Chapter 195 The Lord who is wise but kind but powerless (three-in-one)
[...Each different class makes use of the religion it sees fit...Whether these gentlemen themselves believe or do not believe in their respective religions is entirely immaterial. 】
——Volume 4 of "Selected by Ma En"
[The Roman Church often fought most resolutely against the "official" establishment of two religions: the religion of the "intellectual" and the religion of the "common people." 】
——"Prison Notes" by Antonio Gramsci
Nothing springs out of a crack in a rock, and a certain line of theology does not emerge overnight from the brains of some genius.
Many people oppose some things and feel that many things are incompatible with each other.
But the original Christians were also called atheists by the rulers of the Roman Empire, because Christians did not worship the god of the Roman Empire: the Roman Emperor.
Similarly, Galis took the islanders on the island of Cyprus, who wanted to establish their own new religion, and they were going to declare war on the "gods" on the island of Cyprus.
In this process, how should the original Orthodox Church choose?
Religions are being torn apart between different classes, one is the religion of the people, and that religion is going back to its most magnificent, most moving, most heroic, most glorious history.
Like the primitive Christians, they came from the lowest strata of society: slaves, freedmen deprived of all rights, and small yeoman farmers driven bankrupt by the weight of debt.
The other kind is the religion that worships "idols". Those believers are closely united around the idol of Isaac.
Leveraging the power of the "idol", be it the Turks or the "Varangians", the Cypriot nobles who followed the trend united and ravaged the island with naked brutality.
At this time, how should the original Orthodox Church choose?
The confessional of the church is hidden in the wing of the church. It is dimly lit and seems to be isolated from the hustle and bustle of the outside world. The room is not large, and the walls are covered with rough stone bricks, with occasional wet stains visible.
Under the simple and heavy cross, Anthony and Father Archos looked at each other.
"Patriarch, he will not support your idea." Bishop Anthony still did not directly answer Archos' question.
"He is just a puppet appointed by the tyrant Isaac. Teacher, do you really think it is necessary to continue to follow him?"
Anthony took a deep look at Archos.
"Teacher, this time is different from before. I know what the orthodox habits are."
"In various political turmoils, the Orthodox Church always tries to protect itself wisely and recognizes the winner."
"Because no matter which 'dictator' wins, we will be needed to rule."
"Those monarchs have become the embodiment of law and the reflection of the Lord on earth."
"The war between them is a 'god war'. No matter which 'god' wins, we need to be his servants."
"But this time, it's different. The Holy Word is walking on the earth again, and a new religion is being born and being structured."
"The Holy Word will declare war on those false gods and wipe them out. This is a war between different religions. This is a holy war!"
“If we do not follow the Word before the overall situation is decided, then we will become servants of old gods and false gods.”
"Besides, I don't want to be like the Ashdodites..."
When Bishop Anthony heard about the Ashdodites, his expression became unspeakably twisted.
There is a saying, even if you are a bishop, Bishop Anthony will feel a little outrageous when reading the Bible, especially those "Old Testament" scriptures.
There are two verses about the people of Ashdod.
[The hand of the LORD was heavy on the Ashdodites, and he destroyed them and gave them hemorrhoids. So it was with Ashdod and its four borders. 】
[When the people of Ashdod saw this, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god"]
——"1 Samuel" 5:6-7
To put it simply, the Lord's big hand struck the people of Ashdod, causing the old believers who believed in Dagon to suffer from hemorrhoids, and then asked for mercy from the Israelites.
It was difficult for Bishop Anthony to evaluate the original meaning of this passage, but he understood what Archos meant.
So Bishop Anthony waved his hand and asked Archos to leave.
Just before Archos left, the priest added: "Teacher, I think you are the only one qualified to hold the position of patriarch on this island."
The air in the confessional seemed to freeze.
Bishop Anthony squeezed the cross tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force, and he began his confession.
But rather than saying it is a confession, it is better to say that it is a matter of firming up some of my own ideas.
……
Just as Aljos said, Garris is creating a new religion,
In this new religion, the theology of aimless contemplation of heavenly mysteries in quiet churches and monasteries must die.
In this new religion, theology must be down to earth, bear the cross of history, and fight for the life and liberation of the poor.
This is, this is a sign of the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven.
But after all, Garris lacks people who can be used. He cannot conjure trained priests out of thin air, so this is why Archos will continue to persuade Bishop Anthony.
