The next morning, a ray of sunlight entered the residence, and the crisp chirping of birds came from outside the window. Augustus reluctantly rubbed his sleepy eyes and glanced at the clock on his bedside table. It was still very early.
The early bird catches the worm. Augustus picked up the book he had placed on his bedside, a book about some situations in the Papal States, and continued to lie in bed. It was true that sleep was light in this plane, and it was also true that he couldn't change his habit of staying in bed.
This morning, there was a meeting of high-ranking officials from the Papal States, which could be understood as a get-together. The general situation was that everyone would introduce themselves and report on their work.
Augustus didn't have high hopes for these high-ranking officials of the Papal States; he only hoped they wouldn't cause him too much trouble. In the Papal States, the center of power was primarily composed of clergy.
There were mainly two types of clergy. One type was the 'little white rabbit' who would repent for half a year after killing a chicken; relying on them to conquer the world was wishful thinking. The other type was the 'wolf in sheep's clothing,' people who had faith but then betrayed it. If they could be relied upon, pigs would fly. Compared to the latter, Augustus would rather they all be the former, but that was clearly impossible.
When it was time for the meeting, accompanied by Faol, Augustus arrived at the meeting room a bit early, only to find that the other attendees were already all there, having waited for a long time.
It seemed the situation wasn't as bad as he had imagined, at least on the surface. Augustus secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If these people didn't have major issues and could be used directly, it would save a lot of trouble.
The meeting began, and everything proceeded as planned. After Caesar spoke a few brief words, each attendee introduced himself and reported on his work in order of his seat.
Everyone tried to speak as long as possible, as if deliberately showing their importance and diligence. Something that could be explained in one sentence, they would split into twenty, making Augustus drowsy. But they themselves didn't realize it and spoke with great enthusiasm.
Just like that, several hours passed. Augustus had already formed a general impression of the power structure of the Papal States and its officials in his mind. The center of power in the Papal States was primarily composed of five individuals, responsible for internal affairs, foreign affairs, finance, military, and espionage, respectively.
Francesco stood with a straight spine, a square face, a full forehead, a high nose bridge, and piercing eyes. He exuded an aura of authority without anger, truly appearing as a righteous gentleman. He was in charge of internal affairs, including public order, law, and education.
Romeo was an old man with white hair and beard, his face thin and slightly hunched. His voice was loud and magnetic, and his every gesture gave people a sense of high virtue and prestige. He was in charge of foreign affairs.
David was corpulent and pot-bellied, with a fleshy face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes. He had a naturally harmless smiling face and appeared very simple and honest. He was in charge of finance, including various taxes in the Papal States and levies in the sphere of influence of various local church powers.
Lorenzo was as thin as a rail, with deeply sunken cheeks, prominent brow bones, and eyes set against his bones. His thin skin seemed as if it could tear with a poke, and his slender hands looked as if a gentle breeze could snap them. He appeared very incorruptible. He was in charge of the military.
Enzo had brown hair, very light eyebrows that turned up at the ends, a hooked nose, and very thin lips. When he spoke, his gaze was shifty, sometimes resolute, sometimes thoughtful. He was in charge of espionage, including intelligence work against other countries and counter-espionage within his own country.
Apart from these five individuals, the remaining people were basically their subordinates, in a subordinate position. It was clear without saying who was allied with whom.
With the self-introductions and work reports, the scheduled agenda of the meeting had concluded. If there was nothing else, the meeting would end here.
Just then, Romeo's voice rang out.
"David, during the period of the vacant papacy, various tax revenues are significantly lower compared to years of disaster and war. As the chief financial officer, shouldn't you explain this matter?"
Seeing Romeo suddenly attack David, Augustus was quite pleased. If the high-ranking officials of the Papal States were a solid block, what would he, as the Pope, be for? He might even be sidelined, which would be very unfavorable for him to intervene in the affairs of the Papal States.
Now it seemed the situation was not like that at all. Not only that, but there might even be irreconcilable conflicts between them; otherwise, they wouldn't directly expose each other's shortcomings in the meeting.
All the previous words were good news only, doing little to truly understand the current situation of the Papal States. These current words were much more meaningful than the previous ones, directly pointing out the problems. Through their mutual responses, he could also use this to observe their respective abilities, killing two birds with one stone.
After hearing Romeo's words, Augustus also pretended to be curious and looked at David.
"Romeo, don't slander me. The expenditures of the Papal States these days have been enormous, and you are not unaware of it. The specific income and expenditure are all in the accounts. If His Holiness needs it, he can naturally check, but this has nothing to do with you. What do I need to explain to you?"
David answered very calmly and composedly, neither humble nor arrogant. He had clearly anticipated this turn of events. Of course, Caesar wouldn't actually check the accounts. Daring to let the Pope check, David had obviously already prepared the account data. David couldn't possibly be unaware of such a small trick.
Moreover, what good would it do to check now, even if problems were found? Should he be directly dismissed and investigated? And who would replace him? Without a good candidate, the person who came up might even be worse than him. Furthermore, stirring up trouble too early and making everyone feel insecure would definitely not be a wise move.
As for whether David truly embezzled funds, the answer was clearly yes. If the accounts showed no problems, then a thorough investigation would be necessary to clarify the situation.
If a truly thorough investigation were conducted, it was likely that few people in the Papal States would be usable. It would be impossible to find so many suitable candidates to replace them in a short time, and the government system would be largely paralyzed, meaning his time as Pope would likely be over.
This was still under the assumption that everyone would passively accept their fate. In a worse scenario, his meddling might unite them against him. If they staged a "Why is Your Majesty rebelling?" it would truly be a laughingstock.
David had precisely anticipated that the Pope currently had neither the necessity nor the ability to conduct a thorough investigation, which was why he was so fearless.
As for the future, as long as he could prove his ability and value, it was possible that the Pope would let bygones be bygones, or even turn a blind eye to him, just like previous Popes.
"David, why are you so agitated? I didn't ask you to explain anything to me; I was just a little curious about it. I truly didn't expect the expenditures of the Papal States to be so enormous these days. You have sacrificed so much for the Papal States; you must be exhausted."
Seeing that David was well-prepared, Romeo had no choice but to give up reluctantly, but not without a final sarcastic remark.