Chapter 2186： 3 cents and 1 tax?

Remember [New] for a second,! Martin Luther admired the "Professor Calvin" strategy, and decided to discredit the indulgences according to Calvin's ideas before posting his theses.

However, after frowning for a while, Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, suggested:

"I think it's better for you to post your thesis first. In this way, after the reputation of the indulgence is damaged, you can appear to be looking forward. This way, it will be more conducive to your reputation..."

James Bond immediately objected:

"But, Lord Elector, will this be too dangerous?"

Hardening the indulgence in advance can easily be "shot out of the blue" when it is in its prime. And after the indulgence is questioned by the public, it will be more inconspicuous. It is considered a fish in troubled waters, and it is not easy to be caught.

Frederick III waved his hand and said:

"I'm not asking him to post the current Ninety-Five Theses, which is a bit of a suicide attempt. What I mean is, let him first follow your statement, use the mildest way, and question the role of the indulgence first. Questioning whether the indulgences are just a way to make money. When the indulgences are questioned, I will secretly promote Martin's original 'wisdom', which can greatly improve his reputation."

The hot-blooded young Martin Luther raised his hand against:

"But Lord Frederick, I don't care about reputation, I only pursue the truth..."

Frederick III interrupted him:

"No, Martin, you need fame. That way, the next time you post Ninety-Five Theses, no one will believe you. Otherwise, if you're not famous, why would anyone believe you?"

Martin Luther was silent, apparently agreeing with Frederick III's statement.

Then Frederick III said:

"Also, Martin, your Ninety-Five Theses need to be changed, as Calvin said, you must support the nobility to lead the collection of tithes. Only then will you get most of the lords There are many princes and lords who support and bless you, and even the Holy See cannot kill you at will. Under the turbulent crowd and the fact that the nobles have an army to protect you, even the Pope will at most excommunicate you, but not be able to kill you. You are arrested and taken to Rome, tied to a post and burned to death."

Frederick III was an old politician, and he knew very well that the church was also bullying. Also, the Pope is only a spiritual leader, not a secular ruler, and cannot take violent measures against someone. Unless, that person has no background and is slaughtered. A simple scholar can't fight against the Holy See, but behind the big nobles, and a group of big nobles, the church can't be rough.

Frederick III is right. In the original history, apart from the fact that Leo X just came to power and was busy grabbing power, Frederick III, the great emperor, gave Martin Luther asylum, and it was Martin Luther who avoided being killed. important reason.

Another great scientist, Bruno, was burned to death because he had no shelter. But Galileo, another super-science leader who also supported the heliocentric theory, was not burned to death, but was imprisoned. why? Because Pope Urban VIII was a friend and admirer of Galileo. Although the two parted ways because of their standpoints, Urban VIII, a former friend and fan, gave Galileo a way to live without burning him.

Fortunately, Martin Luther had the blessing of Frederick III, Elector of Saxony. Therefore, he will not die, at most be expelled from the church. And if he clearly supports tithing by monarchs, princes and lords instead of the church, I am afraid that most of the nobles will be friendly to him. Worst of all, I will not oppose him. Because it's a matter of personal interest. In particular, Maximilian I, the poor emperor, definitely looked forward to taking over the tithe collection of the church. Because, the Habsburg family is too short of money...

...

However, after thinking about it for a few days, Frederick III changed his mind-he felt that Calvin's idea of ​​letting monarchs, princes and lords replace the church to collect tithes was too radical and might cause a violent backlash from the church. At present, the church has not gone through religious wars, and its influence is still very strong. Competing directly with the church for tithing may have more serious consequences than opposing the sale of indulgences. Because tithes are the main source of income for the church and are much more important than indulgences.

"Well, when you publicize in the future, you will say that the nobles, the local church and the Holy See will share the tithe equally. The reason is that the local church is too corrupt and cannot pay enough tithes to the Holy See. If When the nobles get involved, they can help supervise the local church. Even if one-third of the tithing is paid to the Holy See, it is far more than it is now," suggested Frederick III.

"Give a third to the nobles? Will they be too little?" Calvin frowned.

Frederick III waved his hand and said:

"A lot, I am an elector of Saxony, and the annual tithe is as high as several hundred thousand gold coins. One third, there are two or three million gold coins. Besides, we can't be in a hurry. As long as there is a beginning, nobles Once you can intervene in tithing, you will be able to gradually empty the church in the future, and eventually get all the tithing. The most difficult thing now is to put your hand into the tithing. As long as the opening is opened, it will be easy to handle later. "

Frederick III deserves to be an old fox. He knows that if he wants to fight for all the tithes at once, it will definitely trigger a violent backlash from the church. So, he didn't want it all at once. Moreover, he is also familiar with the contradiction between the Holy See and the local church. That is, a very small percentage of tithes goes to the Holy See.

Because, Frederick III once also served as a priest, and later because of the incompetence of his younger brother, he returned home to inherit the seat of the elector. He knows that the church is very dirty right now. Many local churches withhold most of the tithe. Then, bribe the Holy See to the cardinal in charge of his diocese. In this way, a lot of tithes can be exempted. The reason is easy to find - natural disasters... The Holy See is not an FBI and will not send people to investigate...

And the cardinals only care about making money for themselves, and don't care how much tax the Holy See can receive. If you should have handed over 100,000 gold coins to the Holy See, as long as you give 10,000 gold coins to the cardinal in charge, he can collect the money to do things, help you find excuses, and avoid most of the tithing, or even all, as long as you give enough... …

Frederick III proposed a three-point tithing for the nobility, the Holy See and the local church, and the nobility supervises and implements the collection of tithes, which can increase the Holy See's tithe revenue by a large amount. Because now the Holy See can get tithes everywhere, far less than one-third of the level. If all the dioceses honestly handed over one-third of the tithe to the Holy See, the Holy See would have issued it long ago.

Therefore, Frederick III, who was familiar with the church, proposed a three-point tithing plan for the nobility, the Holy See and the local church. The cardinals of the local church and the Roman Cardinals may object, but the Pope will never. Because this will greatly increase the taxation of the Holy See. That's far more than Bishop Giovanni's peddling of indulgences, and long-term stability. After all, indulgences are sold in waves, and the sales volume is uncertain, after all, it depends on the mood of the buyer? It cannot be forced to sell and the tithing is compulsory. Unless there is a natural disaster, the annual income is very stable, and the gap between the upper and lower levels is not large.

As long as it is a clever pope, it is easy to calculate the gains and losses. And the current Pope Julius II is not only smart, but also strong. As long as it is beneficial to the Holy See, I am afraid that His Majesty the Pope will not care about the opposition of the local church, and the opposition of the cardinals is useless. Because, the Pope is lifelong and does not worry about being impeached by the cardinals. Changing a relatively weak pope may not make this exception, but Julius II is obviously an exception...

In this way, the Pope is happy, the nobles are happy, the three parties agree, and the combination is no worse than the local church, and there is still a chance to succeed.

For example, in the German region, regardless of the number of bishops, the bishops were elected by bribes. After taking the position, they knew that they would work hard to make money, and they would not be willing to spend a lot of money to maintain a strong army. The nobles are different, they tend to pay more attention to the military than the bishops who only care about making money, and they have more troops. Therefore, even though there are many bishopric states in the German region, the combined military strength is definitely not as strong as that of the secular vassal states.

The Pope has a righteous reputation, and the nobles have soldiers. Adding the two together, the local church has to weigh it...

And those nobles who are generally not financially good will definitely dare to fight for the one-third of the tithing. After all, this money is stable and abundant, who doesn't get jealous?