People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 60 The Center of Power (Two in One)

Jogrisburg, in the lord's hall.

The door was flung open.

Leonard hurried in to take a seat, and the night wind brought in made the lamps flicker.

The pew behind each person who is eligible to attend is cast an elongated, deformed shadow.

In the center of the hall, a long table was filled with delicious food and wine.

Lothar sat on the throne in the center, with a giant single-headed eagle coat of arms above his head, and the eagle's wings spread out just behind Lothar.

The aroma of roast lamb, cheese and wine is just around the corner.

But no one raised their knives and forks, they were all watching Lothar.

Lothar sits on the lord's throne, he holds up a paper with a red wax seal to show the king's seal
"His Majesty's convening order has been issued, and everyone must arrive in Jerusalem within the specified time."

Hans looked a little gloomy: "My lord, the development of the territory has been on the right track during this period of time, and our strength is growing every day, but this is obviously not enough. As far as I know, the army under Saladin has dozens of With our current strength, it is difficult to play a role in this battle."

The faces of the people were full of sorrow.

They can't even imagine hundreds of thousands, what kind of number is it.

This has exceeded their understanding of a war.

Lothar shook his head and said: "It's not as exaggerated as hundreds of thousands. Although there are many troops under Saladin's command, most of them are untrained conscripts. The elite headquarters army is only [-] to [-]."

Claiming to own something is completely different from actually owning it.

"It's also impossible for him to really mobilize all his troops to attack Jerusalem. The climate of the Holy Land cannot accommodate an army of this size for an expedition."

Facts have proved that he was right in his initial choice of training armored sergeants.

If you really train cavalry from scratch, you can at most train a group of cavalry infantry in two weeks, which is more expensive and useless.

Even if this idea is correct, it doesn't make much sense.

His current strength is still too weak.

Ryan said: "My lord, Fort Yogryus is not a frontier, and it will not be easily threatened by the enemy, so I suggest bringing all the soldiers you can bring with you. This is also a considerable amount of strength. Can cover you from the battlefield."

Leonard quickly agreed: "That's right, my lord, you need a strong army to support you in Jerusalem, so that you won't be despised by those noble gentlemen with their nostrils up in the air!"

Lothar thought for a moment, then shook his head and said:
"A professional army of hundreds of people is indeed not weak for the lord, but it is as insignificant as a grain of sand in the Jordan River on a battlefield of tens of thousands of people."

"Once the battle is lost, the broken soldiers will come in like a tide, and they will be easily dispersed. Therefore, it doesn't make much sense to take them or not. Staying in the territory can ensure the safety of this place."

Lothar thought for a while, and then decided: "All the armored soldiers will stay at Fort Yogryus. I only bring ten axe guards and hussars are enough."

Ax Guard is the name for the "Varangian Guard" in the territory, because the Eastern Empire still has a genuine Varangian Guard, so it is inappropriate to call it this name.

Although looking at their equipment, it can be seen that this is a heavy infantry modeled on the Varangian Guard.

"Model, you stay to preside over the overall situation, including the daily recruitment of Hussars and Ax Guards. The original plan to recruit only ten people has been cancelled."

"Yes, my lord."

"Leonard, how is the investigation going? Saladin sent people to assassinate the vassals of the Sassanian king, is this the end of the matter?"

Leonard lowered his head and said:
"It is said that not long ago, Saladin met with the Sassanian King of Kings on the border. He admitted that his subordinates had acted privately and killed Kokbu, and expressed his willingness to pay compensation for it."

"He also acknowledged the sacred status of the Sasanian king as the chief patriarch of Zoroastrianism, and transported many carts of gold and silver treasures, beautiful women and horses as gifts. After two days of negotiations, the Sasanian king withdrew his troops."

"Saladin...what a formidable character."

Lothar let out a long sigh.

If Saladin does not admit this matter, it will give King Sassan an opportunity to play around and mess around.

On the contrary, Saladin admitted it, and lowered his stance, offering gifts to the Sasanian king as compensation. Due to the Zoroastrian world's expectations for internal unity, the Sasanian king had no chance to make use of it.

Moreover, this will not damage Saladin's majesty.

On the contrary, those fools who originally believed that "Saladin is an upright man who talks about chivalry and will not do anything to himself" were greatly shocked.

"Marles, you also stay in the castle, step up the production of ordnance, and improve the production process of armor and weapons."

Mallos nodded and said: "Understood. In addition, my lord, the armor made for you has been completed, and the special armed sword is just short of the final quenching."

"Okay, not bad!"

Lothar nodded and said, "Let's have dinner. After this meal, we will set off tomorrow morning and head to Jerusalem."

The new armor that Marles made for him was a brand new set of plate armor.

Wearing this plate armor, put another one on the inside, and specially installed an armed suit with chain armor at the weak point of the armor.

Although the defense is only slightly better than the previous chain mail, its flexibility has increased dramatically.

Wearing this half-body plate armor, Lothar can even complete the action of getting on the horse by himself.

The helmet is a Bassanette-style helmet that resembles a bird's beak.

