In the most prosperous area of the center of Paris, a not-so-tall but extremely gorgeous church stands here. In fact, this is not a church at all. It is just a temple at the Paris headquarters of the Knights of the Holy Order. The people who come in and out are not believers who pray to God and repent, but businessmen and nobles who are gorgeously dressed or elegantly behaved.
Of course, their ultimate purpose in coming here is to obtain a huge loan from the extremely wealthy Holy Order.
In an official room in the temple, a peasant monk took several sheepskin documents and compared them carefully. After confirming that the seals on the documents indeed belonged to the court of the Count of Burgundy, the monk raised his head and asked Art: "I heard Luca say that you claim to be a member of the Holy Order?"
“Nine years ago, in the Holy Land, we were in the fifth detachment of the third regiment of the Holy Order. We were stationed in Saybid and later transferred to Tortosa. My father was a Knight of the Holy Order who was stationed in the seventh detachment outside Tortosa. His name was Arthur Wells. And my name is Art Wood Wells.” Art briefly introduced his origins with the Holy Order.
"However, after the Holy Land fell completely, my father and I returned to our hometown with the Eastern Expedition Army. As soon as we returned home, our territory was deprived by the feudal lord's conspiracy. In order to avoid pursuit, our father and son fled to the County of Burgundy. From that time, our father and son began to He had lost contact with the Holy Order since then. "
The farmer monk quickly recorded Art's words, then picked up the copper bell on the table and shook it a few times. A religious servant came in. The monk handed the note to the servant and whispered a few instructions.
"Baron Art, we will confirm what you said immediately. However, the Holy Order stipulates that any member of the Holy Order who has lost contact for more than two years without any reason will be deemed to have voluntarily quit. You and your father have left the Holy Order for so many years, and you have now become a secular noble. I am afraid it will be difficult to enjoy relief rights in the name of a member of the Holy Order."
"I know all this, but we were forced to lose contact with the Holy Order because we were being hunted. We did not lose contact for no reason, let alone voluntarily." Of course Art would not say that his father left the Holy Order all because he had lost faith and hope in the Holy Order.
The monk didn't know how to deal with this kind of thing. The office room fell into an awkward silence when an old knight with a gray beard and a stern face walked in. He was holding the small note written by the monk in his hand.
The old knight walked into the room, waved his hand to stop the peasant monk who was about to stand up and salute. He stood next to Art and looked up and down at the young man who was watching him, "Non Nobis, Domine, Sed Nomini Tuo Da Gloriawww (Latin)".
Matt stood up nervously and blurted out, "La volonté de dieu!"
"Child, I know you." A kind smile appeared on the old knight's face.
"Forgive me Sir Sir, I don't seem to remember meeting you." Art really has no memory of this face.
The old knight smiled and said, "Maybe my expression was wrong. What I meant is that I know a man who looks very similar to you. His name is Arthur Wells. We once fought in a branch, but I never saw him again after I was transferred back to Paris. By the way, my name is Henry René Abel, and I am the treasury manager of this temple."
"Hello, Sir Henry, the man you are talking about is my father."
"Well, I heard that Baron Arthur has a son. It seems that you have inherited your father's title."
"Our title has been deprived of it by conspiracy, and I am now a border baron in the County of Burgundy."
Henry, the old knight, did not ask how Arthur Wells' territory was deprived of his territory. Since it was called "conspiracy", it would definitely be a long story. He felt that the title Baron of the Count of Burgundy was somewhat familiar. After thinking for a while, he asked: "You Could it be the Baron of Burgundy who destroyed the heretics and escorted the heretics to Paris? "
"It's me!"
"God bless you, I say? Who can be so brave? It turns out that he is a member of the Holy Order who has fought against the heretics."
"Now you are quite famous in the city of Paris. Even the puppet show in the city is showing you bravely capturing the heretics. Story. "
Matt didn't expect that the city of Paris would be so accustomed to processed stories. In just two or three days, there was already a puppet show, but at this time, he had more important things to do and didn't have the time to pay attention to them.
"Old Sir, I have a territory and an army in the County of Burgundy. I am in urgent need of money to support and develop the territory." Make things difficult, the Holy Order's relief rights are only available to registered members of the Holy Order. Although you and your father were both members of the Holy Order, you have now been expelled from the Holy Order, unless you are willing to give up your status as a secular noble and return to the Holy Order to become a sergeant."
"And my right to relief was exercised a year ago, otherwise I would be willing to help you." Apparently the old knight Henry also used this special "right".
