Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 534 The common hobbies of the abbot and the abbot
"Since everyone has been facing these problems, how should we solve them?" Captain Jessica asked seriously.

"I have an idea, but if I tell it, many people will probably regard me as a heretic." Guo Kang said with a smile: "Let's agree, I'm just telling a fantasy of mine. Even if it's outrageous, don't blame me."

"If we had cared about the label of heretic, we wouldn't have had such a fierce quarrel with the Catholic Church." Captain Jessica also smiled bitterly: "Now we are asking you for advice, how can we still be picky."

"Yes." Tuo Huan also nodded: "You may not know that it didn't take long for them to call us heretics for the first time. The Minister of Rites at that time was my great-uncle, and he wrote to my grandfather all night Letter, I am happy to say that this is a major military and diplomatic victory for us..."

"Why do you say that?" Zhu Wenkui asked curiously.

"We were not considered heretics before." Tuohuan told him: "Before that, many people in the Catholic Church always thought that we were not a God-worshiping religion at all, and they also slandered us as a mess of religions put together and re-branded. Coming out. Being able to say that we are heretics means that we at least admit that we worship God. This is indeed not easy. If we had not conquered Naples at that time, we probably wouldn't even have this."

"That's it..." Zhu Wenkui understood.

"You didn't even know about it beforehand?" Tang Sai'er asked him in a low voice, "Don't you believe this? Why didn't you ask before you believed it? This is not a good idea."

"Why do I understand this? It's not about who admits it or not." Zhu Wenkui disagreed: "When my mother first came here, she was exhausted physically and mentally from the bumpy road. She discovered that there is a Mouse-moving Bodhisattva here who saves suffering and saves sins. . She has always believed in Buddhism and went to pray every day, so I followed her."

"I don't think this is anything to worry about. On the contrary, the gods and Buddhas of Western Europe are so strange that they don't even let people worship their ancestors." He reminded in a low voice: "Don't you notice something is wrong? How could it be? Bodhisattva will teach people to be unfilial."

"Neither do we." Captain Jessica also emphasized again: "You go ahead and say it."

"Are you so pessimistic?" a monk said in surprise.

"Respect yourself, respect yourself. As a girl, don't talk about such... bad things." Zhu Wenkui stopped him quickly.

"I don't think there is a problem. No matter how good the original intention is or how noble the founder is, it will always be like this." Captain Jessica also nodded in agreement again: "This kind of thing is probably inevitable."

"As long as it is an organization established by people, corruption will occur. There is no problem with this view, right?" Guo Kang continued to ask.

"Yes, we agree with this." Captain Jessica nodded.

"It's so late that I learned about Buddhism." Zhu Wenkui showed a clear expression: "But as soon as you say this, I know the ending."

“Their order also aimed to oppose the corruption of the church at that time.” Captain Jessica said: “In fact, during the Cluny Movement in the 11th century, the priests had proposed many reform plans, and some of them had achieved results. But just over a hundred years later, these old problems have reappeared."

"I think there must be something fishy inside. Even if I meet them first, I definitely won't just worship them casually." He said firmly.

"Wait a minute, what is an abbot?" Captain Jessica asked doubtfully.

"..."

"That's... the Buddhist abbot." Guo Kang told him.

"It's not pessimistic... maybe I've seen a lot." Captain Jessica hesitated: "You know, I had a good relationship with several Franciscan priests before, so I know some things about them."

"That's what I think." Guo Kang said: "We all admit that the degree of corruption in the Catholic Church is indeed very worrying. Our various plans, and even the efforts of the saints of the past dynasties, are all aimed at this phenomenon and looking for countermeasures. .There’s nothing wrong with this statement, right?”

"Yes. Do you need me to tell a few abbot jokes?" Tang Saier also said cheerfully.

"Then you shouldn't have listened too much, otherwise how would you know it was bad?" Tang Sai'er asked back.

"So, Saint Francis stood up and advocated imitating Brother Tian of the year and living a simple life. He maintained the purity of his faith by staying away from the world. In order to follow Brother Tian wholeheartedly, he and his followers donated all their property To give to the poor, the organization does not buy property, and only relies on others' charity and begging. I hope that in this way, we can avoid taking the route of making money like some other religious organizations. Because they all bring begging bowls. , so it is also called the mendicant order.”

Zhu Wenkui couldn't answer again.

