Tang Qi Tan

Chapter 380 The Five Choosers 3
Therefore, when the envoys from the north traveled a long way, passed through the Clemento Valley, the northernmost point controlled by the Free Army, and finally arrived in Mound City, they saw those who were hung on the top of the wall in various forms of death. The tragic corpse of a different kind couldn't help but stop and watch for a while.

At the same time, Jiang Tian also sent away two waves of religious-related representatives.One of the waves came from the southwestern provinces of the Kingdom, mainly centered on the Greater Toulouse region/plain, and the once popular local church organization—the Cleansing Sect, sought refuge and surrendered to the Free Army.

Speaking of this cleansing sect, it can be regarded as one of the few heretical sects that can persist in the southern region outside the mainstream universal church in the kingdom.Because, although it is one of the Christian denominations, it originated from the Balkans, and the Manichaeism (Mingjiao) remains in the late Roman Empire.

Because of the revival of the Great Roman Empire, after a series of events such as the Crusades and the establishment of the Western Empire; and other heretical factions that were expelled from Bulgaria by the Eastern Empire, the Paulist faction and the Bogomilian faction merged , and finally spread to the south of the kingdom with the establishment of the Rose Dynasty.

It also once flourished between the southern part of the kingdom and northern Italy.Its teachings are deeply influenced by the dualism of the three worlds of Eastern Manichaeism and the spiritualism of Nestorianism (predecessor of Nestorianism).For example: Advocating that all things have animism and each planet itself is the confluence of all intelligences (Gaia?)
The God of the Old Testament is believed to be the embodiment of Satan and the creator of the material world.In the New Testament, God is the creator of good and spiritual realms, and the human soul is an asexual angelic spirit imprisoned in evil matter, which must be reincarnated continuously to obtain salvation, and finally reach the side of the good God.

Deny the mainstream theory of the Trinity, respect Jesus and recognize his identity as a guide, but deny the sanctity of his body as a container, and also refuse to recognize his resurrection and the symbolism of the cross, believing that Jesus is in a state of continuous reincarnation (and similar to Buddhism).

Oppose most of the sacraments in life, emphasizing the equality of men and women; because in the reincarnation view of the sect, men and women will reincarnate each other, gender is just a difference in the body, and the spirit and inner core are the core, so women in the sect are qualified to serve as leaders and priests of the sect , and receive education and work.

Of course, as a former heretical sect, the Cleansing sect also has some peculiarities; such as fasting meat (except fish), and holding a dying ceremony when the time limit is reached, and then going on a hunger strike/catching cold; condemning war and the death penalty, Regards reproduction as a moral sin and advocates abstinence.

Of course, the current Puritanism is only a surviving underground organization; because, in the late Rose Dynasty, after the Universal Pope from the Roman Orthodox Church repeatedly ordered conversions and doctrines to be replaced; The Abigail Crusade of the Asylum.

Then it evolved into a chaotic war between the big and small princes in the north of the kingdom, the Holy Kingdom, the Western Empire, and the Languedoc-Toulouse aristocratic faction in the south of the kingdom; The Toulouse nobility faction of the House of Gedoc failed.

Therefore, as a large number of towns and villages were destroyed, the local population was massacred and trafficked, and a large number of local noble families were severed; the Cleansers also completely went underground.Because of the decline and weakness shown in this war, the Rose Dynasty was replaced by a collateral family.

Then the new Lily Dynasty in power established more provinces in the south, directly under the crown territory; and entrusted a large number of meritorious nobles at home and abroad.Therefore, following the current cleanliness sect can only be regarded as a small and medium-sized sect that exists in vast rural areas and barely maintains its inheritance;
However, Jiang Tian mainly sees two things about them: one is equality between men and women, although it is religious, at least some women can be liberated from traditional family status and become part of the social labor force; The church is also a qualified leading party.

However, after the cleanliness, the second wave of visitors was not so pleasant, and even a little unexpected.Because, the other party was actually a member of the Orthodox Holy See in Rome, a ceremonial official from Romagna, the territory directly under the church; he claimed to represent the emissary of the Universal Pope Clement.

Although it originated from various influences of later generations, Jiang Tian actually lacks enough respect and affection for the chief leader of this Western feudal sect; but out of curiosity and superficially basic diplomatic etiquette, he still wants to hear about it from far away in the Western Empire. What kind of tricks can the Supreme Church bring to itself.

In the end, the other party just relayed the Holy See's message full of bureaucracy in public with a haughty face.First of all, as a universal sect, they slightly agree with the efforts of the newly rising civilian armed forces/freedom army to eradicate the heterogeneous, and then they are seriously concerned about the persecution of the church in the kingdom.

