Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 349 Mestizo
But during the past decade, the ties of personal dependence within the Kingdom of Jerusalem have been forcefully dissolved.

In 1187, the Anti-Serfhood Declaration issued by Gellis in Karak laid a theoretical foundation for this.

That is, everyone is qualified to go to heaven, regardless of their wealth, nationality, or beliefs.

Everyone is equal before Jehovah.

If this is the case, then enslaving others is unacceptable, disrespectful to Jehovah, and a rejection of humanity.

Since then, the manor mechanism around the city of Karak began to disintegrate and transform into farms or self-cultivating rural communities.

The original inhabitants of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, who were freed from their personal dependence, gradually gained the right to speak out politically and began to have a certain national identity.

A joke that Gellis made at the time: the United Kingdom of Palestine and Syria, has also become the name many people privately call this country.

Regional-based identities began to be constructed.

On this basis, restrictions on interfaith marriages were lifted because Garys personally presided over the marriage of a young couple at the time, Lorian and Amina.

A large number of Franks intermarried with Arabs, so over the past thirteen years, the number of mixed-race people has increased.

It can be said that the seeds of a new nation are being born. Although these mixed-race children are still young, they have already been called "Mestisos", which means Métis.

Mestizo comes from the Latin word mixticius, which means mixture.

But unlike the mestizos in America in later generations, in Jerusalem, even though there was still prejudice among the people, it was respected and encouraged at the government and religious levels.

The Mexicans in the later United States are actually a basic portrayal of the living conditions of most mestizos.

At least seven states of the 21st century United States were once part of Mexican territory, but the United States annexed those lands in the 7s.

The Mexicans in those states became Americans, but on a cultural level, these "Americans" were not treated as Americans.

A "real" American is an English-speaking, white-skinned Protestant of Anglo-Saxon descent.

But these Mexicans neither speak English, are not white enough, and are not Protestants.

Although they learned English under American rule, they could not get rid of their Spanish accent.

These people are often praised by the most "orthodox" Americans for their good English.

You will also get a response from Mexicans: As Americans, you speak Spanish well.

They became "foreigners in their own land, exiles who had never left their homeland."

This is the Mestizo, and in the vast majority of cases, neither party that created the Metis will identify with them.

It is actually a little too early to discuss this issue in Jerusalem. After all, Gerisk is still alive, most Metis have not yet left their parents' families, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem has no clear legal discrimination.

But to say that it really has no impact, that’s not the case.

Alhadi Town has become a small city that has emerged on the trade route. Unlike other cities, this small city with a population of more than 3,000 people does not have city walls.

This certainly raises doubts in people's minds, but watching the patrolling troops coming and going day and night can also reassure everyone and make the residents here believe that they are being protected.

The town of Alhadi, one of the first areas where the Bible was preached by Gelis, has now been transformed and is no longer in its former desolate state.

Even the town has been systematically planned and is roughly divided into residential areas, administrative areas, commercial areas, and production areas.

Except for administrative districts, the other three types of divisions are often combined with each other.

Yes, administrative district.

Alhadi Town, or actually Alhadi City, is where the county council and government of Arnon County are located.

Today, the town of Al-Hadi has become a true portrayal of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, where Franks and Muslims live together, but when it comes to individual residential areas, they appear to be quite distinct.

They usually surround a mosque or church, each with a residential area and a corresponding commercial area.

To reduce conflicts caused by contradictions in living traditions and habits.

But there was one thing on which Gellis had never conceded: the children of Franks and Saracens, whatever their native language, must attend the same school.

As the town of Al-Hadi absorbed the surrounding working population and refugees from the city of Jerusalem, it was no longer the town inhabited solely by Muslims. Muslim children needed education, and so did the Franks' children.

Back then, Gellis founded the Al-Hadi School here.

But Al-Hadi School is not a school that specializes in providing children's education. With the development over the years, the Kingdom of Jerusalem officially established four universities in the kingdom five years ago.

These four are Antioch University, Tyre University, Jerusalem University, and Al-Hadi University.

As Al-Hadi University has already established itself as a university, it is somewhat inconvenient for it to continue educating all age groups.

Therefore, the corresponding education for children and teenagers was separated and new schools were established.

Raymondine is a student of this school.

Raymondin is a typical Frank-Arab mixed-race person. His appearance combines the tall stature of his Frankish father and the delicate facial features of his Arab mother, making him particularly eye-catching.

Of course, his name itself is peculiar.

On the one hand, Raymond is a traditional Frank name, and on the other hand, the pronunciation of Ding actually means faith in Arabic.

In other words, Raymondin, as his name suggests, is a "bastard" - a Métis.

This made him have a difficult time in the student group. Whenever there was a fight between students, no one would call him.

Of course, Raymondin was at ease with this. He did not have the loneliness of being abandoned by the group like ordinary people. Or maybe he had already gotten used to it.

However, this does not mean that he is an easy target to be bullied.

As a Métis, one of his strengths is that he can skillfully use two languages ​​to express his emotions and wishes.

"Fuck you!"

"You fatherless and motherless bastard, I am your father!"

"I'm your father, right? I'm still your ancestor!"

"Your mother deserves to go to hell!"

This level of oral gymnastics is actually a daily routine for students of this age group.

However, sometimes, it would develop into physical contact.

Take this time, for example, when someone insulted his mother, Raymondin threw his fist at the other person without saying a word, causing him to bleed from the nose. For this, he was also called to the hospital as a parent.