However, no matter whether a priest walks out of the church and comes among the people, it will not change that the people here have awakened and have vowed to eliminate the old gods.
In the following days, Garris contacted Father Archos and the others, and the Paladins who came by boat with Garris also joined the Liberation Front.
With the help of the Paladins who have received certain military training and have firm beliefs.
Garis relies on Amir Village to expand its influence to the outer circle.
The survivors of the "Varangi" carried those broken shields, escorted by Frelimo fighters, to nearby villages for a parade and gave speeches.
"The people are suffering terribly, and your families must be too!"
"Those who work in the city, their sisters have to sell themselves to earn a living!"
“You can’t even eat the rice grown by old farmers.”
"The people have no jobs, they are hungry and exhausted."
"The idol tyrant and the rich and noble people who obeyed him have abandoned us just like they abandoned Christ!"
"Those of us who have never sinned, yet we suffer the consequences of our sins and are buried with thieves as evildoers, and then our bodies are exposed in the wilderness!"
"And Christ Jesus would never want His people to suffer like this. It is those idolatrous pagans who have usurped the food and hope that we should enjoy!"
"Get up! Resist!"
"The Holy Word has become flesh again and walks on this bleeding earth!"
Compared with the speech ability of Nicholas's group, the Paladins who have received long-term training are proficient in how to inspire people.
They described to the people the scene of heaven and the prosperity of Rome.
Coupled with the testimony of those "Varangi", the deeds about Gareth seem to be true.
To be honest, there are many falsehoods in the preaching of these Paladins.
They omitted all the chaos at the end of Republican Rome, and intentionally or unintentionally did not talk about the truth about the parliament of this era.
Most of the European Parliaments in this era were either appointed by princes or could only elect representatives from a group of small nobles or wealthy businessmen.
Take the outstanding Republic of Venice as an example. Citizens do not have the right to directly vote. It is an aristocratic republic.
Of course, this does not mean that there are no republics with citizen elections, such as Pisa, Genoa, and some city-states in North Germany.
The free citizens of these cities could elect mayors and other officials through town meetings, and although aristocratic influence remained, citizen rights were more widespread than in much of Europe.
Therefore, the plan proposed by Garris is actually far from being a castle in the air. It happens to be a situation that everyone knows a part of, but does not understand deeply.
Through the glorious record, coupled with the eloquence of the Paladins, and Isaac's exploitation in recent years.
The tone was set for another uprising.
It was different from the last Nicholas Rebellion.
This time the uprising movement was not in a hurry to gather the rebel army and launch an attack on nearby cities.
On the contrary, we are constantly in contact with farmers, inspiring and training farmers, and truly taking root in the countryside.
The Cyprus Liberation Front is not only a fighting team, but also a working team.
……
After all, Cyprus is not the Kingdom of Jerusalem. After all, this island is only 9,000 square kilometers, which is not much different from the territory of Transjordan.
The only difference from Transjordan is that Isaac does not have the same ambition as Leonard.
If it is said that Leonard will not be able to pay attention to the corners of his territory in time because of the changes in the political situation in Jerusalem.
Then Garris can't expect Exa to leave him too much time.
The next battle could break out at any time, but at this critical moment, Garris still took the time to meet someone.
This man is Bishop Anthony.
When he, led by Aljos, walked dozens of kilometers in a robe to the village of Amir to meet Garris for the first time, he felt that meeting him was not as good as being famous.
This is a young man, very, very young. Although he is an adult at the age of 18, he is still a child compared to him, especially when there is always a smile on the corner of his mouth.
Garris may have a handsome face, but he is actually not very outstanding, especially because his clothes are extremely shabby, which makes it easier for people to think of him with contempt.
Of course, Bishop Anthony does not judge people by their appearance.
However, he had just gotten off the carriage and had not yet spoken or exchanged anything.
Someone ran over from not far away, came to Garis and said something in Frankish hastily.
Then he saw the young man Garris and gave him an apologetic look.
"My Lord Bishop, I may have to wait until later to communicate with you. I have a patient here who is in urgent need of treatment."
And so Bishop Anthony was set aside.
Of course, Anthony couldn't really be idle. Since he was already here, it was just right to follow Garris to see what was going on.
In this way, a group of them walked into Amir Village.
