Inefficient Conference

The third Grand Duke Conference of this century officially opened.

Following the old methods of the Constance Conference and the Basel Council, Pope Pius II also divided the entire conference into four committees.

At the Constance Conference, for the sake of fairness, Emperor Sigismund requested the Pope to divide four national delegations, representing German, France, Northern Italy, and England.

At the Basel Council, the Pope improved this division method, dividing the conference into four committees handling different affairs.

Pope Pius II imitated the old method of the Basel Council, dividing some participants into four committees according to certain rules.

The "Theology Committee" was responsible for matters related to religious belief, including discussions on religious scriptures.

The "Reform Committee" was responsible for handling matters related to church reform.

The "Peace Committee" was responsible for ensuring widespread peace within secular spheres of influence, and missionary work in the Balkans was also handled by this committee.

The "Organization Committee" was responsible for organizing general meetings and handling relations between various parties.

Each committee had its own responsibilities, tasked with compiling the opinions of all participants, submitting them to the Pope after review, and forming new resolutions for a general assembly vote after the Pope's approval.

Both the general assembly and the committee meetings adhered to the basic principle of the minority submitting to the majority.

Resolutions passed by the general assembly had to be deliberated by the four committees, and at least three committees had to approve the resolution for it to officially take effect.

In the conference hall, the atmosphere was solemn and fervent.

The first general assembly's topic of discussion sparked great controversy: whether the sale of indulgences should be abolished.

A rather young scholar, visibly agitated, stood up and said in a booming voice, "Indulgences were originally a form of spiritual absolution granted by the church to believers, but now they have become a tool for accumulating wealth. This is simply a blasphemy against faith!"

He grew more excited as he spoke, waving his hands in the air: "Believers are misled into thinking that they can atone for sins simply by spending money, neglecting inner repentance and true spiritual practice.

This behavior severely damages the holy image of the church and causes deep dissatisfaction among the common people towards the church."

As soon as he spoke, it resonated with many people.

A cleric from France stood up and added, "For over a hundred years, the method of temporal absolution has been abused as a means for the church to accumulate wealth, and the sale of indulgences has become increasingly rampant.

People, in order to atone for their sins, spent all their wealth to buy indulgences, and most of this money went into the pockets of high-ranking church officials, used for their extravagant lives.

This violates the teachings of Christ and deviates from the original intention of the church.

If this continues, the church will lose the trust of the people."

However, the opposing voices were clearly stronger.

An Italian cardinal frowned and sternly retorted, "Indulgences have deep theological foundations; they are a way for the church, when a sinner's good deeds are insufficient to fully atone for sins, to grant merit from the treasury of merits to offset the debt of sin.

A bishop has the right to remit some sins, and the Pope has the right to remit all sins; this is the power of the church and a duty bestowed by God.

If indulgences are abolished, how will believers obtain the remission of sins?

And how will the church carry out its mission of saving souls?"

His tone was very firm, making one believe that he truly spoke out of adherence to traditional doctrine.

However, his body was bloated, like a small mountain that could collapse at any moment, and when he moved, his fat jiggled, and his steps were heavy and dragging.

His bishop's robes tightly wrapped his corpulent body, and the gold embroidery was stretched and deformed by his physique.

He wore a dazzling golden cross on his chest, and his entire attire looked expensive.

This caused his speech to completely lose its persuasiveness.

Nevertheless, many more bishops expressed opinions against abolishing indulgences.

Many insisted that forgiving sins was the responsibility and duty of the Catholic, and that they were not trying to extract money from believers.

Both sides argued back and forth, each sticking to their guns.

The side supporting abolition emphasized the negative impact of the abuse of indulgences, arguing that the church should return to pure faith and achieve salvation by guiding believers' inner spiritual practice.

The side opposing abolition, however, clung tightly to the theological theory behind indulgences, believing them to be an indispensable means of salvation for the church.

The first round of the conference drew to a close amidst fierce debate, with clerics and scholars speaking passionately and arguing intensely, some even pulling out the Bible to quote scriptures and try to persuade their opponents.

Those who supported abolishing indulgences hoped to use this opportunity to weaken the power of high-ranking church officials and change the current corruption of the church.

Opponents, on the other hand, worried that abolishing indulgences would shake the authority of the church and disrupt its traditional order.

Laszlo and Pope Pius II sat side by side on the stage, observing the fierce debate.

"It seems no useful results will come out of this in a short time."

Laszlo shook his head helplessly, feeling slightly disappointed by this religious conference.

Pope Pius II, however, was not so pessimistic; on the contrary, he seemed somewhat excited, as if the reform had already succeeded.

He comforted him, "Let's see what happens later; there will be many more opportunities. Back then, in this very hall, I debated with those Greeks about a single word in the Bible for thirteen meetings, and then several more times after going to Florence, and ultimately, those Greeks chose to yield."

