Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 411 Since the Prophet likes it, then gold is not expensive
As a moral requirement, Christianity is undoubtedly quite progressive at certain historical stages.

Although the Bible does not explicitly prohibit slavery, as the process of interpretation progresses, Christianity has basically reached a consensus: Christians are not slaves of other Christians.

Of course, this consensus was not absolute. In the subsequent historical development, many popes announced that even if slaves converted to Catholicism, they would still retain their slave status.

After all, slavery itself meant real economic benefits.

However, once moral standards collide with real economic interests, they may not necessarily win.

With the changes in the productivity environment, slavery has indeed almost disappeared in Western Europe.

Although serfs themselves were still regarded as talking animals, they were ultimately considered human beings in the church's theological and moral system.

Therefore, compared with the slave class, serfs were relatively easy to transition to a higher class and also had certain property rights.

At least, when a serf died, the lord usually only asked for the handover of the best cow or pig as a symbol of the lord's ownership of all the serf's property, and the rest could be inherited by future generations.

Geris theology, or Jerusalem Christians, takes this issue a step further.

Serfdom itself was also seen as slavery to man, considering that all men had a common ancestor, and that Adam was created by God himself.

Even though we were later contaminated by original sin, there was our Heavenly Brother Jesus who died as a martyr to atone for the sins of the human race.

It is clear then that humans should not be enslaved, because every person is created by God in His own image.

From a moral point of view, slavery is something that must be firmly denied.

Considering that when Jesus was martyred, he did not say that he only paid for the sins of Christians, it can be seen that in essence, all people are in agreement on this issue, not just Christians themselves.

Therefore, as early as when he was in Transjordan, Gheris issued the "Anti-Serfdom Declaration", liberating the local Muslim serfs and reforming the manor system into a collective farm.

After hearing what Gellis said, Korner sighed.

He came to the Kingdom of Jerusalem a few months ago and stayed at Delfino's house. During these days, he had been observing the situation in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

He naturally knew that Gellis was telling the truth and that the Kingdom of Jerusalem had begun to completely ban serfdom.

If he wanted to establish a sugarcane plantation in Cyprus, how to solve the labor problem would be another difficult problem.

Even if he didn't say it, Korner secretly complained that Garys was meddling in other people's business.

Before Gellis compiled the Anti-Serfdom Declaration, the Crusader states in the Levant did not only use serfs for production on manors.

None of the systems in human society came out of stone.

Almost all ideas, systems, and institutions are developed based on the foundations of predecessors.

Colonization, plantations, slaves, and other things did not come suddenly with the discovery of America.

In fact, the Franks had already experimented with these in the Levant during the Crusades.

Of course, this can also be seen as an incomplete replica of the original Roman or Greek colonization.

History is like this, it goes around and around, and every once in a while, it revisits the old version but makes some minor adjustments...

This is what is called an upward spiral.

When the traveler Ibn Jubayr visited the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the early 1180s, he described seeing groups of Muslim slaves on the road.

The Muslims, both men and women, were bound in chains.

By 1187, after Saladin had conquered much of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Ayyubid chroniclers claimed that he had freed between nine and twenty thousand Muslim slaves.

During this period of history, Christianity did not play a single role. In fact, it was the norm for Christianity to play both sides and slap itself in the face.

The kingdom's early customary law upheld the traditional Christian teaching that Christians could not be enslaved, and the law stipulated that former Muslim slaves had to be freed if they truly converted to Christianity.

In 1120, the Council of Nablus also left a written law prohibiting Crusaders from having sexual relations with their female slaves.

If a man raped his own slave, he would be castrated, but if he raped someone else's slave, he would be castrated and exiled from the kingdom.

——"Nablus Conference"

Even though there were circuit courts that would free slaves on the grounds that they were Christians, in reality many slave owners would find ways to circumvent the law.

Many slave owners refused to baptize their slaves, and some even refused to let their slaves listen to the priests' sermons, fearing that these Muslims might suddenly come to their senses one day.

In subsequent history, Pope Gregory IX openly stated that slaves must be allowed to convert to Christianity, but they would remain slaves.

However, this actually violated the church law he had compiled himself.

In the Crusader states of the Levant, this struggle against slavery continued in cycles, and merchants and slave owners were often able to exploit various loopholes.

All this continued until the conquest of Saladin.

The arrival of Saladin destroyed the plantation economy of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and after the restoration of the Kingdom of Gelis, the discussion on slavery in the kingdom was completely ended.

[There will be no more slaves, no more serfs. In this kingdom of heaven on earth, no one should be enslaved, and everyone should contribute their efforts for the freedom of their enslaved brothers and sisters.]

——The Book of Karak

As a smart man, Korner would certainly not go against Garys, but in this era, if there was no free labor on the plantations, the cost would be extremely high.

Even if the price of sugar is high, it does not necessarily mean that you can make money.

Considering that his own wisdom was ultimately limited, Korner chose to ask Gellis directly, seeking the wisdom of the prophet.

Then Korner saw Garys frowning, obviously thinking, and it didn't take long for him to give an answer.

“Many times, it’s not that we can only rely on human labor to do the work.”

“Whether it’s water power or wind power, as long as the mechanical design is sophisticated and sturdy enough, it can save more effort.”

"Since you can accept not using serfs to develop the plantation, then I can help you design the plantation."

Garys asked for a piece of paper and began to draw something simple.

The design of hydraulic machinery is actually not complicated, but what really limits the workmanship of hydraulic machinery is the materials.

In the absence of sufficiently strong and reliable steel, the efficiency of various hydraulic machines in the Middle Ages was very low.

But things are different now. With the help of Gellis, the level of metal smelting industry in the Kingdom of Jerusalem has essentially reached that of 16th century Europe, and it also incorporates many technologies unique to the Celestial Empire.

