Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 183: Human greed actually has no limits (two chapters in one)
"Target! The pile of rocks due north!"

"Distance! One hundred steps!"

"Elevation angle! 0-90 mils!"

"Charge! 7 ounces!"

"Light it up! Fire it up!"

Following the instructions of the gunner beside him, Garys used an igniter wrapped with a fuse to light the cannon fuse.

As the fuse was lit, Garys turned around and sprinted, flashing ten meters away in the blink of an eye, then turned around and looked at the artillery.

Then, as expected, with a loud bang, the barrel of the cannon made by Marwan exploded.

For a moment, the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and iron slag was flying everywhere.

It was because the Gairis ran fast that they escaped ten meters in the blink of an eye and were unharmed.

The problem of early artillery bursting was almost unsolvable.

And Garys needs to protect the safety of his own artillery as much as possible, so the issues about the life of the artillery and the maximum amount of explosives must be continuously tested.

At present, when the thickness of the barrel of a gun is close to the muzzle radius, the amount of powder should not exceed 70% of the mass of the shell.

The 7 ounces of powder that Gellis just loaded actually accounted for 80% of the mass of the shell.

Assuming 5 ounces of chestnut powder is used as the regular charge, the service life of a barrel gun of this caliber should be around 1 rounds.

Of course, considering that barrel cannons are all hammered by blacksmiths, their quality cannot be generalized.

The reserve artillerymen who had witnessed the artillery explosion could not help but tremble in their legs.

On a real battlefield, they can't do what the prophets do and light a fire and then hide ten meters away.

Fortunately, the prophet successfully helped them understand artillery and the circumstances under which it was easy for the artillery to explode by risking his own life time and time again.

Therefore, most of them have a clear idea in their minds.

The charge for this type of gun should not be more than 6 ounces, nor less than 4 ounces, 5 ounces is just right.

The gun will not explode due to too much gunpowder, nor will it not shoot far due to too little gunpowder.

But even so, the artillerymen still made a request to Gellis.

"Can the prophet help with the consecration? We feel that we should have the protection of the Holy Spirit and the saints to feel more at ease."

It is permissible and beneficial to venerate the saints in heaven and ask for their prayers.

——Doctrine

Naturally, Garys had no reason to refuse the artillerymen's request.

Therefore, when a new batch of four-barrel cannons were forged, under the vast sky, Alchos and Gairis had been waiting for a long time holding holy water.

"Lord, you established the world with wisdom and rule the nations with justice."

“We humbly pray before you today, asking you to bless this cannon so that it will become a tool of justice and protection, rather than a weapon that harms the innocent.”

“Please grant strength and wisdom to those who use it, so that their hearts will be righteous, not lost in war, nor proud of force.”

"Almighty God, please give us the strength to resist all forces of evil and injustice, and may this artillery not be misused in cruel or unjust wars."

"Jesus Christ, you are the King of Peace and the Shield of Justice. May this weapon become a barrier to protect the innocent, rather than a tool to destroy lives."

"Come, Holy Spirit, and may your will be done. The battle is won by you."

"In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

"Amen."

Garys brought Father Alchos and, in front of many artillerymen, prayed with a powerful and infectious voice, while holding a magical instrument dipped in holy water and sprinkling it on the cannon barrels.

Listening to this low prayer, the artillerymen also made the sign of the cross and praised Jehovah of Hosts and Jesus, the King of Peace, together with Garys...

In their hearts, they prayed that these artillery pieces would never hit their target and would never explode, and that Jehovah, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit would protect them so that they could use these terrible weapons safely.

This enabled them to use these artillery pieces to cleanse the world of sin and spread the name of the Prophet.

——Bless the weapon, so that it will never explode.

——Bless the bank server and pray that the ruble will not continue to depreciate

In addition to sprinkling holy water, Garys and Alchos also referred to the formula of the "Holy Anointing Oil" in the Bible and improved a kind of "Holy Oil" specifically for protecting weapons.

Through special rituals and the devout prayers of believers, these [holy oils] have the effect of protecting weapons from rust.

Of course, Gailis still explained in detail the principle of the rust prevention of [Holy Oil]. It is nothing more than that the holy oil helps iron weapons isolate oxygen and avoid oxidation.

Then the artillerymen unanimously agreed that the birth of the "Holy Anointing Oil" was designed by God long ago. In addition to being used for binding rituals, it was also used to properly maintain these brutal weapons.

