amaotonovel Chapter 214 The Corsica Incident
Chapter 214 The Corsica Incident
Corsica, an archipelago controlled by the Church within the Holy Sea, has been under the rule of heroes since the victory of the saints. This group of islands, known as Corsica, consists of three small islands surrounding a large island, connected by bridges.
After the hero officially took over the island, he used the pretext of "atonement for heretics" to send those who had committed "heretic" errors in the church-controlled area to the Corsica Islands for "imprisonment".
As "imprisonment" increased, the number of "heretics" in Corsica actually grew. In churches, restaurants, and on the streets, doctrines were no longer explained by priests or churches. More and more holy books appeared on the market, and the overt and covert suppression of the local Orthodox Church further eroded its authority.
Then, one day, perhaps on a ship from Brittany, a few people dressed as clergymen disembarked and established a "new church" in the area, thus forming the so-called "Protestantism".
The biggest difference between Protestantism and Orthodoxy is that Protestantism recognizes that everyone has the right to interpret the Holy Scriptures, which is called "justification by faith." In Protestant Scriptures, the description of "the demon race is evil and the enemy of the goddess" has been removed, and replaced with "regardless of race or birth, the goddess's light shines equally on every child of the goddess."
The section on asceticism has also been significantly revised, no longer advocating asceticism in this world, but only advocating good deeds in this world.
The old holy books are called the "old books," while the new holy books are called the "new books."
Before the Balkan events, Protestantism had already taken over the spiritual world of the Corsican people. For the "imprisoned" people and the Corsicans, Protestantism and new books were undoubtedly more acceptable to the Corsicans. After all, within the framework of the new books, the relatively free atmosphere allowed local businesses to flourish.
By early March 659, before the Balkan events, the Protestant influence in Corsica had grown stronger. And nothing in the world is truly secretive. Despite the brave warriors' best efforts to guard against it, the local Orthodox Church still managed to spread the news to the church's center—the Holy City.
The angry church sent more than a dozen letters of inquiry, and the hero's reply was quite shameless—he said that his understanding of the doctrine was not deep enough, that he could not understand the difference between Protestantism and Orthodoxy, and that the locals were giving him the runaround, making it impossible for him to grasp the situation.
The Church is very wary of this situation. After all, the only things that maintain the Church's rule are doctrine and fear and hatred of the demons. The demons' actions in the Balkans and their tripartite meetings will not affect the foundation of the Church's rule. But Protestants are undoubtedly dancing a ballet on the Church's red line.
The church was not very tolerant of this kind of behavior, and the hero certainly knew this. Moreover, the matter of Corsica was never intended to be resolved peacefully.
“Father Luther…”
“I know, my child, those guys in the Holy City won’t let this go... You told me before that things in Corsica would turn out like this sooner or later, and now it seems you were right.”
“Ling, this is my assistant, Mr. Gustavo, a student at the Trian National Union University and a devout follower of the goddess.”
A boy reached out his hand to the hero, who gently kissed his hand, causing the boy to blush.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, hero."
"I heard you've received some military training?"
"My lord, it's just a small study session with the military club at Trian National University."
“Very good, we are lacking officers who have an understanding of modern warfare.”
The knights under the hero's command were all soldiers sent by the church. Although the knights had been expanding over the years and had received many military advisors secretly sent by Amelianci, their numbers were still insufficient.
Upon arriving in Corsica, the hero knew that he would inevitably clash with the church. He secretly recruited more and more militia members, initially under the guise of a patrol force, then forming a coast guard, and subsequently a modern paramilitary force.
These military forces all operate under the name of the Knights Order, using the title of "auxiliary knights," but a glance at their organizational structure reveals that they are purely military units.
The population of Corsica is small and not too large. It is concentrated in its main city, Corsica City, a coastal port city that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Outside the city, in the highlands in the center of the island, there are several training grounds and military camps.
The Corsican militia numbered about 5,000 men in three brigades, all equipped with Amerinsia munitions, mostly Martini-Henry rifles provided as aid or purchased. There were also factories on the island that specialized in repairing and manufacturing these rifles, with all the raw materials sourced from Brittany.
Several Dahlgren cannons were also installed on the fortress. These cannons were not enough to deal with the Amerlansie fleet, but they were sufficient to deal with the Church's newest steam warship, the Holy Light. In key locations, there were also Gatling guns exported by Amerlansie.
In terms of naval strength, the Corsica Coast Guard has five Amelanian export-type single-masted triangular sail patrol boats, each around 100 tons, as well as three decommissioned Type 90 gunboats, all provided by Amelanian.
It can be said that, given the Church's current strength, it cannot actually overwhelm the Corsica Islands. After all, although the Church is promoting industrialization, various factors within its borders greatly limit the progress of industrialization.
The public was skeptical of industrialization, with many saying it was a devil's trap and others viewing the steam engine as a machine of hell. They believed that without the saints' efforts, the church would not have been able to establish an industrial zone.
That night, Bai Ling sat in his office, the kerosene lamp illuminating the room. He was calculating what he needed, the only sound the scratching of his pen on the paper. Then, a sound of footsteps interrupted him.
He turned his head, and a knight from the Knights of the Order of the Knights walked in. His attire showed no trace of knighthood; he looked more like an officer, dressed in an Amerindian military uniform.
"Hero... New information—the Balkans are about to come to an end."
“Our demon allies have sent a message—they tell us they have the capability to carry out covert operations against the Church’s navy, and that we can start our uprising.”
"What about those other people? Haven't you tried to persuade them to change their stance yet?"
He lowered his head, put down his pen, and the pen tip left ink marks on the paper. He pondered what to do.
"Of course not, my lord. In fact, the Inquisition has arrived; they're right there at the cathedral."
Bai Ling looked up and realized that there was not only one knight, but also a Protestant priest, and even Lilith was in front of him.
"Hero, let's do it! It'll be too late if we wait any longer!"