People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 111 The King's Arrival
Hans was a little puzzled:

"My lord, I don't quite understand why you ask them to prohibit occupying the houses of the heathen? There is no ready-made camp here for them to rest."

"An army unchecked can quickly turn into a mob and bandits."

Lothar paused slightly, and said again: "Moreover, the pagan civilians in Montreal are already suffering from the 'Saladin tax' and the 'unbeliever tax', and their lives are very difficult."

"If this continues, I worry that Saladin will send spies to incite a riot."

Saladin tax refers to the tax levied against Saladin, regardless of whether he is a pagan or not.

The tax on unbelievers refers to the heavy tax paid to allow them not to convert and still maintain their old beliefs, often accounting for about half of their personal income.

"Hans, you have to know that the Kingdom of Jerusalem has a population of nearly 100 million, and only one-fifth of them are Christians. The Zoroastrians living in Jerusalem do not resist the rule of the kingdom. This is the effort of the kings of Jerusalem. , I don't want to be ruined by a bunch of idiots."

Zoroastrians are second-class citizens in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

But most of them are in rural areas, they can still live according to their old way of life and legally own their own land and temples.

Many villages didn't even change taxpayers, but the bosses behind the taxpayers, from Saracens lords, became Franks.

This made the lower-level Saracen civilians actually hold a noncommittal attitude towards the existence of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

It doesn't matter who rules here.

In the past, when the Saracens ruled here, the chiefs and chiefs treated them no better than they do now.

Moreover, there are also factions within Zoroastrianism. The Fatima Dynasty before the Ayyubid dynasty believed in the new Zoroastrianism. The hostility of the new Zoroastrians towards the old Zoroastrians was deeper than that of the pagans.

There is a saying that fits here: Heretics are more hateful than heretics.

When returning to the room.

Hannya is still holding an old book that is badly faded and reading.

Lothar glanced at the cover. It was probably a religious book written in Latin. Lothar didn't quite understand it, and he wasn't interested in it.

Prajna is undoubtedly a very learned person.

As a character in an oriental background, she is not only proficient in Chinese and Japanese, but also proficient in Gaul, Germanic, East Slavic and Greek.

She even dabbled in the uncommon Celtic language.

Fringila was holding the double-headed eagle emblem and was "talking" with the witch Anna. The two had a heated discussion on the topic of "how to counter space spells".

If this kind of sound transmission magic is applied properly, it will be very helpful to implement a bureaucratic appointment system similar to the "county system", and it can effectively strengthen the central government's control over the local area.

Just don't know the cost.

Lothar thought about it.

"It's very late, you two go to wash up now and get ready to rest. Although Journey to the West is finished, I still have many more novel stories here."

Fringela hastily "hanged up the phone".

Prajna also put down the old book in his hand.

Time flies, and three days have passed in the blink of an eye.

In the past three days, batch after batch of crusaders arrived in Montreal.

This city, which was originally built to transfer supplies and support the Crusades to continue their eastern expedition, quickly restored its original appearance and turned into a huge military camp.

But despite the large number of Crusaders, Lothar was still a little worried.

Although the number of the Crusaders was large, there were nearly [-] people, but the combat troops were only [-] at most, and most of the rest were peasants and conscripted farmers with little combat effectiveness.

These recruited militiamen are often defeated on the battlefield. Even with the blessing of faith, their performance may not be much better.

After Lothar greeted the king, he met the king in the castle in Montreal.

outside the hall.

Lothar saw a familiar figure. He was holding a saber and holding a spear with a square flag tied on top.

"Belian?"

There was a gleam of joy on Belian's face: "Good day, Lord Lothar, long time no see."

Lothar patted the other party's shoulder: "It's not bad, I've become a knight holding the flag in front of the imperial court. I'm much more at ease if I have you to protect His Majesty's safety."

According to Lord Godfrey, Balian drank a potion called "Dragon's Blood".

His strength is no longer comparable to that of ordinary people.

