living in 16th century england

Chapter 63 Unbreakable Alliance

Matthew said twice: "Dean, this is your fault."

Dean: "...?"

"You should have said earlier, I would have come earlier."

Both shameless people are talking nonsense with their eyes open.

The dean was also unambiguous, and said please come with me.

Even though Matthew has been here many times, he has never gone deep into the main building of the monastery~ the entrance is strictly guarded, and there are armed soldiers guarding it.

Coming to a corridor, Matthew found that the interior of this huge three-story stone building was actually a square, and so was the corridor.

In the middle is a wide patio with many plants.A circle of wooden benches is positioned against the wall.Some monks of various ages in black robes are resting.It looks like letting the wind go.The corridor is separated from these stools by a wall.The aroma of food could be smelled, and there was obviously a kitchen nearby.

There are stairs at all four corners, and Matthew followed the dean to the second floor.

The second floor is all connected rooms.There are no corridors, presumably limited to building technology.Only one room door can be set.People who come and go must pass through these rooms.

The consecutive rooms are floored libraries.Matthew had never seen so many books, and was a little amazed.

Books in this era are of high value, and the covers are often large, thick and beautiful.The materials may be expensive wood leather and metal, and many have paintings or patterns.It is a hundred times stronger than the current industrial products.

But the content is estimated to be just the opposite.

Dean: "I heard you can read?"

Matthew said with a smile: "Of course, when I was young, I wanted to come here to study secretly, but unfortunately I couldn't succeed."

The dean chuckled twice, and said thank you so much.It made Matthew a little confused.

The two ended up in what looked like an office.Beautiful furniture throughout the room.A work desk stands out in particular.Dude, it's on par with Henry VIII's office,
Dean: "Sit down... We don't actually have a lot of beer. It's not easy to sell this stuff in the local area. It's only a bit of a difference when it's shipped out."

"So most of them are for personal use. The profitable ones are actually spirits."

Matthew wondered: "Do you want to give me the spirits to sell?"

Whiskey is a luxury item in this day and age for the simple reason that there are too few of them.

The monks chose the upper route, seeking to obtain the greatest profit with the least amount of products.The underlying logic may not be imagined by modern people~ Isn’t it tiring to work more?

It is not uncommon in history that the more you buy, the more expensive it is.

"Large quantity favors the best" has only been a common phenomenon for hundreds of years.From the perspective of human history, this is actually abnormal.And it is the best commentary on some theories.

Therefore, in the era of capitalism, hard work naturally cannot make you rich, but at best improves your life.Your hard work only increases product competitiveness for capitalists.Ironically, this is often attributed to the capitalists.

What did the little dragon girl say?

"With such strength, he deserves to be a coolie for the rest of his life!"

There are not many monks who can produce spirits, and they keep it secret.So spirits and alcohol production is low and prices are high.

Of course, the monastery also has wine, but unfortunately the whole of the UK is not suitable for growing grapes. Compared with Bordeaux, Portugal and Spain, it has no advantage at all.Usually for religious purposes and personal use.

Then there are a bunch of manors, but manors can't make a lot of money these days.

The monastery also has a large income, that is wool.According to Matthew's estimate, an annual income of three hundred pounds should not be a problem - the number of sheep can be seen.

Here comes the problem, this wool is actually tax-free.Or all the output of the monastery may be tax-free.

They have a series of privileges such as administration, finance, justice and taxation.Catholicism is a privileged organization in Europe, a country within a country.

Or to put it another way - feudal kingship is the state within a country of a pan-European religious empire - the taxes collected by the lords are only a fraction of religion.The king's land is also only a fraction of the local Catholicism.

Matthew, who believes that the economic base determines the superstructure, does not believe that such Catholicism is subordinate to the kingship.

Therefore, the country gentry can't compete economically with Catholicism. Not only are they exempt from taxes, but they also take away one-tenth of their profits.

If capitalism wants to develop, it must first overthrow the Catholic economic privilege system.Therefore, the so-called European bourgeois revolution first revolutionized the fate of Catholicism.Then came the feudal monarchy.

Matthew thought about this and smiled.He knew very well that the convent did this and that for the sake of ease and luxury.

So he resorted to his trump card: "Dear Dean, I understand your difficulties. While serving God, we must also consider the lives of monks."

"It's better to leave this kind of mundane work to my subordinates... Every year, I will be responsible for all the output you want to sell. Regardless of whether they can be sold in the end, the monastery will get corresponding income."

Isn't it just wool? There just aren't enough woolen factories.Abbey beer?With so many sailors, one bite is all it takes.Wine goes to taverns, whiskey to London.food?Isn't that good?It's too late for me to stock up!

The dean's eyelids trembled suddenly.He originally only wanted to sell to this bastard what he couldn't sell.Now... you want to play with me as an underwriter?
He had been thinking about this new thing in Plymouth for a long time.After much deliberation, I feel that the manufacturers have actually made a profit.

