Chapter 38 Jadeite Gem (9)
◎Letter from the Pope◎
Raphael held the letter from Roman, supported his head with one hand, and stared at the letter paper drowsily. The parchment had a classical yellowish hue, and the handwriting on it was crisp and clear. Unlike the rounded cursive script that aristocratic women were accustomed to using, Sangxia's handwriting had a strong masculine color, blurring all traces of gender. Just looking at the handwriting, it was impossible to confirm that it was written by a woman.
In an era when the handwriting of royal family members was carefully designed and trained, such a large "error" could not be unintentional. Raphael was sure that the handwriting that Sanxia had practiced had a unique meaning. Perhaps since she was still young, Queen Amenra had already decided to send her to the throne of the monarch.
A monarch can be a woman, but in this era where men are always respected, even a queen has to make some compromises, even if the compromise is just a seemingly insignificant font, which can dilute her feminine color, at least when communicating, people will not be repeatedly reminded that she is a woman, thus encountering some unnecessary contempt.
Raphael stared at the beautiful calligraphy, unable to tell what he felt.
Sangxia's letters were always concise and rich in content, but the language was pure, which was the type of expression that Raphael liked most. In this letter, Sangxia told him a piece of news.
——Three months ago, civil unrest broke out in Assyria.
This vast and fertile land is dominated by plains. The continuous mountains leave abundant rainfall and warm weather, and at the end there are vast permafrost swamps. The diverse climate makes the species here extremely rich. The people living on this land follow the guidance of nature that gives them everything, and believe in the gods of nature. They worship wolves, fear brave tigers, and leave the bones of wild beasts as a symbol of courage. They advocate the spirit of fearlessness and the greatness of primitive nature.
They were pagans in the eyes of the Church, but their gods endowed them with unparalleled bravery. The Assyrian infantry was an elite force known throughout the continent. Every adult man in the tribe had the agility of a monkey, the endurance of a wolf, and the courage of a tiger. They united around the tribal priests and, under the guidance of the priests, pledged their loyalty to the Assyrian monarch.
Unlike the Roman and Calais monarchies, Assyria's unique belief system made their political system more primitive. They did have a hereditary monarch, but beside the monarch were high priests and priests. These religious personnel who listened to the voice of gods had prestige comparable to that of the monarch. They controlled every aspect of the lives of the Assyrian people, and sometimes even the royal power had to retreat in front of them.
Before Amenra was born, Calais united with several countries surrounding Assyria and started a war with the rich Assyria. The war lasted for several years. Assyria was divided in the war, and the smoke and flames of war were everywhere in this land.
When Amenra grew up a little, her father, the king of Assyria at that time, proposed an alliance with Roman in order to end the war as soon as possible. His only princess became the only choice for marriage. In order to prepare for becoming the queen of Roman in the future, Amenra grew up receiving both Assyrian and Roman education since she was a girl. This made her have both Assyrian wild pride and Roman elegance and restraint.
But the marriage between Assyria and Roman did not completely bring the peace that Assyria had longed for.
Assyria was reunited under the threat of force, but this reconciliation was full of uncertainty - Kalai did not take nothing away from Assyria. The unified and complete Assyrian Empire was buried with hidden dangers by the war that lasted for more than ten years. The area bordering Assyria and other countries became a famous chaotic area, and the power of the monarchy was unprecedentedly tightened.
In the long years that followed, Amen-ra, with the help of Roman, finally managed to stabilize Assyria, took over the crown from her father, and ruled Assyria for nearly ten years - until this year when internal strife broke out again in Assyria.
Assyria is no longer the unified and peaceful country it once was. Under the influence of various chaotic factors, large and small conflicts will break out within it as soon as there is an opportunity, dragging Assyria back into the Dark Ages.
In fact, many countries are not happy to see a stable and powerful Assyria. They prefer the current chaotic Assyria in which they can intervene and profit.
Raphael knew very well that this civil strife was inevitable. Or rather... he had long known that such a civil war would break out, and that this civil strife would eventually spread to the entire Assyria, dragging this country, which had finally settled down, into the abyss of terror again, and even...
The Assyrian queen Amenra would also die in this war.
This was something that happened in his previous life, but Raphael's memory ended there, because less than two months after the death of the Assyrian queen, he died in that bloody murder.
