Chapter 148

Holy Empire, the Basilica of asari.

A week ago, with the exception of Legrand, representatives were sent from all countries that believe in the Lord, and the high bishops of the Holy See gathered here. In 1433, the religious conference changed the previous rules and moved the venue from Holy Spirit bay to the heart of the capital of the holy empire.

Cardinal segni hurried to the church with the secret letter gathered by the barbarians.

All the representatives and senior priests attending the religious conference knew what their purpose was - to discuss the specific plan of the holy army's expedition, to elect the six member committee responsible for the expedition, and the supreme leader of the holy army.

The holy army began to collect a few months ago.

On the third day after the news of the raid on many important harbors of the lowland alliance reached the holy Empire, the Pope made an unprecedented speech to everyone on the public facing balcony of the holy Empire Palace.

That speech was the clarion call of the holy army's westward expedition. In that speech, Pope theold, the Pope of the holy Empire and the supreme spiritual leader of the Holy See, sternly condemned the crime of the kingdom of Legrand's ignoring morality and violating chivalry, boldly attacking the lowland alliance cities with believers, and declared that the royal family of Legrand would be punished with absolute religious punishment.

It is rare in history that the whole royal family was absolutely punished. The only precedent is atani, the hopeless city-state in the Western Strait of the inner sea in the 11th century. After the Senate of atani city-state was divided by absolute punishment, the surrounding city-states united with the Templar order of the Holy See to destroy it in the war.

If it is said that the "war of divine punishment" against Legrand has made the ships of the Holy See powerful all over the world, then the destruction of atani has made the holy army and the Templar order famous all over the world.

After declaring that the royal family of Legrand had been reduced to a "heretic country", the Pope called on all the believers and Knights of the LORD all over the world to cross the abyss and help the believers and brothers in Legrand realize their liberation.

A few months ago, the public lecture ended, and the fourth large-scale expedition of the holy army officially began since the birth of the Holy See.

The secular city states and kings may be surprised by the speed of the holy army movement, but only the high-level officials of the holy court know how much they have prepared for the holy army expedition.

The collection of Millennium sacred objects, sparing no effort to preach "doomsday theory" and "Purgatory theory", and the establishment of religion

This is a long prepared war.

After the Pope's call, countless preachers spread around the world like crows.

They fiercely attacked the common people's words on the other side of the abyss channel, such as how to blaspheme the Lord, how not to pray for people's souls, how to protect heretics, and how to dance with witches.

"They let themselves fall into Purgatory, but will make the Lord think that human beings are incurable. They are the rotten tumors on the whole human body. Only by digging them up thoroughly can we all be saved in the end. "

“…… The blatant blasphemy of heresy is God's punishment for all believers. Put on the cross. Only when you become a warrior of the Lord, cross the abyss, cleanse the fallen heretics, and save the controlled true believers, can you get salvation in the judgment. [1] "

in addition, after the public speech, the Pope made a definite promise that all those who participated in the holy army movement, no matter what mistakes they had committed in the past, would be forgiven by the Holy Lord. For those who fight for justice, justice will give him glory and wealth.

From that day on, the western expedition of the holy army was carried out vigorously.

It seems that there is a war in everyone's heart. As long as they step on the other side of the abyss, they will enter the kingdom of God.

For a long time, religious belief, which provides a prudent end result for human beings, once involved in the war, both sides are desperate, which makes the war particularly fierce. [2]

the grandfather of cardinal segni once participated in the third holy Legion movement. It was because of that movement that he changed from a bankrupt poor boy to a famous Earl of segni. Therefore, segni can understand why the holy Legion movement is so attractive to most poor people who are eager to change their fate.

"In the holy army, as long as you are lucky enough to go and come back alive, even if you used to be a slave, you can become a nobleman with a feudal land and servants." This is a sentence left by sagney's grandfather, which still applies today.

"Hey, sagney."

When senior priest Peter came out from the corner of the corridor, he met segny and said hello to him.

"What's going on inside?"

Segney stopped and inquired about Peter, who had apparently just left the meeting. He left the holy Empire two weeks ago, so he has no idea where the current religious Council is going.

"The sea transportation problem of the holy army was solved the next day." Peter looked at him. "The abyss alliance is in charge.""Why? Isn't the fleet of the hopeless inland sea alliance stronger than that of the abyss States? " Segni was surprised, his family territory in the hopeless inland sea, the family controlled a large fleet. Originally, he planned to make a war fortune by taking advantage of the opportunity during the sea transportation of the holy army.

"It's the decision of the Holy See." Peter is very clear about what sagney cares about. He shakes his head helplessly. "What was originally decided should be the lowland League, but the lowland League suffered heavy losses in the previous raid, which is hard to bear. As for why we chose the abyss countries I guess it's because it's closer to the southeast coast of Legrand. "

"What about the others?"