Laszlo curled his lips and spoke the truth bluntly: "If it weren't for the assistance of the Western Crusade, those Greeks would have argued with you until the end of time. The same principle applies to the current problem. If no one puts a knife to the necks of those greedy parasites, I'm afraid this reform won't achieve anything."

"It's up to us," Pope Pius II still held hope, "I believe they will eventually understand our painstaking efforts."

"I hope so."

Laszlo sighed, stood up to bid farewell to the Pope, and then left the venue.

Over the next week, the conference convened twice more, each time filled with meaningless arguments.

By the third meeting, Laszlo had had enough of these formalities.

He wished he could order the Imperial Guards to storm into the hall and arrest all the bishops who defended indulgences, hanging them one by one from trees by the roadside.

But he could only think about it; if he actually did that, he would probably immediately become a public enemy.

He did admire the old Pope Pius II, because the Pope actually condescended to personally debate with the opponents today, which was precisely his area of expertise.

Unfortunately, the opposition also had reasons to speak; they sold indulgences, and those who bought indulgences still had to kneel at their feet and thank them for forgiving sins.

No one wanted to go to hell after death, and the Pope wanting to abolish indulgences was simply pushing everyone into hell.

"Laszlo, there probably won't be any different results today."

Leonor sat beside Laszlo, having completely lost her earlier interest in this Grand Duke Conference.

Laszlo also realized that the conference had almost completely entered garbage time.

Some even brought up old matters, using past events from the Basel Council to attack Pope Pius II, attempting to shake the Pope's authority.

Laszlo maliciously speculated, "When 'justification by faith' comes out, these people will be honest."

Leonor asked curiously, "What does 'justification by faith' mean?"

"'Justification by faith' is... it's a scripture," Laszlo almost blurted out the Protestant doctrine, but managed to stop himself in time. He turned to Matthias, who was standing by, and asked, "Matthias, let me test you, where is this scripture from?"

"Your Majesty, this passage is from the epistles of Saint Paul in the New Testament, explaining the relationship between faith and salvation. We need to rely on faith in Jesus to wash away original sin."

"Good."

Laszlo looked at Matthias, who already looked like a scholar, and felt quite satisfied.

After a year of study in Northern Italy, his administrative ability had once again improved, reaching the upper limit of 6 points. "Look at these greedy fellows, their sins cannot be cleansed even if they descend to the eighteenth layer of hell," Laszlo felt only disgust for these fat-headed clerics. "Out of sight, out of mind. We should leave the day after tomorrow; tomorrow, Borso is holding a banquet at the Ferrara Marquis's residence to see us off."

"There's a banquet?" Leonor's mood visibly brightened. "Well, it seems this trip wasn't so bad after all."

Laszlo smiled faintly, not continuing to speak; he now somewhat regretted making this trip.

A portion of the Imperial bishops and scholars he had won over indeed expressed firm support for the Pope's proposal, but they couldn't overcome the fact that the opposition held the majority.

After the third vote failed, Pope Pius II was forced to announce the temporary postponement of the discussion on indulgences, to first discuss other topics.

Laszlo boarded the carriage returning to Vienna from Ferrara, even abandoning the idea of touring Milan.

This Grand Duke Conference, so far, seemed meaningless.

At the banquet hosted by the Marquis of Ferrara, Laszlo proposed a slightly more lenient condition to Pope Pius II.

That was, he could allow the sale of indulgences within the Empire, but the quantity of sales must be limited, and a portion of the revenue must be given to the Emperor afterwards.

Pope Pius II was not very interested in this proposal.

After all, as long as the loophole for selling indulgences remained open, someone would always find a way to exploit it.

Moreover, sharing some of the indulgence revenue with the Emperor would only further prove that indulgences were a business, wouldn't it?

If this were truly implemented, the authority and face of the Catholic would be completely lost.

Pope Pius II wanted to improve the Catholic, not destroy it.

Laszlo was indeed his financial backer, but it was impossible for him to unconditionally betray the interests of the Catholic for the Empire.

Laszlo could only reluctantly accept the fact that he had spent over a month traveling all the way to Florence just to listen to meaningless debates and quarrels.

Finally, he entrusted the task of safeguarding Austria's religious interests to the Bishop of Vienna, and he himself returned to Vienna with his mobile court.

According to previous practice, the Council of Constance lasted for 4 years, while the Basel-Ferrara-Florence Grand Duke Conference lasted for a full 14 years.

This Ferrara Grand Duke Conference would likely also last for several years, perhaps even until Pope Pius II's death, and then disband on its own.

Sitting in the carriage, Laszlo thought with some annoyance, if he hadn't dealt with the Hussites first, would the resistance to church reform now be much smaller?

