After Becoming The Tyrant

The king held his wine glass, and his eyes fell on the Archbishop of Jollingshire.

The Archbishop of Jollingshire shuddered indistinctly. The moment the king glanced over, he felt as if a knife had been scraped across his neck.However, he quickly calmed down. As the number two figure in the church in Legrand, he knew much more about the situation on the other side of the Abyss Strait than others.

No one can violate the glory of the Holy Lord, he confirmed this.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in the name of the merciful Lord." The Archbishop of Yoringshire held up the cross on his chest, and he looked around at the others at the banquet, "Can we witness such a tragedy happen? "

People exchanged glances with each other, and many people stood up one after another, carefully considering their own words, trying to express their views in terms that echoed the archbishop of Yoring County, but did not directly oppose the king. .

The secular nobles are not like the monk nobles, they really have too much devotion to the holy court.

They care more about their own interests than their piety.

The Holy Court is so powerful and powerful. They want to know what attitude the king will take towards the Holy Court. There is no doubt that even though the nobles have gained a lot from the "Free Chamber of Commerce Regulations" and the blockade of the Black Death not long ago. There are few benefits, but these benefits are not enough for them to completely stand on the opposite side of the Holy Court together with the king.

But, likewise, they do not want to confront the king who has just won a victory and whose power and prestige have never been raised in the country.

They carefully reserved the leeway for themselves.

But the lords and state representatives on the border were not so polite... They hoped that the royal family and the holy court would completely turn against each other so that they could benefit from it.

"Mr. Bishop." The king turned the glass, his tone was modest, and he even had a smile on his face-if it wasn't for the same smile he had when he was cleaning after the Civil War, "I heard you He is quite accomplished in theology, and he once went to the sanctuary to get advice from the Pope. Is that so?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Although the bishop of Jolin County was a little puzzled and didn't understand why the king mentioned this matter, he still bowed slightly and answered in a tone of humility on the surface, but in fact very complacent.

"I was once fortunate to have been taught by the Holy Father."

"In this case, I think you must have got the essence of the Pope's thinking." The king raised his wine glass and raised it in another direction, "I have been confused for a long time about whether there is a punishment of purgatory after death. Mr. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe you must be as confused as I am. Since there are a bishop who has been taught by the Pope and a dean who was born in the Sanctuary of Holy Spirit Bay and participated in the debate of the Holy Church, why not ask them to discuss this issue? , to clarify for us?"

Holy Spirit Bay Sanctuary, Sanctuary Debate.

The crowd was noisy, and even the bishop of Jolin County changed his face slightly.

Holy Spirit Bay is where the holy city of the holy court is located today, and the holy council debate is the highest meeting of the spiritual world of the entire holy court.All the people who were born in Holy Spirit Bay and qualified to participate in the holy congregation were almost all members of the core power of the holy court, the future reserve of the twelve sanctuaries.

There is a joke used to mock:

Even if it is a little monk, as long as he claims to be from the holy court, the archbishop of the princely country is willing to bend down and kiss their shoe uppers.

Although it is exaggerated, it can be glimpsed.

With the relationship between the king and the Holy Court, how could he get the support of such a person?

The white-haired and thin Father Anil stood up from his seat, and his student, Father Lemi, looked at him worriedly.

The Chief of Internal Affairs loudly introduced to everyone present the unfamiliar Father Anil—he was born in the Holy Court, studied at Trinity Theological College, and became a professor of the college after graduation. When the Holy Court reunified the doctrine in 1411, he was at the meeting table, and now he is the dean of the Legrand Northland Monastery.

1411 Whitsunday Council, Father Anil.

The faces of some church members in the audience became complicated, and they looked at each other. Apparently, a small number of church members had heard of this great theologian who once defeated the Pope in debates.Even, the Holy Court originally planned to confirm the theory of purgatory at the meeting in 1411, but because of Father Anil's refutation, some of the Holy Court's elders changed their original thinking when they made the decision.

It wasn't until Father Anil was expelled from the holy court that the pope was able to formally write the theory of purgatory into the orthodox doctrine at the third holy meeting.

The big belly of the Archbishop of Jollingshire obviously contained more red wine and tricks to climb up. He didn't recognize who his opponent was, but heard that Father Anil was now just the abbot of the Northland At that time, he showed a look of contempt.

"Sir." Dean Anil said gently, "What is purgatory? Where did it come from?"