Tang Saier understood this and nodded. Zhu Wenkui also quickly turned to Guo Kang and said, "You continue, I have no problem."

"I heard that after the Sima family usurped the throne, because they really couldn't find any other reason for everyone to be loyal, they brought up the most basic 'filial piety'. As a result, they did a lot of outrageous filial piety deeds. Even the people at that time The ancients all thought it was too exaggerated and couldn't stand it. It can be seen that this is no longer a solution. However, Europeans even abandon filial piety and are inferior to Sima in comparison. How can this be the right way?"

"What happened to them?" Zhu Wenkui asked curiously.

"Oh, that must be the story with the young Buddhist monk." Captain Jashka stroked his beard with a look of understanding.

"How come he knows everything?" Zhu Wenkui said in surprise.

"It means that the situation in monasteries of different religions is probably similar." Guo Kang said with a smile. "Okay, okay." Tuohuan quickly stopped them from changing the subject: "This is the situation mentioned before. No matter how noble the founder's character is and how great his goal, he can't escape the end of the people and the government. When he dies, It’s time for people to regard him as a saint while abandoning his teachings.”

"The story of St. Francis is even more ironic than this." Captain Jessica shook his head: "Maybe the level in Europe is not as good as yours... In short, while he was still alive, his organization began to split. Wait until the people are dead and the government has ceased.”

"It is said that Francis himself is a very optimistic and open-minded person. He loves nature, yearns for freedom, and always maintains a positive attitude. He believes that even the religious order itself is not necessary because we do not need to pay attention to the relationship between priests and laity. There is no need to establish a strict and formal organization. But later, as the number of followers increased, they could only register with the Pope and officially become regular. But Francis himself did not like the constraints of the rules and ran out to preach on his own."

"He went to the East and tried to preach to the Sudan of Egypt. The Sudan refused to accept it, but did not embarrass him and allowed him to return to Italy safely. However, after returning, Francis discovered that the order had split during the time he left. ”

"Although Francis set rules and asked his followers to work only with their hands and beg when necessary, many people could not bear the pain. At that time, Pope Innocent III was the most powerful religious leader in history. One of the sects. After the Franciscans became orthodox, they were directly under the jurisdiction of the Pope, which was helpful to help the Pope deal with local churches and achieve centralization of power, so they were favored by him."

"A group of monks quickly got a lot of money and built gorgeous churches. They no longer wandered and begged, but just read scriptures and studied in the church. These people were called 'hospitalists'. Others still insisted on the method. Francis' rules and insistence on living in poverty were called 'observants'. But they were ostracized by the church and became a minority."

"Francis was very dissatisfied with this, but the Hospitalists were too powerful. Everyone acted under his banner, but did not take his own opinions seriously. Even if he was still alive, it would be of no use. In anger, Francis They simply ignored the order and wanted to find a new path and lead the observant group to rebuild the order. However, the observant group paid too much attention to spiritual practice and developed mysticism. Many of them were extreme and even opposed to rationality. Aquinas’s theology also did not meet his expectations.”

"In his later years, St. Francis remained optimistic and tried his best to help the poor. But the closest 'little brothers' around him were all martyred in missionary work. The remaining two groups were not to his liking. . Finally, he himself began to pursue spiritual practice, leaving behind stories such as the Holy Mark and the Holy Son in the Cave. And these later became new miracles."

"I always feel like this one is a bit miserable..." Zhu Wenkui commented.

"It can't be said that it's tragic, after all, he has always been very optimistic. However, saints may be somewhat like this." Captain Jessica scratched his head and said: "In history, this kind of thing has happened more than once."

"Yes." Guo Kang also nodded with deep feeling.

In fact, not to mention the Hussites themselves, this was the case before.

Among the followers of Father Hus, some were mainly the upper class and wealthy citizens with a relatively moderate attitude, and were called "Holy Grail faction". Other radicals who were mainly from lower-class backgrounds were called "Taborists." As for Jeshka himself, although often regarded as one of the leaders of the Taborites, he was actually of the other side.

Jessica believed that some of the actions of the Taborites were too extreme. For example, the Taborites were keen on revenge and often killed all prisoners after the war. However, Jessica opposed this method and often restrained the soldiers and treated the captured enemies well. . As time passed, a group of close comrades gathered around him.

Later, Jessica himself died of illness in the army. These people were very sad and called themselves orphans who lost their father. Therefore, this group of people is also called the "Orphan Army" and is regarded as a separate faction. However, militarily, they still acted together with the Taborites.

