It had to be understood that if the Civil Constitution of the Clergy had not gravely damaged the French Church's grassroots structure, social order during the Great Revolution would not have collapsed so quickly.
Before the gates of Saint-Germain-des-Prés Abbey, after Brienne's carriage vanished at the end of the road, the Archbishop of Sens looked at Beaumont with some pained reluctance. "If we let the peasants redeem the land, the church will lose no small amount of money..."
The redemption price set during France's land reform had been extremely low, and the redemption money was to be paid over many years. When calculated, the church was taking a considerable loss.
Archbishop Beaumont let out a heavy sigh. "You know, Grenier and his lot have already begun winning His Highness's trust. We must seize the opportunity while His Highness has recently been busy with the wedding and resolve these troubles quickly."
Yes, the Reformist Faction wanted to seize twenty archbishop seats. That was far more unacceptable to them than losing some money.
"Exactly." The Archbishop of Chartres nodded. "Monge, Talleyrand, Tressaguet, and the others are all supporting Grenier, while in the Cabinet we have only Archbishop Brienne to rely on. If we do not thoroughly defeat the Reformist Faction before he retires, we will certainly be even more passive in the future."
At last, several archbishops fell silent.
Seeing this, Beaumont nodded and instructed, "Archbishop of Chartres, come with me the day after tomorrow to seek an audience with His Highness.
"The rest of you, announce the decision to your respective dioceses..."
The day after Beaumont and the others clashed with the Reformist Faction at Versailles Palace, three councilors from the Canton of Bern changed into their most formal ceremonial dress and came outside the gates of Versailles Palace with more