Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 123: The Issue of Dominance (Part )
The biggest problem Chen Xi faces when facing national religion is the gap in size.

It was true that he was the Inquisitor, and even falsely he could call himself the High Lord of the Cursed, the Emperor's chosen one, his counterfeit.

But the problem is that he is just a planetary governor and the power he can use is very limited.

In particular, the most useful combat force in his hands now is the combat nuns, which is the armed force under the state religion system.

Although the State Church's jurisdiction over the Sisters of Battle is only nominal.

(The Mother Superior and the Pope of the State Religion are of equal rank, both are High Lords)
"The most direct question is, if we come into conflict with the state religion, which side do you think the Sisters of Battle will side with? Even if you can control the Order of the Holy Rose, don't forget the Ebony Chalice. The best outcome will be a civil war between the two orders, or a standoff between them." Guterres analyzed the situation and offered a less optimistic assessment: "The more likely scenario is that as soon as you voice your opposition to the state religion, they'll drag you into the square and burn you with a smelter."

"Yes, although there are some conflicts and problems between the Battle Sisters and the state religion, matters of faith are not to be taken lightly." Chen Xi also nodded in agreement.

After all, in the 40k era, if loyalty is not absolute, it is absolutely not loyal, and the same applies to faith.

Religious beliefs are extreme, and the reason why combat nuns are ridiculed as crazy women is because they are really extreme believers of the state religion and are very crazy about their beliefs.

And there is an even more crucial point. The comparison of Chen Xi's strength with that of the state religion is roughly the difference between a small lord in the Middle Ages and the Roman Catholic Church in its heyday.

Others can start a Crusade with just one shout, but you can only summon a few old farmers with dung forks, and the knights and maids around you are all from the church.

Moreover, these old farmers are most likely church believers and will stab you for their faith.

Therefore, facing the trend of state religion, Chen Xi actually did not have the capital to conflict with the state religion.

"And to be honest, it's like we're doing business with the Ecclesiarchy. We have our differences on the direction of the company, but we haven't reached the point of falling out." Perhaps because he's a businessman, Guterres is very open-minded about this matter: "The Ecclesiarchy wants to build a shrine world and vigorously develop the Rostov sub-sector, which is in our interests.

Now there is a conflict between you and the state religion, and the most fundamental reason is the issue of dominance.

You believe that the Ecclesiarchy is trying to seize your dominance and will cause you to lose control of the Rostov sub-sector.

But you overlooked one point: in 40k, imperial religion is a necessity. As a planetary governor, you should find a way to control the state religion, not conflict with it."

Guterres offered an analogy: "It's like having a financial backer who supports you in starting a business, giving you real money and resources. But now they're conflicting with your direction of development. Do you abandon them and go it alone, or do you hold back and discuss things?"

"Okay, I know everything you said, but I just can't accept the state religion trying to decide the development direction of the Rostov sub-sector without my permission. This is unacceptable to us." Chen Xi used 'we' instead of 'I'.

Guterres did not deny this, but said affirmatively: "Yes, we cannot accept it, but things can still be discussed, right?"

Yes, things can still be discussed.

The root cause of the conflict between the two sides lies in the issue of dominance.

What Chen Xi wants is to develop a sub-star region based on Rostov II. This will be the base camp that he will focus on building. Of course, it is impossible for him to let the state religion have the final say.

But one unavoidable fact is that the state religion is currently Chen Xi's biggest financial backer. They have invested huge amounts of money and resources, and have also attracted a large number of combat nuns and pilgrims. These are all important factors in promoting the development of the planet.

Of course, the Ecclesiarchy also had a problem they couldn't avoid: Chen Xi and the Emperor's Blessing of the Holy Wine aboard the Rostov II were likely bound together. The Holy Wine could only be produced on the Rostov II. Therefore, Rostov II was bound to become a holy site. This was a consensus between Chen Xi and the Ecclesiarchy, and a holy site would also be a good thing for Chen Xi.

After all, with the holy land, there will be a steady flow of population and capital in the future, which is good for the development of sub-star regions.

What he couldn't accept was the shrine world and the idea that the state religion would subsequently turn the entire sub-star region into a religious world.

In fact, this kind of thing is not a problem for the empire. Even many of the empire's newly opened star regions and expansion zones were conquered bit by bit by the priests of the state religion.

Some say that Rogue Traders are the empire's last vestiges of progress, which is both true and false.

Rogue Traders have indeed been opening up frontiers for the empire, but they are pursuing profit.

It was the state religion that truly brought these newly opened star regions under the rule of the Empire and maintained the stability of the Empire's rule over these newly opened worlds.

Some star regions are even the result of preaching by state religion priests.

The Sisters have a branch called the Naturalized Sisters, whose mission is to infiltrate the newly discovered human world and subvert its native religion.

One of their common practices is to forge various evidences to prove that local religious beliefs are branches of the state religion, and that the gods believed by the locals are the incarnation of the Emperor. Polytheism will also correspond various secondary gods with the saints of the empire.

It will only take one or two generations for the world to forget its former heretical beliefs and embrace the Empire's orthodox state religion, and then smoothly join the Empire and become its obedient citizens.

If we really talk about how much the state religion has opened up for the empire, it is far superior to the Rogue Traders.

So in the 40k world, the state religion hopes to build a shrine world to facilitate the development of new star regions. This is a very normal thing for the empire.

Even normal imperial planetary governors would welcome this, and only those governors who were worried that the state church would affect their own power would oppose it.

But generally speaking, such opposition will only turn into a meaningless struggle in the face of the trend of state religion.

After all, the state religion really has money and people, as well as power and influence, and even soldiers and assassins.

There are many benefits to cooperating with the state religion, and most people will quickly face the reality and enjoy the benefits of cooperating with the state religion.

The very few who fail to recognize reality will be replaced by the state religion through various means. If they cannot be replaced, the state religion also has plenty of ways to politically undermine them.

At present, the old bishop is still willing to cooperate and talk with Chen Xi. The attitude of the state religion can be described as very friendly.

"It seems we still have to talk!" After Chen Xi let out a long sigh, he decided to put aside his personal emotions and focus more on interests first.

　There will be another update in the evening

　　
　
(End of this chapter)