Chapter 189 Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Jerusalem!
January in the Eastern Mediterranean is the time when Poseidon, the god of the sea, is angry. In this day when Mount Olympus has long gone.
Poseidon still waved his trident wantonly, raising huge waves and sending heavy rain.
At the dawn of this rainy night, the wind howled, the mast creaked, and the horses neighed. The people on the ship had no choice but to pray.
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 】
[I will say to the LORD: "You are my refuge and my stronghold; you are my God, in whom I trust."]
"He will cover you with his own feathers, and you will take refuge under his wings; his faithfulness is like a shield and a stronghold. 】
"Though a thousand fall on my left hand and ten thousand on my right hand, no disaster will come near me. 】
But it was of no avail. At dawn on this rainy night, the boat washed ashore.
……
Water seeped from the damp stone walls, and the air was filled with a putrid and musty smell.
The weak torch swayed, shaking the distorted light and shadow.
The ground here is covered with mud and dirt, and the water has a disgusting sheen.
This is a prison, a dungeon.
It is the other side of the world, the side of abyss and darkness.
People can draw swords and kill people for a copper. A lord can arrest a farmer for picking up firewood. A loyal soldier can also be thrown here to die because he forgot to say an honorific.
Just a few days ago, Gareth had never imagined that he would find himself in such a situation.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with that, it's mainly because he made his own choice.
When Aljos visited the prison yesterday, he clearly told Aljos that if he wanted to leave here, he could do so at any time, but he was attracted by several people in this dungeon.
Garris's cell was a single room with relatively good overall specifications, and it was deep in the dungeon and the most difficult to escape from.
Wooden and iron railings separate this cell from other surrounding cells.
After walking out of his cell, he had to walk through a long corridor with two rows of cells on both sides, which housed various prisoners on the island of Cyprus.
Some of them are indeed extremely vicious, and some were imprisoned just for trivial matters.
It took Garris a day to get to know the prisoners and understand what kind of people they were.
After passing through the corridor of the cells is a large room, lit by torches.
From Garris's position, he could look over and see the brazier in the room, as well as the strong man chained to the wall. The guy was incredibly strong.
Apart from the brazier and the strong man, there was just a jailer holding a branding iron.
The strong man's name should be Andre, and Garris was deeply impressed by him.
Because this guy was tortured for the third time in two days.
Once again, a strong man like him, with his upper body naked in the winter, was feeling the warmth of the iron on his chest.
There were already several marks left by the iron on his ribs. The bright red flesh swelled and twisted like a centipede. From a distance of ten steps, Garris could smell the smell of burning muscles.
"Andre! Say! Nicholas where is he?!"
However, those who responded to those jailors were spits.
To this, the jailer naturally could only respond to the strong man with another round of branding.
The miserable howl echoed through the entire dungeon, but the man never disclosed Nicholas's whereabouts from beginning to end.
The helpless jailer threw Andre back into his cell, next to Garris's cell.
Garris looked at Andre's naked upper body in silence. The burns left by the iron were only a small part, and the traces of the whip were the main part.
However, no matter what the torture, he never revealed what the jailers wanted him to say.
Even in this situation, Andre could still twitch the corners of his mouth and smile at Garris.
"Made you laugh, Frank."
"No, it's my honor." With that said, Garris glanced at the room at the end of the corridor, making sure that none of the jailers looked at him, and then took out a piece of fermented dough bread from the pile of straw on the side. , handed it to Andre.
Andre took the bread and wolfed it down. The jailers didn't bring him enough food, but Garris had plenty of food.
To be precise, Gehrys was not a prisoner, but a hostage to be held for ransom.
As for the target to be blackmailed, it is the Anjou family.
Because of the ring on the ring finger of his left hand, Gareth is considered to be a member of the Anjou family.
The Franks were not welcome on the island of Cyprus.
But as a noble, although Garris was imprisoned in a dungeon, his living conditions were actually pretty good.
At least the daily food is for human consumption, and the drinking water is considered clean.
After Andre finished eating the small piece of bread, he let out a long sigh.
"Thank you, Frank. This is the price we pay for rebelling against God, and we deserve it because we deserve it."
