When the massacre at the Dome of the Rock was over (as there was no one left to kill), Tancred's men began to loot. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

They plundered what they could take first: the Dome Mosque and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, two houses of worship that had been captured by the Turks in their previous wars, and which were now all trophies of someone else.

Then the dissatisfied, the Norman soldiers began to plunder the gold nuggets and jewels that were inlaid on the walls and pillars, and then they seized the gold bowls and candlesticks on the altars, and some mistook for gold the large bronze jars left over from the time of Solomon, which had been used to clean the sacrificial animals, but were now all broken and dragged away by the barbaric Normans, and the whole temple was filled with the fierce sound of swords and hoes beating and stripping of goods.

The flaxen-haired Tanfred stood in the middle of the hall of the Great Mosque with the hilt of his sword in his hand, and he looked up at the top of his head, and in the center of the high circular dome hung a huge and elaborate golden jug, connected by chains to the beams and walls at the top of the tower, and this golden jug weighed about two hundred marks (about fifty kilograms now), "What is this? Tancred stood among the corpses, bloodstains, and looted bits and pieces on the ground, and asked leisurely about the golden pot.

"The new owner, it is the sacred object of this temple, and it is said to contain the blood of Allah (of course, in the mouth of Christians, Jehovah), and of course it is said to be 'Mana'." The two Turkic Beys who had surrendered explained flatteringly.

"Well, what's that?" Tanfred was at a loss.

The two Bey quickly looked at each other, they did not expect the Norman general in front of them to be so ignorant, because the "mana" is recorded in the Bible, when the Israelites passed through the wilderness and starved, the Lord appeared to give them food.

It was only after hearing this reasonable explanation that Tanrred was in awe, and could not help but fold his palms and pray to the golden pot on his head, and asked his subordinates, "It is not allowed to desecrate the holy pot containing the blood of the Lord." ”

In the twilight in front of the Lebanese Tim Palace, many Franks stepped on the corpses of the dead to enter the mosque and enjoy the same plunder, but the entrance to the palace had long been occupied by the Normans, and the two sides were angry with each other, and even fierce internal strife and brawls broke out.

When the news reached Baldwin, who was directing the attack on Sochman's tower, all the lords who had followed the Eustace family were indignant, and they surrounded Baldwin, demanding to put on armor and give the flaxen-haired and daring Norman general a hard look before he captured the Turkic tower.

Baldwin, who had taken off his scarf and shut, sat in the saddle and held the whip, looking at the smoky Sokman Tower, at the fortress of the Lebanese Tim Standing in front of him, and finally at the imposing counts and barons, he put his hand on his chin and thought for a while.

To be honest, Baldwin was very annoyed inside, he and his brother were supposed to be the greatest leaders to capture the Temple Mount after a bitter battle, but now they were preempted by Tancred's greed and cunning.

If in the past, Baldwin would not hesitate to put on his horse and rush to the palace to fight Tancred to the death.

But he remembered Gawain's words of admonition to him in the city of Antioch, whether in the election campaign or later in the camp of Kobuha, "You are still too young, you don't need to be too impulsive in everything, don't risk your blood to be a hero, the future throne will be obtained through forbearance and opportunity." Sometimes when a straight road doesn't work, a detour is also a good option. ”

Then the Count of Adana slowly stood up and gave a clear order to the others, "I have deceived and attacked Tantared in the past when I was in Cilicia, and I still feel uneasy and guilty about it. Now the warriors of the kingdom of Antioch and we are friends in a bloody battle to recover the holy city, and we are also under the command of Christ Jesus, and we must not be at war because of the small slaves and booty, and we must know that the enemies of Egypt are still eyeing us in the southern part of the holy city - all the lords and soldiers will stay in the tower of David after nightfall, leaving some of the soldiers and horses to continue to besiege the tower of Sochman and send monks to persuade us to surrender. And I will visit my brother tomorrow and invite him to arbitrate, in anticipation of the restoration of the city of the Lord and the tomb of Jesus as soon as possible. ”

The crowd, especially the Earl of Burke and Brother Auden, who had been following Baldwin and his wife for a long time, were dumbfounded, and could not believe that this would be Baldwin's decision, considering that he had been a fierce and aggressive young man before.

"Also, keep the killing and plundering under control, we will settle here in the future, and we will protect the tomb of Jesus forever with our army, and we will not let the great holy city be destroyed in our hands."

"Yes." It didn't take long for everyone to bow and caress their chests in unison, obeying Baldwin's generous orders.

"It's really pretty good, young king." As Baldwin led his horse past countless corpses and returned to his makeshift home, he saw a pale blonde-haired Jocelan on the side of the street, with an inscrutable smile, leaning against the crumbling courtyard wall, looking at him with irony or compliment.

Next to Jocelan, his brother Gariland sat crouching, clay pot in his hand, from which he was munching on cooked wheat and pieces of meat, and piles of armor and crossbows were placed beside him.

"I am in charge of the ships of the Adana Kingdom, and I am also responsible for the rise and fall of the Eustace family, so I naturally have a more ambitious vision and a more mature thinking." Baldwin did not react to Joceland's provocation this time and left down the street.

Baldwin soon found his brother's temporary lodging, where Duke Godfrey had now removed his armor and changed into burlap clothes, and the two bartenders and butlers were holding candles beside him, and their faces seemed to be stained with tears. When Baldwin entered, Godfrey gasped and clutched his old wounds, his face pale but joyful, and he pointed to the stack of boxes beside his seat, full of the hearts of his comrades and relatives, and said to his brother Baldwin with relief, "At this moment I can finally fulfill my vows and take them to the Hajj Sepulchre." ”

"You have to watch your body and remember the counsel of Grana love and the fraternity of Gawain." Baldwin knelt down and took his brother's hand with tears in his eyes.

"I die without regrets...... Godfrey took his brother's hand back and said in a deep tone, "I have no regrets, Baldwin, I also obeyed my mother's request when I was young, spent seven years in the convent, and then went on an expedition by sword to restore the Holy Sepulchre—remember Baldwin, please remember that we men of the House of Eustace did not set out on our journey in response to anyone, not even Emperor Caesar, or His Holy See's crown—Baldwin, We are for the sincerity and faith in our hearts, which is the heritage and blood of the Eustace family. And Baldwin, you'll have to go back to Adana soon. (To be continued.) )