"The Council has elected a committee of six to be in charge of the operation of this expedition. The candidates have been almost elected. But the supreme commander has not been able to decide. Parliament has been interrupted several times for this purpose. "

"What's the matter?"

Peter shrugged, showing an incomprehensible look of doubt: "because the Holy See intends to be himself the leader of this expedition."

"What?"

Segney was taken aback.

"The throne he - he -"

"who knows."

Peter sighed deeply.

………………

The papal lounge of the conference.

In the lounge, there were only the Pope and several Cardinals.

"Saint Your majesty. " "In your capacity, you should not step on the battlefield in person," said cardinal Madeleine

"I know what you think," said theold mildly. "If I get hurt in the battlefield, or worse, if I get captured and die accidentally, it will be a huge blow to the holy Empire, won't it?"

"That would be a terrible nightmare for all believers."

Replied the Cardinals.

"I know your concerns." The Pope smiles and shakes his head. "But don't forget, it's a life and death war. If we lose this war, what's the use of me even if I live? As for the rest, don't you have any confidence in the preparation of the holy see for the millennium? "

"That said, it's too dangerous. We have pious people who are loyal enough to you, to the Empire and to the Holy See. You don't have to take the risk yourself. " Even cecilian, who had the best personal relationship with Pope theold, shook his head in opposition.

"This is the battle of armies, my old friend." Theold shook his head slowly. "If I were in such a decisive war, I would be far away in the sky. How can I direct this war? Of course, we have smart enough "messengers" to make our message delivered on time. But how can I make sure that the soldiers on the other side of the Strait, tens of thousands of meters away, still obey my orders? "

"The holy army will fight for the Lord, and all actions will follow your will."

Replied cardinal Madeleine.

"Don't use these words in a conversation like this." The Pope shook his head. "What's the reason for the interruption of the second holy army movement? People have forgotten. Have you forgotten?"

There was silence in the room. Several Cardinals looked at each other, and none of them was the first to answer the question.

Among the several holy army movements of the Holy See, the second one was the most unsuccessful. Generally, the leader of the holy army movement was a person of high status who took the place of the Pope and obeyed the orders of the Pope. However, in the second holy army movement, the holy army did not reach the lower el, the target of the expedition. On the way, the holy army clashed with a city-state along the hopeless inland sea, who was also a believer of the holy God.

The holy army violated the purpose of "justice" and attacked the city-state of the holy believers. After the incident was sent back to the Holy See, the Pope was furious and issued a decree of absolute punishment to the holy army.

However, it is of little use. The Pope is far away and it is difficult to control a large and complex army.

After the spread of the holy army's behavior, it caused a lot of criticism and blame. At that time, the barbarians on the sea made a comeback again. Therefore, the second holy army movement had to be forcibly terminated to deal with a new round of hopeless turbulence in the inland sea.

In any case, the failure of the second holy army movement brought profound lessons to the Holy See and the pope at that time.

"Even the most brilliant militarist can never guarantee that his orders will be carried out meticulously unless he is a soldier in the army." The Pope picked up the chess pieces on the table and held them in his hands. "The significance of a real commander is not that he has much advanced martial arts and rich combat experience, but that he can make a scattered sand become a sword and a sword and make it invincible."

"Sometimes I envy Legrand."

The Pope sighed.

"It's so lucky that there are so many people in almost every generation who can bring the whole country together. So did the Duke of Buckingham, so did queen Eleanor, and so did purland today. I often think, "is it a cursed land or a blessed land?"

Only a few people know that the death of the Duke of Buckingham was not an accident.

On the secret list of the Holy See, the Duke of Buckingham was specially noted.He is a knight with great prestige and can be called the spirit of Empire. For Legrand, what he lost is not only an excellent general, but also a charismatic flag. The Duke of Buckingham's position in the heart of the Knights of Legrand is too lofty. It is the glory and trust accumulated through years. His existence poses too great a threat to the plan of the Holy See.

Even if he didn't fall into the hands of Saint Val, he would fall into the hands of others.

One of the main purposes of the Vatican's instigation of the Great Northern rebellion of Legrand was to kill the Duke of Buckingham.

He is as important as the whole army.

"It's a pity that Eleanor has hidden so well before." The pope said with some regret, "otherwise, if we can get rid of her before the war begins, we will lose a huge roadblock in the holy army's westward expedition."

"Well, where will our western expedition begin? Is herder Swan harbor Asked sissian.

The Pope opened his hand and put the piece he had held on the table to a point on the map.

"Here."

He said.

Chessmen in the southeast coast of Legrand.

Kosia.