People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 32 Decision and Pledge of Allegiance (Unity)

Swish swish.

About a quarter of the nobles in the field raised their hands.

Count Leonard spat thick phlegm on the luxurious carpet, and said with disdain on his face: "It turns out that our brave and fearless Crusaders were frightened by Saladin and his lackeys before they started fighting! "

Immediately someone responded: "That's right, we can't hide in the city like a tortoise, we have to fight the heretics to the end!"

Roger, the head of the hospital knights, said angrily: "Struggle, what are you fighting for? There are 20, 30, or even [-] enemies. How many do we have? Twenty thousand, thirty thousand, or forty thousand?"

"Hush, hush!" cried Regent Raymond.

He repeated "quiet" over and over until he stood up and slammed the table down, angrily angrily said: "If you want to quarrel, get out and quarrel now!"

"Next proposal."

The nobles in the palace finally restrained themselves a bit, but arguments were still unavoidable.

There are many supporters for each proposal, and each proposal cannot win the approval of more than half of the people.

So the nobles divided into small factions and began to attack each other and argue endlessly.

Regent Raymond was very annoyed. At this moment, he saw Godfrey who had been silent all this time, his eyes lit up and he said, "Baron Godfrey, do you have any opinions?"

The eager atmosphere in the hall suddenly stagnated.

The debate was much quieter.

Earl Georgelin, Earl Leonard, Grandmaster Gerald, Grandmaster Roger, the four top dignitaries, all looked over.

It is true that Baron Godfrey has always had a low sense of presence, but anyone who dares to really ignore this powerful and powerful man in the Holy Land would be downright stupid.

This is also the only remaining core figure in the royal party, and the relationship with all parties is quite harmonious.

Godfrey thought for a moment, and motioned Lothar to answer for him.

"I?"

Lothar was a little puzzled.

Baron Godfrey lowered his voice, and said in Lothar's ear: "It's you, I have to let these old dogs know that Habsburg has once again entered the political arena in Jerusalem."

After thinking for a while, Lothar realized that this was a stage specially set up for him by Baron Godfrey.

Please, we just met, is it necessary to trust me so much?
What if I'm a deadbeat?

Lothar no longer hesitated, stood up and said: "Master Tiberias (the honorific title for Raymond), let me express my opinion for Baron Godfrey."

"Who is this?"

"Werner's coat of arms?"

"That cold-blooded butcher and executioner has returned to the Holy Land?"

"It doesn't look like Werner, but this burqa is clearly the former uniform of the Royal Knights."

Around, there was a whisper.

They looked at him with unfriendly eyes, but different from what he expected, it seemed that few people entangled him in speaking whether he was just a landless knight, whether he was qualified to sit here.

Raymond nodded slightly: "Yes, but before that, please tell me your identity."

"I am Count Aargau, second son of Werner von Habsburg, Lothar von Habsburg, my father fought to defend the Holy Land, and now I follow my father's order and come to the Holy Land .”

Raymond nodded slightly: "It turned out to be Lord Werner's son. Your father and I fought side by side. You are qualified to speak here. Please speak."

Lothar nodded slightly, regardless of people's comments on his identity in the field, and said to himself: "Let's not say more about the proposal of the mercenary group. Without the honor and belief of being a soldier, they can just fight the wind, and if they get into trouble, I am afraid they will not continue to perform the contract."

"Facing Saladin, it is obvious that this will be a tough battle. Even in Germania, I have heard of his reputation."

"It's better to hire a mercenary group, as Earl Leonard said, to use the money to arm the pilgrims. Their morale is higher and it is cheaper."

Upon hearing this, Leonard nodded slightly, showing a satisfied smile: "That's right, Werner's son really has some vision."

Lothar smiled at him, and continued: "As for the proposal to keep the money to prompt King Albion, Richard the Lionheart, to summon the army as soon as possible."

"As far as I know, Richard the Lionheart is a wise and capable monarch. He will not speed up or slow down his preparations for the money. He will join the Crusades, which is a sure thing, but that must be in the process of dealing with the war. After completing the relationship with the Gaul monarch and domestic affairs. This is definitely not something that can be completed within a month or two, or even half a year."

"My lords, ask yourself, will you put yourself in a dangerous situation where the throne will not be stable, or even be attacked by the old enemy because of a sum of money?"

