People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 577: Philip the Fox
In Damietta's tavern.

A group of strong and powerful knight guards were guarding a nobleman wearing a red robe embroidered with a golden lion.

To be honest, Richard the Lionheart felt that he was living a pretty good life these days.

The delicious wine, the spices that were cheap compared to those in Europe, and the unique oriental delicacies all made him linger.

It's just too leisurely.

A king should live on the battlefield, not waste his ambition in comfort.

Richard felt extremely bored and wished that Saladin would lead his troops to attack him immediately so that he could fight a real battle with real weapons.

"Fuller, let's play another game of Gwent. This time I'll use your Jerusalem deck."

Fuller nodded silently and exchanged the two decks of cards.

Even a boring person like him finds playing cards much more interesting than playing dice.

It would be better if there wasn't some guy chattering around.

"Your Majesty, your victory has been stolen. Are you just going to sit here and watch him show off his power?"

"My skills are just inferior to others."

Richard picked his ears in annoyance.

Cardinal Sebastian has been jumping around these days, trying to instigate him to seize Damietta's military power while Losa is away.

But in his opinion, he was just a clown who didn't know his own status.

Don't you even consider the people's support? The strength comparison between the two sides?
Do you really think that a king title is more powerful than thousands of troops?
Perhaps Philip's court would need such a jester.

At this time.

The group entered the tavern aggressively and with a burst of exclamations.

The man was handsome, with carefully groomed brown curly hair, but the most eye-catching thing about him was the exquisite golden crown inlaid with various gems, and his blue smock embroidered with many golden irises.

Philip?

Richard looked at the person coming from the opposite side in astonishment.

This Augustus, whom he had just been talking about, naturally did not come alone.

Behind him, Gallic Crusader nobles such as Reynald and Guy followed Augustus and made their positions clear.

Especially this kid Guy. He and his brothers only recognized the rule of the Capetian royal family and even tried to kidnap his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was so bold!
Richard stood up, waved his hand to dismiss the guards who wanted to stop him, and looked at him with a frown.

Philip laughed heartily. "Long time no see my brother. Looking at your wonderful expression, you didn't seem to expect me to come here?"

"Indeed, my brother. After all, you have always been cautious in your actions. Before your army crossed the sea, I never thought I would see you here."

"Speaking of which, how long has it been since we last met?"

"That's a long time."

The two men talked and greeted each other in a harmonious and happy atmosphere, as if they were old friends who had not seen each other for a long time and were chatting and laughing.

The relationship between the two was indeed very good. They even shared the same bed, slept with their feet touching, and ate at the same table.

It was with the support of Philip II that Richard had the capital to challenge his father.

Unofficial history of Losa's time even said that the two had an extraordinary friendship.

Of course, this is nonsense.

How could it be possible that the two most noble monarchs in the Christian world were guilty of such an inhuman sin as was tantamount to murder?

The so-called sleeping in the same bed is actually more like a signal to the outside world that "the two of us are about to form an alliance", which is the same as sleeping with feet touching during the Three Kingdoms period.

"I heard that you just suffered a small loss?"

"Where's the matter?"

Richard looked unhappy. "Together we defeated a main force of the Saracens and captured countless spoils. Every soldier gained a lot and clamored to participate in the next battle."

"Hahaha, that's great. By the way, Richard, why aren't you the commander-in-chief of the Crusaders? Didn't Duke Losa give up his position to you?"

He said in a playful tone: "Or do the nobles in the East not know about your reputation of being victorious in every battle?"

Richard couldn't hold back his smile, and whispered, "The position of the head coach will naturally be reserved for you, the most honorable Augustus."

Their honeymoon period had long passed, and as he ascended the throne of Albion, he became King Philip's biggest rival.

He also broke off the engagement with Philip's sister, Princess Alice, on the pretext of her infidelity, breaking the promise Philip had made when he helped him to ascend to the throne.

In fact, it was very common for aristocratic marriages for both parties to have their own affairs.

Richard's reasoning only meant that he unilaterally broke the alliance with Philip.

As a result, the two former best friends had long turned their backs on each other and drifted further and further apart.

"But to be honest, Philip, I don't think it's a wise move for you to join the holy war. You are good at spreading rumors and sowing discord. If you were to become the commander, I would worry about the success or failure of this crusade."

"Ah."

Philip sneered and had no interest in continuing his verbal battle with Richard. When it came to his ability to command a military force, he was indeed not as good as his former friend.

But in his view, Richard was like a bull that could be blinded by throwing a red cloth, just a reckless man.