"Of the spices thou shalt take five hundred shekels of myrrh, and two hundred shekels of cassia, and two hundred shekels of ointment, as the sanctuary relic requires, and a hectare of olive oil;

[You shall prepare holy oil from these materials, as you would prepare ointment, and it shall be holy oil for anointing.]

—Exodus 30:23-25
In order to better record the weapons' factory production, number of uses, maintenance methods, usage methods, etc., the barrels of these artillery pieces and the wooden boxes that held them were stamped with wax seals and parchment with declarations and prayers written on it.

These prayers include, in addition to Psalm 9: [God is the protector of the righteous], some prayers written by Gaillis.

Or some brief artillery instructions from St. Stalin.

For example: "Artillery needs to be used in a concentrated manner"

Of course, what is more crucial is that on the back of these parchments, there are detailed records of the production date, sealing date, number of times used, charging limit, operating instructions, applicable shell types, etc. of this type of artillery.

The artillerymen must be fully familiar with the operation of their weapons and use the power of the Holy Spirit to calm the artillery and prevent it from exploding.

It must be sprinkled with [holy water] for blessing before leaving the factory, and special [holy oil] must be used for maintenance, and there is a [mark of purity] on the gun box.

Each of these newly trained artillerymen has faith in their hearts and firmly believes that they are on the right path and are always with Garys and Jesus.

Of course, it's not just the artillery, there is a surplus in the current number of Paladins.

Geiris also began addressing the spiritual needs of the troops.

Not to mention the militia groups organized by the local councils, after absorbing some soldiers from Karak City, reorganizing the army under Balian, and recruiting a new group of soldiers.

Currently, the Jerusalem Kingdom Army has expanded to 9 companies.

Knight George, who was just a company commander at first, has now been gloriously promoted to Field Marshal of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Well, Field Marshal George, who is in charge of 9 companies, is also setting up a general staff.

In addition to the military commander, each company will also be assigned a Paladin to serve as a clergyman.

His main duties on weekdays are to organize the soldiers to pray, lead them to learn knowledge theory, and understand the basic doctrines of Gelis theology.

At the same time, the company Paladin also needs to listen to the needs of the soldiers, feedback their opinions to their superiors, and relieve their mental stress.

During wartime, Paladin was also obliged to lead the soldiers in fighting bravely and taking the lead in the charge.

In the subsequent plans, military chaplains will be arranged in the battalion-level military units to meet the religious needs of the soldiers, including but not limited to accepting soldiers' confessions, performing various sacraments, and consecrating weapons.

Everything was being prepared in full swing. In the months after the fall of Jerusalem, Garys and his companions had heard more and more news.

Gaza, Jaffa, Ashkelon, and even Balian's hometown of Ibelin Castle, all fell one after another.

Today, the port cities in the south of the Kingdom of Jerusalem have all fallen under the control of Saladin.

Next, Saladin will inevitably turn his attention to Tyre again.

Even though Tyre is surrounded by the sea on three sides, after Saladin mobilized a fleet from Egypt, with the army approaching and attacking from both land and sea, it can be said that it would fall sooner or later!
It has become a matter of sooner rather than later to relieve Tyre.

Of the nine companies of the regular army, seven were mobilized by Garys, and including some other personnel, the total force was about a thousand men.

The other two companies remained in Transjordan, still commanded by Field Marshal George. Their main task was to train new recruits from the refugee population, expand the size of the standing army, and reserve military strength for future foreign operations.

Well, now Field Marshal George only has two companies left to command and mobilize.

After inviting Bishop Amade to the Alhadi Town School to take over Aljos' teaching duties, Aljos was appointed as the army chaplain and presided over a mass.

The whole army marched out.

According to the plan on the map, in order to avoid the towns controlled by Saladin along the way, the straight-line distance of this march was only 210 kilometers, but the marching route was as long as 255 kilometers.

During the march, except for one company that was rotated every day as a guard force, the armor of all other soldiers was folded up and transported by carriages or camels, thus reducing the soldiers' weight and speeding up the march.

Starting at 8 o'clock in the morning, including the long break at noon and the small breaks once every hour, the time came to 6 o'clock in the afternoon.

On the first day, the march covered more than 30 kilometers and we camped in the leeward side of a hill.

