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

In the bedroom.

The chessboard has been laid.

Baldwin IV, who has short curly brown hair, pointed leisurely at the ceramic cup opposite.

Have a cup of tea, as per your taste, no spices added.

Lothar took the tea cup and drank it in one gulp.

He narrowed his eyes slightly. It was a familiar taste, but it was obviously not good tea.

Is everything going well?

Lothar came to the opposite stool and sat down, holding the white chess piece first.

Chess is the exact opposite of Gwent, where the player who goes first usually has the advantage.

It went very well. We recruited more than a thousand people in one afternoon. Thank you for your help.

Without the cooperation of Baldwin IV in all aspects, the recruitment of citizens may still proceed smoothly, but the progress will never be so rapid.

“Well, if there is extra land, let’s recruit as many people as possible.

Recently, there are rumors in Jerusalem claiming that sea monsters are infested along the coast of Alexandria and that sea food routes are cut off.

There were also hoarding incidents in the city, causing the price of food to double in just two days. Moreover, the trend is continuing to increase, and I am worried that if this continues, it will cause turmoil.

Lothar frowned: Jewish businessmen did it?

In this kind of thing, the first person to doubt the Jews was right.

Well, but not only, there are also big nobles involved, but they are hidden behind the scenes. They have a large amount of grain stored in their territory, and they can make a lot of money by raising the price of grain.

Lothar frowned: Just leave this matter to me.

What are you going to do?

Lothar crossed himself: In the eyes of Heavenly Father, usury is the ugliest and most abhorrent crime.

Baldwin IV frowned and said, I asked you to deal with the hoarding matter. What does it have to do with loan sharking?

Since they are Jewish businessmen, would you believe it if they said they did not lend money?

Jews were restricted from employment, and lending money was one of their only means of livelihood, and the interest rates were generally higher than those in the Templar banks.

Whether it counts as a usury loan depends entirely on the ruler's whim.

For example, when the Knights Templar were arrested by the King of France, they must have been engaged in loan sharking. In fact, this was indeed the case, but no one had held them accountable before.

Baldwin IV frowned: You want to get rid of them with such a crime?

He is an upright monarch, but he also knows that he has no right to punish the nobles who follow the trend and hoard food, so this is the only way to deal with the matter.

Well, once we get the grain they have hoarded, the price of grain will basically stabilize. Later, the grain transport ship from Egypt should also arrive.

In a few words, the life and death of a group of people have been determined.

There was no obvious change in the expressions of the two of them, but they naturally jumped to the next topic.

I will do as you say and do it in the name of the Grand Master of the Royal Knights.

Um.

Lothar nodded slightly. By saying this, Baldwin IV took the responsibility of dealing with Jewish moneylenders on himself.

Although few people would sympathize with Jewish moneylenders these days.

But there are many Jews living in Hebron in Lothar. Most of them are dutiful industrial and commercial people. The name of a Jewish butcher may have a bad influence on him.

Baldwin IV rubbed his brows in distress: I have recently been promoting the marriage between Balian and Sibylla.

A lot of resistance?

Um.

Lothar was thoughtful.

Even excluding the fact that Princess Sibylla's son will be the first heir to the throne of Jerusalem, the princess is also a powerful noble.

Resistance is normal.

Lothar may also have contributed to this. After all, his rise was too fast. Both the Duke Party and the Queen Mother Party were worried about increasing the power of the Royal Party again.

Seeing Lothar's frown, Baldwin IV couldn't help but smile and said: Do you think there is nothing good about being a king? You can't even decide on your sister's marriage.

Lothar sighed: It's your illness that's dragging you down.

If it had not been for leprosy, it would not have been impossible for Baldwin IV to defeat Saladin's power at the Battle of Montgissar and become the greatest king of Jerusalem.

He sighed softly: No matter what the reason is, it can't change the fact that under my rule, the country is divided, the royal power is declining, and there is endless internal strife. I am very worried that one day, the Holy Land will be lost in my hands.

