Chapter 301: Chapter 181: Land Exchange (Part 2)
As Carlo’s newly established Archbishop position, it certainly requires a corresponding church. The church corresponding to the Spanish Archbishop will be named the Iberian Cathedral, located in the southern part of the Madrid Region, north of Toledo.
It seems that the Royal Family freely donated 5 million Pesseta to the Church for the construction of the cathedral, but in reality, Carlo was reminding Archbishop Pedro that the Church must choose to submit to his rule; otherwise, his status within the Church would be replaced by others.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. On behalf of the Church, I thank Your Majesty and the Royal Family for the donation. May Spain under Your Majesty’s leadership become greater, and the Church is willing to contribute to Spain’s greatness." Archbishop Pedro clearly understood the meaning behind Carlo’s words, promptly expressing his position in a very respectful manner.
Carlo nodded, the smile on his face growing broader: "To achieve Spain’s goal of becoming great again, it requires the joint effort of the Government, the Royal Family, the Church, and all Spaniards.
Catholicism is Spain’s national religion, and this will never change; it can never change. Archbishop Pedro, as the Spanish Archbishop and the chief bishop of the Spanish Catholic Church, you need to lead the Church to cooperate with the Government’s actions, contributing together to Spain’s development.
Of course, I will also remember your contributions to Spain. The Royal Family will not let any national hero go unrewarded, and the Church is not just a sacrificer and contributor; the Church should be an enjoyer of Spain’s great achievements."
The core content of this conversation is actually quite simple. It is about telling Archbishop Pedro that if the Church cooperates with Carlo’s rule, it will continue to hold its position as the second greatest force in Spain.
But if it does not cooperate with Carlo’s rule, not only will Archbishop Pedro’s own position be challenged, but the Church’s status in Spain will vanish as well.
Fortunately, Archbishop Pedro himself is very prudent. He clearly understands the declining influence of the Spanish Catholic Church, and naturally would not contend with the monarchy and government.
For Archbishop Pedro, rather than risking conflict and power struggles with the King and government, it’s better to steadily maintain the Church’s current power, comfortably being an Archbishop with considerable assets but little authority.
Archbishop Pedro’s sensibility made Carlo very satisfied. By contrast, the Spanish nobility class was not as sensible as Archbishop Pedro.
As the saying goes, when the forest is big, you’ll encounter all kinds of birds. This expression is very fitting for describing Spain’s enormous nobility class.
Despite Spain’s population ranking low among major powers, its nobility numbers rival other European Countries.
Even more problematic is that Spanish nobles hold vast lands in Spain. Some historical nobles have more land than Carlo currently possesses.
Because they hold so much land and have a long history, some nobles did not overly support Carlo as an outsider, and there are even elements of xenophobia.
Although there are sensible individuals like Duke Jacopo who initially expressed support for Carlo, most maintain a wait-and-see attitude, with some nobles even secretly expressing opposition.
Even at this moment, Carlo has solidified his throne and gained some power, yet a considerable portion of the nobility remains outside Carlo’s Royal Council.
The Royal Council is Carlo’s institution for overseeing nobles. Nobles remaining outside the Royal Council indicates they are unwilling to be monitored by Carlo.
Regarding Spain’s extensive noble class, Carlo has long decided to act soon, at least to solve some of the problems they pose.
Nobles hold too much land in Spain, and through these lands, they control part of the agricultural population, thereby influencing the government.
Spain’s main nobles might be manageable, but it’s the Catalan and Basque nobles that are a primary source for promoting regional autonomy.
Holding the lands of Spain while secretly pushing regional autonomy, this is something Carlo absolutely cannot accept.
Looking at Spain in the future, regions have become autonomous communities, greatly decentralizing the power of the Spanish Government. Fortunately, Spain can still maintain its legal unity through Monarchy, and coupled with Spaniards being the majority of the population, Spain barely maintains its stability and unity.
But this allowed Catalans to exploit the loopholes, even holding a referendum to express their desire for independence in the 21st century.
Facts have proved that being merciful to these nobles and separatists is completely ineffective. Give them autonomy, and their next thought is complete independence from Spain.
Even Spanish nobles would breed corruption and other series of harmful actions against the nation. Carlo has no positive feelings for those nobles who do not stand with him; his sole thought is to find an appropriate opportunity and reason to handle them.
Currently, colonizing the highlands of the Congo River Basin is indeed a good time, at least to reclaim some land from the nobility.
How to reclaim the land?
Of course, by exchanging Spanish land with land from the Congo River Basin. The Congo Territory is Carlo’s property, so Carlo can certainly promote the exchange of land between the nobles and the Royal Family.