After completing a series of inspections and having dinner, Garys, Isabella and Balian sat around a fire.

It is December now and even in the Levant, the night temperature is beginning to approach 12 degrees Celsius.

For this reason, the soldiers and Garys and others all wore thick cotton coats.

And items such as military uniforms and cotton armor are worn directly on the body.

In such a situation, although everyone was roasting by the fire.

Isabella still snuggled into Garys' arms, relying on Garys' body temperature and the coat on his body to keep warm.

She didn't care about other people's eyes at all, but stayed close to Garys, her hair rubbing against Garys' neck. Because she often took a bath with soap, the smell on Isabella's body was not unbearable.

On the contrary, it was this overly intimate attitude that made Gailis a little uncomfortable.

Balian, Aljos and the others standing by smiled one after another when they saw Garys' helpless expression.

Only when he was so close to Isabella did Gaillis look more like a young man of his appearance.

But at other times, Gellis's calmness and personal charm often make people ignore his age.

In such a quiet atmosphere, Balian was the first to open the conversation.

"Gallis, you keep saying that heaven is coming soon. Can you tell me more about it? What is heaven like?"

Listening to Balian's words, Gailis, who was holding Isabella, pondered for a moment and did not repeat the original teachings of awakening the world.

In the beginning, he repeatedly emphasized the original way to awaken the world. That was because people of that era could only imagine that, as a slogan, as a call to action.

In other words, "no one in the kingdom of heaven is partial, and everything is equal" is enough.

Today, a system similar to the Prophet Muhammad’s Ummah commune has taken shape, with tens of thousands of people following in their footsteps.

He must describe the coming heaven more accurately, only by telling it in vivid images and pointing out the direction and path forward.

Then followers like Balian can fight for it more clearly, rather than getting caught up in fighting simply for the sake of fighting.

[People will forget that the purpose of fighting is peace, that the purpose of putting on military uniforms is to take them off, and that the purpose of taking up weapons is to lay them down.]

[Finally, fighting will become the warriors' fate, because the outcome is so difficult to determine, and people have no choice but to continue fighting. ]

To this end, Gellis began his description.

"Finally, one day, our country will only need one farmer to feed nine others."

"Finally, one day, our country will only need one miner to bring the minerals needed by a hundred people."

“A weaver can make ten pieces of clothing in a day, and a brewer can brew hundreds of barrels of beer in a year.”

"By that time, there will be a hundred times more doctors than there are now, and countless miraculous drugs."

“By that time, after completing the necessary material production labor, we will all be able to enjoy freedom, and human beings will become their own masters.”

“We too shall pass from the kingdom of necessity to the kingdom of freedom.”

Gellis's words were actually describing a society with extremely developed productivity to Balian, Aljos, and Isabella.

It will be an endlessly long road to reach that step. Even if the production technology and productivity levels are sufficient, we will still face various difficulties.

But Gillis needed to tell them that success was possible.

Just like a later thought:
If most people believe that the current society is naturally reasonable, there is no need to change it.

Then there would be no possibility of the Kingdom of Heaven coming.

Therefore, people need to be won over and attracted to the coming Kingdom of Heaven.

However, heaven does not exist yet, so it is necessary to show that heaven is worth fighting for.

It is no use to say that heaven is the inevitable end of history.

Someone has to do this.

The theology and teachings of Garys, and the significance of the existence of the Taiping Church, are to tell the world again and again that heaven is worth fighting for and that God also hopes to come to the world and walk with mankind.

After listening to Garys' words, Balian showed a thoughtful look: "You said that one farmer can feed nine other people? How is that possible!"

Garys smiled. He was not worried that Balian would question him. Instead, he was afraid that Balian would blindly obey and follow him.

"You should know that gunpowder, the saltpeter used in it, is actually a kind of fertilizer, much better than feces."

"When we can produce an endless supply of fertilizer, food production will increase."

“And we will be able to grow crops that are more productive because God’s wisdom is in them.”

That night, Gellis talked a lot with the people around him, and he briefly shared all the agricultural knowledge he knew.

Later in the process, Gellis also mentioned the steam engine.

"In our daily lives, water can be turned into gas by heating. In the process of turning into gas, the volume of water will expand. If you cover the kettle with a lid, the expanded gaseous water can lift up the lid."

"Just as gunpowder expands into gas after being ignited and can propel a cannonball out, water expands into steam and also has the power to drive machinery."

