Water Margin people

Verona.

Pope Eugene III sat on the throne with a smile on his face. This throne not only represents the Pope's identity as the Pope of the Holy See, but also represents the emperor of the entire West.

"Finally, the unity of politics and religion, the long-cherished wish of the Holy See has been realized here."

Eugene III was so happy. With his current status, he had surpassed all the previous popes and became the greatest people since the establishment of the Holy See. Perhaps one day his status in the church would be comparable to that of Jesus.

"Your Holiness, reinforcements have arrived, three thousand heavily armored infantry!"

A priest walked into the hall and reported to Eugene III.

"it is good!"

Eugene III was very satisfied to hear this. The reinforcements had finally arrived. It seemed that his influence as the Pope was still there. As long as he expelled the Qi people, this land would still be his.

"Your Holiness, the enemy has been sending people to spy on us these past few days. Now that reinforcements have arrived, should we send troops out to clear them out?"

One archbishop said he felt news of the reinforcements should be kept secret.

"That's not necessary. Reinforcements are coming from all over the place. It's impossible that Qi State doesn't know about it."

"The individual combat capability of Qi soldiers is strong. Even though they are just a few scouts, it is not easy to capture them. Moreover, if we attack rashly, we may be ambushed."

Bernard asked for it. He didn't think they could deal with Qi's scouts, nor did he think they could completely conceal the news of the reinforcements. If they couldn't do it, there was no point in doing it.

"Our biggest problem now is food!"

Bernard looked at everyone again and said that although they had collected a large amount of food before, the consumption over such a long period of time had already reached the bottom. With the arrival of reinforcements, the demand for food would be very high.

When they heard the word "food", everyone frowned and thought. According to their original plan, they had already defeated Qi and recovered Venice.

At that time they would be able to get everything from the Venetian merchants, and would never lack money or food.

But they were defeated and all their plans were disrupted.

No one spoke. They really had no way to handle such a large amount of food.

"Then I'll tell you my idea and ask the Genoa merchants to donate some!"

Bernard said that the only merchants from Genoa who could compete with the merchants from Venice in terms of financial strength were those from Genoa, who also had large amounts of money and food.

"The Genoese merchants are not good people. They are greedy and miserly. When we asked them for food before, they refused."

Someone spoke up and said that they certainly knew that the Genoese merchants had money and food, but these people were simply unwilling to give them out.

It’s not that no one wanted to rob, but the Genoese merchants were very determined. Not only did they mobilize armed protection, they also spread the word that they would not hand over the property even if they set it on fire.

"Promise them the right to trade in the Mediterranean in the future!"

Bernard said that businessmen are businessmen, and they are only after profits. They cannot give money now, but they can give out some authority.

"The right to trade in the Mediterranean!"

Many people began to think that the commercial rights of the Mediterranean could represent huge benefits, as the entire West depends on the Mediterranean for its survival.

"Then do it!"

Seeing that no one raised any objections, Eugene III immediately made the decision that the food problem had to be solved as a priority, otherwise it would be shameful for him as the emperor if the reinforcements arrived without food.

"But it's not enough to just give them some food with such great power. We need them to provide armor, weapons, and money as well."

Eugene III said that as an emperor he needed to provide his subordinates with sufficient weapons and rewards, but he had none of these and could only get them from Genoese merchants.

A priest took the order signed by Eugene III and left.

"Now we have to talk about how to defeat Qi."

Eugene III looked at everyone and asked, this is the most important thing, he needs to find a way to defeat Qi.

This question made everyone bow their heads and dare not speak. They were afraid when they thought of the terribleness of Qi State. So what good solution was there?

Eugene III had also anticipated that it would not be easy to come up with a way to defeat Qi.

"Your Holiness, the enemy has terrible artillery. We cannot get close to the city of Venice! Only by luring the enemy inland to fight can we win!" Someone suddenly spoke up.

"Bring it inland?"

Everyone's eyes lit up. This was indeed a good idea, and it would be a good choice in Verona.

"But how do we lure the enemy here? It is said that the enemy is now devoted to preaching, and their methods are very vicious. If you believe in their lives, you will die."

During this period of time, they also had a general understanding of the situation in Qi State. The Qi State army had only 30,000 soldiers, and the last victory was entirely due to ironclad ships.

"Battle!"

Bernard said suddenly.

"A fight?"

Everyone was puzzled. What kind of solution was this? A challenge to a war? Why would Qi agree to it?

"Aren't they preaching? Aren't they saying that their emperor is omnipotent? Aren't they saying that they are invincible? Then they must accept our challenge, otherwise their preaching is a lie."

Bernard spoke up.

This is moral kidnapping. In order to spread the gospel, the State of Qi said everything very confidently, made big promises, and performed miracles to cure diseases.

In Bernard's view, all these were just little tricks to deceive people, and these were the things he had left over from his tricks.

"Where is the appointment?"

Everyone immediately asked, this challenge is indeed possible, just like a duel between nobles, once initiated the other party cannot refuse.

"Of course we'll meet here! Doesn't Qi claim to be stronger than us? So the location will naturally be ours to choose!"

Bernard spoke up.

"Near here?"

"Then we are not powerless to fight!"

"We can set up some more things!"

Everyone talked at once that if it was nearby, they would have got a great advantage.

This area is backed by the Alps. They are in a high place and Qi is in a low place. They can do a lot of things by taking advantage of the mountainous terrain.

"Then... who should we send to challenge?"

Finally, the discussion came to the key point. Since it was a challenge, someone had to issue the challenge.

Everyone looked at Bernard at the same time. Since the idea was from Bernard, he must be the best person to execute it.

Bernard saw that everyone was looking at him, and knew that they were all afraid, so he did not refuse. He stood up and bowed to Pope Eugene III.

Seeing this, Eugene III picked up a feather pen and wrote a challenge on parchment.

Bernard took the letter of challenge, bowed to Eugene III again and left.

Bernard mounted his warhorse and selected a group of followers.

This entourage consisted of the Vatican's royal guards, wearing standard Vatican armor.

"Bring all the flags!"

Bernard gave orders to the guards, saying that they were going to issue a challenge this time, and they did not need to bring too many weapons, but they could bring at least some flags, as they had to demonstrate the majesty of the Holy See.

The soldiers watched Bernard and his men leave the city, and they were all whispering, wondering what Bernard was going to do.

"The war is coming!"

The veterans wiped their weapons silently. They had already smelled the scent of war. (End of this chapter)