Jörgrüsburg.

From the top tower of the castle, you can see a vast, vertical and horizontal valley that bears the vicissitudes of life left by the diversion of the Jordan River.

The dust kicked up by two lightly armed riders was speeding towards the castle.

The guards in the tower immediately shouted: "Someone has come, perhaps a messenger of the Lord, ready to ask for their identity and open the city gates." ”

The location of Jogrüsburg is very advantageous, and the surrounding area is flat, and if a large army is coming, it will not be able to hide from the guards on the tower.

There were only two lightly armed riders, and it was clear that they had not come with malicious intent.

Dressed in a red-and-white burqa, the guard officer Moder wondered, "The messenger of Calleburg?" We don't have much to do with Caleborg, so let them in. ”

"Benefiting" from the relationship between Lothar and the Count of Renard, they are obviously neighbors, but there is very little contact and communication between the two places.

Far from the trade routes, Jörügsberg has not been visited by outsiders for a long time.

The two messengers walked in with some trepidation, hesitated, and saluted Moder: "Excuse me, are you the guard officer of Jogrisburg?" ”

"That's right, tell me what you're coming from, messenger from Caleborg."

Morder looked at the two messengers with a cold expression, obviously not thinking that anything good would come his way.

The two messengers looked at each other.

It wasn't their first time in Jogrussburg, but it was clearly not the same as before, with its sturdy, new stone walls towering over the top, with its towers mounted on stoneshooters.

and the interior, with its towering fortress-like architecture and the extravagant all-stone hall of the lord's lord.

It's a far cry from the old ruined castle.

This castle, except for its smaller scale, seems to be no less beautiful and sturdy than the castle of Calle, which was built by the Count of Renard.

What this means is self-evident.

After a moment's hesitation, the messenger continued: "Your Excellency Guard, I have requested that all the armoured sergeants of Jogrüsburg be called up to assist in the defense of Calleburg, Lord of Hebron, Lord of Hebron and Lord of Transjordan, Lord of Calleburg, Montreal, Adil and Tafila. ”

"Heh, if I'm not mistaken, your lord's honorable title doesn't include Baron Jörgysburg?"

Moder scoffed at this.

The messenger accentuated his tone: "This is the will of Count Renard, you have to think about it, if you make a wrong decision, it will only bring trouble to your master." ”

Another messenger said angrily: "We treat each other with courtesy, but you have offended my master by being so ignorant, be careful that we send troops to fight against us!" ”

Moder slammed the table and said angrily: "Count Renard is indeed very powerful, with thousands of troops, and is one of the most prominent great lords of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. ”

"Moreover, he was cruel and irascible, plundering passing caravans and villages where they traded with heathens—many lords feared him."

"But what does that have to do with me?"

"The army of Yogrisburg is only under the orders of my master, Baron Lothar, not to mention your little messenger, even if your master is in person, I will not change my answer."

"Who dares to make trouble in Jogrusburg?"

A gruff voice rang out.

I saw a giant wearing only a pair of shorts, pushing the door in.

His bronze upper body, muscles bulging like marble, and a giant hammer the size of a human head in his hand, the terrifying oppressive force instantly frightened the two messengers in place.

"Just the two of you?"

The giant lowered his head and looked down at the two little dots.

"No, no, no, we're just having a nice conversation with the Guard."

"Please, please, don't kill me, I'm just here on orders."

It seemed that the oppressive force of the giant Marles was too strong, and one of the messengers, who was less than one meter and six, fell to his knees with a pop.

Moder sneered: "Oh, Lord Marles, I would like to bring these two poor worms out, otherwise, I am afraid that the two of them will be scared to pee in this sacred place." ”

Marles nodded, "Yes." ”

With that, a messenger in one hand carried them out the door.

The two of them climbed and climbed on their mounts, and without even daring to say a word of cruelty, they hurried out of Jogrusburg.

...

In the empty wilderness.

An army of thousands of men is slowly advancing.

They carried the Black Eagle Flag and the Jerusalem Cross Flag.

The red and white burqas render the entire army as a whole.

It's different from the Northern Expedition.

Heading north, the Kingdom of Jerusalem is full of territories along the way, and these are located on the Mediterranean coast, the most elite part of the Levant, and supplies can be obtained at any time along the way.

But the march to the east, with the exception of one supply at Bethlehem, was a long march and it was difficult to find a source of water.

Therefore, the whole army was divided into several groups by Baldwin IV and marched in turn to relieve the burden and logistical pressure.

Otherwise, this army of nearly fifteen thousand men would probably lose most of its combat effectiveness due to thirst before it even touched the enemy.

They would meet in the city of Montreal and then assemble all their armies and march together on Fort Calle, which was besieged by Saladin.

Lothar took the lead and came to the front of the line with Hans.

He pointed to the village in front of him and smiled, "Hans, this is your fiefdom, you don't seem to have been here yet?" ”

The name Sego in Hans's surname originates from this village.

Hans complained, "Not only have I never been here, but I haven't seen a single copper tax fall into my pocket." ”

Lothar said righteously: "When a man is rich, he becomes bad, I care about your food, your drink, and your residence, what do you want money for?" What else could it be other than going to prostitution? ”

Hans opened his mouth and sighed, "My lord, you always have a set of crooked reasons that can convince me. ”

Knights did not live in the fiefdoms, and it was common in Jerusalem to build a wooden fort at the expense of construction and money.

It is better to entrust the obligation of tax collection to the tax collector and take the commission yourself.

On the day of the tax, the tax collector (often the local chief) would bring the samurai hired with money to collect the tax.

Lothar looked at the Ombudsman on the side and asked, "Andrew, legend has it that Saracen's court is home to huge manticores and giant war elephants in iron armor, will we see them on the battlefield?" ”

Ombudsman Andrew de Porti shook his head and said, "My lord, this is the first time I've confronted the Saracens, and I've only fought a few small battles before. ”

"You can ask Richard, who, though a civilian, has been in the Order longer than I do, and may know something."

Lothar beckoned Richard, who was at the back of the line, to come over and ask again.

"There may be armoured war elephants, but the probability of a manticore-tailed lion is slim, and the Saracens have tried to tame this beast, but have never heard of a successful one."

Richard said.

After resting for a moment in the village of Sego, the team set off again.

Lothar sent Ulm as a messenger to Jogrusburg, where he was to gather the newly trained hussars and Varangian guards to join the team, and bring with them the armor that Mahles had forged for Prajna.