Chapter 502: The Exploding Indulgence
Sam Layton's war ideas are in line with those of Bruno Stuart, the Emperor of Idar.
Therefore, the siege strategy of the Idar army is actually very simple - firepower coverage! If you are rich, you can use firepower coverage, and if you are poor, you can use tactics to intersperse. The generals at all levels of the Idar army are very clear about this catchphrase that Bruno often says.
In the eyes of Emperor Idar, it was not a wise move to accumulate victory by spending lives when one was clearly ahead in weapons and equipment.
In addition, the Stone City is not far from Idar's mainland. Although it has not yet been connected by rail, the Idar people have sufficient ammunition supplies and there is no need to worry about logistics.
Therefore, Sam Layton had never actually thought of attacking the city at the cost of human lives.
What era is this?! In this era of rapid development of magic technology, how could General Idar, who keeps up with the times, retain such primitive siege methods? That is simply a step backward in history!
As an Idar general, Sam Layton knew the importance of population to the Idar Empire. Apart from other things, from factories and businesses to workshops and farms, which industry and field in the Idar Empire did not lack manpower? Moreover, for this war, the Idar Empire had already prepared a large number of military supplies and conducted countless sand table simulations. There was no need to adopt such a tragic fighting method.
In a word, boom! In many cases, human joys and sorrows are not the same.
Perhaps to the Crusader soldiers defending the city, the artillery fire from the sky and the roars coming from all directions were like the chanting and wailing of the messengers of hell, ruthlessly taking away lives in the blink of an eye.
But in the eyes of Idar soldiers, this loud and thunderous sound was like an impassioned movement, a march that inspired Idar soldiers to bravely move forward and defend their homeland! The warmth of the artillery fire melted the surrounding frost, and the huge sound awakened the sleeping beasts in the forest.
The birds flapped their wings vigorously and ran around in panic under the cover of war. Their dense gray-black figures looked like dark clouds filling the sky.
Under the command of the company and battalion commanders, the Idar soldiers worked in groups of three with clear division of labor and skillfully operated the artillery in front of them based on the experience they had gained from past exercises.
Accompanied by sharp whistles and dull roars, countless artillery fire poured down on the towering walls of Boulder City.
Even the cold wind coming from the Arctic ice fields seemed to be afraid of the rumbling artillery fire. Under the invasion of the rolling heat wave, even the cold wind that was rampant in winter could only dissipate silently outside the city wall.
The ground was shaking and the towers were wailing.
The sturdy city walls were littered with broken stones, and the towering arrow towers seemed to be crumbling under the attack of artillery fire.
Those Crusader soldiers who did not have time to find cover were almost blown away by the fierce artillery fire or burned by the spreading flames in an instant.
Since the Church of Light had already taken precautions, there were no flammable or explosive dangerous items in Boulder City.
This means that after the magic cannonballs are triggered, the explosive magic array built into them can only spark flames that explode and splash, but it is difficult to ignite the buildings in the Stone City.
But even so, the shrapnel, rubble and flames that burst out after the shells landed caused heavy losses to the Crusader soldiers in the city.
However……
This is just the beginning! Sam Layton knew very well how much the Church of Light valued Boulder City. According to intelligence obtained by the CIA, not only were tens of thousands of enemy soldiers stationed in the city, but they had also prepared sufficient food and fodder in advance.
He had to take the city as quickly as possible without causing too many casualties to his own side, so he could only rely on firepower coverage to open a gap for Idar's army.
The consumption of ammunition can be compensated by subsequent transportation, and the damaged weapons can also be produced and repaired in the arsenal in Idar, but the death of a Crusader soldier is one less! Under Sam Layton's command, rounds of artillery fire streaked across the sky, and violent explosions almost covered the entire Boulder City! The deafening roar seemed to shake the surrounding air and pierce the fragile hearts of the Crusader soldiers.
As the artillery bombardment continued, fear finally began to spread among the soldiers of the Crusader Army...
