Chapter 468 Duke Idar's Cultural Strategy
Yes,
In Bruno's eyes, there are actually two things about the Church of Light that are most frightening.
One is the power hidden behind it.
The secrets in the Augure Desert and the whereabouts and function of the god's corpse are all issues that the Principality of Idar must pay attention to and face.
The other one is also the one that is most easily overlooked.
It is the foundation of faith that the Church of Light has accumulated bit by bit during this long period of time.
Bruno knew very well that
The Idar people can conquer vast lands with their guns and cannons.
However, if the local people's mindsets cannot be changed and they cannot develop a national identity similar to that of the Idar people, then the label that the Principality of Idar will bear will not be a liberator or a savior, but an invader.
so……
After a conversation that lasted several hours with Sarah Coren, Bruno did not hesitate to hand over all matters related to the formation of the armored brigade to the Idar Ministry of Defense.
At this moment, there is another more important thing waiting for Bruno to do personally...
…
In any sense, the existence of the Church of Light in this land is longer than the history of the Norman Empire.
And for the vast majority of civilians living on this land...
Even from the moment they understood the truth and knew the warmth and coldness of the world, the Church of Light had become an ever-present presence in their lives.
No one knows when it started, but with the painstaking efforts of the Church of Light, churches affiliated to the Church of Light have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain in most parts of this continent.
then……
The name of the Church of Light and the teachings it preached gradually began to spread by word of mouth among countless civilians.
Maybe some people don't believe everything the church preaches, but they won't have too much resistance to the church's teachings. After all...
What the Church of Light depicts to the common people is an extremely beautiful afterlife.
After they had experienced all the hardships of this life and endured the oppression of the nobles...
Only the common people who have redeemed their sins will have the chance to enter the heavenly kingdom created by the God of Light after their death.
There...
Civilians will have dignity, happiness, and hope! It is precisely with this set of rhetoric that the expansion of the Church of Light in this land has been smooth sailing over the years .
The nobles needed the comfort of the Church of Light so that the common people would be obedient; the common people also needed the hope, whether true or false, given by the Church of Light so that they could get some expectation and comfort in their poor and difficult lives.
Until the Church of Light intervened in this war...
The church has always been presented to the vast majority of people as a harmless little white rabbit.
Even after the Church of Light intervened in the internal conflict of the empire for no reason and supported Pitzman as emperor...
The reputation, followers, and influence accumulated by the church over the years still provide it with indispensable assistance, enabling it to gain the support of a large number of ordinary people.
Although in the eyes of some commoners, many promises made by the church have never been fulfilled, but... the nobles would never make such promises at all!!
Although Bruno knew clearly that the church was also corrupt and greedy, the common people did not know this, nor did they see this!! They did not know that in the eastern part of the continent not far away, the Principality of Idar was thriving, and the lives of the common people had also undergone earth-shaking changes.
Even if you know...
In the hearts of ordinary people, the Church of Light may not be unable to do that.
There is no doubt that
Relying on the glorious image it has built over the years, the intervention of the Church of Light has brought hope to the common people.
therefore,
Countless civilians remained silent during Rez's call, silently praying for the victory and arrival of the Crusaders and the Church of Light.
Culture, faith.
These factors, which are not noticeable on a daily basis, provide countless conveniences for the actions of the Church of Light, but also bring great obstacles to Bruno's current steps.
indeed,
In the original Principality of Idar, the Protestant missionary work led to the rapid removal of the influence of the Church of Light.
But……
When the Kingdom of Basel came under the rule of the House of Stuart and was divided into several provinces...
Bruno had to face a very serious problem.
That is...
What should be done with the believers of the Church of Light who originally lived on this land?
You know, unlike the Idar Principality before its expansion, in the many provinces south of Idar, the followers of the Church of Light account for more than 30% of the total population! And this also means...
At this moment, the number of believers of the Church of Light in the Principality of Idar has reached hundreds of thousands!
Even though Bruno firmly believed that the faith of these civilians in the Church of Light would fade away with the passage of time, but... what about before that?
The Stuart family is the guardian of the Protestant faith, but the teachings of Protestantism are completely contrary to the teachings of the Church of Light.
If Bruno does not provide correct guidance, this will undoubtedly become an extremely serious internal hidden danger faced by the Principality of Idar!
after all……
It would take time for the indulgence to explode, the church's plundering in the interior of the empire had not yet reached its peak, and the civilians' disappointment with the church would also take time to settle before it reached the level Bruno expected.
Faith and culture...
Sometimes, these things are hard to explain.
When it comes to deploying the army, Bruno can rely on the advice of many Idar generals and officials, but when it comes to faith and culture... he has to be much more cautious.
As a time traveler from Earth, Bruno is well aware of the impact that faith can have on people, and also knows the changes that culture can bring to social trends.
so……
In order to make the provinces of Basel and Goethe get rid of the shadow of the Church of Light as soon as possible, Bruno really spent a lot of money this time! Universal nine-year compulsory education? Sorry,
Bruno couldn't do it.
He still has some self-awareness.
On the one hand, the huge labor gap makes it impossible for the Principality of Idar to send countless young and middle-aged workers to school.
On the other hand, the external threat posed by the Church of Light also did not allow Bruno to devote most of his energy to the management of the territory.
but……
The failure to popularize nine-year compulsory education does not mean giving up!
As an outstanding young man of the new era, Bruno would never sit idly by and watch his subjects continue to have a low level of cultural literacy in prenatal education.
