Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 225: All people are brothers and all things are kind

The situation in Antioch was decided by one battle.

On the front battlefield, the motley crowd assembled by Reynald became unstable under the continuous artillery bombardment.

Unable to withstand the attack of the Tripoli coalition led by the third company.

When Reynald was about to launch a knight charge and flank the infantry line of Garys, he was stopped by Garys alone.

A spear easily pierced a knight, and a casual throw of a short spear, due to the 10 times acceleration, blasted out a supersonic short spear.

The short spears that Gellis carried on his back weighed an average of 1 kg each and flew at a speed of about 400 meters per second, calculated according to the kinetic energy formula Ek=1/2mv.

也就会得出Ek=1/2×1×400，也就是8万焦耳的动能，而后世的9mm帕拉贝鲁姆的动能，通常来说，也就400到600焦耳。

In other words, Gillis managed to fire the cannon with his bare hands.

Faced with the impact of 8 joules of kinetic energy, the knight next to Leonard, even though he was wearing an iron plate.

The release of kinetic energy can still directly break the tissue in the area, and when it hits the bones, it creates an explosion effect on the flesh.

Of course, even with Garys's physical condition, his hands were shaking after doing such an outrageous thing.

Let’s try to avoid this kind of thing in the future.

But no matter what, the fact that Garys fired the sonic boom javelin with his bare hands had already scared the knights to death.

Even under Leonard's instructions, there were still a few diehards who wanted to fight back.

But Garys fired another shot, directly blowing up the warhorse under Leonard's crotch.

Faced with such a god descending from heaven, there is naturally not much to say about the outcome of this battle.

After capturing Leonard alive, the battle on the main battlefield also came to an end.

Apart from the fact that Garys was overexerted and walked a little unsteadily, there was actually no regret.

This also declared that the Principality of Antioch had officially submitted to the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

However, how should I put it, there are still people who intend to fight back, after all, the process of Gellis taking Antioch was a little too easy.

After all, why did the efforts of several generations of the Bohemond family lose to the fledgling Gairis?
Today, all the larger fragments of the Crusader states in the entire Levant region have been collected by Gellis.

Transjordan was the first to follow Gelis and implemented relatively comprehensive reforms, almost eliminating all lords and tax farmers, and became a model of reform.

The city of Tyre became the temporary capital of the Second Kingdom and radiated outward to take over the County of Tripoli. It had already begun to implement reforms similar to those in the Transjordan region in the royal territory.

As for Cyprus, as an independent country, it has its own unique national conditions and is also a territory that truly regards Gerris as its head of state.

As for Antioch, it has just been recovered and the grassroots have not been touched at all.

In this case, Gailis no longer needs to carry out subsequent expansion around.

Instead, we need to focus on the existing lands and people, carry out more detailed reforms, and achieve unity on the ideological level.

Although Gellis has no intention of creating a Leviathan-model empire, it does not mean that he intends to just leave it alone.

In this situation, Gailis still tried to gather the people around him and held a simple meeting to convey his views to the people around him and listen to other people's opinions.

Those attending the meeting were basically representatives from all parties of the coalition forces.

Volunteer leaders provided by the Cyprus Liberation Party: Nicholas and Andre.

The representative of the interests of the Italian city-states in the Kingdom of Jerusalem: Conrad.

The representative of the princes of the County of Tripoli: Privan.

Two company commanders of the Second Kingdom's standing army: Jos and Charles.

Of course, there is also Lance, one of the apostles who followed Garys from the beginning and created this great cause together.

Garys was not sure when the term "12 apostles" appeared under his command.

But in short, the 12 witnesses who had witnessed his resurrection began to be unofficially called apostles within the cult.

These 12 people were his first believers and witnesses, and could be said to be the original seeds of the Taiping Sect.

In this case, Gailis did not refute the cult's statement.

On the contrary, since these people have followed Garys the longest, even Garys often needs these people as his wings, refers to their suggestions, and entrusts them with important tasks.

At present, many of the 12 apostles are acting independently.

For example, Old John, who has the most seniority, is currently the county governor of Transjordan, and Knight Water manages the trade between Transjordan and Tyre.

George also became a field marshal of the Royal Army and trained troops in Transjordan.

Now, Lance, a middle-aged man with a plump figure, who speaks in a friendly manner and looks quite harmless, has also walked to the front of the stage.