After hearing what Andre said, Garris just said indifferently: "You call the mortal order the will of God. Where does this place the Father?"
"In the old days, the Jews in Israel prayed to the prophet Samuel, saying: "Now please give us a king to rule over us like all the other nations."
"Samuel prayed to his heavenly Father, but the answer he received was: Because they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, and do not want me to be their king. From the time I brought them out of Egypt until now, they have often forsaken me and served other gods. Now they will do to you as they have always done.”
"The prophet Samuel repeatedly emphasized how tyrannical the king would be. However, the Jews refused to listen to Samuel and said, "No! We must have a king to rule over us, so that we can be like the other nations who have a king to rule over us and lead us. Us, fight for us!”
"Fighting for them? Don't you think this is ridiculous, Andre?"
"Those Jews actually thought that after they appointed a queen, the king would go to war for them..."
The jailers at the end of the dungeon were bragging and spanking, and they were all drinking some wine from time to time. They were like two different worlds from Garris at the end of the dungeon
Over there, there is an extension of the royal will, bullying the people wantonly.
And here, there is another prophet, reaffirming the revelation that has already been brought to the world.
"He who is king will commandeer your sons to serve as charioteers and groomsmen, to run in front of his chariots;"
"Let them till his fields and harvest his crops, and make him weapons of war and equipment for his chariots;"
"He will commandeer your daughters to prepare spices and cook food for him;"
"Take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves and give them to his servants;"
"He will give to his eunuchs a tenth of the produce of your fields and vineyards and of your flocks;"
"As for yourselves, remain his slaves."
"In that day you will cry out over the king whom you have chosen;"
"But on that day the Lord will not care about you either."
Silence, dead silence, these words of Garris are a true portrayal of Andre's and their suffering life, but they are far from it.
Whether Andre or other prisoners, they live on an isolated island.
This is not an oasis island in the desert like Arnon, but a real island in the sea.
More than 9,000 square kilometers of land is all they live in.
Cypriots have a Cypriot spiritual world.
On this small island, everything in the past or the disputes on the mainland are like myths to the islanders.
As early as the 4th century BC, during the rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, there was a strong idea of imperial worship on the island of Cyprus. They regarded the king as equal to the god.
After the Romans took over the island, the Cypriots, except for the goddess Aphrodite, almost only believed in Roman Augustus. Roman emperors were regarded as "living gods".
Even the god-king couple Zeus and Hera will be pushed aside and become secondary beliefs.
The first Roman Emperor Augustus, not only was he treated like a god in Cyprus, but even his daughter Julia and his wife Livia became "the goddess Augusta and the new Avro" respectively. Goddess Dite".
By worshiping Roman Augustus as a "living god," the island incorporated itself into the Roman order.
Of course, with the advancement of time, these ancient idol worships have disappeared in the long river of time.
New beliefs replaced old idols, but the unique spiritual world of the islanders was passed down.
Their world is only so big, and the ocean separates them from the mainland.
More than 9,000 square kilometers of land, hundreds of thousands of compatriots, the Troodos and Kyrenia mountains standing on the island, plus the rich mineral deposits and fertile land, that's all they have .
A guy named Isaac Komnenos became the "living god" of this small world.
The mainland is another world, and the chaos on the mainland is like a legend in another world.
Franks like Garris who set foot on the island were completely alien, but they were also the objects of their envy.
"That's great. I really envy you. Your world is so big."
"Although you are a noble, you are a good person."
"One day, you will leave here, your relatives will come to pay the ransom, and everything will be fine."
Andre's words made Garris silent for a moment. He actually didn't need a ransom to leave this dungeon, and he didn't need a ransom to leave the city.
But he wanted to take Andre away, take away people like Andre in this dungeon.
These people have already raised their weapons, and they want to resist the "god" who rules this island.
The so-called taking away does not mean forcefully forcing these people to worship Garris mindlessly.
We do not want these people to change from believing in one idol to believing in another idol.
As Gareth himself said:
He does not want to use violence to make the world believe in him. Garris wants to pave a path for the world to choose, so that the world can embark on the road of self-redemption and struggle
It is to allow people in the world to awaken their souls in the darkness.
