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

The convoy flying the black double-headed eagle flag, escorted by thirty winged cavalry, slowly left the Port of Ella.

Lothar took only thirty hussars with him, and even the nominal count's guard, the Varangian Guard, stayed in Port Ella to garrison.

This is the front line after all.

Although Phil Aoun was temporarily stabilized due to the flight of local chiefs, military control, and the land distribution policy.

However, in this battle, the enemy suffered heavy casualties. However, these dead people still had their families alive. It cannot be taken for granted that they will be bribed by the land distribution policy.

Moreover, there are also many fanatical believers in Zoroastrianism among the civilians, and these people are also hidden dangers.

We have to rely on Coors' spy organization to slowly identify and eliminate them.

Beside the road.

Almost all the civilians who saw Lothar's carriage bowed their heads and saluted.

After the carriage had driven far away, someone was still making the sign of the cross in front of them.

With Zain, the extortionate former lord Zhu Yu, in front of him, the civilians of Port Ella were even more supportive of Lothar than the civilians of Hebron, Lothar's base.

Hans said with some emotion: Sir, have you seen that everyone supports you very much. Before, when we were patrolling every day, someone would bring melons and fruits to share with us.

Lothar smiled.

The people at the bottom are easy to fool, but not easy to fool.

No matter how stupid people are, don’t they know whether their lives are good or not?

Isn't this as it should be? Your Excellency treats those unruly people well enough!

Fringilla hummed softly: In Transylvania, if they can have a full meal a day, it is considered a mercy of the vampire lord there.

Cellinina was sitting in the carriage. She couldn't ride a horse, and the speed of the horse was not as fast as her walking.

Hearing this, he said thoughtfully: The same is true in the Two Sicilies. Only the wolf tribe can hold high positions. The common people not only live in poverty, but also have to be careful about the day when their children are taken away and eaten by the wolf tribe, but people do not dare to resist. , can only live like a zombie. The whole society is lifeless.

Lothar asked: Is this why your father resisted the Wolf Lord?

Chelinina shook her head and said: No, he is not that noble. He just wants to stand on his own and get rid of the control of the Wolf Lord.

Lothar was a little disappointed.

There are still a minority of idealists who are willing to betray their own class.

Jeanne said: This is normal. In the vast new continent, it is much better to recruit those wandering wolf tribes, or the wolf tribes who are frustrated in the local area, and establish themselves as kings than to stay in the Two Sicilies and rely on the wolf lord.

She shrugged: If you dark creatures all go to the New World, our Knights of the Holy Church will be much more relaxed. Before being summoned by the Lord, I have not taken a vacation for two consecutive years.

Cellinina frowned.

This was different from what she thought before.

Fringilla sneered: Celinina, have you seen that the so-called charges of deviating from the wolf tradition are all false. In the final analysis, it is still a struggle for power.

How can the old Wolf Lord tolerate the emergence of a new Wolf Lord in the New World and be crowned king?

That's right.

After hearing this, Chelinina jumped off the carriage and came to the carriage where Fringilla was riding. She took out the iron box and took out a chocolate bar to feed her.

The movements are done in one go.

Jeanne sighed: When did the relationship between these two people get better?

Hans was horrified.

Oops, my thighs are running away!

…

The little incident on the way did not concern Lothar.

Nowadays, the situation in the territory has stabilized, and Lothar does not want to start another war in the short term.

He is not a war fanatic, and over-expansion may also lead to Adil's interference. The great desert on the Sinai Peninsula is a natural chasm, but the premise is not to anger Adil too much.

Attacking Egypt is the most lucrative option, but that requires Lothar to have sufficient strength.

At the very least, if an expeditionary force of tens of thousands of people can be mobilized, it will be possible to gain a foothold in North Sinai, Egypt's bridgehead.

The same goes for fighting the Abyssinians. The benefits are limited, but the difficulty is not low at all.

In Lothar's world, after all of Africa was carved up, Abyssinia was the last to fall, later than Egypt.

The two major powers, Britain and Italy, both fell into disgrace here.

So, plan for the short term, recuperate and reclaim wasteland.

In the mid-term, go south to expand territory and increase strength.

In the long term, head north to invade Sinai and conquer Egypt.

As for whether to turn to integrate the vassals in the territory, especially to capture Montreal and Carle Castle occupied by Leonard, it still depends on the internal situation of the kingdom, such as whether a suitable legal basis can be found.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem is his backing. If he expands blindly inward, once his reputation becomes notorious in the Christian world, he will truly become a loner.

For example, if Adil dares to attack him now, he only needs to raise his arms and with the support of Baldwin IV, he can attract the help of the entire Crusaders in Jerusalem.