After Jeshka's death, a split emerged among the Hussites. The Holy Grail faction wanted to compromise with HRE, so in turn they tried to eliminate other opponents. During the civil war, the Taborites and the Orphan Army were also wiped out. The Holy Grail sect actually lost its role and subsequently disintegrated. Their successors were an organization known as the "Bohemian Brotherhood".

A more interesting phenomenon is that in Europe, those who advocate equality, oppose private property, and advocate collective life are often those who advocate peace. There are actually very few Taborites who advocate equality and religious tolerance while training their troops every day.

As early as Jashka was still there, there were voices opposing the war within the Hussites. A priest named Herchisky publicly cursed war and advocated opposition to all means of violence.

Father Herzynski also advocates equality and opposes the current situation of disparity between rich and poor, but he believes that people should not use any coercive measures to achieve this equality. All state powers, with their various organizations, are evil and blasphemous, for it is the state that creates distinctions in status and property.

Therefore, the priest believes that a true believer should not participate in any state affairs, hold any public office, and cannot make any requests to the state, its courts, and the government. If everyone ignores the country, the goal of letting the country wither away will be achieved. Likewise, people should not take any coercive measures, even to force others to do good deeds. Because this kind of behavior is no different from the tyrannical state apparatus.

Father Herzynski, his disciple Brother Gregory and others advocated abandoning active resistance and turning to the establishment of organizations separated from the state, achieving equality within the organization, prohibiting the gap between the rich and the poor, and relying on mutual assistance to maintain a simple life. Therefore, they also opposed the way the Taborites acted, believing that they were also organizing armies, committing violence and establishing states, which was equivalent to being as bad as the nobles.

During the war, this faction had little presence. It’s not that their theories are unpopular—in fact, this line of thinking has been one of the mainstreams of European God-worshipping religions since ancient times. However, they abandoned violence, but the enemy was not willing.

Believers who advocate peace are easily persecuted and massacred by the Shinra. Even Father Herzynski himself could only persist in writing in a small town under the control of the Taborites. However, with the defeat and decline of Taborism, this sect emerged.

In the early years, they were also suppressed, but as this moderate teaching spread widely, a group of upper-class people also expressed their intention to join. According to the original rules, those who join the brotherhood must give up their property and status to maintain an equal environment for everyone, but this is unacceptable to the upper class.

To this end, the fraternity was divided. Some people advocate maintaining the previous strict rules, but more people believe that these regulations can be relaxed appropriately. In the end, the moderates won, stipulating that people could hold public office, participate in wars, and even engage in business to make profits under unavoidable circumstances. Even the responsibility to help members of the organization is no longer mandatory.

The strict people are very dissatisfied with this, but they are basically just powerless little people. Their numbers are not large and they cannot affect the overall situation. By the beginning of the 16th century, the last group of fanatical Strictists was burned to death in Prague, and the faction disappeared.

Other successors of the Hussites continued to exist until the modern Reformation era. Perhaps because they could be used as a tool against Catholicism and the Shinra Emperor, they developed well, attracted a large number of nobles to participate, and joined the anti-Catholic alliance.

However, in many respects, the Hussite successors still differed greatly from the Protestants. Most obviously, they still insist on religious tolerance. Because the early Hussites believed that the most important thing was to establish social organizations, and issues of faith were secondary. But the popular Lutheran doctrine at that time believed that it was belief, not practical activities, that could make people happy. The two sides are diametrically opposed and incompatible with each other on this issue. This is one of the reasons why many people do not regard the Hussite sect as a Protestant religion, even if the two parties did cooperate.

However, this was the only remaining influence of the Hussites. At this time, the Bohemians had completely lost the fighting power of their ancestors.

In the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, both sides invariably regarded the Bohemian soldiers as fish belly. On the battlefield, as expected, they were easily defeated by Count Tilly's Catholic army, and some soldiers began to flee without even engaging the enemy. The nobles were unwilling to pay a penny for the war until the end. After learning of the defeat, Prague immediately surrendered, even faster than the Catholic side expected.

After the war, HRE also carried out a harsh purge of Bohemia. The local nobles were executed en masse, and the property they had carefully maintained was annexed by the Shinra Emperor. The population of Bohemia was killed from 300 million to 80. After that, it became the territory of Catholicism, and the last trace of the Hussites completely disappeared.

(End of this chapter)