Raphael once tried to give Sancha a warning. Of course, his expression in the letter was vague because he could not reveal the source of his information. So he only said that the faith in the Assyrian region was experiencing a turmoil. "The pagans - please forgive me for calling the majority of your people in Assyria without any emotional bias. They refuse to set foot in the territory of the Holy See, but sometimes their reactions will bring some new news. The Holy See is aware that a huge undercurrent will sweep across Assyria, and the target of the undercurrent is undoubtedly the Assyrian monarch. I wonder if your mother has noticed its coming - I hope we will not be swallowed up by this wave."
His words were tactful, implicit and highly suggestive; this was the best hint he could give. But it was obvious that the hatred and war that had lasted for so many years would not disappear just because of his vague hints; what was coming would eventually come.
Raphael pressed his brows in distress, let out a long breath, picked up the quill pen, and dipped it in the ink bottle made of hollow crystal. The ink mixed with spices had a faint fragrance, but this fragrance that could calm people down did not bring Raphael enough peace at the moment.
"... Florence is experiencing a turmoil. I'm sorry that I can't give you more advice, but I still need to remind you that history always repeats itself. The pursuit of power and wealth is the fundamental desire of human beings. The reason why all betrayals have not yet happened is that the price set by fate is not high enough. If the price is high enough, the most devout believers will betray God..."
As the master of faith in Syracuse, the Pope wrote these cruel words that were truly treasonous.
"…The Assyrian war was not just the anger of the civilians, even though this reason was dressed up as spears pointed at you. Who was standing behind them? Who provided them with weapons and ammunition? Who gave them advice? Who told them how to deploy the Assyrian army and prompted them to attack and defend? If we want to answer these questions, we must look further, not at the blood, war, chaos and slogans that are just around the corner, but at the decades of history.
A debate, negotiation, private meeting before..."
“Let your mind penetrate the barriers of time and space, follow the long-dead politicians to observe their old enemies who are also buried in the dust, and read the stories that have been played out countless times in the archives - there is never anything new under the sun. A good way to judge is to look for vested interests - this is really the best method summed up by countless predecessors with their wisdom.”
"Of course, if you do what I say, you'll find that Assyria's enemies are everywhere except Assyria."
When writing this sentence full of black humor, Raphael stopped writing and revealed a self-deprecating expression that he himself did not even notice. Wasn't this letter he wrote to Sanxia also written to himself?
After a pause, Raphael began to search his memory for something useful. Why the civil strife in Assyria happened again was actually something that did not require much exploration. As he said, every country was the driving force behind it. He was even certain that the Potias family must have secretly intervened in the dark. With the operation of many parties, the area that was originally just a mess finally brewed a storm that was enough to sweep across the entire Syracuse - this was something no one had expected.
But isn’t this the reality? No one can fully predict everything. It is precisely because it is so unpredictable and mysterious that it has the magic to be explored.
Since the cause no longer matters, the only thing that matters is the result.
"…Her Majesty the Queen may have said something similar to you, so there is no need for me to repeat the same old things. Starting a war is a very easy thing, but it is difficult to stop it."
Raphael stopped writing again. He moved his numb legs unbearably. While writing the letter, he drove away everyone in the room. His legs, which had not been adequately cared for in the Orange Blossom Church, began to clamor for their presence again. Raphael changed his posture irritably and forced himself to ignore the creaking of his bones. This was not a difficult task for him.
When he was in Cantrera Castle, the dark, damp and harsh environment was even worse than it is now. It had been less than two years since he had the surgery. When the pain was severe, he couldn't sleep all night long and even had to resort to self-harm to suppress the pain. But he finally endured it and has come to this day.
Physical torture could never bring him to his knees.
Raphael took a deep breath, refocused his attention on the parchment in front of him, dipped it in ink again, and the faint fragrance wafted out, making him feel much better.
"I guess that Assyria may need some more powerful bargaining chips, just like your grandfather facilitated the union of Assyria and Roman. Now Assyria is in need of strong foreign aid. Due to the particularity of Assyrian beliefs, Florence cannot be the queen's first choice, so your marriage may only fall into the West——"
In the west, there was a powerful empire, Calais, which had been in a three-way confrontation with the Romans and Assyrians for hundreds of years.
But Roman and Assyria have already formed an alliance through marriage, so why should Calais join this alliance? Then a country with a huge size and a vast territory that is so vast that it can inspire fear will be born in the world. Such a unified and huge empire has never appeared on the Syracuse continent. No, it did exist many years ago. That country that has fallen apart had an extremely glorious name: the Holy Roman Empire.