Jeanne rode Grape and came to the carriage.

Miss Chelinina, it's good to be serious, but don't be so listless all the time. A young girl should be more energetic and enthusiastic!

Chelinina frowned and nodded: What you said makes sense, what should I do?

Try to be like me and smile all the time.

Chelinina curved the corners of her mouth, and her smile was stiff, but Jeanne was very satisfied and said: Yes, that's it. The little girl should be less bitter and hateful, and have more sweet smiles.

She stretched out her hand and touched her chin: The journey is boring, how about the three of us play a game of Gwent?

Gwent? What is that?

Chelinina wondered.

Jeanne took out the exquisite little iron box: We all have a set of cards. You can borrow one from me first, and the three of us will take turns to play against each other.

…

The carriage creaked and creaked.

Not stable.

Lothar covered her neckline with a veil and rode side by side with Prajna. The air-conditioning coming from Prajna's small air conditioner was very pleasant.

Ahead, a small oasis appeared.

Relying on the oasis, there was a small village, which was entrusted by Lothar to a knight of the order who was promoted from the Saracen peasant soldiers.

Let's go and see what's going on here.

Although there is no doubt about the loyalty of the Knights of the Order, judging from the paper report and the on-site inspection are two different things.

Agriculture is the foundation, and Lothar deeply believes in this statement.

Just money and no people is just a plate of delicious food on the table.

Historically, there have been few business empires that can compete. Even if they are prominent for a while, they will gradually decline later.

Carthage, which used to control large areas of North Africa and Iberia, the Eastern Empire whose military zone system was destroyed, the city-states of the Apennines, the Arab Empire, and even the distant Song Dynasty, are all precedents.

Using a large number of slaves and mercenaries to fight will lead to negative consequences sooner or later.

Another purpose of his return to Jerusalem this time was to accept some pilgrims as subjects. Although there was a land distribution policy, there was still a lot of land under his hands that was uncultivated.

Moreover, the amount of arable land in New Habsburg continued to increase.

Moving pilgrims to bring in people can not only increase the population.

At the same time, it can also improve the population composition of the territories under Lothar. German immigrants with the same culture and race are more trustworthy than the Saracens.

grown ups?

Before he even got close, he saw in the field a tanned man who looked like an old farmer. He grinned in a surprised smile, and his teeth looked white due to the contrast in color.

He tried hard to pull his legs out of the mud and ran towards this side: Sir, why are you here?

Lothar smiled and said: Ramla, I am going back to Hebron, and I will stop by to see you.

His eyes passed over the farmers who ran over with the knight named Ramla - although most of them were lean and dark-skinned, they looked very healthy.

Ramla introduced: Sir, they are all farmers and soldiers under my command. The canal has just been built today, and we are trying to use it to irrigate the land for the first time - this is much easier than carrying a bucket to fetch water. It won’t be long before we can open up a large area of ​​farmland.”

You did a good job, Ramla. I will praise you to your mother when I go back.

Ramla showed an embarrassed smile: Thank you, Sir, I have a grudge. If possible, I would like to bring my mother here, and the land in Hebron will be distributed to others.

Of course it's no problem. Even if you don't say anything, General Manager Coors will start on this matter after a while.

Ramla said in surprise: Thank you, sir.

You're welcome, it's me who should thank you.

Lothar's expression was a little complicated. The life of the order knights under him was much harder.

Although the salary he gave was quite high, every one of them counted. No one should want to be like a real noble knight, wearing bright clothes and angry horses, doing nothing.

Farewell Ramla.

The convoy continued to move forward, passing more than ten villages on purpose, some of which belonged to Port Ella, and some of which belonged to the Diocese of Alandre.

Lothar could see that the faces of most of the people in the territory, although tired, were full of hope, which was completely different from the numbness and indifference before.

Their lives are not that good yet, and many of them are still receiving relief grains because the newly cultivated land has not yet produced yields.

But Lothar's actions all showed that he was a kind and generous lord.

Their daily hard work is to work hard for their future, and they don't have to worry that one day Lothar will take away all the fruits of their labor.

As it was getting late, Lothar finally arrived at New Habsburg.

From a distance, you can see the lush, huge tree crown that looks like wings hanging from the sky.

You can also feel the joy coming from the tree of life.

It grew very fast, far beyond Lothar's expectations, thanks to the blessing of faith.

as god.

The more people come to worship, the more faith power they gain, and the faster it grows.

Continue this trend.

I'm afraid it won't take more than half a year for the Tree of Life to reach its mature stage ahead of schedule, and he can switch to a woodland shooter, making up for the weakest link in his army.

The Armenian mercenaries had serious problems exposed in this battle.

If the distance is a little further, there will be no armor-breaking ability.