This helmet has air holes in the mouth, which is more suitable for fighting in the hot weather of the Holy Land than the stuffy barrel helmet.

The flip-up design enables Lothar to have a wider field of vision when in close combat or foot combat, and the arc-shaped visor is also more conducive to buffering against heavy blows.

Obviously, Lothar is very satisfied with Marles' craftsmanship.

...

The next morning.

At this time, the Royal Palace of Jerusalem was holding a grand event, and all the nobles, big and small, from the city, were present here.

This banquet was to welcome Count Thierry from Flanders, who was related to the Baldwin family, and both belonged to the Anjou family, the branch of the Plantagenet dynasty.

At the banquet, the atmosphere was warm.

Count Thierry enjoyed the luxurious life in the East with both surprise and envy. In terms of enjoyment, he had to look at the nobles of the East.

It has only been more than 100 years since they came to the East, and this group of Crusader nobles are completely different from their poor relatives in the West.

On this trip, he brought thirty knights and hundreds of sergeants and followers.

Some of them are his vassals, but most of them still go along with him. Since he has the highest title, he is temporarily regarded as the leader and the Crusader knights who are on the road together.

It won't be long before they will serve under the subordinates of other local nobles.

Count Thierry didn't mind this, because he couldn't afford to feed so many soldiers.

He had just swallowed a piece of carefully grilled lamb with a few grains of pepper sprinkled on it, when a handsome and tall knight walked towards him.

The knight's face blushed due to excessive drinking: "Count Thierry, when will His Majesty's crusaders arrive at the Holy Land?"

The surrounding volume dropped immediately.

Obviously, everyone is paying attention to this issue, but because of the dignity of the nobles, they are not ashamed to get straight to the point.

"Who are you?"

The drunken knight was not afraid of him at all, and the smell of alcohol from his mouth almost hit Count Thierry's face: "I am Guy of Lusignan, answer my question quickly, Count Thierry!"

Earl Thierry's face was a little gloomy, he hesitated for a moment, and said vaguely: "It will be soon, His Majesty the King is mobilizing."

"Mobilize, mobilize!"

"As early as two months ago, when I was about to set off for the Holy Land, I heard that there were many princes leading their armies ready to go, but there is still no news! Philip II, that bastard, Have you forgotten the sacred duty of being the king chosen by the Father?"

Guy of Lusignan shouted a little petulantly.

Count Thierry blushed and said angrily: "Bold, you dare to insult my lord, the great Augustus, the king of the Gauls!"

If you scold me, you can scold me, but don't scold me in front of me!

Count Thierry knew the name of Guy of Lusignan. This knight was a very good swordsman, and he was not his opponent at all.

According to the procedure, he should now take the initiative to challenge the opponent to a duel in order to defend the dignity of the lord, but the problem is that Earl Thierry dare not.

Guy sneered and said, "When I attacked and killed Enolie of Aquitaine with my brother for the freedom of the Gauls, you were still praising the Germanic emperor's stinky feet."

Seeing that the conflict is about to escalate.

Earl Raymond, who had been silent for a long time, said angrily: "Stay back, no matter what the reason is, you must not slander the pious heart of a king."

Guy snorted and sat back in his seat.

It was embarrassing and a little at a loss to leave Count Thierry behind.

The nobles present looked gloomy.

It's all to blame for those damned Apennines, they had nothing to do to resist any taxes, and this gave Emperor Henry a reason to march to Apennines by taking advantage of the issue.

How could the already weak King of Gaul, Philip II, be willing to watch Emperor Henry easily take over the rich North Apennines with his own eyes?

Philip II did not move, occupying a large area of ​​Gaul territory. In the Gaul region, even Richard the Lionheart, whose authority was more prominent than Philip II who did not leave the Ile-de-France, did not dare to move.

The development of Albion in this era is limited, and Richard the Lionheart's core territory is still on the mainland.

Even though Philip II and Richard are in the honeymoon period at this moment, Richard, as the second son of the family, can ascend to the throne without the help of Philip II.

But in Game of Thrones, no one is infallible when it comes to the king.

"Philip Augustus, the reason why he suspended the Eastern Expedition naturally has his own considerations. As a courtier, or as a Gaul, we should not question his behavior."

(Augustus' honorific title to the King of France is not "surname". Philip II's surname is "Capet".)
Earl Thierry had a bit of embarrassment on his face.

In fact he had little loyalty to Philip II at all.

Jurisprudentially, although he was subordinate to Philip II, and because of his geographical location, he often flirted with the emperor of Greater Germania.

But in terms of kinship, Count Thierry is obviously closer to Richard the Lionheart of Albion.

The welcome party, which was originally warm and welcoming, has fallen into a series of dead silences, and Thirrière's sense of presence quickly fell from "the stars are holding the moon" to the bottom.

As early as many years ago, in the Battle of Spring Valley, the Crusaders were defeated by Saladin.

The vast majority of the Crusader nobles have already realized that without assistance from the European continent, Saladin is by no means an opponent they can fight against.

