Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 627 It’s not unpleasant for me to check the accounts!

After entering the city, the procedures were similar to before. However, this place is too poor, and the locals spent a lot of effort to prepare some common meals, which are far inferior to the luxurious banquets in Damascus. However, Tuohuan said that such things are all about the feelings, so there is no need to worry about it.

At the banquet, he also said that he understood the difficulties everyone was facing. According to the tradition since the founding of the country, where the army passed through, taxes would be reduced or exempted to relieve local pressure. And wherever he went, if someone entertained him, he would return the gift to repay the host's friendship. Here, it would be no exception.

After dinner, he took everyone to the Jewish ghetto.

The environment here is very dilapidated, with various mud brick houses and wooden sheds connected to each other to form residential areas. The roads between the areas are also in disrepair and full of potholes. On both sides of the road, there are residents with pale faces and tattered clothes. Some people hide in the house timidly, watching the legionnaires marching by carefully. Others are literally lying flat, even if there is noisy noise around them, they are still basking in the sun and staring blankly, looking completely numb.

The scene here seemed to be no different from the city of Tianxiong's era that Guo Kang had seen in the picture. However, in the center of the community, there were several tall and gorgeous contemporary buildings, which were obviously in the latest popular style. According to the elders, that area was the Jewish temple and the Chamber of Commerce venue, as well as the residences of priests and merchants.

"I heard that the last time the old uncle sent people to investigate here, the city was full of broken walls and ruins. Even the iconic religious buildings were not well maintained. Those damaged in the war had not been repaired for decades. Residents and pilgrims lived in shacks, and few people had complete houses." Tuohuan thought about it and asked everyone, "I don't think these places have no money. It's only been ten years, how did they save up the money?"

Others were also very curious. After all, Uncle Timur was an economic expert and well-known for his financial management. Wherever there was money, even if the locals themselves couldn't figure it out, he could accurately grasp the target and find out. If the Jews were really rich, it shouldn't be possible to hide it from the old uncle, right?

"At that time, everyone really had no money." Father Andreas of the local Orthodox Church explained to everyone: "At that time, at least four or five forces were fighting each other nearby. Although the old uncle did not come, the Mamluks stationed in the north withdrew after being defeated. For more than a year, no one cared about this place. All kinds of disorderly soldiers, as well as the Turkmen and Kurdish tribes in the mountains in the north, came out to rob."

"Everyone in the city who had a little money fled. Only the clergymen and the poor who had nowhere else to go were left here, barely surviving. Fortunately, the old uncle took action again soon and hired all the tribal soldiers here, saying that he wanted to continue the holy war. We were able to hold off the remaining small gangs, so most of them survived."

"What about this money..." Tuohuan asked.

"They already had money," said Nasir, an elder of the Muslim sect. "These people were not locals at the time. They moved here later."

"Is that so?" Tuohuan was a little surprised.

"Yes, I am also a local. I followed my teacher here to learn the meaning of the scriptures when I was a child." Elder Nasir said firmly: "I know all the elderly people in the Jewish community. The rabbis in their temple are also old acquaintances, not just the current batch. The residents who have lived here for a long time all know about this matter, and they can't hide it even if they want to lie."

"Later, the Romans took over Syria and Jerusalem became stable. After the roads here were restored, pilgrims began to arrive again, and everyone's life became better. The richest group of Jews also came at this time - they had money, so they could start building large-scale buildings right away, hiring craftsmen from Damascus to build those buildings."

"So you just arrived at this time. What about your old acquaintance? Why don't you ask him to come out and maintain the situation?" Tuohuan continued to ask.

"They are all gone," Elder Nasir replied. "The new Jews are very rich and well connected, and have interests with nearby forces. I think they came here after making arrangements with all parties. So it wasn't long before our city's tax revenue, as well as the income from hotels and city entry taxes, was monopolized by them."

"Many of them claimed to be religious people, or brought their own rabbis with them. Although I am not a Jewish priest, I have come to know a little about them after years of contact, and I always feel that these people are very strange. But there are many of them, and they brought a lot of servants and thugs when they first moved in, and they also knew the tax collectors sent by the emir, so no one dared to offend them. The local rabbis were either threatened or bribed by them to serve them, or they were harassed or even beaten by them and forced to move away. Later, these people rebuilt the temple in the community and took the opportunity to replace all the priests with their own people. Even the rabbis who relied on them were too lazy to spend money to support them, so they were all dismissed and driven away. So now, there is no one else to take care of things."