After all, the core tenet of the Hussites was to simplify the sacraments, deny the efficacy of indulgences, and refuse to recognize the authority of the Pope and the Catholic.

Huss himself gained the respect and affection of the Bohemian by criticizing indulgences.

Now, he had eliminated the Hussite, and the clergy across the European continent seemed to have collectively forgotten, starting to renege on their words and wildly promote the wonders of indulgences.

People, they just remember to eat but not to be beaten.

Especially the clergy from France, Florence, and Iberia, who were not affected by the Hussite Wars, could naturally speak sarcastically.

The France mocked the fleeing Bohemian refugees as "Gypsies."

The Florence mocked the arrogant Emperor Sigismund for being repeatedly defeated by Jan Zizka.

People on the Iberian Peninsula were more concerned about the Muslim to their south.

But the Hussite expeditionary forces had indeed invaded Saxony, Austria, Bavaria, and Hungary, and the local clergy knew how much the small indulgence slips could drive people crazy.

However, many people, upon thinking of the Emperor's power and the demise of the Hussite, felt that selling a few didn't seem like a big deal.

Anyway, the Emperor would help them deal with all those rioters.

Sometimes people are so strange; when someone begins to sincerely repent, it's not necessarily because he understands his mistake, but perhaps because he knows he's about to die.

The same was true for these clergymen; it was just that they had been saved again, and thus could continue to accumulate wealth recklessly.

However, Laszlo only thought this to make himself feel better; if the Hussite were to truly revive now, that would truly be the death of him.

While progress on church reform was temporarily stalled, an unexpected piece of news cheered Laszlo up.

When the Emperor's entourage arrived in Aquileia for the second time, they happened to encounter a messenger from Vienna, bringing a significant piece of news.

Dietrich I, the Archbishop of Mainz, the Imperial Chancellor second only to one person and above all others, and the head of the Seven Electors, had passed away from illness.

The bishops of the Mainz Diocese were preparing to gather for an election to choose the new Archbishop of Mainz.

Laszlo keenly perceived this as a very rare opportunity, which made his previously quiet heart begin to stir again.

Previously, he had tried every possible way to dismantle the Elector alliance, but only the Archbishop of Trier had left the alliance under his persuasion, and the Archbishop of Cologne chose to side with him due to his conflict with the Archbishop of Mainz.

Despite this, the Elector Palatine alliance still held considerable influence within the Empire, which led to no progress in imperial reform.

However, now, the opportunity to dismantle the Elector Palatine alliance had appeared before him.

According to the Concordat of Worms, all bishops and archbishops within the Empire were to be elected by their dioceses.

After the election, the newly elected bishop had to receive dual approval from the Pope and the Emperor.

In the past, the Pope's approval was more crucial than the Emperor's; as long as the Pope's approval was obtained, the Emperor would have no choice but to recognize the bishop's legitimacy.

However, in 1439, Albrecht II, leveraging the aftermath of the Basel Council, issued the Pragmatic Sanction of Mainz, which strengthened the Emperor's control over bishops, placing it above the Pope's, forcing bishops to seek the Emperor's approval.

Through the Pragmatic Sanction of Mainz, Albrecht II greatly slowed down the process of church reform.

At that time, Albrecht II was busy dealing with the Ottoman threat and was skeptical of church reform; he believed that reform would inevitably touch upon the interests of some people, leading to social unrest, which he was unwilling to see.

Therefore, the process of church reform in the German region was delayed by twenty years.

However, the benefit of this Pragmatic Sanction was that it strengthened the Emperor's influence over the Empire's religious princes.

Even the Archbishop of Mainz, who was the head of the Empire's religious princes, could not escape the Emperor's constraints.

Now was a great time to use this power. Laszlo immediately dispatched several messengers: one returned to Ferrara to explain the election of the Archbishop of Mainz to the Pope and remind him to remain consistent with the Emperor.

Another messenger rushed back to Vienna to inform Eyczing to closely monitor the election of the Archbishop of Mainz, gather electoral intelligence, and await his return for a final decision.

Originally, Laszlo did not need to worry about being too slow to return and missing the election of the Archbishop of Mainz, because according to imperial law, the Emperor or an imperial representative had to be present for the election of an archbishop.

However, considering the Archbishop of Mainz's malice towards imperial reform and him as Emperor, Laszlo was still somewhat uneasy.

Ultimately, Laszlo decided to leave behind the slow-moving main army, not even taking Leonor, and only led a squad of light cavalry guards, riding fast horses to rush back to Vienna.

As long as a pro-Emperor Archbishop of Mainz could be supported, many thorny problems would be easily resolved.

This was a godsend opportunity; if he couldn't seize it, Laszlo wouldn't even have time to regret it.