Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 278 Looking up from the turbid world

Geoffrey is a relatively perceptive person, at least much more perceptive than Guy and Amery. He can intuitively feel that the system of the Kingdom of Jerusalem is undergoing drastic changes.

The party struggles at the top of the kingdom actually had no impact on the normal operation of the kingdom.

This is already very, very weird.

After learning from Amery about the performance of the Second Kingdom in recent years, Jeffrey knew very well that the so-called parliamentary party struggles in the past two years were actually a joke.

The joke can continue only because Balian doesn't mind. To be more precise, he needs some people to save face.

They have already completely controlled the operation of the country at the actual governing level, so naturally they don't care whether the crown continues to hang on Sibylla's head.

Do those "officials" who have never spoken out and have been quietly handling the affairs of the kingdom during this series of political turmoil really have no political aspirations at all?

Of course not, simply because in parliament, the Balian and Conrad factions that support reform and can offer more positions have more advantages.

When in an advantageous position, naturally only the winner can be magnanimous.

But Sibylla died after all, and Balian and his men could not tolerate the crown hanging on the head of Guy, who was bound to be their enemy.

During the day, he cited the actions of the British and French Crusaders, which was actually a test to determine the other party's bottom line of tolerance.

After all, it doesn't cost much to support a group of clowns, but if the clowns have their own armed forces, how will the other party react?

As it turned out, Balian was a little too relaxed.

It was obvious that there was a hidden card that he didn't know about.

Jeffrey was really not sure what that trump card meant.

Did I miss something?

……

Indeed, Jeffrey missed a lot of things. While he was setting his sights on the upper echelons of the kingdom, sorting out the relationships between people, and thinking about power struggles, many people in the dark corners were still worrying about future food.

At first it was anger, then anxiety. After a few days, walking became difficult, and then even thinking became very difficult. Emotions and feelings became a burden, and the mind and body gradually separated. Death could come at any time...

Aaron had this feeling before, and the feeling was most intense when the city of Tyre was besieged by Saladin's army.

At that time, thousands of Saracen troops blocked the city gates, and the normal operation of the city of Tyre came to a standstill. His father had no income at all, and could only exchange some food by guarding on the city wall.

Since his father had to guard the city wall, he naturally ate most of the food. All he could get was a small amount of black bread mixed with a lot of wheat bran.

But Aaron survived after all, the city of Tyre also underwent tremendous changes, and the family's life got better little by little.

But this kind of good thing is also limited, especially since I unexpectedly lost my status as an apprentice, and it seemed as if my whole life would be gloomy.

If it weren't for a good man who called himself Garys, who provided him with a lot of help, maybe, maybe... he would have disappeared from this world.

Now, once again, and again, Aaron felt that hunger again.

Because before he grew up, his father, as expected, had an accident. He fell at the dock. He was still alive, but his leg was broken.

In a sense, such "accidents" are inevitable.

Garys gave him some money, which seemed like a lot, but was not enough in Tyre, where prices were soaring.

The amount of food that the family could provide suddenly dropped back to the level of the time when the city was besieged. He himself was still growing up. If he didn't want to continue to suffer from hunger, he had to find a way to get food.

They do odd jobs and try every possible way to make money, but it is actually difficult for child laborers to support themselves, let alone bring food to their families.

After various setbacks.

Aaron appeared in an alley, looking at the food in other people's hands in the shadows, the purse on his waist jingling, his eyes glowing green.

If he tried, could he grab some food or steal some coins?
A young man walked past him and into the alley, talking and laughing, but he didn't know that Aaron had hidden a wooden stick behind him. With a little more motivation, Aaron would be able to take action.

He had never done anything like this before, so he had no idea how successful it would be.

He was just acting rashly due to his basic desire for food, but his brain lacking glucose made it difficult for him to think clearly about the risks.

Aaron took two deep breaths and took two steps forward, following the young man. But when he took the third step, a hand suddenly rested on his shoulder.

"Don't."

Aaron didn't care that the voice sounded familiar. He subconsciously turned around, pulled out the stick behind him and hit the man behind him.

The other party did not dodge, but just stood there, allowing the thick wooden stick to hit his chest with a dull sound.

The other party didn't pay attention to his behavior, but said something he had never thought of: "How many days have you not eaten? Has your strength become so weak?"

"Three, three days?" Aaron answered subconsciously, without remembering who the other person was.

"Come on, I'll take you to eat something first."

There was no pursuit, no anger, and not even any sense of pity. It was just a matter of course that I took his hand and walked out of the dark alley and into the sunshine.

At first, I stumbled and couldn't stand steadily, but after the other party stopped, I felt that the sun was a bit dazzling.
Aaron used his free hand to block the sunlight, but he still found it a little dazzling because the person holding his hand seemed to be emitting light.

"Garys?"

“Yes, it’s me.”

……

It was a bit of coincidence, indeed, this was the second time Garys had met Aaron.

Last time, Aaron fainted on the side of the road due to malnutrition. This time was actually similar. He didn't even have enough energy to grab food.

Gellis saw this scene, but he didn't say anything to blame. When a person was about to starve to death, any words would be unnecessary.

Garys took Aaron home, got some bread, and cooked it in hot water to make porridge. The amount was not much, so he handed Aaron half a bowl.

"Eat slowly. Eating too much is bad for your health."

Even though Garys said this, Aaron still finished the porridge in just a few mouthfuls.

"Tell me, how are you doing recently..."

Aaron was silent at first, but he was just a child after all. After Garys showed kindness, he expressed a series of his troubles.

