[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rise-of-the-empire-spain":3,"chapter-rise-of-the-empire-spain-rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-55":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Rise of the Empire: Spain",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2364983,4632,"Chapter 55: Interest Exchange (Begging for Continued Reading)","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-55",55,"\u003Cp>Hearing Primo’s interrogation, Archbishop Pedro could not help but swallow hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prime Minister Primo still exerted a very strong sense of pressure, especially given that he had only recently quelled the Carlist rebellion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Archbishop Pedro certainly did not want to be a lamb led to the slaughter, but was there any good way to resist the Primo government at present?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the precedent of the Carlists before him, Archbishop Pedro had no confidence in the Church’s resistance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, that is not the case,\" Archbishop Pedro said hurriedly. \"I would certainly not resist the government; I am merely offering some views regarding the arrest of Church members.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bishop Pedro, I am already aware of your views. But the assassination incident is of great importance and requires a thorough investigation to determine if there is any suspicion,\" Prime Minister Primo said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Please wait patiently for a period of time. If those who have been arrested are found to have no suspicion, they will naturally return safely.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It requires a thorough investigation to determine if there is any suspicion? Hearing Prime Minister Primo say this, Archbishop Pedro almost wanted to laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the arrest work were truly so conscientious and responsible, how could so many Church members have been arrested?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was little evidence when making the arrests, yet complete evidence is required to prove innocence when releasing them? Is this not trying to fool a ghost?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, even if the investigation were completed and they were released, the police on the other side would still continue to arrest other Church personnel without end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arrest two for every one released; Archbishop Pedro did not think Primo was incapable of such a thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Prime Minister Primo, what exactly must be done to prove the Church's innocence? I swear to God that the Spanish Church absolutely did not participate in the plot to assassinate you; those arrested bishops are innocent,\" Archbishop Pedro said quite helplessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given the current situation, he had no choice; getting the government to abandon the arrests of Church members was the most important thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for whether to retaliate against the government's actions, relying solely on the Church's power would not suffice; the help of other forces would be needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And before that, reaching a temporary compromise with the government to ensure the Church could survive this assassination incident unscathed had become Archbishop Pedro's only thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you know, Pedro? Because of this assassination, much of the government's work has been delayed for a long time. I had originally planned to issue a second batch of industrial bonds; after the assassination incident, how could you expect the public to feel at ease buying government bonds?\" Prime Minister Primo said suddenly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Archbishop Pedro immediately understood what Primo wanted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To ensure the Church remained temporarily unscathed, Archbishop Pedro had no choice but to grit his teeth and offer up the Church's interests: \"Although I am certain the Church is unrelated to the assassination incident, as a Spaniard, how could I remain indifferent to the development of the nation?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I believe God would not wish to see this scene either. I am willing to represent the Spanish Church in purchasing the industrial bonds issued by the government and donate 2 million pesetas to the government.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Archbishop Pedro’s tactfulness satisfied Prime Minister Primo, but Primo’s goal was not these few million pesetas in funds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wealth accumulated by the Spanish Church over a long period was perhaps even more staggering than that of the Bourbon family; a few million pesetas was likely just a drop in the bucket for the Church.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, compared to this meager sum, Primo was more interested in the Church's land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, what use was there for the Church to control so much land? They used the government's low tax rates on Church land to hoard wealth frantically, then used that money to purchase even more land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the vicinity of Madrid alone, vast tracts of land were occupied by nobles and the Church, while the land in the hands of commoners had become the minority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was extremely detrimental to Spain's development. If these lands could not be reclaimed, it would seriously affect Spain's future development.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very well, Bishop Pedro. For God's sake, I am willing to believe in your sincerity. I will instruct the Madrid police department to conduct more detailed screening during arrests to avoid harming innocent people.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course, I will also have them carefully screen the arrested Church members, and if there are no issues, they will be released.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Someone will contact you when the time comes. I deeply apologize for the trouble caused to the Church, and I believe the matter will be satisfactorily resolved in the near future without wronging any Church member,\" Primo said with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once he confirmed that Archbishop Pedro was willing to sacrifice the Church's interests for the sake of those bishops, Primo had accomplished his goal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the more detailed negotiations with the Church on how to use money and land to bail out those Church members, that was not something Primo needed to do himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Prime Minister of Spain, Primo had more important things to do and would naturally not abandon other matters just for some of the Church's land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, those officials in the finance department were professionals at haggling; they would absolutely not let the government suffer a loss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Primo relent, Archbishop Pedro finally breathed a sigh of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Primo had insisted on arresting Church members, Archbishop Pedro truly would not have known what to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for resistance, the current Church did not have any particularly good means against the government. Perhaps they could incite some brainwashed believers to launch protests, but such protests would soon be suppressed by the government.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rebellion was even more impossible. Protests might attract commoners through brainwashing and deception, but it was impossible to trick commoners into a rebellion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Primo's reforms, the living standards of farmers and workers were slowly improving. Under these premises, farmers and workers were naturally not fools and would not stand up to oppose the Primo government.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Prime Minister Primo, may we also join in the investigation of this assassination incident?\" Archbishop Pedro asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Archbishop Pedro was well aware that the Church's heavy losses were unavoidable, which also made him very angry at the true mastermind behind the assassination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was one thing to carry out an assassination, but why did they have to draw fire onto the Church?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regardless of which force the mastermind belonged to, Archbishop Pedro had only one thought: to make that person or force pay a much heavier price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course you may, Bishop Pedro.\" Primo nodded with a smile, looking as if it were only natural: \"Being able to catch the mastermind behind the scenes sooner is for the best; it is beneficial to both the government and the Church.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It could not be denied that the Church remained a relatively massive force in Spain at this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To say they could resist the government, the current Church certainly could not. But if it were to investigate the assassination case, the Church could still play some role, at least by helping the government investigate the mastermind behind the assassination more quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second update, asking for support, asking for continued reading!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1226,"2026-06-25T09:27:12.995Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","99bf2f9cca5d5f3735ced84ca61ea8a69cc5781c13fac1b91f0ec7937a598fa4","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-56","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-54",493,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frise-of-the-empire-spain-cover.jpg"]