Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 195: The Lord Who Has Wisdom But Is Kind and Powerless (Three in One)

[… Each different class makes use of the religion which it sees fit… It is of no importance whether the gentlemen themselves believe in their respective religions or not.]

——Selected Works of Marx and Engels, Volume 4
[The Roman Church has often fought most resolutely against the "official" establishment of two religions: the religion of the "intellectuals" and the religion of the "ladies."]

——Prison Notebooks by Antonio Gramsci

Nothing pops out of a stone, and a certain department of theology does not emerge overnight from the mind of some genius.

Many people set some things against each other and feel that many things are incompatible.

But the first Christians were also called atheists by the rulers of the Roman Empire because Christians did not worship the god of the Roman Empire: the Roman emperor.

Similarly, Gellis led the islanders on the island of Cyprus to establish their own new religion and declare war on the "gods" on the island of Cyprus.

In this process, what choice should the original Orthodox Church make?

There is a tearing apart of religions between the different classes, one being the religion of the people, and that religion is going back to its most magnificent, moving, heroic, glorious history.

Like the original Christians, they came from the lowest levels of society: slaves, freedmen deprived of all rights, and small farmers bankrupted by the weight of debt.

The other is an idol-worshipping religion, where believers are closely united around the idol of Isaac.

With the power of the "idol", the Turks, the "Varangis", and the Cypriot nobles who were currying favor with the powerful united and plundered the island with naked brutality.

What choice should the existing Orthodox Church make at this time?
The confessional of the church is hidden in the side wing of the church. It is dimly lit, as if isolated from the noise of the outside world. The room is not big, and the walls are covered with rough stone bricks, with occasional mottled wet marks.

Under the ancient and heavy cross, Bishop Anthony and Father Arcos looked at each other.

"Patriarch, he will not support your idea." Bishop Anthony still did not directly answer Alchos' question.

"He is nothing more than a puppet appointed by the tyrant Isaac. Teacher, do you really think it is necessary to continue to follow him?"

Anthony gave Aljos a long look.

"Teacher, this time is different from before. I know what the Orthodox customs are."

"In all political turmoil, Orthodoxy has tried to protect itself and acknowledge the victors."

"Because whichever 'dictator' wins, we will be needed to rule."

"Those monarchs became the embodiment of the law, the reflection of the Lord on earth."

"The war between them is a 'war of gods'. Whichever 'god' wins, he needs us to be his servants."

"But this time, it's different. The Holy Word is walking on the earth again. A new religion is being born and constructed."

"The Holy Word will declare war on those false gods and wipe them out. This is a war between different religions. This is a holy war!"

"If we do not follow the Word before the outcome is decided, then we become servants of the old gods, the false gods."

"Besides, I don't want to be like the people of Ashdod..."

When Bishop Anthony heard about the people of Ashdod, his face twisted in an indescribable way.

To be honest, even though he is a bishop, when Bishop Anthony reads the Bible, especially the Old Testament, he finds it a bit outrageous.

There are two verses about the people of Ashdod.

The hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod, destroying them and suffocating them with tumors, both in Ashdod and in its environs.

When the people of Ashdod saw what had happened, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.”

——5 Samuel 6:7-
Simply put, Jehovah's hand struck the people of Ashdod, causing these former believers in Dagon to develop hemorrhoids, and then they begged for mercy from the Israelites.

Bishop Anthony found it difficult to evaluate the original meaning of this passage, but he understood what Aljos meant.

So Bishop Anthony waved his hand and asked Aljos to leave.

Just before Aljos left, the priest added: "Teacher, I think you are the only one qualified to be the patriarch on this island."

The air in the confessional seemed to freeze.

Bishop Anthony gripped the cross tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force, and began his confession.

But rather than saying it is a confession, it is more like strengthening some of my own ideas.

……

As Archos said, Gelis was creating a new religion.
In this new religion, theology, which meditated aimlessly on the mysteries of heaven in quiet churches and monasteries, had to die.

In this new religion, theology must be down-to-earth, take up the cross of history, and fight for the lives and liberation of the poor.

This is a sign of the coming of the kingdom of heaven.

But Gairis was ultimately short of qualified people, and he could not conjure up a trained priest out of thin air, which was why Archos kept persuading Bishop Anthony.

