Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 296: Concern leads to chaos
Considering the legal income of officials, not many of them can afford their own private carriage.

As for the few people who are rich enough to buy a big house and a private carriage in Tyre, they are basically living off their wives, or they come from a good family, and a typical example is Garys.

Except for that group of people, although the income of other Paladins is not low, it is still very costly for them to prepare a private carriage for themselves.

People like Gossel who have been dismissed from their jobs can only travel on foot.

However, for the sake of efficiency, the government still equipped each department with shared carriages.

Riding in the carriage of the Minister of Supply of the Royal Government, Gosel held Adelinde's somewhat cold hand, and thought about the difficulties that Denise might encounter. To be honest, trafficking is a low-probability event after all.

More than a year ago, when Tyre's police force was still strong enough, a related crackdown was carried out.

Those truly vicious groups were basically sent to the mines or Antioch, which was considered exile or labor reform, while those among them who were unforgivable enjoyed the same royal treatment as Louis XVI in advance.

In that stark old era, people were not people, but objects with prices tagged on them, or they were livestock, providing labor for free.

De facto slavery existed throughout that dark world, cruelly creating suffering.

Human traffickers were so rampant at that time that even acts of live mutilation were discovered on the streets of Tyre.

Caishengzhejia is to capture the elderly or children and artificially create disabled or monsters in order to gain sympathy from the world and obtain a large amount of money from passers-by.

They were a group of thugs. They smashed children and adults with bricks and hit them with sticks, crippling them and breaking their arms. They had to beg for money on wooden carts every day.

Sometimes they would look for young children in the city of Tyre and transfer them to the outside world to sell them as slaves. Girls would be sold to wealthy people or to brothels in other cities; good-looking boys would be sold to jugglers or sent to high-ranking officials after being trained.

Some of them would break the children's hands and feet into strange shapes to arouse people's sympathy. And these children were like consumables, strange children appeared in this strange city, and then disappeared in this city, replaced by a new batch.

When such evil was revealed in front of Gossel and Gilles, it refreshed their understanding of the bottom line of humanity again and again.

During those days, it was as if Gossel and Gilles were witnessing all the evil in the world.

Some of these Paladins were born in the simple villages of Transjordan, and some came from knight families. They had never seen how life was played in the city.

In the dark corners of Tyre, the evil of this world is crawling.

It was the evil that Gothel and Gilles had sworn before Gellis to eradicate.

The light of the Holy Spirit will surely illuminate all darkness.

[I know that this world is like a dark tunnel, long and endless. The land beneath our feet flows with tears and blood, and is a valley of tears.]

【Therefore, some people will become warriors, always ready to fight, fighting against those who belong to the air and blood, those who are invisible, and those who belong to the evil spirits in the air.】

——Collected Works of Gillis

It was precisely because he had seen so much evil and darkness that when Gothel heard that Denise was missing, he became so anxious. He was truly prepared for the worst.

Of course, what Gossel didn't notice was that he actually loved the whole family.

The carriage arrived at its first destination, which was none other than the tavern where Gossel and his friends had drunk tonight.

The purpose of coming here is to ask the tavern owner for information and let the owner here release the news.

After knocking on the door of the closed tavern and sitting down, Gossel stated his purpose and asked the owner if he knew of any other rumors of missing children.

"There are indeed rumors. It is said that it mainly happens among the poor, or even among the extremely poor. But I really don't understand it, or I don't care. After all, most of the guests I receive here are sailors, or people from the city who have some money, or even big shots like you."

Although this tavern is doing a booming business, the level of consumption is indeed quite high. The city of Tyre is divided into the upper class and the lower class, but in fact the upper class in Tyre is very small, consisting of only a small group of people, including wealthy businessmen, a group of nobles, senior officials and Paladins.

In fact, there is a huge gap among the lower class, which makes up the absolute majority of the population. Ordinary civil servants also belong to this group, families with good financial conditions that can send their children to school are also part of this group, and those who are so poor that they have no place to live are also among them.