Garys looked around at the people present, and basically covered Garys's base.

"I have called everyone here today to announce a piece of good news to you before the formal meeting."

"So far, with the joint efforts of you and many soldiers, the Christian countries in the Levant region have completely united!"

There was applause from the people below. This was indeed something worth celebrating. It meant that when fighting against Islamic sultans like Saladin, the Christian countries in the Levant would no longer be a loose sand.

Although, all of us together currently only make about 600,000 to 700,000 people, which may be less than half of the total number of Christians, at least this is a good start.

"Of course, everyone must be aware of the current situation in various places. The ethnic and religious issues between different regions are complicated..."

At this meeting, Gellis led all participants to review and analyze the current situation in the Levant.

From a macro perspective, the Levant region is currently divided into two clear camps.

One was the Ayyubid dynasty headed by Saladin.

One is the Christian nations with Gelis as the core.

But within the two camps, things are not actually very pure.

Even in Saladin's Egypt, there were hundreds of thousands of Christians and hundreds of thousands of Shiite Muslims. There were also various messy small sects in the Syrian region, and the Turkic forces were not completely submissive to Saladin.

As for the Gairis side, Cyprus and Transjordan are already the two purest regions.

Cyprus, the entire island is inhabited by Orthodox Christians, who are basically Roman Christians and speak a unified Greek language.

In Transjordan, apart from the original Arabs, the population is basically Franks, with only two clearly defined ethnic groups.

In the Tyre region, there began to be Italians, Greeks, Jews, and Samaritans.

The same is true for the County of Tripoli. Going north, there are Turks, Armenians, Kurds...

Not only are the nationalities different, but the languages ​​and writing systems are also different.

Latin, Greek, Arabic, Turkish, Armenian...

This was not the case after Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, when the seven kingdoms actually had a common cultural ancestor and their writing systems were roughly similar.

Instead, it truly overlaps multiple civilization circles and creates an extremely complex melting pot of nations.

Under such circumstances, it can be said that it is difficult for almost any ruler to establish a reliable direct management system.

It can only be said that tributes paid by different groups and nationalities were accepted, and the internal autonomy of different communities would not be interfered with too much.

In essence, it became a stacked structure with tribute as the link.

After all, if you want to appoint a local official to manage the place, that local official must know at least three or four languages ​​so that he can communicate directly with the local people instead of believing the one-sided words of local forces.

In this case, Gailis would not be so desperate as to insist on unification.

Of course, it doesn't mean to just sit there and do nothing. For example, Tyre began to try to promote the new scripture written by Gellis as an official language.

But there is no rush. Perhaps we will have to wait until their generation grows old before we can see some results.

In fact, everyone present understood this situation very well. To be more precise, they did not quite understand why Garys felt regretful about this situation.

After all, in their hometown, the rulers do not actually need to be of the same nationality as the ruled.

In this situation where administrative unification was impossible, Gérisse made use of his own strengths and first achieved organic unification of ideas.

Gellis also proposed the concept of "heavenly omen".

In this new Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Gailis was not only a first-class priest, but also a prophet and king.

“People in all nations receive the dignity of kings because they believe in the only God. Because of my proclamation, one day everyone will be sanctified in their hearts and become a priest.”

“He who sanctifies his heart will also rule his body; and so he will be a king over himself.”

"No matter how many differences there are in doctrines in this world, in the end, there is only one religion that believes in one God." "Whether it is Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism, Islam, or even those who worship Tengri... they all believe in the same God. It is just because of human sin that each of them sees only one or two sides of the God, and then they claim to hold the truth and persecute others."

“First, I declare that all existing Christian churches should reform themselves and prepare for the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven.”

"Second, my brother's death is not attributed to all Jews. It is not caused by a certain nation, but the sins of all sinners on earth. It was not the devil who crucified him, but sinners and idols together with the devil crucified him again and again."

"Third, my Father's plan of salvation covers all people in the world. Everyone who follows his or her conscience and is holy with his or her holy heart will reach a covenant with my Father through the Holy Spirit in the dark, and the most recommended among them are Muslims."

“Fourth, no matter how vast the universe is, no matter how far mankind is scattered, no matter how many differences there are between nations, when we trace our origins back to our roots, we all have only one ancestor, only one source, and therefore we must also have only one common end.”

“Therefore, all true people should feel that a slap on anyone’s face is a slap on their own face.”