However, whether or not there are priests walking out of the church and coming among the people, it will not change the fact that the people here have awakened and have vowed to eliminate the old gods.

In the following days, Garys contacted Father Aljos and his men, and the Paladins who came on the boat with Garys also joined the Liberation Front.

With the help of Paladins who have received certain military training and have firm beliefs.

With the help of Amir Village, Gelis expanded its influence to the outside world.

The survivors of "Varangi" carried the broken shields and, under the escort of the Liberation Front fighters, paraded to nearby villages and gave speeches.

"The people are suffering, and so are your families!"

"Those working in the city have to sell their bodies to eat!"

"The old farmer can't even eat the rice he grows."

"People have no jobs, they are hungry and exhausted."

"That idol tyrant and the nobles and rich people who obey him have abandoned us just as they abandoned Christ!"

"We who have never committed a sin have suffered the consequences of sin and have been regarded as evildoers and buried with thieves, and then left dead in the wilderness!"

"Christ Jesus would never want His people to suffer like this. It is the pagans who worship idols who have usurped the food and hope that we should enjoy!"

"Rise up! Resist!"

"The Word has become flesh again and walks on this bleeding land!"

Compared to the speaking ability of Nicholas and his gang, the Paladins who have received long-term training are proficient in how to inspire people.

They described to the people the vision of heaven and the former prosperity of Rome.

With the testimony of those "Varangis", the deeds of Gairis seemed to be true.

To be honest, there are many untrue things in what these Paladins preach.

They omitted the various chaos in the late Roman Republic and intentionally or unintentionally avoided talking about the truth about the parliament of this era.

The European Parliaments of this era were mostly either appointed by kings and princes, or could only elect representatives from a group of small nobles or wealthy businessmen.

Taking the outstanding Republic of Venice as an example, citizens did not have the right to directly vote and it was an aristocratic republic.

Of course, this does not mean that there were no republics with citizen elections, such as Pisa, Genoa, and some city-states in northern Germany.

The free citizens of these cities could elect their mayors and other officials through town meetings, and although aristocratic influence remained, burgher rights were more widespread than in much of Europe.

Therefore, the plan proposed by Gellis is not actually a castle in the air. It is just a situation that everyone knows part of but does not understand deeply.

With the brilliant record, the Paladins' eloquence, and Isaac's exploitation in recent years.

The tone for another uprising was set.

Different from the last Nicholas Uprising.

This time, the uprising was not in a hurry to gather the rebel forces and launch an attack on nearby cities.

Instead, they are constantly in contact with farmers, encouraging them and training them, and are truly rooted in the countryside.

The Cyprus Liberation Front is not only a fighting team, but also a working team.

……

After all, Cyprus is not the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This island is only 9,000 square kilometers, which is not much different from the area of ​​Transjordan.

The only difference from Transjordan is that Isaac does not have the same ambition as Leonard.

If Leonard were to fail to pay attention to the corners of his territory in time due to the political changes in Jerusalem.

Then Garys couldn't expect Aixa to give him too much time.

The next battle could break out at any time, and at this critical moment, Garys still took time out to meet someone.

This person is Bishop Anthony.

When he, led by Aljos and wearing a robe, traveled dozens of kilometers to Amir Village to meet Gairis for the first time, he felt that the meeting was not as good as the reputation.

This is a young man, very, very young. Although 18 is an adult, he is still a child compared to him, especially the smile that always appears on his lips.

Garys's face might be considered handsome, but it was actually not that outstanding, especially since his clothes were extremely shabby, which made it easier for people to look down on him.

Of course, Bishop Anthony is not the kind of person who judges people by their appearance.

However, he had just got off the carriage and had not said anything or communicated anything yet.

Someone ran over from not far away, came to Gellis' side and said something hurriedly in Frank.

Then he saw the young man named Garys and gave him an apologetic look.

"Your Excellency the Bishop, I may have to communicate with you later. I have a patient here who needs urgent treatment."

And just like that, Bishop Anthony was set aside.

Of course, it is impossible for Anthony to be idle. Now that he is here, it is just right for him to follow Garys to see what is going on.

In this way, they walked into Amir Village.