He came to the table and sat down generously, saying in a calm tone: "Well, Richard, we haven't seen each other for many years. We finally meet again in this sacred place. Why do we have to be so aggressive? I still remember the good times we spent together in Paris. Maybe we are rivals in Europe, but not here."

Philip picked up the exquisitely crafted Gwent cards on the table and looked at them for a while. "Tsk, nice little thing. This Duke of Losa is quite smart. If he was born in Gaul, I would be happy to give him the position of finance minister. But unfortunately, he doesn't seem to recognize his own status. I heard that he wants to usurp the throne?"

Perhaps because of the previous situation that the Capetian royal family "did not issue orders beyond the island of Gaul", Philip did not like to divide the land. He preferred to appoint bureaucrats to rule the territory for him.

Cardinal Sebastian, who was standing by, seized the opportunity and interrupted, "That's right, Your Majesty. In fact, his title of Duke was conferred by the Coptic heresy. It is completely groundless and should not be recognized at all."

Philip glanced at him and frowned, saying, "He deserves the title of Duke. After all, he has made great contributions to the Eastern Expedition."

As for the Copts mentioned by Sebastian, to be honest, Philip didn't care at all.

He set aside the Pope's orders to deal with heretics in his territory and paid no attention to them, not to mention the Copts on whom he had to rely in Egypt.

"Philip, you don't want to join forces with me to deal with Lothar?"

Richard raised his eyebrows: "Come on, two kings joined forces to deal with a small marquis. If you don't find it shameful, I will."

What's more, it may not be right.

Richard knew best how many chips Losa had in his hand at the moment.

Unless Lothar made a serious mistake in decision-making in the next battle, even if he was defeated, his position as the Grand Marshal would be almost unshakable.

To solve this problem, first take care of the supply of the Crusaders.

Richard changed the subject and added: "But you are right about one thing. We are not opponents here, but Christian brothers who are also fighting for God and fighting to regain the Diocese of Alexandria."

Although he had a smile on his face, what he was actually thinking was, I'm not a match for you.

As the king of Gaul, Philip had been competing with him for the support of the Gallic lords.

This dispute would naturally extend to the Holy Land - because the main force of the Crusaders had undoubtedly always been the Gallic Crusaders.

Neither of them brought many troops from their own army, so if they wanted to expand their power, they would have to compete for the support of the local Crusaders.

However, although Richard was upright, he also knew that now was not the time for them to fall out.

"By the way, how did you get here?"

Philip smiled and said, "Of course, the same as you. Otherwise, I don't know how long it would take to sail from Provence."

Richard suddenly laughed and said, "It's Reynard, right? I overlooked this person."

In the Holy Land, the only one who has the power and motivation to take over King Philip is the former King of the Dead Sea.

Reynald is not a small character, at least the former Grand Duke of Antioch and Count of Transjordan is not.

Reynard, who was mentioned, bowed his head humbly to Richard.

Richard nodded perfunctorily. "No wonder he has been attacking those poor Bedouin settlements so frequently recently. It turns out he is collecting materials for the teleportation array for you."

Philip emphasized his tone: "Sir Reynard only wants to kill the pagans and promote the power of God."

He would not accept such a severe accusation as using blood sacrifice.

Richard sneered and cursed "hypocrisy" in his heart. In fact, he also used the method of blood sacrifice when he brought people here.

Otherwise, if Sebastian only used magical materials, he would not be able to collect them all even if he spent all his money.

...

Lothar, who was unaware of Damietta, the arrival of another ambitious monarch, was standing on a tower of a magnificent building complex, listening to people's exclamations.

"What is this?"

"I don't know. It was an empty lot last night, but today this huge complex just rose from the ground."

“It’s a miracle!”

"Yes, this is a miracle, a miracle that is unique to His Excellency the Duke. Have you forgotten the story in the booklet that I heard last night?"

This building, which rose from the ground overnight, is a cavalry academy.

Its actual name is Sipahi Heavy Cavalry Battalion. This type of cavalry originated from the Ottoman Empire. It is an Eastern feudal fiefdom knight equivalent to the Western European knights. The difference is that the fiefdom cannot be inherited.

After the Janissary Guards became dominant, the Sipahi cavalry gradually became an auxiliary force.

They usually travel lightly, using horse bows and javelins, but there are also heavily armored cavalrymen who imitate the Crusader Knights.

In the system barracks, they wear a full set of plate chain mail and chain mail, and their mounts are equipped with horse armor or horse clothes. They are a kind of heavy shock cavalry, and can be considered a variant of the Crusader Knights.

(End of this chapter)