In order to quickly allow John V to return to Constantinople to consolidate his throne, Innocent VI issued an emergency order.
Let both the Republic of Genoa and the Republic of Venice cease hostility towards John V.
All forces accepted the unified command of Pope Innocent VI and were about to launch a new crusade against the Mongols in the east.
The crusade put together by Pope Inno VI was mainly composed of land and water.
The army part is composed of the Duchy of Savoy, the Kingdom of Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire (that is, Germany).
Their total strength is approximately 50,000.
The navy is composed of the Republic of Genoa, the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Pisa, with a total of more than 200 ships of various sizes.
According to the scale of the usual Crusades, this Crusade is not the largest, but it is definitely the one with the largest number of elite troops. Only the Frankish Kingdom is busy continuing to fight the Hundred Years War with England and has no time to take into account the Pope's
Crusade plans.
However, the Kingdom of France also sent a guard composed of French knights specifically responsible for protecting the personal safety of John V.
January, 1360 AD.
Pope Innocent VI officially issued an order announcing the official start of the Crusade against the Mongols.
The slogan they shouted was "Destroy the hypocrites and defend Roman orthodoxy!"
The hypocrites refer to the Mongols, and the Roman orthodoxy refers to the current Roman Emperor John V.
After the news reached Constantinople, the Orthodox Patriarch Alexius was a little panicked for a while.
Because according to the intelligence he received, John Timur of the Yuan Dynasty on the north coast of the Black Sea was preparing to expand his naval power and attack the city of Kaffa, and was in no hurry to come to Constantinople to seize the throne.
Once the crusaders from the Catholic countries completed their assembly and arrived at the gates of Constantinople in advance, John Timur would probably never have the chance to rule Eastern Rome again.
As the initiator of this plan to replace the emperor, Patriarch Alexius may also fall into a miserable situation. The best result is to spend the rest of his life in prison, and the worst result is to be excommunicated.
He was publicly burned to death in the square of Constantinople on the charge of being an apostate.
In order to prevent himself from falling into such a tragic ending, Patriarch Alexius sent twelve urgent letters in a row, urging John Tamerlane to leave for Constantinople as soon as possible to defend the orthodox status of Orthodoxy.
The capital of the Ming Dynasty was Yingtian Mansion.
In a royal manor outside the city, there were rumbling sounds, and huge clouds of white steam spurted out amidst the roaring sounds.
Two shirtless strong men, each holding a shovel, shoveled coal hard and filled the belly of the roaring machine with coal.
The blazing charcoal fire drives the huge boiler to emit billowing steam. This steam pushes a long sleeve-type piston, and then drives the crank-arm flywheel to continuously reciprocate.
"Success, success!"
"Steam is moving!"
"Long live the Ming Dynasty, the steam engine was successful!"
…
All the people present cheered and jumped.
Even though these people are wearing dirty clothes, they are all senior professors and lecturers from Yingtian University of the Ming Dynasty.
The leader was none other than the famous Wanhu Tao Guangyi.
Because of Tao Guangyi's successive inventions of hot air balloons, new types of bombs, and more than ten other innovative inventions, he was awarded the title of Earl of the Ming Dynasty as a scholar and became the idol and idol of scholars of new schools all over the world.
army head.
[In other words, it is currently the best app for reading and listening to books. Change the source and install the latest version. 】
Tao Guangyi, a householder of ten thousand, has not been home for three months in a row. He has been working on this steam engine for the Ming Dynasty in this royal manor, which was used as an experimental site.
Although there are simple drawings and principle analysis provided by Zhu Han, making a steam engine with practical value is not suitable for today's large-scale steam engines.
It is still a very arduous task for scholars and craftsmen.
After three months of unremitting efforts, Wanhu Tao Guangyi finally led these scholars and craftsmen to achieve a perfect improvement on the original plan that failed several times.
This steam engine spitting out white mist, driven by coal flames, kept spinning rapidly. The flywheel connected to it drove a long bamboo barrel to overturn, pumping a steady stream of water from a small river in the yard to a high level.
On the water tower.
It is obvious that this steam engine is really successful. As long as the coal is kept added and the boiler is kept filled with water, it will gain continuous power.