"Purgatory is the place of judgment. My dear Mr. Abbot, that is something that babies know." The Archbishop of Yoringshire sneered, "Need I tell you more? The souls who are exonerated from sins and have not yet completed penance, neither can enter the kingdom of God nor go to hell, will be placed in purgatory to suffer temporarily, waiting for all sins to be washed away, so they need our salvation ."[1]

"Sir, this is stipulated by the doctrine of 1417, not the origin of purgatory." Dean Anil said in a steady voice, "The term purgatory was proposed by priests such as Amberkin, Ross, and Peter in the 12th century. , this is a wrong interpretation, and their basis comes from verses 12 to 39 of the twelfth volume of the Holy Book, and verse 26 of the twelfth volume..."

As he spoke, Father Anil recited all the verses he mentioned verbatim.

"Isn't this enough to explain the existence of Purgatory?" The Archbishop of Jollingshire sarcastically said, "Since you remember, you shouldn't make such a big mistake."

"On the contrary." Dean Anil replied, "It just proves that purgatory does not exist. The space of purgatory was not clearly pointed out in the holy book from the beginning to the end, but the latecomers misinterpreted these original designations. In ancient times, we should gain salvation by faith, and in the Holy Book, we are warned with a clear attitude: there is a complete separation between the living and the dead."

"Let no man among you put his son or daughter through fire, nor divination, nor omen-seeing, nor magician, nor witchcraft, nor magician, nor medium, nor witchcraft, nor that of ghosts." [2] ]

This is the admonition in the holy book, and Father Anil read it aloud.

"The Holy Lord has already stated these clearly with His tolerance and mercy——

After death, the soul does not need to go through the pure stage of purgatory, but is in a state of dormancy, which lasts until the last judgment and final resurrection; the worlds of the living and the dead are completely separated, and there is no separation between the two. Any connection that may occur, all acts of intercession by the living for the dead, including prayers, offerings of Eucharist, buying indulgences, etc., have no meaning. [3]”

There was an uproar in the audience.

This was the first time someone had publicly declared so loudly on such a high political occasion in Legrand that there was no purgatory.

The Archbishop of Jolin County tremblingly pointed at the fearless Dean Anil: "You, you, you... don't you even want to deny and betray your own mission of salvation as an apostle?!"

"Yes!" Dean Anil replied sharply, "I never thought that I had the right to redeem anyone on behalf of the supreme Holy Lord. Only devout faith can establish communication between the apostles and the Holy Lord." Bridge. Not even the Holy See can teach a sinner to ascend to the kingdom of God! The key to the kingdom of God is no longer in our hands, but in the hands of all! The world has nothing to do with the soul!"

Some nobles who originally wanted to get up sat back to their original positions after hearing this passage.

They look different.

Especially for the nobles in the south, doing business has always been derogatory in the teachings of the holy court, and it has always been considered that only people who have committed crimes will do it. Banking usury and other things have been denounced as "crimes" and "heretics". for.But in fact, the support of the nobles' territories is very strong, and the closer the nobles are to the commercial booming area in the south, the more dissatisfied with these precepts.

Abandoning this point, the various miscellaneous taxes they pay to the Holy Court every year are not a small expense.

But these people are only a minority, and more people immediately changed their faces when they heard the shocking words of Dean Anil. The appearance of fainting.

Several priests stood up one after another and loudly refuted Dean Anil.

In the beginning, they were still citing various regulations and various interpretations of the holy book, but Dean Anil was more familiar with these regulations and the interpretation of the holy book than they were.He was able to recite the full text of all the arguments against himself on the spot, and then refute them one by one by citing the holy books.

In the end, the priests were almost speechless, and could only angrily accuse Dean Anil of being a "blasphemer" and a "heretic" who should be burned at the stake.

"May I ask you all, is the status of the Holy See higher than the oracle of the Holy Lord? Can we think that the stripes of mortals are above the teachings of the true God?" Dean Anil asked sharply, "The indulgence itself is the sacred The blasphemy! The Holy Court has never had the right to redeem people's souls, and the only way to obtain salvation is faith itself!"

"I am willing to bear all the responsibilities for all my speeches today. If pious belief is sinful, then I am willing to be burned for it!"

Dean Anil replied sonorously. He raised his hand to hold the cross on his chest and held it high.

Father Lemi stood up and also raised his cross high.

Dean Anil looked around at everyone present. His white hair was gray and his hands were wrinkled, but his eyes clearly revealed rock-like strength.

The light that fell from the sky enveloped him, and he was more like a benevolent saint than all the frescoes and all the statues.

The house was silent.

In the silence, the king put down his wine glass and clapped his hands: "Thank you for clarifying my doubts, Mr. Dean."

