, even if he had to lose his life!
Li Chengdao stared coldly at the Supreme Pontiff, his sharp gaze causing the latter to feel a great pressure.
Li Chengdao was an iron-blooded emperor who had led thousands of troops and experienced countless wars. The power he had honed from mountains of corpses and seas of blood was terrifying enough to scare ordinary people.
But even though he was afraid, the Pope still gritted his teeth and persevered, not backing down.
The atmosphere in the royal study was extremely stiff.
Wang Gui and Wei Zheng did not know what Li Chengdao was planning, so they just lowered their heads and watched.
"Do you really think that I don't dare to kill you?”
Li Chengdao frowned slightly, killing intent flashing in his eyes.
" I'm not afraid." The Pope was not afraid." Killing me will not do you any good. If the people know that you have killed me, the Pope, they will probably go into an instant riot, right?"”
"By then, the Great Qian Empire that you have just established will fall into endless chaos again! Unless you kill all the people, the riot will not stop!”
The Pope's words were full of confidence. This was the influence of the Church!
"I can't kill you, but guess if I dare to kill those 200,000 captives?" Li Chengdao sneered.”
The Pope's expression changed drastically!
"You, how dare you-"
The Pope's eyes were filled with fear, and even his voice was trembling.
"Why wouldn't I dare? If I can kill 400,000 Roman soldiers, I can kill 200,000 Crusaders!”
Li Chengdao's eyes flashed with killing intent, and blood seemed to seep out of his words!
"When the greatest fanatics of the Church are all dead, I will support a new Church and spend ten to twenty years to weaken the influence of the Church. I will also use force and law to forcefully prohibit the Church from believing in me!”
"When this generation slowly dies, guess how many people in the next generation, the next generation after that, will still remember the Church?”
Li Chengdao took a step forward with every sentence, his eyes fixed on the Pope.
His every word was like a heavy hammer striking the Pope's heart, forcing him to retreat until there was nowhere to retreat.
"You can't do this, you demon!"
The Pope fell to the ground, his face extremely pale as he muttered to himself.
"This method is a little troublesome, but whether I do it or not depends on whether I want to or not.”
Li Chengdao looked down at the Supreme Pontiff, his eyes cold and emotionless.
"Follow my orders, and the Church can continue to exist. Otherwise, what awaits the Church will be true destruction!”
Li Chengdao gave the Pope his final notice.
From the very beginning, this was not a negotiation, but a one-sided order!
He did not intend to give the Pope any choice.
Submit, or perish!
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