Crusaders are also human beings.
Even though most of them have their own beliefs, as long as they are human, they will have emotions of cowardice, timidity, and fear!
Not to mention how many logically consistent parts there are in the religious texts that the Church of Light keeps mentioning, the faith that people of this era have in the Church of Light is actually more of a helpless expectation.
And now...
Even though the Church of Light portrayed the world after death as extremely beautiful, it was hard for ordinary Crusaders not to have doubts in their hearts when they saw the Stone City before them becoming like a hell on earth under the attack of artillery fire.
The Idar people believe in Protestantism, which is considered heresy in the eyes of the Church of Light.
The artillery fire that poured down on the city was the fire of hell in the eyes of the soldiers.
If that is the case, then can dying at the hands of the Idar people and dying on this land really lead to the earthly paradise that the church talks about? The reason why the Crusaders have been able to take the lead in past wars is because they more or less believe that after they sacrifice themselves for the church, the earthly paradise will open its doors for them.
But faced with such a violent explosion, even the most devout believers would eventually feel fear and tremble all over.
You know, although there are tens of thousands of Crusaders stationed in Boulder City, these soldiers are not all veterans who have been through many battles.
A large part of them were able-bodied men temporarily recruited before the arrival of Idar's army.
Although when it comes to recruiting soldiers, the Crusaders flying the banner of the God of Light would not do something as embarrassing as forcibly recruiting people.
But letting a group of recruits who have never seen blood fight against the Idar army equipped with epoch-making weapons is actually no different from a joke.
As rounds of artillery fire continued to pour down, many new soldiers had the same question in their minds: How could war be like this? !
Swords, armor, arrows, round shields...
These equipments are what the vast majority of Crusader soldiers consider to be weapons, and are also the arrangements for the daily training of Crusader soldiers.
However, the fighting style of Idar's army made many Crusader soldiers confused on the spot.
Where are the people? Where are the enemies?
The Idar people were far outside the city walls, but the holy priests in the Stone City had already suffered a heavy blow.
If it weren't for the early preparations made by Caravelle Windle, the commander of the Crusader Legion, and the support of the most devout elite veterans, the defense line of Boulder City would probably have collapsed in the blink of an eye under the double attack from the ground and the sky.
…
The sounds outside the house were noisy and chaotic. With a loud bang, a cloud of dust seemed to be raised outside the window.
At this moment, Bishop Howard no longer cared about his dignity as a bishop. He hurriedly picked up a pure gold candlestick. Without even having time to look around, he aimed at a corner of the house and hurriedly hid under an inconspicuous table, not daring to make the slightest noise.
“Bang—”
The door of the room was suddenly pushed open by the crowd, and a group of ragged civilians finally rushed into this spacious mansion in the city.
The civilians who broke into the mansion were holding a variety of "weapons" in their hands, including crude farm tools such as hammers, hoes, and rakes, some of which were even covered with hardened soil.
Excited, nervous, timid, fearful, brave...
Complex and contradictory expressions can be seen in the eyes of many civilians, and it is obvious that they are struggling and worried deep in their hearts.
But……
All these complicated emotions turned into grief and anger the moment they broke into the mansion.
This is Louisburg in the southern part of the Principality of Sidon, and these intruders armed with "sharp blades" are civilians and serfs who have lived on this land for generations.
As the most important central city in the southeastern part of the Principality of Sidon, Louisbourg is home not only to a large number of businessmen and gentlemen who consider themselves upper class, but also to a large number of nobles of all sizes.
So although this spacious mansion occupies a large area from the outside, it is generally not very eye-catching in this city.
However, when these civilians actually rushed in and broke down the door of the house together, what appeared before their eyes was a luxurious scene that they had never imagined.
The pure gold candlesticks were burning with bright candles, and the thin gauze was just the most ordinary decoration.
The long oak table in the room was placed with still-warm dinner. A piece of soft white bread had just been broken open, and the suckling pig that had been roasted into a light golden color was dripping with fat and emitting a burnt aroma.