Like the others in Cyprus, this is a decent looking village.

But the house that Gailis was going to was particularly shabby. To be exact, Bishop Anthony smelled a foul odor before he even walked into the door.

This smell made Bishop Anthony feel a little uneasy, so he did not go in.

Then, Anthony heard some sounds that were almost like quarreling, as if the young man Garys was scolding the patients in the room. The content of the scolding was roughly related to the doctor's instructions, and then there was a round of praying and crying.

After waiting for a while, Gailis, looking tired, came out of the house.

At this time, there was no smile on Gailis's face, instead he showed a sense of powerlessness.

This is the powerlessness of mortals. Any powerless mortal will show the sadness that appears on Garys' face now.

Once again, Anthony lowered his opinion of Garys, and he doubted whether Aljos's description was true.

Because Christ Jesus, or the incarnation of the Word, should be a king who commands the respect of all, an invincible superhero, a person with extraordinary skills, and an omnipotent god.

Such a person should not and cannot be as powerless as ordinary people.

If the flesh of the Holy Word could not offer five loaves and two fish, could not walk on the sea, could not raise his hands to heal other people's diseases, give sight to the blind and sound to the deaf.

So why should ordinary people believe him?

With such doubts, after leaving the patient's room, Anthony whispered to Gailis: "The patient before was a leper, right?"

Gailis nodded. Indeed, the person in that room was a leper, and he was currently helpless against the person.

After getting Garys' response, Anthony, an old man with a very dangerous hairline, became more and more dissatisfied.

Because this really shouldn't have happened. You know, there are clear records of Jesus healing lepers in several gospels, but Gellis was powerless to do anything about it.

Anthony increasingly suspected that Alchos was deceiving him. He wanted to expose Gairis' true face and let the world know that this guy was not the "Saint of Jerusalem". In Anthony's opinion, if it is true that the Holy Word walks on the earth again in the form of flesh, then nothing can stop the Holy Word.

The tyrants of this world who oppress and kill people will collapse when faced with the Holy Word! This is the trend of the times, and no one can resist it.

But if Garys is a swindler, then countless people will be buried with him, nothing will be changed, and more and more people will die.

Garys didn't notice the change in old man Anthony's expression, he was still immersed in the scene just now.

It was a dark, small room.

The walls of the room were made of bluestone, the surface was mottled and damp, and there was a faint smell of mold. The room had only one small broken window.

In one corner of the room, there was a crude wooden bed covered with some frayed straw and a few worn blankets.

The patient was lying on the bed, his face was haggard and his eyes showed helplessness and despair.

The man's skin was ravaged by lesions, with red patches and ulcers covering his cheeks. Parts of his skin had lost sensation, becoming pale, dry, and stone-like to the touch.

His fingers were slightly deformed, and some of the joints were swollen, revealing the vine-like scars caused by leprosy.

This was certainly not the first time that Garys had seen a leper, after all, he had once followed the "Leper King".

Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae.

This disease has a very long history and has existed for thousands of years BC, but the cause was not truly determined until Mycobacterium leprae was discovered by Robert Koch in 1931.

There is only one way to cure this chronic infectious disease - antibiotics.

Where does Garys get the antibiotics from nowadays?

He could only ask the patient to pay attention to personal hygiene and prescribe some placebos in the hope that the patient would feel better.

But even if it was a placebo, the patient was unwilling to take it because he felt his death was near.

Therefore, Gillis is powerless and mortal.

Because of this, Gillis was despised by Anthony.

【A leper came to Jesus and begged him. He knelt down and asked him, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus was moved with compassion, and he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing, be clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. 】

—Mark 1:40-42
“I heard that you call yourself the Holy One of Jerusalem? But you know that swearing falsely is a great sin.”

Facing Anthony's questioning, Gailis nodded, indicating that he understood.

"Then how do you prove your identity?"

"I know how to cure leprosy, but not now. In fact, I know how to cure most human diseases, but not now."

"What I can do now may disappoint you a little."

Bishop Anthony stared at Garys. He felt that the young man in front of him was boasting.

However, in the next moment, the young man disappeared, vanishing out of thin air.

Bishop Anthony opened his mouth wide. He didn't know what to say for a moment. The words he had prepared in his mouth could not come out.

