The war is still going on, and in Egil's opinion, it is not a big deal to lose a Emperor Shinra who is always at odds with him and has great ambitions and talents. Although this caused some morale problems, Egil was sure that with only one or two victories, the problem would be solved. People are always forgetful. Especially with a man of great ambition and talent like Albert, few people would like this man - not even his ally King Philip.

Thus the army of 200,000 to 300,000 men, some of which had not yet landed on the shore - according to Egil's account - marched towards the legendary Holy Land, the legendary Jerusalem dripping with milk and honey.

"Finally left. When the Crusaders finally left Antioch on the 10th of January, after several days of preparation, Prince Bohemond I of Antioch breathed a sigh of relief. There are hundreds of thousands of troops on his doorstep who do not obey his orders. This kind of thing can't be tolerated by anyone. And now, although it is said that the influence of the Crusaders on Antioch has not been lifted. Bohemond I also agreed, saying that he was willing to provide the crusaders with the maximum supply of food, grass and supplies. But at the end of the day, it is a very pleasant thing not to see the filthy Franks who are all over the place.

In fact, after so many years of living in the Holy Land, it is difficult for these Oriental Frankis, who have long been accustomed to the habits of the Arabs and heavily influenced by the Islamic style, to find a sense of identity among their fellow citizens, who are more respectful of appearance, like to bathe, and dress more closely to the Arabic style. Some crusaders would even exclaim, "Infidel!" when they saw these guys.

The gap in the living habits of the two sides has also caused a psychological barrier. For the crusaders who appeared in the Holy Land with the face of a savior. The Antiochs are not yet hateful. But there is still a degree of disgust. After their departure, privately, quite a few Antiochs celebrated on a small scale. And Bohemond turned a blind eye to this.

"It's better for these people to die with the infidels. In this way, the holy place is ours. Statements like this are being propagated over and over again in private. Even Bohemond I, in his heart, hoped that something like this would happen - that the pagans were not good people. But the Crusaders were no less than a good thing. If they die together, it will indeed be something to celebrate.

"That's it?"

At that time, when Egir left Antioch with his army, marching for three days, almost fifty kilometers. I got this kind of information from the spies planted in Antioch.

"Sure enough. These depraved fellows don't have any good intentions. "Completely ignoring the ** that he also wants to take Antioch in. "They seem to have forgotten their faith in God, and their more comfortable life has allowed them, the original descendants of the Crusaders, to degenerate into a wretched bunch," said Egil. Despicable bugs. ”

"So. Your Majesty, what do you want to do with these poor worms?" asked his clerk, Baron Talleyrand, beside Egil.

"Dealing with bugs is naturally to be trampled to death. Is there any other way to go? Not yet, of course. Now, the poor, bug named Bohemond. It is still useful for me - although I have gained Cyprus, I am in Syria. But there is no stable logistics base. Antioch can't mess around yet. ”

"If that's what you think, Your Majesty. In fact. Antioch is not the only place that can serve as a logistics base. Talleyrand said.

"Tripoli, another port city in the Holy Land, the county of the Earldom...... Do you mean this place?" said Egil, tapping on the table, "Indeed, although the territory is slightly worse than Antioch, it is also relatively inferior in strength and better at the mercy of others. It's just an earldom after all...... But they bowed down to Saladin. Egil said.

"In this way, forgive them. Isn't it easier to be grateful?" went on to say Talleyrand.

"Tsk, it's better to buy people with a little favor than this, or the kind of unreliable villain who is looking at Qin and Twilight - I would rather kill them and replace them with someone I can trust completely. Egil replied. ...,

"But your Majesty, you know. This area is the only remaining Christian gathering area in the Holy Land, and the Raimon of Tripoli has a high prestige among Christians in the East. Your Majesty, you can't say it, and there are times when you rely on him. ”

"Perhaps. There are hundreds of thousands of people in total, and they are known as the ethnic group of the Franks of the East...... Hum. Egil snorted in disdain, "Anyway, it's something that can be swept into the garbage heap of history." Don't worry - then you'll have to do it. Get in touch with the earl. Let him swear allegiance to me and open all of Tripoli to the Crusaders. And send troops to join me. In this way, I will be able to spare his life—temporarily. ”

"Understood, Your Majesty. I'll leave this to me. Talleyrand nodded, and without hesitation, he took on Egil's task. Then he saluted again and walked out of Egil's tent.