All the nobles shook their heads again and again.

In fact, there are quite a few of them who would be tempted by this wealth, but none of them would say it outright.

Greed is one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

They don't want to admit that they are greedy for money.

"As for the assassin of Hawthorne, the old man in the mountain. Please forgive me for my bluntness. How much money will it cost to satisfy his appetite if you want to invite this assassin king who owns hundreds of castles in Iran and other places?"

"Besides, cooperating with such despicable heretics who made their fortunes by assassination is really insulting the reputation of our Crusaders."

"You know, there were many crusader princes who died because of him. In this regard, not only can we not spend money to hire assassins from the old man in the mountain, but we should also express our support for Sassan and Ayub's attack on Hawthorne. The siege of the Assassin Kingdom."

Hawthorne had assassinated Saladin, and it was definitely not a one-time or two-time thing, but they all failed without exception.

The two are endless enemies. If Hawthorne could succeed in the assassination, he would have done it long ago. There is no need for the Crusaders to spend such unjust money.

Lothar said so, just to take care of the face of the idiot who made this suggestion.

In fact, the crusader lords have had private contacts with Hawthorne, the old man in the mountains, from time to time.

Regent Raymond nodded slightly: "Indeed, at present, the only way to strengthen the city wall is to use this money to arm pilgrims is the most reliable."

The three proposals were rejected one after another, but these great nobles did not refuse to accept it, but approved it very much.

The knowledge of this age is in the hands of theologians.

Apart from missionary schools, there were no schools at all in this age.

This also makes most of the nobles are actually illiterate.

Short-sighted and stubborn, which also makes their eloquence really not outstanding.

It is already commendable for Lothar to express his views in an orderly and clear manner.

Lothar continued: "We have to admit that the dangers facing the Holy Land today are unprecedented. The number of pagan troops in the Ayub Kingdom is many times that of ours."

"No matter how brave and skilled our knights are, they still have to stand upright and clumsy in the face of enemies coming from all directions."

As soon as this remark came out, it immediately caused a burst of dissatisfaction.

Someone shouted: "Fart, the knights of the Father are fearless. Most of Saladin's men are omens from the fields, serfs with muddy trouser legs, or cavalry formed by slaves."

"How can such a group of mobs be our opponents?"

The speaker was a very handsome knight, although his temperament was somewhat vulgar, but in this era, there are very few knights who are not vulgar.

Most of the knights who are polite, humble, kind, and just virtue only exist in novels.

Lothar was not angry, and asked calmly, "Who are you?"

The knight said proudly: "I am Guy of Lusignan. I brought 25 knights from my hometown to participate in the Crusade. They are all brave and skilled fighters. It is easy to defeat a hundred with one."

Lothar didn't answer the question, and asked instead: "You are Gaul, right?"

Guy nodded and said, "That's right, my fief is in Lusignan in Poitou."

Poitou is located in western Gaul and is currently under the control of Richard the Lionheart.

Losa nodded and said: "I know there, I have stayed in southern Gaul for a while, you must have been uncomfortable in Jerusalem, because the climate here is completely different from Poitou, where it is humid and warm, but here It's so unbearably hot."

Lothar showed a smiling face: "I don't know how much of your strength you can put on your armor in such weather? Can your Nisaan warhorse outrun the native Arabian horse?"

Knight Guy was slightly stunned and didn't answer.

He's a bit cocky, but he's by no means an idiot.

Lothar said earnestly: "I do not deny the heroism of the knights under Heavenly Father, because I am one of them, but the enemy is stronger than us, they are more numerous and more familiar with the climate here, there is no doubt about it. "

"So, whether it's training new troops or strengthening the city walls, it makes sense."

Earl Leonard scratched his red beard and said dissatisfiedly, "It all makes sense? Isn't that equivalent to talking nonsense?"

"Count Leonard, as you said, this is just a bunch of nonsense, because it is extremely difficult to decide which of these two decisions is better."

"But I am very clear that if we continue to argue and disperse our limited strength, the fate of the Holy Land being taken from us by Saladin is already foreseeable."

"So please make a decision as soon as possible, my lords."

"Whether it is strengthening the city wall or training new troops, a decision must be made."

"As for what this decision is, it doesn't really matter, as long as you all agree."

Lothar said in a deep voice.

The implication is, keep on grabbing, fighting, and wrangling.

