Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 671 Valentine's Day - Orthodox Romans do not celebrate Valentine's Day, but Lupercalia
At the appointed time, Meltem, Jeanne and others came to the big market in the south of the city.

Guo Kang has done a lot of things these days. Even though the publicity and investigation work was not very successful at the beginning, it at least attracted a lot of people and let everyone know that the Romans often organize some activities. Later, when his hospital became famous, more people knew about it.

At first, when Tuohuan and Guo Kang and others announced something, the people in the city looked at it coldly, neither expressing opposition nor support. When Guo Kang went to ask, passers-by said that it was all your Christian business, we don't get involved. Even for simple surveys, they often didn't dare to respond, and some even burst into tears when Guo Kang asked them about their family situation. As a result, it was very difficult for Guo Kang to bypass the local tyrants and directly obtain accurate information during that period.

Now, the situation is much better. Whether people support it or not is another matter, but as long as something is announced, a lot of people are willing to come and watch the fun. The citizens are not too afraid of Guo Kang and his followers, and they are even a little too enthusiastic.

When they arrived, the place was already crowded with people. A round granary in the market was temporarily rebuilt, with a wooden platform built in front and a mountain of grain next to it. Everyone gathered there. Many people didn't quite know what the event was today, and were asking each other.

Meltem took out a sign and found the soldiers on guard, but there were too many people here, and the soldiers took a lot of effort to send them to the central location. Guo Kang was here, welcoming several guests, and when he saw them, he stretched out his hand to wave them over.

At this moment, Tuohuan had already stepped onto the stage and signaled everyone to be quiet. It seemed that he was going to give a speech.

However, his words were very brief. He greeted everyone in the local dialect and waved his hand to let the soldiers bring the prisoners. Immediately, more than a dozen people were tied up and taken to the platform.

"During this period, we have repeatedly warned the city to strictly manage the situation in order to deal with the chaotic situation and the possible disasters." Tuohuan shouted, "But these people, despite our repeated warnings, still chose to hoard food and deliberately set high prices to make everyone hungry. Today, I will show you who is taking advantage of the natural disaster to enrich themselves and make money from the suffering and lives of others."

However, after he finished speaking, there was no obvious reaction from the onlookers.

"We actually already know who it is." Nafisa explained to the others in a low voice: "But knowing it is useless..."

"Previous sultans had to rely on these people to obtain military rations, so how could they possibly offend them? After the Sheikh came to power, because the grain merchants went too far, he turned to supporting the Khadija Chamber of Commerce to fight against the Karimi merchants. But this kind of work cannot be completed in one go. So, even if everyone knows it, there is actually nothing they can do."

"However, I still don't want to be too direct. Because when I entered the city, I announced to you that I would try not to use force in the city." On the stage, Tuo Huan continued: "So, for now, I can only condemn them, and I can't punish them for you."

The people in the audience couldn't help but whisper. The people next to them who didn't dare to show a clear reaction just now couldn't help but sigh for a while. On the stage, Tuo Huan asked the soldiers to untie the ropes on the grain merchants. Those people breathed a sigh of relief, and some even turned their heads and glared at the audience. Now, even the discussion became noticeably weaker.

Nafisa shrugged at Meltem and the others. However, Meltem and the others did not respond and continued to look at the stage. Guo Kang also pointed at the stage and asked her to continue watching.

"Before, we seized a lot of grain and emptied this granary for storage. Now we're giving it all back to you. Please come in!" Tuohuan pointed at the granary and waved his hand. The soldiers opened the gate, pushed the merchants off the stage, drove them into the granary, and then locked the door with an iron chain without any explanation.

The merchants inside began to clap continuously, and the audience then realized something was wrong and became agitated.

"Since you like food so much, then stay with food forever." Tuohuan ordered.

After receiving the order, the soldiers moved bags of food and threw them directly into the warehouse. At first, there were screams and pleas for mercy from those who were hit, but soon, everything became quiet.