Like other villages in Cyprus, this is an okay-looking village.
But the home that Garris was going to was particularly shabby. To be precise, before Bishop Anthony walked in the door, he smelled a putrid smell.
This smell made Bishop Anthony feel a little uncomfortable, so he did not go in.
Immediately afterwards, Anthony heard some quarrel-like sounds, as if the young man Garris was scolding the patients in the room. The content of the scolding was roughly related to the doctor's instructions, and then there was another burst of prayer and crying.
After waiting for a while, Garris walked out of the house with a tired look on his face.
At this time, there was no smile on Garris's face, but he showed a kind of weakness.
This is the powerlessness of mortals. Any powerless mortal will show the sad look on Gareth's face.
Once again, Anthony lowered his opinion of Garris, and he had some doubts about whether Archos's description was true.
Because Christ Jesus, or the incarnation of the Holy Word, should be a prince who responds to everything, an invincible superhero, an omnipotent god with the power to reach heaven.
Such a person should neither be nor be as powerless as a mortal.
If the physical body of the Holy Word cannot make five loaves and two fishes, cannot walk on the sea, or cannot raise its hands, it has cured other people's diseases, allowing the blind to receive light and the deaf to receive sound.
So why should ordinary people believe him?
With such doubts in mind, after leaving the patient's room, Anthony whispered to Gareth: "Is that patient earlier a leper?"
Garris nodded. Indeed, those in that room were lepers, the ones he was now helpless to deal with.
After receiving Garris's response, Anthony, an old man with a dangerous hairline, became increasingly dissatisfied.
Because this really shouldn't be the case. You must know that Jesus' healing of lepers is clearly recorded in several gospels, but Gallis was unable to do anything.
Anthony became more and more suspicious of whether Archos was deceiving him. He wanted to reveal the true identity of Garris and let the world know that this guy was not the [Holy One of Jerusalem]. In Anthony's view, if it is true that the Holy Word once again walks the earth in the form of flesh, then nothing can hinder the Holy Word.
The country of the tyrant who oppresses and kills people in this world will only collapse when faced with the Holy Word! This is the general trend and no one can buck it.
But if Garris is a deceiver, then countless people will be buried with him. Nothing will be changed, and more and more people will die.
Garris didn't notice the change in the expression of the old man Anthony. He was still immersed in the scene just now.
It was a dark, small room.
The walls of the room were made of bluestone, and the surface was mottled and damp, with a vague musty smell. There was only one small broken window.
In the corner of the room, there was a simple wooden bed, covered with a few pieces of frayed straw and a few shabby blankets.
The patient was lying on the bed, his face was haggard, and his eyes showed helplessness and despair.
The man's skin was disfigured by the disease, and his cheeks were covered with red patches and ulcers. Part of his skin lost its feeling, became pale, dry, and felt like stone.
His fingers were slightly deformed and some of the joints were swollen, revealing the vine-like scars caused by leprosy.
This was of course not the first time that Gareth had seen a leper. After all, he had followed the "Leper King" before.
Leprosy, also known as Han's disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae.
The disease has a very long history, having existed for thousands of years BC, but it was not until 1931 that Mycobacterium leprae was discovered by Robert Cock that the cause was truly determined.
There is only one way to cure this chronic infectious disease - antibiotics.
Now, where does Gallis come up with antibiotics?
He could only ask the patient to pay attention to personal hygiene and prescribe some placebo in the hope that the patient would feel better.
But even if it was a placebo, the patient was unwilling to take it anymore because he felt that his death was near.
Therefore, Gareth is powerless and a mortal.
For this reason, Garris was despised by Antony.
[A leper came to Jesus, knelt down, and asked him, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." ’ Jesus was moved with compassion, stretched out his hands, touched him, and said, ‘I wish, be cleansed! 'The leprosy left him immediately, and he was clean. 】
——"The Gospel of Mark" 1:40-42
"I heard that you call yourself [the Holy One of Jerusalem]? I know that it is a grave sin to swear falsely."
Facing Anthony's question, Garris nodded to indicate that he was clear.
"Then how do you prove your identity?"
"I know how to cure leprosy, but not now. In fact, I know how to cure most human diseases, but not now."
"What I can do now may disappoint you a little."
Bishop Anthony's eyes were fixed on Garris, and he felt that the young man in front of him was talking too much.
