People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

In a blink of an eye, two days passed.

After two days, the Crusaders dug trenches and laid fences under the scorching sun above their heads.

It's just that the shadow brought by the giant dragon is undoubtedly huge. Except for those who are so fanatical that their heads are broken, no one thinks that they can challenge this legendary monster.

In the king's tent.

A group of crusader nobles gathered together, including the powerful figures in the two major knight orders. The total number of troops sent by the two knight orders in this battle was almost equal to that of Lothar and Duke Raymond, so they naturally had their place in the military council.

These people are all powerful nobles in Jerusalem, each with thousands of troops, and they are the most prominent princes in the Holy Land.

Humphrey of Torun, the fiancé of Princess Isabella, said righteously: "Your Majesty, it's time to show the Saracens a little bit of color. We can't enjoy comfort in the camp all day long."

Palace Chancellor Amalric said helplessly: "Although I don't think that closing the camp is a greed for comfort, but what I have to say is that if we continue to confront the Saracens, the kingdom will go bankrupt. "

"This is exactly Saladin's trick!"

Duke Raymond said: "He attacked Enrique's castle but didn't take it, just to make us lose our minds and march forward rashly—once we fall into Saladin's trap, we will suffer heavy losses and the entire Holy Land will be exposed Under the iron heel of the heathen, let it ravage you."

The palace minister was a little helpless and said: "But the problem of military expenditure must always be solved?"

Lothar said: "It's time for some people who are penny-pinching to bleed, wouldn't they rather watch the Holy Land fall, but also keep their money bags tight, and don't leak half a coin to fund the establishment of this A gigantic army that takes all of us?"

Lothar paused slightly, and said again: "I remember, didn't someone covet my new Habsburg? Didn't they claim that they had dozens of talents of gold and silver in exchange? At this critical moment, they If you have the money to lease my territory but don’t want to donate it to the army participating in the jihad, can you still be called a devout servant of the Heavenly Father?"

Lothar's opening seemed to signal a war against the church.

Among Lothar's men, Baron Argonne of Petra, the only one qualified to participate in this meeting, except Leonard, shouted: "Yes, we have given everything for this battle, and the poor donated their last lives." No grain of grain, or even their own lives, to participate in this battle to defend the holy land; citizens donated money and materials to arm hundreds of elite soldiers; knights of the order and pious priests also bravely fought .

However, there are only a few monasteries that claim not to participate in secular affairs, and there are dozens of talents of gold and silver in their warehouses, but they are unwilling to donate a single cent. "

The nobles immediately understood that this was Lothar's counterattack against the priests who coveted their territory, but they were also happy to see it. On the one hand, Lothar attracted the most firepower, and on the other hand, they were indeed short of money. .

Roger and Gerald, the leaders of the two knight orders, couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed when they heard the words.

The several monasteries that Lothar opened fire have a close relationship with His Majesty the Pope, and there is absolutely no way for them to accuse them.

Accompanied by the voices of denunciation echoed by the nobles, His Majesty the King made a final decision: "Master Gerald and Roger, please send someone to contact these monasteries. In the name of the King of Jerusalem, I would like to express to them Borrowing money for jihad."

The two looked at each other, and said helplessly, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Although it was said that it was a loan, everyone knew that His Majesty the King would not repay the money with a high probability.

"But we do have something to do, the lads have a bad morale."

"That's right, Your Majesty, many people think that you and us are all frightened by the dragon. Many boys go to bed at night, and they are worried that they will be buried in the flames when they wake up."

"Lord Marquis, I have to admit that your command is outstanding and your soldiers are well-trained, but you can't defeat the dragon with these. When will you be able to show the extraordinary power bestowed by the heavenly father?"

All eager eyes looked at Lothar.

Compared with Saladin, their sources of information are more "hearsay". They only know that Lothar has the feat of slaying dragons, but they don't know how to do it.

Right now, I actually want Lothar to give them a reassurance, even if it's just a little show, it can make them more at ease.

Lothar cleared his throat and said loudly:
"Everyone, the suffering we are facing is nothing compared to the crucifixion of the Son. The light of the Father shines on Galilee, and we will win the victory. So please be safe. impatient."

The nobles suddenly felt helpless, this kind of scene was not what they wanted to hear.

Seeing Lothar looking around, he suddenly asked, "Everyone, do you know why the demon dragon that the pagans sold their souls to the devil didn't swoop down and spit out highly poisonous and high-temperature dragon flames?"

Everyone was stunned.

Lothar went on to say: "Because I didn't make a move, I was like a crossbowman hiding in the dark, making the opponent feel like a thorn in his back. As long as this continues, this is still a secular war."

"But our morale is very low."

Lothar responded quickly: "Then take a method that can boost morale."

"Such as sending knights to duel with heretics—Saladin is a self-proclaimed upright person, and he will most likely not refuse. If he refuses, he can also preach that these heretics are afraid of us."

It is a common method in European wars to decide the outcome by duel.

It is not only to follow the "divine judgment", but also a necessary means to greatly reduce the losses of both sides and quickly end the war.