"My lord, compared with you, I am still far behind. Go in quickly, Your Majesty has been waiting for you for a long time."

"Okay, let's talk about the old days when I come out."

Lothar walked into the hall.

The original mess here has been cleaned up.

The broken walls were also repaired by masons.

Baldwin IV was sitting on the throne. He was still wearing a silver-gray mask, but the dull feeling on his body had completely dissipated.

"sit down."

Lothar found a seat near the front and sat down.

"I heard that you defeated a Mamluk?"

"Correct."

"How do you feel about these slave cavalry?"

"It's very powerful. They are divided into light and heavy cavalry. The former only wear leather armor or no armor at all, while the latter are shock cavalry in horse gear."

"They can use bows and arrows and mount spears to fight, and even the Frankish knights are good at charging with guns, and they have mastered it."

Lothar emphasized: "Moreover, they are far more adapted to the climate here than we are, and there are a large number of camels suitable for marching and carrying luggage."

Baldwin IV nodded slightly: "How did you defeat them?"

"Your Majesty, I must admit that I was lucky to win this battle."

"Their commander, Prince Zahir, is a conceited man. He tried in vain to block the infantry sergeants of the Royal Knights with light cavalry and crush our cavalry head-on with cavalry."

Baldwin IV said thoughtfully: "But he didn't accomplish a single goal, did he?"

"Yes, if they choose to use light cavalry to harass us continuously, destroying the water source along the way, and then attack us when we are exhausted, it may be our turn to taste the bitter fruit of failure."

"You're right, but he couldn't have done that."

Baldwin IV pointed to his feet: "This is the land of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He went deep alone and proved that he had limited supplies. He dared not and could not use such a tactic."

"You fought a good battle. Like your father, you have extraordinary military talents."

"Your Majesty, you are too honored."

Lothar is not humble, he really thinks that he can win because of his hard power. If he has a choice, he is not willing to fight such a tough battle that even if he wins, the loss will be extremely heavy.

Baldwin IV shook his head and said: "If you hold the position of Earl Leonard and operate here for several years, I believe that the eastern border of the kingdom will be a piece of iron."

The two smiled wryly at each other.

Baldwin IV's face showed a hint of worry: "Under Saladin's command, there are [-] elite Mamluk cavalry, and we can only gather [-] armored cavalry at most."

Lothar nodded and said: "There is indeed a gap in strength between the two sides, so I always think that it is more suitable for us to defend against the walls of Jerusalem."

Baldwin IV shook his head and said: "The monarch not only represents power, but also represents obligations. If I cannot even guarantee the fulfillment of my obligation to protect my vassals, Jerusalem will fall apart in an instant."

Lothar was silent.

He also knows this.

"If Saladin led an army of 30, he would surely win this battle, but he only brought 3."

Baldwin IV sighed lightly: "Let's not talk about that, let's talk about you—I heard that Earl Leonard's son, Humphrey, died at your hands."

He paused slightly, and said again: "Is it really demon possessed?"

"Exactly!"

Baldwin IV smiled: "Oh, that old guy Leonard, if he knows about this, he doesn't know whether he should thank you or hate you."

Earl Leonard was happy, probably because he lost an heir who was looking forward to his death every day.

He hated it because he and Countess Stephanie had no heirs, and the only heir now died. If something happened to him and Stephanie, the royal family would be eligible to take back the territory of Transjordan.

"Stay here and play a game of chess with me. Perhaps, this is the last game between our monarch and his ministers."

The atmosphere in the hall was a bit dull.

This time, Lothar rarely won the king, and he looked at the young king sitting opposite him with some surprise.

The other party's eyes were full of worry: "Lothar, if you lose the battle, I hope you can not stick to the worldly vision, gather your subordinates immediately, return to Jerusalem, and organize the city defense."

Lothar nodded: "I will, Your Majesty."

"I can rest assured that."

Baldwin IV smiled and said: "Let's play another game. The top player is for you. If you can still win, I will make you the lord of Transjordan."

(End of this chapter)