He does not want to create a group of soulless puppets that have lost their true spirituality, and he does not seek to elevate himself to the altar.
The more he understood the spiritual world of the Cypriots, the more alert Garris became, and the more he appreciated Andre and his comrades.
Because they dare to fight against the "gods" of this world.
Garris chuckled lightly: "I no longer have any relatives, my parents are dead, and now the Kingdom of Jerusalem has been conquered by Saladin."
While speaking, Garris touched the seal ring he was wearing.
After all, he was lying.
"But I heard that every time Jerusalem encounters a crisis, the Pope will send a hundred thousand troops there?"
"It would be great if the Crusaders could drive away the emperor at that time."
One hundred thousand is already the largest number that this strong man, Andre, can think of, because there are only a few hundred thousand residents on the island of Cyprus.
Garris shook his head, and then said: "The homeland of the Franks in Jerusalem is Palestine."
"France is not our homeland, and neither is Europe."
"And you actually expect the Crusaders to help you drive away Isaac after they arrive?"
"But have you ever thought about whether the Crusaders will leave after they come?"
Garris, during this chat, explained in detail the great shortcomings of the Crusaders.
The prisoners in the nearby cells were speechless for a while after listening.
They did not expect that Garris, a Frankish nobleman, would not shy away from the things his ancestors had done.
"Even if the Crusaders drove away the tyrants, there would only be more tyrants."
In fact, if Gareth had not appeared, then in 1191, that is, three years later.
Richard the Lionheart, King of England and Isabella's nephew, would conquer the island of Cyprus.
After conquering the island, Richard the Lionheart conducted an "unsustainable depletion" of Cyprus in order to repay the debts of his Crusades and to raise funds for subsequent military operations.
Collect half of the property tax from the island at once! In fact, it's not much different from robbery.
When he was done plundering it, he sold the island to the Knights Templar for 100,000 gold dinars.
In order to make money back in a short time, the Knights Templar also carried out "unsustainable fishing for the island of Cyprus".
The people of Cyprus who couldn't stand it, stood up and resisted. After beating the Knights Templar, the island was sold to King Guy of the current Kingdom of Jerusalem.
It can be said that if it had not been for the appearance of Gairis, the future of these Cyprus islanders would have only gone from one misery to another.
“Only by changing this island and returning it to the era of the ancient Roman Empire, will the beautiful island of Cyprus be full of vitality.”
Although Rome is not a thing of the past for the Cypriots, in fact, their identity is that of the Romans of the Eastern Empire, or the Greeks.
But Andrea and the others could also understand the ancient Roman Empire that Garris mentioned. After all, it was a glorious era, an era that has been sung for thousands of years in the stories of the Cypriots.
The Roman period was the most prosperous period in the history of Cyprus.
Since Cyprus is the largest island in the Eastern Mediterranean, it is the intersection of Asia, Europe and Africa on the sea. In addition, it is also a transit station on the Silk Road. In addition, it has extremely rich copper resources.
Cyprus has established a large trading system.
The Roman Avenue surrounds the entire island of Cyprus, which produces: wine, grain, copper, sugar, wood, glass and even shipbuilding.
If anyone doubts the existence of that era, then just look at the remains of the ancients from that time, thousands of years ago. You will know that the past here was much more glorious than the present island, which has been ravaged by the Saracens and Byzantines.
The ruins here include gymnasiums, bathhouses, amphitheaters, ancient markets, the Temple of Zeus, etc.
The glorious past and the bleak present form a strong contrast, torturing everyone who desires something in their hearts.
Another person in Andre's cell whispered: "We are just a group of prisoners. We have today and no tomorrow. How can we talk about changes?"
In his eyes, these words of Garris were just nonsense and illogical.
What qualifications does a Frank have to talk about the glory of ancient Rome?
In this regard, Garris said: "The poor and needy seek water but there is none; your tongues are dry because of thirst. I, the Lord, will answer you; my God will not forsake you."
"I am here today because of you. As long as you are willing to die to resist Isaac and fight against the tyrants and idols for your whole life."
"Then, now, I can take you out of here."