Although the tavern owner does business for the lower class, the customers who come to his place are actually not that miserable, otherwise where would they get the money to pay tips to the waitresses?
In those days, being a sailor was also in a high-risk and high-paying job. Although the status was not very high, at least sailors who often went out to sea could feed themselves with fish and meat after returning to the shore, and they could often drink and find women.

Since the consumption threshold of the pub is set here, the pub owner naturally has less contact with the real poor.

"You've heard such rumors, right?"

"Correct."

"But I haven't heard of it before. Today is the first time."

As he said this, Gothel's tone was somewhat depressed.

If he had heard this news earlier, perhaps he would have been able to find out the truth earlier.

Although it is still impossible to determine whether a new human trafficking group has appeared in the city of Tyre, Gothel has already thought about the worst side of the matter.

As for Adelinde, who witnessed the whole process, Gothel could feel the sweat on her palms and see her very stiff expression.

Gossel was not good at persuading others, so he simply kept silent.

In the late night when it was drizzling, Gossel personally visited one well-informed person after another in Tyre to inquire about the news of missing people.

Gossel is not a gangster boss. He has no real power of his own, and he does not have any henchmen following him around.

He was able to gain the respect of many people in Tyre because he was willing to stand up for the weak and fight.

And he does have connections that people at the lower levels don't have.

In the old society, Gothel was the kind of person who shouldered both morality and justice and upheld justice in the surrounding area. There were so many people in Tyre who owed him a favor that he himself was a banner. As long as he was shown and fluttered in the wind, there would be people to follow and support him.

During the visit, some people said they had never heard of it, while others revealed some uncertain news.

As he collected more information, Gothel's expression became more gloomy. He could almost conclude that there was a specialized human trafficking group in the city of Tyre.

This group has not been active for long, but what is chilling is that it seems that some parents are actively selling their children.

"Adelinde, will you betray your own child?" Gothel murmured.

"How could that be? How is that possible..." This was Adelinde's answer, but she could also feel the possibility of it, and it was more of a subconscious resistance.

"But some people will. Even though Tyre has become like this, there are still people struggling on the brink of starvation. They have a hard time raising themselves, let alone raising children..."

Gothel's voice became smaller and smaller. Did he sell his child because he couldn't survive?

Gossel actually didn't know clearly, he could only hope so. After all, if he sold out because he couldn't survive, he would have the ability to change the situation.

What’s even more frightening is that in this era, there is a general lack of sympathy for children.

Adulthood is not just adulthood;

In other words, before reaching adulthood, one cannot be considered a human being, and an infant mortality rate of over one-third is a difficult hurdle for children to overcome.

It was already dawn and the carriage was heading towards the palace. Gossel needed Isabella's clear support.

Gellis was commanding the army at the front line of the war. They were the ones who had the final say in Tyre. Gothel had already informed Gilles that if there were any major incidents, he would be supported by the police. But that was not enough. If he wanted to mobilize enough forces to accompany Gothel in his madness, he needed support from a higher level.

And now in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the one who can provide him with help is actually Isabella, the Queen of Jerusalem.

When Adelinde, still wearing the waitress's uniform, walked into the palace under the guidance of Gosel, she felt very uncomfortable. It seemed that this was not a place she should set foot in. For ordinary Franks, royal power meant a certain divine power, and things related to the king were given all kinds of extraordinary meanings and concepts.

Even though Adelinde was very familiar with Gothel and knew that Gothel was familiar with the powerful people in the kingdom, and even though she visited so many people last night, she had never thought that one day she would really step into the palace.

"Lord Gothel, you truly live in a different world from me." This is what Adelinde whispered to herself, but it was not noticed by Gothel who was walking in front.