Lothar solemnly said: Your Majesty, I promise you that I will do my best to protect the Holy Land from being occupied by infidels.

Baldwin IV smiled, picked up a chess piece, and dropped it: Don't underestimate your opponent.

Miss Nesaya once told me that the Eastern Empire had cultivated an army that took potions on a large scale. The rebel Bulgarians in northern Thrace had gathered tens of thousands of rebels, but they were all defeated by this army of only three hundred people. The army was easily defeated, and only the rebel leader Ivan Risen escaped.

Lothar frowned.

The Bulgarians are very good at fighting. They are a mixture of Bulgars and migrating Rus.

Simeon I was crowned Caesar in Constantinople.

He was known as the Emperor of the Bulgarians and even occupied almost the entire Balkans.

But the bravery of the Bulgarians was not as good as the tactics of the Greeks, and in the end the Eastern Empire had the last laugh.

Historically, it was also at this approximate time that the Bulgarians launched a rebellion, but in Lothar's world, the rebellion was ultimately successful.

Of course, there are many differences between the two worlds, and it is normal for them to have different development trajectories.

Lothar joked: You even tricked out this kind of secret?

Baldwin IV's face froze slightly, and then said: Miss Nisaya is an innocent and kind-hearted girl.

Lothar thought thoughtfully: In other words, 'not very smart'?

Baldwin IV coughed and looked a little embarrassed: To be honest, it is a virtue of chivalry, how can it be said that it is not smart?

Lothar's expression gradually became serious: The magic potion is of high value. Apart from the Eastern Empire, I am afraid that only the Sasanian Dynasty has the ability to form such an army.

This is not referring to Assassin's inferior magic potion that stimulates potential in the short term and kills you immediately after drinking it.

That kind of magic potion would not be able to defeat tens of thousands of rebels with an army of three hundred. Even a ragtag group of people would be able to drown these three hundred people.

At the very least, as far as Lothar was concerned, he felt that even if he brought 300 winged cavalry with Jeanne, he and Hans' triple bonus, he might not be able to achieve the same results.

What's more, the Bulgarians are famous for their bravery and fearlessness, and they are definitely not comparable to the ordinary Saracen conscripts.

Baldwin IV solemnly said: More than that, at least half.

Saladin?

Well, in addition to that, you may also need to add a few kings from Europe. You have to know that the price of potions is high. In terms of financial resources, perhaps only the Eastern Empire and the Sassanid Dynasty can afford it.

But Emperor Henry was the first monarch to convene a witch advisory council, and King Charles even married a witch as his wife.

Lothar nodded and said: I will be careful. In this battle at Port Ella, the enemy sent a wizard. Fortunately, he was not strong enough. Otherwise, we would have suffered heavy losses.

Baldwin IV frowned and said: Spell casters have entered the world one after another, and they don't know what is going on in this world.

After saying that, without waiting for Lothar to answer, he said again: What are your plans next?

Army expansion.

Lothar was concise and to the point.

While recuperating, train an army to prepare for the next stage of expansion. This is Lothar's primary goal at the moment.

Baldwin IV nodded and said, Do you need me to help you with some money? The king still has some money left in his private treasury, but not much.

Thank you, Your Majesty, but no need.

Oh, I think so. Port Ella and Hebron are both wealthy places. In terms of wealth, you should be richer than me now. It's you who should be the one to support me.

Lothar smiled bitterly and said: It turns out that you are retreating in order to advance.

Heh, I'm just kidding you.

Baldwin IV chuckled and said: I didn't expect that you would reach this point. If you have time, talk to Baron Godfrey more and I will implement your idea of ​​setting up a border zone as soon as possible.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Lothar said sincerely.

Go back after playing this game. I haven't seen you for a while, and your chess skills haven't improved at all. It seems that you have never played except with me.

A gentle smile appeared on Baldwin IV's face.

I have to thank you for being patient and accompanying me through this game of chess.