If Roman, Assyrian, and Calais were to unite, the newly born nation would be larger than Rome in its heyday.
This is a future that even Raphael would be terrified of.
Not to mention the other small countries that are already crumbling under the influence of the three countries. They will be extremely afraid of this future and would rather be shattered to pieces to prevent this possibility from happening.
"...I hope Her Majesty will realize the seriousness behind this matter. If Ashu and Calais start negotiating a marriage contract, then the price of you and Emperor Calais in the assassin market will be unprecedentedly high. Considering the difficulty of completing the mission, it is obviously wiser to choose you. After all, the young emperor has an uncle, the duke, who is young and strong and can marry. If you die, the queen will not have a second daughter to complete the marriage."
Moreover, as the monarch of Florence, he did not want this marriage to take place.
Before the Knights Templar grew to the extent he hoped, he did not want such a unified empire to emerge, which would be a huge pressure on Florence. In this sense, the civil strife in Assyria was not without benefits to him.
After thinking absentmindedly for a while, Raphael suddenly came back to his senses. After realizing what he had just thought, he involuntarily tightened his quill and sighed.
"Also, I have to remind you that the monarch can indeed boost morale on the front lines, but compared to the risks involved, the monarch's going to war always needs to be reconsidered. The importance of a young and strong monarch to the country surpasses everything else. I hope the queen will consider the relevant matters carefully."
He finally added this with hesitation. Queen Amenra's death was very hasty and the cause was unknown. Of course, it was also because he did not put too much energy into investigating this matter at the beginning. It is said that the queen died of injuries on the battlefield, and some said that she died of high fever caused by the injuries. In short, it was caused by war. After her death, Assyria lost the last monarch to maintain it. Needless to say, what kind of situation it would fall into.
Raphael simply showed respect for that strong, intelligent and powerful woman, hoping that she could change this too hasty and tragic fate.
"I'm sorry that I can't provide a better solution. Florence is also facing a civil strife right now. Of course, please don't worry too much. This is not a problem for me. As a friend, I hope you and your country can survive this disaster safely."
——This was of course just a beautiful expectation. Raphael placed a copper spoon filled with wax on the flame to heat it, then dripped it on the envelope and stamped it with his seal before the wax dried.
His guess was correct. In the Roman court, Amenla was considering the possibility of marriage with Calais.
The queen was wearing a tight long skirt with a strong Assyrian style. The golden skirt suddenly bloomed below the knees like a swelling rose. The woman with skin as white as honey was at the most charming age. She was beautiful, passionate, and cold. She was the most powerful and wealthy woman in Syracuse. A woman who controlled two top empires, who could not admire her? After the death of King Raff XI, even François, Duke of Calais, proposed to her. It was obvious what he was planning, and Amenla naturally rejected him.
But now, she needs to carefully consider the possibility of restarting the engagement negotiations with Calais - for the sake of her beloved only daughter.
Amenra lowered her eyes, her sapphire eyes were more beautiful than the most precious gems in the world. She was a pearl born on the vast plains of Assyria, and her long golden brown hair was more dazzling than a cheetah's fur. However, all the treasures and happiness that fate had given her would be ruthlessly taken back in the end. Perhaps this was a punishment for her, a punishment for having once had the happiness that no one else had.
"God, please forgive me and protect my poor child."
The woman who had always been as tough as stone murmured.
"I have given everything for Assyria. We have all suffered enough. Please protect my child..."
The plump red lips twitched slightly, and the lonely mother suppressed the inappropriate sadness. When she opened her eyes again, the queen who controlled the Roman and Assyrian empires was back.
The author has something to say:
Ah... I seem to be writing more and more boring... Woohoo, do you all dislike reading these? The results of this book are not very good, and I guess it won't get better in the future. How should I put it, not many people like to read Western fantasy, and I have put a large part of my energy into various struggles. It is not a Shura field in the ordinary sense, and there are not many emotional descriptions. It is inevitable that there will be few readers. I have been prepared, although I was still a little sad when I really saw the results [smile with tears]
Just write slowly, the outline has been decided, and it is impossible to change it. Every sentence about the setting introduction is not redundant. I have made a chronology of the characters' lives and carefully considered it, trying not to leave any loopholes, so the style will be like this later, and then it will go from Florence to conquering the world... [Can I tell you about this?] I will write more about Shura Field depending on the situation [I will try my best]. I am really not good at writing about emotions... Of course, if possible, I hope you can recommend this book a little without hindering others, thank you very much [humble bow]
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