When the city of Jerusalem is broken, you are still arguing about it.

The party and government harmed the country, that was the Ming Dynasty.

Those civil servants didn't care whether the Ming Dynasty was dead or not, and their status in the new dynasty would not be changed if they died.

But the Crusader nobles were different.

The differences in beliefs made them all aware of the terrible price they would face once the city of Jerusalem was destroyed.

Those pagans who were mercilessly slaughtered by them will return to these descendants of the Crusaders everything they have done to the pagans.

Everyone in the hall looked at each other.

If reality was a game, then he would definitely be able to hear the system's "reputation increase" prompt.

In his previous life, the oriental soul always warned him to be cautious and shoot the first bird.

This is simple survival wisdom.

But in this era, there are some acclimatization.

Regent, Earl Raymond said in a deep voice: "I agree with Knight Lothar, we have to make a decision."

...

In the end, the resolution to use Henry II's military funds to purchase armaments and train pilgrim soldiers was passed.

Crusader nobles were more inclined to attack than to defend.

This is probably due to their nature of being keen on robbery. If a war happens in front of their own door, it will only cause indelible damage to their territory, and there will be no profit.

Coming out of the main hall, Godfrey patted Lothar on the shoulder and praised: "Good performance, Lothar. He is worthy of being Werner's son. To tell you the truth, in the letters between me and your father in the past years, he always I praise your bravery, but I didn't expect that your wisdom and eloquence are not inferior to your father."

"Knight Lothar, you are indeed very powerful!"

Berrian was also full of admiration.

He can also figure out these words, but if he is asked to organize the language and speak it in front of so many nobles, it is completely impossible for him to do.

So... this kind of look is actually the worship of social terrorists to social bulls?

"you flatter me."

Godfrey smiled and said, "Come with me, and I will take you to meet His Majesty the King."

Lothar wondered, "Where's Berrian?"

"Although he is my heir, I haven't canonized him as a knight yet. He is not qualified to meet His Majesty."

Lothar smiled at Berrian and comforted him: "It will be a matter of time, then I will go first."

Passing through a dark corridor, Lothar saw the young king sitting at his desk in a bright and spacious palace, writing furiously.

There was a great deal of gold on the table, full of seasonal fruit, but the king did not seem to have touched it.

"Come forward, knight."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Lothar was taken aback by the young king's face wrapped under the turban and mask, but there was no offensive expression on his face.

Baldwin IV looked Lothar up and down, his eyes were a little complicated, and he said after a long time: "You are wearing this robe, which is indeed very similar to your father. I almost thought I went back to three years ago."

"Is your father in good health recently?"

This is the first time Lothar has heard that he looks like Count Werner, and he thinks he is much more handsome than Werner.

"He is in good health. Here is a letter from my father to you, Your Majesty."

Baldwin put the letter on the table, did not open it, but took a deep look at Lothar: "Your father was my most trusted partner and mentor. He taught me to command the army and command thousands of troops."

"He is wise and clever, full of strategies, brave and good at fighting, and fearless."

"But what I envy the most is that he has a strong body, as if no injuries will work on him."

Pointing to the seat next to him, Baldwin IV said with a smile—or rather, it sounded like he was laughing.

The mask concealed his illness, but also his emotions.

"Sit down, Knight Lothar, there are some fruits on the table, but please forgive me for not being able to share them with you, because I have a contagious disease, and once infected, wizards cannot help."

Speaking of his illness, the king's tone was very indifferent.

"Guy brought back 25 crusader knights from Gaul. They swore allegiance to me, but I did not receive them."

Lothar already had guesses in his mind, but he still asked, "Why?"

"Lothar, everyone in this world has their own ideas, not clay sculptures. It's no secret that I won't live long, so people who are loyal to me, to be precise, people who are only loyal to me, are more and more Come less and less."

Lothar was silent.

He had a good impression of this young hero, and he couldn't help but feel a little sad when he heard what he said.

Baldwin IV seemed to see through Lothar's thoughts, and smiled gently.

His laughter was a little hoarse, and he said without haste: "Lothar, I trust your father and Godfrey who introduced you, so I am also willing to trust you and refer you as a humerus. "

"But you are too weak and have not done any meritorious service. Even I can hardly win a title for you."

