Chapter 1214: Knights Templar

"Of course the story must be told from the Knights Templar." Leo. There was a mysterious smell in Vanta's voice: "Mr. Eric, since you know this knight order, of course you should have heard of the famous name of this knight order. In the Middle Ages, the Knights Templar was the patron saint. The most reliable and steadfast power in the city of Jerusalem, the "Leprosy King" Baldwin IV once attacked and defeated 30,000 led by the legendary Kurdish hero Saladin at the age of 16 at the Battle of Mongissa in 1177. The centaur relied on the strength of the 80 Templars who were loyal to him and the 375 cavalry and 6000 infantry they led."
Tan Zhenhua nodded, saying that he knows this history, and he has to rely on the D version of the movie titled "The Kingdom of Heaven" that he had seen in his previous life. The movie is magnificent, well-made, shocking special effects, and a strong cast. "The Elf Prince" Orlando Bloom starred, and the theme music "BurningthePast" is even more popular. It is definitely an ancient war movie worthy of being recorded in the world's film history. However, after its release in 2005, the box office was scarce. Investors I lost my pants...
"However, what we want to focus on today is not the bravery and tenacity of the Knights Templar, but another aspect of it." Leo. Vanta continued: "Eric, do you know? The Knights Templar are actually the pioneers of the banking industry."
"Oh?" This was the first time I heard that Tan Zhenhua couldn't help but raised his interest.
"The full name of the Knights Templar is "Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon" (PoorKnightsofChristandtheTempleofSolomon), founded by the Gaul noble HuguensdePayns and eight other knights. At the beginning, it was to protect the pilgrims going to Jerusalem. Three rules: chaste, poor, obedience, which is what you see, the oath engraved on the inner ring of the ring, this is the Knights Templar and the other two crusaders, the "Teutonic Knights" and " The difference between the Knights of the Hospital.
After the establishment of the Knights Templar, it soon gained the support of the nobility and the upper echelons of the church. The Holy See granted it tax-exempt privileges and allowed it to collect 11 taxes on its own territory, but these were not the huge wealth accumulated by the Knights Templar. The main reason is, in fact, the reason why the Knights Templar was able to be described as a rich and enemy country later. At its peak, it owned more than 9,000 industries in Europe, including the famous Temple Church in London and the Temple in Berlin. The Temple (Tempelhof) even owned the entire island of Cyprus at one time because it had been engaged in commercial and banking activities.
Mr. Eric, as you can see, the creed of the Knights Templar has the term "preserving the poor". Therefore, many knights who choose to join the Knights will give their property to the Knights. This behavior quickly evolved into commercial behavior and expanded beyond the Knights of the Order. Because the Knights Templar had an outstanding reputation and could enjoy the privilege of "tax exemption", many European aristocrats deposited their valuables in the Order of Knights. Responsible for custody. This is very similar to the deposit business of modern banking. In fact, the Knights also invented a bill that is very similar to the deposit slips in modern banks. With this type of bill printed with the special mark of the Knights, it can be used in the Knights everywhere. The branch took out the property, and because the Knights had branches throughout Europe, this kind of bill quickly became popular and became a common settlement method.
With the development of deposit business, the Templars stationed in various branches and temples gathered a large amount of property. At this time, they began the loan business again, beginning with loans to pilgrims from all over Europe to Jerusalem to finance They went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Later, the demand for this business became greater and more and more people were served. When nobles and even kings everywhere needed financing services, they tended to use the Knights Templar as their first choice, such as , The Knights Templar was once the first creditor of the Gaul Kingdom. We know that the Knights Templar originally had an armed force that was permitted by the Holy See to transcend the country. Therefore, they have never worried about bad debts.
The Knights Templar’s ​​credibility has led to the rapid development of the lending business. However, it is worth noting that the Knights’ lending charges interest. These financial activities are the main activities of the Knights Templar outside of military activities. During the peak period, There were rumors that there were more IOUs and account books stacked in the Knights than religious books. Of course, this behavior violated the teachings of the Holy See at that time, but it did not attract enough attention from the Knights. "
A knights Templar with the creed of
preserving the poor
actually developed into the largest primitive bank in Europe in the Middle Ages. Not only did it accumulate vast amounts of wealth, it also received the support of the Holy See and possessed a huge force of violent collection. It is really a great irony, but at this moment, both the people who talk about this period of history and the audience feel that this is really a normal thing-because both of them have an extremely clear understanding of the nature of capital.
"But the glory of the Knights Templar did not last long." Leo. Vantaa continues to tell this dusty historical story: "In 1291, Carril (Ashraf Khalil), the successor of Jaravin, attacked Saint-Jean-Ac (famous Battle of the Crusades). The Siege of Acre), William, the commander of the Knights Templar, served as the commander-in-chief of the Crusaders, commanding the defenders of Saint Jean Acre, the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller and the King of Cyprus, totaling 140,000 They fought arduously, but they failed. This battle resulted in the death of most of the Crusaders and soldiers. The remaining soldiers finally retreated to the wooden tower of the headquarters. After repelling the enemy’s attacks many times, the enemy burned the wooden tower. The last batch of Templars who participated in the battle was buried in ashes.
This failed battle caused the Crusaders to completely lose the holy city of Jerusalem, and in Europe, the remaining Knights Templar suffered another huge blow, because they are the largest creditors of the Gaul Kingdom, with thousands of The castle and the huge wealth made the King of Gaul and the Holy See very envy and envy. They coveted this huge wealth. Therefore, the King of Gaul secretly reached an agreement with the Holy See. On Friday, October 13, 1307, there was nothing beforehand. Under any sign, the members of the Knights Templar in Gaul were arrested almost at the same time, and were restricted from using any property to prevent being transferred out of the country. This is the origin of the famous "Black Friday".
Among those arrested was Jacques de Molay, who succeeded the commander of the Knights Templar after the death of Captain William. He was tortured in prison and forced to confess his guilt. Later, he was the King of Gaul. Philip IV and Pope Clement V ordered the search for members of the Knights throughout Europe. Most of these arrested knights died in interrogation or were tortured by fire. So far, the Knights Templar have almost been uprooted in Europe. "
There is no justice, only greed and killing. Tan Zhenhua cannot comment on the demise of the Knights Templar. He was silent for a moment, then raised his eyebrows and said: "This is a shame. A group of respectable knights disappeared for this reason. In the long river of history, the experience of the Knights Templar is really sympathetic."
"We never need sympathy, Mr. Eric, we have never disappeared in the long river of history, we have always been, but we are now the real bank." Leo. Wanta said, placing his right hand in the halo under the lamp, and there was an identical ring on the ring finger at some time. Under the light, it was emitting a faint, dim light.