Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 381 Geopolitics in the Scriptures
[On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go into Egypt, and the Egyptians will go into Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship together with the Assyrians.]

[On that day, Israel will join Egypt and Assyria to bless the people of the earth.]

——《Geopolitics in the Bible》BY Gareth de Villeroy
Halford Mackinder proposed a geopolitical theory in 1904, namely the "land power theory".

In his Land Power Theory, he proposed that "controlling Eastern Europe is equivalent to controlling the heartland, controlling the heartland is equivalent to controlling the world island, and controlling the world island is equivalent to controlling the world."

The heartland roughly includes Eastern Europe, Central Russia, and parts of Western Asia.

The world island refers to the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa.

There are certainly many problems with the land power theory, and generally speaking it is indeed too biased.

But it's not completely unreasonable.

In comparison, the "marginal zone theory" proposed by Nicholas J. Spykman is more complete and mature.

As a follower and critic of Mackinder, he continued to develop the land power theory, but with a different focus.

"Whoever controls the periphery controls Eurasia; whoever controls Eurasia controls the destiny of the world."

The so-called marginal areas refer to the European coastal areas, the Arabian-Middle East desert areas, and the Asian monsoon areas.

These regions, which have most of the world's population and a large amount of resources, are located between the heartland and the marginal seas, and are therefore more important than the heartland.

For Gellis, the challenges and difficulties he is facing now may be best described by the theory of marginal areas in the theory of land power.

In a sense, the challenges he faced came from the heartland. You have to know that the Mongols marched all the way from Central Asia to Eastern Europe.

If Jerusalem is regarded as a tiny country, its geopolitics will naturally be fragmented. Even if it is expanded to include Egypt and Syria, even if it takes over the Mesopotamian region, it is actually just a reproduction of the Arab Empire.

It faced invasions from nomadic peoples to the east and had to deal with religious crusaders from Europe to the west. Its internal oasis island political structure was distinct, and it was very easy for local forces to secede.

Taking Egypt, Palestine and Syria alone as an example, prosperity followed by decline is more likely to be the future.

Under such circumstances, the only way to remain invincible is to continue to expand the geopolitical structure, firmly establish a foothold in the Middle East-Arab region, and reach strategic mutual trust with any of the other two marginal areas.

Of course, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Even though Garys has set a long-term strategy, he still has to take it step by step to achieve it.

After stabilizing the north, the next step is naturally to prepare to completely take over Syria and Egypt.

……

The temperature in Jerusalem in midsummer is somewhat scorching. Unlike the climate in monsoon regions, in the Mediterranean climate, the hotter the day, the more reluctant God is to give rain.

In addition, this holy city has no rivers running through it, and even groundwater cannot be easily obtained.

Therefore, water supply has long been crucial and difficult for the city of Jerusalem.

As early as the 8th century BC, during the reign of King Hezekiah, an underground tunnel was dug. This tunnel drew water from the Gihon Spring outside the city, passed through the mountains and brought the water into the city, providing a relatively stable water source for the residents of Jerusalem.

You should know that this 533-meter-long tunnel was not formed by widening the pre-existing natural karst landform, but was successfully built by two construction teams who dug underground and finally merged together.

As for how they managed to successfully meet up underground, that is even more puzzling.

By the time of the Crusades, digging wells and more reservoirs became essential.

When Gairis took over Jerusalem, water supply became a more important issue, after all, it was related to public health and safety. Therefore, a plan was put on the agenda a year ago - the water tower water supply system.

The water tower water supply system had already been implemented during the period when Tyre was the temporary capital.

But Jerusalem, as the royal capital, was relatively slow.

This is because Tyre, as a port, has more liquid capital and is relatively easy to raise funds.

In addition, Jerusalem was sieged twice. Even though Saladin did not destroy the city on a large scale, the lost population would not be able to return easily in a short period of time.

When the population density is not high, the old water supply facilities can naturally meet the people's living needs.

But with the arrival of long-term peace in recent years, the total population has continued to increase, and coupled with the large number of pilgrims staying here, the total number of people in the holy city and outside the city walls is about to exceed 50,000.

Naturally, it is quite unbearable.

Influenced by someone, after the completion of some major activities, the kingdom would also hold some ceremonies to celebrate and invite people from newspapers to record the scene at that time, which is the so-called ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Today, on the summer solstice of the first year of the new calendar, thousands of people gathered in the city square. Behind them, towering over the residential area, was a water tower about 8 meters high.

It was also amid the cheers and celebrations of the crowd that Isabella, surrounded by Jerusalem municipal officials, walked up to the podium and waved to many people in the square, whether they were Franks, Arabs, or Greeks.

Just as she was about to start her speech, she caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of her eye and immediately looked over there.

As expected, the man who had not been seen for a long time waved to her and squeezed through the crowd under her expectant gaze.

When everyone was wondering what was happening, they saw a man that many people knew appear at the edge of the platform.

Unlike the cheers when Isabella appeared earlier, everyone was silent at the same time.

But then a voice said: "Everyone, long time no see."

Like waves, the water is boiling in this hot summer.

It was as if real sounds came from all directions, converging into words with the same meaning.

"prophet!"

This was not a prophet of a certain sect, but a prophet who was willingly acknowledged by everyone in the city of Jerusalem, including many pilgrims.

Then, Garys pressed his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

As if by magic, following Garys's movements, thousands of people lowered their voices, and only breathing remained on the scene.

"Everyone, I am here to tell you that another prophecy in the scriptures is about to come true."

"It is written in the Scripture that the Egyptians will cry out to my Father because of oppression, so my Father will send a Savior as a defender to save them!"

"On that day the Egyptians will recognize our Father again, worship him with sacrifices and meal offerings, and make vows and fulfill vows to him."

"I will strike Egypt and both strike and heal them, so that they will turn to the true faith; I will also hear their prayer and heal them."

(End of this chapter)