Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 247 You promised me that you would get married

In the small house in Tyre, while Gillis was writing furiously, Isabella took a blanket and draped it over Gillis's back.

The new year is about to begin, and even in Palestine, it is getting quite cold at night.

At this time, Gailis asked without turning his head: "So, Isa, what do you think of religion?"

Gellis himself is not a person in power or a centralizer, and he is not responsible for specific affairs.

But this does not mean that he will just sit back and watch the clouds rise and fall.

In a sense, Gillis is actually a doctrinaire.

Influence this era through his "disciples".

After all, the power of one person is limited. After building the framework, Gellis will often retreat to the second line and engage in more theoretical and technical restoration work.

In order to ensure that his "disciples" can keep up with his pace, Garys spends a lot of time and effort to teach classes despite his busy schedule.

Currently, the total number of Paladins near the city of Tyre has exceeded thirty, excluding the official Paladins.

Garys also asked the more senior Paladins to start recommending qualified newcomers and bring them together for in-depth education.

After the early Paladin framework was established, the Paladin system began to be standardized.

One needs to be recommended by a guarantor, be able to receive cultural education... and at least half a year of training before one can become an apprentice Paladin.

Under normal circumstances, as an apprentice Paladin, there is an observation period of about one year.

Only after this, one is eligible to receive the divine seal and become a formal Paladin.

The Paladin's role as the backbone of the order is so important that Gary would rather have no one in it.

This does not mean that the number of Paladins is very small.

In fact, since Paladin does not require individuals to have superb martial arts skills, it has been expanding at a rate of doubling every six months.

The church's central committee, local branches, Paladin branches, Paladin groups... are all being constructed in a systematic manner.

Of course, apart from giving large classes to those Paladins.

Garys would occasionally give some special treatment to many people, and Isabella would often take advantage of it.

Isabella pondered for a moment after hearing Garys' question.

As the person closest to Garys, she is aware of some of Garys' personal views.

Gillis does not talk about what God looks like. For Gillis, it doesn't matter whether God looks like a human or not.

However, there is no doubt that Gellis does acknowledge and firmly believe in the existence of "God" and is willing to give everything for it.

With such firm beliefs, Gillis must be a saint.

But what is religion?
How do you view religion?
Isabella also knew Gillis's view on religion, which could be summed up in one word: tool.

If Gillis needed a ladder to reach heaven, then the Taiping Order was that ladder.

A ladder is just a ladder. If it breaks, you can replace it with another one. If it is not easy to use, you can improve it. The ladder itself is not an end, but just a means.

Isabella pondered for a long time, and she did not directly answer Gailis, because the question was too broad. "Take Islam for example, the five daily prayers and the arduous fasting are actually a kind of discipline, which makes believers feel a sense of mission and thus become more devout in their religious identity."

"In this process, the more you devote and the more fanatical you become, it is a special sunk cost effect."

"Whether it is Islam or Catholicism, they have invested too much effort in the Holy Land and will not give up easily."

When Isabella heard this, she realized what Gailis wanted to talk about, so she asked back, "Are you saying that for religion, the more successful and the greater the sacrifice, the harder it is to accept failure, and the more you will continue to struggle?"

"Yes, in the past few hundred years, Islam has achieved great success in spreading its faith from a region in the Arabian Peninsula to the ends of the world."

"And the Catholic Church lost more than 100,000 lives and paid an immeasurable price in the First Crusade before it was able to recapture Jerusalem and gain control of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean."

“This is also an absolute victory in religious terms. At the same time, the convenience of trade in Palestine has brought great economic benefits to Europe.”

Unlike the situation in Western Europe, the large number of cities in the Eastern Mediterranean enabled them to produce a large number of fine handicraft goods, including many luxury goods that were lacking in Western Europe.

These include sugar, silk, perfume, soap, etc.

Shipping these goods to Europe means several times the profit.

The Italian city-states, such as the powerful republic of Venice, were quite secular, but they also showed their religious fanaticism.

Because of this, past success has prompted the Catholic world to make up its mind to increase the stakes and continue betting in order to regain what they have lost.

The repeated Crusades would not end easily for the Europeans who had tasted the sweetness.

Jerusalem is not a normal country. If we must say so, the Kingdom of Jerusalem was actually a colonial attempt by Western Europe in the Middle Ages.

The main purpose of pouring Europe's landless population into the Levant was to seize local output.

Although this is not the colonial method of the later British model, the colonial nature of the Crusader States can be seen from their general name.

European Catholics collectively referred to the Crusader nations as “Overseas”.

"The crusades in Europe are not something that can be easily resolved. They are driven by both religion and economy."

“The more benefits one gets, the more one believes that he or she is protected by God.”

"Therefore, if we want to solve this problem, we must start from the religious level."

"Now, the Third Crusade is rising. It is not a good time to intervene, but sooner or later, when the sect emerges, a religious merger must take place."

"Then I will go to Rome, to Mecca, to Constantinople..."

As he said this, Gaillis patted a book on the desk that was being tried to be aged. This book was actually the "Gospel of Barnabas".

When Gailis said that he would travel far in the future, Isabella's eyes became moist and she hugged Gailis from behind.

"Anyway, you promised me that you would get married."

Gailis froze, but after a long silence, he nodded again, turned around and kissed Isabella.

In the darkness of night, the two crossed that line.

(End of this chapter)