Tao Guangyi of Wanhu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He said happily to Zhu Han next to him: "Your Highness succeeded. I really did it."
For Tao Guangyi, who was famous in history, making a steam engine based on the drawings and principles given by Zhu Han was actually just a piece of cake.
Zhu Han never doubted whether Tao Guangyi of Ten Thousand Households could make it, it was just a question of how fast he could make it.
Now looking at this big steel machine that spits out white steam, Zhu Han is also very happy in his heart.
Zhu Han burst out laughing and praised: "Brother Tao is indeed the smartest scholar in the Ming Dynasty. He actually developed this machine. You have really helped me a lot. Today I want to celebrate your achievements."
feast!"
Tao Guangyi shook his head and said, "Your Highness, there is no need to be polite. I am just following the method taught by Your Highness, step by step."
Tao Guangyi is indeed very humble.
He had always felt that Zhu Han had imparted enough knowledge on steam engines, but he had not yet made a perfect sample, which really betrayed Zhu Han's trust.
This time, after spending countless financial and material resources, it was finally done. Tao Guangyi felt relieved. He did not feel that he had much credit for completing a task.
Tao Guangyi of Wanhu thought that anyone could do this. He was really embarrassed to boast about his achievements in front of Zhu Han.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Wanhu Tao Guangyi’s humble attitude made Zhu Han admire him even more. He immediately announced that all those who participated in the test of the steam engine, regardless of their position, would each receive fifty taels.
As a reward of silver, the technical backbone among them will be promoted to an additional rank.
Although the production cost of this steam engine is very high, it can be said that it is not suitable for ordinary production.
but.
Zhu Han believed that as long as he gave more time, he would be able to develop a cheaper and more durable steam engine. At that time, he could really lead the Ming Dynasty to the threshold of the industrial age.
Therefore, he would not let the top talents of the Ming Dynasty be wronged at all.
Fifty taels of silver is almost a year's salary for these scholars and craftsmen.
Everyone was excited and grateful to Zhu Han.
Zhu Han then described the great future prospects of steam engines to Wanhu Tao Guangyi and other scholars and craftsmen, and talked about some practical applications of steam engines, so that these scholars and craftsmen could continue to work hard and lead the world into an unprecedented era of steam engines.
era.
Although this process may be somewhat lengthy, and may not even be fully realized in thirty to fifty years, everyone is attracted by the prospect Zhu Han described.
All the scholars and craftsmen have been invited to the front yard of the manor by Zhu Han, and they will receive the most solemn banquet.
Zhu Han left his most trusted bodyguards, including Hu Yiba, here to guard the steam engine and not allow anyone to come close to destroy or peep.
After Zhu Han left with Wanhu Tao Guangyi and other scholars and craftsmen, Hu Yiba and his guards took stock of this strange-looking big machine.
"This steam engine is really amazing, it can actually eject such powerful steam."
"Is this steam engine really as magical as His Highness said? Can it take us over mountains, across the sea, and even make iron ships float on the water?"
"Of course, when has the words His Royal Highness the King ever said never come true?"
For Zhu Han, Wanhu Tao Guangyi and others created
The simplest and primitive steam engine was just the beginning.
What he wanted was for Ming Dynasty to be able to use a large number of steam engines in its industry, commerce, agriculture and military.
Because steam engines replaced manpower, it meant that from now on, there was no need to worry about lack of productivity, and the people of the Ming Dynasty no longer had to worry about hunger.
Because having a steam engine is equivalent to having endless power, which can transport a steady stream of food from overseas colonies to the mainland of the Ming Dynasty.
Historically, the three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty can be said to be full of difficulties, because it happened to be in the climate era of the end of the Little Ice Age. In the next two to three hundred years, the agricultural production of the Ming Dynasty will be greatly threatened, especially for farmers in the northern region.
We can live a good life for a hundred years. After a hundred years, the agricultural production level in the north will drop significantly due to natural disasters.
By that time, if there is not enough shipping capacity to transport food from overseas colonies to the Ming Dynasty, there will inevitably be a big mess that is difficult to deal with.
Therefore, Zhu Han sent people to develop steam engines, on the one hand to prepare for the industrial age, and on the other hand to avoid future instability in the north due to lack of food.