Selling things also requires costs.There is also a time limit for food. Once it cannot be sold and used up, it can only be used for charity.Moreover, how much to sell and what to sell is entirely up to oneself, and any supplies for personal use will not be less than a pound.

The dean was moved.

However, out of caution, he still said: "...it is indeed conducive to serving God better...but I need to discuss it with other people."

Matthew didn't say any more, but changed the topic: "No problem... But, I had a dream yesterday..."

The two chattered, and the dean didn't say a word.Finally Matthew changed the subject.

"...I really didn't think about it before. Do you think this is a revelation from God? Should I go to Rome to see?"

The dean had a strange expression: "You never went to church before, but now you are going to Rome just because of a dream? Isn't this ridiculous?"

This answer was somewhat unexpected.

Matthew's intention was to chat about Italy.By tapping around, you may be able to know some useful things ~ such as prices.

Matthew continued: "I don't know what Rome looks like...would this woolen clothing be inappropriate?"

"Do Italians like fur? Or something else? I think at least you should dress like the Romans."

The dean seemed displeased: "They like everything expensive. If something is expensive, that's right."

"You can come back another day, Baron. I need to think about it for two days."

Matthew: "..."

Does the dean want to go to the bathroom?Why do you look constipated?

Suddenly, his heart moved, and he blurted out a sentence that frightened people to death:

"This year's [-]th tax, how much do you want, Dean? How should it be written in the accounts?"

The income and production of the church have never been the bulk.The eleventh tax is.It just needs to be turned over to the Holy See in proportion.The most important mission of church organizations in various places is to collect taxes, apart from preaching, producing alms and buying people's hearts.

Matthew is blatantly reminding that you can make fake accounts~ I will pay the tax, but the accounts don't matter, giving you a huge room for corruption.

Now except for the abbey, all the goods shipped out of Plymouth have to go from Hawkins' house, and the amount is of course huge.

Immediately, the dean stopped being constipated.Eyeballs move straight, and I don't know what I'm thinking.

There was a moment of silence in the room.

He took out the cross with an expression as if he saw it for the first time.

Matthew: "..."

Do you want to turn your face?Is this a real monk?

However, Matthew only took 0.1 seconds to deny this conjecture~ Impossible, a real monk cannot become a dean.

There are many kinds of monks. Those who are truly devout may not be able to leave the monastery for the rest of their lives, copy various "scriptures" until they die, and do various jobs until they die.Become a permanent employee.Of course, you can also call it an ascetic.

Matthew once heard a saying ~ "Give me a child, bring him up to adolescence, and he'll be mine all his life."

This is how the magic sticks play with people's hearts to form forces.So they are naturally active in preaching.The reason why a stupid person is a stupid person is because they have been brainwashed too thoroughly.

Of course, there will always be someone who will break through this false religious veil and acquire wealth and become a way of life for a master.At this time, they tend to become the new magic sticks and are more likely to be reused.

Of course, some people will rebel.In the end it becomes a factor of instability.Like Martin Luther.

There are as many rebellious monks as a cow's hair.Although there are many reasons for the emergence of the Orthodox Church, Matthew believes that its biggest feature is that it does not charge tithes.

however!
Whether Protestant or Orthodox Catholic.In fact, all doctrinal differences are "arts".Just an excuse to fight.

Whoever entangles with doctrine is a fool.

Everyone is doing it for power and petty money.

Just as Matthew thought of this, the dean said, "Baron of the Isles of Scilly...what do you think of the statue on the cross?"

The thought flashed through Matthew's mind like a flash of lightning.

Simply Shet!The Laurad faction still has this level?
Matthew laughed: "I only read the English Bible."

For a suitable grain depot and to make good friends with local powerful factions.Matthew didn't spend a single gold coin, but instead made a lot of money.

Not only became the underwriter of the monastery, but also became a "comrade" with the Abbot of Buckland Abbey.In terms of ideas and gold coins, an unbreakable alliance has been formed.

The dean quickly stated that the [-]th tax will be based on last year's figure, as long as it is slightly increased.

When there were only 6 ships in the first half of the year, Matthew's calculation was an earl to £8000 a year.

As for last year?Last year the Hawkins family had an income of only a few hundred pounds.

Matthew immediately said that the "error" would be £400.These days this figure can be described as the entire family property of an ordinary squire, and some monasteries don’t even have such a large annual income.

The dean was stunned, his face was shocked.

Matthew immediately sensed something was wrong, Falk, give too much!
So he bit the bullet and made amends, with a righteous face on his face: "Most of this is...funding, used to help those like-minded but impoverished upright monks..."

"Our cause is justice, but justice also needs food. I may not be able to help with other things... There are only a few stinky gold coins."

"I hope you don't feel disgusted."

The dean was immediately moved, this is really a good "comrade".

Needless to say, the grain depot turned out to be an extra, as long as there was an explanation for a little rent.

(End of this chapter)