"The other party has landed in Antioch...... If this is the case, it is an attack from the north to the south. Isn't the defense we have put in place on the western front of Jerusalem useless...... No, the opposing side's naval transport capabilities are very strong. So it is quite possible to transport troops to our Western Front...... Perhaps the cunning emperor is waiting for us to make a mistake right now. ”

Among the military camps in the city of Jerusalem. Saladin was stunned when he heard about the Crusaders' movements, and then thought about it like this—it's just that, despite being called the King of the Desert and being an excellent contemporary, Saladin's vision was still not so good—no, or rather, this is what the entire Western world has in common at this moment. Whether it is the Crusaders or the Arab Jihadist, at this moment, there is only one city left in their eyes, and there is only one city in their hearts that they think they want to fight for - that is, Jerusalem.

This holy city, which seems to have magical powers, attracts the attention of everyone in the entire Old World. Young and old, virtuous and foolish. All eyes were on Jerusalem. Then, under the light of this holy city, other cities, other strategic places, and religious cities all looked dim......

"Do you want to go out, my master?" said to Saladin, "if your master trusts me, give me a batch of Mamluk cavalry." It doesn't take much, only about five hundred. Add to that a part of the Ghulam cavalry and the Arab cavalry that can accompany the battle, and I will be able to teach the enemy a deeply memorable lesson. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, it is not appropriate to simply defend Jerusalem. Taking the initiative and looking for opportunities to attack the infidels can both slow them down and give us more time to prepare, as well as demoralize the enemy and reduce their strength. On the other side, Saladin's other general, Bibers, said: "It's just that five hundred men are a little too little. Even with the addition of the Ghulam heavy cavalry and the Arab light cavalry, it was a little too little. ”

"If it's you, Bibers. Saladin pondered for a moment, then asked, "What would you do if it were you?" Saladin asked.

"The desert was our best friend, my host. If it were me, I would take advantage of the terrain and geography and try to fight in the desert as much as possible - after all, there is a lot of terrain to take advantage of from Antioch to Jerusalem. Malek Bibers Bendugdari, another general of Saladin's empire, a brave general who was proficient in siege machines, cavalry warfare, and strategy.

"And what about the towns?" Saladin asked.

"If I could, my lord, I would like to be able to give up those cities. "From Antioch to Jerusalem, there is only one great city, Damascus, our capital—and the city is closer to the interior and not on the marching route of the other side." And you, master, have left five thousand of the most elite Praetorian Guards there. So there's nothing to worry about.

This was not the case with other towns, which were too small and difficult to defend, and many of them happened to be on the other side's marching path. Even if this were not the case, it would not be too difficult for the infidels to break through their garrison. So I think it's better to let these cities give up than to stick to these towns and consume our strength in vain. Let these cities be a burden to the other side - in the end, we will win. At that point, it will be enough to reclaim these towns. ”

"If, I mean, what should we do if my general, the other side, were to attack Damascus?" Saladin asked after a long silence. ...,

"Is that so?" Bibers and Zhaohail looked at each other, "The target of the other party's attack is Jerusalem, and it is only Jerusalem - although it is said that after the loss of Jerusalem, the other side is likely to continue to attack other territories." But before that......"

"Master, the Crusaders have invaded this land more than once. And every time they came to Jerusalem. Bibers said.

“...... Maybe I'm overthinking. Saladin shook his head, as if Bibers had said it. In the first three Crusades, the Crusaders did not abandon Jerusalem and attacked Damascus. This time, most likely it will be the same. And even if things didn't go as well as they thought, Damascus left a total of 5,000 elite soldiers to defend it. Enough to sustain until Saladin sent reinforcements.

"Well, my generals!" Saladin made up his mind, and then ordered: "I will give you a thousand Mamluk cavalry, two thousand Qulam cavalry, and five thousand Arab cavalry—I will give you the right to let them go east, let them die, and they must die! I will give you the right to lead them northward against the invasion of the infidels! I will give you full authority to judge what you should do." It's a battle, it's a retreat, it's up to you!"

