Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 160 Woe to the Bloody City!

[For there can be no friendship between a wolf and a lamb, nor between a sinner and a righteous man.]

[How can a hyena and a dog get along? How can a rich man and a poor man live in peace?]

[As the wild donkey in the wilderness is the prey of the lion, so the poor are the prey of the rich.]

——The Wisdom of Ben Sira 13:21-23
A huge gap cut through the city, dividing the crowd into two groups.

As for whether Adil will keep his promise?

Even if it was Garys, he believed that the other party was most likely telling the truth.

This is quite scary.

In the 18 years since Saladin made his debut, there has never been any rumor about him breaking his promise.

Saladin's political credibility is at the opposite extreme from that of Reynald in the Middle East.

Such strong credibility brought Saladin immeasurable political assets. With Saladin's endorsement, Adil's promise was equally convincing.

After all, in Egypt, under Adil's rule, about 10% of the population are Christians.

Since Adil can tolerate the existence of Coptic Orthodox Christians, it seems that he can also tolerate the existence of Catholics.

Without any reasoning, Gailis could already imagine the temptation the members of parliament would face when Adil's messenger made this request.

Their weakness and vacillation will be exposed to the sun without any cover.

"From now on, no, it should be said that since the rich people heard the news, they have begun to feel that they are not of the same nationality as the Franks in the lower city. Hehe~"

As he spoke, Gailis couldn't help but chuckle.

Adil is indeed powerful. Since it is difficult for the army to break through the city wall, let the people inside the city wall walk out by themselves!
"10 gold dinars for men, 5 gold dinars for women, and 2 gold dinars for children. This price doesn't seem like much. It seems that any coolie can earn 10 gold dinars in a year's work."

"But, they have to live, food, clothing, housing and transportation all cost money, and they have to pay taxes!"

"Half of the people in Karak will never be able to pay this much money!"

"And they may be betrayed by their other half at any time, especially the rich ones."

"Because they can not only afford their own ransom, but also pay double the ransom to continue to maintain their prosperity and wealth."

"Those in the city who cannot pay the ransom will become Adil's spoils and be taken back to Egypt and sold as slaves..."

Garys made a rough calculation and found out that if the Karak City Council agreed to the other party's conditions and decided to surrender.

Then Adil would receive about 20,000 gold dinars as ransom and be able to take away 3,000 people as slaves.

Adil made a huge profit without losing a single soldier!

Although the rich and the middle class in the city suffered heavy losses, at least they were spared from the war.

The only people who will truly face a tragic future are the citizens living near this church, the poor.

Garys couldn't help but take a few deep breaths and his face became solemn. He was indeed angry.

"Amadei, why did you come to me and tell me all this? You could actually just surrender, right?"

In response to Gérice's questioning, Amedee gave his reasons quite frankly: "Because as a bishop, I have no way out. Even if I pay the ransom, it will at most give me my freedom."

"But without believers, the church is no longer a church. Without believers, the church is not a church at all, but just a pile of stones. Without believers, bread will always be just bread, and cannot become the Eucharist."

"How can I continue to be a bishop if half the people in this city are sold into slavery?"

"Adil, I will never allow a Catholic church to exist in Karak. He will replace me with other rites, such as Coptic Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox." "By then, the new bishop will drive me out of the church."

"By then, my fate will be no better than that of the poor people."

Amedai's words were mixed with sadness. Others could surrender, but he couldn't.

When he finally understood this truth after being tortured over and over again, he decided to go see Garys...

Listening to Amedee's heartfelt words, Gaillis looked at the cross of Jesus, looked at the suffering face of Jesus, and chuckled.

It was difficult for him to judge whether Amadeo really sympathized with the poor, or whether it was because of the interests of his own position that caused him to say such words and express such emotions.

But it doesn't matter. It can only be said that it happened to provide Garys with an opportunity, an opportunity to completely control the city of Karak.

"Amadeus, I remember you once said that we should let the rich learn the wisdom from the Bible and become charitable and compassionate."

"Yes, I did."

"Now, what do you think?"

"Jesus said to his disciples, 'Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.' And again I tell you, 'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'"

Amei read a passage of scripture and expressed his views. It is Matthew 19:23-24.

This passage is Jesus' teaching on the difficulty of rich people entering the kingdom of heaven. It emphasizes that wealth may become an obstacle to entering the kingdom of heaven and reminds believers not to rely too much on material possessions, but to pursue the value of true faith.

For now, the expressions and choices of the rich people only prove once again the correctness of Jesus' words.

Bishop Ame's previous vows were completely slapped in the face, so much so that he became a clown and had to come to Garys for help.

As a Catholic bishop who cannot surrender, only the poor people who also cannot surrender would support him instead of conspiring to betray those around them first.

Gailis not only chuckled, he also stood up, came to Amedee's side, pressed Amedee's shoulders, and whispered to recite.

"Woe to the bloody city, a rusty pot!"

"The rust has not been removed from it. You must take the pieces of meat out of it one by one, and don't cast lots for them."

"The blood shed in this city is poured out on the bare rock; it cannot be covered up; it is my blood, that I may repay with wrath."

"Woe to the bloody city! I will also heap up a great pile of wood for fire."

“Put the empty pot on the coals, and heat it, so that the copper will become red hot, and melt away the filthiness that is in it, and clean off the rust that is on it.”

“I will do what I have said, and I will not turn back, nor will I pity or repent.”

Amedei looked up in astonishment as he heard these murderous words. He naturally understood the metaphor in Gailis's words.

The meat in the pot is the poor in the city, and the poor are the fish of the rich!
The rust in the pot naturally represents the rich people in the upper town. Garys will use a large pile of matches to heat the copper red, melt the filth in it, and remove the rust.

When Bishop Ame was staring at Gairis's face, suddenly, without knowing when, a crown of thorns appeared on Gairis's head, exactly the same as the crown worn by the man nailed to the cross behind him...

"Come, Bishop, let us gather a great pile of wood and set the city on fire, and use the most holy fire to cleanse the rust in the city."

Garys' words were soft but exceptionally clear. When Bishop Ame heard them, his heart was already trembling.

　I said the wrong thing. Today I didn't just write four chapters, I actually wrote five.

　　So I returned three chapters. I still owe 300 monthly tickets. (Only one chapter left)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)