Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 284 A corner of the changing times

The factory director's office, in terms of size and style, is actually not much different from Bernard's. They are both exactly the same, plain and simple, except that there are a few more cabinets and more files.

Nowadays, the organizational form in Transjordan has actually improved quite rapidly. There are systematic factories that can distinguish between management and workers, and they rely on paper for office registration and verification of salary payments.

Of course, most of these factories are built by religious groups, invested in by grassroots councils, and jointly run by both parties. There are actually not many of them in the entire Transjordan region.

On the one hand, it promotes the more advanced organizational and technical capabilities of the religious group, and on the other hand, it solves the employment problem of local farmers.

Although the number is small, they shoulder the heavy responsibility of production.

"What do you think?" the factory manager said directly.

"I..." Bernard seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have. I will try my best to help you solve any problems that can be solved. Tyr is indeed short of manpower, especially people like you who are dedicated and responsible."

After listening to the factory director's words, Bernard fell silent again. He did not think that the factory director's praise was exaggerated, and it was also true that Tyr needed him, but he also had his own difficulties.

"It's Philip, right?" When mentioning this name, the factory director's voice became much softer.

"His parents need someone to take care of them." Bernard felt sad when he thought of Philip who died in the battle. Especially when he brought Philip's body back to the village and Philip's parents asked why it was not him, Bernard, who died, he felt very guilty.

Bernard then said: "Philip blocked a knife for me, I owe him my life."

But the factory director actually knew that this was just an excuse. Bernard's real secret was not this. As martyrs' relatives, Philip's parents enjoyed the treatment of birth, raising, and burial. What's more, Philip's parents had more than one child. When it came to retirement care, it was not Bernard's turn at all.

"I have contacted the leaders of Xila. Tyre not only needs management personnel, but also many other positions. If she goes there, her income will be much higher. There is also a primary school there, so her children will not lag behind in education."

When the factory director mentioned Sheila, Bernard didn't know how to continue the topic. Should he admit it? But if so, it seemed like he was admitting that he had a special relationship with his brother's widow.

"It has nothing to do with Sheila, it's mainly about Philip's parents." Bernard emphasized. Bernard was talked about behind his back for more than just his impartiality. There were always all kinds of rumors about him and Sheila.

If Bernard really took Xila to Tyre, then it would be confirmed that the relationship between the two was unusual.

"Well, it's mainly Philip's parents." The factory director said affirmatively. In fact, the factory director knew a little about Philip's family situation.

This has to do with the policies of the church, but the main reason is that Philip's parents were not easy people to get along with.

Although Philip's parents enjoyed treatment as martyrs' relatives, his wife had a higher priority than his parents among his immediate family members.

The pension after Philip's death was paid directly to Silas, not to Philip's parents.

After taking a deep breath, Bernard finally decided to confess to the factory director. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to talk about the matter openly. Moreover, he knew that the factory director was not the kind of person who would gossip behind others' backs.

Although Sheila gave half of the pension to Philip's parents, Philip's brothers always coveted the rest of the money in Sheila's hands.

In addition, the county would distribute some things during festivals, and the bulk of it was given to Sheila.

Although Sheila would give a lot to Bell's parents, people are greedy and with the Philip brothers fanning the flames, life became very difficult.

Even though Xila is raising her child alone now and her life is very stressful, how can people share the joys and sorrows of each other?

Philip's brothers even spread the news from time to time that Silja's child was not Philip's but a bastard.

"...If I hadn't supported Sheila, Trafa would probably have resorted to violence," Bernard said.

Listening to Bernard's description of the situation in Philip's family, the factory director frowned unconsciously. Although he had thought that Xila's life might be difficult, he did not expect it to come to this point.

“Didn’t the council in your hometown take care of it?” asked the factory manager.

"I have supervised them, criticized and educated them, but it won't be long before they start to make things difficult for them again."

The parliament is not actually an institution that manages people. The representative members, as "local celebrities", interfere because of their personal reputation.

As for the county government?
There are only a few people in the county government, and they cannot take care of such detailed matters on a daily basis. Sending people to express condolences to the fallen soldiers according to the records on the list during festivals is an unprecedented good policy.

In fact, this "good policy" could only be carried out because of the religious group's forced demands.

After listening to Bernard's words, the factory director couldn't help feeling a bit overwhelmed. It was difficult for a judge to judge family affairs, and as an outsider, it was not easy for him to interfere in this matter, but he still had to persuade.

"You are also a security guard, and you know the truth. I don't think it will be a good situation for Xila to continue staying here. It is said that a thief can be thieves for a thousand days, but you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days. No matter how strict the protection is, there will be accidents and mistakes. If Xila continues to live with Philip's family, something will happen sooner or later. It is better for her to take this opportunity to go to Tyre and start a new life."

Listening to the factory director's words, Bernard sighed.

The factory manager continued, "As for the rumors you're worried about, I can only say that if that's the threshold in your own mind, as for those who gossip behind your back, no matter what your relationship with Xila is, they can make it up. Do you think you won't be gossiped about if you stay here? If you stay here, you'll just hear those gossips every day."

Bernard nodded, thinking that what the factory director said made sense.

"I'll give you another half day. Go talk to Sheila and give me an answer before tonight."

Compared with the kingdom center in Tyre, Gairis has a more profound influence on Transjordan.

Because Transjordan was built by Garys himself, he laid the most perfect foundation and truly changed its appearance from scratch.

It can be said that an era is being buried, and a new era is opening up. People in this new era do not know what they are witnessing, but they will be amazed and troubled by it. The old ethics and morals seem outdated and out of date for this new era.

