Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 176 "Anti-Serfdom Declaration" is a big chapter with 6400 words!
Catholicism has undergone many changes regarding who can go to heaven.

In the Middle Ages, or more precisely in the 12th century, the point that Catholicism emphasized most was that there is no salvation outside the church.

Only through acceptance of salvation through Jesus Christ, that is, baptism and faith, can the soul be saved.

Therefore, non-Christians, including Muslims, cannot enter heaven based on their religious beliefs.

But this view is not always consistent and popular among all theologians.

Just a few decades later, in the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas proposed the concept of "Baptism of Desire."

"For those who cannot accept Christianity due to geographical or cultural reasons, if they live an upright life, are inclined to the truth, and are willing to be baptized, God may grant them grace and salvation based on their inner intentions."

This idea was further clarified and deepened at the Second Vatican Council in the 20th century.

Article 16 of the Constitution on the Church states: "Those who do not know God but who seek what is good according to their conscience and obey what they know in their actions can be saved."

In 2013, when Pope Francis was elected as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church, he said directly in his speech: "God's salvation is for everyone, even atheists. What matters is that everyone follows their own conscience."

These words of Gellis would have been shocking in the 12th century, but if they were said in later times, they would have been nothing more than a part of theological speculation.

Of course, the citizens of Karak, including the priests and deacons under Amade...

Anyone who has seen Garys fall from the sky without any harm, and can teleport and kill Stephanie with a sword.

Their response was the same: Garys! You are right! Say more! God is so merciful! You are so merciful too!

The Lord created all things, so naturally all people are His people. The Lord is infinitely merciful, so He will naturally tolerate His people.

Because of kindness and conscience...anyone has the potential to be saved.

It is foolish to argue with a man who is killing people with a sword when you have no weapon in your hand.

And it would be even more foolish to engage in a debate with a man who could perform miracles.

The former may be killed, while the latter will be murdered and have his heart destroyed.

But Arnault had never seen it, so he felt extremely angry for a moment.

When he was beaten before, he had accumulated a huge amount of anger. Just now, he met an acquaintance, but the other party pretended not to know him.

Now I hear again the shocking remarks made by that young man on the stage.

Arno didn't think about it for a moment, and immediately shouted to the man on the stage:

"Heretic! Heretic!"

"Impossible!"

"The Saracens are not human beings! They are just a bunch of beasts! A bunch of pagans! A bunch of inferiors who are doomed to have no chance of heaven!"

After these words were spoken, the young man on the stage stopped talking, and the citizens around him who had been in a frenzy also fell silent.

For a moment, Arnault became the focus of everyone in the square.

The young man on the stage didn't say anything, and the citizens around him didn't say anything either. They just looked at Arno, which made Arno feel uneasy.

Facing the gazes of hundreds of people, Arno felt as if he had done something stupid, and was afraid that the guys around him would rush up and beat him up again.

Arno even squatted down consciously, lowered his head and protected his head with both hands.

Garys couldn't help but laugh when he saw a middle-aged man with a bruised face, torn clothes, and quite fat, making such a gesture.

"Everyone! Do not repay evil with evil, or insult with insult! Let's just let today's incident pass!"

Gailis told everyone not to hit the poor man, since most of the people present were Christians. If a Saracen insisted on punching, Gailis would not really stop him.

In addition, today's lecture had almost covered everything, and after a brief ceremony, most people left.

Gailis personally came to Arno, helped the middle-aged man up, and helped him brush off the dust on his body.

Thanks to Guéris' friendly gesture, Arnault became bolder and took the initiative to answer questions asked by Guéris.

"You said you were a knight? And you are the owner of La Fleurie? And you plan to go to Councillor Etienne?"

Arno nodded naturally.

Garys's mouth twitched.

"I suppose you don't expect to see Councillor Etienne."

"what happened?"

"Some time ago, during the siege, he advocated surrender and was beaten to death by the citizens."

When Arno heard the news, he was in disbelief. How could his supporter in the city disappear after just a few months? !

"Uh, sir, who is the boss of this city now? I want to report him! I want to report the inhumane treatment I received in the downtown area! A bunch of bastards robbed me!"

Arno didn't say anything. He came to the city to find the escaped serfs. After all, the young man in front of him was obviously an abolitionist, and he didn't want to make trouble for himself.

After hearing this, Garys touched his chin, where a little hair had already grown.

