Chapter 193 Bishop, I bring the revelation of the new millennium
Hatred is a cup of bitter wine, but revenge is a cup of poison.
[You have heard it said: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." But I tell you: Do not fight against evildoers. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek as well. 】
——"Matthew" 5:38-39
Brother Jesus requires believers to step away from the retaliatory justice of "an eye for an eye" in the Old Testament, and instead pursue a kind of tolerance and mercy that goes beyond revenge.
He believed that revenge would only bring more pain and violence rather than solve the problem.
Through forgiveness, he would teach people how to break the vicious cycle and find reconciliation and peace.
But this does not mean that revenge will disappear, because the Bible says: "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, and I will repay."
In other words, Christ emphasized that believers should hand over the right of revenge to the Father, because only the Father has perfect justice and wisdom to judge.
But the judgment of the Heavenly Father on the distant Judgment Day is still too slow for people in this world.
Therefore, although Garris is also opposed to the reciprocal revenge of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.", he is even more opposed to the never-ending blood revenge.
But Garris does not try to make people forget their hatred and let the evildoers run free in this world.
Because this is not a personal revenge, but a judicial decision made by God through the hands of righteous people and based on the word of God.
The so-called word of God is the judgment of the people.
This is a method.
Just when Garris was explaining the reasoning to Andre in detail.
There was some movement at night. This movement was not just Garris chatting with Andre, but also a sneaky figure moving about.
Andre couldn't hold it any longer, but Gareth stopped him.
Gareth said something to Andre that he had heard in his previous life:
"I once heard a poor man say this: 'The lords have fed us. The land we poor people cultivate, the food we eat, and the clothes we wear are all given by them. The reason for being poor and rich is due to fate, and being rich is because of their good fortune. We are poor because we have bad luck. We are rich because they are frugal and know how to live. We are poor because we are lazy and lazy. '"
"But I have to say, that's nonsense. The reason why some people are rich is because they eat the flesh and blood of their compatriots."
"Don't be impatient. The venomous snakes haven't shown their fangs yet, and the wolves among the sheep haven't shed their sheepskin yet. If you rush forward to question, it will be counterproductive."
When the next day came, the team regrouped, this time heading south, to Elias' hometown.
Andre, who had paid careful attention to the situation, naturally noticed that there was one less person in the third squadron.
But thinking of what Garris said, he was not in a hurry to question him.
……
Amir Village is located south of the Troodos Mountains, on the edge of the mountainous area. In fact, it is only 5 kilometers from here to the sea, and it is almost considered a coastal plain.
Since Isaac landed on the island in 1185 to usurp power, the life of Amir Village has been deteriorating day by day.
High taxes and the rampage of mercenaries have brought a lot of oppression to this originally ordinary village.
When Nicholas, as a minor nobleman, raised the idea of planning an uprising, Elias from Amer Village also took the lead in responding.
But what? Nicholas prepared thousands of men. These Cypriot Greeks, who were not good at fighting, were completely defeated as soon as the battle started.
Apart from their bravery, they have nothing to praise.
The news that Andre's hometown village was massacred had actually spread long before Garris and the others learned about it.
Today, the Orthodox Church in Cyprus can no longer contain Isaac’s brutality.
Those villages that were confirmed to have supported the rebellion were violently raided by Turks, and many villages were burned to the ground overnight.
Then, the survivors were taken to the entrance of other nearby villages and executed in public. Their heads were then hung on trees by the roadside and allowed to be eaten by crows.
In this situation, people's hearts were shaken, and every time they saw Turks passing by their village, they were worried that the matter would be exposed and the whole village would be massacred.
In fact, many people in Amir's village had already begun to find a way out for themselves.
Among them, the Elias family was the most anxious. After all, his son was more or less the leader of the rebel army.
If the matter is exposed, it is not clear what will happen to the others, but his family will be severely liquidated no matter what.
For this reason, the Elias family, as a wealthy local family, had already thought of a way out.
They sent Elias's sister to the nearby Turkic tribe leader's house as a concubine, and also gave her a large dowry.
Just count on the clan master to protect your family.
Then at this juncture, a servant of his family ran out from the mountains and told everything about Elias these days.
By the way, Elias's plan was revealed.
Elias's father nodded:
"You can't be a bandit for the rest of your life!"