Matt guessed that things would not be so easy to handle, and he was prepared for this.
"Old Sir, if I use my name as a former Holy Order sergeant, and use my baronetcy and fief in the county of Burgundy as well as the honor of my father-in-law Galvin Huguet as security, can I complete the loan of an ordinary noble within the time limit of the right of relief?"
After midnight mass, people stayed in the church waiting for dawn. Nobles and wealthy families would gather their relatives and friends to enjoy a rare feast on this day, while ordinary citizens walked in the streets and alleys singing and dancing or gathered in taverns and hotels to have banquets. The church once reprimanded these people for being as wanton as heretics, but it did not prohibit it.
In contrast to the lively scene on the street, there is a hotel in the eastern suburbs of the city. This hotel does not allow drinking, so there is no festive atmosphere at all.
旅店二楼，斯坦利敲开了亚特的房门，「大人，亨利老爵士派人送信请您明日一早到神殿中与圣团签订契约。」
「知道了。」亚特正在与罗伯特神甫商议事情，顺口回了一句。
Hearing the noise in the city, he stopped Stanley and said: "Today is the Christian Mass. In the past few years, you have been fighting everywhere and you have not been able to spend the festival quietly at home. It seems that you will have to spend it in a foreign country this year."
“You make preparations today. Send someone to the tavern in the city to prepare a table of sumptuous drinks and food and send it to the hotel. There is no need to save money. Let the guys have a big meal in the evening. After we get the loan from the Holy Group, we will set off to return immediately. Things in Paris are done, Bo. There are still a lot of things waiting for us to do in Gendy, let the guys have a good meal, and there will be a lot of hard work next."
"Yes!" Stanley was still worried that Art would forget about this, and was already preparing to prepare a simple banquet out of his own pocket.
After Stanley left, Father Robert continued to talk to Art.
“My lord, I have heard in the past two days that the Paris Inquisition has formed a heretical circuit. They will set off to Besancon in early January to investigate the heresy of the Dean family. Because I am familiar with the situation in the County of Burgundy, I was appointed as a guide by the circuit, so there is nothing I can do. France is returning with you. "
Robert is even more famous than Ate this time, because when entering the city, Robert was at the forefront of the procession wearing a white robe and holding up a cross. In the eyes of the church and the citizens of Paris, Robert was the glorious image of upholding justice for God and punishing the devil. As for Art, he can only be regarded as a warrior who responded to God's call and fought against the devil under the guidance of God's apostle, so his influence is naturally less.
But Art doesn't care about this at all. Now it looks like this is a good thing for both Robert and Art.
Art took a sip from the wine glass and said, "Since the Inquisition attaches so much importance to your role, of course you have to stay and take them to Besancon. It is more beneficial for us to have you in the Circuit Tribunal. Although you are not a member of the Tribunal, you can always play some role. I will allocate a sum of money to you, and then you will lead the Circuit Tribunal..."
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Early in the morning after the Christian Mass, Art rushed to the Holy Order Treasury Temple with two attendants. The old knight Henry and several management knights of the Holy Order's treasury interviewed Art again, and signed a loan contract with Art after confirming Art's identity and the guarantee provided.
In the name of a retired sergeant of the Holy Order, Art borrowed 500,000 pfennigs from the Holy Order's treasury with reference to the time limit for relief rights, using the frontier baronial fiefdom of the Count of Burgundy as a guarantee, and agreed to return it within eight years. Before paying off the debt, he must pay 15,000 pfennigs to the Holy Order's treasury on time every year.
At signed his name on the contract, handed over the fief document issued to him by the Besançon Palace and the letter of guarantee signed and sealed by Baron Galvin to the Holy Order treasury. He then took five bills of exchange with a face value of 100,000 pfennigs from Henry and told him the secret language. With these bills and secret words, Art could exchange the corresponding gold and silver coins from any city with a Holy Order treasury. Of course, this will definitely require a fee.
500,000 pfennigs were successfully obtained in such a short period of time. This result made Art very satisfied. That night, he hosted a banquet for a group of temple treasury management knights headed by Sir Henry at the most luxurious tavern in the city. After the banquet, he also gave Sir Henry a belt inlaid with agate gemstones worth more than 500 pfennigs as a thank you gift. After all, old Henry also played a role in this matter.
On the last Friday of December, Art went to the Paris Inquisition to bid farewell to several bishops he had met, and then took a few soldiers with him in two carriages with heraldic flags to travel southwest. Because the waterway was blocked in reverse, it would take them nearly twenty days to return to the valley barony along the winding land route...