“He is the universal Savior. He has torn down the barriers that separate us, allowing every forgotten corner of the world to be illuminated by the light of divine love.”

"The Kingdom of God is so great that no one is outside of His love. Even bread can become a symbol of the Lord in the Eucharist, but people cannot? Each of us is a people loved and cherished by God."

All people are brothers and all things are sentient beings.

Faith should be universal and open. What Gellis means is that faith should not be confined to a narrow circle, but should exist together with the whole world and all human beings.

In this case, all people in the Levant should be brothers and sisters and part of the greater order.

As Father Gutierrez said later: No one is completely excluded from God's grace. All people are God's creations and children of God.

Geris recognizes no artificial boundaries; his country is open and no one is excluded.

Since even bread can be sacred, then mankind must also be sacred and indivisible, and he will eliminate all barriers and differences.

Gaillis’ intention was very clear to everyone present, the church would be united and would certainly be in communion.

However, this kind of Church is not united or in communion with Rome as its core, but is centered on Gérice, the Word walking on earth.

……

A precise assassination requires clear intelligence, including the target's movements, living habits, and people they trust.

By having this information, the success rate of the assassination can be greatly improved.

As more intelligence was gathered, Altaïr came to know Gellis better and began to understand what kind of person he was.

Gellis spends a lot of time every day visiting various neighborhoods in Antioch, talking to local people and learning about their lives.

Although he is a leader, he can always make people open up and speak freely. The art of language is skillfully used in his hands, making him deeply loved by the people.

He ate and lived with his soldiers and never pursued a luxurious life. The knights who followed him were forced by him to sit and eat with the soldiers.

Such behavior earned him the respect and following of the soldiers.

Faced with such a Gellis, Altaïr was a little hesitant, but the mission still needed to be completed.

As a member of Masyaf Castle, or a member of the Nizari Ismaili sect, commonly known as the Assassins, they belong to a very special faction in the Islamic world.

If Shia is a minority in Islam, then Ismailis is a minority in Shia, and Nizari is a minority in Ismailis.

Just as the left can be infinitely subdivided, so too can Islamic sects be divided into minute details.

As members of the Shia sect, they believe that Ali is the successor of the Prophet Muhammad and is the Imam.

As a member of the Ismaili sect, they believe that the Imam is not only a religious leader, but also a spiritual mentor with the authority of divine revelation. There is an Imam in every era to guide the believers.

The Nizari sect emphasizes inner faith and loyalty to the Imam, attaches particular importance to the power of knowledge, emphasizes the in-depth interpretation of classics, and encourages believers to constantly pursue hidden truths.

As for the name "Assassin", it is not the official name of the cult to which Altaïr belongs, but a derogatory term.

The Fatimid Ismailis and other Sunnis called them "Assassins", meaning "vulgar inferiors", "outcasts" or "marijuana smokers", accusing them of being "atheists" and "drug addicts".

Unlike traditional assassinations, Altaïr and his men's actions often have clear political purposes.

To be precise, they are waging an endless war in this chaotic world, but the battlefield is more sophisticated, threatening hostile forces through assassinations, or eliminating enemy leaders, leaving the enemy leaderless.

This is a precision strike aimed at avoiding a large-scale war disaster.

As a member of the Assassins, Altaïr was an expert in disguise.

He quietly infiltrated the mob under Garys's command, observing Garys' actions while planning how to get rid of him.

But even so, he still had two letters in his arms.

One was a letter from Acre, stamped with Saladin's seal, and the words were full of Saladin's intention to win over the Nizari Ismailis.

With a magnanimous attitude, he said that he would no longer care about past conflicts and called on everyone to unite and fight against the Franks together. If they could do so, God would bless them.

The letter also mentions the threat posed by the Holy One of Jerusalem, also known as Geris.

Saladin noted that the presence of Gelis could allow the Franks to reunite and acquire strange military technology that would greatly threaten Muslim control of the Holy Land.

Therefore, at the end of the letter, Saladin made his attitude clear, hoping that the Nizari Ismailis could launch a successful assassination attempt on Gelis.

He promised that if the assassination was successful, the Nizari Ismailis would be given the privilege of preaching in the Aleppo area.

The other letter came from Bohemond, Count of Latakia.

In the letter, Bohemond reminisced about the past to Rashid al-Din Sinan ibn Salman ibn Muhammad Abu al-Hasan al-Basri.

