Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 417 Meeting
Who leaked the news that the princes of Tripoli were gathering in Tiberias?

Answer: Puliwan.

The Tripoli area has a population of over 100,000, and there are roughly twenty or so princes, both large and small.

Among these people, Privan has never been very sociable.

After all, from the very beginning, the reason why he became a lord was different from that of ordinary nobles.

As a wealthy Italian businessman, he hated all kinds of customs import and export taxes, but the city-state of Pisa was in the Levant and did not have enough privileges to be tax-exempt.

Considering the risks of the smuggling trade itself, Pulwant chose to directly join the tax collection party, that is, to become a lord.

After becoming a lord, Plivan still managed his territory with a businessman's mindset.

For a qualified businessman, the most basic requirement is to realize that everything has a cost.

He didn't even need too many soldiers to ensure that the territory remained in a controllable state, and the main financial income came from business operations rather than excessive taxation from farmers.

But this also made Privan stand out among the princes of Tripoli.

If it weren't for the appearance of Garys later, it would be hard to say what would have been the final outcome of Privan.

After Gelis captured Tripoli, Privan, as a relatively trustworthy person, to a certain extent, assumed the functions of the Governor of Tripoli.

Of course, this was not a clear appointment. He was the chief among the princes of Tripoli, assisting the central government of the kingdom in levying taxes, conscripting soldiers and reforming here.

This actually made Puliwan even more unique among the princes.

After all, no one likes a "traitor".

The various collusion among the princes was actually intended to avoid Puliwan, but the fact that they were able to avoid him did not mean that Puliwan really did not know about it.

You know money is a good thing and can always buy a lot of information.

Therefore, with the collusion of the Tripolitan princes, Privan became "Judas".

However, unlike Judas, who betrayed Jesus Christ, Privan was not rewarded with silver coins.

Instead, I got a ticket to attend a meeting.

This meeting was prepared by Garys for a long time, and it was not until the end of the first year of the new calendar that the invitation letters were sent out. It is planned to be officially held on Easter next year.

The meeting was held in Jerusalem, the holy city where three religions are respected.

Participants included leaders of various countries within Garys' sphere of influence and even important allies.

They represent the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Cyprus, Antioch, Tripoli, Damascus, the Kingdom of Sartuki Bey, Trebizond, Georgia, Venice...

This Jerusalem Conference will mean that some kind of consensus will be reached in the Levant and even in Anatolia.

In the face of this higher-level gathering of forces that may affect the entire Eastern Mediterranean situation, the interests that the princes of Tripoli care about are truly short-sighted.

How can you do politics well when you are with people like this?
Even as a reward to Privan, Gairis invited Isabella to go to Tripoli with him to meet with him and get the details of the conference to be held later.

……

The sunlight shines into the house through the window, shining on the pale yellow stone wall, casting a soft halo.

The breeze from the sea blew open the curtains and filled the house with fresh air.

The Levant does not always have such good weather in winter, which is related to some climate conditions.

When early winter arrives, the water temperature in the Mediterranean is still high and the cold air above begins to move south, providing favorable conditions for the formation of strong storms.

These hurricanes will affect Greece, southern Italy, Cyprus, the southwestern coast of Türkiye and the Levant coast.

But even this rare good weather in winter was not enough to dispel the sadness on Isabella's face.

This was originally Raymond's mansion in the city, but now it has been requisitioned as a temporary palace. Isabella's purpose in coming here, besides being invited by Garys to meet Pulwan here, is to see Garys again as soon as possible.

In order to avoid public unrest, Isabella did not go to the dock, and Gailis also concealed his identity.

Although Isabella knew that the ship that Gailis was on would dock today, she didn't know which one it was, so she could only look at the dock, trying to figure out which one was Gailis.

After waiting for a long time, Isabella suddenly heard a creaking sound of the door opening behind her.

A robed and hooded figure appeared there.

With just one glance, Isabella recognized the other person's identity and rushed over to throw herself into his arms.

This time, the separation didn’t last very long.

Unlike his previous stay in Anatolia, where he spent almost two years, this time Gairis only spent three months investigating the economic conditions in various regions of the Levant.

Although the change in time was not long-lasting, Gailis was assassinated after all.

And unlike in the past, this time, the other side even used artillery.

The assassination had left a deep impression on Isabella.

When she was still a girl, in the village of the Arnon Valley, Gairis had protected her from...

That time, Garys overdrew his physical strength and fainted.

Just thinking back to the scene, Isabella felt palpitations, worrying that Gailis would never wake up.

"Are you okay? Are you not hurt?" After hugging and feeling the other's body temperature, Isabella checked Gaillis anxiously.

An old couple naturally has no scruples. They take off their clothes, touch each other's skin, breathe more and more heavily, and finally can't hold back...

It was not until night fell that the two of them finished their work.

Leaning against the head of the bed, reviewing what happened in the past few days.

When talking about some Tripoli princes who chose to rebel again, Gailis said directly:
"So, Isabella, do you understand? Although in many cases you can cut the Gordian knot and directly use your own strength to solve the problem, there are also times when you have an old grudge with the other party, as long as the interests of both parties overlap, then don't be stingy."

Garys was passing on his experience to Isabella.