"As for the person who has the final say, I should be considered one of them."

"By the way, I want to announce something to you. In Karak City, an Anti-Serfhood Declaration will be announced in a while."

"At that time, any products produced by serfs through forced labor for free will be banned from circulation in Karak City."

With his mouth at 37 degrees Celsius, Gellis spoke ordinary words, without any passion or hostility.

But it severely stimulated Arnault's fragile heart. This guy widened his eyes, unable to believe what nonsense Gérice was talking about.

However, the response of hundreds of people in the square to Guéris made Arnault involuntarily believe that Guéris was telling the truth.

This is really fun. The thought of his serfs leaving him, the earth-shaking changes happening in Karak City, and the thought of having to cut flesh for the Muslims in the future!

Arnault felt as if his heart was being stabbed by a knife. Every time he breathed, he felt as if he was inhaling a knife into his lungs.

His heartbeat suddenly accelerated and he could hardly breathe. These ordinary words of Gérice had a special impact on Arnault.

For a moment, Arnault's eyes went dark and he collapsed to the ground.

Garris quickly stepped aside and spread his hands to the people around him, indicating that he did not hit anyone and that Arnault's fall was purely his own fault!

The two followers behind Arno hurried forward to support their master, but Garys ignored them and left quickly as he had another meeting to attend later.

Citizens and merchants were not only free men but also privileged people. Like clergy and nobles, they enjoyed special city laws and were free from the territorial rights and seigniorages that weighed on the peasants.

But the reason why freedom is a privilege is that it is in contrast to widespread unfreedom.

Gellis was very clear about one thing: the political agenda proposed by almost all cities in the Mediterranean region at that time was by no means to overthrow feudal society.

It should be said that almost all cities recognized the privileges and powers of kings, clergy and nobles without dispute.

The city's residents may dare to fight for their freedom and rights, but they do not want to turn the world upside down, but only want simple concessions.

Citizens and merchants need free trade and markets to exist; this is essential for their survival.

When the freedom of the city was satisfied, they no longer cared about the world outside the city or the living conditions of the serfs.

In fact, after becoming independent, many free city-states exercised autocratic rule over the surrounding rural areas that was even more despotic than that of the feudal lords.

It can be said that the city explicitly preserves freedom as a privilege within its walls.

The farmers around them did not seem to be from the same hometown as the citizens.

If they had the power, the cities would subject the peasants to a despotic protectorate and take on the responsibility of providing the cheap raw materials.

Wherever this could be done, it was done, as in the Italian city-states, which held the surrounding countryside under their enslavement.

Garys has a clear understanding that the vast majority of citizens in the city do not care about the lives of farmers. They will even prohibit more farmers from joining them in order to monopolize production.

The citizens of this era did not want to overthrow everything, although they sometimes resorted to violence, nor did they hate the old system, but simply wanted to force it to make concessions.

And this is actually the purpose of Garys coming here, and the meaning of the existence of the cult.

Since the citizens in the city are not progressive enough, Gailis will lead the citizens to progress together, and then the sect will be rooted in the city and the countryside.

With the yearning for heaven and the respect for the Heavenly Father, the good and evil in this world are redefined, driving the citizens and farmers to move towards a better tomorrow.

The seeds of freedom have been sown and will surely grow into towering trees.

……

The parliament hall of Karak City was preserved, and in fact, the parliamentary identities of those members who refused to surrender were also retained.

Gellis was not in a hurry to abolish the parliamentary status of these members. After all, the system of municipal councils was more easily compatible with the Second Kingdom of Jerusalem that Gellis was currently designing than that of feudal lords.

Of course, the regulations regarding the hereditary status of members of parliament were proposed to be abolished by Bishop Ame during the city-wide celebration not long ago, and the citizens unanimously agreed to the proposal.

The current parliamentary system of Karak City has been changed to a four-year term, and members can be re-elected.

As for the more detailed election regulations, Gellis did not interfere too much.

In fact, he had neither the energy nor the willingness to give direct orders as a superior.

When facing the newly formed Karak City Municipal Council, Garys gave speeches again and again, using his personal charm to persuade and educate.

In the second kingdom system designed by Gellis: Kingdom - County (city) - District (town) - Village (community)

The Municipal Council of Karak is essentially equivalent to a town council, one level lower than the Arnon County Council.

