Chapter 136 Whatever you do, you must do it with conscience
The northern part of Transjordan is a barren territory. This barrenness does not mean the barrenness of the land, but the barrenness of humans.
In this area of thousands of square kilometers, there are only two qualified doctors, Gairis and Abdullah.
Even though Garris built schools and hospitals, these were only minor changes.
The craftsmen in the Skaar Village Valley rely on water power to hammer iron ingots every day, and the apprentices are especially lacking.
The farmers in the valley have two months to harvest olives, two months to plant grains, one month to hoe flax, one month to harvest barley, one month to harvest and go to festivals, two months to take care of the vineyards...
The lack of manpower, especially the lack of people with knowledge, plagued the development of the territory.
Naturally, Garris could only turn his attention to the slave market in Damascus.
Islam has a long tradition of slavery.
Unlike the Islamic world, slaves were not a particularly common situation in the Christian world.
Although the so-called serfs are not necessarily "human beings", they are still qualified to hold private property, so much so that in many Italian or German manors, such things as "serf knights" are even born.
At this stage in the 11th century, slavery in Western Europe was almost extinct. It was not until the rise of the Crusaders that it began to recover a little bit. In the 15th century, with the Age of Discovery, the slave trade began.
Another point is that primitive Christian thought already had reflections on slavery during the ancient Roman Empire. Even if it gradually dimmed in the continuous evolution of later generations, it was often cited as a basis for opposing slavery.
Many popes have unequivocally opposed and condemned slavery. Later, Paul III bluntly stated that it was prohibited to enslave the American people, saying that they "should not be deprived of their freedom."
But the Muslim world is different. Slavery in the Muslim world not only has a long tradition, but is even regarded as a natural situation.
[After this, any women will be unlawful to you. You cannot marry them again, nor can you change their consorts to other women, even if their beauty pleases you, unless they are slaves you already own. This is God's oversight of all matters. 】
——Section 52 of "Confederate Chapter"
This section not only protects the rights and interests of Muslim women to a certain extent, but it also provides a basis for the existence of slaves.
One of the Prophet's biographers, Ibn Qaim Jawsiya, mentioned that the Prophet himself had four female slaves and twenty-seven male slaves.
In 627 AD, the Holy Prophet defeated a Jewish tribe called Balu Qurayza. He executed all the adult males, demoted the women and children into slaves, and took the tribe leader's wife Rehana as a gift. My own concubine.
Of course, in terms of the times, this is actually nothing to condemn. At that time, everyone else on the Arabian Peninsula was like this
But as a perfect model of behavior in the eyes of Muslims, the Prophet's example made it difficult for anyone who opposed Islamic slavery in later generations.
Even until the 20th century, unabashed slave markets that were open to foreigners could still be seen in the Middle East.
This also gave Garris a warning. Whatever he does while walking on this land now will be regarded as "prophet teachings" by future generations.
Even though Garris keeps talking about the limitations of the times, there must always be granite heads or people with vested interests who will use his words and deeds as the basis for crimes...
You can't stop these things, you can only try to avoid them.
As Calvino said: Once you give up something you thought was fundamental, you will find that you can give up other things, and there will be many other things to give up in the future. We must hold on to the bottom line. Once the bottom line is breached once, it will be difficult to reach another bottom line.
There are some things that Garris can acquiesce in, but there are some things that Gareth can't compromise on.
Because this compromise is not just a compromise for him alone, but will be a compromise for the entire sect and hundreds of millions of people for thousands of years to come.
It is the compromise of countless karmic fates and world-wide sins.
It is said that one person has shouldered the sins of all mankind, because that person has changed all mankind.
Later generations will follow his example. His words and deeds are the words and deeds of hundreds of millions of people, and his behavior is the behavior of hundreds of millions of people.
Garris can only do as the apostle Paul wrote: Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be men, be strong. Whatever you do, do it with conscience.
Therefore, Garris bought slaves not to enslave them, but to free them and let them stand in this world as real "human beings".
On this plateau, which is closer to the sky than Rome, in this west-slanting sunset.
Gareth met these people.
It was the first time these people saw Garris. In their eyes, Garris had a typical Frankish appearance and wore ordinary linen clothes, which were cleaner and thicker.
Next to him was the merchant who bought them, and behind these two people were several people wearing armor and holding long swords.