Although there is still a shortage in output, the quality is not much different.

In addition, Gellis also put forward some ideas that made Korner skeptical, some even said they were outlandish.

"Are you sure this will reduce shipping costs?" Garys spread his hands. He was just making a suggestion.

That is: build a railway from the plantation to the sugar factory, and then from the sugar factory to the dock.

This railway can significantly reduce transportation costs and double the carrying capacity of horse-drawn carriages. As time goes by, the cost savings will inevitably exceed that of using human transportation.

Not only that, Gellis also settled an account with Korner.

In the Kingdom of Jerusalem, after the invention of blast furnace iron smelting, the price of pig iron, also known as cast iron, began to fall rapidly.

Compared with the expensive iron prices in continental Europe, the iron prices in the Kingdom of Jerusalem had actually fallen from 1 pound of iron per dirham silver coin to 5 pounds of iron per dirham silver coin.

For just 1 gold dinar, you can actually buy 100 pounds of iron, which is equivalent to 45 kilograms.

To build a 10-kilometer-long railway, if the quality requirements are not high, it will require about 600 tons of pig iron.

A rough calculation shows that the cost of the steel is about 13,000 gold dinars.

The price seemed extremely high at first glance, but for the two people present, it was not something they could not afford.

Considering the scale of the subsequent kingdom's metal smelting industry, it will continue to expand.

The cost of raw materials for building railways will only continue to fall.

Once the plantation and sugar factory are opened, the annual revenue is estimated to be thousands of gold dinars. If you look at the long term, it will not be difficult to make a profit.

In addition to transporting raw materials from the plantations, such a railway will also facilitate loading and unloading at the docks.

In the season when the plantation does not use the railway, it can also make stable profits by helping to load and unload materials at the dock. If this line is used for passenger transport, it will be an even more continuous source of income.

I have to say, this made Korner a little itchy.

But he still resisted the urge to nod in agreement, and instead suggested that he first verify whether it was feasible before discussing other things.

Naturally, Gailis had no intention of refusing this.

Building railways in the Middle Ages may seem incredible at first glance.

But the related concept is that as early as the 6th century BC, Greece used a track-like stone trough system for vehicles or ships to transport on land.

In the 15th century, wooden tracks were used to transport ore carts in mines in Germany and England.

It can be said that there is no technical difficulty, and the only remaining issue is the cost.

Stepping directly over the wooden tracks to build the iron tracks is certainly a big step and undoubtedly looks like building a miracle.

But considering that he was not the one who paid the money, but rather tricked Korner into investing, there was no pressure.

If it succeeds, it will be very convenient to accumulate experience. If it fails, it will not be a disaster that harms the country.

After drawing this pie, Gaillis thought for a moment and felt that the pie was too small.

He turned around, changed the paper, first drew the Island of Cyprus, and then marked the size of the Island of Cyprus.

Another calculation showed that the island of Cyprus was not very big. To connect the various key areas of Cyprus and connect the cities in series, only about 200 steps of railway would be enough.

It seems impossible to build this 200-foot railway, or 300 kilometers, now.

But as a prophet, Gellis said that people should look forward and businessmen should not just focus on the immediate petty profits.

Since the Kingdom of Jerusalem has already lowered the price of iron fivefold in the past ten years, it is possible that it may be able to lower it fivefold again in the next twenty years.

When 1 gold dinar can buy 500 pounds of iron, the cost of every thousand steps of railroad will basically be only 400 gold dinars.

In other words, 200*400, in terms of materials, it would only cost about gold dinars, or perhaps less than gold dinars, to add a circle-shaped horse-drawn railway to Cyprus.

This calculation is certainly problematic, after all, various other expenses are not taken into account.

But anyway, Gellis is just painting a rosy picture for others, not eating it himself, so he wants to show a future full of infinite possibilities.

"Think about it. When the time comes, all the farms, plantations, sugar factories, silk factories, copper mines, etc. on the island will need to pay you for transportation. How much of a sure profit will that be?"

Korner himself was not a man who followed the rules. He was full of ambition. Facing Garys's "deception", he swallowed his saliva subconsciously a few times.

Marwan, a senior blacksmith, nodded and pretended that it was entirely possible.

That was about all he had to say, so Garris didn't continue, thinking that too much is as bad as too little.

……

When Garys took Marwan away, Korna and his son stayed in the hotel and recalled what had just happened, and they couldn't help feeling a little horrified.

However, Corna asked his son Federico: "What kind of person do you think the prophet is?"

After hesitating for a moment, Federico answered frankly: "It's very, very daring to imagine, but it's not groundless conjecture."

Korner nodded at this comment; he agreed.

Next to it, there were a lot of sketches that Gellis had just drawn.

There were sketches of various labor-saving machines, ideas for a circular railway around the island, and even risk-benefit calculations for sugar crops.

With pen and paper, Gellis showed the businessman a future he had never imagined.

In that future, humans are not the only ones being exploited, and the suffering they endure can be reduced by improving technology.

If this was just bragging, Korner wouldn't be too shocked.

But Garys had already worked it out with pen and paper.

As a businessman who deals with large amounts of numbers, how could Kerner not trust mathematics?

“Perhaps, this is the prophet.”

Korner sighed.

Then he added: "If the railway from the plantation to the sugar factory and then to the port can be completed for 20,000 gold dinars, I will pay for it."

Federico was a little surprised to hear this, because even he could see the risks of doing so, and if he wanted to make a profit by relying on transportation fees, it might take more than 20 years.

Korner then gave his reasons.

"It is indeed impossible to make back the investment in a short period of time, but since the prophet likes it, 20,000 gold dinars is not a lot of money."

(End of this chapter)