When Anthony came to his senses, he found that Garys had appeared at the same place again, as if nothing had happened just now.

"Help me, Anthony. There are not many people who can help me now."

"Please, Anthony, if you want to see all the lepers in the world healed, help me."

Gailis pleaded, his voice tinged with tears, and the image of the leper was still in his mind.

Anthony found this ridiculous. A superman, a true miracle worker, was seeking help from a servant of Christ like him?
Garys had issued a plea, not an order...

"Anthony, I am not a god. There are many things I cannot do for the time being. But I can tell you how to create miracles that everyone can use."

"If you can help me, one day no one will starve on the island of Cyprus, and any leper will be cured."

Garys talked about the preparation process of some medicines, and in his words, the diseases in the world seemed to have lost their mystery.

Leprosy is no longer a curse, but a tiny spirit's fault, and can be cured by the product of another tiny spirit.
The bishop instinctively didn't want to believe it, but Garys said more than that. He also told Anthony what life was all about.

In his words, the mysteries of the world are no longer known by God alone; Gérice is another “omniscient” who shares God’s wisdom.

Anthony began to understand what Alchos said. The young man in front of him was not the omnipotent Lord, but a wise but kind but powerless Lord.

This young man was trying to carry the cross of death, which was as heavy as lead.

Garys’ weakness and powerlessness are not the weakness and powerlessness of ordinary people, but because he is fighting against those who rule, those who have authority, those who govern this dark world, and the spiritual demons in the heavens.

This young man needs comrades-in-arms, he needs the help of mortals to truly build a heavenly kingdom.

If the panacea he talks about is to become a reality, Cyprus needs to mobilize and become the cornerstone of the kingdom of heaven that this young man talks about.

Anthony nodded slightly, he was willing to help the young man.

Anthony's help is mainly reflected in two aspects.

One is a tandem with the upper echelons of Cyprus.

Unlike the situation in Transjordan, Cyprus cannot and does not allow Gairis to develop leisurely.

In addition to the fact that Cyprus is an island and enemies and friends may collide quickly, the second purpose of controlling the island of Cyprus is to help the situation on the mainland.

The island of Cyprus is important because it is located on the sea route to the Holy Land and has an important strategic position. Without the support from the sea, it can be said that Christians would not be able to continue to occupy the Holy Land.

For the Second Kingdom, which only had a few cities left, this was a new rear base to maintain the war with Saladin and to better fight against the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

The Second Kingdom needs the resources on this island and needs sufficient funds and even manpower from it.

Therefore, quickly controlling the island of Cyprus is the top priority. In this case, even Gellis needs to make certain compromises.

He wanted to unite all the forces he could, quickly overthrow Isaac's rule, and then carry out a reform movement.

Another aspect of help is that Bishop Anthony can use his own advantages to help Garys and others transport some goods and people into the port.

From the diocesan port where Bishop Anthony is in charge, it is only about 250 kilometers to Tyre, and it can be reached in one to two days by boat.

The present-day Gérice is different from the one he was two years ago. In 1186, Gérice had only twelve knights or servants following him, apart from Isabella.

Although the Second Kingdom is still a small shrimp, it has at least two to three thousand troops, and sixty to seventy thousand people are under its control.

If Garys just wanted to overthrow Isaac, there was no need to go through the journey again.

With a letter from Gellis, he sailed to Tyre on a fast ship.

A few days later, a disguised merchant ship docked at the port of Anthony Parish.

There were many boxes on the ship, all of which were sealed with the words: Holy objects of the church, do not open without permission.

Then some of the passengers on the boat all had Frankish faces, looked weathered, and in the eyes of the people on the same boat, they all had an aura of "keep away from strangers".

……

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was renowned in the Catholic world for its superior warfare skills, especially while they still held on to Jerusalem.

The Franks had experienced a long era of warfare in the Holy Land since the First Crusade, with many years of conflict.

These ninety years of bloody battles allowed the Franks of the Crusader States to deeply understand the nature of war.

They actively tried to centralize power, set up a disciplined religious order, established elite heavy infantry units, and hired Tukobo as an auxiliary force.

