Methods of Winning Hearts

Back at his lodgings, after finishing his remaining tasks, Bishop Torres knelt before the small shrine in his bedroom and devoutly confessed to the icon of Christ.

"Lord, I have sinned, I repent to you..."

After sincerely confessing his sins, Bishop Torres went to bed with a clear conscience, still calculating how much he had earned in the transaction. However, he was indeed too exhausted, so he soon drifted off to sleep.

Because he had received God's forgiveness through his confession, Bishop Torres slept soundly until noon the next day.

In the afternoon, Bishop Torres and Victor went to meet with the slaves who had been identified as Christ. Most of these slaves had lived there for generations, and apart from retaining their religious beliefs, most of them no longer spoke their ancestors' languages; they could only speak Arabic or Turkey.

However, this did not diminish their gratitude to the France and the Holy See who had now liberated them. Especially when Victor and Bishop Torres assured them again that they would not only be free but also receive a piece of land entirely of their own, these former slaves were so grateful they wanted to kneel down and lick their toes.

"My children," Bishop Torres said in Turkey, "I have heard that not all Christ have been freed from Egypt; some of our brothers are being hidden by infidels who are unwilling to free our brothers from slavery and toil."

Almighty God has heard the prayers of our brothers, and He has seen the suffering you have endured over the years and your devotion to Him. So, just as He appeared before Moses, commanding him to deliver the Jews from Egypt slavery and guide them to a land flowing with milk and honey, He appeared before His most devout servant—His Holiness the Pope, His most loyal warrior— Rome Napoleon Bonaparte, the Anointed One of God, and issued to them a firm, undeniable, and inviolable supreme command:

'Go, go to Barbary, and deliver my lamb from the pagans. I will not only set them free, but I will also make the pagans cede their land to them as compensation. I will exalt them and make them far above those pagans who enslaved them.'

My children, this is the will of God, and it will surely be accomplished. Now, I, along with Consul Treville, sent by His Majesty Bonaparte, the Rome Emperor and anointed by God, acting on the orders of the Pope and the Emperor, have negotiated with the leaders of the pagans, accusing them of breaking their promise and hiding some of our brothers. With God's help, the pagan leaders could not deny it and had to agree to let us inspect all the slaves in their possession to see if any of our brothers were among them.

Brothers, those hidden by the infidels are also sheep of God, brothers of all of us, just like you. You have lived with them for a long time, and you will witness God's glory together in the future. Therefore, at this time, I implore you to join us in the screening activities to rescue those brothers hidden by the infidels. Are you willing to help us, to help your brothers?"

"We are willing!" the crowd below shouted.

"Very good, very good. God has seen your piety. You will surely be rewarded in heaven," said Bishop Torres. "Those of you who were once on the same estate, let us elect the most reliable and intelligent person to assist us..."

Looking at the jubilant crowd below, Victor couldn't help but feel a heavy burden on his shoulders—these people's religious fervor was simply excessive. Competing with the Holy See for influence over them would be no easy task.

The next morning, Ben Haden sent people to the residences of Bishops Victor and Torres to invite them to participate in the screening process.

Once the conflict of interest was resolved, Ben Haden truly stopped creating obstacles for the screening process and even proactively offered some conveniences. To be honest, this greedy heretic still had a good business sense. Under these circumstances, the entire screening process went very smoothly, and basically anyone who might be a Christ slave was selected.

In fact, for those Christ slaves, rescuing more "brothers" was not particularly advantageous for them. According to the agreement, the land allocated to Christ for cultivation was fixed, which actually meant that the more Christ slaves were rescued, the less land they would be allocated.

But those simple-minded slaves couldn't think of these things yet, and inspired by religious fervor, they wouldn't even consider such issues.

However, once the screening process is complete, a more pressing issue arises: how to allocate the land.

If the Holy See had previously gained the upper hand by relying on its religious appeal, then in this matter, Victor, who holds administrative power, will certainly strive to turn the tide.

Victor gathered the liberated Christ together for a meeting and explained the land-related policies to them.

"Gentlemen," Victor deliberately avoided using the church-sounding term "brothers" because he was vying for leadership with the church, "First of all, congratulations on your freedom. But personal freedom is only the beginning; there is much more to do to achieve financial freedom and a happy life. Some of you, if you still have property or relatives in Europe, can choose to sell your share of land here for francs and return to Europe. If you wish to stay here, you will receive a piece of land of your own. You just need to cultivate it according to the rules and pay taxes."

At this point, Victor paused to allow the liberated Christ time to process the news. Christ already knew about it, albeit through various rumors. Receiving official confirmation from Victor still filled Christ with excitement. They cried out, "Thank God!"