"Cyprus is only so big! Those Turkic masters are really trying their best to get into the ravines, and they will be caught in a few days!"
"Issac, as he says, is also from the Komnenos family. We call this the King of Hearts!"
"As for Nicholas, who is he? He has the nerve to rebel?!"
Along with some insults, Elias, his old father, was delighted with how knowledgeable his son was!
This time, as long as they can catch all Nicholas's gang of rebels who escaped from prison, their family will surely be able to sit back and relax. If they spend more money to pay more tribute, maybe they can rely on Elias and his sister's relationship to get married. Tax collectors from all over the country!
With this in mind, their family started to take action. They sent Elias's brother out to contact the in-laws and make arrangements to surprise the rebels who had fallen into the trap!
The letter was sent, but there were some things that the Elias family did not expect.
Accompanied by a loud knock on the door, Elias' old father opened a small window on his door and inquired about the situation.
Then he saw a man with a bruised nose and swollen face standing outside the door. When he looked carefully again, he realized that it was his son, who was now beaten and covered in blood.
Then there seemed to be something wrong with the "Turkic uncles" standing next to their sons.
Those men wore helmets that protected their noses, and many of them wore chain mail with a leather belt tied around their hips.
Then the weapons they used seemed to be round shields, swords or axes.
Of course, the most important thing is that these "Turkic uncles", why don't they ride horses? !
Moreover, as far as the face is concerned, it seems, it doesn’t look like a Turk?
Here comes the disadvantage of being short-sighted. Elias and his old father didn't recognize who the other party was, but he didn't dare to open the door seeing the menace of the other party, so he only dared to ask a few questions out of breath.
Then, he got an answer in Greek that was not very standard.
"Turks? Damn Turks! I'm a Varangian!"
Varangian?
Elias and his old father were a little confused when they heard this word, isn't it, this...ah?
When did they have Varangians on the island of Cyprus?
The so-called Varangian Guards, to be precise, are the Varangian Guards, the elite royal guard of the Eastern Empire, composed of foreign warriors such as Nordic Vikings, Englishmen, and Rus.
To put it simply, they are still mercenaries.
But shouldn’t the Varangian Guard serve the emperor of Constantinople?
Why do people in Cyprus call themselves the Varangian Guards?
Elias's family naturally didn't know what was going on.
First of all, the main force of Isaac's army was of course the several Turkic tribes he found in Asia Minor.
But as a Greek and an Orthodox Christian, Isaac could not completely trust those Turkic pagans, even if he scorned the Orthodox Church.
What if one day, those Turkic tribes thought he was a waste, chopped Isaac into pieces, and then became the owner of the island themselves, wouldn't Isaac be useless?
Isaac is just cruel, but not really brainless, so it is necessary to introduce more groups for checks and balances.
He found an alliance with King William II of Sicily, thus obtaining a number of useful naval allies, and successfully defeated the navy of the Eastern Empire and captured the opposing commander.
On land, Isaac found the Norman relatives of the King of Sicily - the "Vikings", of course the Russians to be precise.
Just like Isaac claiming to be emperor on the island of Cyprus, as an emperor, he naturally needs guards that match his status.
Therefore, those mercenaries who could not tell whether they were Vikings or Rus, openly became "the emperor's axe-wielding barbarians" or "the emperor's alcoholic barbarians".
Considering that the southern part of Cyprus is a mountainous terrain, it is not convenient for Turks to ride horses here, so Isaac sent these Russian mercenaries over to replace the original Turkic tribes.
Elias found a cheap in-law and left, so how could he stay around to suppress the rebellion?
Therefore, the messenger could only find the fake Varangian of the fake emperor.
And then, as salary competitors with each other, this group of fake Varangians also had some conflicts with the Turks.
As soon as they heard that the traitor Elias was born in the Turkic family, this group of fake Varangians tried to "endure the humiliation and bear the burden" and cooperate with each other inside and outside.
This group of people came here just to eat the upper house and the lower house!
Take it all!
You must know that a genuine member of the Varangian Guards will start with at least 100 gold Bezant in a year! And they have much less, so they have to work harder to save money for their own retirement.
I happened to know that there was a rebel in this village, so I naturally had to strictly implement the emperor's order!
Burn it all! Kill them all! Grab them all!