In the future, a new county will be born around the city of Karak.

Transjordan as a whole is still too large, and it would be just right if it were divided into three counties.

At such a town council, he first glanced at the people attending the meeting.

These people include the original city council members, church representatives, and downtown representatives. Basically, the new town council members will emerge from these people.

"Everyone here, before we start today's meeting, I would like to read you a Gospel message: I give you a new commandment: You should love one another; just as I have loved you, you also should love one another."

This is what Brother Tian said to his disciples at the Last Supper.

When Garys said this before the meeting, he set the tone for the meeting.

"As everyone knows, in July, the army of the King of Jerusalem was defeated and Guy was captured. The kingdom is left without a pillar to stand alone!"

"Right now, Saladin's main army is besieging Acre! Once Acre is captured, Saladin will surely march south to capture the holy city."

"Once the Holy City is captured, Saladin's tens of thousands of troops will surely sweep across the Holy Land and seize every city he can!"

"Saladin may be a man of high moral character, but his army is not! The purpose of those armies in the war, in addition to capturing the holy city, is to make a fortune! To capture slaves!"

"Can we submit to the slavery of others?"

Gellis questioned the people in the meeting, and the response he got was naturally "No!" over and over again.

Empty talk of dedication and devotion may inspire courage in people for a while, but it will not last long.

Only when it involves one's own interests can one persevere.

"But do you think you can stop Saladin's army by yourself?"

"In the entire Transjordanian territory, there are tens of thousands of people, but less than a quarter of them are Franks! There are only 5,000 people in Karak!"

"How can we defend our freedom with just this small number?"

"Only when tens of thousands of people in the entire territory rise up together can we resist Saladin's army!"

"so……"

Having said this, Garys paused, and his eyes swept across the entire parliament hall again, meeting the eyes of the participants.

“Therefore, we must make freedom no longer a privilege, but a universal right, and make slavery itself disappear from this world.”

"Only when we love each other, can we know that we are brothers and sisters, and can we fight against the evil together and defend each other together!"

“As my Father said, the fast that He pleases is to loose the chains of injustice, to abolish the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to break every yoke!”

This was the first time that Gellis declared God to be his Father in Karak, but no one questioned him.

The venue was filled with applause because Gellis announced to the people there a promising path to victory.

In the entire Kingdom of Jerusalem, excluding those vassal states, the actual Frankish population was only a few hundred thousand. It was naturally impossible for them to win against the Saracens with a population of over ten million.

But if the ethnic conflict is transformed into a conflict between freedom and slavery, then Muslims living under the iqta system can also be allies.

As for religious beliefs?

What religious belief issue is there?
The old prophet has returned from history, and the truth covered by dust is bound to be revealed to the world.

If we do not obey a living prophet who is alive today, are we still going to believe in teachings that have been tampered with by later generations?

Uthman, the Islamic caliph, burned all copies of the Quran except his own.

The Catholic Church also uses the authority of the Holy See to make exclusive interpretations of the Bible and prohibits others from questioning it.

All those ancient secrets will be reiterated by Garys, bringing the true "good news" to all living beings in the world.

“Although we live in different parts of the world, with different languages ​​and cultures, we all share the same origin and are one family!”

"At the same time, we also have only one final destination! That is the heaven we all yearn for!"

“We must spread the good news of the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven to all corners of heaven and earth, so that we will no longer be divided from one another, but will be united in Christ…”

Holy! Holy! Holy!

【Almighty God and Father, all honor and glory be to you through, with, and in Christ, and with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.】

……

The emergence of Gairis made the existence of the Second Kingdom of Jerusalem a reality.

After the siege of Karak was completed, even the Muslims in the town began to praise Gairis.

But not all Muslims have this attitude. There is a group of Muslims who neither live in towns and enjoy town autonomy, nor live in remote villages and are simply taxed.

They were serfs, not free people. They lived on manors, were bound to the land, and had a life order that was completely different from that of the outside world.

The origins of serfs in Western European manors were actually varied.

But for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, everything was quite similar - the lord relied on force to forcibly convert some Muslim villages into private estates.

Then a large number of Western European Franks who came with their lords and nobles joined in as free people or assistant administrators.

Such Muslims account for a considerable proportion in the territory of Transjordan.

The life of this group is naturally quite miserable compared to other groups.