"Why do ordinary Jews have to listen to them?" Tuo Huan asked curiously, "Why don't we just not play with you?"

“The definition of Jews is different,” said Elder Asen of the Armenian Congregation. “Unlike other ethnic groups, they are not distinguished by ancestry or blood, but by community.”

"Only those who voluntarily or by force stayed in the community and obeyed these new rabbis were considered Jews. If they did not listen to them, they would be expelled and no longer considered Jews. Therefore, it was not that all ordinary Jews listened to them, but only those who listened to them were considered Jews. Therefore, the Jews in the city now naturally accepted their rule."

“Why does it sound like a tongue twister…” Tuohuan seemed to have not expected this situation and was a little surprised for a moment.

"That's roughly the situation." Elder Asen didn't know how to explain it more accurately, so he gave an example: "In fact, there were some Jews in my area who couldn't stand their control and came here to seek refuge. They didn't say they wanted to convert, they just came here to seek refuge with their friends. I didn't want to persuade them to convert because no one dared to offend the Jewish masters - but before we could react, the Jewish community refused to recognize them as Jews and divided up their cabins."

"Hey, I have some too." Elder Nasir echoed, "Everyone actually knows about it. It's just that before, no one dared to say it out loud."

"Yes, yes." The others agreed.

Seeing their reactions like this, Tuo Huan thought for a moment and said, "Then forget about it, let's go in and take a look."

They walked all the way to the community. According to the locals, the Jewish community was usually strictly managed, and outsiders were not allowed to enter or leave at will, not even the tax collectors appointed by the Emir. But now all the leaders here have fled, the community is in chaos, and no one is here to take care of these things - not to mention that he has two legions behind him.

When they arrived at the square in the core area, Tuohuan told everyone that since they were already here, they should go to their temple and worship the gods. Everyone agreed.

Lama Wang had already arranged for his men to wait for him to complete the formalities. After he gave these instructions, they brought the cattle, sheep, and pigs that had been prepared and prepared to go to the temple for sacrifice. The elders looked at each other, as if they felt something was wrong. However, no one wanted to step out and spoil his mood. Besides, the Jewish priests were not there, and now it seemed that no one would take care of it, so they simply kept silent.

Tuohuan didn't pay much attention to these things. He took the lead and led everyone towards the tallest and most magnificent building.

"Wait, Taiji, it's not over there." The elders shouted hurriedly.

"Ah?" Tuohuan was stunned again.

"The church is over there." The guide in charge of welcoming guests quickly pointed to the other side, where there was an ordinary-looking house.

"Then what's over here?" Tuohuan pointed to the luxurious building.

"That's the guild hall and garden of the loan sharks." The guide replied, "Those tax farmers lived here when they came to Jerusalem." "No, this..." Tuohuan couldn't help but complain, "We just talked about religious communities for a long time. I thought they had a strong religious atmosphere here. But it turns out that their houses are bigger and better than the house where God lives."

"Oh, you don't understand. This is the temple..." The guide pointed to the plain-looking temple, then turned and pointed to the largest building: "That's the house where their god lives."

"Uh--"

"Stop talking, stop talking..." The elders hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over. They no longer mentioned the issue of sacrifice and hurriedly brought Tuohuan, the guests, and the pigs, cows, and sheep to the front of the church.

Although the leaders were not there, the locals hurriedly organized hundreds of Jews to stand at the entrance of the church to welcome them. Although the welcomers did not look very well, they still weakly insisted on shouting slogans under the gaze of the legionnaires.

Under their welcoming line, Tuohuan first expressed his thoughts, saying that all religions believe in the same God. Judaism and our God Worshipping Society are also good neighbors, so there is no need to be polite. Then, Da Lama Wang called his men and held a sacrificial ceremony, calculating the completion of the process.

After the ceremony, Tuohuan took the opportunity to announce to the crowd: "I heard along the way that you all owed a lot of money to these loan sharks. At the previous banquet, I promised to give you a return gift. Now, I know what you want."