Therefore, even though the Liberation Army came from a humble background and made many mistakes.However, out of compassion and generosity, the Holy See is willing to grant the errant Freedom Army the opportunity to return to the grace and glory of the Supreme Lord, and the clergy sent by the Holy See will take over the dioceses at all levels.

After such a colorful rhetoric and discussion.In the end, it was mentioned a little bit that as long as the top and bottom of the Free Army can use practical actions to get close to the Holy See, the Holy See will not hesitate to grant the leader of the Free Army below the title, title, and even patronage of the parish as the lord of the diocese and knight of the church.

If the Freedom Army can make sufficient advocacy achievements comparable to the crusaders of the past, the Holy See can even grant it as appropriate, the ruling Greater Provence area, and even restore the claim rights of the ancient Duchy of Lower Burgundy/Provence... All in all, It's just using its own halo to paint a pie for the boss.

Of course, it is impossible for Jiang Tian to be moved by such empty words, but there is no need to explicitly reject it; although the contemporary universal pope is not worth a few divisions, he is still the supreme leader in the eyes of ordinary believers; he can call for crusaders , Just passing the edict of the sect can cause a lot of trouble.

Therefore, Jiang Tian should not make a rash decision because of the seriousness of the matter, but delay the other party first.To say a thousand words and ten thousand is to strengthen one's own strength the most important thing.As long as the Freedom Army is strong enough, there will be a chance to visit Italy like the Emperor, and it may not be impossible to invite the Pope as a guest by the way.

"What do you think about this matter?" Jiang Tian then said to Feius, a special consultant who came out from behind the scenes and was dressed like a peacock: "In other words, the identity of this self-proclaimed Pope's secret envoy may be Was it authentic enough?"

"My lord, I'm just the weakest member of the royal family. If it weren't for my status as the eldest son of my father, I would have been..." Feiyusi replied respectfully: "However, I have met this secret envoy once. At that time he was still a servant of Titian at the side of the Holy See."

"Then how much do you know about the relationship between the current Holy See and the current Caesar?" Jiang Tian asked immediately: "Do you think Caesar knows about the Holy See's thoughts, or in other words, their position on this matter?" , can a consensus be reached?"

"The current Caesar!" Feius said with a sighing expression: "I felt that I couldn't see through it a long time ago, but my father was too confident in his own judgment and position; but there is one thing, that lord has not yet Before ascending to the holy throne, he was Caesar's teacher..."

After listening to Feus's introduction, Jiang Tian decided to allocate a sum of funds for his activities; let him have a good communication with the Pope's secret envoy, and explore the other party's background and bottom line by the way.Although he was forced to join the Freedom Army, he seems to have quickly adapted to his role;
In a sense, this former heir in exile is really a jack-of-all-trades character.In addition to the original teaching tasks, as a nominal ad hoc consultant, he basically knows a little bit of everything, and can be on top of all aspects of affairs for a while.

And even if he is under the fence of others, he still remains coquettish, merciful/hooking up his true nature everywhere; even if he is caught by his father, brother and husband, he is also very optimistic and open-minded.No matter what class and background you face in daily life, you can always find familiar topics and forcefully get close.

Therefore, even though there are many people who hate and despise his style, they have to admit that this shameless Italian guy is a very qualified candidate as a ceremony consultant and diplomatic representative.However, the next visitors from the north were not so easy to deal with.

Because, the other party is an envoy from the Holy United Kingdom of Brittania; it belongs to the branch organization of the Holy Thorn Knights, one of the many armed knights (between the Legion and the Legion), (Aquitaine) Tomahawk Knight The deputy head of the regiment is also the frontier garrison Li Xiusi:

"By the order of the Grand Commander, I would like to inform you of this!" Lixius, who was full of beard like a lion's mane, looked majestic and mighty, and stood upright with his helmet in his arms: "According to the latest revision of the Treaty of Limoges Additional clauses, the United Kingdom will exercise suzerainty and protection over the provinces of Ariège, Eastern Pyrenees, Aude, Tarn, and Garonne, and will crusade against all existences that dare to offend..."

"Then... I'll see you on the battlefield." Jiang Tian sneered when he heard the words: the choice between going south or going north has already been answered.However, this group of visitors from the north was divided into two groups; as the envoys of the Holy Kingdom left, another group immediately asked to see them.

"The Keeper of the Seal of the Imperial Council, a special ceremonial officer, is ordered by the great King John," the visitor read out an edict sternly.However, when Jiang Tian saw the other party, he couldn't help laughing: "Long time no see, Senior Rafaro! Are you still working for others?"