Chapter 162: Council of Cordoba II (1/2)
Many of the Cardinals and Bishops had gathered within the Cathedral of Cordoba to discuss the many problems currently plaguing the Catholic Church. Though they had finally found a solution to mend the old Western Schism that had been ongoing for close to half a century, there were still two major issues that presented themselves. Chief among them was the ongoing German Reformation, which had spread beyond their control. To the Southern regions of Germany. As such, the various Cardinals and Bishops were discussing how to move forward. With Simeon and Avillius removed from power, the conversation was far more cordial between the various factions of the Church.
At the moment, the answer which everyone had agreed to was military force. However, the military orders of the Catholic church were all busy fighting external enemies at the moment, and the last group of Crusaders, which was tasked with eliminating Berengar and purging Tyrol of heretics, was slaughtered in battle by Berengar's forces. As for the Vatican, they were aware that Berengar was using advanced weapons within his army. One man, in particular, acted as a second-hand witness to this information. That was the Prince-Bishop of Trent, whose lands were annexed by Berengar during his winter campaign to seize Tyrol.
The Prince-Bishop spoke with an intense hatred for Berengar about the issues at hand and how it would not be an easy task to route out the Reformists who have mostly formed within the mountainous territory of the Alps.
”The weapons in which Berengar's infantry use have the capacity to kill a man at over 400 yards; they penetrate through plate armor with ease and leave an untreatable hole in the victim's bodies! These are no mere hand cannons but something else entirely! The average soldier is equipped with plate armor that covers their vital areas, and is virtually impenetrable by man's weapons! If we are to march on the Alps, we would need a massive force, one in which is armed with the hand cannon in vast numbers!”
The surrounding clergymen listened to this Prince-Bishop's rant, and many of them did not believe their ears. After all, how could such a weapon possibly exist? Nevertheless, what came next shocked them further.
”He employs cannons, whose cannonballs explode upon impact, killing multiple men within the blast zone! These cannons are highly maneuverable and far more destructive than anything we have seen before! I know not how he obtained these advanced weapons, but we can not win by sheer numbers. After all, the Teutonic Order tried these tactics, and they were trapped in the mountains where the heretics mercilessly slaughtered them!
The more the Prince-Bishop ranted and raved about the spectacular performance of Berengar's weapons and the armies who wielded them, the more clergymen within the meeting began to disregard his words as pure fiction. At a point, a relatively fat and loathsome Cardinal raised his head and began to insult the Prince-Bishop.
”I suppose you personally witnessed these weapons in use?”
This question immediately made the Prince-Bishop of Trent frown; after all, he had not witnessed the battle that had taken place; instead, he was hiding like a coward in his Cathedral before fleeing the city while his soldiers sacrificed themselves. Ultimately he had to admit to the fact that this was all second-hand information from his garrison commander.
”I am afraid not; however, this information was reported to me by my garrison commander before he and his men distracted the heretics long enough for me to escape to the Vatican to deliver the news!”
Several of the attending members of the council of Cordoba began to scoff at the Prince-Bishop of Trent's words. Clearly, the Prince-Bishop believed the wild tales of a frightened soldier, or so many of the council members believed. Ultimately few decided to take the Prince-Bishop's warning seriously. After all, they severely lacked the manpower to invade Southern Germany in the first place. That is, of course, until one of the Cardinals proposed an opportunity.
”Why don't we call for a Crusade to wipe out the heretics in Germany? It has worked before. Even if they are as well-armed as the Prince-Bishop claims, what can they possibly do against an army of a hundred thousand men who have taken up the cross? Surely we can sponsor such a vast army, by calling upon the Lords and Knights of Europe to defend Christendom from this vile blasphemy? Do we really need to wait for the existing holy orders to finish their wars when we can create new ones?”