"The host...... Do you really believe him?" asked the little nun Maria, who had been standing next to Egil and had been doing a good job as a secretary for a while.

"Yes, master. According to the intelligence, this guy seems to have taken a bribe from the other party, which is why he suggested this to you. Behind Egil, Sonia said the same.

"That kind of thing is good anyway. Egil shrugged: "Anyway, if I can take Tripoli as a help, it will also save me some time." Tripoli, on the other hand, is closer to the Holy Land than Antioch. Can be used as a second forward base. ”

"But—" Sonia was about to say something, but was stopped by Egil stroking her hair, "Well, I know you're careful." But don't think too much about it. That's not your specialty. ”

"It's cunning—I want my master to touch my head, too." Seeing Egir caressing Sonia like this, Maria was a little jealous, so she tugged at Egir's sleeve and said this.

"Yes, yes. My Mary is the loveliest. As he said this, Egil reached out his other hand and stroked Maria's hair. And Maria closed her eyes comfortably like a kitten being caressed by her owner......

"Raymond of Tripoli...... Isn't it?" Egil thought as he gently stroked the two girls who had been with him for a while, "It's a very good wall-weed. ”

As the war progressed, the count, who enjoyed great prestige in the Holy Land, had changed his court for the second time. After the Battle of Hardin, when most of the Templars and Hospitallers had been killed, and Jerusalem fell, the count quickly submitted to Saladin in the name of "protecting the people of Tripoli". He also worked very hard to help Saladin stabilize the situation in the newly conquered area of Jerusalem. Completely ignoring Saladin, lashing out at the legendary True Cross, such a blasphemous act, and telling nonsense with his eyes open, that the Islamic caliph would treat all people, Christians and Muslims equally.

And his shameless behavior was also affirmed by Saladin. In addition, it is also to stabilize the hearts and minds of these Eastern Franks. Saladin made, at least on the surface, a very courteous appearance of Raymond. In this way, the count was not reviled for his act of surrender, but grew in popularity.

"On such a dark day. The upright and majestic Count Raymond may be the only light in this darkness. The people in the Holy Land said of the count. Think of it as a saint-like role.

However, such a so-called saint is actually just a guy who is very suitable for disguise, and is also very good at holding me and pretending. It's human nature to want to keep your rights. But this kind of posturing is a bit disgusting.

"Other than that, it's a little too smart. Egil whispered about the guy, "So it's not convincing. It's not reassuring either. ”

For the same faith, the de jure king of Jerusalem has little loyalty to him. Not to mention Saladin, a heretic. Therefore, when he learned that the Crusaders, who were incredibly numerous, and that even such a magnate as Saladin felt terrified, had come to the Holy Land, it was not surprising that this price butterfly betrayed.

In fact, in the beginning, before the Crusaders landed on a large scale, only a small number of Norman hussars resorted to guerrilla tactics to announce the arrival of the Norman Emperor. At that stage, Raymond already had the idea of wanting to change the court. It was only after that that the Count was terrified by what the Norman hussars had done - all the Christian nobles who were associated with Saladin were attacked by them, and the Norman hussars had no mercy on them and killed them and their families.

As a result, Raymond changed his mind, he became more cautious, and even had the idea of simply following Saladin to the dark. However, after learning that Saladin did not want to defend all the cities except Jerusalem, he had been completely abandoned. The count had to pinch his nose and continue to try to make contact with the crusaders...... (To be continued.) )