In the Middle Ages, people drew cards to be promoted to nobility.

Ah.

Fringilla said in surprise: Sir, why are you laughing?

I laugh at Rauf's lack of plans and Zain's lack of wisdom. If he wanted to surround the area to call for reinforcements and lure the snake out of the hole, he shouldn't have intercepted all the scouts. In this way, even a fool would know that something was wrong.

If I were him, I would intercept some of the scouts and release some of them. It would be best to spread the news that Jeanne and the winged cavalry are surrounded and are in urgent need of support.

Prajna frowned slightly: It is not easy to surround Jeanne and the Hussars and force them to call for help.

indeed.

Lothar paused slightly and asked, Hans, how many militiamen have we recruited now?

Hans replied: There are only more than 200 new peasant soldiers who have gone through simple queue training and converted to the right faith, and the rest, more than 800 people, volunteered to help us defend the city.

Lothar nodded slightly.

Among the more than 10,000 people in Ella Port, a thousand militiamen were recruited from the majority of the converts, which was a normal ratio for the city defenders.

Some city-states were able to conscript all adult males into military service.

Because even in the war on the European continent, everyone is a Christian brother, and when the city is broken, there will definitely be looting and massacre.

A person like Lothar, who has done almost nothing wrong with civilians after occupying Ella Port, is definitely extremely rare in the entire world.

Everyone's interests are bound, so naturally they are willing to die for it.

It seems that Rauf's reputation for brutality has helped us a lot.

Hans whispered: My lord, don't you think your reputation is very good?

Lothar has a series of positive nicknames such as the Generous One, the Guardian of the Holy Land, and the Brave One.

But these are reputations in Christendom.

In the world of Zoroastrianism, no one who has a certain amount of wealth and status in the local area is not afraid of his cruelty and violence.

After the land was occupied by the other Crusader princes, they still had the possibility to continue to maintain their rule by making donations and becoming tax collectors.

And if the land is occupied by Lothar, they will either have to leave their homes or they will definitely be cleared.

This is confirmed by bloody examples.

Lothar sighed lightly: I know, so I have no plans to continue to expand in the short term.

Hans whispered: But sir, now is the right time. It would be a pity not to eat the meat that is brought to your mouth.

Lothar thought deeply and said: Indeed, if most of the enemies can be annihilated in this battle, Rauf's territory in the southern Sinai Peninsula can almost be said to be within easy reach.

This is not a big cake. Even if the Sinai Peninsula is unified, it will not be as good as Transjordan, but it is still difficult for us to swallow it in one bite.

Lothar's current strength is still a bit weak when divided among various territories.

He needs some time to stabilize and develop.

Coors, who stood aside as silent as a ghost, suddenly said: Perhaps you can consider bringing the other nobles from Transjordan to the table.

People who like to eat alone are not that lovable.

Lothar said hmm and nodded: What you said makes sense.

In fact, I already have a rough plan for this. After defeating this enemy force, I will recruit the vassals of Transjordan to attack the Sinai Peninsula.

At the same time, I plan to recruit the noble sons of Transjordan, that is, the second sons of the family who have no right to inherit the territory, to swear allegiance to me and become knights of the order.

I will entrust the newly conquered territory to them to repay the price of inviting them to send troops.

Kors was slightly startled.

Hearing this, Lothar's plan can already be seen in full.

If the territory is given to knights with no foundation, it will be difficult for them to control their territory. Single-handedly, they cannot make those fierce Bedouin nomads surrender.

This forced them to rely on Lothar's power.

This helped Lothar centralize power, but Lothar chose enfeoffment because he had no extra power to spread over the newly occupied lands.

And the families that are entrusted to these well-established knights will definitely make great efforts to help them control the newly acquired territory.

Even if the family business will be passed down to the eldest son in the future, they don't mind seeking a fief for the second son of their family.

Because the more titles a family has, it is very beneficial to the inheritance of the entire family.

Werner's ability to find a marriage for Otto with the Duke of Lower Lorraine was, to a certain extent, related to Lothar's reputation in the Holy Land.

In this way, Lothar not only does not have to spend administrative resources on the newly occupied land and laboriously integrate the territory, but can also recruit these knights and their attendants when needed, and the army fights for him.

It can be called a white wolf with empty gloves.

And there’s no need to worry about loyalty.

Your system doesn't allow me to use soldier templates to convert vassals, so you can't control me and prevent me from promoting ordinary knights to vassals, right?

The enemy troops under the city have begun to build camps.

The craftsmen accompanying the army unloaded the dismantled siege engines from the baggage trucks and were assembling them. The conscripted peasant soldiers put down their weapons and went to cut down trees nearby with axes.

At this time.

In the enemy camp, dozens of Mamluk cavalry escorted a man wearing exquisite scale armor and a bright red flame cloak out of the camp.

A black-armored Mamluk cavalry galloped out, came to the city, and shouted: Let your leader come out to see the great Lord Rauf.

Lothar snorted and frowned: Hans, at this distance, can the trebuchet installed on the tower hit Rauf?

He didn't want to waste his time with Rauf.

This is not a war between European nobles. There will be a wave of duels before the war, and civilians who kill nobles will even be held accountable.

This is holy war.

Till death.

Hans came back soon: The distance is not enough, but it is more than enough to hit the Mamluk cavalry.

Lothar looked at the figure surrounded by Mamluks in the distance, and sneered: Forget it, there is no need to expose the accuracy of our trebuchets and ballistae just because of one person.

Wait until they assemble their siege engines and plan to attack before opening fire.

He held down the sword at his waist and murmured in a low voice: Rauf, my subjects who were impaled by you are still waiting to be reunited with you.

In the wilderness.

Jeanna looked at the three huge manticore beasts that gradually appeared in the distant sky, with a contemptuous smile on her face: It's just that the three beasts can't kill us - the enemy is coming soon. .”

Pass the order, everyone, prepare to meet the enemy.

Raouf was no fool, and of course he was prepared to deal with the Hussars' army.

Only by swallowing this winged cavalry, which has become famous in the Holy Land, can Raouf completely relax and attack Port Ella.

Otherwise, if this light-armored heavy cavalry is allowed to wreak havoc on their supply lines, it won't be long before the city is captured and they will have to withdraw due to lack of food.

It seemed to be in response to Jeanne's words.

In the distance, smoke and dust billowed.

Hundreds of light and heavy cavalry wearing black scale armor appeared on the hillside.

On the back road when the hussars came, there were also many Bedouin nomads riding dromedary camels and wearing wide desert robes, holding spears and bucklers, approaching slowly.

Behind the dunes on both sides, there were also flags fluttering.

The light and heavy cavalry sent by Raouf to encircle and suppress Jeanna totaled nearly a thousand people.

Of course, this includes a considerable number of Bedouin nomads.

They were just like the Magyar bandits that Lothar faced when he debuted. They had loose discipline and could only fight with the wind.

Jeanne's hearty laughter rang out: Ha, these pagans actually want to surround us!

The hussars looked scornful.

Encirclement means extending the front.

The line of defense against the powerful impact of the Hussars will become thinner.

Peel through them!

The hussars shouted.

The servants, who were still a little nervous at first, couldn't help but feel a little relieved when they saw the hussars being so high-spirited.

Jeanne raised her holy spear high and shouted: Hussars, listen to my order and charge in the name of Heavenly Father and our revered Lord Lothar!