However, in the next moment, the young man disappeared, disappearing out of thin air.
Bishop Anthony opened his mouth wide. He didn't know what to say for a moment. The words he had originally prepared in his mouth could not come out.
When Anthony came back to his senses, he discovered that Garris had appeared in the same place again at some point, as if nothing had happened just now.
"Help me, Anthony, there are really not many people who can help me nowadays."
"Please, Anthony, if you want to see all the lepers in this world cured, then help me."
Garris pleaded, his voice mixed with a bit of crying, and the appearance of the leper from before was still in his mind.
Anthony thought it was ridiculous that a superman, a real miracle worker, was asking for help from a servant of Christ like him?
Garris issued a plea, not an order...
"Anthony, I'm not God, and there are many things I can't do for a while. But I can tell you how to create miracles that everyone can use."
"As long as you can help me, one day there will be no more hunger in Cyprus, and no leper will be treated."
Garris rambled on about the preparation process of some medicines. In his words, the diseases in the world seemed to lose their mystery.
Leprosy is no longer a curse, but just the mischief of a tiny spirit, which can be cured by using only the product of another tiny spirit
The bishop instinctively didn't want to believe it, but Garris said more than that. He also told Anthony what life was all about.
In his words, the mysteries of the world are no longer understood by God alone. Garris is another "omniscient" who shares God's wisdom.
Anthony somewhat understood what Archos said. The young man in front of him was not an almighty Lord, but a wise but kind but powerless Lord.
This young man was trying to carry the cross of death, which was as heavy as lead.
Gareth's weakness and powerlessness are not the weakness and powerlessness of ordinary people, but because he is fighting against those principalities, powers, rulers of this dark world, and spiritual evil spirits in the heavens.
This young man needs comrades-in-arms, and he needs mortal help to truly shape a kingdom of heaven.
If the miracle cure he talks about is to become a reality, then Cyprus needs to mobilize and become the cornerstone of the kingdom of heaven that this young man talks about.
Anthony nodded slightly, he was willing to help this young man.
Anthony's help is mainly reflected in two aspects.
One is a tandem to the upper echelons of Cyprus.
Unlike the situation in Transjordan, Cyprus cannot and does not allow Gairis to develop calmly.
In addition to the fact that Cyprus is an island and there will be rapid collisions between the enemy and ourselves, the second reason is that the purpose of controlling the island of Cyprus is to help the situation on the mainland.
The island of Cyprus is important because it is located on the sea route to the Holy Land and has an important strategic position. Without support from the sea, it can be said that the Christians would not be able to continue to occupy the Holy Land.
For the Second Kingdom, which only has a few cities left, this is a new rear area, in order to maintain the war with Saladin and to better fight against the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The Second Kingdom needs the resources on this island and needs sufficient funds and even manpower.
Therefore, quickly controlling the island of Cyprus is the top priority. In this case, even Garris needs to make certain compromises.
He wanted to unite all the forces that could be combined to quickly overthrow Isaac's rule, and then carry out a reform movement.
Another aspect of help is that Bishop Anthony, relying on his own advantages, can help Garris and others transport some goods and people into the port.
Starting from the diocesan port in charge of Bishop Anthony, it is only about 250 kilometers away from Tire. It can be reached in one to two days by boat.
Today's Garris is different from two years ago. In 1186, Garris had only twelve knights or servants following him except Isabella.
Although today's Second Kingdom is still a small shrimp, it still has two to three thousand troops and six to seventy thousand people under its control.
If Garris just wanted to overthrow Isaac, there was no need to really start the journey again.
Accompanied by a letter from Gareth, he sailed to Tire on a fast ship.
A few days later, a camouflaged merchant ship docked at the port of Anthony Parish.
There are many boxes on this ship, and there are seals on them: the church's sacred objects are not to be opened without permission.
Then there were some passengers on the boat, all with French faces, weather-beaten, and in the eyes of those on the same boat, they all had an aura of being off-limits to strangers.
……
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was renowned in the Catholic world for its excellence in warfare, especially while they still held Jerusalem.
Since the First Crusade, the Franks had experienced a long period of war in the Holy Land, with conflicts occurring over many years.
These ninety years of bloody battles gave the Franks in the Crusader countries a deep understanding of the nature of war.