Mr. Elias, who realized that he had worshiped at the wrong mountaintop, could not care about his son's life or death for a while, and quickly gathered his servants to guard the compound.
"You have the ability to find the Turks, you have the ability to open the door! What does it look like to keep us out!"
With that said, a strong "Varangian" man outside the door came up and knocked hard on the door, which made Elias and his family panic.
They just didn't understand why they found the wrong people when they went to the group for reinforcements. More importantly, they offended this group of people for some unknown reason.
The reinforcements that he had been longing for arrived, but the people who came over surrounded his courtyard in a menacing manner.
"Our own people! We are all our own people! My daughter even married the eldest son of a Turkic chief's family!"
Elias, the old man, tried to get closer. In his opinion, these guys outside the door were also the "Emperor's" bodyguards, and they might be able to recognize the Turkic tribes. Then, it’s okay not to mention the Turks. When the Turks are mentioned, the door is kicked instead of knocked. In other words, the door of Elias' house is quite strong, and kicking it with normal force has no effect at all.
Just when the Elias family was still trying to hold on, the door suddenly shook.
The servant who was leaning on the wall to look at the situation outside also shouted: "It's not good, sir! Something bad is going to happen! The uncles outside the door found wood and started to break down the door!"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was another dull crash, and many people even heard the sound of their own door bolts creaking and cracking.
The knocking on the door again and again hit the hearts of the people in the room, just when they were panicked and at a loss what to do.
With a click, the door latch broke, and dozens of people rushed in from the door, each carrying a shield and holding an ax or sword in their right hand.
After these "Varangi" broke into the compound, they rushed into each house without saying a word and dragged out all the men, women, and children.
Anyone who dared to resist would be struck with an axe, blood splattering on the wall of Elias's house.
For a moment, the moans of the dying, the screams of women, the cries of little devils... all appeared, and even some black smoke came out of some houses in the backyard.
The fire is burning, but this fire is not the fire of righteousness, but the carnival of sinners.
……
From a distance away, Garris and his team noticed something was wrong.
Before they completely walked out of the forest, they saw black smoke rising in the direction of Amir Village.
Elias was the most surprised as to why this happened!
Andre and the others were even more angry. They had already seen a tragedy before.
Now, such a tragedy happened right in front of them, how could they stand by and watch? !
Villages that are too far away cannot be taken care of, but if the Amir village in front of you encounters difficulties, then naturally you have to help if you can, not to mention that this is the hometown of Elias, their comrade!
After a few casual discussions, the few heads of the Liberation Front laid down a battle plan.
Among them, Elias's face was the most complicated. He wanted to object to this combat arrangement, but how could he say it out loud? !
Since no one opposes it, the first battle of the Liberation Front has actually begun.
Because the area around here is hilly and not very undulating, it provides a good cover for the advance of the first brigade.
This group of a hundred people reached the woods not far from Amir Village without being discovered by the enemies.
But there will be some trouble in the next distance, although these enemies are busy plundering the wealth of Amir Village.
However, out of basic military literacy, there are still some armored soldiers patrolling key locations outside the village.
But this is just a little troublesome, after all, there is Garris among them.
Like most villages these days, Amir Village has only a few main roads.
In this battle, Garris and the others did not pursue the annihilation of the enemy, but the goal of saving Amir Village.
Therefore, a fast and violent attack is the keynote of this battle.
Under the leadership of Garris, the angry Andre and others followed him relentlessly.
Just when Ragnar, the leader of the Rus people, was riding on one of Elias's sisters, he vaguely heard the screams of people.
He slapped the woman's butt, leaving a trail of red marks. Ignoring the woman's cries, he pulled up his pants, put on his chainmail, and drew out his sword, ready to fight.
However, when he walked out, he noticed something was wrong.
The village, which was originally extremely noisy, seemed inexplicably quiet.
When he walked out of the Elias family compound, Ragnar saw his subordinates, under the arrangement of another commander, building a shield wall facing the north of the village road.
The soldiers looked very nervous, and the distance between them was a little too close.
Generally speaking, the soldiers in the shield wall will indeed be close to each other, but not too close.
The traditional Varangian shield is round, with a diameter of about 0.9 meters. In a normal shield wall, the distance between two people will be so small that the shields overlap slightly, which means that each person should occupy a width of about 0.8 meters. .
This width will not impede movement and use of weapons.