Even with Gillis's personal example, a new pious life was forced into people's minds, emphasizing hygiene, freedom and human rights.

But for many people, it still seems unique, after all, Gillis did not visit every village.

Bernard finally chose to take Silva and Philip's son, who was less than five years old, to Tyre. Staying in Transjordan was actually not suitable for the child's growth.

There were about two hundred backbones like Bernard in the whole Transjordan.

Not only were key personnel from various factories and farms drafted in, but even many students who had not yet completed their studies were assigned to work and complete their studies at the same time.

……

Jerusalem is a small country, and this smallness does not only refer to its small land area, but also to its sparse population.

Transjordan has a population of more than 100,000, and forcibly transferring out 200 key personnel or students can be considered a serious blow.

When these people arrived in Tyre under the escort of the Knights of the Imperial Decree, it meant another qualitative change.

When the two hundred people from Transjordan integrated into Tyre, the center of reform, it was like a storm starting from a small ripple.

The city of Tyre is much larger than the town of Alhadi, but it is only that big. A city with a population of about 20,000 people would be just a slightly larger town in later generations.

Compared with the Southern Song Dynasty at that time, it was nothing more than an ordinary county town. At most, it was able to make a fortune because of its port location.

But for Bernard, this was the largest city he had ever seen. Of course, in fact, Bernard had never been to any other city except Karak before coming to Tyre.

The city of Karak is located on a high ground. Although it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, there is a natural upper limit to the area of ​​the city. The population actually living in the city will always be at most a few thousand people.

The city of Tyre is located on a peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides. It is also easy to defend and difficult to attack, but its area is much larger. The population, workshops and even factories of the new city are also more prosperous.

But when Bernard strolled in this city, he could feel the oppression beneath the prosperity of this city.

Perhaps I have lived in Transjordan for too long and have become accustomed to the positive atmosphere and low prices, so I am not used to seeing people without enough clothes and food.

The new heaven and new earth have already been unveiled in the Transjordan Valley, but the situation in Tyre is still mixed.

When passing by Tyre Cathedral, he took a closer look and said to himself that he understood that the bishops, priests and nuns in the church were no longer fellow travelers with him.

While these Catholic clergymen and priests were still praying to the Lord in the stone churches.

People like him have formed an alliance with Jesus and vowed to bring the Kingdom of God to the earth.

Bernard made the sign of the cross in front of him and quickened his pace to leave. He was going to the Kingdom's Government Council to accept a new position.

"The original plan was to put you in charge of setting up the new city police station, but the reforms in the kingdom are much more in-depth than previously planned, so there is a shortage of manpower everywhere. Now there is a new option. Do you want to listen to it?" Aljos said to Bernardo in his office.

Due to Balian's physical condition, he is no longer able to handle any work. Now the position of Prime Minister of the Kingdom has been taken over by Aljos, who is responsible for continuing Garys' reform policies in the Kingdom.

Of course, Bernardo couldn't refuse to listen to this question, so after he agreed, Arcos continued, "It's like this. After the reform, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Police were changed into the public security, procuratorial and judicial system, that is, the Ministry of Public Security, the Procuratorate, and the Court."

"You can learn about the specific situation of the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments later. The reason I tell you this is mainly because the Kingdom of Jerusalem has decided to establish a circuit court in order to strengthen the unity of the kingdom's legal system and reduce the influence of different customary laws in different places."

In the Mediterranean area in the 11th century, written laws were actually quite rare. The laws in most regions had their own characteristics and followed traditions to deal with conflicts and contradictions between each other. They often used simple and crude methods such as an eye for an eye, blood revenge, and even duels to deal with criminal problems.

However, the situation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem is rather special. Compared with Western Europe of the same period, it is more centralized and has a clearer judicial system.

During the Old Kingdom of Jerusalem, the courts were divided into several levels.

Among them, the Council of Nobles is actually the only judicial institution of the kingdom's nobles. It is responsible for trying criminal cases such as murder, rape, treason, as well as simpler feudal disputes such as the recovery of slaves and the sale of fiefs.

In addition, it is actually responsible for confirming the election of the new king (or regent when necessary), levying taxes, minting coins, allocating budgets to the king to raise funds, etc.

And this aristocratic parliament was transformed into the House of Lords of the Parliament of King's Landing during the reform.

A considerable part of the power belonging to the judicial system was stripped away, and it became true that judicial proceedings could only be taken against the nobles.

In the old Kingdom of Jerusalem, in addition to this aristocratic parliamentary court, there were also citizen class courts, maritime courts, circuit courts, etc.

Although the kingdom's first laws were enacted during the reign of Godfrey of Bouillon and revised by Baldwin II at the Council of Nablus in 1120, the scope of application of these legal provisions is actually quite questionable.

The Old Kingdom of Jerusalem had a clear judicial system, but lacked a set of common laws. The laws applicable to the nobility were different from those for non-nobles, and the laws applicable to the Franks were different from those applicable to the Saracens. Even among ordinary Franks, different judgments could be made due to the different communities they belonged to.

The Genoese, Venetians, Pisans... and many other communities in the kingdom all had their own independent courts.

To some extent, the Kingdom of Jerusalem can even be described as "semi-colonial and semi-feudal."

First of all, the Franks, the main body of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, were essentially foreign colonists. They came to the Levant in order to obtain land and wealth, and then settled here. In order to fight against the surrounding hostile forces, they established a feudal kingdom.

The Italian city-states that arrived later obtained various privileges in this land by supporting the regime of the old Kingdom of Jerusalem. They not only had their own independent territories, but also controlled certain taxes in some cities and even had independent judicial powers.

(End of this chapter)