I am Peter III, Emperor of the Hexagon of the Goose Kingdom

Chapter 169 In order to take back the serfs belonging to the church, another holy revelation was offered
The next day, under the arrangement of Vorontsov, Peter took all the ministers except Bestutev to the south by boat.

After realizing Peter's intention to go south, Adrian refused to accompany him, but instead expressed that he would definitely condemn him on behalf of the church.

Peter ignored it, and still took Ekaterina to the richest parish.

Adrian did not accompany him, but as he expected, many church members who were willing to get rid of the heavy land tax management or simply wanted to please him accompanied him.

Three days later, when they arrived in Rostov, Peter inspected the parish symbolically, and then Vorontsov announced to the accompanying believers that the serfs and land in the Rostov parish would be nationalized.

The believers were stunned. They thought they only took the land, but they didn't expect the serfs to take it away too.

There were mournful conformists, but no objection was raised.

The trip was unexpectedly smooth, but when Peter returned to Moscow with Ekaterina, he faced a collective protest from the church.

Vorontsov announced that the confiscation of Rostov's church lands and serfs had reached Moscow.

Metzjevich still has not pleaded guilty in prison.

Some bishops denounced Peter's entourage as traitors. If you don't object now, you can only be reduced to hired workers, unworthy of carrying out the mission of the Virgin.

Under the leadership of Adrian, these believers gathered in Red Square to protest, and their momentum grew louder.

"Your Majesty, mobilize the army."

Vorontsov suggested.

Peter shook his head, a little unexpectedly, but it wasn't necessary right now.

On the third day, surrounded by important ministers of the Parliament, the Imperial Guard and the Privy Council, and with the statistical results of the church wealth survey, Peter walked onto the Red Square and sternly said to these bishop priests and priests:
"You are all descendants of the Twelve Apostles. Back then, God ordered his messengers to teach mankind to disdain wealth, and they themselves were penniless. Their kingdom is not in this world. I often hear these words from your mouths. How dare you own so much wealth, so much land?"

"If you sincerely respect the laws and regulations that you have appointed yourself, if you want to be my most loyal subjects, then you will return the ill-gotten wealth you possessed to the country without hesitation!"

Except for Adrian, the other monks all looked ashamed, and Adrian said loudly:

"Your Majesty, how dare the church possess these wealth? The church is only keeping these wealth for the Holy Mother!"

Looking at Adrian, Peter didn't want to go too far with the patriarch, but he wouldn't be polite if he prevented him from nationalizing the church's land and serfs.

After pondering for a while, Peter still didn't want to use coercive means on him for the time being. A thing that already existed in his mind and was beneficial to the safety of the people came out of his mind again.

Peter said:

"Adrian, have you ever received holy enlightenment since you became Patriarch?"

Adrian couldn't help but be speechless. Although he was extremely devout, he had never been inspired by the Virgin.

But he didn't believe that Peter had received the holy revelation, and what Peter said about Countess Roman was purely pretending to be a ghost.

He opened his mouth and said:

"Your Majesty, the Holy Mother must send down holy revelations when there are important events. What His Majesty said about receiving holy revelations, in my opinion, is nonsense, which just proves His Majesty's impiety towards the Orthodox Church."

After being exposed, Peter was not in a hurry, and he didn't want to use Vivienne as an issue, so he just said lightly:
"If what happened to the countess can't be said to be a revelation, then if I can prevent the lightning from destroying the burning house, is it considered a revelation? This is the method that your most devout Virgin told me."

As soon as Peter said this, not only the church staff, but also the other ministers and guards who followed, as well as the onlookers were all taken aback.

Adrian stared straight at Peter for a while, feeling that there was something wrong with his head. Don't you think it's ridiculous for an emperor to say such things in front of so many people?
Every year, whether in Moscow or St. Petersburg, there are always so many houses that are destroyed by lightning and then burnt, which makes people panic and confess.

Every time something like this happened, both Adrian and the bishops would pray to the Virgin for a day and night in the prayer room to avoid greater censure from the Virgin.

Adrian didn't want to go too far either. He waited for a while and saw that Peter didn't take back what he just said, so he shook his head and said:
"Your Majesty, if the lightning strikes the house and caused the fire, there must be some very sinful people. This is the warning given by the Holy Mother to the world. How can it be avoided? This is simply impossible. Please don't make jokes in front of everyone. .”

Vorontsov, who was following Peter, couldn't help but change his expression slightly. He felt that His Majesty had been wiser since his Majesty revealed his true colors. Why did he say such absurd words at this time?
Vorontsov looked at Bestutev and Ivanovich, both of them looked a little strange, and they obviously had the same thoughts as him.

Vorontsov no longer hesitated, stepped forward and said in a low voice:

"Your Majesty, you can't talk nonsense about this kind of thing, it will damage your prestige."

With a faint smile on Peter's face, he said, "It's okay."

Then he glanced at the monks and bishops with different eyes, and Peter understood from their stunned eyes that there were hardly any believers among these people.

Peter's eyes finally fell on Adrian, and he said:

"Head Patriarch, why don't I make a bet with you, if I can prove this revelation from the Holy Mother, you must not obstruct any decrees implemented by Bestutev."

Bestutev: ...

Adrian's faith is extremely firm, but because of this, he only felt ironic about Peter's big words, and Adrian said directly:

"Your Majesty, if you cannot prove it, so what?"

Peter said:
"Then Besdutev not only has to apologize to the Patriarch, but the decree on the church's land and serfs will naturally be abolished!"

Bestutev: ...

Adrian nodded, and then said:

"Your Majesty, I want to add one more item. From now on, you can no longer just say that you have obtained the Holy Enlightenment. This is extremely impious!"

Peter shook his head and said:

"Head Patriarch, you are the one who is ungodly, but I agree with what you said, and you will understand that only people like me who don't talk about the Holy Mother but only put it in their hearts will get the grace of the Holy Mother Pet, I said that if you get the holy enlightenment, you get it."

Adrian was very angry. He felt that what Peter said was exactly the opposite. Peter was the kind of person who talked about the Virgin Mary and often said that he had received the Holy Revelation, but he didn't have the Virgin Mary in his heart.

But considering that this would be the last time Peter lied, Adrian said:

"Since that's the case, follow His Majesty's instruction. I wonder how His Majesty will prove that you have obtained the Holy Enlightenment?"

(End of this chapter)