He recalled the friendship between the various forces that had united to solve the Reynald issue, and said frankly that Masyaf Castle was about to face another lord like Reynald, who was strong and difficult to get along with.

Bohemond warned that once Gelis unified the three Crusader states, he would turn his attention to Masyaf Castle, because Gelis was a fanatical religious believer. This guy was crazy about Orthodoxy and even planned to launch a crusade against Catholicism.

At the end of the letter, Bohemond pleaded with the Order to take action to deal with Gelis and promised to offer 30,000 gold dinars as a reward if they succeeded.

Both letters were addressed to Sinan, the old man in the mountains, but interestingly, Sinan specifically asked Altaïr to carry them with him.

Altaïr had not yet fully understood the deeper meaning behind this, but he knew that the mission he was tasked with was of vital importance.

As disciples of Sinan, Altaïr and his companions were fanatically willing to sacrifice their lives for a specific cause.

What they seek is not personal wealth, but an ideal paradise in the mountains.

To this end, they can cooperate with all forces, and they will not hesitate to become enemies.Altaïr's beliefs are deeply rooted in the desire for justice and freedom, and this belief makes him willing to sacrifice everything.

In Altaïr's opinion, that "paradise" is not what is described in The Travels of Marco Polo:
"An old man named Aladdin converted to Islam and built a luxurious garden in a beautiful valley between two high mountains. There were rivers flowing with wine, milk, honey and water, and beautiful girls lived there. He used anesthetics and illusions to motivate young people to serve him and kill his enemies."

Nor is it the description in Liu Yu's "Records of the Western Mission": "Indulge his desires for a few days and return to his old place. When he wakes up, ask him what he saw and teach him to assassinate others. If he dies, he will enjoy happiness like this."

For Altaïr, that paradise was more like the description in Peach Blossom Spring: "When asked what era we are in, I do not know of the Han Dynasty, let alone the Wei and Jin Dynasties."

In Altaïr's mind, that paradise is a land far away from conflict, free and peaceful.

Hundreds of years of war have swept the Middle East, and the endless killing and bloodshed have brought heavy taxes and oppression.

The Nizari Ismailis raised the banner of "paradise", but their real purpose was to reduce the burden on the people and get rid of harsh policies.

This idea naturally attracted the hostility of the surrounding feudal lords, and slander and rumors were overwhelming. They were called "unbelievers" and were discredited as heretics.

Despite this, countless people who longed for "paradise" joined the Nizari Ismailis.

As the Order's power grew, their ideas became a real threat to other feudal rulers.

In the view of the Nizari Ismailis, if a war is waged with a large army, it will inevitably increase the taxation of the people, form a new tyranny, and eventually the dragon slayer will become a dragon.

In order to defend their own survival at the lowest cost, they chose assassination as a weapon, and maintained the existence of the cult through the assassination of high- and mid-level officials of hostile forces with fear.

Assassins like Altaïr understood their fate from the moment they voluntarily joined the organization: they were victims, the price they paid to achieve "paradise".

Altaïr's spirit of self-sacrifice lies in the fact that he knows that he is just a bridge to his ideal, but he still walks towards his destiny without regrets.

He now has a sharp blade ready in his arms, willing to sacrifice himself to seek the "paradise" of the cult.

Now, he has arrived at the square of Antioch. Looking up, he can see the target of this mission.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the towering stone walls. Gellis stood in a square in Antioch. He was wearing a simple robe and his voice was loud and gentle, like the sunshine, spreading warmth into the hearts of the people around him.

“Remember that grace permeates the whole world and God’s love knows no boundaries.”

“There is no such thing as a ‘pure’ nature, and there is no human being who is not invited into communion with the Lord.”

"Everyone, no matter who you are or where you come from, is a child of God. The image and likeness of God are deeply engraved in the hearts of each of us. Because of this grace, each of us is holy..."

This was another sermon, and as Bohemond had said, Geris had a strong Orthodox color, and under his rule, the Catholic Church in Antioch seemed to have fallen out of favor.

As the head of Cyprus, Gelis preached in Antioch again and again.

This provided Altaïr with the opportunity to assassinate him in public.

"Now, let us receive Holy Communion..."

　The description of the Assassins in this article is mostly fictional. The character of Altaïr is purely fictional. If there is any similarity, it is just a borrowed name.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)