Because to him, the cultural level of prenatal education per capita undoubtedly meant his failure in governing the Principality of Idar!
so……
Reading aloud! Spelling! Perhaps we cannot popularize the nine-year compulsory education now, but the Principality of Idar has the conditions and ability to popularize spelling and reading aloud!
Just like he did in the city of Idar before, he will require all children of school age to go to community schools to learn spelling and reading, so that these children of civilian origin can read newspapers and understand how to think.
In Bruno's view, only by allowing them to learn more about the world and be exposed to more things than before, can the common people have the possibility of getting rid of ignorance and learn to think and explain problems.
In this way, Bruno can not only curb the spread of the power of the Church of Light from the source, but also cultivate a sufficient number of reserve talents for the future Principality of Idar! What to read aloud and what to spell, there is actually a lot of room for maneuver.
It is much easier to make these young civilian children agree with the ideals of the Principality of Idar and support the rule of the Stuart family during the learning process than to wait until they become adults to teach them.
But……
Having said that,
If it were just this,
Then the Idar Government Office, which is already familiar with the matter, can fully handle this task. There is no need for Bruno to free up his hands to deal with these matters, and there is no need to do so.
Yes,
What Bruno has to do is far more than simply replicating the scene that once took place in Idar.
Indeed,
Popularizing reading aloud and spelling is certainly a good thing, and children's thinking can indeed be cultivated slowly, but...
All this takes time!
Far water cannot quench near thirst. Bruno is worried about the present! What he is most worried about are those adults, those adult believers who have great respect for the instructions of the Church of Light, those fanatical believers of the Church of Light who are mixed in the crowd!
Will they... pose a threat to my rule over this land? Will they do anything out of the ordinary?
Bruno's worries are not without reason.
Because the church's hostility towards the Principality of Idar has been going on for more than just a day or two.
Ever since the Protestantism was born in this land in the eastern part of the empire, the Church of Light has hated Bruno to the core!
First there was Mike's deception, then Will Roche's betrayal, and then Bishop Olson's capture...
The Principality of Idar seems to be incompatible with the Church of Light, which is thousands of miles away, and every move will lead to contradictions and conflicts.
not to mention……
Even the Cardinal and the Church of Light didn't know how much Bruno knew about the church's secrets! Just as Bruno had been sending people to find out the news from the Church of Light, the Church of Light was also trying to find out everything that happened in the Principality of Idar.
Because he was not sure what secrets were hidden behind the Principality of Idar, which had risen quietly in the blink of an eye.
Now, Bruno has only one goal, which is to do his best to nip the internal hidden dangers in the bud!
Bruno prepared two options.
Placed in the open,
Naturally, it was the Principality of Idar’s expert in “missionary cleansing”—Bishop Mike, who was loyal to Bruno.
Mike's brainwashing ability is definitely the best in the Principality of Idar, and he is a talent who is highly trusted by Bruno.
But preaching and cleansing the ground takes time after all, so...
In the meantime, Bruno has prepared some other new things.
Aristotle once said that only magic can defeat magic.
Similarly,
Only by spreading new culture and beliefs can the dregs of the Church of Light be eliminated soon.
In other words, it is to feed the believers and civilians who have a good impression of the Church of Light with spiritual food, so that they can fully realize...
Compared to the Principality of Idar, compared to Protestantism, what kind of scum is the real Church of Light! This doesn't sound easy, but...
What can I say? For a time traveler like Bruno, what he lacks the least is a sufficient amount of "spiritual food"! In the previous life, humans on Earth spent thousands of years creating countless popular literary and artistic works.
Just picking a few of them would be enough to make the bumpkins in this world stare blankly in the face.
However, considering the shocking per capita cultural level in places like Basel Province...
After careful consideration, Bruno finally assigned an extremely important task to the painters of the Principality of Idar.
draw!
Draw comic strips!
Today, the Principality of Idar has newspapers and magazines.
The Idar Daily brings the latest news from all over the Principality of Idar to the people living on this land.
The monthly issue of "Football World" provides Idar people with fresh topics to talk about after dinner.
But this is not enough! Before that,
The Principality of Idar's propaganda towards the former territories of the Kingdom of Basel, such as the Goethe Province and the Basel Province, mainly focused on criticizing the abuse of power and corruption of the Basel royal family.
Now, as people gradually accept the fall of the Basel royal family, it is time to change the focus of the Principality of Idar's propaganda! The comic strips Bruno requested were of course not just drawings, nor were they just for entertainment, but were based on very realistic considerations.
first,
Not many people in Basel who live in this land can spell, but many can speak with pictures.
The easy-to-understand form of comic strips has undoubtedly greatly lowered the threshold for reading.
As long as there is nothing wrong with your brain, you can generally understand the meaning.
At Bruno's request, the content of these comic strips naturally centered on criticizing the selfishness, corruption and sinisterness of the Church of Light.
Just like some fairy tales in the previous life,
At first glance, it seems to be depicting a beautiful picture of harmony between man and nature, but if you look closely, you can appreciate the deeper meaning.
The same is true of these comic strips that were ordered by Bruno and will be distributed on a large scale throughout the Principality of Idar.
When I first saw it,
Just a fascinating story.
However……
As the plot continues to develop, the ugliness of the church will be revealed to readers involuntarily.
There is no picture in the comic strip cursing the church, but the hypocrisy of the church is hidden in the story, which is the deepest meaning that makes people suddenly shocked.
(End of this chapter)
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