From the moment Gothel appeared in Adelinde's world, he was out of reach. Adelinde could not understand why Gothel, who was originally in a high position of power, would give up those powers and help those who had nothing to do with him.

The two were led into the living room by servants and then received by Isabella.

Because she was familiar with Gothel, Isabella walked directly into the living room wearing her usual home clothes.

Upon seeing Isabella, Adelinde hastened to bow, and Isabella returned the gesture with a friendly gesture, paying no attention to Adelinde's attire.

After everyone sat down, Gossel told them all the information he knew.

"Except for this young lady, no one has reported any missing or abducted children during this period. But Gothel, you have heard about someone missing in the slums, right?" Isabella said.

"Yes, in fact, there is also news that there may be a human trafficking group that buys children, because it is said that the families of those missing children did not show any special signs." There was no fluctuation in Gossel's words, but the meaning of his words was disturbing.

After Isabella understood what Gothel meant, her eyes flickered. It was obvious that the implication affected her, but Isabella hid her emotions. Without Gaillis by her side, she needed to learn how to disguise herself.

"So, Gothel, what are you going to do?"

"Find them, catch them, and bring them to justice."

"Have you thought about what the children are going to do? What are you going to do about the parents?"

Isabella was as good as Garys in terms of hurting people's hearts. When she asked this question, Gossel was silent.

After a long moment, Gossel seemed to be trying to defend himself and said, "If the purpose is to make illegal profits, then they will be guilty of child trafficking."

"Then the parents of those children will be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of more than five years but less than ten years. And what should be done with the children? Or what should be done with the family?" Isabella was not against such legal provisions, she just hoped for a proper outcome.

"From the moment parents sell their children for money, their family relationship has essentially broken down. Is it necessary to continue to maintain such a family?"

"But the children won't understand." As a woman, and a woman who expects to be a mother, no matter how hard Isabella tries, her logic cannot be as cold and straightforward as Gothel's. She will think more and subconsciously consider others.

Gothel chose to drop the topic and said directly: "The most urgent task is to solve the human trafficking group to prevent the children from encountering any accidents. We need to race against time."

Isabella nodded. She understood the priorities of the matter. Then she glanced at Adelinde, who was rather restrained beside Gothel, without leaving a noticeable trace.

"It's not appropriate to lock down the city. In fact, if the government's power is too strong, do you think they will be desperate and kill those children directly and flee Tyre?" Isabella mentioned another very possible reality, which almost shocked Adelinde.

The city of Tyre has its own special features. Tyre has only one wall, which can stop the attack of a large army, but cannot stop individuals from jumping into the sea and leaving the peninsula.

If those human traffickers really killed the children in order to keep their actions secret, then even if they were caught, it would be a failure for Gossel, especially since there was a high possibility that Denise was among those children.

"Then, Your Highness, do you have any suggestions?" When saying this, Gothel suddenly realized that Isabella had become someone that others could turn to for help, and her words would be powerful and could change many people and many things.

"It's not that there is no solution. First of all, we can be sure of one thing. The loading and unloading of cargo at the dock is strictly controlled by the Stevedores Association, and the cargo will be inspected by customs officials when it is loaded onto the ship. Therefore, it is unlikely that the group will ship directly from the dock in Tyre."

"Since they can't go by sea, they can only find a way to get the controlled children out of Tyre through the city gate. After all, most of the time we don't have strict supervision over the city gate, and we even have plans to demolish the city wall. If we ship by land, where is the most suitable market?"

Gothel, who had cracked down on human traffickers a year ago, naturally understood the answer to Isabella's question.

“Damascus.”

The straight-line distance from Tyre to Damascus is only 100 kilometers. Although it is not very close, Damascus, as an ancient Muslim city with a population of 200,000 to 300,000, has a very complete and institutionalized slave trading market. It is also the most prosperous place for slave trading in the entire Levant region.

Such a city also enjoys extremely special praise in the Arab world: If there is a paradise on earth, Damascus must be in it; if paradise is in the sky, Damascus must be as famous as it.