"It is our duty to build the Kingdom of Heaven."
Andre looked at the person next to him and asked a question.
"Who are you?"
"Don't be afraid, Andrew, Roman, I will help you! Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Jerusalem! This is my declaration."
……
The putrid smell and humidity in the air became more and more suffocating, and the weak light filtered through the rusty iron windows, illuminating the walls covered with spider webs.
Nearly a week has passed since Gehrys was imprisoned, and he was ordered by the jailer to write a letter.
They need to use passing merchant ships to send them to the port of Tire and contact the Frankish nobles there so that they can pay the ransom.
They asked Gareth to write the whole show, and Gareth did it. Anyway, these days, I'm not really being abused.
I can only say that I hope Isabella can understand her abilities and stop worrying about her.
Perhaps Archos has already contacted Tire Port, which can reduce misunderstandings.
However, on this day, the silence was broken by the footsteps of the jailer, and many prisoners in a cell were escorted in by the jailer, people they had never expected.
This is a typical male Greek. He has a resolute face, a straight nose, deep eyes, healthy bronze skin, and a strong body.
Garris was certain that this man was definitely not a farmer.
On the contrary, as soon as he was escorted into the dungeon, Andre and the others exclaimed: "Nicholas! Why are you here?!"
The young man named Nicholas showed an apologetic expression to Andre and the others, and then shook his head.
Everything failed. They were arrested one by one without making any noise on the island of Cyprus.
The Turkic mercenaries under Isaac Komnenos wiped out all their small rebel army like insects.
After the defeat, he originally thought that Nicholas could escape, but he was also captured alive not long after.
The island of Cyprus is hopeless.
There is no way to save this group of people. Soon, they will be tortured, hanged in public or beheaded.
Once their relatives are arrested, they will also face tragic humiliation.
On the island of Cyprus, Isaac Komnenos ruled over everything and everything with his tyranny.
In this situation, the prisoner next to Andre was the guy who had always been dejected.
After seeing the jailer leaving, he couldn't help but sneered at Garris: "Aren't you the Holy One of Jerusalem? Save yourself and us!"
Andre stopped the man and said again: "You are suffering the same punishment. We deserve it because we brought it on ourselves, but this man has never done anything wrong!"
"Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me in ; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you looked after me; I was in prison and you came to see me. 】
——"Matthew" 34:35
The reason why Gareth appeared in this prison was not because he had committed any crime, nor because he had rebelled against any tyrant.
It's because he is a Frankish noble, it's because the people on this island are greedy for the nobles' ransom, and it's even more because Garris is willing to come here.
During these days, both Andrei and the other prisoners had a blessing in disguise because of Garris.
During these days, Garris would share the bread and water he received with others.
Just like Christians under the world live because of the flesh and blood of Christ, and have eternal life because of the flesh and bread of Christ.
These people also lived because of Garis, and Gareth's figure wasted away because of them.
No matter how puzzling, or out of place, Gehrys's words may seem these days.
But Andre was truly grateful to Garris.
However, Garris shook his head at Andre's help.
"You did not deserve this, nor did you bring it upon yourself. You have never become sinners because of this."
“I am not here to call sinners to repentance, but to save the righteous from the sufferings of this world.”
"At this juncture, you are about to be executed. Are you still unwilling to believe that I am the Holy One of Jerusalem, that your God has never abandoned you, and that the poor in spirit are blessed?"
Listening to Garris's words, Andre and the others uttered two words with trembling lips: "I believe it."
In fact, they don’t really believe that God loves them, but they are just desperate.
Of course, for them now, Gareth can't ask for too much.
Being able to get them to say these two words is enough for now.
Therefore, Garris stood up, grabbed an iron railing with his left and right hands, then stood firm and started to exert force.
Under the horrified gazes of the surrounding prisoners, accompanied by the harsh sound of baring teeth, the iron bars opened a gap large enough for people to pass through!
Regardless of Andre or the new Nicholas, whenever they see the scene of Garris using human power to break open the iron bars of the prison, his spinal cord can't help but tremble.
Are you kidding me? Who are the people who are in jail with them these days? !
Still two-in-one
(End of chapter)