When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

#306 - Welcome the New Dynasty

Sitting at his walnut desk, Horn put down his quill, flexed his fingers, and frowned at the door of his study.

Several craftsmen stood at the entrance, installing a new door for the study.

Unlike the previous door, which Jeanne had smashed to pieces, this new door was intricately carved and inlaid with numerous gear patterns by skilled artisans.

Not just the door, but the decorations, tapestries, and furniture in the room were also adorned with chains and gears.

After the Joan of Arc Fortress City Hall became the temporary administrative center of the Papal States, it naturally had to make changes in form to distinguish itself from the Church.

New dynasty, new atmosphere, after all.

Another point was that the economic recession caused by the famine meant that people were already struggling to sell their houses, let alone decorate them.

As a result, many small workshops that made furniture and decorations were shrinking.

Horn's order, besides fulfilling his own needs, was also intended to slightly help these industries.

But for some reason, they always believed that these decorations with exposed gears and chains would be favored by the Pope.

Of course, these gears and chains weren't necessarily made of real iron; many were wooden or stone carvings painted with metallic paint.

This admiration for metallic colors and gears had been the prevailing market trend for some time.

The main reason was that, after the famine, the main group of people with spare money to buy these goods were the War Monks.

These War Monks were mostly roughnecks who liked shiny things.

Furthermore, War Monks had a deep affection for their Holy Rifles, especially the old, discarded ones they had taken to the battlefield.

They even regarded their Holy Rifle as part of their body, preferring to pay to redeem it rather than let Horn recycle and reuse it.

War Monks themselves had a habit of using discarded Holy Rifle parts, such as gears, as pendants and amulets.

When ordering clothes and hats from tailors, War Monks would always bring out these discarded parts, requesting the tailors to incorporate them into their clothing.

Some made walking sticks out of broken firing pins, while others used pawls as brooches.

To win over these "new knights," centurions, citizens, and wealthy merchants began to imitate the War Monks' attire.

This artistic trend, fueled by several workshops that received large orders and the sculptors they sponsored, successfully swept through the entire Kush Territory.

Thinking of this, Horn pulled a document from a precarious stack of files.

This was a report submitted by Abbot Chilvers of the Holy Scythe Monastery, stating that Isolde, a wealthy female merchant from Sour Gherkin Town, had suddenly donated 400 gold pounds to the Holy Scythe Monastery yesterday.

This wasn't an investment for shares, but a genuine donation.

This 400 gold pounds was almost a third of her fortune, accounting for more than half of her liquid assets.

Flipping to the end of the report, Armand, as his secretary, had also attached three related notes.

The first was that the widow had decided to give her transportation business to the Salvation Army for free.

The second was that the mayor of Sour Gherkin Town seemed to be plotting to seize her property.

The third was that the widow was trying to marry her daughter to Jeschke, and they had been meeting frequently recently.

After reading the three notes in order and reviewing Isolde's business categories, Horn picked up his quill and made a note.

"The first citizen and merchant to actively support us should be rewarded and supported as an example. Draft an order for 900 gold pounds for Salvation Army uniforms, dyed, and send Jeschke to negotiate."

Just as he put down his pen, wanting to rest for a while, the newly installed door was forcefully pushed open by Madelaine.

"Your Eminence, it's time for the regular meeting."

"I know." Horn pinched the bridge of his nose, stood up, and strode towards the meeting hall.

Since the centurion system reform, Horn had realized that the original small government structure was not suitable for running a population of 200,000.

So, he adjusted it once again, re-integrating the originally chaotic responsibilities and newly added functions.

Currently, the Senate and the College of Cardinals remain unchanged, with five courts and one institute under the College of Cardinals.

The Sacred Treasury Court, temporarily headed by Sisi, is responsible for a range of financial matters including taxation, budgeting, expenditure, and the formulation of economic laws.

The Court of Truth, headed by Madelaine, is primarily responsible for maintaining faith and doctrine, which, to put it bluntly, includes security, local administration, propaganda, and public construction.