Saying this, the king looked around.

He smiled.

"Ladies and gentlemen, shouldn't we applaud such a good debate? Shouldn't we rejoice that our mistakes have finally been righted?"

The king's tone was extremely kind, but his eyes were also extremely cold.

——This is a less formal stand-up.

At the seats, some people began to follow the king to applaud, and soon the number became more and more, mainly the southeast nobles and some original royalist nobles. Representatives of Yabang also applauded, along with some small states in the central and southern regions.

High lords and larger states froze among the applauding crowd.

Their faces were livid, and they neither reprimanded nor agreed.

"Cheers to Faith!"

The king smiled, raised his golden wine glass high, and saluted everyone present.Then drank the wine in one gulp.

Those who applauded raised their glasses and shouted in unison: "Cheers to the faith."

Amidst the cheers, the king smiled and looked down at his empty wine glass—a toast to faith!Cheers!

As soon as the wine cup fell, the king clapped his hands again. The old judge who presided over the opening ceremony at the meeting of glory stood up, holding a regulation in his hand.

"Now that we realize our mistakes, we can't go any further down the wrong path." The king said lightly, turning a blind eye to the livid faces of the lords and priests, "In order to make up for our mistakes, the royal meeting has drawn up such a plan. a draft."

A group of judges dressed in black, led by their attendants, walked into the hall and distributed the proposed regulations one by one.

"Limitation of Purgatory Creeds and Priesthood Ordinances"

Seeing the name of the draft, the corners of General Edmund's eyes twitched for a moment. For a moment, he felt that what he was holding in his hand was not a document, but a sword.

A war without gunpowder, but equally dangerous.

He took a deep breath slowly, and finally understood what the king wanted to do with the Duke of Buckingham's funeral——

What a funeral!This is clearly a declaration of war!

This regulation is the first clarion call.

Facing the authority of the holy court, the king finally tore away the illusion of harmony on the surface, and put all the rivalry on the card table first.He chose to use Dean Anil, the leader of the "Holy Sect" who had been expelled from the Holy City, as a pawn, and began to challenge the authority of the Pope.

Should he be said to be crazy or should he be said to be fearless?

Even the nobles who had applauded before saw this document, their faces suddenly changed, and they suddenly looked up at the king sitting on the throne.The rest of the priests, lords, and state representatives reacted even more, and many people stood up directly, wanting to say something.

However, just as they stood up, heavy horseshoes came from the door of the hall.

Click, click, click.

The sound of the horse's iron hooves falling on the rocky floor was deep and powerful, with a disturbing chill.

A war horse and a knight appeared at the entrance of the banquet hall.

Behind the knight is the deep dark night, and the brilliant candlelight falls on the iron armor he wears.The knight wore cold iron gloves and a long sword hanging from his waist.He held the reins in one hand and the helmet in the other. His half-length silver hair was tied behind his head, and his icy blue eyes were as calm as a cold edge.

General John.

he came.

Today marks the Duke of Buckingham's funeral and the ceremony to officially become Defender of the King.

At the moment when the opponents stood up and the undercurrent was surging, he stepped into the banquet hall.

The representatives of Bang Guo stopped talking from the moment General John stepped into the hall.Those who stood up exchanged glances with each other.The lords on the frontier slowly sat up straight, and the noble ladies and ladies had a premonition of what would happen next, moving their eyes back and forth between General John and the other knights at the banquet, nervously and expectantly.

The king raised his glass and raised his glass to his cousin.

The steward announced with a loud voice to all the party that the king's defender, General John, had arrived.

Under all eyes, General John raised his hand and clenched his fist, beating his heart.

The iron armor collided with a crisp sound.

"I swear by the honor of the knight, I will defend your majesty's dignity and authority with my life."

General John's voice was deep and powerful, and he stared at the king who was toasting to himself on the throne.

"Throughout my life, I will take the duty and honor of a defender as my duty. All those who do not support His Majesty, I will punish with a sharp sword and trample with an iron horse."

"Now--"

General John took off his gauntlet and threw it to the ground.

"I challenge all the opponents of His Majesty here!"

The iron glove fell to the ground with a clang.

The flickering candles fell brightly on young General John—he had inherited his father's dukedom, and now he would inherit the title of "Defender" of the Duke of Buckingham.

The first knight who opposed the regulations stood up from the banquet table and walked out.He picked up the iron gauntlet thrown to the ground by General John: "Please."

This is the Middle Ages.

This is the age of knights.

