"They also hated rather than worshipped the cross because they believed that the cross was not only a material thing, but also a torture instrument for murdering Jesus.

"Can you believe the torture instrument? They actually called such a sacred cross the torture instrument!"

Roger thought that before the ancient Romans accepted Christianity, they had already crucified many people.

For example, Spartacus and his men, such as Jesus.

He thought that the cross was originally created as a tool of torture, and it was only given divineness after it was soaked in the blood of Jesus.

But Roger will not argue with the Patriarch on this issue.

He expressed his opinion with a toast, and the two of them had another drink.

The Patriarch continued to accuse: "These heresies teach the people not to obey their masters.

"They condemn the rich, slander the tsar, mock the elders, and slam the nobles.

"What they said, 'His Majesty's loyal servant of the Tsar is abominable face in the eyes of the True God'.

"They also instigated slaves to disobey the Lord's order."

Roger thought, you, the Patriarch of Bulgaria, have been Romanized in every word and action.

He thought, it seemed that it was because your Eastern Roman nobles had too much oppressed the lower class that the lower class was willing to believe in the Bogmiller faction who resisted the nobles.

"These people appear to be quiet, gentle and polite, 'like a lamb', but they are actually pretending.

“They firmly believe that ‘their Lord’ makes them seek self-protection by any means, whether by tricks or fraud.

“For example, they claim that they are fasting until nine o’clock on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but if they are invited to the feast during this period, they will eat like an elephant.

"You said, are they hypocritical?"

"Yes, yes." Roger responded, but did not nod. He was a little dizzy now, and he couldn't figure out what the nod and shaking meant.

"These people are like weeds, mixed in the middle of food, and they are endless and spread everywhere," Cosma said.

Roger asked: "Are they a lot of people?"

"A lot of them have been developing for many years," Cosma said.

"Asparuch led the ancient Bulgarians to unite with the seven Slav tribal alliances over 400 years ago.

"They rebeled from the Eastern Roman Empire, established the First Empire of Bulgaria, and established the capital of Prisca.

"A country established in the Danube Delta, at its peak, its territory reached the Black Sea in the east, the Aegean Sea in the south, and the Adriatic Sea in the west.

"And the Bogmiller faction, who opposed the Orthodox Church, spread wantonly in this country that rebelled against the Eastern Roman Empire.

"The great Eastern Roman Emperor Basil II conquered Bulgaria a hundred years ago and classified Bulgaria as a province of the Eastern Roman Empire.

"These heresy from the Bowgmiller faction began to spread among the lower classes.

"It is also spreading on the coast of Asia Minor, not only the principalities of Serbia, but also Bosnia farther away is also affected by heresy.

“It spread to Croatia and Dalmatia, and to the great powers of the West.

"At the same time, it also developed to the southeast, and even entered the capital of the empire, Constantinople."

As he spoke, Bulgarian Patriarch Kosma began to hammer the table angrily, and he shouted:

"The Orthodox Church is also responsible. They are too lazy and extravagant. It is precisely because of their indulgence that the heresy can be poisoned."

Cosma turned around and hugged Roger's neck, leaned closer, staring at Roger's eyes nervously and said:

"It's different now, now we're going to eradicate it!"

Roger raised his glass excitedly and shouted, "Cheers, kill them all!"

The two of them had another drink when they met.

Kosma said proudly:

"Our emperor, His Majesty Alexus, was convinced that the Church of Bogmiller in Constantinople must be destroyed.

“It took us a lot of time to find out the details of the organization and doctrine of the Bowgmiller Church.

“We found their leader, Basil, a monk who originally believed in Christ.

"Your Majesty set up a plan, and he summoned Basil to the palace with great politeness, invited his deskmate to have a meal, and even made a gesture of joining the church.

"Basil was cautious at first, but soon he fell into a trap and began to boldly explain his creed.

"But in fact, His Majesty has arranged for a secretary to hide behind the scenes and write down everything Basil said.

"After Basil finished speaking, the curtain suddenly opened. It turned out that behind the scenes were all the high-ranking officials and nobles of the Empire who had gathered here.

“Basil’s confession was read out in public without missing a word.

"But Basil did not regret it, so the emperor imprisoned him.

"Later, the emperor visited many times and tried hard to save his soul, but Basil was still unscrupulous.

"Until the end, at the insistence of the Holy Council, His Majesty Alexius sentenced Basil, the heretical Patriarch, to the stolen.

"So the heretics have no leader, and it's easy to capture others.

"When the trial was tried, some people repented, others denied that they had deviated from orthodoxy, while others remained stubbornly silent.

"To distinguish between loyalty and treacherous, the emperor ordered two stakes to be erected, one with a cross on it, and the other without.

“Every death row prisoner has the right to choose which pillar to die on.

“Those who chose the cross were true Christians, acquitted.

"For the rest, our Orthodox missionaries made a special effort for the last time, but few people still repent, so they burned them all."

Roger drank his last glass of wine, and he asked with his confused eyes:

"Old man, then who do you want to burn here?"

Patriarch Kosma seems to be forcing him, he said:

"The mud legs that were killed by the cavalry I brought, although they were dead, their souls were still polluting the land.

"I have to purify them, let their souls go, what should go, hell."

Roger hiccupped a sip of alcohol, and he giggled with a fool:

"I drove away the cavalry you brought, and even cut a few of them. You won't be surprised."

The Patriarch also said with a silly smile:

"It's not my person, it's just borrowed it. It's my business if I die more and more.

"I just need them to help me eliminate those heresy, they did it.

"We came all the way from the east and finally killed them completely.

"Their mission is completed, and they have nothing to do with me."

Roger narrowed his eyes and asked, "I'm curious, why would the Duke of Bavaria lent you to kill?"

The Patriarch's head drooped to his chest and murmured:

"It's not that the Duke Gure doesn't want me to kill those heresies, he treats them as his people.

"I saw that the Duke of Bavaria was very capable of fighting, so I sent people to swim across the river and told him that as long as he was willing to lend me troops, I would help him cross the river."

Roger asked: "Didn't it mean that when you were in war, you only had to truce the war? What's wrong with you?"

Cosma said with a smile:

"You are so stupid. Do you think Gu Re will run to the formation without any trouble?

"It was me, I asked him to go.

"I said, 'Herdes-Duke, the soldiers need your encouragement. Just go there with peace of mind, God will bless you.'"

"You sold your Duke?"

"How can I say 'sell'? I am also trying to reduce Christian casualties. I do this and it is just."

After finishing his speech, Bulgarian Patriarch Kosma fell head-on on the table.

Roger smiled and said to himself: "Just, your justice..."
Chapter completed!