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

Lothar left Limassol that night, boarded the ghost ship parked on the shore again, dived into the seabed, and headed towards the Holy Land at high speed.

Turiados' administrative ability is still above the passing mark. He has managed the Limassol Military District quite well over the years. Limassol City has a population of nearly 10,000, and its affiliated towns and villages add up to tens of thousands of people. The level is above the food and clothing line.

Lothar had no intention of replacing him, taking charge himself, or entrusting him to the governor.

As a foreign lord, he sticks to his duty.

Likewise, he does not intend to recruit an expeditionary force here to follow him back to the Holy Land.

To put it bluntly, he looked down on the fighting ability of the Greeks. Except for the private guards of high-ranking nobles like Turiados, because they were always armed and trained every day, they still had some fighting ability.

But recruiting these Greek nobles who are affiliated with him and asking them to help the Franks, who have always disliked them, to resist the attack of the Saracens will easily arouse dissatisfaction. Although he can suppress it with strong methods, it is really not necessary.

Take the Habsburg Empire, which was discredited and dubbed the Sick Man of Europe, as an example. It used Hungarian money to support the imperial navy, but Hungary did not even have a coastline, which naturally aroused collective opposition from the Hungarian nobles.

Of course, it would be another matter if Lothar spent his own money to form an army in Limassol and bring it back to the Holy Land. However, the quality of the soldiers here, even if all Frank pilgrims were recruited, the combat effectiveness would not be as good as the peasant soldiers in his own territory. The cost-effectiveness Even worse.

After returning to the ship, Lothar briefly mentioned the matter to Hogg.

Hogg immediately looked embarrassed: Sir, I have been a pirate for hundreds of years, and I have never done the job of escorting a caravan. If I have this time, I might as well rob a few waves of pirates and make money quickly. .”

Lothar calculated Captain Hogg's income in the past two months and couldn't help but nodded in agreement.

Not only that, with the war approaching, the control of the Red Sea is crucial. In addition to the merchant fleet formed by the local snake Muller with the help of Lothar, the coast patrol team in Ella Port has only a dozen small coastal defense ships. It is really difficult to meet Saladin's plan. The fleet cannot even offer a slight resistance.

Indeed, let's put this matter aside for now and just pretend I haven't told you.

Lothar walked to the side of the ship alone, frowning.

There is no such thing as an innocent army in this era. When a large army crosses the border, even your own villages and towns will be on guard, for fear that these butchers with swords in their hands will rob them and their own people.

Only a general like him who has enough prestige and his troops are loyal enough can restrain his subordinates.

If the Port of Ella is captured, let alone captured, or even if a large army passes by, it will be a disaster. The farms, manors, villages, and irrigation canals he invested in and built will all be burned to the ground.

What are you worried about?

Jeanne walked over slowly with a glass of red wine in her hand: I saw that you looked gloomy as soon as you came back from Limassol. Did you run into any problems?

nothing.

Lothar shook his head. Saladin's march route will most likely go south from Syria. Fort Kalle and Duke Raymond's territory are the northern gateways of the kingdom. As long as this place does not fall, the war will not burn Lothar's territory. .

It's just a high probability, but it doesn't mean it's certain.

I'm wondering whether Adil, the governor of Egypt, will lead an army to attack from Filhorn and attack my territory.

Is he crazy?

Jeanne rolled her eyes, thinking that Lothar was unfounded.

For Saladin, Jerusalem was the ultimate goal. Even if he gave up Jerusalem, no matter how much territory he gained, it would not be as far-reaching as what this city represented.

This has nothing to do with the strategic significance of Jerusalem itself, population, wealth, or land. It is purely religion that gives this city an extraordinary definition. At the same time, taking the line of Phil Orne also means crossing Sinai Desert.

Adil's previous troops had only reached the border of Baron Tihe, and there were few villages along the way that could provide supplies to the army.

I'm not crazy. Jerusalem is a loose alliance. If they take Jerusalem directly, they will face the main force of the Crusaders who are united from top to bottom. If they attack from all sides, they will face a mess.

Ask yourself, if my territory is attacked, I will definitely return to defend it. In this way, the defense force of Jerusalem will become weak-this is not impossible.

Lothar sighed softly.

According to the original historical trajectory, the Crusaders were defeated by Harding when they were supporting Raymond's territory, and were almost wiped out.

It is impossible for Jerusalem to defend only one holy city. Once the territory of the courtiers is attacked and the kingdom does not send troops to support it, the legal basis for the existence of the entire kingdom will be destroyed.

Those fanatics would not agree to such a cowardly approach, and those lords outside their territories would not agree to it even more.

Jeanne wondered: Didn't Saladin take action yet? I heard that he was not a very upright person, and would he tear up the armistice agreement so easily?

There's never been a better time than now.

Lothar looked at Jeanne and said seriously: Do you remember the Sasanian mission that you saw when you were in Jerusalem? In addition to re-establishing a non-aggression treaty with the Queen of the Eastern Empire, in private, their mission The leader, Grand Vigil, Mustafa told the Queen that he hoped that the Eastern Empire could provide timely assistance to the Crusaders when Saladin regained the Holy Land.

Jeanne was slightly startled.