Silver goblets were filled with clear, transparent wine, and soft, fluffy, pale red velvet cushions were reclining on the Gothic high-back chairs.
The originally aggressive civilians almost all stopped in front of the door, staring in amazement at everything that appeared in the room.
Until a civilian who couldn't stand the hunger anymore pushed aside his companions in front of him, strode forward bravely, grabbed the piece of white bread that had been bitten, and stuffed it into his mouth...
The civilians present seemed to have just recovered from their shock and realized where they were now.
This is the residence of Bishop Howard, where the Cardinal of the Diocese of Louisburg lives and resides on weekdays.
but……
Is this really the residence of the poor, kind, pious and dignified Bishop Howard?
Even before this, they had heard from "Mr. Walter" about the unknown extravagance behind Bishop Howard.
But this was a completely different feeling from witnessing it with their own eyes after they barged into the mansion rashly.
In fact, the reason why these civilians stood here today was more because they were instigated by others to vent their anger and resentment towards indulgences! But the scene at this moment undoubtedly exposed the extravagance behind the church nakedly in front of the poor civilians!
In the Principality of Sidon, the church not only has conventional means of making money such as indulgences and tithes, but also levies many taxes under various names.
The lives of civilians were already difficult, and the current unstable situation made the forced distribution of indulgences even more common.
As a result, even the Sidon civilians, who had always been extremely obedient to the church, under the guidance of an Idar CIA agent who went by the alias "Mr. Walter", mobilized hundreds of believers with difficult lives to commit the "atrocity" of breaking into the bishop's residence.
Most of the civilians who broke into the mansion were accustomed to a life of hunger and starvation, so when they finally reacted, the long table in the room was suddenly surrounded by crazy civilians.
They grabbed handfuls of foods that they never even saw on normal days and stuffed their mouths full.
In addition, some civilians rummaged through the drawers and boxes in the mansion, and found countless shining gold coins and gold and silver utensils of various shapes that were fascinating. Almost every time a wooden box was smashed open by civilians with brute force, they could see countless treasures.
"Everyone, now is not the time to do this. We need the church to give us an explanation! We need to find Bishop Howard!"
finally……
Amid the noisy crowd, a loud shout finally stopped the civilians' frantic "liquidation" action.
Yes! They need an explanation! The bishops lived a luxurious life in their own mansions, but forced the increasingly expensive indulgences on all believers and Sidonians.
While the common people could only watch their families starve and gradually turn into stiff corpses in the cold winter, the bishop of the church was enjoying the suckling pig roasted over a low fire.
The strong contrast brought about an extremely unreal feeling, but everyone present knew that everything before their eyes was their most real experience!
What's even more outrageous is...
As time went on, it seemed that even the church itself had forgotten what indulgences were supposed to look like.
From the meticulous drawings at the beginning, to the shoddy production later, to the current practice of just collecting money...
The role of indulgences was changing quietly.
The significance of its continued issuance seems to have evolved from its original purpose of being a "financial instrument issued to raise funds to support the war" to being the most effective means of making money for the cardinals of various dioceses today.
The feeling of having one's faith shattered is not pleasant, especially since this is the belief and ideal that the common people of Sidon have believed in for most of their lives.
so……
When these angry civilians finally discovered Bishop Howard hiding under the table, the fate of this unfortunate bishop was actually already doomed.
…
On January 27, 540 in the new calendar, four days after the death of Bishop Howard, the reform triggered by indulgences finally broke out in the Principality of Sidon. With the instigation of the Idar people, it spread rapidly throughout the entire Principality of Sidon like a raging fire.
More importantly, as the Protestant ideas accidentally reached the ears of many Sidonian civilians, the conflict had gradually evolved from the initial "indulgence dispute" to an attack on the church and a call for change.
This is the real destruction of the foundation of the church's faith by the Idar people.
(End of this chapter)
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