"Okay, that's all for today." Tuo Huan said, "Everyone, go away!"

After the announcement, he led his people down the stage. At this time, the crowd reacted and burst into cheers. Some people even ran to the warehouse and cursed loudly inside, venting their long-standing dissatisfaction.

Guo Kang brought a few guests to find Tuo Huan in the alley behind the warehouse. He wanted to introduce Tuo Huan, but the people outside were too excited and shouting too loudly, so they had to raise their voices as much as possible when greeting him.

"You see, now that the enemy is dead, they become more active - this is the people of Egypt." Lady Jeanne shook her head helplessly and said in a sarcastic tone.

"That's nothing, everyone has to protect themselves." Guo Kang didn't care: "If we can't win, what else can we do?"

"Yes. The common people who dare to fight against the bullies and profiteers usually do so because they are good at fighting. At least they can make the other party suffer considerable losses, so they have no choice but to compromise. The people in the Central Plains are like this, and so are Lao Yang and his men." Tuo Huan also agreed:

"But look at the people in Egypt. Even if they fight the enemy head-on, they will definitely lose, which is equivalent to giving up their lives in vain. If they choose to obey, then the ruler will at least keep some of them to work for him. Over time, it is normal for them to develop this habit."

"We don't expect that these few actions will make them dare to respond to us and oppose the local tyrants. It's not that simple." Guo Kang said bluntly: "If they can get excited afterwards and know that we will do what we say, we will have achieved our goal."

"I hope so."

Lady Jeanna and Meltem looked at each other, still not seeming to have much confidence in the Egyptians. Nafisa said nothing, as if she was thinking about something.

"Are there any other actions recently?" Joanna asked.

"It's still all kinds of organization and mobilization work." Guo Kang told her: "But the follow-up personnel have also arrived, and there is no urgent need for help at the moment. If I encounter any problems, I will come to you again."

"We are also planning to organize a purification ceremony." Tuohuan said, "After that, for safety reasons, we will not hold any large-scale events." "Purification ceremony? What is that?" Nafisa, who had been silent all the time, could not help but ask.

"It means exactly what it says." Tuohuan explained, "Since the founding of our dynasty, we have been carrying out reforms to restore the ancient system and recreate the glory of Rome. This ceremony is one of them."

"In ancient times, in mid-February every year, the Romans would hold a ceremony to worship the shepherd god Lupercus, praying for the prosperity of people and livestock and preparing for the arrival of spring. The ceremony was held in a cave called Lupercale on the Seven Hills. It is said that the ancestor of the gods Romulus and his brother were adopted and raised by a she-wolf here. Therefore, this festival is also called the Lupercale Festival."

"During the sacrifice, two goats were slaughtered as a tribute. Afterwards, the priest would skin the goats, cut them into strips, and give them to two young men. They would run around the city and whip everyone they saw. Those who were hit by the strips were purified, so many people would rush to be hit. This strip of leather was called 'februa', which means a tool for purifying sins. The Latin name of February also comes from this term."

"Why do you want to revive pagan festivals? Doesn't the church object?" Nafisa became curious.

"There is nothing wrong with the festival itself, it's just that people made up a god." Guo Kang explained: "You can tell from the name - the word Lupercus is obviously derived from Lupercal, and Lupercal is derived from the Latin word for wolf. This cave means wolf's den; and in folk legends, the shepherd god Lupercal is indeed a wolf."

"We are just against random sacrifices to gods, but there is nothing wrong with commemorating the wolf that fed the ancestor god. On the contrary, it is a very good tradition that allows everyone to remember the history of our civilization, so that we don't become like the barbarians and forget who our ancestors are."

"The church in the early years was overly sensitive to these issues. Like other festivals to welcome spring and pray for a good harvest, the Lupercalia Festival soon became a date festival for men and women, and the government also encouraged this. When Rome embraced Christianity, these customs were naturally retained, absorbed, and continued."