Zhu Han said at a celebration banquet for Wanhu Tao Guangyi and other scholars and craftsmen that he would continue to increase investment in the development of steam engines. All the scholars here who can transform the steam engine to be more efficient will receive at least three
A reward of ten thousand taels of silver.
If anyone can develop other specific uses of steam engines, they will also receive rewards of the same value.
Moreover, thirty thousand taels of silver is just a guarantee. If they make a big enough contribution, there is no upper limit on the amount of silver they can receive.
All the scholars and craftsmen present were flushed with excitement. Although everyone is obsessed with technology, they are not immortals and bodhisattvas who do not understand the fireworks of the world. What kind of life a family, children and future generations can live depends on their hands now.
It's your own ability.
Under the influence of Zhu Han, the entire society of the Ming Dynasty was full of vigorous vitality, and everyone could find a way out for themselves.
Even the most destitute bankrupts and homeless scoundrels can get a free ticket to Nanyang or Dongshengzhou, because these places are seriously short of manpower. As long as they are a living person, they can get it for free when they get there.
Land, houses and even women, of course, don’t think about Ming women, they are all local indigenous women.
The Ming Dynasty has achieved unification of the world, and the entire people are actively developing national strength and digesting the developed territories and colonies.
On the European side, due to religious conflicts, a new crusade launched by the Pope has just begun.
The Crusade launched by Pope Innocent VI acquired the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Duchy of Savoy, the Republic of Venice, the Republic of Genoa, the Republic of Pisa, the Kingdom of France, the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Knights Templar and the Hospital
The support of more than a dozen large and small forces including the Knights.
The Kingdom of Poland, which had always been a loyal servant of the Pope, suffered a great loss in national strength due to its defeat by the Mongols. In addition, in order to compete for the throne, various factions in the Kingdom of Poland were fighting openly and secretly, and there was no extra power to respond to the Pope's move.
A call to arms.
Moreover, the Poles were close to the Mongolian territory and were very afraid of being attacked by the Mongols again, so they did not dare to have any intention of sending troops.
The scale of this crusade organized by the Pope reached as many as 100,000 people.
The military expenses required for such a large-scale army are naturally astronomical. These kingdoms that responded to the Pope are not financially wealthy themselves. In addition, the Black Death not long ago ravaged various countries, and even the food and grass for the expedition could not be supplied in a short time.
All things considered, in this case the only person who can pay for the war expenses of the army is the Pope of Rome.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! However, the Pope of Rome and his cardinals did not actually have much financial resources to sustain this war.
Because the hierarchy of the Holy See is actually extremely corrupt. Corruption has become something that everyone in the Holy See is involved in. More than half of the religious taxes collected from all over Europe fall into the pockets of bishops and priests, large and small.
.
Although there is no money, the war must still be carried out. After all, this is an important matter related to the future of the Holy See.
To solve this problem, Pope Innocent VI ordered the issuance of indulgences again.
Yes, it is the kind of indulgence in the legend.
Once it encounters a financial crisis, selling indulgences has become a tried and tested method of making money for the Holy See.
According to Catholic regulations, bishops in various places have the power to forgive general sins, that is, they can issue general indulgences.
The Pope of Rome represents the incarnation of God in the human world and has supreme power. He can absolve all mortal sins, such as murder, rape, poisoning, robbery and theft, etc. All of them are not a problem! As long as there is
Money can be used to buy indulgences to forgive sins.
If the crime committed is too great and one indulgence note is not enough, then two!
If two pieces are not enough, you can continue to buy more!
Anyway, there is no limit on the number of indulgences purchased by the Holy See.
This kind of atonement is not a simple spiritual atonement, but a real atonement.
As long as you pay a sum of money and buy indulgences issued by the church, the lords and kings of their respective places will no longer have the power to punish criminals.
For a political power, punishing criminals is originally the power of various monarchs and lords. The Holy See's issuing indulgences to absolve sins is equivalent to usurping the law enforcement rights of these monarchs and lords.
When indulgences first started to be issued, lords and monarchs everywhere were very resistant to the Holy See issuing indulgences in their territories. Latest website:
