Guo Kang has always felt that Lama Wang’s eloquence is actually very good. Although his cultural level is average and he is somewhat disadvantaged, he can talk to people of all identities. This is also a rare quality.
Sure enough, the two Father Ross's attitudes relaxed somewhat. And Father Marco, who was familiar with knowledge, also struck while the iron was hot.
"Both of you are elders with strong faith, and everyone praises your virtue. We believe that it is precisely because the church has to establish contact with secular power that it needs two such poor and pure people to correct us mortals who may be tempted at any time. Mistakes are made to keep the church on the right path.”
"Regarding this issue, our monks there actually have a lot of discussions." Father Andre said: "Some brothers believe that if it comes into contact with secular power, the corruption of the order is inevitable. Therefore, we should try our best to maintain In a simple life, they usually establish small mutual aid organizations based on their equal status as monks to meet the most basic needs for safety and survival. The so-called leaders and elders should only be the most respected in practice in the order. People. In this way, we can keep our original intention of practice from being contaminated by the world."
"Later, Father Mikhail and I traveled around on pilgrimages and found that even the Roman Catholic Church had similar ideas." He told Guo Kang and others: "Everyone feels that it is not a good idea to get entangled with secular power. Good thing."
"However, Father Marco also has different views, so we can't get a clear answer now."
"Where is the point of disagreement?" Pronsky asked.
"Oh, to put it simply, there are opposite views on the reasons for the problems in the church. Some monks think that the church is too close to secular power and the organization is too complicated; while others think on the contrary, that the church's organization is too simple and primitive. That’s why these problems arise,” Father Marco said.
"The former are the monks that Brother Andre said, and the latter is the current thinking of the church." He introduced: "We believe that both Orthodox and Catholic churches have established organizations, but these organizations are still too simple."
"Originally, everyone's vision was limited, so doubts were inevitable. But in the past hundred years, we have seen Eastern-style imperial courts, and everyone's horizons have been opened. Obviously, whether we are secular or religious organizations, we are faced with many challenges. It’s the same problem – it obviously has nothing to do with whether it’s secular or not. It’s simply because the organization is too backward.”
Father Andre also nodded, seeming to agree with this point of view.
"We believe that as long as monks gather together, even if it is to practice and study together, exchange insights, and establish an organization, it is essential. So this is not an option that can be avoided, but a problem that must be solved." Father Marco said :
"Similarly, it should not be difficult for us to find that any political power throughout the ages has required religious explanations to maintain it. It's just that everyone has adopted different ways of belief. And a good belief can also greatly promote the development of political power. .”
"On the other hand, if you want to make the religious organization sound and reduce the occurrence of corruption, you need a complete mechanism, and this mechanism requires more participants to join. Only a powerful secular regime can protect and maintain it. "
"Everyone can also see that, whether it is here or in Western Europe, the most damaging thing to the church is often not the church itself, but the wanton destruction of church rules by the barbarian tribal leaders since the decline of Rome. In the West, bishops Even the seat of the Pope can be traded, and some clerical positions can even be sold publicly. No matter how holy the original intention of the church is, they cannot stop them from interfering and destroying it!"
"Moreover, this is not something we can escape by hiding in a remote place. On the contrary, if those who insist on faith do not stand up, these people will become even more unscrupulous. Unless we only care about ourselves and forget Brother Tian's teachings , otherwise you have to stand up."
"It can be seen that the two sides can each get what they need. This is why our church puts forward the theory of 'harmony.'" Father Marco finally said: "Incidents like this are obviously due to the political and military outbursts of the other country. We have a problem, but we are angry at our church members. In this case, we must rely on the just government to defeat the evil government. Only in this way can we conform to the principles of the world and achieve the best results."
"That's true." Pronsky also agreed: "Originally, Vytautas had a good relationship with the Russian Orthodox believers. His first wife was the daughter of the Prince of Smolensk. His second wife His wife was also a Lithuanian Orthodox noblewoman. But in order to confront Rome, he finally chose the other side."
"Of course, from his point of view, there is probably no other choice." Pronsky thought for a while and said, "And we can only stay with him until the end."
Guo Kang also nodded.
The conflict between the Polish-Lithuanian Alliance and other forces in the southeast is determined by geography. No matter what the regime or belief is, sooner or later there will be a fight.
In Guo Kang's world, a decisive battle also took place. After Timur expelled Tokhtamysh, he supported a clan king named Timur Hugrut to serve as the Khan of the Golden Horde. Tokhtamysh fled to Lithuania and took refuge with Vytautas.
At this time, King Jagiełło of Poland also joined forces with Vytautas. In 1398, Pope Boyce IX issued permission to form a Crusade and attack the Mongols. So the two set out to organize a crusade and brought in the Mongolian Tokhtamysh.
However, perhaps due to his long stay under Timur, Timur Khugrut was not the weak and incompetent Khan of the Golden Horde before. In 1399, the coalition forces and his tribe fought on the Volskla River and suffered a disastrous defeat. At least 20 princes, including Jagiełło's two younger brothers, were killed in the battle, and Vytautas only escaped with his life. This caused some Russian princes to take the opportunity to break away from his control, and the attack on the southern Russian grasslands could only be stopped.
In this world, Timur chose divided management due to the northward movement of the Purple Horde Khanate. He listened to the advice of Basil III and did not appoint a great khan to take charge of all ministries. Instead, he divided the eastern part of the southern Russian steppe to the north of Central Asia and handed it over to several clan kings.
The western part of the grassland was given to the Purple Horde - Timur was satisfied with the benefits he had already obtained, and also hoped that the Purple Horde Khanate would operate the trade routes here and bring him huge income. As long as the Purple Horde Khanate helps him watch over Tuotuo Mi.
Of course, as a price, the Purple Horde Khanate's war with Lithuania never stopped in this direction, and Polish reinforcements also appeared from time to time. This place is relatively far away from the hinterland of the Purple Tent. For a long time, it can only rely on the Northern Tent Army to garrison, and it is necessary to organize nearby tribes to assist in defense from time to time.
Fortunately, this place has also witnessed Timur's war, and the military level of most of the Lithuanian army may not be as good as them. As time went by, the local tribes gradually became "regular" and gradually came under the management of Wanhu Mansion. As the Purple Horde Khanate turned to counterattack, Lithuania gradually fell into its current situation.
In Guo Kang's view, there is no suspense about this matter - whether it is the Golden Tent, the Purple Tent, or the Grand Duchy of Moscow a hundred years later in history, Lithuania's situation will not change much.
(End of chapter)