Isabella was not unfamiliar with these things, but she still listened quietly to what Gailis said, knowing that the other party had actually become a "sage" at this time.

"This is politics. Politics is about interests. Compromise or toughness are both just means used in political struggles. Whatever method can lower costs and bring more benefits, then don't hesitate."

"From this perspective, Pulwan is already quite capable. At least he is clearly aware that his own interests are not consistent with those of the conventional nobles, so he has no pressure to sell out those old nobles."

"Who are our enemies? Who are our friends? This question is the primary question of the revolution. We must first be clear about whose life we ​​are fighting for this time and what we are fighting for. Do we need to uproot the feudal aristocracy? Of course not."

"In this struggle, our goal is only to eliminate the old aristocracy and liberate people from personal dependence. Now that we have a goal, whoever blocks us from achieving it is our enemy, and whoever can support us in achieving it is our friend. As for those who neither support nor oppose us, we should at least keep them neutral. If we can turn them into our friends, we should try to make them our friends. In this way, we can have more friends and fewer enemies."

“Why do we want to abolish the personal dependence of the feudal system? Because it restricts population mobility. We need more labor to develop productivity, so the system that restricts people to the land is something we cannot tolerate.”

"But what kind of people would firmly support feudal dependency? The nobles or the clergy? Neither. Although the nobles and the clergy are both beneficiaries of the feudal system, only the traditional lords truly support serfdom based on their own fundamental interests."

From the very beginning, Gellis was clear that he could not establish an ideal country without oppression and exploitation in the 12th century.

What he wanted to do was to give hope to future generations and to use the dividends generated by the great development of productivity to create an "illusion."

People should have dreams. How can people without dreams chase the sun and change the present?
The essence of what Gellis pursues is to make the times move forward, and those who stand in the way of progress are enemies.

Therefore, Gellis did not hesitate to cooperate with various forces of the time. Most of the time, he sought a reform, or transformation, to transform serfs into farm workers and town handicraft apprentices into industrial workers.

When social production relations are transformed, it actually also means the birth of a new exploiting class, namely industrial capitalists and financial capitalists.

For Gellis, as long as one is willing to invest his money in industry and finance instead of burying it in the ground and trying to pass it down from generation to generation, it is actually a form of progress.

So he could accommodate the Venetian merchants, Iraklius, and even Plevan.

On the other hand, anyone who attempts to restore the feudal serfdom system and implement slavery on the land of the Kingdom of Jerusalem will be an enemy of Gairis. This is intolerable and must be changed. It is also an inevitable requirement for economic interests.

Slaves had no purchasing power, and the purchasing power of serfs and urban poor was equally pitiful. Only a thriving market demand could stimulate the rapid development of productivity.

Many business owners may understand this truth, but their own vision is limited, so they naturally don’t worry so much. For capitalists in the barbaric market, lowering their production costs is the best way to win the competition.

If the market purchasing power is not enough, then they will encourage advance consumption. If advance consumption is not enough, then... they are just waiting for an economic crisis to reshuffle the cards.

As someone who has witnessed the downstream of history, Gellis knows all of this clearly.

What he was clear about was that he had to create a market that could accommodate the era of the Industrial Revolution, and this market could be developed externally as well as meet the needs of the people internally.

Internal purchasing power is even more important than external markets.

At the beginning of the 13th century, the whole of Europe might have had a population of tens of millions, but how many of them had purchasing power?
Urban revitalization was in full swing, and the middle class was just beginning to take shape. In the vast European land, less than 3% of the total population actually had disposable property of their own.

Therefore, slavery and serfdom, the two systems that hinder the development of the internal market, must be abolished. There is no possibility of compromise. The only difference is the time and order.

Only when internal distribution is relatively fair can there be more potential for development.

And this is actually exactly what we are going to communicate with Puliwan.

Isabella just listened quietly to what Gailis said, occasionally asking "So what?" or "Then?" to continue the topic.

Many times, what each other needs is company and a topic to communicate about. As for the specific content of the chat, it is secondary and unimportant.

……

In Tripoli, Gairis and Isabella met with Privan.

He expressed his approval of Pulivan's previous firm support for the kingdom.

Afterwards, Garys and Pulwant had an in-depth discussion on market issues.

As a businessman, Puliwan is naturally clear about one thing: without a market, there is actually no business; if there is not enough market, then all production is empty talk.

After Garys made the product concept clear, Pulwant couldn't help but agree with Garys even more.

“So the liberation of Egypt is also the opening of the market?”

"Yes."

Garys was satisfied with Pulivahan's response speed. He liked talking to smart people, which saved him a lot of energy.

Egypt, or more precisely the Nile Delta, is the most densely populated place in the Middle East, with millions of people gathered there. In addition, gold mining has been carried out in Upper Egypt since ancient times.

It could be said to be a naturally abundant market, but now it is occupied by the British and French Crusaders, and both sides face heavy barriers to trade.

The declaration of war on Egypt by the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Venice was not just a religious conflict, but also a demand for commercial interests.

The subsequent meeting that Gellis prepared was actually to integrate the Middle East market on a larger scale and formulate standards that are more suitable for business operations, thereby driving the vigorous development of business.

Upon hearing this, even Puliwan couldn't help but feel excited, and once again felt the difference in the two sides' situations.

(End of this chapter)