Julia Minor wrote:DMcCunney wrote:Desnair and South Harchong can start a new Holy War if they like, but what can they actually do? Just who would they be fighting?
Desnair has no navy, and no way of projecting power beyond its borders to anyplace it does not directly connect to. Zhyou Zhwo in South Harchong is in a similar position, and increasingly hemmed in. What havoc can they cause beyond their own borders?
If the response from Zion is anything other than outright condemnation of the Testimony of Schueler, I'm putting a hot fudge sundae on South Harchong going full Counter-Reformation. They might not be able to move directly against "the foul heretics who have seized Langhorne's holy city", but they
can quit sending tithe money to Zion, which should have some impact on the CoGA's efforts to rebuild their economy. Even if Rhobair reduced the tithe to pre-Jihad levels once he became Grand Vicar, the Safehold tithe is a larger percentage than the customary Terran Christian tithe, so that's a larger chunk of money that can either go toward building a new Temple or (more likely) fund the South Harchong military complex.
I think
part of South Harchong will go into full scale Counter Reformation mode. I think it already pretty much has. The Church of Harchong piously proclaims its loyalty to the Grand Vicar, while totally ignoring what the Grand Vicar is asking them to do. The one thing it
hasn't done is formally schismed into a separate entity.
But Zhyou Zhwo is having lots of fun trying to assert
his control as Emperor. What obedience he gets will depend on how close folks happen to be to him and what troops he has available to compel folks if they balk. A fair bit of South Harchong is only nominally under his control, and actually controlled by various warlords professing loyalty to him as long as it gets them something, but who will happily try to depose him and crown themselves Emperor if they think they can pull is off. An open question is just how aware
Zhyou Zhwo is of that.
While it isn't mentioned, I believe Desnair is still forking over its tithes, as are the Temple Lands, the Border States, Delferak, Dohlor, Silkih, Sodar, parts of North Harchong, and likely the Temple Loyalists in Siddarmark.
And with the end of the Jihad, the CoGA's expenses are
much lower. It will take a while,but the CoGAis rebuilding its finances, and the increasing embrace of Charisian style industrialization in the Temple Lands is helping its economy.
[tangent] I don't think it was ever mentioned, but once the Jihad ended did tithes from Temple Loyalists in the Charisian Empire get forwarded to Zion?[/tangent]
My guess is they were. Archbishop Michael is firmly on the side of the individual's right to choose what they believe, and was a major supporter of religious toleration in Charis. The problem during the Jihad would simply be getting the tithes
to the CoGA in Zion.
Now that peaceful diplomatic relations have been reestablished, that problem goes away.
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Dennis