Against the well-armored Saracen infantry, there was almost no casualty. At most, the slings knocked out a few unlucky ones.

Cheap, but not easy to use.

Defensive warfare can still have a certain effect, but if it is a field battle, the effect will only be worse.

Lothar quickly ended this mercenary contract. Although he now has money to hire more and more powerful mercenary teams, such as hiring Turks from Asia Minor.

But he still preferred to cultivate his own army.

Nor should we look at the poor performance of the Apennine city-states after unification, which relied on mercenaries all day long to fight.

You know, after unification, Italy is at least a nation-state. But its performance is not even as good as the Austro-Hungarian binary empire that was built through political means after the decline of the Habsburg family.

He raised his head and looked at the New Habsburg on the high ground in the distance, with the eagle flag flying above the city, and felt a sense of pride in his heart.

Since before the war, he was only an empty count, and his power in Transjordan was even inferior to that of Leonard and Baron Argonne.

Now, he seems to be the most powerful prince in Transjordan. He can pull out thousands of troops and can truly match the title of Count of Transjordan.

…

Sasanian Dynasty.

Ctesiphon.

A group of envoys returning from the Tatar grasslands were crying to Bahram VI about the humiliation of their trip by the Tatar Khan from the Borzjin family.

The diplomatic documents that came back made the King of Kings and all the courtiers even more angry.

The content of the document is: I know how powerful your power is, how big your country is, and I know that you rule one of the vast areas of the earth, a country that lasts for thousands of years. I am deeply willing to make peace with you, and I hope to treat you as a beloved son.

These barbarians on the grassland dare to humiliate my king like this. They say they are willing to make peace with us, but they treat my king as such. It is simply unforgivable!

Oh, these barbarians from the East all think they are part of the Tang Empire, and they all talk so loudly.

The officials were furious.

There was a hint of anger on the face of the Sassanid King: The Khitans of Liao State invaded our territory many times and even asked me to surrender and pay tribute to them. This newly rising Tatar King is even more aggressive and wants to treat me as a king. 'Love Son'.

A general said: He is just a prairie chief. I am willing to personally lead the army to conquer him severely and capture the Tatar Khan and his wife and daughter back so that my king can vent his anger.

Mustafa, the palace minister, coughed lightly: Your Majesty, don't raise an army in anger. The grassland is barren and it will be completely unprofitable for us to spend our troops on an expedition.

Sasanian King Bahram VI looked unhappy.

He took a long breath and suppressed the anger in his heart: What Mustafa Grand Vizier said is true. Tatar is barren, and the nomadic light cavalry comes and goes like the wind, just like the White Huns. If I send a large army When setting out on an expedition, all they have to do is drive their cattle, sheep and tents and hide in the east so that we can return without success.”

The White Huns are actually not the same thing as the Huns. They are a branch of the Tatars who migrated westward. They are much more advanced than the Huns and once brought considerable pressure to the Sassanid Dynasty.

Sasanian Persia had no interest in the grasslands and occupied such remote areas. For the Sasanian king, it was better to continue south and attack Tianzhu, which was a land of scattered sand.

Tianzhu is rich but not good at war. It is like a big treasury and is the cornerstone of the resurgence of the ancient empire of Sasanian Persia.

The current Sasanian Dynasty, just like the Eastern Empire next door, is a thousand-year-old kingdom that has suffered from long-standing abuses and is extremely old.

It has long since been transformed from a dominant position by the Persians to a binary bulk empire in which Persia and the Arabs are both dominant. The internal problems are very serious.

What your Majesty said is reasonable. Although the territory of the barren Tatars is vast, the population is less than a million. Just reprimand the Khan of Hezhong for expelling the Tatar caravans and not trading with them. The prices of the grasslands will skyrocket, the people's livelihood will be ruined, and great suffering will be caused. discipline.

In the court, there were only some generals who were eager to make meritorious deeds.

The Sasanian king and Mustafa Palace and other officials were unwilling to attack the grassland.

There is too little oil and water, and the expedition requires too much money and food, but the income is close to zero. It is better to fight with the Khitans.

Yes, just follow what you said.

Bahram VI added: The construction of the Great Holy Fire Altar in Ctesiphon has been completed, and the news that Saladin, the sycophant, has formed a spell caster advisory group in Damascus has spread widely, attracting many secluded spell casters. We cannot fall behind.

Your Majesty, as of today, thirty-six priests have arrived at the Great Holy Fire Altar. The Holy Fire Ceremony can be held at any time to select your spell caster advisory group.

Palace Prime Minister Mustafa said sternly: As the Patriarch of Zoroastrianism, you are just a sycophant, Saladin. How can you compare with your appeal?