But misery also needs to be compared. It is not true that the lives of these serfs will improve if the feudal lords are replaced by Muslims.

You have to know that in contemporary Egypt, with the fertile land nourished by the Nile River, farmers could still be exploited to the point where they didn't even have a piece of clothing!
Of course, clothes are not considered a necessity in Egypt...

Noble lords, especially the knight class, usually rely on military force as their main duty.

They may know how to lead troops in battle and understand how to kill enemies with swords, but they are often weak in managing territory.

Therefore, the lords would grant the towns a certain degree of autonomy in exchange for sufficient taxes and military service.

They would also appoint a steward to manage the manor on their behalf, thereby obtaining fixed taxes or conscripting free men to join the army.

Ibn Jubayr, a geographer and traveler who was hostile to the Franks, wrote in his writings:

[We set out from Torun (Humphrey's territory) at dawn on Monday - may God destroy it!]

[We passed a road that passed an estate inhabited by Muslims who lived well under the rule of the Franks - may Allah protect us from this temptation!]

[The regulations imposed on them were to surrender half of their corn crop at harvest, and to pay a poll tax of one gold dinar and seven kirat, and a small tax on their fruit trees.]

[The Muslims had their own houses and ruled themselves in their own way. This was how the manors and villages in the Frankish territories were organized.]

[Many Muslims wanted to settle here because life under Muslim rule was miserable.]

[They praised the behavior of the Franks, and they could always trust the justice of the Franks.]

To put it simply, there was a traveler who discovered that the Franks only collected 5% tax, and as long as the tax was paid, the lord would not bother to care about the Muslims.

It really is too feudal and contractual!

So much so that the surrounding Muslim farmers even wanted to go to the Kingdom of Jerusalem to become second-class people...

All we can say is that this is a world of rottenness. In the eyes of many people, the Franks who are willing to formulate the rules of the feudal system are more like human beings than those sultans and emirs who are "people with unlimited power."

This is the route Ibn Jubair travelled.

Based on this situation, Gailis said that their opposition with Saladin was not religious or ethnic, and could be completely transformed into [slavery or freedom].

The city councillors believed it, and in fact the Muslims in the towns believed it too.

After all, it was not uncommon to hear of unlimited fighting tournaments taking place from time to time in Cairo or Alexandria.

As for the serfs outside the city, the main reason they did not want to be serfs was because they longed for the freedom of the city, or the higher autonomy of other Muslim villages under the Franks.

It’s not like they really want to go to Syria.

If the city of Karak could promote the free citizenship of the serfs in the nearby manors, coupled with the missionary ability of Gairis, it would not be impossible to mobilize the power of the Muslim community and organize the Muslim people to resist Saladin.

In this process, Muslims will gain certain rights to participate in politics, and serfs will be turned into free people.

Different manors will also be transformed into freeman villages or become autonomous farms according to local conditions.

All of these manors belonging to Reynard will be directly seized.

As for those who are not Reynard but are not in the manor, Isabella announced that if there is no "royal tax" within a year, their status as manor owners will be revoked.

And for landowners like Arno, who are still in their own territories, their right to use the land has been recognized.

But serfdom had to be abolished, the serfs in the original manors had to be transformed into free people, and at the same time, rent and interest reductions had to be implemented.

Garys, or more precisely, the Karak City Council, did not forcefully abolish the manor system.

Firstly, as a model of collective production, manor production is necessary in this era.

The second reason is that manor owners like Arno, without violating relevant laws, are still regarded as their own by a considerable number of people in parliament. If the manor is seized rashly and forcibly, many people will feel the same way.

The third is Gellis’s own opinion that serfs were bound to the fields, but freemen had the right to move freely.

In the subsequent reform movement, if landowners like Arnaud were willing to transform into agricultural capitalists, then Guéris would be tolerated.

The current social situation does not allow one to become rich overnight.

In the following days, Garys seemed to have returned to the time in Skarl, dealing with all kinds of stressful things.

The good news is that the first batch of Paladins have been recognized by Simon and have been officially assigned to Garys.

While these Paladins were accepting Gellis's teachings, they also began to organize themselves into missionary teams, and traveled with Gellis to preach in various manors.

Amidst such complicated matters, Garys still found time to organize a wedding and send his blessings to the newlyweds.

　One update is equivalent to two. I feel like I'm back in shape. This weekend, I will definitely update more to pay off my debt.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)