Chapter 196: Stormy Wind
"The Black King Jeffrey..."
In the dim room, Ed, who was sitting in a corner, couldn't help but frown after hearing John's words. After thinking for a while, he responded.
"If I remember correctly, in the secular history of Geoffrey, he should be the leader of the rebellious kings. He fought against the ancestor of the current royal family, the father of Edward III the Builder, the 'Legitimate Successor' Baldric in the Wind King Rebellion, and was eventually defeated..."
"Yes... According to the surface history, it is true. However, Baldrick's real history does not show that he is the legitimate successor. If we calculate it according to the legal order at that time, his legitimacy is not as good as Jeffrey's." Listening to Ed's words, John, who was sitting on the bed, continued to speak slowly. After hearing what John said, Ed's expression showed a hint of surprise, and then he spoke.
"Is Baldrick less legitimate than Geoffrey?"
"That's right. In the royal lineage of Despenser, neither Baldrick nor Geoffrey are from the main branch. It's just that Geoffrey is closer to the main branch. If it weren't for the interference of the church, he should have been the one to be crowned king."
John said this, then he slowly looked up at the ceiling, and while thinking, he began to tell the history he knew.
"The origin of the Wind King Rebellion came from the Sorrowful Wind Incident. At that time, in the capital of Pritt, Salfoston, the 'Mad King' Wolsiof committed suicide without any warning after being troubled by his own madness for many days. The throne of Pritt was vacant. His first son received the news of Ralph's death and rushed back to Salfoston overnight.
"They should have jointly nominated the eldest prince Howard as king according to the law. However, at the coronation ceremony, Howard was poisoned to death by a cup of poisoned wine. The other four princes accused each other of poisoning Howard. Eventually, their conflicts intensified and they led their own people to attack and kill each other. After three days of fierce fighting, the flames of war completely destroyed the Royal City of Salfoston. In the end, all four princes died together. No one was spared. The Howling Lance Dynasty was extinct, and the orthodox main branch of Despenser at that time was extinct."
Looking at the ceiling, John muttered as he recalled the research he had mentioned. Listening to John's words, Ed couldn't help but touch his chin silently, and then answered slowly after thinking for a while.
"If I remember correctly, the secular history records that Volsiof died in a hunting accident... His several sons inherited the throne in order, but they all died young, eventually resulting in the extinction of the family line. I didn't expect the situation in the secret history to be like this... Volsiof actually died of madness..."
"Yes... it was madness. It is said that Volsio was tortured by madness for seven days. He was confused and unconscious every day. His sudden suicide was the fuse of the entire Aifeng Change, and the Aifeng Change was also the beginning of the later Fengwang Rebellion." John continued, then he turned his gaze back to Ed, and then continued.
"After the Wind of Sorrow, the city of Plit was destroyed, the throne was vacant, and the main heirs were all dead. The lords from all over the country, especially those with Despenser blood, became active at this moment, and they all wanted to take the throne. However, they did not fight immediately at the beginning, but first held a Stone Table Conference, trying to elect a king through discussion. However, none of them could completely convince the public, so the key factor in deciding the king fell on Plit's largest external force, the church.
"Since the Stone Table Conference did not allow the lords of Prit to reach a consensus, the church began to have a say in this matter. Although the church in Japan has a considerable influence in Prit, it has not yet reached the level of influencing the king's decision. However, this time, the church saw an opportunity and actively expanded its influence to interfere in this matter.
"Finally, at the second Stone Table Meeting, when the lords of Prit still could not reach a consensus on electing their king, Archbishop Nestor, who had remained neutral until then, announced that the Lord in Heaven had made a decision to make Lord Baldrick Briona, Lord of the Segovia, the new King of Prit. This announcement shocked the lords present and caused widespread dissatisfaction.
"Before this, although the church had a great influence on Prit, there was no case of the church interfering in such an important matter as the succession to the throne. Although Baldrick, who was appointed by the church, was also a great lord, he was not the highest among the lords in terms of overall strength and inheritance legality. His advantage over other lords was that the church had the greatest influence in his territory, the highest level of Glory education, and was most favored by Saint Linshan. At that time, many areas in Prit where Glory education was not high had a certain degree of rejection of the church.
"The second Stone Table Conference not only failed to resolve the conflicts between the parties, but instead intensified them. Almost half of the lords at the meeting refused to recognize the so-called "oracle" issued by Archbishop Nestor, claiming that the Three Saints were the Three Saints and Pritt was Pritt. Then they left the meeting in anger, making the conference a complete failure.
"After returning to his territory, Baldrick accepted the coronation of Archbishop Nestorre and declared himself the protector of the entire Pritt and the only king with the grace of the Three Saints. His actions stimulated those lords who did not recognize him. These lords proclaimed themselves kings of their own territories and fought against Baldrick together. They were called the Wind Kings in history, and the Wind King Rebellion broke out completely."
John continued to speak slowly, describing the secret history he was studying in a calm tone, and Ed, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but talk while touching his chin.
"So... it was the church's intervention that led to the outbreak of the war?"
"No... I think the intervention of the church was just a catalyst that accelerated the outbreak of the war. The contradictions between the lords at that time were essentially difficult to reconcile, and war was inevitable. Although the intervention of the church was not the main cause of the war, it did change the nature of the war."
John responded and then he took a short break and continued his story after a short pause.
"In the early days of the Wind King Rebellion, the various lords fought on their own, but none of them were a match for Baldrick, who had the support of the church. Baldrick won victory after victory on the battlefield, while the lords who opposed him suffered defeat after defeat. Under such circumstances, the most powerful of these lords, Jeffrey Eller, stood up.
"Jeffrey is the one who is closest to the main branch of the clan among these collateral lords, and he has great prestige and powerful strength. When Baldrick defeated the lords who opposed him one after another, Jeffrey stepped forward and united the isolated wind and chaos kings of the clan with his extraordinary external skills, forming a common alliance. They coordinated and cooperated with each other, and finally barely resisted Baldrick's offensive. Jeffrey became the leader of the wind and chaos kings. As the war continued, Jeffrey used various means to integrate the alliance in his hands step by step, and finally reached the point where the other wind and chaos kings gave up their titles on their own and honored Jeffrey as the only King of Prit in the name of vassal. King Jeffrey ruled half of Prit's land.
"In order to gain more support to defeat Baldrick, to resist the religious pressure from Mount Saint, and to further enhance the identity and legality of his own forces, Jeffrey announced the abolition of the Glowing Religion in his territory, and actively excavated the native beliefs of Plit that were gradually forgotten due to the invasion of the Glowing Religion culture. They found the lost ancient scriptures from the relics of the past, and worshipped a god who once dominated Plit in the distant past, and respected her as the Queen of the Night Sky. They used the Queen of the Night Sky and her four knights as symbols, and founded a religion that worshipped the moon and the night. Therefore, Jeffrey was called the Black Worship King."
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