Indulgences Pro

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's question, Talleyrand immediately looked constipated. "Your Highness, I know a little, but this kind of thing..."

Joseph smiled and said, "Don't worry, I mean no harm. I just want to give you some gifts. ♔🏆 🔥⛵"

Talleyrand struggled with his thoughts for a while, but in the end, the temptation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs prevailed, and he picked up a pen and paper and began to think and write.

After a moment, he handed Joseph a piece of paper with more than a dozen names written on it, "Your Highness, that's all I know. Please don't tell anyone I told you. As for that kind of party you mentioned..."

His expression was somewhat unnatural. "It usually takes place on the second Sunday of each month. The meeting place in Paris is a Manor in Montmartre. The bishops of Valois and Reims also frequent it."

"The second Sunday of every month?" Joseph recalled the calendar. "Isn't that tomorrow?"

"Yes, good luck. I was originally planning to send someone to invite bishops from the nearby provinces, but this will save me time."

Then, as if remembering something, he looked at Talleyrand with a teasing smile, "You seem to know a lot about this stuff."

"Ah? No, I didn't, don't..." Talleyrand almost blurted out a triple denial, then quickly regained his composure. "Ahem, Your Highness, I've only heard some rumors. You know, I have a pretty good memory."

Joseph nodded, glossing over the matter, and then thought for a moment before saying, "In that case, we won't have time to go to the Police Academy. Let's go straight to Montmartre. Oh, and we still need to buy some gifts."

According to his original plan, he intended to go to the Police Academy to attend the combat readiness mobilization meeting first.

This incident involves the military, so we must prepare the army to deal with any unforeseen circumstances. In addition, if any sporadic riots are not quelled, we will also need the army to suppress them.

The following evening, around 6 p. m., more than twenty mid- to high-ranking clergy gathered at the "White Maple Forest" Manor in Montmartre, a town in the Northern Suburb of Paris. Among them were Archbishop Beaumont of the Paris Region and Archbishop Daffleur of the Valois region.

Each of them was accompanied by a young "Servant," all of whom were handsome.

The surrounding music was soothing, and the priests greeted each other warmly.

A broad-faced bishop was chatting with his colleagues from the Nemours district about recent anecdotes when he suddenly noticed the Gem cufflinks on the sleeves of the young man leaning against him.

Somewhat unexpectedly, he pulled up his "Servant's" arm, where a similar sleeve ornament was also worn.

The priest opposite asked curiously, "Achille also has one?"

The broad-faced bishop nodded. "Someone gave it to him yesterday. What about yours?"

"It was given to Auxerre by an anonymous person."

The two of them didn't pay much attention to it. After all, given their status, many people would try to curry favor with them and bring gifts. When they couldn't get in touch with them in person, those people would try to get close to their "Servant."

As more priests interacted, they were surprised to discover that almost all of the priests' "Servant" present had such a cufflink.

The crowd gradually stopped teasing the "Servant," put down their wine glasses, and began to discuss who had sent it and what their purpose was. The priests who had taken the handsome "male servants" to the second-floor rooms also quickly stopped their "backdoor" entertainment upon hearing the news, put on their robes, and came downstairs.

Catholicism clergy are strictly abstinent, but mid- to high-ranking priests always find ways to "relax." Most of them have secret mistresses, but "pampering" is a more fashionable option.

Although this kind of thing is a semi-open secret in Church circles, it would still have a very bad impact on their reputation if it got out. Especially today's "caring for male servants" gathering, which must not be known to outsiders.

The person who delivered the cufflinks clearly knew their identities as "male servants"!

The bishops immediately lost interest in continuing and quietly left the "White Maple Forest" Manor.

As Archbishop Beaumont's Carriage drove out of the Manor's neatly trimmed woods, he saw a well-dressed blond young man gesturing to him from the roadside.

He quickly ordered the car to stop, because he recognized the man as a close attendant of the Crown Prince.

Eman stepped forward politely, bowed to the Archbishop, and said with a smile, "Your Excellency Archbishop, His Crown Prince would like to invite you for a drink."

Beaumont naturally didn't refuse. When he followed Eman into the Villa in the center of Montmartre, he was immediately surprised to find that the Archbishop of Nemours, the Archbishop of Reims District, and four others were also inside—all of them his "party buddies" from the earlier gathering.