"Since these people have abandoned the duties entrusted to them by other citizens, they have no right to claim power. According to the provisions of Roman law, I reiterate the orders issued by the late emperor in the past. I can turn a blind eye to others, but these people who endanger the lives of citizens must be expelled. All the debts they have obtained here are invalid."

After he finished speaking, everyone around him was stunned, as if they had not expected such behavior at all.

Tuohuan, Wang Da Lama, Guo Kang and others in the team were also a little surprised. They wondered why these people were so slow to react. Isn't this a good thing? Why did they look so ignorant?

Tuo Huan could only continue, "I heard that the lenders took all the accounts away. But don't worry, I said they are invalid, even if they have them in their hands, they are invalid. If they dare to come back and take those things to collect the debt, tell them what I said, tell them that Rome supports you, and let them think about what to do."

At this time, a sturdy middle-aged man in the team suddenly stepped forward and shouted, "Taiji! Their bonds must still be here!"

"Oh?"

"That's Sir John, the Grand Steward of the Knights Templar." Da Lama Wang quickly reminded him, "He was the one who came with us on the expedition and the one who negotiated with our church before."

"You say." Seeing this, Tuohuan nodded.

"It's impossible for them to take all the bond records and the like with them," Sir John said firmly. "Records of loan and rent collection on this scale are not considered 'treasury'. No matter how fast the Jews run, they can't take all these things with them. They usually keep them in their homes, and when they run away, they should only take some of the confidential account books with them. Most of the materials must still be here. Moreover, according to Jewish custom, they should be hidden in this church."

"Ah?" Tuo Huan didn't know how many accidents he had encountered today: "You know so much?"

"Of course, we know the Jews," Sir John assured him. "We have dealt with them a lot."

"Don't talk nonsense." Grand Master Roberto of the Knights Hospitaller quickly advised.

"Don't worry. Are they the only ones who know how to lend money?" Sir John continued, "If you lend me some hands, I can definitely find it for you in half an hour at most."

Tuohuan thought about it and felt that it would not hurt to give it a try, so he nodded and asked a hundred-man team of soldiers to follow them to search.

Seeing the legionnaires rushing into the church in groups, the Jews who were already somewhat dissatisfied began to shout. However, the guards were prepared. They untied the ropes, took out the bundles of sticks, and raised their hands to hit them. The Jews were so scared that they quickly squatted down with their heads in their hands, not daring to make a sound.

However, in just such a short time, the other community residents who were brought in by the elders to show their support seemed to think that a fight had really broken out, so they rolled up their sleeves and started beating up the Jews next to them. For a while, no matter if they were Christians, Muslims, or Armenians, they all rushed to do street fitness. Tuohuan and others hurriedly shouted, asking everyone to pay attention to their image and stop fighting, but unfortunately, everyone looked so bitter and resentful that no one listened.

Although the Jews had the advantage of being at home and outnumbered, they were still beaten black and blue by the united believers of various religions. The legionnaires standing guard outside had to squeeze in again and spent a lot of effort to separate the two sides.

As the incident happened suddenly, even Guo Kang, Li Xuanying and others rushed to fight. Only the responsible Varyag guards were still guarding important figures such as Tuohuan, Wang Da Lama and Theodora. After the fight was finally over, everyone disbanded the formation and found that there were fewer people on the elders' side. Even Father Andreas and Elder Nasir were missing. After a while, they came back one after another.

"Why are you running around?" Tuohuan said speechlessly.

“No, no—I lost my composure.” Father Andreas’ eyes were all dark, but he still looked energetic and looked much better: “I just couldn’t help it…”

"You enjoyed the fight, didn't you?"

However, Tuohuan did not have time to investigate. When they heard the noise, Sir John and others in the temple were about to rush out to join in the fun, but they were blocked by him. At this moment, they really found their target and began to carry out those large boxes, which looked not light at all.

After moving out, Tuohuan thought for a while and asked everyone to pour all the bonds inside against the wall of the temple. He said to everyone: "Okay, now that it's such a mess, this is all I can do." After that, he asked people to light a fire and burn all the bonds.

The people here seemed to have never seen such a scene before. They didn't expect him to do it for real. They were all amazed. The Jews who were beaten just now became even more crazy. They jumped up one by one, ran to the wall, spoke incomprehensible words, and cried loudly. Tuohuan and others didn't understand what was going on, so they had to end their trip here and take the excited people to visit other places first.

(End of this chapter)