People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 546 The King takes action

The magnificent Duke's Guard marched slowly on the street.

The hussars leading the way, holding unsheathed armed swords in their hands, shouted and ordered pedestrians to get out of the way.

The residents in the city didn't have much reaction to Lothar's journey.

They had seen a lot of the Crusader nobles showing off in Damietta these days.

After realizing that these Franks did not kill everyone on sight as in the legend, they became accustomed to it. The arrival of the Crusaders was nothing more than a change of lord on their heads. Other than that, it seemed It's no different than before.

However, some Crusaders and pilgrims who recognized the double-headed eagle flag and hussar costumes gathered around the team, holding crosses or flags in their hands, and excitedly called Lothar's nickname and title.

"To the greatest Duke Lothar!"

"Victor, brave, dragon slayer, great guardian of the Holy Lance, please grant me your blessing."

"The Holy Son protects me, and I will never be in danger in a hundred battles!"

Some idle Copts also had the courage to come forward and join in the fun.

"Is this the legendary Guardian of the Holy Spear?"

"Holy Saint Margaret, is he riding a Pegasus? It looks taller and stronger than my camel!"

"I have to admit, after seeing this lord, the incredible legends about him seem to be somewhat credible. This is definitely not a mortal lord!"

They marveled again and again, staring at Lothar and his guards without blinking.

In his mind, a rare thought emerged that the other party could really defeat the Saracens who had occupied Egypt for more than five hundred years.

The location of today's military meeting was in the Crusaders' camp on the outskirts of the city. It was an open area with lush banyan trees and palms. Under the shade of the trees, more than a dozen noble lords had arrived in advance.

The Lionheart King looked at the guards filled with smoke and waving flags from a distance, and couldn't help but smile and said: "What a grand scene."

The leader of his guards, a Norman earl, sneered: "The nobles in the East love luxury so much. No wonder they lost their bravery and lost Antioch and Edessa one after another."

His tone was a little sour. In order to raise enough military expenses for the Eastern Expedition, Lionheart almost emptied his territorial treasury, and also levied a large sum of "Saladin tax". This money made the entire Albion nobles feel uncomfortable. .

After finally arriving at the Holy Land, he discovered that the armor passed down from his family was not as sophisticated as the armor of a random guard on the other side, who was just a Swabian mountaineer half a year ago. This made him feel a strong sense of security. unfair.

"He just calls himself a Duke. If he really takes over the whole of Egypt, wouldn't he have thousands of retinues when he travels?"

Richard frowned. Although he didn't care about external things like money, he also knew the importance of money to an army.

"Okay, don't sigh, my knight, we didn't come to the East to amass wealth."

The Lion-Hearted King chuckled. He came here this time, risking being usurped by his restless brother. What he wanted was not the wealth and power of the East. What he wanted was just a hearty battle and the supreme power. Prestige.

"Don't underestimate him. A Swabian mountain man can't do this. These days, you have also seen that the soldiers love him, the nobles fear him, and the Saracens fear him. Even I have to Admit it, he is an absolutely qualified Crusader commander."

"That's because you didn't come."

The captain of the earl guard sneered with some disdain: "Any of his so-called dazzling achievements would only be better accomplished by you."

"You're so arrogant, Fuller."

Although he said this, in his heart, Richard did not think that the captain of the Earl Guard, whom he relied on, was wrong.

"Okay, Fuller, it's time for us to greet our Lord Marquis. Remember, put away the disdain on your face. I heard that when this Lord Duke was still a baron, he liked to throw his gloves to On other people’s faces. And you are by no means his opponent.”

The captain of the earl guard was a little unconvinced, but when he saw the figure riding on the giant horse, he swallowed back what he was about to say.

This guy, whether it's his mount, horse armor or armor, is full of extraordinary, which makes people subconsciously feel a sense of awe.

Richard greeted Lothar warmly, and the two exchanged a few words. As more and more Crusader nobles arrived, the two looked at each other, smiled, and returned to their respective camps.

In the venue, hundreds of Crusader nobles, big and small, and their attendants gathered in small groups. If you look down from a high altitude, you can see that these nobles are divided into two less distinct circles.

The core figures in the circle are Lothar and Richard.

Richard looked at Lothar, who was surrounded by the crowd, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, this guy is simply too young to be ridiculous.

In fact, deep down in his heart, he still admired Lothar.

But the two are destined to stand on opposite sides of each other.

In this military meeting, what he wanted was to win more followers and at the same time seek the position of commander as much as possible. Although Lothar was the Crusade Marshal appointed by Baldwin IV, this position was by no means irreplaceable.

According to convention, the commander-in-chief of a crusade is often held by the person with the most noble title, or a temporary military council is formed by various lords with similar status, and they jointly formulate military strategies.

Such unspoken rules were obviously beneficial to Richard. For a noble monarch like him, even if he could not obtain the status of commander, he should have a similar status to Lothar and jointly formulate military strategies.

On the other side, Lothar, who was chatting and laughing with Baron Godfrey, seemed to have glanced at the Lion-Hearted King Richard inadvertently. When he saw the king from Europe, he was chatting enthusiastically with Cardinal Sebastian, and he couldn't help but frown slightly.

Although Sebastian is only the Patriarch of Alexandria in name only, he is also one of the five most respected people in the Catholic world.

The Patriarch of Jerusalem, who has the same status as the Patriarch of Alexandria, has not even paid much attention to the Pope's orders over the years, and the Pope is still helpless about it. This is evident from the respect of the Patriarch's status.

Divine power without the support of secular power is like a castle in the air, but now, Sebastian has the support of the Lionheart King.