Talleyrand, however, felt guilty and didn't dare come, since he was the one who leaked the news of the gathering.

Beaumont realized something was amiss, but still pretended to be nonchalant and bowed to the Crown Prince.

Joseph gestured for the Archbishop to sit, twirling a cufflink in his hand, and cleared his throat, saying, "Ahem, I'm sure you've all heard about the riots that have broken out in more than ten provinces in the South, haven't you?"

Beaumont and the others looked at the cufflink that matched the one worn by their "male servants" and nodded awkwardly. "Yes, Your Highness, we've heard about it."

"May the Lord quell the ferocity in the hearts of those thugs."

May the Lord forgive them...

Joseph gestured for Eman to distribute the Wine to the Archbishop: "As everyone knows, the riot was caused by a food shortage."

"And you are all God's representatives, representing God's mercy, and I hope..."

Archbishop Beaumont immediately reacted and said, "Your Highness, I am willing to donate Livre for Disaster Relief!"

Archbishop Daffleur of Valois nodded in agreement. "I will also donate Livre."

Joseph smiled and shook his head. He was eyeing the Church's "trump card"—who would he be trying to fool with these ten thousand coins?

"Thank you for your generosity." He didn't mince words, "I request that the Church use its stored grain to distribute to the disaster victims."

The Archbishop exchanged glances and chuckled dryly, "Your Highness, the Church's meager provisions are completely ineffective."

"Yeah, that might not even buy as much food as Livre."

Joseph smiled calmly, "No need for modesty, everyone. I know your cellars have enough Grain to feed disaster victims across the country for at least half a month."

The Archbishop were filled with shock. "Who told you this?"

"Your Highness, that's absolutely not true..."

"Your Highness, if you don't believe me, you can ask Archbishop Brienne..."

Joseph knew that most of the Church's grain reserves were embezzled from Tithes or the Church's land harvests—these incomes belonged to the Church, but were deposited into the public account, which was used to pay for expenses such as education, charity, and religious activities.

As for those things in the Church cellars, they were "accumulated" by mid- to high-ranking priests through their own abilities and belonged to their private wealth. Therefore, these guys were very unwilling for others to know what was in the cellars, especially the Royal House.

In reality, very few people knew about this part of the Church's private property, and because of its careful operation, it was not easy to find out even if someone investigated. It wasn't until the Great Revolution that it was forcibly unearthed.

Joseph raised his hand and made a downward pressing motion, still smiling, and said, "In the name of His Majesty the King, I assure you all that no one will investigate the origin of this grain."

He glanced at his cufflink as he spoke, "Of course, I also hope everyone won't be stingy with the food. I have some idea of the amount of Grain and Wine in the Church cellar."

This is obviously a lie by the Archbishop; all they know is that the "hamsters" have hoarded a lot of food.

However, when Beaumont and the others heard that the Crown Prince also knew that there was Wine in their cellar, they immediately believed him to be about 80% of the truth.

The Archbishop exchanged glances, and finally, Beaumont spoke on their behalf, "Your Highness, if you truly need food, we can sell it to you at market price."

Joseph secretly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this; this already met his minimum requirement. At least the riot problem could be resolved with money.

But this is not his ultimate goal.

The food supply for the entire western and southern provinces of France is no small matter. Moreover, the amount of food distributed by the Church will depend entirely on their own discretion, making it easy for us to suffer losses.

He took a deep breath and continued, "I hope the Church will donate this food."

"This, this won't do..." The Archbishop were immediately alarmed; the Crown Prince was practically robbing them!

Joseph gestured for them to calm down. "If the Church donates enough food to feed the rioting provinces for a month, I can allow the Church to resume selling Indulgence."

Catholicism doctrine holds that all humans are burdened with original sin. Since the Middle Ages, the Holy See has invented Indulgence, telling believers that by purchasing these indulgences, they can reduce the time they suffer in purgatory.

This invention made the Holy See incredibly wealthy, but it also aroused deep resentment among the secular class. Ultimately, under pressure from all sides, the Holy See announced in the 16th century that it would stop issuing Indulgence.

Daffleur's eyes lit up immediately. "Are you serious?!"