"What does this mean? It means that in the short term, the human traffickers you suspect will not have any desire to leave the city. And if we use the wartime state as an excuse to increase patrols at the city gates, they will have even less desire to leave the city."

Today, the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Ayyubid Dynasty are in a state of war, and in recent times, the border guards have assembled and deployed a semi-encirclement of Damascus.

"As long as you make sure the suspect and the abducted child are in the city, it shouldn't be too much trouble for you to find them." Isabella looked at Gothel.

In terms of familiarity with the city of Tyre, no Paladin can compare with Gossel and Gilles, and in terms of prestige among the citizens of Tyre, Gilles can never compare with Gossel.

Isabella continued, "But having said that, although I will support your actions, Gothel, you'd better think clearly about what identity you intend to intervene in. If you make a big fuss about turning Tyre City upside down, it will actually change the situation, and they are likely to take risks."

It is actually a very important question as to what identity one should use to intervene. Different identities represent different powers and behaviors. In fact, in feudal society, no matter where one comes from, they all have their own rules and behavioral cognition.

If the target is a human trafficking group, it is reasonable for the government to use force, but in fact this also means that everyone understands that this matter cannot be resolved peacefully.

The 12th century is not the 21st century. China's judicial system in the 21st century has established its own system. Although there are many unsatisfactory issues, at least there is a system.

What about the 12th century? It was ruled by men from beginning to end. Isabella, as the king, made a big show of looking for a group of criminals. In the eyes of ordinary people, if these criminals were found, they would basically be hanged.

As a monarch, her or his will in this era actually means power and violence.

Few people believe that when a monarch decides to enforce his will on the common people, he will act according to the so-called legal provisions.

"I have a suggestion." Isabella said suddenly, with a smile on her lips.

"You said."

"Gothel, you have to let those traffickers relax their vigilance, or at least make them feel that they have a chance to reform, or have a chance to escape punishment. People will not take risks easily when they have hope. Of course, we all know that if they are found to have committed murder or other serious crimes, the outcome is doomed."

"And if you want to achieve this effect, you need to come forward as a private person and contact the other party with a suitable reason."

"Identity reason?" Gothel didn't understand what Isabella meant.

"The more formal the identity and the more high-profile the action, the more difficult it will be for both parties to step down. But if you, Gossel, come forward as a family member of the victim, it will actually give the other party a lucky mentality." While speaking, Isabella glanced at the bewildered Adelinde again.

"No one would think that a monarch would care about civilian hostages when trying to capture criminals. If they take risks, the consequences will be disastrous. But if a family member of a kidnapped child tracks down the criminals and tries to reach a private settlement with the traffickers, it actually becomes a ransom case, and only living hostages can bring benefits. Then on this basis, as long as you show that you can pose a threat to the criminals and are willing to reconcile, Denise will not be in any danger."

Which one is safer in the hands of criminals, a worthless hostage or a valuable hostage?
What Isabella wanted to express was simply that valuable but not that valuable hostages are the safest, and Gossel needs to create such a feeling for the human traffickers so that they value the hostages in their hands but not too much.

"How to achieve this effect?" Although Gosel understood the reasoning behind it, he couldn't figure out for a while how he could become Denise's family member? And if Adelinde came forward, she was obviously not qualified.

Isabella yawned and said directly, "You can let those well-informed people in the lower class spread the word that Gossel's sister-in-law has been kidnapped, and then say that if the other party can send Denise back, then you can use your reputation to send the other party out of the city and never interfere with each other again."

"Oh, by the way, it would be best if you could offer a reward to anyone who can provide clues about the human traffickers. Since there are transactions going on, there must be a lot of people who have come into contact with them. It shouldn't be that difficult to find a breakthrough from there."

It’s not that Gossel didn’t think of these things, it’s just that he was too concerned.

(End of this chapter)