Lothar stood up and came to the temporary high platform. He held a sword on his waist and walked with a high head and a strong momentum. Without seeing him say anything, the noisy Crusader nobles below quickly fell silent.

"Everyone, in less than a week, we have captured almost the entire province of Damietta, and won a series of great victories that can be recorded in history. This is a miracle, just as I promised at the beginning. , all those who occupy castles and villages can swear allegiance to me, and I will also grant you corresponding titles in the name of the Duke of Egypt."

After the words fell, the Crusader nobles cheered.

Many of them are unfavored second sons of their families. In the future, they will either become monks in a monastery, or they will be willing to live in poverty and inherit a remote and barren territory. For a piece of territory, what they usually have to pay is to serve the lord for most of their lives, perform several outstanding feats, and narrowly escape death several times - but now, they only fight a few small and effortless battles.

"Praise the Duke!"

"Long live the Duke!"

They all cheered.

Even the nobles who had pledged allegiance to Lothar privately did not hesitate to cheer and joy.

Lothar stretched out his hand and pressed it softly, and said: "The second thing is that we have welcomed a truly pious and brave Crusader; a Crusader who, for the safety of the Holy Land and the great cause of the Crusaders, would not hesitate to put down his entire kingdom. The complicated affairs, the great king who is personally present in the Holy Land - the Lord of Albion, the Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, the Count of Anjou and Maine, the great King Richard the Lion-Hearted!"

People cheered again.

On the surface, it is definitely a good thing that Richard the Lion-Hearted comes to the Holy Land.

"Praise the Lionheart King, praise His Majesty Richard!"

"Praise the Father, the cause of the Crusades will surely win!"

Richard the Lionheart walked up to the stage and said with a smile: "Everything is God's will. Damietta is just the beginning. Next, Cairo, Alexandria, Edessa, Antioch and even Aleppo will all Return to Christian arms.”

"Marquis Lothar, before continuing the military discussion, I have something to deal with."

Lothar smiled and nodded: "Your Majesty, please."

I saw a somewhat familiar man, sandwiched between two Lionheart King's guards, and brought to the stage.

Richard the Lion-Hearted looked at the man who was brought up coldly and said, "Master Lothar, this Jew is buying up the hard-earned trophies of the soldiers in the camp, using extremely low prices, inducement and even fraud!"

After the words fell, all the nobles and attendants started making noises.

Many of them suffered this loss.

In fact, many people are doing this kind of thing.

Genoese, Venetians, Greek merchants

But the reputation of the Jews is really bad.

If nothing else, the fact that they killed Christ created a deep enmity with all Christians.

"Could it be that in order to protect the safety of the Holy Land, the soldiers, fearing life and death, fought bloody battles with the pagans, only to have their bones ripped apart by such swindlers, steal the last copper in their bags, and end up in poverty?"

The surrounding atmosphere became more lively.

In fact, it was far less serious than what Richard said. The reason why many Crusaders fell into poverty was because they squandered their money on drinks and women.

But there is nothing wrong with killing Jews.

Many bad-tempered knights and nobles raised their hands and waved their fists: "Kill him, damn Jew!"

"Hang him on the gallows and let the crows peck out his eyeballs. This is the fate that a Jew deserves."

"Your Majesty the Duke, your kindness should not be given to such a person!"

"Master Marquis, what do you think? After all, you are regarded as a protector by the Jews. When my people asked him, he kept claiming that the purpose of this crazy money-making was to donate a protection fund to you."

Richard looked at Lothar and asked with a smile.

Lothar's expression did not change at all, and he said in a deep voice: "Do you think I instigated the Jews to deceive the Crusaders?"

"It's so ridiculous. These days, who doesn't know that I have opened a trophy purchase in the camp, and the price is much higher than the market price. If this Jew really serves me, will I dismantle myself? ?”

The Lion-Hearted King Richard hurriedly said: "My lord, Marquis, I didn't mean that. On the contrary, I was complaining for a noble person like you. The slander of such a despicable person will never tarnish your honor in the slightest."

"Yes, this despicable man actually dares to slander the Duke."

"Kill the damn Jew!"

Lothar sneered. He had already recognized that this Jew was Maimondeni, a Jewish businessman from Iberia who had met him before. He once served Governor Ibn and was also the leader of the Jewish community in Damietta City.

If this person dies, people in the Jewish community will definitely think that he has broken the agreement on cooperation between the two parties. Although they will certainly not have the courage to launch a rebellion, they will certainly not donate money and materials as enthusiastically as before.

"Sir, please save me."

The Jew knelt on the ground, his lips trembling, and whispered that Lothar would be spared: "Please."

Lothar frowned.

He originally planned to attack Sebastian at this military meeting. After all, this guy violated military regulations many times, just plundered villages, and openly massacred prisoners of war. At least he had to send a few of his knights to him. Hanging the gallows is the only way to shake the mountain and shake the tiger.

But this time it doesn't seem to work.

On the one hand, the Lionheart King is venting his anger on "his own people", but he is executing "one of his own people" for heretics or heretical Copts. When comparing the two, it is clear which one is superior and which one is inferior.

"Pull him down and be whipped."

Lothar waved her hand.

He took a deep look at the Lionheart King and then said: "Everyone, this morning, I learned a surprising news - a new sacred tree appeared in the territory of Knight Commander Jeanne. This must be It is the reward given by the Heavenly Father to the pious and to us crusaders who fought bravely against the enemy. The territory of Egypt is so vast. If the endless desert can be turned into fertile soil by sacred trees in the future, what kind of land of opportunity will it be? "

This news immediately swept through the entire military discussion like a storm.

(End of this chapter)