However, the shield wall that Ragna saw was almost less than 0.6 meters wide for each person.
Some of them hunched over and huddled up, seeking an illusory sense of security.
"What are you doing! Reorganize your formation!"
Ragnar shouted loudly. He held a shield and squeezed into the shield wall like an ordinary soldier, and came to the center of the first row of the team. Beside him, the standard bearer raised the flag.
Because of Ragnar's behavior, the calmness he showed, and the raising of the Scarlet Crow flag, the surrounding soldiers calmed down a little and realized that their shield wall was indeed too tight.
If the team is too close, the people in the front row will not be able to fall to the ground if they die, and the people in the back row will not be able to use weapons.
In this case, failure is already doomed.
"What's going on?" Ragnar asked the people next to him. Although the soldiers under his command were not veterans who had survived a hundred battles, they had killed people before, so they were not the same as rookies.
A soldier beside him motioned Ragnar to take a serious look at the situation in front of the military formation.
Opposite their group, there is also a shield wall, but relatively speaking, it is far worse than them!
The shields were of different sizes, and the weapons were of different styles. From the perspective of armor, it was even more terrible.
To be more precise, Ragnar saw the shadow of farmers on the group of people opposite. This group of people should have just picked up weapons not long ago.
Facing this kind of enemy, just rush over and kill them all with a click and that's it!
However, Ragnar finally noticed something unusual. There was a person standing in front of the opposite shield wall.
He has blond hair that shines particularly brightly in the sun. He has a young face, but his hair and clothes are slovenly.
The man was not wearing any armor, and he was carrying a Viking-style broadaxe in his hand. Four corpses fell beside him.
Judging from the wounds, it seemed that they were all killed by that person.
"Just now, that guy killed four people in an instant!"
Ragnar opened his mouth, not believing it for a moment, because among the people who fell to the ground was Eric, who was the bravest warrior under his command.
But no matter what, he needs to defeat all the people on the opposite side and kill them all!
"Throw the spear, prepare!"
Ragnar gave the order, and some soldiers behind him were already preparing to throw short spears.
Then the Frank in his eyes began to take steps.
It wasn't very fast at first, but then the speed gradually increased. The heavy ax with heavy hands seemed very light to him?
"Spear, throw!"
As the command was given, more than a dozen short spears pierced the charging Frank.
Later,
The opponent's hands began to dance wildly, drawing countless afterimages in the air!
At a speed that Ragnar had never expected, it swept across and slashed with lightning speed, like a windmill in the strong wind.
To be precise, in that one breath just now, the Frank man blocked all the spears with the heavy ax in his hand!
Those throwing spears failed to hurt the opponent at all!
Ragnar's eyes widened and he looked at this scene in disbelief:
"How is this possible?"
Before the exclamation in his heart subsided, the Frank had already rushed to the shield wall like a tiger.
The spearmen tried to fight back, but their broad-handed axes seemed to flash, and they hit the shields first.
With a deafening crash, sawdust flew everywhere, the basswood shield was shattered at the waist, and the leather covering was defenseless.
【The heroic warrior breaks through the wall】
【Shieldbreakers dance wildly】
【The storm of weapons comes instantly】
[Warrior sacrifices blood to the enemy and drinks beer]
【The battle ax brings the sword’s sleep】
——Anonymous
For a moment, the axes in both hands were violently waved, like a strong wind sweeping over them, and the originally strong shield wall instantly collapsed under the violent attack.
Anyone who blocks his path within six feet will be killed on the spot. Before Ragnar could parry, he was completely knocked down by the first round of heavy blows from the battle ax.
With his fall, the formation collapsed, and the Franks' soldiers rushed to the front like wolves and tigers.
The fiercest battle between the two sides began.
Spears, swords and battle axes intertwined wildly in the narrow passages of Amir Village. The sharp blades kept stabbing at the body and shield, and the impact was deafening.
The shield was chopped into pieces, and the fake emperor's fake Varangian instantly collapsed in the carnage.
……
Meanwhile, in a sacred and spectacular church on the island of Cyprus.
The Bishop of the Church of Mesaoria met a person he had never expected - Father Archos.
"Why are you back? That guy Isaac will kill you if he sees you again!"
"Bishop, I bring revelation for the new millennium."
Daily, dead line updates
(End of chapter)