Even the lord of Transjordan, Earl Leonard, who has been clamoring for war with Saladin, and Gerald, the head of the Knights Templar, are considering the premise that they can get a steady stream of crusader support from the European continent. Only then did he propose to take the initiative to fight Saladin.

At this time, the regent, Prince Tiberias (that is, Tiberias), Raymond, Earl of Tripoli, spoke again: "With this banquet, Your Majesty has something else to announce."

Raymond glanced at the content written on the paper, his expression changed slightly, and he said loudly: "In the name of the King of Jerusalem, I will appoint Baron Jogris, Lothar, as the Grand Master of the Royal Knights of Jerusalem. Baron Godfrey of Ibelin will also be transferred to be the commander of the Knights of Jerusalem, assisting the regent Earl Raymond in handling the affairs of the whole regiment."

The voice just fell.

A nobleman in a red robe raised his hand high and shouted, "I veto it!"

Raymond shouted: "Baron Regina, tell me the reason for your veto!"

Baron Regina from Sidon opened his hands and looked around: "This Baron Lothar, I have to admit that he is an outstanding knight, and he also has good military training skills."

He changed the subject and shouted: "But he is by no means an excellent cavalry commander, because he has no cavalry under his command at all!"

After finishing speaking, there was a burst of laughter in the hall.

Not everyone can afford cavalry.

For an elite cavalryman, the training cycle needs to be measured in years, and how long has it been since Lothar arrived in the Holy Land?

It is unknown whether the barren fiefdom of Fort Joglius can support his armored soldiers.

Someone immediately responded: "That's right, he's just an upstart baron who just got a fief. How can he be entrusted with such an important task?"

Godfrey's expression was slightly cold, he coughed heavily, and said: "If even Earl Werner's son is an upstart, some of you have risen to power because of a marriage or distant kinship. , without an inch of military exploits, what is it?"

Count Reginald de Grenier, the lord in charge of Gilbert, said loudly:

"Baron Godfrey, I don't intend to belittle this Baron Lothar in terms of his identity, but in the Knights Templar, even members of the royal family with a prominent family background can only start as a sergeant major. Can be elected from among the respected masters."

Someone below responded immediately: "That's right, according to the tradition of the Knights Templar, the position of Grand Master should be elected by the royal knights."

At this time, members of both the Queen Mother's Party and the Lord's Party rarely became united with the enemy. They did not want these outsiders to easily seize one of the most authoritative positions in the entire city of Jerusalem.

Baron Godfrey shouted: "Earl Gilbert, I have to remind you that the Royal Knights are His Majesty's private armed forces, they are secular, not spiritual, and must not be generalized with the Knights Templar. "

"As for your claim that Baron Lothar has no experience in commanding cavalry."

Baron Godfrey changed his subject and looked at the rare and silent Earl Leonard.

The Transjordan lord known as the "King of the Dead Sea" had a bad idea when he saw Godfrey.

Sure enough, Baron Godfrey said bluntly: "Count Leonard, I heard that there is a desert bandit in your territory. It has been ravaged for several years, and the wealth plundered can fill an entire castle. can destroy it.”

Earl Leonard's face turned blue and then pale: "A small group of robbers is not worthy of my attention, which is why they can barely survive."

Baron Godfrey showed a cheerful smile on his face, and he came to the center of the hall politely:
"Count Leonard, you don't need to prevaricate with such words. We all know how difficult it is for a light cavalry to come and go like the wind in the desert. This will not damage your reputation."

"Yes."

"Is such that."

Some nobles who didn't know why nodded their heads in agreement.

Here, the vast majority of people no longer pay attention to the follow-up of the remote fiefdom of Fort Yogryus, and they don't know what happened here not long ago.

But they have more or less experienced the troubles of desert bandits who come and go like wind.

Baron Godfrey raised his index finger and said loudly: "It only took one day! According to some people, Lothar, who can't command cavalry to fight, only took one day to lead the cavalry under his command to defeat the enemy from the front. This group of robbers immediately broke through the wooden castle where they were hiding."

"I must tell everyone that Lothar not only has cavalry, but also an elite cavalry that is capable of conscripting and fighting, at least no worse than the knights under Earl Leonard!"

Godfrey looked at Leonard with mocking eyes, which immediately angered the irritable Earl of Transjordan.

He was on the verge of yelling.

Although the Earl of Transjordan, known as the "breaker of the contract", was usually polite, he would never consider the dignity of the so-called nobleman when he was angry.

At this time.

The sound of heavy horseshoes sounded outside the palace gate.

"Come on, who is making noise outside?"

"Don't you know that riding horses is forbidden in front of the palace?"

"Get rid of them!"

Someone scolded.

next moment.

A group of elite cavalry in bright plate armor surrounded a young knight into the palace.

The knight took off his helmet and showed a heroic face: "Everyone, good morning. I heard that you are talking about my affairs in the hall, so I did not invite myself."

"May I ask you all, since when did the king require the consent of his subjects in Jerusalem?"

(End of this chapter)