Lao Kusen did not bring back more than 200 people, but only brought back 180 people. It turned out that some of the more than 200 priests with administrative experience had passed away or were too old to go out again. Most of the people who came back with Lao Kusen were middle-aged priests and didn't want to retire so early.
Marin did not blame Lao Kusen. After all, birth, old age, sickness and death are not something Lao Kusen can control. In his previous life, he had heard that some leaders aging quickly after retirement and their health began to be bad. Lao Kusen and others have been standing aside for six or seven years. Some people cannot accept such differences, and it is inevitable that their bodies will collapse.
With these 180 people, they can solve many things for Marin, although it is still far from enough. What surprised Marin was that these 180 people had previously held were generally more important. For example, Old Kusen directly participated in the core government affairs, so there is no need to mention. A 50-year-old priest named Arnold was the Finance Minister of the Bishop of Münster, and was one of the confidants of the former Bishop of Münster. Some others have also served in key departments such as personnel appointments, taxation, public security, and diplomacy.
It is precisely because they are in the key department but are not the new Bishop Conrad who is replaced. After all, these key departments must be in their own hands.
Moreover, after being replaced, these people were suppressed by Conrad. Their treatment became very poor in life. The higher the level before, the more severe the suppression they were. For example, Old Kusen and Arnold had their robes very worn. Obviously, their living conditions were very bad. Otherwise, they would not be in their forties or fifties, and they would have to look for opportunities.
Old Kusen was an assistant bishop before, but now he has been demoted to a priest. Moreover, he was also a priest who was exiled. Arnold was an auxiliary bishop before, but now he is a priest without real power.
Although these people had held important positions, Marin was not very clear about their abilities. So Marin selected a few monks who had held senior positions and held a symposium to listen to their opinions. At the same time, it was also a test of their abilities.
If you have good suggestions, you will naturally be reused by Marin. If you don’t have any skills, although Marin can use it, it will definitely be downshifted.
Arnold, who served as Finance Minister, made his first speech:
"Sir, according to my memory, there are 350,000 Yugrams (700,000 acres) of arable land in the Bishop of Munster, which is the economic lifeline of the Bishop of Munster. However, the distribution of these lands is very uneven. About 280,000 Yugrams are located in the South Münster region, and only 70,000 Yugrams are located in the North Münster region."
"However, most of the land of the church is concentrated in the South Münster area, and only 20,000 Yugram arable land in the North Münster area belongs to the church."
"The land of the church cannot be easily moved by secular princes. Therefore, although the Nanminster area is more prosperous, in fact, your rule here will be greatly restricted."
Marin nodded and asked deliberately:
"Father Arnold, the land of the church cannot move. But how should I move those non-church lands that originally had the Lord?"
"Red buy!" monk Arnold said affirmatively.
"Sir, there are no hereditary nobles in the Bishops of Munster, most of them are priests. The so-called nobles are only knights recruited by the 80 bishops from other countries. Other lands that do not belong to the church are actually in the hands of relatives of the powerful figures in the church."
"Relatives of the powerful people in the church?" Marin was a little surprised.
"Yes, relatives of the powerful people in the church. The monks in the church will not marry for life and have no descendants. However, they have their own families."
"Those church-powered figures often choose to help some down-and-out relatives in the family, even some illegitimate children, buy manors in the bishop's country to gain wealth."
"However, generally speaking, the estates purchased by the relatives of the church's real power figures are not permanently held. Generally speaking, when an archbishop dies and the real power figures of the bishop's state change, the ownership of these estates will also change."
Old Kusen next to him also nodded and agreed:
"Yes, a few years ago, when Lord Henry III was alive, some of the poor relatives of Arnold had owned several estates in the Bishop of Munster. But after Bishop Conrad took office, his favorite ministers asked their relatives to buy those estates from our relatives at a very low price."
"Yes, this is a potential rule in the Bishops of Munster. That is, the land rotation system. In the Bishops of Munster, the 100,000 Yugrams do not belong to the church, and there are about 50,000 Yugrams' farmland, which belongs to this kind of manor." Arnold continued.
"This kind of manor is basically a powerful and favored minister in the bishop's country. When paying tithes tax, the powerful and favored ministers often make excuses to prove that these manors have suffered disasters and make them pay as little tax as possible."
"And, the income of the manor does not belong to those powerful and favored relatives, but to half of the income belongs to those powerful and favored ministers, and the rest belongs to their relatives. This is also an important means of profit for those who are favored in front of the bishop. After all, 50,000 Yugram's cultivated land can support many people."
"This... this is really weird..." Marin has gained some knowledge.
"Generally speaking, there are 10,000 Yugrams in this 50,000 Yugrams, which belong to the bishop's relatives. The remaining 40,000 Yugrams will be divided by the relatives of the priests in power in the country according to their respective powers."
"So that's it..." Marin nodded.
10,000 Yugrams are only 120,000 acres of land. Half of the income of so much land belongs to the bishop himself. Even if he only gets 50 pounds of rye per mu, 120,000 acres of land can still obtain 6 million pounds of rye. The purchase price of the grain merchant at 0.8 per pound is also worth 80,000 gold coins.
"So, the reason why Bishop Conrad strongly resisted me to take over the Bishop of Munster is also related to the 10,000 Yugram's farmland?"
"Of course, 70,000 or 80,000 gold coins per year. Such wealth can make people take risks. The country of Ritberg is just a small poor country, and the land controlled by Count Ritberg may not be as much as 10,000 Yugrams. Basically, the income of Bishop Conrad in Bishop Munster and Bishop Osnabrück is the largest source of income for the Ritberg family."
"You entered the Bishops of Munster, and as usual, you must redistribute the ownership of 50,000 Yugrams. This is equivalent to affecting the interests of all the priests in power. Therefore, Bishop Conrad intends to fight hard."
Chapter completed!