The Court of the Gospel, headed by Busak, is mainly responsible for trade, evangelism, foreign exchange, and translation.

The Court of Exorcism, headed by Jeanne, is executed by Hakuto and Jeschke.

Its main function is to expel demons and counter heresy, which is basically warfare and preparing for warfare.

The Court of Judgment, headed by Martial, is responsible for judicial administration and law enforcement, and makes final judgments on cases.

The Privy Council, headed by Armand, is mainly responsible for Horn's and various clerical work, while also serving as an advisor.

In addition, there are some small organizations that are directly responsible to Horn himself, such as the Children's Army and the Society of the Holy Father.

The heads of these departments hold regular meetings every seven days to report on their work and develop plans, a habit that was formed back on Autumn Island.

After so much training and governance, the bishops and high-level officials who can stay on the front lines have basically been trained.

"Is everyone here?" As soon as he sat down, Horn opened the documents on the table, not even looking up.

"Everyone is here."

"Then let's begin." Horn raised his head. "Bishop Madelaine, let's start with you."

The development of the Kush Territory had been smooth during this time, and the bishops quickly finished their reports, and the regular meeting officially entered the main topic.

"That transportation company that accepted bribes has been found by the Cheka." Horn tapped the notes in his hand with his quill. "If there are no accidents, it should be those bandits."

"These bandits are really whimsical." Busak couldn't help but laugh.

Horn coughed softly: "Have you all read the Cheka's investigation report on the bandits?"

"I've read it." Madelaine frowned and said, "It's really hard to imagine that bandits are actually around us."

"That's why I always believe that eliminating bandits is not enough to rely on violence alone." Horn opened the investigation report on the bandits in his hand.

A low-level monk stood aside and read the document to the bishops present: "These bandits number approximately 500-800 people, with smaller groups of only a few dozen, and three main bandits, each with more than a hundred mounted bandits under their command.

The three bandits are Bloodfoot Defort, Blackscar Blackscar, and Beastman Grush.

Defort is the biggest speaker, acts cruelly, often attacks villages or kidnaps, and has countless lives under his command.

Blackscar is responsible for smuggling and black market sales, and also profits from usury. It is said that he has a lot of connections with Lower Ruif.

The weakest but most capable Grush is said to be mainly responsible for extorting wealthy merchants passing by and setting up private checkpoints, and is also responsible for defending the mountain寨.

However, his reputation is good, he rarely kills civilians, and his income is mainly from tributes. Many refugees who are forced to go to the mountains mostly turn to him."

"Now that the investigation is clear, does that mean we're going to fight?" Jeanne no longer wore the cumbersome lace dress like last time, but a fitted men's suit with a one-shoulder cape.

Horn asked in return, "Has the adjustment and deployment of the Legion been completed?"

Jeanne lowered her head, pulled out a few sheets of paper from the documents in front of her, and handed them to Horn.

According to this report, the Salvation Army's internal distribution, promotion, retirement, and replenishment issues have been prepared.

The Black Hat First Legion is personally led by Jeschke, after all, Victor's injuries are serious and he has not recovered yet.

The Black Hat Second Legion is led by Coleman, although he had an amputation, but his ankle is still there.

Hilov recently helped him design a brass gear prosthesis, except for not being able to run fast, it is almost no different from a normal person.

The Black Hat Third Legion is led by Zhuerdan, who is from Joan of Arc Fortress, originally a street cloth vendor, and was promoted for his outstanding performance in the Joan of Arc Fortress City battle.

The Black Hat Fourth Legion is led by Deputy Legion Commander Bruner, and Rudylo's injury has not healed yet and can only rest for now.

The Black Hat Fifth Legion is led by Momri, a veteran of the Red Mill Village opening service, and the Black Hat Sixth Legion is led by Joan of Arc Fortress's new companion, Barnaby.

"In that case, let's set off in three days, mainly with the Black Hat Third to Sixth Legions, to launch an attack on the bandits.

These legions are either new officers or new war monks, just right for training."