Water Margin people

"Mr. Missionary, you can't save everyone!"

Someone looked at Baldwin IV and said that Baldwin IV wanted to be a savior, but there was no savior in this world.

Baldwin IV frowned and looked at everyone. He didn't want to be a savior, he just wanted to save more people.

"Okay, let's do this!"

The governor looked at Baldwin IV and said that the profits in this matter were huge and they did not want Baldwin IV to get involved.

Baldwin IV looked at the governor and others in shock, which meant that he was going to be excluded.

"You are a missionary, your mission is to preach, our mission is to cooperate with the Imperial Church. This is called a different division of labor, but it is all for the State of Qi and the Imperial Church."

Seeing that Baldwin IV looked like he was about to get angry, everyone immediately explained with a smile.

"What a different division of labor!"

Baldwin IV turned and left.

"What's wrong with him? What's there to be angry about?"

The governor and others looked at Baldwin IV in confusion as he left.

"Your Majesty, what should we do? The arrival of Qi State has disrupted our plans!"

William whispered.

Their original plan was to further enhance Baldwin IV's reputation and make all the kingdoms on the continent obey Baldwin IV, so that they could encourage Baldwin IV to become the governor of the entire continent.

In this way, he could take control of the continent and, relying on his reputation, it would be equivalent to rebuilding the Roman Empire, and then he could look for opportunities to break away from the control of Qi.

But now everything has changed. The State of Qi has directly separated them from the people of Venice and also prevented them from contacting people from other kingdoms, thus cutting off their possibility of secret collusion.

"It seems that the Emperor of Qi has seen through it!"

Baldwin IV shook his head helplessly. He originally wanted to rely on the reputation he had accumulated during this period and the assistance of Qi to contact the major kingdoms and become a link in the middle so that both sides would rely on him.

But the result is obvious. The greedy Venetians betrayed the Western Church for the sake of profit, and now they have completely turned to Qi for the same reason.

"What should I do?"

William asked, looking at Baldwin IV.

"Don't make any moves for now. Although Qi wants to weaken my power, they are outsiders after all. Those who come here will eventually become close to me, and I can still make plans in secret at that time!"

Baldwin IV said that if Qi wanted to continue its missionary work, it could not leave him, so everything remained unchanged, it just needed to be postponed.

……

The news that the Qi army had arrived in Venice spread quickly, and the news that the Qi imperial church was preparing to treat the Black Death also spread.

This explosive news spread very quickly. The Vatican had just said that the Black Death was spread by the State of Qi, and the Qi army had arrived and was able to treat the Black Death. This made people doubt the source of the Black Death.

But those are things that the kingdom's high-ranking officials and great nobles consider. For ordinary civilians, how the Black Death came about is no longer important. The most important thing is how to cure it and not be threatened by the Black Death.

A large number of civilians went to the Kingdom of Venice, seeking protection from the Qi Imperial Religion.

At this time, the major kingdoms began to take action. They closed the roads and did not allow anyone to pass, let alone enter the Kingdom of Venice.

But closing the roads was useless. The frightened civilians would rather cross mountains and rivers to go to the Kingdom of Venice to seek a glimmer of hope.

Rome.

Holy See.

"What? The Qi army has arrived in Venice? They are still preaching? They can even cure the Black Death!"

Pope Eugene III was furious and immediately called the Vatican's naval commanders. "What are you doing? Why don't you blockade the sea area?"

The Pope started to curse at those generals. Ever since the Venetian Republic rebelled, he ordered the strait to be closed. He wanted to trap the Venetians to death in the bay.

But now the Qi fleet has swaggered into the bay. Isn't this a slap in their faces?

"Your Holiness, the navy suffered heavy casualties during the Black Death and is unable to blockade the strait!"

The generals complained bitterly that the ports were the hardest hit by the Black Death, and the navy was stationed in the ports, so they were the first to bear the brunt of the casualties.

"Don't make excuses. Block the strait immediately and don't let those Qi people escape!"

Eugene III looked at the generals and shouted.

"Yes!"

Although the generals were extremely reluctant, they still obeyed the order.

"Your Holiness, the pagans have so blatantly entered Venice to preach. If they are not killed, how can the prestige of the Holy See be maintained? I suggest gathering the believers and launching the Third Holy War!"

A cardinal said that the first two holy wars were for the holy city of Jerusalem, and this one was to eliminate the invading pagans.

"Yes, issue a papal decree to start the Third Crusade. All dioceses and kingdoms must dispatch troops to encircle and suppress the pagans of the Republic of Venice!"

Pope Eugene III gave the order. He had previously asked several major kingdoms to send troops, but these kingdoms said that they were unable to send troops because of the Black Death, and that there had been two heavy snowfalls in the mountains, making it difficult to cross.

Eugene III naturally knew that these were all excuses, but he had no choice. These kingdoms had pretended to obey but secretly disobeyed more than once or twice. But this time there was a papal order and it was a holy war, so who would dare not participate?

"Also, tell the kingdoms that are willing to send troops that the Vatican will no longer interfere in their internal affairs!"

Eugene III said that he had made a promise last time, but it was only said privately at that time and was not binding. This time it was issued in a papal decree.

Everyone left, leaving only Bernard.

"Your Holiness, Qi's visit this time may not be simple!"

Bernard spoke up.

"Only ten thousand people!"

Eugene III said nonchalantly that ten thousand people were nothing to them and they could easily kill them.

"Your Holiness, the Qi army is not only powerful, but also from what we know, it is impossible for them to advance alone! There will definitely be reinforcements later!"

Bernard spoke up.

"Reinforcements!"

Eugene III fell into deep thought. The navy had already suffered heavy losses due to the Black Death and could not even blockade the strait, so how could it resist the enemy reinforcements?

"What about Byzantium? How is it going there?"

Eugene III asked.

"The Black Death is still serious over there, but it's better than last month."

Bernard spoke up.

"Then let the Byzantines send troops to blockade the sea. As long as they are willing to send troops, I, as the Pope, will recognize them as one of the orthodox successors of the Roman Empire!"

Eugene III said that although Byzantium called itself Eastern Rome and New Rome, it had never been recognized, which was also a concern for the Byzantine Empire. However, as long as the Pope recognized it, Byzantium would be able to call itself the Roman Empire in the future.

"Your Holiness, I'm afraid the Germans won't be happy with this!"

Bernard said that the Germanic Holy Roman Empire also claimed to be Roman orthodoxy.

"This is perfect. Let them fight. Whoever wins will be the legitimate ruler! It can't be Qi!"

Eugene III spoke. (End of this chapter)