"But the church at that time was always trying to cut off from Roman traditions and replace classical culture with its own things in order to achieve cultural modernization. In this process, the church often overreacted, carried out some unnecessary operations, and even caused some good Roman traditions to disappear for the sake of universality." He shrugged and said bluntly.

"What does this 'modernization' mean?" Nafisa didn't understand and asked quickly.

"It's a religious term here." Guo Kang replied, "This word also comes from Latin. It refers to the era after Rome converted to Christianity, and is specifically distinguished from the pagan classical era."

"Many theologians believe that the world has four empires, namely Babylon, Persia, Macedonia and Rome, as prophesied in the Book of Daniel. Christianity was born during the last empire, and after the last empire ends, Brother God will come again."

“So, the word modern has a stronger presence because it represents the imperial era and even the final stage of human history. After entering the modern era, there will be no next era, because the Last Judgment will begin and history will end.”

"European theologians and historians have been discussing these things over and over again. Their research is always based on this." Guo Kang spread his hands: "Of course, it seems that these people have never done the right research. Every time they predict the end of the world, it always ends up in nothing."

"From the perspective of the God Worshipping Church, this is all due to a lack of historical knowledge and a narrow vision. So, no matter how these barbarian scholars study, no matter whether they advocate or refute modern times, they just keep repeating the same thing over and over again, and they can't come up with any valuable conclusions. For hundreds of years, they have been repeating the same thing, and nothing new has been produced - and they will probably continue to repeat it in the future."

"Anyone who knows the history of Seris like us will not believe these strange settings. Patriarch Yin made a lot of refutations about this back then. If you are interested, you can read it yourself. I will not elaborate here."

"I think I understand." Although Guo Kang wanted to take the opportunity to promote his book, Nafisa seemed to have understood: "You are trying to go back to the old ways and oppose these things."

"Yes, as I said just now, some things are unnecessary." Guo Kang said: "The background story of Lupercal Festival was changed to commemorate a saint named Valentine. This festival later became St. Valentine's Day, which is now called Valentine's Day. Considering that the date and customs have not changed significantly, this story may have been forcibly attached by the church."

"But after they changed it, the festival had nothing to do with Rome. When the barbarians celebrated the festival, they would not think of the Roman culture associated with it, but would only think that it was a custom of the church."

"If we go deeper into this question, it will become more serious. Do you think Rome is more important, or is the religion we believe in more important?"

"Uh..." Nafisa was unable to answer.

"You are a local here and have only been in contact with us for a short time. I will not force you to answer." Guo Kang said: "However, for our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Church, the answer is obvious - Rome is more important."

"As long as Rome is still there, even if we lose the church, there will be people who will continue to explore the truth and rebuild the church organization, and they may even do better than us. But if Rome is gone, what is the meaning of the church? Will we surrender to all the barbarian kings who come to attack us like the Catholic Church and become their puppets?"

“Our church is the church of Rome; the universality advocated by our church is also the universality of Rome.” Guo Kang emphasized:

"Theologians have been arguing for hundreds of years, and hundreds of sects and branches have emerged. Which one is truly universal? I think none of them is true. Because if we only look at the rhetoric, then everyone can prove that they are right, even if their statements are contradictory - can this still be called universal?"

"On the contrary, the doctrines that our church has summarized in the process of participating in the restoration of Rome are the true universal faith. If they are wrong, the Heavenly Father will not let us succeed. The act of establishing this universal empire is itself the process of our preaching the universal faith."

"That's why I dare to say that our Rome is the representative of this world of faith. The universality based on Rome is the true universality. Without the existence of Rome, universal religion will lose its meaning."

"Okay, okay." Tuo Huan beside him interrupted him in time: "As long as my Anda talks about these religious issues, he can't stop talking. Don't worry about him, just go and do your own thing first."

Even so, the few of them were lost in thought. It seemed that Guo Kang's words had a great impact on them. Tuo Huan had no choice but to urge them again and sent someone to send them away.

(End of this chapter)