"There are too many knights in Jerusalem. I can't even give you a manor fiefdom without reason. You must have seen it in the hall before. As a king, I don't make a decision with one word."

Lothar nodded and said: "Your Majesty, I understand your difficulties, please give me a task to prove myself."

To be trusted is not to have everything.

Lothar knows that what Baldwin needs is someone who is both trustworthy and talented, so he will definitely give it a test.

Baldwin IV smiled and said, "That's exactly what I mean."

"Now that you have come to the Holy Land, you have to know that although the Persian Sasanian Dynasty has united with the Ayyubid Kingdom, they are by no means monolithic."

Lothar nodded slightly: "I already know this."

He considered the language for a while, and said, "As a thousand-year dynasty no less than the Eastern Empire, the Sasanian Dynasty once had influence in many territories controlled by the Ayyubid Empire."

"Despite the decline, Sassan's King of Kings will not be willing to hand over the position of Zoroastrian Patriarch to Saladin."

Baldwin praised: "It seems that you have done your homework in advance. I read you right. You are not a group of stupid knights who just arrived in the Holy Land and their minds are full of fighting with heretics."

"What I want you to do is to take an elite cavalry, disguised as Kurds, enter the border between the two countries, burn, kill and loot."

"In short, the louder the noise, the better."

"If you make meritorious deeds and slow down the pace of the heathen's attack for a few more years, when a new batch of crusaders arrive, the city of Jerusalem will be indestructible."

"In fact, Jerusalem is already at a critical stage. The main opponent of the Eastern Empire is the Turkic people who are entrenched in Asia Minor and ruled by Sasanian. It is impossible to give us much help."

"As for Saladin of Ayyub, he has an army of 10 in Damascus alone. Once he decides to attack with all his strength, unless Gaul, Greater Germania, and Albion organize a large number of If the Crusaders come to help, we alone will not have any chance of winning."

Baldwin IV's tone was a bit dignified. He did not want the kingdom of heaven created by his ancestors to perish in his own hands.

"I understand."

Lothar nodded and said: "I will try my best to complete this task and strive to ignite the war on the eastern frontier of the Ayyubid Kingdom-I think that the King of Kings in Sassanid will not be willing to see Saladin successfully recover of the Holy Land."

Baldwin IV nodded and said: "Indeed, he is lacking a reason, and we will give him this reason."

He paused slightly, and said in a low voice: "The secret of this mission is not for anyone to know. After the mission is completed, I will honor you in the name of defeating a heathen army."

Lothar was silent for a moment, then frowned and said, "Your Majesty, is there anyone in Jerusalem colluding with heretics?"

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he realized that he had said something stupid.

There are countless foreigners in Jerusalem now, like a big sieve, the situation inside can never be hidden from anyone who wants to pry.

Baldwin smiled noncommittally, then put his hands on the table with some difficulty, and stood up: "Knight Lothar, swear to me."

Lothar answered "Yes" and knelt down on one knee: "Father above, I—Lothar von Habsburg, swear allegiance to my lord, His Majesty Baldwin IV, I will be loyal and stay by my side."

With a clang, Baldwin drew out his sword and put it on Lothar's shoulder: "I declare in the name of the King of Jerusalem, Grand Master of the Royal Knights of Jerusalem, Guardian of the Holy Land, and the only commander of all the Crusaders, Baldwin IV, that I accept Your allegiance, may the Father bless you, Knight of Lothar."

After doing all this, Baldwin IV let out a long sigh of relief, and almost couldn't stand still. This is enough to show how bad his condition is at this time.

He sat on the chair, and it took him a long time to recover. With a little apology, he said gently:
"Lothar, I should have kissed you at this time and granted you a fief, but due to the sickness on my body and the situation in the country, I couldn't do both of these things."

"No problem, Your Majesty."

Lothar shook his head quickly.

"When you first arrived in Jerusalem, you need a place to stay. I will give you the Constance Manor in the XC area. It used to be your father's estate. Before he left, he returned it to the royal family. Now I will give it to you again."

"And give you a thousand Suledes gold coins. You can recruit pilgrims and train sergeants here."

"Besides, I know that you have limited manpower around you. You can hold my token and obtain assistance from Baron Godfrey to complete this task. Baron Godfrey is one of the few people I can fully trust now. .”

Lothar smiled and said: "As you wish, my allegiance to the king."

(End of this chapter)