Synod

News of the successful Bregenz transaction reached Vienna, and Laszlo was not surprised by this expected outcome. What truly made him anxious now was the Pope's choice.

He was unsure whether Pope Pius II would choose to join the Empire.

Compared to his determination, William, who had already arrived in Rome, seemed quite perplexed.

He presented the Emperor's letter to Your Majesty in the Vatican, and Pope Pius II appeared very surprised after reading the letter.

He repeatedly flipped through the pages of the letter, his brows furrowed into a knot.

This made William's heart leap into his throat. Although he didn't know what the Emperor had written in the letter, the Pope's reaction was enough to indicate that it was not something easily accepted.

Nicholas clutched the letter in his hand, a storm raging in his heart.

What on earth does the Emperor want to do? He actually wants to invite Your Majesty to join the Empire?

He questioned himself inwardly, trying to find an answer.

As an excellent scholar, Bishop, theologian, reformer, and diplomat, he was more outstanding than most Popes, which also allowed him to see deeper things.

In the end, he only got an answer he was unwilling to accept—the Emperor wanted to completely control the Papacy to achieve his political goals.

Nicholas could not even imagine what kind of uproar such an action would cause throughout Europe.

As Your Majesty, as a member of the Church, he could accept an equal partnership with the Emperor, providing assistance to the Emperor in areas that would not harm the Church's interests.

However, he could not agree to such a request, neither morally nor logically.

But, if he refused outright, it would certainly affect his relationship with the Emperor.

Nicholas almost immediately thought of how to handle this matter.

"Your Excellency, William."

"Your Majesty, what is your reply?"

"This matter is extremely important, and I cannot make an immediate decision. Please stay in Rome for a few more days; I will give you a reply once I have made my final decision."

"This... alright," William said helplessly, "I will await your summons."

William left the Vatican Palace, and Your Majesty immediately dispatched many envoys to various parts of the Papal States. He intended to seize this opportunity to convene a synod covering the entire Papal States.

He planned to let the Bishops decide this matter through voting, which would also serve as proof of his unwavering commitment to Church reform.

In fact, after he was elected Your Majesty, voices of doubt came from all over Europe, and many former colleagues accused him of abandoning his original intention and doing nothing.

As a leading figure of the conciliar reformists, Nicholas had clearly expounded the conciliar theory in "on catholic harmony," which he submitted during the Council of Basel in 1433.

In the article, he expressed rather sharp views.

He believed that all Christians were the ultimate legal source of the entire Church organization itself, and Your Majesty and clergy at all levels were merely institutions or servants of the Church.

The Church exists by divine and natural law, and its administrators must obey natural law, divine law, and canon law.

The power of Christian believers originates from Christ, and the power of all believers is greater than the power of individual believers. The General Council of all believers has higher authority and greater power than Your Majesty.

The representatives of the believers are the secular rulers and diocesan Bishops, who gather to deal with local Church affairs and refuse Your Majesty's interference, thereby limiting Your Majesty's power.

This article later became the theoretical pinnacle of conciliarism.

The Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges issued by King Charles VII in 1438 and the Pragmatic Sanction of Mainz issued by Albrecht II in 1439 were both based on Nicholas's theories to limit Your Majesty's power.

In France, almost all these proposals were transformed into the kingdom's laws, and Your Majesty could no longer control anything in France.

King Charles VII neither needed to pay an annual fee to Your Majesty nor could he appoint Bishops in various dioceses within France himself.

He even dared to take a cut of the Church's tithes, and Your Majesty was powerless to stop him.

The situation in the German Empire was much better. Albrecht II, after all, needed Your Majesty's support to resist the Ottoman attacks.

Therefore, the German Empire only carried out relatively restrained reforms, and Your Majesty's control over the German Empire's religious affairs remained strong.

Now, the leader of the reformists had ascended to Your Majesty's throne with the Emperor's support. The German people, clergy, and some princes who longed for reform all cheered, "God bless!"

They hoped for a Church reform that would spread from Rome throughout Europe.

However, a year passed, and the new Your Majesty only carried out very limited, insignificant reforms in Rome.

There was no movement at all regarding reforms to reduce Your Majesty's power.

People only assumed that the Italian War had delayed the reform process.

Even so, the number of people questioning Pope Pius II was increasing daily.

In a church in Rome, Bishops from various dioceses of the Papal States took their seats in order according to the size of their respective dioceses.

Since Pope Pius II had not yet appeared, these Bishops, who had been inexplicably summoned to Rome, began to converse with their colleagues sitting next to them.

The vast majority of them were Italians, and they knew each other, so they had many common topics.

However, what was most often discussed was Your Majesty's past stance.

"Recently, I reread another masterpiece by Your Majesty, and it was truly 'enlightening.'"

The voice of a Bishop reached William's ears, who was observing the meeting. He immediately pricked up his ears, intending to listen carefully to what these Bishops were saying about Your Majesty behind his back.

Those Bishops did not notice that their conversation was being overheard, and each of them wore a knowing smile.

"Let me guess, you read 'On Learned Ignorance'?"

"You mean that heretical theory that promotes Pythagoras?

That book was indeed amazing. After that, almost every article by Your Majesty played with numbers.

If he took off that luxurious papal robe, I think he would proudly call himself a mathematician or an astronomer.

How can he assert that the sun is the center of the universe and say that the universe is infinite? This is simply fanciful!

This book 'On the Holy Spirit' that I read is no less surprising; he actually believes that true knowledge can also be found in those uneducated, crude people."

"Just as he once loudly proclaimed at the Council of Basel: 'Truth is simple and plain; it can be proclaimed loudly in the marketplace.'

My goodness, I still remember the scene at the time; he was practically the leader of the reform—who knew that two years later he would defect to Pope Eugene IV and never mention Church reform again."

"Even so, his 'on catholic harmony' caused immeasurable damage to the Church.

I heard he ran for Your Majesty to implement reforms. When that happens, those poor Germans in the Empire will be happy,

but we won't get a single penny.

I can hardly imagine why the Cardinal College would choose a heretic, a reformist, to be Your Majesty.

How did he become a Cardinal?"

"I just said, he abandoned the ideal of reform and threw himself under Your Majesty's banner, which is why he was made a Cardinal, the only German to serve as a Cardinal... Perhaps all of this is his disguise,

that would be too terrifying."

"I don't think he has the intention to push for reforms.

After all, according to his own theory, the first step in reforming the Church is to limit his power as Your Majesty.

Think about it, if Your Majesty loses the power to control the Church, wouldn't he just be the Bishop of Rome?

He certainly wouldn't dare..."

William was listening with great interest when he suddenly realized that these talkative Bishops had all fallen silent.

He turned his head and saw that Pope Pius II had appeared on the pulpit.