A platinum rose costs about 100 gold dugs (Imperial gold units), plus a "Honorary Priest" certificate valid for only one year, for which guests pay 10,000 gold duggs, which is more like extortion than a solicitation, but most of the guests seem to be willing to give generously.

Of course, there were also reluctant buyers, Glova signed a check in exchange for a platinum rose and honorary priesthood certificate, threw it into the trash, turned his head and raised a glass to Palatina: "Although this money will definitely not be used to build any aid station, we should still have a toast to the poor stray dogs, I remember that last year the charity dinner here was held to fund the welfare home for the stray children, this year the name is to raise money for the stray dogs, next year I'm afraid we will have to toast to the relief of the warbler, my lord Perot is above, It's hilarious! ”

Palatine gave him a strange look, "Who comes to the dinner party doesn't know that rescuing stray dogs is just an excuse, you just know it in your heart, why bother to make everyone embarrassed." ”

Grofa shook his head in disappointment, "You have changed, Palatina, you have become sophisticated and sleek, and you are no longer the simple and upright 'knight princess' you used to be. ”

Palatina's blue eyes widened: "Don't pretend with me!" Everyone has to grow up and mature, and you have to go further than me on the road of sophistication, and don't forget, you brought me to the first charity dinner...... I know it's not good to do this in the name of charity, but as long as we spend our money in a meaningful way, we can count it as worthy of our conscience......"

"Spend it in more meaningful places than sheltering stray dogs, like?"

"For example, use this money to subsidize the Holy Light Inquisition in remote areas of the empire, so that it will gradually transform from a religious police agency that fights cults and hunts down heretics to a public security agency that provides legal services to towns and communities." Palatina replied solemnly.

"Palatine summed it up very aptly, and this is an important part of the Reformation that we are vigorously pursuing." Frank walked over with a smile on his face and clinked glasses with Grofa, "If you have any questions, even if you ask them in person, it's my responsibility to explain the policy to the public." ”

Corofer took a sip of wine and said calmly: "In the eyes of the public, the inquisitors of the church are a group of secret police in the cloak of religion, who carry out a reign of terror throughout the empire under the banner of punishing heretics and hunting down cultists, and people will think of burning at the stake when they see those guys in yellow cloaks, so it is no wonder that the people have a bad opinion of them, as a grand magistrate, the supreme leader of the Inquisition, how do you plan to reform this institution?" In my opinion, the Inquisition is no longer suitable for this era of gradual tolerance in the religious atmosphere, and it is better to simply abolish it. ”

There was an uproar from the crowd of onlookers. I am afraid that only a person like Grofa dares to say this kind of disrespectful words in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Frank laughed at Colossa's offense, without the slightest hint of anger: "The Inquisition is a traditional institution of the Church, and Your Majesty will never allow me to dismantle it, not to mention that this institution is in my hands, and if it is properly reformed, it can be used to do something beneficial to society, which is also the original purpose of my dinner party to raise funds." ”

Grofa nodded thoughtfully, "How are you going to renovate the Inquisition?" ”

"It's quite simple," said Frank, handing the empty cup to the waiter, "and I intend to weaken the 'religious' character of the Inquisition while retaining its 'police' character, and to extend its judicial power into the secular realm, transforming it from an institution that judges heretics into a local court and a public security agency." ”

"Wait!" Grophas interrupted him, "You want to transform the Inquisition into a secular judiciary?" But the empire already has a 'circuit court', and the provinces also have garrisons responsible for law and order, so doesn't this create a conflict of functions? ”

Frank smiled unexpectedly, took his arm and said as he walked, "Coropha, you are the prince of Canaan, you don't know the situation of the empire, do you know how big the territory of the Holy Assanian Empire is?" That's the size of ten Canaans combined! In such a big country, there are so many vicious public security cases that you can't imagine every day, and the 'circuit courts' sent by the central government of the empire can't be tried at all, and many difficult cases that are difficult to solve can only be dealt with in the end; the same is because the territory of the empire is too large, and the garrisons of various provinces can only take care of the local security, if there is a criminal gang that commits crimes across provinces in a certain place, the garrison can only stare dryly, otherwise what can you let them do? Can the patrol police of Komi Province go to the Magic Mountain, which is 3,000 miles away, to enforce the law across provinces? The local fierce mountain people don't want to buy the account of the Komi Provincial Patrol! Every time the inter-provincial law enforcement has to dredge the contact from the top level first, the endless exchange of official documents wastes too much time, and by the time the joint law enforcement team is formed, the criminal gang has already gone away and flown away! ”

Frank couldn't help but burst into a foul language when he said that he was excited, and no one criticized His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for being undignified, but won a round of applause and applause. Colossa also had to admit that he had a point in saying that he had a point in addressing the greatest flaw of the imperial judicial system—the large and bloated bureaucracy, the self-contained provinces, the inconvenience of communication, and the difficulty of cooperation.

"From a judicial point of view, the administrative capacity of the central government of the empire has degraded to a dangerous level, and in the long run the provinces will become warlords, and the rebellion in the Far Eastern provinces is a wake-up call for us, and this is also a factor that has prompted me to strengthen the central power from the judicial point of view." Frank picked up another glass of wine, drank it proudly, and then said, "If you want to strengthen the power of the central government, you must have a strong organization in your hands, and yet our pathetic empire now has to contract even taxes to merchants to collect, Colossa, if you are in my position, think of what other institutions directly under the central empire can penetrate beyond the authority of the provincial governor and penetrate into tens of thousands of large and small towns spread over a territory of twenty million square miles?" ”

"This question is interesting and the institution that best meets your requirements...... The first choice was, of course, the Church of Perot, with tens of thousands of churches and monasteries spread throughout the empire, all under the jurisdiction of the central papal see, which could not be bought into the accounts of local administrators. Glopha replied thoughtfully.

"The administration of churches and monasteries is in the hands of the Ecumenical Patriarch, and the old stubborn Gregorian will not allow me to meddle in his territory unless His Majesty speaks." Frank shrugged helplessly.

"There is also the Imperial Intelligence Bureau, codenamed 'Dragon Palace', it is said that this agency has sub-stations all over the country, and no matter what happens, it can't escape the ears and eyes of the Dragon Palace secret agents." Grofa said as he observed Frank's face change.