Their statement displeased Victor, because what he needed was for those people to thank France and shout "Long live the Emperor," not to thank God.

While theoretically, "thank God" isn't wrong—because theoretically, His Majesty the Emperor was acting on God's will to rescue them—their prioritization of thanking God would only strengthen the Church's influence, which clearly displeased Victor.

But Victor couldn't bring himself to say, "Don't thank God, thank the Emperor." So he could only wait until they finished speaking before continuing:

"If you continue to stay here as independent farmers, you will face a problem: your nationality. To put it more clearly, what country are you now considered citizens of? According to general rules, you should be citizens of the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire. However, the land allocated to you belongs to the French Republic. This raises the question of how to pay taxes."

Since you are cultivating land belonging to the French Republic, you should naturally pay taxes to the French Republic. However, you are also subjects of the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire, so you must also pay a poll tax to the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire and perform corvée labor like other Ottoman Empire subjects. In addition, as Christians, you also need to pay tithes. In short, although you have acquired a piece of land, your life will not be easy from now on.

However, His Majesty Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Great French Republic and Rome, is very concerned about your well-being. Therefore, he has specially offered you these generous conditions. First, he proposed to the French Council of State that you be exempted from taxes for three years. That is to say, for three years, you can pay one less tax—this should make it easier for you to get through the initial difficult period."

"Merciful Your Majesty!" someone cried out quickly.

"Praise be to His Majesty the Merciful, may God bless him, Amen!" Then someone else followed suit.

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor!" someone else shouted.

This reaction pleased Victor, so he continued to throw out more bait.

"Furthermore, His Majesty Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Great French Republic and Rome, has granted you the same treatment as Europe Christ: if you are willing to swear allegiance to the French Republic and pass the French language exam, you will be eligible for France citizenship abroad. Once you obtain this status, you will no longer be subjects of the Ottoman Empire Turkey and will no longer be required to pay various taxes, including poll taxes, or perform other corvée labor to the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire."

Furthermore, if you are ever bullied by any other country or power, the French Republic will stand up for you. Please remember, no matter where you are in the world, the powerful French Republic and the invincible France army are always your strong backing. Remember, once you pass the exam, you will be a France citizen. You will receive the protection of the French Republic. Even if you kill someone here, the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire has no right to try you; only the France courts can convict you."

"Ah?..." Victor's words clearly surprised and envious these newly liberated Christ.

"Consul, Consul, are you saying that we can become France citizens as long as we pass the French exam?" a liberated Christ asked.

"Yes, they are France citizens abroad. There are some differences compared to ordinary citizens, for example, in terms of voting rights," Victor said.

The right to vote was something those liberated Christ neither understood nor cared about. But not having to pay taxes or work was a real benefit.

"But who can teach us French?" asked another young, freed Christ. Judging from his skin color, he was clearly of Black descent.

"That's an excellent question," Victor said. "Young man, what's your name?"

"My name is Django," the man replied, "Django Floyd."

"Alright, young man," Victor said, "The things you worry about, His Majesty Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul of the French Republic and Rome—he is such a kind emperor who understands the difficulties of the poor. He will send a special teacher to teach you French free of charge. The teacher will arrive soon, and after he arrives, we will arrange a special place for you to have your French lessons in the evenings. Now, young man, do you have any more questions?"

"Yes, Consul." Django hesitated for a moment, then said, "You can see I have Black ancestry. But my grandfather was truly white. Yet they say that if a person has even a single drop of Black blood, then they are Black. I want to ask... can someone like me... someone like me, a Black person, become a France citizen abroad?"

"That's certainly not a problem," Victor replied immediately. "Django, I ask you, will God's Heaven reject you because of your skin color? No. Our God is merciful; He treats every believer equally. Shouldn't God's anointed ones be the same? I can even tell you that in Saint-Domingue, an overseas territory of the great French Republic, a black man with no white ancestry even became its governor. So what do you have to worry about?"

My friends, do you know what kind of country the French Republic is?

"Consul, you just said that the French Republic is the most powerful country in the world, with an invincible army," Django replied.

"Yes, the French Republic is the most powerful country in the world," Victor laughed. "But the French Republic is more than just the most powerful country in the world. My friends, let me tell you with pride, the French Republic is a free country, a democratic country. The creed of the French Republic is: 'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.' France believes that the equality of all people is a self-evident truth; France believes that we should not determine a person's worth based on their birth, wealth, or skin color. The only thing that can determine a person's worth, to be a little more free, is their piety towards God and their virtue. What is France? France is a paradise on earth, a beacon of light, City on the Hill. Now, do you have any more questions?"

Long live France!

Long live France!

Everyone started shouting.