"Yes, my master!" Hearing Saladin's lavish act of decentralization, Bibers, the strong, manipulative, and imposing general, was thrilled, and then fell to his knees in front of Saladin and kissed his boots.

"Then master, what should I do?" Seeing that Saladin had sent a mission to Baibers, Zhao Haier asked a little anxiously.

Saladin first helped Baibers up, and then looked at Zhaohail with a smile: "My general, rest assured, I will not forget your mission—I will also give you an equal number of troops, equal Mamluk cavalry, Gulam cavalry, and Arab cavalry." Your rights are as great as your Bybers! I want you to divide your troops into two ways and attack the infidels. ”

"Yes, my master!" said Zhaohail knelt down excitedly in front of Saladin, and then, as he stood up and looked at Baibers, both sides could see the competition in their eyes. Saladin was also very pleased with this. Introducing a competition system in this way, allowing his generals to compete with each other and work harder, was also one of Saladin's ways to control his subordinates.

In this way, Saladin sent his two most capable generals very generously, and sent 2,000 of his most elite Mamluk hoplites. The second-strongest Qulam cavalry sent 4,000 men, in addition to 10,000 Arab light cavalry. The number of cavalry on such a large scale was almost one-third of that of Saladin's cavalry.

Mamluk cavalry, men and horses dressed in heavy oriental-style scale armor, armed with spears, round shields, maces and scimitars. Armed with compound bows, the Mamluk cavalry was one of the proudest elite units in the entire Islamic world. They were young slaves from the conquered regions, usually young children under the age of fourteen, in good health. Those who have undergone several years of formal military training and have converted to Islam will join the army as freemen when they reach adulthood, enjoying rights, status, and more spoils of war. Because of the education, beliefs, and changes in one's own status since childhood. Therefore, I am faithful to my masters.

They train intensively, have high morale, and are well disciplined. The equipment is also very elite. It was Saladin's most important army—and it was even more important than the Casaji Guard, which was composed of veterans of a hundred battles and the elite of the army. And the Mamluk Praetorian Cavalry, selected from among the Mamluks, is said to be the elite unit of the elite that can compete with the Byzantine ironclad holy cavalry. ...,

The Ghulam cavalry, on the other hand, was slightly inferior in comparison, and in terms of status, it was an auxiliary unit of the Mamluk cavalry. However, the history of the army is longer than that of the Mamluks. Islamic monarchs before Saladin had a tradition of training their slaves into armies and promising them freedom, status, and money to drive them to war. The Ghulam cavalry came from this. Its members did not receive military training from an early age. As a result, they were inferior to the Mamluks in terms of discipline and training. In terms of equipment, it is also slightly inferior to the Mamluks, equipped with lighter chain mail and scale armor. However, they were more numerous than the Mamluk cavalry. Used as a heavy cavalry in the usual sense.

In addition to the Kasaji Guard composed of elite sergeants, the elite Mamluk heavy cavalry, the Mamluk Praetorian Cavalry and the Ghulam heavy cavalry, there is also a certain hostage significance, the Sibion cavalry composed of the children of various Arab nobles - these are usually the second sons of the family with the least status, and the troops composed of concubines are comparable to the Mamluks in terms of equipment. With a lot of resentment, and a desire to get ahead, it also makes these people work harder. Although because of his noble birth and rebellious psychology, he seems a little unruly. But in terms of combat effectiveness, it is worth affirming. Compared to the Eastern Romans, the spear cavalry units, which were also composed of the children of the nobility, were not the same......

At this time, the Sibion cavalry, who carried out such harassment, used the strategy of attacking the strong with the weak, and were unruly, and looked down on the slave-born Mamluks, naturally would not use it. And the number of the Casaji guards is not very large, and more often they serve as Saladin's escorts. The number of actual battles is also very small. As for the Mamluk Janissaries, it was for the same reason - however, being able to command a cavalry force of 8,000 men was quite satisfying for these two generals.

In this way, the two generals gathered their men and horses, left Jerusalem and headed straight north, and soon learned that a Frankish army of 30,000 to 50,000 men had attacked all the way south............ ，