Beneath all the elegant etiquette of toasting and drinking, the most savage primitive violent impulses are concealed.Blood and armor, long swords and duels are the most revered and noble way of adjudicating in this era - at the cost of one party's glory and one party's death.The lords could not defeat Abbot Anil theologically, but they could defeat the King's defenders in the dueling ring.

That means that the king's plan today will fail——

No one will trust a king who does not have absolute force!

At this moment, General John symbolizes the king himself.

The king put the honor into his hands.

The Qiangwei family has never been afraid of blood, and the duel field is set in the square in front of the hall.The torches that had been prepared were lit one by one, and the flames circled a duel circle.

The master of ceremonies began to announce the knights on both sides of the duel: "The Rose family, the defenders of the king! General John!"

General John galloped forward, the scarlet cloak on his back was rolled up, and the king's personal guards spontaneously raised the Rose King Banner high for him.The Duke of Buckingham's old staff cheered loudly.He drew out the long sword at his waist. This time, the duel venue was much smaller than that of the horse-fighting contest. The two sides would not use lances, but a more dangerous melee duel.

"Deke State, Sir Tetson!"

General John's opponent also stepped onto the field, wearing a blue cloak and holding a shield with the laurel family crest in one hand.Facing the son of the Duke of Buckingham, the blood of the imperial lion, he maintained enough vigilance and attention.

At the moment when the ceremonial officer announced the start, General John's horse galloped like the wind.The two sides approached in an instant, and General John held the sword, the blade tilted sideways.His opponent is also a long-established knight with a record to boast about.

With the cold wind blowing across his face, General John was extremely calm.

The war horses finally collided. At that moment, General John let out a loud roar, and the long sword blew a sharp wind.Sir Tetson raised his shield to meet him, and in a flash, the side of the long sword brushed past the shield. This was not a miss, but a more deadly attack—because at the next moment, General John even took the man with him. The horse leaps.

The king had used this trick in the Battle of Benzburg, and now it is also showing up in General John.

In his life, the Duke of Buckingham taught two of the best knights in the world.

One is his nephew!One is his son!

The horses neighed, the knights roared, and General John in mid-air had turned into a fierce lion.His father's glory revived on him, and his long sword slashed hard, knocking away the enemy's shield.

Blood, sword light.

The horse landed on the ground, and General John galloped out like a breeze. Behind him, a head flew up high, and blood sprayed like a fountain.

"Next!"

General John roared, and he threw the gauntlet to the ground again.

Behind him, the dead body of Sir Turson fell from his horse.

The wind blows across the earth, and the fire of the torch rises upwards and burns up.

"Next!"

The corpses gradually piled up, and Charles looked at General John, who was riding his horse and swinging his sword, as if the young Duke of Buckingham appeared before his eyes again.

The last time the iron gloves fell to the ground, no one dared to step into the duel field.Blood dripped down General John's armor. He reined in his horse with one hand and held his sword in the other, standing proudly and coldly among the corpses everywhere.All those who met his gaze involuntarily backed off.

The ceremony officer shouted three times, but there was no one.

He announced loudly: "The defender is born!!"

General John got off his horse, drew his sword and moved forward.The crowd carved out a wide avenue for him leading directly to the main hall.

The king stepped down from his throne.

"Congratulations, my defender!"

The king gazed at his cousin, and raised his golden goblet aloft.

"Fight for you!"

General John took the wine glass served by the servant and toasted the king.

"Defender!" "Defender!"

Cheers erupted like a tidal wave, and thunderous applause burst into tears. In the crowd, the former Ministry of the Duke of Buckingham burst into tears.

There was an uproar of voices and cheers, and amidst the din, no one noticed that a bard was trembling all over.

Koya's old bard put his hands on the strings, he looked at the king holding the golden goblet, at the smiling General John, at the corpse, at the fire and blood... Countless words were in his mind skimming.He finally understood his destiny in this life.

It was destined that he only wanted to write an unprecedented epic in his life.

That is the epic of the birth and blood of the Qiangwei family!

This is a family born in blood, and the young son of the lion, like his father, raised the sword for the king.He is the king's shield and the king's sword.

The contract of the previous generation is passed on to the younger generation.

The heroic soul of the Qiangwei family will never die.

The author has something to say: [1] From "The Birth of Purgatory" Jacques Le Goff

[2] From the Old Testament Deuteronomy

[3]石庆海,王倩,计震球.论马丁·路德在基督教死亡文化上的破旧立新[J].内蒙古农业大学学报(社会科学版),2008(05):316-318.