The next day, in the school teacher's office, Lorian smiled and said a lot of nice things to the teacher, which made the teacher, who had originally had a sullen face, look better.

"That won't work. Raymondin, although his academic performance is not bad, he still can't fit in with the group. This is very detrimental to his growth."

Faced with the nonsense the teacher said, Raymondin naturally turned his face away and pretended to ignore it.

As for Raymondin's father, Lorian, there is not much to say, but he is definitely not convinced.

Raymondin has difficulty integrating into the student body. Is this really Raymondin's problem?

Is it because your eyes or ears are not good enough that you can't see the bloodline of Raymondin? Can't you hear the name of Raymondin? Or are you just too lazy to understand the essence of it?
Instead of dealing with the group culture, they blame Raymondine for not being able to fit in with the group.

To be honest, in Lorian's opinion, the level of teachers in this school is really not good, but what can be done?

He didn't have time to look after his own child, so he could only hand him over to the school. At least it was better than letting the child run around everywhere.

"Also, you always come over. Where's his mother? Educating a child is the responsibility of both parents. Not to mention, I asked him to call his parents several times, but he said you were working outside and couldn't come. What are you busy with?"

When he heard this, Lorian was actually cursing in his heart.

"His mother passed away a few years ago."

When hearing this, the teacher's expression changed a little. Obviously, this was a topic that should not be mentioned.

"As for me, I have been serving in the Imperial Order all along. A few days ago, because the situation in Egypt was relatively relaxed, I was given a relatively long vacation."

When the teacher mentioned the Imperial Order, his expression changed again.

It is said that there were three major knightly orders in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, namely the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, and the Knights Ordinary.

Because of some historical issues, the first two groups are now in a very awkward situation. They need to choose between Jerusalem and mainland Europe.

A large number of knights have decided to leave Jerusalem and go to Egypt or return to Europe to establish a new headquarters of the Knights Templar.

But there were also members of the Knights Templar who chose to join the Jerusalem Order and believe in the theology of Gelis. They retained the names of the Hospitallers and the Knights Templar and began to recruit new soldiers from the Levant.

But it is obvious that the reputation and strength of the Knights Templar who lost their European branch were no longer as great as before, and the Imperial Order of Knights Templar came from behind to take the lead.

This also made the status of the Imperial Knights rise sharply, and they were hailed as the "true knights" second only to the Paladins.

The Paladins are a religious order and do not participate in competition.

"Oh, no matter how important your work is, you can't ignore your child. I'll think of a way to take care of your child."

Hearing the other party's originally bland words turn into some enthusiasm, Lorian just responded with a smile.

After waiting for this torture-like time to end, he finally left the school with Raymondin.

Just a few steps away from the school.

Raymondin spoke up: "I think that teacher is ridiculous. He is arrogant at first but respectful later. If he knew that you are the Grand Master of the Imperial Order, how would he behave?"

Just as Paladins have different ranks, the Knights also have their own titles, which are roughly similar, but the number of people qualified to be called champions is much less than that of Paladins.

Therefore, a grand master in the Knights Templar is already someone who can sit in the front row at meetings. Even if he is at the national level, he will have the opportunity to chat and laugh with cabinet ministers.

In response, Lorian gave his twelve-year-old son a chestnut on the head, then muttered something like, "He doesn't look like me or his mother at all."

Then he continued, "This school is really not good. It is not as good as Al-Hadi School. When I was studying there..."

Before he finished speaking, Raymondine interrupted and said, "Alhadi School is now a university."

"Fine……"

After being choked, Lorian continued, "I'll try to find a way to help you change schools later. I'm also going to change my defense and leave Transjordan."

"Where are we going now?"

Lorian hesitated for a moment, but finally gave an answer: "Antiochus."

"Oh."

Raymondin responded rather coldly.

Faced with his son's bland reply, Lorian scratched the back of his head, wanting to say something but unable to.

Raymondin is indeed unlike him. It's not that he is not smart, but his personality often subconsciously hides his true opinions and he will not respond to many things in the outside world.

He wanted to pull his son's ears and ask him what he really thought and whether he cared or didn't care about his switch, but he felt that it was inappropriate.

"Where would you like to go to study?"

"Aren't you going to Antioch?"

"Not necessarily in Antioch..."

Lorian knew it very well. The Knights said they were moving to Antioch, but it was obviously because the situation in Egypt had eased due to the end of the Fourth Crusade, and there was a chance to send troops to the Anatolia region.

In other words, I really don’t know how long Lorian will be separated from his son.

"It's up to you..."

In this way, Lorian, who couldn't handle his son well, took Raymondin through the increasingly prosperous streets of Alhadi in the sunset.

The world is like this, it is not perfect and there are always many imperfections.

They had once promised to grow old together, but even with the blessing of the prophet, Amina passed away early, leaving Lorian alone with his child.

Also, because Lorian was often away, his own children had to be left in the care of the school or relatives, which eventually led to this behavior.

The same is true of the times. The country has become better and life has become better, but new problems will also arise.

Deliberately ignoring the problem is itself the biggest problem.

Initially, they had to deal with the divide between the Franks and the Arabs, but now that the two have become intertwined, they have to deal with the birth of the “Mestiso”.

Of course, this was still good in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

At least here, the Métis were still recognized as citizens, rather than being divided into different classes according to their bloodline as in colonial America under Spanish rule in later generations.

(End of this chapter)