They actively tried to centralize power, established a well-disciplined religious knighthood, established an elite heavy infantry unit, and hired Tukobo as an auxiliary force.
Compared with the Western European knights and nobles who still regard war as a competition, the Crusader countries have rich combat experience. After the fall of the Crusader countries, the warriors who returned to Europe even led to the advancement of European military skills.
Of course, the advancement of the Franks was also accompanied by the advancement of the Saracens.
In Syria, traditional Arab fighting methods were replaced by Turkic tactics and gradually came under Frankish influence.
It can be said that the long-term Crusade movement has objectively improved the military technology level in the Middle East.
And then there’s the island of Cyprus, an island just a stone’s throw away from the Holy Land.
It perfectly avoided involution and successfully resisted internal friction.
At the cost, the island of Cyprus is extremely lax in its armaments and lacks military experience.
Facing the Turkic tribes and "Varangi" guards rolled out from the mainland, the residents of the island were as helpless as the chickens, and were directly hit by the dimensionality reduction.
Of course, the Turkic tribes recruited by Isaac did not reach the intensity of Saladin's military reforms.
The focus of Saladin's military reforms was to form an elite heavy infantry corps and a considerable number of Turkic knights who imitated the Frankish knights.
Due to economic reasons, this military reform was not accepted by the traditional Turkic tribes.
Therefore, the mercenaries recruited by Isaac are still all light cavalry, equipped with horse bows and scimitars, and will not be equipped with too much iron armor to maintain their mobility.
It can be said that such an army body naturally does not have any ability to attack difficult problems.
During this urgent time, in addition to mobilizing villagers in various villages and taking root in the countryside, Garis also built simple earthen forts in some peripheral locations.
The area of these earthen forts is not large, and the wall height is generally only about 2 meters, but it is enough to block the attack of light cavalry and allow nearby villagers to protect themselves.
The range and damage of the horse bow were not enough to compete with the powerful crossbows produced by the Franks.
This means that if the Turks plan to attack a certain stronghold, they will most likely be held back and attacked by militias supported by other strongholds, and will suffer heavy losses in the end.
Isaac was confused when he received the report.
No, how long has it been? !
Not long ago, didn't I suppress Nicholas's rebellion?
Why did Nicholas make such a big fuss just a month after escaping from prison?
A group of "Varangi" was completely wiped out, and more than a dozen villages raised rebel flags at the same time. Due to the terrain, the Turks could not attack the rebels from the north and south, and could only go from the east and west.
After all, there is a mountainous area to the north, and it is easy for the cavalry to enter for free. There is the sea to the south, and there is no way around it.
Walking from the east and west sides, you will face a large number of simple and ridiculous temporary wooden forts.
Generally speaking, those simple and ridiculous temporary wooden castles are useless.
Because the farmers did not have excellent weapons to fight back against the Turks, in the end the Turks would easily bypass the temporary wooden fort and advance directly to the rear.
Then, the problem arose. Those mud-legged people, for no reason, bought a large number of crossbows and various types of fairly good armor.
"I have raised the tax rate to 70%!"
"Any higher and they will all starve to death!"
"But why do they still have money and materials to support so many well-equipped rebels? Where does the money come from?"
"If I only charge 40% tax, they think it's too high and raise a flag of rebellion. I can understand it, because the remaining 60% can still make some surplus."
"But it is absolutely impossible to buy such excellent equipment with 30% of the remaining food!"
"They must have stolen the tax money that should have been collected from me, these dirty thieves!"
Isaac was shouting and insulting the rioting rebels in his court. The court officials on the side did not dare to answer for fear of being angered.
Even his daughter just watched from a distance, watching this guy's ugly appearance without saying a word.
Antonio Francesco Gramsci
was an Italian communist thinker and one of the founders and leaders of the Italian Communist Party. The theory of "cultural hegemony" he founded had a profound influence on later generations.
Cultural hegemony, also known as cultural leadership and leadership, is a philosophical and sociological theory proposed by the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci.
It refers to the fact that a social class can dominate or rule the entire multicultural society by manipulating social culture (beliefs, interpretations, cognitions, values, etc.).
The world view of the ruling class will be forced as the only social norm and considered to be a universally valid idea that benefits the whole society, but in fact only the ruling class benefits.
Every class must strive for intellectual and moral leadership in civil society through its intellectuals.
(End of chapter)