From his father's injury, his uncle's malice, and the actions of many people in Tyre, all these came out like a machine gun.

"Okay, I get it." Aaron is just a microcosm. Garys has actually encountered such children more than once, and every time Garys will do something within his ability.

Silence, long silence.

Garys sighed, "Is the arithmetic I taught you still clear?"

"Uh……"

Aaron was a little unsure.

"How many fils for one dirham?"

"20 pieces."

"How many fils can I get for 5 dirhams?"

"100 pieces."

The little bit of starch that Aaron had just ingested was broken down into glucose with amazing efficiency in his stomach and intestines, which rushed into his head through his blood, allowing him to answer Garys' questions efficiently.

"How much silver can I get for 70 copper coins?"

When Garys asked this question, Aaron was a little confused for a moment, and after a long time, he gave a puzzled answer.

"Three and a half?"

"Well, it seems that you haven't forgotten everything."

At the beginning, Garys taught Aaron some addition, subtraction, multiplication and division within 100. After a year, his level did not improve, but it did not decline either. He still maintained the level of a prenatal education graduate.

This is also the general level of most citizens these days. Most of them are illiterate and know some arithmetic, but not much.

Aaron can quickly calculate multiplication and division, and distinguish the concept of 0.5, which has surpassed the level of his peers.

Literacy in the Middle Ages might have been useful, but it was unlikely to be useful. It can only be said that as a life skill, it was useful in many cases.

It's normal for someone like Aaron to be illiterate.

But since I know arithmetic, there is still work to be done.

"The newspaper company in the city needs someone to deliver newspapers. You can go and have a look. You can earn quite a bit of money a month."

"The main thing there is to ask people how to read. Once you learn how to read, you will find that there are many jobs waiting for you."

Garys pointed out a direction, but didn't say much. The two of them met by chance, and he had done the best he could do by doing this.

After thinking for a moment, Garys did not give Aaron any more money. Instead, he went to the kitchen to get some bread, put it in a bag, and handed it to Aaron.

Aaron, who was sitting in his seat, couldn't help but ask a question: "Why are you helping me?"

"Because I said to provide food to the starving, if you don't give him food, you are killing him."

Garys could see the places that Jeffrey could not pay attention to. Standing in this turbid world and looking up, he saw layer upon layer of hell.

Only a few nobles stand in the world and can discuss how to live a human life.

But now, Garys is going to return to the earth with the hungry ghosts from hell.

This is the resurrection. No one dies alone anymore. Everyone is with Garys, and everyone manifests his or her life in this resurrection.

Aaron was just one of them, an insignificant one. There were many people besides him who received bread from the Paladins and saw the glory in the countless people who looked like Garys.

Of course, the Paladins not only provide bread to feed the body, but also to enrich people's spirit.

Whether in Tyre, Beirut, or even the newly recovered city of Acre, some people have begun reading the contents of the newspapers on the streets to let many civilians know what has happened in the past few years.

Isabella, this originally somewhat unclear name, was combined with the girl who often appeared in the crowd and was regarded as the representative of the new policy.

Gailis, a name that was originally more unfamiliar, gradually rose to fame with the recovery of lost territory.

The newspaper has been published for several issues. Although each issue may not be full of content, at least it covers topics that ordinary people would care about.

There are even a lot of clarifications of certain conspiracy theories.

In an era when people had not experienced information bombardment, the channels for people to receive information were very few. The Paladin group was a group of good people with some reputation among the people, so the news they read out was naturally very convincing.

The lower-class people were not originally concerned about the doubts about the succession to the throne, but after hearing that it was Guy who was competing with Isabella for the throne, every Frank found it difficult to maintain a positive expression.

It was because he lost the Battle of the Sea of ​​Galilee so badly that it was chilling to think that such a waste could still occupy the throne.

If such a person were to be king, and there happened another battle west of the Sea of ​​Galilee, wouldn't the entire kingdom be doomed?
As for people like the Saracens and the Greeks, although they remained silent, a lot of private discussions began to emerge, all of which questioned Guy's ability.

At the same time, propaganda about parliament and its members intensified in newspapers.

Many Franks suddenly realized that they could actually have a voice in the Royal House of Representatives through the members of parliament they had previously nominated.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem actually exhibited many similar characteristics to the Qing Dynasty, and it was also a situation where a small ethnic group controlled a larger ethnic group.

The Franks were similar to the Bannermen. Although they did not have iron-clad crops, they often had considerable political privileges.

Therefore, the Franks were not just the lower-class commoners who would just lick the boots of the nobles. They also had to go to the battlefield to fight, resist foreign enemies and maintain the security of the kingdom.

In the past, only nobles could attend the Kingdom Parliament, and ordinary Franks could not have a say in the succession to the throne, so people did not care much about the succession to the throne.

Nowadays, the kingdom provides a House of Commons where members of parliament nominated by the people can go up to negotiate. This has led to many people getting together and visiting relatives and friends to discuss issues with those members of parliament.

In the past, everyone thought that who would be the king had nothing to do with them, but after experiencing Guy's disastrous defeat, everyone felt that it was closely related to their lives.

Therefore, Guy must step down no matter what!

In Guy's mansion, although Jeffrey had heard some rumors among the lower-class civilians, he did not take them seriously.

What do the lower-class people know? What can they do?

Just another mob.

"Amery, how about we take a step back tomorrow and say that we hope to keep Guy's crown but not his inheritance rights?"

Jeffrey discussed with his two younger brothers.

Politics is the art of compromise, and both sides will make various compromises. Now that Balian is strong, blindly confronting him will not achieve any results.

(End of this chapter)