A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

The Sistine Chapel is closed in principle and has no information communication with the outside world.

But everyone knows that those cardinals are more powerful than each other!

Now it's a fight between gods.

The Governor, with his busy schedule, naturally ate slowly. In fact, he was writing a letter while he ate. It was about a bargain with a certain cardinal. This letter was so important that it required careful wording, every word carefully weighed.

At this moment, hurried footsteps were suddenly heard outside.

"Master!" The person who came in was a servant whom the governor trusted very much. His hurried footsteps and the expression on his face indicated that there was big news.

"What's going on? Is there white smoke coming out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel?" This time it was so fast.

According to past experience, the cardinals cannot elect a new pope without spending several months on this and making complicated deals and calculations.

"No, not yet..." The servant had clearly come all the way here at full speed. "I bring you another piece of news...from Smyrna!"

"In Smyrna..." the servant's words were halting due to excessive nervousness. "The winner has been decided."

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The governor stared at the other person, and from the other person's expression, he guessed that this should not be bad news.

As long as little Balbo is fine, no news is bad news to him.

"Who's winning?"

"The Knights won, and the Sultan had to retreat!"

"Ah..." The Governor looked surprised. This was a little unexpected, but not too outrageous.

The weather is getting colder, and if Sudan fails to capture it, it will have no choice but to retreat.

But the servant evidently had not yet finished his words.

"How did the Knights win?" he asked.

"There's news that the Knights won because they dispatched five protectorates at once, defeating the Sultan so badly that he was forced to retreat in disgrace."

The Governor had a look on his face that said, "Damn it, are you kidding me?" It was as if he had heard a joke that wasn't funny.

He now needs to bargain with those cardinals, and he doesn't have the time to entertain himself with boredom!

This is a job that requires full commitment.

Five protectors of the country!

Do you know what this means?

Although most of the dignitaries in this world believe that the Protectorate actually exists, it is just hidden.

From a rational point of view, a hidden national defense can indeed play a greater role than an open national defense and is more beneficial to the country.

But as the Doge of Venice, Balbo knew very well that protecting the country was definitely not as much as everyone imagined!

He may not know what’s going on in other countries, but he definitely knows the situation of the Republic of Venice like a family member!

The Republic has no national defense!

There are only a few half-step protectors, and most of them are hired at a high price! In other words, they are likely to run away in a critical moment!

Yes, although the Venetians are now the undisputed maritime overlords in the Mediterranean, proud of their powerful navy and known as the "Bride of the Ariadne", they do not have any national defender-level warriors in the country.

According to the intelligence he currently has, there are not many countries that can be sure of having national defense-level warriors.

Not long ago, he received reliable information that the Russians had found a new protector to serve them.

For this, the ruler of Rus, the Grand Prince of Kiev (the Rus people practiced a feudal system, and the Grand Prince of Kiev was nominally the Grand Prince of all Rus, but in fact only controlled Kiev), paid the price of a daughter.

Oh, and she’s not an ordinary daughter, but an illegitimate daughter!

This deal was like a pie in the sky, and he was extremely envious.

Not to mention an illegitimate daughter, even if it was a legitimate daughter, Governor Balbo would never hesitate for a second if she could be exchanged for a lifelong mission to protect the country.

Any time that exceeds half a second is a blasphemy and disrespect to this great grace bestowed by God!

But now, in the servants' mouths, the Protector of the Country seemed like the wild shrubs growing on the roadside.

If you're not careful, a bunch of them will pop up!

The Knights Templar have five protectors?

Ha, only if... the Pope sacrificed himself could he get so much protection for the country from the Knights!

"Although I've already said," Governor Balbo said, "that any news from the Knights be reported to me immediately." He looked at him with the authority of a superior. "But shouldn't you at least filter out any outrageous rumors?"

"I'm sorry, Governor, but..."

"In short, the Turks had to retreat, right?" The governor didn't want to bother with these unreliable rumors.

He could even guarantee that once the news spread, people would link it to the Pope's death.

Although Christianity does not emphasize martyrdom, the problem is that the vast majority of ignorant people like this!

The Pope gave himself to Christ for the victory!

Tsk tsk, just think about how explosive this rumor is, and how it suits the needs of the masses. Even the church won't deliberately refute it - because this rumor helps the church to mystify itself.

Although Governor Balbo knew that the Church (at least Rome) did not protect the country.

He didn't dare to guarantee it 100%, but at least he was somewhat certain!

Although it sounds absurd that the church that masters the art of divine revelation does not protect the country itself, this is the fact!

"Yes, that's certain." Of course, the servant didn't dare to talk back to the governor.

"They gave up the siege and retreated. It's said the Turks suffered heavy casualties, with over a dozen famous generals killed!"

"Their retreat was discovered by the Knights. Although they didn't pursue them, they still prevented the Turks from burning their camp and supplies... The Knights didn't have time to destroy a large number of Turkic artillery, food, and military equipment, and they were all captured."

The Governor nodded with satisfaction.

This kind of news is more reasonable - although it is a bit surprising, it will not make people feel that their IQ is insulted.

The Knights did build a fortified city and purchased an astonishing amount of weapons, equipment, food and supplies.