Compared to the knights and nobles of Western Europe who still viewed war as a sport, the Crusader States had rich combat experience. After the fall of the Crusader States, the warriors who returned to Europe even led to the advancement of European military skills.

Of course, the progress of the Franks was accompanied by the advancement of the Saracens.

In Syria, traditional Arab warfare was replaced by Turkish tactics and gradually by Frankish influence.

It can be said that the long-term Crusades have objectively improved the level of military technology in the Middle East.

Then, there is Cyprus, an island just a stone's throw away from the Holy Land.

It perfectly avoided internal competition and successfully rejected internal friction.

The price paid is that Cyprus is extremely lax in its armaments and lacks military experience.

Faced with the Turkic tribes and the Varangian Guards that rolled in from the mainland, the residents of the island were as powerless as chicks and were directly hit by a dimensionality reduction attack.

Of course, the Turkic tribes recruited by Isaac could not reach the intensity of Saladin's military reforms.

The focus of Saladin's military reform was to form an elite heavy infantry corps and a considerable number of Turkish knights who imitated the Frankish knights in combat.
Due to economic reasons, this military reform was not accepted by the traditional Turkic tribes.

Therefore, the mercenaries recruited by Isaac were still all light cavalry, equipped with horse bows and scimitars, and not equipped with too much armor in order to maintain their mobility.

It can be said that such an army entity naturally lacks any ability to attack tough targets.

During this urgent time, Garys not only mobilized villagers in various villages and settled down in the countryside, but also built simple earthen forts in some peripheral locations.

These earthen forts do not occupy a large area, and the wall height is generally only about 2 meters, but it is enough to block the attack of light cavalry and accommodate nearby villagers to protect themselves.

However, the range and lethality of the horse bow were not enough to compete with the powerful crossbows produced by the Franks.

This means that if the Turks intend to storm a certain stronghold, they will most likely be delayed and attacked by militiamen coming to support them from other strongholds, ultimately suffering heavy losses.

Isaac was confused when he received the report.

No, how long has it been?!
Didn’t I suppress Nicholas’ rebellion not long ago?

How come Nicholas caused such a big fuss just one month after escaping from prison?
A team of "Varangis" was completely wiped out, and more than a dozen villages raised the flag of rebellion at the same time. Due to the terrain, the Turks could not attack the rebels from the north and south, and could only go from the east and west.

After all, there are mountains to the north, and it would be easy for cavalry to go in and defeat them easily; there is the sea to the south, and there is no way to get around it.

If you walk from the east and west sides, you will face a large number of simple and ridiculous temporary wooden forts.

Generally speaking, those simple, ridiculous temporary wooden forts are useless.

Because the peasants did not have good weapons, they could not fight back against the Turks, but in the end the Turks would easily bypass the temporary wooden fort and kill them directly in the rear.

Then, the problem arose. Those peasants inexplicably took out a large number of powerful crossbows and various types of fairly good armor.

"I have raised the tax rate to 70%!"

"Any higher and they'll all starve to death!"

"But why do they still have the money and supplies to support so many well-equipped rebels? Where does the money come from?"

"If I only collect 40% tax, and they think it's too high and raise the banner of rebellion, I can understand it. Because the remaining 60% can at least leave some surplus."

"But it is absolutely impossible to buy such excellent equipment with only 30% of the surplus food!"

"They must have stolen my tax money, a bunch of dirty thieves!"

Isaac was in his court, shouting and scolding the rioting rebels, and the court officials beside him did not dare to respond for fear of being taken out on.

Even his daughter just watched from afar, observing this guy's ugly behavior without saying a word.

　Antonio Francesco Gramsci

　　He was an Italian communist thinker and one of the founders and leaders of the Italian Communist Party. His theory of "cultural hegemony" had a profound influence on later generations.

　　Cultural hegemony, also known as cultural leadership and leadership, is a philosophical and sociological theory proposed by Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci.

　　It means that a social class can dominate or rule the entire multicultural society by manipulating social culture (beliefs, interpretations, cognitions, values, etc.).

　　The ruling class’s worldview is enforced as the sole social norm and is considered a universally valid idea that benefits all of society, but in reality only the ruling class benefits.

　　Every class must strive for intellectual and moral leadership in civil society through its intellectuals.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)