Chapter 52

Scaring them for a while, seeing the unpleasant expressions on the faces of the elders, Wilhelm smirked. "Elder Bloom, are they all your trusted ones?"

Elder Bloom cautiously nodded, his intuition telling him that what His Highness was about to say was absolutely extraordinary.

Wilhelm stood up and walked to the canvas, picking up a new brush and continuing to paint on the canvas while speaking. "If you help me, I will naturally help you. You Jews have long been without your own country, making you born as citizens of the world, yet lacking an emotional connection to the country of your birth. In that case, I can give you a home, allow you to establish a nation in the Holy City of Jerusalem in the Middle East."

As his words fell, the Jewish elders stood there, as if they had turned to stone.

After a few minutes of silence, the people suddenly came back to life and became chaotic.

"Oh my God!!"

"How is this possible?!"

"Hooray!"

"You must be joking!"

"...!"

Watching these excited Jewish people, Annie furrowed her brow slightly and raised her hand, gesturing in the air. If any of these Jews dared to have any suspicious actions, the hidden guards surrounding them would undoubtedly eliminate them immediately.

Fortunately, these Jews had also experienced storms and quickly calmed down.

As for why they were so excited, it was because Jerusalem carried too much spiritual significance for the Jewish people. The life of this holy city was as tumultuous and magnificent as the history of the Jewish people.

Just how tumultuous was the history of the Jewish people? Throughout history, the Jews were expelled from their holy city four times.

The first time: The Assyrians destroyed the ten tribes of Israel, and the Jews from these ten tribes were scattered, but the two tribes of Judah still remained.

The second time: During the time of King Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian Empire, Solomon's Temple was destroyed, and the Jews were exiled to Babylon, only to be allowed to return during the time of Cyrus.

The third time: During the time of Alexander the Great, they were exiled to Egypt.

The fourth time: During the time of Titus of Rome, the Second Temple was destroyed, and the Jews were expelled from Jerusalem. It wasn't until the end of World War II that the Jews regained their homeland and repossessed Jerusalem after a long war.

In the three thousand years since the founding of Jerusalem, two thousand years had little to do with the Jews. At most, they were just onlookers as Christians and Muslims engaged in their affairs.

As for why the Jewish nation had suffered so much, one could glimpse some insights from their national legends.

In later generations, everyone knew that Israel was the strongest country in the Middle East, but in history, "Israel" originally referred to a people rather than a nation. You may not know, but the ancestors of the Jews were the grandson of Abraham, Jacob, and this Jacob was quite something. Legend has it that he wrestled with God and ultimately emerged victorious. So God changed his name to "Israel," which means "one who wrestles with God, who contends with God and does not fall."

Wow, so powerful, actually daring to confront God and defeating Him.

Unfortunately, regardless of Eastern or Western mythology, mortals who angered God generally didn't have a good ending. After all, if mortals could easily defeat gods, how would those monarchs "bestowed by gods" or those emperors known as "sons of heaven" survive?!

After experiencing a series of tribulations, Jacob resided in Egypt with his descendants for a staggering 430 years, during which the Jews tasted the bitter years of being dependent on others for the first time.

Later, a great hero emerged among the Jews, and that was Moses.

Moses led his people back to the land of Canaan, where their ancestors had once lived, and started a life of freedom once again. This history was also recorded in the Bible, known as the "Exodus."

But the good times didn't last long. Later, the Jewish people were annihilated by the Assyrian and Babylonian empires and became captives in the Mesopotamian region, known as the "captives of Babylon." Later, when the Persian Empire destroyed Babylon, the Jews returned to their homeland. However, they were soon destroyed by the Roman Empire.

In other words, the suffering of the Jewish people originated from human sins, God's punishment, and God's mercy.

The sins of the Jewish people: rebellion against God, denial of Jesus; God's punishment: God warned the Jews of their impending punishment through their prophets; God's mercy: In their suffering, the Jewish people repented, returned to their faith in God, to avoid ultimate destruction.

Elder Bloom's face still had a flush of excitement, but he controlled himself as much as possible and cautiously asked, "Are you saying we will have our own Jewish nation?"

Wilhelm nodded very affirmatively. "Yes, I'm talking about your own Jewish nation. And at that time, everyone present will become the founding heroes of the Jewish nation. Your names will be engraved on the monuments in Jerusalem, revered and admired by future generations of Jews. Of course, these may all be empty titles, but think about the power you will wield. It will be the real power of governing a country and a nation."

Although Wilhelm was trying hard to deceive them, these Jews were not fools. On the contrary, they were shrewd merchants who wouldn't easily fall for such promises.

One of the Jewish people next to Elder Bloom spoke up. "Your Highness, why are you so certain about this matter? Forgive my frankness, but the current situation in the country is not optimistic. It can be said to be precarious."

Wilhelm paused for a moment and smiled slightly. "Why am I certain? Because I have seen God."

Ignoring the astonished expressions on everyone's faces, he continued, "Let me put it this way, I'm sure you all know that a few years ago, my two brothers and I were involved in a car accident. My eldest brother died on the spot, and my younger brother has been in a coma ever since. Only I survived unharmed."

"Although I was unharmed, I was in a coma for several months before waking up. Why? Because during that time, God himself revealed to me the future direction and granted me knowledge of what was to come. I spent several months digesting what God taught me. By the time I woke up, I had transformed, and I can say that I am the apostle sent by God to govern the earthly order."

Wilhelm rambled on and on, but suddenly, one of them had a drastic change in his complexion. Sweat seemed to surge out of him like there was no tomorrow, and within seconds, he rolled his eyes and fainted.

"What happened to him?"

Elder Bloom quickly apologized, "I'm sorry for the offense. It seems he had a relapse of his illness. Your Highness, may we be allowed to go back first? Can your proposal be given a few days for us to consider?"

"No problem, I'm not in a hurry." That guy was all smiles when he arrived, and there seemed to be no signs of illness. How could he suddenly faint like that? Could it be that he was frightened by his domineering aura?

Wilhelm chuckled at this childish thought.

*****************

The Jewish man who was being helped into the car by a few companions also slowly regained consciousness and weakly extended his right hand. When he released his tightly clenched hand, they found a pile of yellow shards in his palm.

The surrounding Jewish people were instantly shocked and exclaimed, "The holy pearl is broken?!"

"How, how is this possible?!"