Although Garris was not elegantly dressed, he was probably a man of high authority. Because he had followers, he was respected by the merchants.
In such a scene, Garris spoke, and the slaves heard his words.
"I know that for you and most of the people in this world, the world is like a dark tunnel, so long that it has no end."
"The earth under our feet is flowing with tears and blood. In this hopeless world, you can hardly see a glimmer of hope." "To your ears, this world is a valley of tears, with only the master's punishment and each other everywhere. tears.”
"But I say to you, you are the chief guests in the Kingdom of Heaven, and God will lift you up from the dust and dung!"
"All people are God's creatures, all are children of the Lord, all are made by the Lord in His image and likeness, all can be holy..."
"So you are free, no, you have always been free, it's just that the guilty have put chains on you."
Following Garris's words, the attendants behind him, specifically the warriors of the Order, stepped forward with him, opened the shackles of the dozen people one by one, and loosened the hemp ropes on their bodies.
There are mainly two types of slaves that Garris asked Zaid to look for. One is intellectuals, people who can write and calculate. The other type is mainly young men and women.
In the northern territory of Transjordan, this vast land, the average cultural level of the Arabs is actually barely acceptable, while the Franks simply have no education per capita.
So much so that if Garris hadn't forced the balance, the people who could teach in Alhadi Town School would probably not have been Arabs who wanted to teach.
Although it is true that Arab culture is more advanced in this era, this does not mean that Gehrys can abolish the Frankish language.
Therefore, that school actually adopted bilingual teaching, but fell into the dilemma of Arabic being stronger than Frankish.
Considering that it is impossible for Garris to teach for a long time by himself, he can only find ways to introduce talents from the outside world.
Unlike the large-scale plantation slavery of later generations, the slave market in the Middle East today is actually no different from the talent market of later generations.
In the slave market of Damascus, you can find female slaves, cooks, laborers, soldiers, clerks, accountants, eunuchs...
Islamic slaves are basically used in the service industry rather than in agricultural production.
Of course, beautiful female slaves were expensive, as were clerks or accountants who could write and do calculations.
This kind of high-quality product has always been a hot commodity in the market. Even though Garris hinted that Zaid could pay a high price, only four people were invited in the end.
Among them were a Greek doctor, two small Italian businessmen, and an Orthodox priest.
After these people were unshackled, they were silent one by one. They could not imagine that someone actually bought them just to set them free?
But as people with a certain level of knowledge, they were embarrassed to ask directly.
Except for these four people, most of the others were young men and women, ranging in age from 7 to 14 years old.
Most of these children were the result of slave hunting by the Turks. Many of them came from Armenia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea coast, Turkestan, and of course there were Franks from the Crusader countries.
When Garris came to a young man, he noticed that the child's eyes were different. They were not numb, but rather unruly.
This boy was about fifteen or sixteen years old, just a little younger than Garris. His face had clear lines and his skin color was between olive and light brown.
In terms of face, this young man's cheeks have a slightly sculptured look unique to the Greeks, his nose is high and straight, his eyebrows are thick and curved, and his hair is black and naturally curly.
It seems that he has Greek ancestry, but overall he is more Turkic.
He was the only one of all the children or teenagers who was bound with shackles instead of twine.
When Garris untied his shackles, the young man took a deep look at Garris, then turned around, turned his back to the setting sun, and ran towards the east.
The thin clothes on his body could not hide his strong physique.
Running desperately, as if trying to throw away everything behind him.
But after he ran nearly a thousand meters, the only scene he could see remained unchanged, and no one came to pursue him.
The afterglow of the setting sun shines on the empty plateau, and the vast wasteland extends to the end of the sight, filled with cracked loess and scattered short grass.
The wind passed by in a low voice, picking up a few wisps of dust. The young man looked back and realized that in this world, only that small town was shining with the spark of human civilization.
If he continued to run away, he would either die of hunger or thirst, or become food for wild beasts.
free?
Human freedom can only be reflected in human society. After leaving society, most people can only choose how to die freely.
So he turned around and saw the man who had unshackled himself, standing not far behind him and looking at him quietly.
In this lonely and lonely wilderness under the dark red sky, only that person is like a candle, shining light around.
First update, there will be a second update later, ε=(ο｀*))) alas
(End of chapter)