Because there are many castles in Europe, if a war is to be fought, it must be very expensive and time-consuming.

As far as the attacker is concerned, they don't have large siege equipment that can destroy the city wall. If they want to capture a strong castle, the casualties they have to pay are definitely several times that of the defender.

As far as the defenders are concerned, if they can't hide from the enemy, they can't do anything to their own side, but the villages and towns in the territory will be allowed to be looted by the enemy, or even burned to nothing.

In a war, even the most worthless serf is an important property of a lord, but a normal person who knows how to weigh the pros and cons will not be like the brutal lord mentioned by Hans, regardless of the life and death of his subjects.

Therefore, if it is really a protracted war, it must be the result of mutual losses.

At that time, it may lead to the intervention of a third party.

Therefore, a duel to determine the outcome may seem like a joke, but in fact it is also reasonable.

"That's true, but how do we make sure we win?"

Some Crusader nobles looked dignified.

To this day, all the people present have also excluded those newcomers. They are all acquaintances who have often dealt with pagans, so they are naturally aware of the strong fighting power of the Saracens.

Many elite Mamluk cavalrymen have undergone rigorous training since they were young. They eat and live together, are highly skilled in martial arts, have strict discipline, and are powerful warriors whose combat effectiveness is no less than that of European knights.

Lothar looked at the gazes cast by everyone, and suddenly remembered the scene performed outside the Hulao Pass.

I have General Pan Feng, who can kill Hua Xiong.

Although it felt like planting a flag when he said this, Lothar still said: "I have two generals, and I can take the lead in the battle."

...

The news of the duel with the heretics spread quickly.

After everyone left the tent, the young king was a little worried: "Will something be exposed?"

Lothar shook his head and said: "Always show the bottom to the opponent. If we don't play the cards first, Saladin will have the upper hand and will not make any moves. Don't worry, Your Majesty, I have a lot of cards in the hole, so it doesn't matter if I play one or two cards first." .”

Both Veneto and Hans have good fighting power, even if he doesn't play his hole cards, he is not an opponent of these two.

Lothar remembered the confrontation between the two that he watched in person a while ago, with a smile on his face: "I also want to take this to see what kind of quality the opponent is. If even Hans and Veneto can't handle it, just relying on a giant If it's a dragon, we don't have to be nervous."

The combat power of a wizard is generally not reflected in the body. There are not many wizards who practice body modification, but there are very few.

For example, the previous wizard who followed the transformation trend and created fusion monsters.

But the opposite is not necessarily a wizard.

It is best to force out one or two hole cards of the enemy.

"Let's go."

After His Majesty finished dressing up, Lothar walked out of the tent with the king.

The barracks that had been set up began to move like a giant beast that had come to life.

Smoke and dust filled the sky.

In the camp surrounded by two layers of wooden fences, the light cavalry first galloped past the arrow tower at the opening of the camp like the wind, followed by the secular knights, who followed their respective lords.

Lastly were the orderly knights in black or white robes.

Compared with these crusader knights, the heavy cavalry archers dressed in oriental clothes are too eye-catching. They were once regarded as mercenaries from the empire or the east, but after taking off their helmets, they revealed The face of the Franks.

The Crusader cavalry quickly occupied two high grounds outside the camp.

In the sky, flocks of falcons are like carrion vultures, looking forward to a bloody battle, but fortunately they can feast on it after the battle.

Naturally, the movement here could not be concealed from the Saracens who had been monitoring the place. They responded immediately, dispatching soldiers to leave the camp in an orderly manner, forming a standard formation of "cavalry wings, infantry backbone".

Both sides are forming formations, like fighting cocks trying to spread their wings and show their strength to each other.

In addition to the peasants and soldiers under Lothar, the Black Eagle Banner, the Woodland Archers, the Varangian Guards, and the remaining veterans and other infantry, the Crusaders and the foot knights who lost their mounts are also considered neat.

They hold halberds, flails, war hammers, spears, equipped with kite shields, kite-shaped shields or round shields, and wear Norman-style spine helmets, shaped like an inverted iron bowl, with a nose guard added.

The clergymen holding up various icons walked while preaching loudly to the surrounding believers.

Priests in white robes surrounded the cart containing the box of the True Cross. On the cart stood a huge gilded wooden cross, shining brightly in the midday sun, boosting the morale of all the crusaders.

"The Red Cross of the Eternal Saint Michael, Vicar of Heaven, protects us."

The various coats of arms and banners of the Crusaders, as well as the almost uniform banners of the crosses of the knights of the order, set off waves like a wheat field blown by the wind.

Opposite, is the flaming banner of the Saracens.

It can be seen almost at a glance that even the infantry phalanx that these Saracens have never paid attention to is a well-trained, well-equipped, light infantry company wearing leather armor; not to mention the Mamluk cavalry in different clothes, Nearly one-third of them are heavy cavalry in horse and horse gear, with riding bows on their backs, and they are firmly distributed on the two wings of the infantry phalanx.