It's really ironic.

It's very ironic. It's a pity that even though their grand vizier was sensible and moved, and even mentioned that the traitor Isaac Comnenus had made a treaty with Saladin, the queen still didn't agree. .”

Even if you can help the Crusaders defend Jerusalem and gain a lot of fame, these fame will not be as beneficial as recovering Sicily. There are still many Greeks there who want the empire.

Jeanne thoughtfully said: I understand. The Sasanians are unable to interfere in this war, or they are unwilling to bear the crime of destroying the Great Jihad, so they plan to take action from the Eastern Empire.

Lothar shook his head and said: There is a high probability that he is just incompetent. The last time Jihad, who was so powerful, ended in nothing. On the surface, it was a tie, but everyone knows that Saladin lost. The name of 'Great Jihad' The head is not that useful, so the Sassanid king could use the excuse of 'Saladin is incompetent and repeatedly defeated in battles' to use his troops against him.

Lothar picked up a Gwent card. On the gold-rimmed card, there was a picture of a Tatar coward Xue Jun wearing heavy armor, complete with bow, spear and shield. He looked very similar to the Iron Pagoda of the Jin Kingdom. .

It seems that the Tatars have put a lot of pressure on the Sasanian king. He probably has no energy left to care about Saladin now.

Jeanne nodded slightly and said: In other words, the two forces that are now qualified to interfere in the jihad are not able to interfere in this jihad. In addition, Saladin has put down the civil strife and the Kingdom of Jerusalem is in disarray. This is very difficult for Saladin. , is the best time to take action?

It should be more than that. There may be other factors that prompted Saladin to take action, but the news of his preparations for war cannot be hidden from others. The prices of food, ordnance, mounts, and even herbs from Limassol to Aleppo have increased.

It seems that this battle is inevitable. I hope those Crusader princes are already prepared.

Jeanne was someone who had led troops before. The logistical equipment required for an army of 20,000 people was an astronomical figure for this era.

If the army wants to move, it is impossible not to move.

It is even more impossible for the Saracens, who relied on trade to build their country, to completely conceal their intentions.

…

Jerusalem, Palace Council.

The nobles of Jerusalem gathered together. They were dressed in gorgeous clothes and stood on two sides. Baron Godfrey and Balian seemed a bit isolated. Even though Balian had entered into a marriage contract with Princess Sibylla, the old baron Still maintains a firm royal identity.

It's a pity that the backbone of the royal party, his most solid and reliable ally, is not there, making him seem a little weak.

In the main hall, as soon as Regent Raymond mentioned the issue, someone shouted angrily: I have long said that we should not make peace with the pagans. How long has it been before Saladin is about to make a comeback?

Infidels cannot indeed be trusted.

All pilgrims must be mobilized. It is the responsibility of all Christians to protect the Holy Land. The weapons and equipment that were previously sealed have been repaired and should be ready for use.

The Grand Master of the Knights Templar suddenly spoke: The monastery in Ascalon is willing to donate five thousand marks of silver as military expenses. The monasteries in Ashkelon, Irbid and other places are also willing to donate large amounts of silver.

All the nobles were stunned for a moment, with surprise on their faces.

Okay, with this money, we can purchase enough military rations from the Greeks.

Who is the abbot of Ascalon? He is such a pious man.

But this donation comes with conditions

Gerald, the grand leader of the Knights Templar, paused slightly and seemed a little embarrassed to speak.

The eager Crusader nobles have already asked: What are the conditions?

But they want to lease the land in New Habsburg and turn the land near the sacred tree into church property.

There was silence in the main hall for a while.

Immediately afterwards came the boiling sky.

Fart, how dare they?

Is there anything wrong? The sacred tree is originally a miracle sent by Heavenly Father, so there is nothing wrong with bringing it under the control of the church.

That's right, in order to protect the Holy Land, we voluntarily gave up the inheritance rights of the territory, sold all our possessions and exchanged them for armor, weapons, and grain, and traveled thousands of miles to the Holy Land. Isn't Count Lothar unwilling to give up even a piece of territory?

You grass-goat Anglo guy, the church dares to use this name today to threaten us to hand over Lothar's territory. Whose territory will it want to spend money to buy tomorrow? Is it possible that as long as there is enough money, it can A pious nobleman who has made countless meritorious deeds bows his head?

There was a lot of noise in the hall.

There were already many conflicts between the nobility and the clergy, so the act of joining together several monasteries was really taboo.

At this time.

A middle-aged man wearing a simple monk's robe that had been washed white slowly walked to the main hall.

Bishop Uldin.

The nobles greeted each other one after another. During his time in Jerusalem, Uldin had made a huge name for himself. He had cured several high-ranking nobles with serious illnesses one after another. Even Duke Raymond had to give him a favor.

After all, no one knows when he will ask to see Bishop Uldin.

The Lazarus potion developed by the cult will be supplied free of charge to the army guarding the Holy Land.

Uldin's eyes looked at the Grand Master of the Knights Templar: The fighting monks of the Order of Saint Lazarus will also go to the battlefield. Defending the Holy Land is the mission of every Christian, and it is the mission of every Christian. Priests should not ask for anything in return, but should also lend their all to help.”