Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 157 Jerusalem is Defeat
Society has always been that way, so much so that many people often have the illusion that human beings seem to have made no progress for thousands of years.

So much so that the words of the ancients thousands of years ago are still insightful today.

[When he needs you, he deceives you and flatters you to make you trust him, and then he speaks to you in a big way and says, “What do you lack?”]

—The Wisdom of Ben Sira 13:7
Isn't it the case today that the rich need the poor to go up to the city wall, so even Bishop Ame needs to step into this garbage dump, smile at the poor, and then speak loudly and ask the poor: What do you lack?
However, the bishop was a bishop after all, and was reluctant to give up his gorgeous vestments, so he let the long spears lead the way in front and asked the deacons to hold up the ceremonial guards behind.

However, those nobles wanted the people to come back to them, so they used the name of helping the proletarians as their banner. But the people often got close to them, and saw that they were still wearing feudal underwear, so they all dispersed with laughter.

Bishop Ame wanted to flatter the poor people and put on a condescending attitude, which only added to the jokes.

On the contrary, even though Garys was dressed in rags, had dishevelled hair and a dirty face, and was lying on the ground on his side, he was still regarded as one of their own by the poor people, who would affectionately call him "brother" or "buddy".

If you want to enter the world of the poor, you have to become a "poor person" yourself.

[All living creatures associate with their own kind; and each man associates with those who are like him. Can there be friendship between a wolf and a lamb? Likewise, neither can there be friendship between a sinner and a righteous man.]

—The Wisdom of Ben Sira 13:21
"Amedee, the splendor of your cathedral comes from the donations of the rich. However, the church we are in was built by the poor themselves, with their sweat and blood."

"The occasional soup kitchens held in this church are all funded by Father Antoine himself. Has your church ever provided funding?"

"When you don't need it, you just ignore it. When you need it, you come to ask for it. What do you think of Father Antoine and the believers in this parish?"

"What's wrong with me taking care of the places you ignored in the past? There should be someone to light an oil lamp for the dark corners that the church's light can't reach."

As he was speaking, Garys yawned again, and flicked his booger, which landed on the bishop's gold-embroidered vestments.

"Besides, you said that one person can earn three silver dirhams for defending the city for a day. Can you afford this? Will the rich people pay this much?"

"I heard that you only received donations totaling 100 gold dinars during your first sermon."

Killing someone must also destroy their heart. These few words from Garys were enough to make old man Amedei's face turn blue with anger.

In those days, 1 gold dinar was equivalent to 12 silver dirhams, and 100 gold dinars were equivalent to 1200 silver dirhams. Each person guarding the city received 3 silver dirhams, which was only a day's salary for 400 people guarding the city.

If you want to properly defend the city of Karak, you need to put at least 800 people on the city wall. Considering the long-term defense... that will cost tens of thousands of gold dinars.

The funds that Amadeus could mobilize were not enough to cash the blank checks he had written. Even if he sold the church, it would be difficult to do so.

Only by making the wealthy people in the upper city bleed heavily can Amedei's words be fulfilled.

"My Lord Bishop, to be honest, three silver dirhams is indeed a high price, but you can't do it. You can't cut so much meat from those rich people whose hearts are smaller than the eye of a needle."

“How can they feed the poor with their own flesh and blood if they are not Jesus?”

"Sir, it's not impossible. If you can make those rich people donate generously, I will personally lead people to the city wall and defend this city to the death."

"But until then, those who have nothing cannot defend those who have everything."

Gellis did not lie on the bench in the church anymore. Instead, he stood up and stretched. Ignoring Bishop Amadeus's gloomy look, he wiped his hands with the gorgeous vestments, and then led Father Antoine to leave the church.

Before the two of them left.

Acting Bishop Ame also vowed that he would make sure the rich people in the upper city learned the wisdom from the Bible.

In response, Garys just shouted loudly without turning his head.

"Ah, you rich people! Howl and weep, for the trouble that is coming upon you! Your treasures have rotted, your clothes have moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded; and the rust will stand as a witness against you and eat up your flesh like a burning fire!"

From Amedee's perspective, when such a bohemian guy like Garys stepped into the scorching sun outside the church, the scorching sun gave Garys a halo, and his short light golden hair looked dazzling for a moment.

The poor brothers who had been waiting outside the church for a long time, when they saw Garys come out, rushed up to him, asking him how he was doing and how he bargained with the bishop.

It can be said that Gellis does not need to wear fancy clothes to declare his status, because the poor people have their own robes of kindness to wrap him up.

……

Adil's army has surrounded the city of Karak. Before officially attacking the city, he needs to spend time building a camp and cutting down nearby trees to make siege machinery.

Even after all the preparations were completed, he was not willing to take the initiative to attack because Karak City occupied a plateau with a huge height difference.

You know, in this hellhole of a place called Karak, the slopes under the city walls can often reach an unscrupulous 70°! Even the milder ones are still around 30°.

Attack by force? With what? Standing in the valley and looking up at the city wall, the height difference is more than 120 meters!

Therefore, Adil believed that the main thing was to surround the city. If they really wanted to attack, there were not many siege engines that could be pushed up the terrain.

Therefore, for quite a long time, the two sides were actually at peace. Those defending the city were worried about the other side attacking the city, and those attacking the city were particularly frightened when looking at the terrain.

And Garys also organized some people to participate in the patrol of the city wall, but the number was much smaller than Amedee had expected.

But because of this, Bishop Amedai would take out enough food from the granary every day and give it to Gérice to distribute to the people in Father Antoine's parish.

In Bishop Amedee's view, the emergence of someone who could organize the poor people would at least be better than letting them act as a mob and become a mess, so he acquiesced to Gérice's management of Antoine Parish.

As time went by, the food reserves in the city were actually sufficient, but Acting Bishop Ame was never able to take too much money from the rich.

All we can say is that the rich people gave some money to Acting Bishop Ame, just like they were giving money to beggars, so that the bishop could go and appease the people in the downtown area.

When the days came to July, everyone felt that this peace and tranquility would last for a long time.

I feel that one day Reynald will return with reinforcements to Karak City and rescue everyone in the city.

Adil sent a messenger to the city with news that no one expected.

The main force of the Kingdom of Jerusalem fought a battle with the main force of Saladin on the west bank of the Sea of ​​Galilee.

The scale of the battle was 25,000 against 40,000.

After a series of battlefield battles, Saladin gained a great advantage and successfully defeated the main force of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

A large number of Frankish nobles were captured.

Among them was Humphrey, Reynard's adopted son and the son of Lady Stephanie, the real lord of Transjordan.

The visiting envoy even took out Humphrey's keepsake and displayed it at the city council.

The town council of Karak was suddenly in a panic. Faced with this shocking news, their previous dreams were shattered and their previous wishful thinking could no longer be realized.

For a moment, shouting and accusations roared in the council hall.

　Second update, two more updates to be completed before 12 o'clock.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)