Alchos frowned a little. He seemed to have caught a hint of inspiration, but he was not quite sure. Water could become gas when heated, and the gaseous water would expand and then lift the lid?
"At the pressure we are in now, the gas produced by heating water will expand about 1,200 times."

Garys added.

"One thousand two hundred times?!"

Alchos caught the inspiration in an instant, then he realized something else and said:
"The spinning ball from Mechanics and Optics?!"

Balian on the side also reacted. As a cultured man who married a "princess" of the Eastern Roman Empire, he collected and read many ancient Greek classics.

Archos, the Greek priest, and Balian, the guy who married a Greek "princess", have both read a book.

That book was written by Hero, and in that book, there was a thing called a balloon.

The steam-turning ball is mainly composed of a hollow ball and a closed pot filled with water, connected by two hollow tubes. The bottom of the pot is heated to generate steam, which then enters the ball through the tubes. Finally, the steam will spray out from both sides of the sphere and make the sphere rotate.

Balian also knew that the Greeks had created self-rotating statues based on this mechanical principle.

If water vapor can push a ball or a statue to rotate, then it can naturally push other things to rotate, and if the efficiency of utilization here is high enough, it can naturally push itself.

And if the efficiency of the steam ball can be improved, then it means that the power of steam can be used to drive other machines?
For example, a city gate? Or maybe a millstone?

Balian, Alchos and the others, who had caught a glimmer of inspiration, became impatient.

They were eager to know how to use God's wisdom to create a machine that could do work without the use of human or animal power.

Gailis was naturally enjoying the story. He pushed Isabella out of his arms and took a branch to draw a simple sketch on the ground.

Introducing the Newcomen steam engine, which is simpler, easier to produce and safer than the high-pressure steam engine.

"Water can not only expand and turn into water vapor, it can also shrink and return to liquid. In this process, a local vacuum will be created. Nature hates vacuum, so it will force this machine to work..."

Many of the words that Gellis said were difficult for Balian and Aljos to understand.

But thanks to the philosophers of ancient Greece, these two people were closely related to Greek culture and were not the extremely ignorant Franks. Therefore, after spending energy to recall and associate, they were still able to understand it.

In contrast to the ancient Greek atomists who believed that the universe consisted of atoms and a vacuum, Aristotle asserted that a vacuum did not exist.

But no matter how Aristotle opposed the vacuum, at least the concept of vacuum has been passed down.

The Newcomen steam engine was an early vacuum steam engine in which the valve would automatically close after steam was introduced into the cylinder.

Cold water is poured into the cylinder to cool the steam and cause it to condense, creating a local vacuum, which forces atmospheric pressure to work on the piston.

"Steam engines have limited efficiency, but they are safe because the material deforms inward rather than exploding outward."

"We can use it to draw water, we can use it to turn the millstone, and do other things, but in general it is not very useful, and you may even want to smash it."

"But this machine, as long as there is water, wood burning and it is not broken, it will keep running forever."

Garys painted a pie.

This bread is the bread of heaven.

No matter how difficult to use and useless the Newcomen vacuum steam engine was, it showed the people around the fire a future.

In that future, people won't have to work as hard as they do now.

Because machines can help, a lot of physical labor can be shared.

Now that there is such a machine, it can naturally be used in other directions, and Garys also mentioned several ideas for improvement.

It can be said that God’s wisdom has enlightened the world…

[Great indeed are the works of God; those who love Him must examine them.]

—Psalm 111:2
“My Father created the heavens and the earth for us to live in peace and contentment, and the banquet He has prepared is for each of us to enjoy.”

"But ignorance and sin have blinded us to His deepest meaning, so that a few of us, for our own selfish gain, put ourselves above others."

"They rely on eating the blood and flesh of their fellow men so that they can be rich and powerful..."

In this night of crackling sparks, Balian, Alchos and others witnessed another miracle.

This kind of miracle is not five loaves and two fish, not one step ten feet, nor is it killing someone invisibly.

It was a miracle that changed the world. God gave his wisdom to his children, and Garys brought it to the earth and spread it.

It is to make the poor no longer hungry in this world...

"But remember, human greed actually has no limits..."

At this time, Gailis couldn't help but add that he was a little scared, or felt pity.

　Or a two-in-one chapter with 6000 words

　　
　
(End of this chapter)