If the Royal House allows the Church to sell Indulgence, the money they're making from hoarding food right now is practically nothing.

Beaumont and the others hesitated. "Your Highness, even if the Royal House agrees, I'm afraid there will be a great deal of opposition..."

Joseph nodded. "You're right, so we need to be innovative."

"The old 'buy it and you won't go to hell' rhetoric is no longer effective at fooling or persuading people."

The Archbishop exchanged bewildered glances. "What do you mean?"

"First, you need to change the name. For example, ' Blessing Card ', ' Longevity Card ', ' True Love Charm ' or something like that."

"The function should also evolve with the times. Just like the names of these coupons, some can be used to increase a lover's feelings for you, while others can be used to pray for your parents' well-being."

"You all need to understand that going to heaven is too far away and unrealistic. But your parents and lovers are right in front of you, and you'll have a lot of expectations and helplessness towards them. People will only be willing to spend money if they can immediately 'solve' the problem at hand."

"Oh, we also need to pay attention to the price. Those Indulgence used to be sold for too high a price. If someone bought one of your indulgences, they wouldn't be able to afford meat for two years, so there would definitely be dissatisfaction. If you sell one indulgence for 4 sous, people will just consider it as buying two newspapers, even if it doesn't have much effect... well, with God's blessing, it will definitely have an effect."

"In short, you need to have a 'small profit, quick turnover' mentality; you can't ruin your business in one fell swoop..."

As he continued his narration, the eyes of the Archbishop gradually lit up. They seemed to be picturing a young couple coming to the church, spending a mere 4 sous to buy a "True Love Charm" for their relationship, asking God to witness their love and bless them.

Archbishop Nemours hesitated for a moment before asking, "Your Highness, is what you're suggesting feasible?"

Joseph thought to himself, "You guys are clinging to the huge IP of God, yet you still have to rely on Tithes to make a living every day. In the 21st century, you'd be laughed to death. Do you even know how much money Shaolin Temple and Wudang Mountain make with just a few simple maneuvers?"

He smiled slightly, "I can assure you, if you do as I say, Paris will sell at least Livre annually just from various vouchers. And that's the minimum."

"500,000! Are you serious?!"

"Of course, we'll need some publicity and hype," Joseph said. "For example, the ' True Love Charm ' should be linked to Saint Valentine's Day. Hmm, that name is too awkward, let's just call it Valentine's Day."

February 14th was already a holiday in the late 18th century, but it was far less popular than it has become in later years.

"First, we need to strengthen everyone's desire to Valentine's Day. For example, we can promote the idea that 'you don't truly love someone if you don't celebrate this holiday,' and 'buying the first True Love Charm of the year will guarantee perfect Love.' Then, we can create legends and stories like 'only True Love Charm blessed by the Church can ensure that a couple's Love will never change.'"

Joseph simply recounted the tactics of later merchants. "Spend more money on that day to hold celebrations, dances, matchmaking events, and the like. Then just wait for the men and women to throng the Church doors."

"As for the specific operational methods, I suggest that the Church and I jointly establish a ' Church Cultural Development Company ' to specialize in packaging planning and promotion. We can discuss the specific investment and share division in detail later."

"Oh, similar to the True Love Charm. The Longevity Card should correspond to Father's Day and Mother's Day, but these two holidays haven't been established yet. The Church should discuss which day is suitable."

"The Wealth Blessing Coupon' correspond to Commercial Festival, and the Blessing Card' correspond to Easter; that's roughly the idea... Once the company is established, there will be a complete plan."

The Archbishop never imagined that Indulgence could be used in so many creative ways, and that they would eventually lead to the creation of a company...

However, after careful consideration, they realized that the Crown Prince's method was indeed extremely feasible.

Joseph wasn't worried that they would listen and then do it behind his back. These business tactics sound simple, but people who haven't experienced them firsthand really can't figure them out.

After a brief discussion, the Archbishop, represented by Archbishop Beaumont, said, "Your Highness, let's consider the grain donated for this Disaster Relief as our investment in some Church development company."

According to their estimates, if what the Crown Prince said goes, the grain investment should be recouped in two years at most. After that, it will be pure profit.

Furthermore, there's no need to worry about today's special gathering being exposed.