"Huh."

Fringira was surprised, "My lord, what are you laughing at?" ”

"I laugh at this Rauf for being unscrupulous, Zahn is less wise, if he wants to surround the point and lure the snake out of the hole, he shouldn't intercept all the scouts, in this way, fools know that there is a problem."

"If I were him, I would intercept some of the scouts, release some of them, and preferably spread the news that Jeanne and the hussars were surrounded and in dire need of reinforcements."

Prajna frowned slightly: "It is not easy to surround Jeanne and the hussars and force them to call for help. ”

"Indeed..."

Lothar's tone paused slightly, and he asked, "Hans, how many militias have we recruited now?" ”

Hans replied, "There are only about 200 new peasant soldiers who have been trained in a simple queue and converted to the righteous faith, and the rest are more than 800 people, volunteering to help us defend the city. ”

Lothar nodded slightly.

Of the more than 10,000 people in Port Ira, 1,000 militia were recruited from among the converts, who made up the majority of the city, which was a normal proportion for the defenders.

In some city-states, all adult males were conscripted for military service.

Because even in the war on the European continent, everyone is a brother of Christ, and on the day the city is broken, it will definitely be plundered and slaughtered.

Like Lothar, after occupying the port of Ella, he almost did nothing to the civilians, and looking at the whole world, it is definitely extremely rare.

Everyone's interests are bound, and they are naturally willing to serve their lives.

"It seems that Rauf's notoriety of brutality has helped us a lot."

Hans whispered, "Your Excellency, don't you think you have a good reputation?" ”

Lothar has a series of positive nicknames such as the Compassionate, the Guardian of the Holy Land, and the Brave.

But these are the fame in Christendom.

In the Zoroastrian world, there is no one who has a certain amount of wealth and status in the local area who is not afraid of his cruelty and violence.

The land was occupied by the rest of the Crusader princes, and they still had the possibility of continuing to maintain their rule by donating money and becoming tax collectors.

And with Lothar taking over the land, they will either have to leave their homes or they will definitely be cleared.

This is a bloody example to prove.

Lothar sighed lightly: "I know, so I have no plans to continue to expand externally in the short term. ”

Hans whispered, "But my lord, now is the right time, and it would be a pity not to eat the meat that was brought to your mouth." ”

"Indeed, if most of the enemy can be annihilated in this battle, Rauf's territory in the southern Sinai Peninsula can almost be said to be within reach. ”

"It's not a big piece of cake, and even if the Sinai Peninsula is completely unified, it's not as good as Transjordan, but it's still hard for us to swallow it in one bite."

Lothar's existing strength, distributed among the various territories, is still a little weak.

He needs a period of steady development.

Kurs, who was standing on the sidelines, silent as a ghost, suddenly spoke: "Perhaps, you can consider bringing the rest of the nobles of Transjordan to the table as well." ”

"People who like to eat alone are not so likable."

Lothar let out an "um" and nodded, "What you said makes a lot of sense. ”

"In fact, I already have a rough plan for this, and when this enemy army is defeated, I will recruit the vassals of Transjordan to attack the Sinai Peninsula."

"At the same time, I intend to recruit the sons of the nobles of Transjordan, that is, the second sons of the family who have no right to inherit the territory, to swear allegiance to me and become knights of the royal decree."

"I will divide the newly conquered territories among them to repay the cost of inviting them to send troops."

Coors was slightly stunned.

Hearing this, Lothar's plan was already in full view.

If they divide their territories to knights who have no roots, it will be difficult for them to control their fiefdoms, and they will not be able to subjugate the fierce Bedouin nomads alone.

This makes it necessary for them to rely on the power of Lothar.

This helped Lothar centralize power, but Lothar chose to divide it because there was no extra power to distribute it to the newly occupied land.

And to these knights with roots, the families they came from, will certainly do a great job to help them grasp their newly acquired territory.

Even if the family business has to be passed on to the eldest son in the future, they don't mind seeking a fief for the second son of their family.

Because the more titles a family has, the more it is very beneficial to the inheritance of the entire family.

Werner's marriage to the Duke of Lower Lorraine for Otto is also related to Lothar's prestige in the Holy Land.

In this way, Lothar not only did not have to spend administrative resources on the newly occupied land and painstakingly consolidates the territory, but also could recruit these knights and his attendants when needed, and the army would fight for itself.

It can be called an empty glove white wolf.

And you don't have to worry about loyalty yet.

Your system doesn't allow me to use the soldier template to convert vassals, you can't control me, and don't let me promote ordinary knights to vassals, right?

...

The enemy army under the city has already begun to build a camp.

The craftsmen who accompanied the army unloaded the disassembled siege engines from the baggage wagons and assembled them, while the conscripts laid down their weapons and went to the nearby area with axes to cut down trees.

Then.

In the enemy camp, dozens of Mamluk cavalrymen drove out of the camp with a man dressed in fine scale armor and wearing a large red flame cloak.

A black-armored Mamluk cavalry galloped out of it, came to the city, and shouted: "Let your leader come out to meet the great Lord Rauf." ”

Lothar snorted and frowned: "Hans, ask if the trebuchet installed on the tower can hit Rauf at this distance?" ”

He didn't want to waste his saliva with Rauf.

This is not a war between the nobles of the European continent, there will be a duel before the war, and commoners will even be held accountable for killing nobles.

This is jihad.

Never die.

Hans soon returned: "The distance was not enough, but it was more than enough to shoot that Mamluk cavalryman." ”

Lothar looked into the distance, the figure surrounded by the Mamluks, and sneered: "Then forget it, there is no need to expose the accuracy of our trebuchets and ballistas because of one person." ”

"Wait until they've assembled their siege engines and are ready to attack, then fire."

He held the sword at his waist and whispered, "Rauf, my people who have been impaled by you are still waiting to be reunited with you." ”

...

In the wilderness.

Jeanne looked at the three huge manticores that gradually appeared in the distant sky, and a contemptuous smile appeared on her face: "It's just that the three beasts can't deal with us—the enemy is coming soon." ”

"Pass the order, everyone, and prepare to meet the enemy."

Rauf was not an idiot, he certainly prepared an army against the hussars.

Only by swallowing this hussar, which has already made a name for itself in the Holy Land, can Rauf completely relax and attack the port of Ella.

Otherwise, let this lightly armed and heavy cavalry wreak havoc on their supply lines, or it won't be long before the city is captured, they will have to withdraw their troops voluntarily because of the lack of food.

It seemed to answer Jeanne's words.

In the distance, smoke billowed from the distance.

Hundreds of light and heavy cavalry dressed in black scale armor appeared on the hillside.

Behind the hussars, there were also many Bedouin nomads riding dromedaries and wearing wide desert robes, armed with spears and round shields, slowly approaching.

Behind the sand dunes on both sides, there are also flags fluttering at the same time.

Rauf sent out to encircle and suppress Jeanne's light and heavy cavalry, adding up to nearly a thousand people.

Of course, this includes a significant number of Bedouin nomads.

They are just like the Magyar bandits that Lothar faced when he debuted, they are loosely disciplined and can only fight with the wind.

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Jeanne's hearty laughter rang out: "Ha, these heretics want to surround us! ”

The hussars looked contemptuous.

Encirclement means lengthening the battle line.

The line of defense against the powerful impact of the hussars will be thinned.

"Gouge through them!"

The hussars shouted.

The servant army, which was still a little nervous, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when they saw the hussars so high-spirited.

Jeanne raised her holy lance and shouted, "Hussars, listen to my command and charge in the name of our heavenly Father and our revered Lord Lothar!" ”