Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 289 Christian Justice League (Part 2)
Any international political and military organization must set an enemy target for itself from the day it is established, otherwise there is no meaning for its existence.
So in order to form this justice league, it must first choose an enemy for itself - in this era, no country is more suitable for this role than the Ottoman Empire.
"Everyone, we European countries are all believers of the Lord. There is really no need to fight endlessly or even go to war just because of different interpretations of doctrine. We actually have a common enemy, that is, the Ottoman Empire, which stole Constantinople and insulted the glory of Rome in the past. It occupied Jerusalem, tarnishing the glory of the Lord. It continued to expand eastward, threatening Rome at all times. It blocked the trade routes, forcing us to go around half the world to go to the East!
In the past, under the leadership of successive great popes, countless kings, warriors and even civilians with devout faith in Europe came forward one after another and gave everything they had to defend Jerusalem!
Now, Archangel Michael guards me and my brothers to be born in this era. Our natural mission is to completely destroy the Ottoman Empire and let the glory of Rome descend on Constantinople again!
Over the past century, Europe has been getting poorer day by day due to wars and natural disasters. In order to survive, our people had to cross the ocean and go to the distant New World to seek survival. However, the New World's wild mountains and wilderness not only have barbaric, ignorant, warlike and cruel Indians, but also various unheard-of diseases. How can it compare to the rich Asia Minor? How can it compare to the rich southern coast of the Mediterranean? How can it compare to the Mesopotamian Plain surrounded by two rivers?
So, let us abandon our prejudices and unite! Use our common strength to open up new lands, seize new wealth, and gain new glory! Glory to Europe, glory to Christ, and glory to Rome~!"
"Glory to Christ, glory to Rome~!"
The exciting speech ended. Although Philip spoke in a grand manner, his speech was nothing new compared to previous popes. It was not difficult for the people below to understand the deep meaning of his words. In short, the above paragraph means one thing: everyone is having a hard time, and they are fighting each other for the so-called doctrine. Robbing the pagans on the southern coast of the Mediterranean and the Middle East is the only way to get rich quickly!
Finally, someone is going to take us to the land of the East to make a fortune again! This call is most attractive to those middle and low-level nobles and knights who hope to change their personal and family fates through military exploits. These guys even held a big parade in Paris with their blood boiling, shouting all kinds of slogans. It made Paris, which had just experienced the division of the country, seem to be enthusiastically celebrating the death of France...
Whether the lower and middle classes were revelling or mourning, it was not time for the top figures in Western Europe to care about it. Led by Philip, the Pope, the Holy Roman Emperor, the British Crown Prince Charles I, the Danish King Christian IV, and the newly elected Dutch and French princes, after the public meeting, naturally closed the door to discuss the specific charter of this alliance.
Spain, which was originally the only superpower in Europe, became even more powerful after this three-year war. So, since Philip IV said that he wanted to establish a justice league, it must be established.
However, how to do it specifically, we have to sit down and discuss it. Moreover, in this alliance, in order to give full play to the enthusiasm of all the allies, Philip has to make .
From May to September of this year, after long negotiations, arguments and even a struggle that almost led to war, the charter of the alliance was finally established and all Western European countries and influential princes and nobles signed and approved it.
Name of organization: Christian Justice League.
Goal: To unite all the Lord's believers, spread the Lord's glory to the whole world, and destroy all the Lord's enemies.
In terms of internal management, the first rule is that the countries and duchies participating in the alliance should take a unified stance in politics and implement joint defense in military terms. That is, if any country outside the alliance launches a war against a member of the alliance, it will be regarded as a war against all members of the alliance. As for a member of the alliance launching a war against a country outside the alliance, other members must at least maintain goodwill and neutrality. As for diplomacy, it is also required to take a unified stance and speak with one voice.
Economically, all countries agreed to adopt the Spanish double column as a unified currency. All countries unified commercial taxes, with members within the alliance only charging 5% to 10% tariffs to each other, and charging at least 30% tariffs to members outside the alliance.
In terms of faith, the alliance has determined that as long as you believe in Christ, you will be considered a fellow believer. The persecution of so-called heretics and the arrest of witches will all be stopped. As long as the believers' understanding and explanation of Christian doctrine do not involve some of the most fundamental things, such as denying the existence of Christ or God, they will generally not be restricted by coercive means.
If there is a dispute over faith, the alliance provides newspapers, open forums, etc. for everyone to debate on their own. It is strictly forbidden to use violence to promote one's own sect or to attack other sects.
In terms of equipment, Spain promised to gradually replace the equipment of all members of the alliance. All members of the alliance will gradually unify the standard of standard weapons and production standards.
In terms of culture, the alliance members will make Latin and its writing the official language and writing. They will also promote Latin in all schools and churches within the members...
Of course, since it is an international organization, it definitely needs a permanent institution to maintain the operation of the alliance. After consultation among the participating countries, the Justice Alliance Standing Council was established. The alliance headquarters and the council office are both located in Madrid.
When encountering major events within the alliance, they need to vote after consultation to reach a consensus before collective action can be taken. In terms of voting rights, the two travelers sneered at the later United Nations, which gave one vote to all countries, big or small, and set up a veto power for the five permanent members to compensate for the rights and interests of the big countries.
Then the Justice League adopted a method of determining the voting ratio according to national strength, and ultimately deciding the voting results based on the ratio.
The specific plan is that Spain has 45% of the voting rights, Great Britain has 20%, Denmark has 15%, and many other small countries have 1% to 5%. This arrangement prevents Spain from acting recklessly within the alliance and ignoring the needs of other members for the sake of one country's interests. If other members unite, they can also restrict Spain - it is precisely because of this that other members are willing to sign the contract.
Of course, as the number of members of the alliance increases in the future, Spain's weight will continue to decline. But Philip estimates that no matter how much it declines, Spain will at least have a weight of more than 35%. In addition, the many small countries under Spain's control are still enough to influence the voting results of the alliance.
The general alliance pattern was established. According to the custom of the European royal families at that time, after the agreement was signed, marriage was needed to further consolidate it.
Spain was still a country where Catholics held an absolute majority. Therefore, even though Philip advocated religious reconciliation, he did not dare to marry a princess from a Protestant country in order to take care of the national sentiment. After weighing the pros and cons, he married Elizabeth, the daughter of King Henry IV of France who had just been beheaded.
However, in order to show his unwavering determination for religious reconciliation, he allowed his brother Rudolf to marry Leonora, the daughter of the King of Denmark.
The two most powerful people in Spain want to use marriage to appease France and strengthen Denmark. Of course, they also want to use marriage to consolidate the relationship with Britain, another major country in the alliance.
Unfortunately, Catholicism practices monogamy. Although everyone has countless lovers outside, at least on the surface, a man can only have one wife.
Therefore, Philip, who was unable to marry again, had to arrange for his sister, Maria, the daughter of Philip III, to be engaged to the British Crown Prince Charles.
Afterwards, the dukes and earls in the alliance began to intermarry with each other... The entire Justice League was filled with happy events and seemed to be thriving on the surface.