In total, millions, even tens of millions of florins were thrown in.

This information is transparent to him as the governor.

Judging from the resources invested, the Knights are well prepared for this battle, and there is a possibility that they will win.

"I still need to know some details." The Governor thought for a moment. "Find a suitable channel... No, I don't need any channel. Just help me write a letter and give it to the young master!"

Little Balbo is now here in Smyrna.

Thomas gave him the position of "standard bearer", which was a great honor for him.

This also means that the relationship between the two sides has eased.

Thomas killed the Republic's most capable team of spies, plus a half-step protector of the country.

But the Governor also sold Thomas's whereabouts to the Crescent Moon Cult, which almost cost him his life!

In the short term, neither side can do anything to the other, and direct fighting is not permitted by external conditions. Given this, the only option is to negotiate peace.

But the two sides did not really fall out.

Therefore, this kind of peace talk can only be tacitly understood by both parties.

Governor Balbo sent his son to the Knights Templar, and Thomas also gave the newcomer a relatively high position.

This was also the Governor's backup plan—if the assassination of Thomas succeeded, Balboa would have qualified as the next Grand Master. But if he failed, he would become a hostage, a symbol of reconciliation between the two sides.

Don't say this is unfair. This is already very fair.

If someone feels that this is unfair, it is because he fails to see the difference in strength between the Republic and the Knights.

Politically, that's how it is.

The two sides have now negotiated peace. Although no agreement has been signed, the main point is that they understand each other and see through each other without pointing it out.

Fortunately, although Thomas was not of noble birth, he also understood the rules of this political game.

The conflict between the Republic and the Knights ended here.

Therefore, there is nothing wrong with the governor writing a letter to his son.

"For the second young master?" asked the servant.

"Yes, give it to him. With my personal seal," Balbo said. It was always like that between father and son. Young Balbo didn't stay in Venice with his father all the time; he'd go elsewhere—usually to cause trouble. And when the trouble got serious enough, his father would write to him and ask him to come back.

The matter seemed to have come to an end, and the Governor could now devote more of his energy to the election of a new Pope. In fact, his attention returned to the unfinished letter he was still considering.

At this moment, as if possessed by some unknown force, he asked the servant, "Where did you get that news from?"

Chapter 325 Five Knights 5

"A fast ship from the east brought the news," the servant replied.

"A speedboat?" The weather was unpredictable this season, making it a bad time to go out to sea. However, this still couldn't stop people's desire for wealth.

"It stopped at Smyrna. It was one of the first ships to dock there after the war, maybe even the first!"

"You mean..." The Governor looked away from his half-finished letter. "Did the people on the ship go to Smyrna? What was that ship for? How many people were on board?"

"A fast ship used to carry messages between merchant guilds, naturally carrying a small amount of cargo," the servant replied. "This time, it's probably bringing some spices. There are eight people on board, and the owner is said to be French, speaking broken Italian. But he got drunk in the tavern last night and told everyone about this."

"He claimed that the Knights had received aid from Christ, and that five of them had become protectors of the kingdom. They were known as the 'Christian Paladins.' Acting as a group, they were invincible. Facing the might of these five protectors, the Turks were utterly terrified, and large numbers of them deserted. The Sultan was forced to retreat."

Governor Balbo frowned. It seemed like just a drunk fool talking nonsense over there.

But some intuition made him feel that he should verify this matter.

Although he did not protect the country, as the governor, he was very clear about the value of protecting the country!

Although it is said that one horse can defeat a thousand, defending the country does not mean having only a thousand soldiers.

Protecting the country is better than a thousand soldiers.

Protecting the country is roughly equivalent to a thousand soldiers only in the worst and most desperate circumstances.

One protector can protect a small country, but a thousand soldiers cannot do it.

In fact, the Guardians can no longer be considered as mere human beings.

And once the number accumulates... it will become even more terrifying.

Five protectors are much stronger than an army of 5,000 people.

"You would report to me a rumor that came out of a tavern like this?" he asked sternly.

"Master, I've asked that person to verify it." The servant answered cautiously.

"And the ship's owner?"

"He's outside. I brought him here."

The Governor was puzzled. "I will go see him immediately."

A few minutes later, he saw the man in his reception room.

A man who was dirty and drunk, but one could still tell that his clothes were of fine quality.

This was a common attire for small businessmen of this era.

If merchants on land can keep their clothes neat and tidy, merchants at sea do not care about this.

Of course, this person seemed timid in front of the governor and dared not look him in the eye.

"Are you from Smyrna?" asked the Governor.

"My ship passes by there." The man felt very uncomfortable facing the governor and didn't even know where to put his hands.

"The war is over?"

"It's over," the other man nodded repeatedly. "I also went to the Turkic camp... Now the Knights are slowly clearing out the Turkic camp and filling in the siege tunnels they dug. But by now, this work should be almost complete."

"Don't play dumb!" the servant beside him shouted angrily. "Say again to the master what you said to me before."

The small businessman was so frightened that he didn't dare to speak for a long time.

"Sir, I just heard..." He finally said this with a slight movement of his mouth. "I really just heard it."