Zahn led his Mamluk guards up the marble staircase leading to the palace in Aqaba.

This seaport city is now full of retreating routs.

Fortunately, he had the foresight to retreat safely as soon as he received the news of the defeat.

In this battle, the army of the headquarters dispatched by Raouf was about 4,000 people, plus the army of vassals and allies, and the people who were responsible for transporting the baggage, adding up to nearly 10,000.

I'm afraid only one in ten will be able to come back.

On the contrary, it was the Bedouin nomads who came to make up the numbers, and most of them ran away because of their light travel.

In Aqaba today, almost every household is crying.

The guards, the small feudal lords, and the local chiefs looked at Zahn with complicated expressions.

In this battle, it was Zahn, who was originally regarded as a bait, who retreated.

With the Mamluk guards under him, his strength suddenly jumped to the number one general under Rauf.

Zahn saluted them with a sad face.

Suddenly, he had a feeling of returning to the beginning, when he was defeated at the foot of the city of Aramdela and fled to Hab in disarray.

It's just that at this moment, the two sides are transposed.

For some reason, he was a little happy in his heart - it was clear that Rauf would only have a chance to get the territory back if he won the battle, but he just didn't feel happy.

Let you laugh at me!

You, Rauf, are far superior to me in strength, and you fought a battle with that Lothar, don't you also lose? And lose even more!

Scold.

He left his guards outside the palace and walked straight inside.

Rauf was lying on the lord's throne, glossy and mouthful of fermented grape juice, his eyes bloodshot, and he didn't know if he was drunk or hit too hard.

"You're back."

Rauf looked up, his eyes no longer as unruly as they had been.

In this battle, the elite of his headquarters was badly damaged, and if it weren't for the manticore, even he himself would have to fold in the hands of the hussars who jumped out from behind.

Now, not only is his territory in the Sinai Peninsula doomed to ruin, but his territory in the Hejaz region is also likely to be unstable.

His rapid expansion over the years has amassed a large number of potential enemies for him.

For example, in the southern part of his territory, the lord of Hashem, Hashim Suleiman, is a mortal enemy of him.

The territories that originally belonged to the "Yanbu" and "Khaybar" regions under the rule of Hashemite were annexed by him.

If it weren't for the fact that the Suleiman family still held that holy place, there was a theological aura.

Rauf has long since continued to move south, expanding his territory into Yemen.

Instead of choosing to go eastward as now, to open up the rotten lands in the Najd Desert.

Now, most of his forces have been lost, and the other party will definitely wait for an opportunity to retaliate.

So, he needs Zahn now.

Zahn's face squeezed out a trace of concern: "Brother, you have drunk too much, you are an eagle falcon in the sky, a lion blessed by flames, if your mother is still alive, she will never want to see you as decadent as you are now." ”

He silently sighed in his heart that he was really too mature now.

In other words, it was absolutely impossible for him to show such a hypocritical expression of concern while being overjoyed in his heart.

Rauf let out a long sigh and put down the golden wine glass encrusted with rubies: "Zahn, you're right, I regret not listening to you in the first place. This Lothar is indeed not that easy to deal with. ”

"It's the damned Minomet, I listened to his boasting, my manticore knight, who watched his head cut off by the enemy, who died with this self-righteous fool, and who hitched so many of my loyal soldiers."

Is Rauf convinced?

Of course I am not convinced.

In his opinion, Lothar was just lucky to get the witch's effect.

His strategy is absolutely fine.

Zahn was silent, with disdain in his heart: At this time, you still don't want to admit that you are also a fool?

On his face, his expression became more and more earnest: "My brother, regret is useless, Dahab is just a barren land, it's okay to give up for the time being, at the moment, we still have to guard the Hejaz, this is our foundation." ”

Rauf pondered for a moment and spoke: "You're right, Zahn, I intend to hand over Yanbu to you to defend, which is the southernmost border of my territory. ”

Zahn's heart gave birth to a hint of joy.

Yanbu is also a wealthy territory, and although he is only temporarily in charge of it, he can finally take advantage of this to continue to develop his own power.

The money he brought with him from Port Eyra was not small, and it was easy to raise another army.

I thought so in my heart.

His face was full of consternation: "Brother, how can I, a defeated general, take on such a heavy responsibility?" ”

Rauf said without hesitation: "Zahn, help me hold Yanbu, I can't trust anyone now, only you, you are my fellow brother, you are connected by blood, I believe that you will definitely be able to stop Hashem's army there!" ”

Zahn burst into tears, looking like a brother: "I will definitely not live up to your trust!" ”

...

Outside Port Ella.

Civilians, the corpses are being cleaned up in an organized manner, and the number of dead is too large to be cleaned up soon, and it is likely to cause a terrible plague.

The contents of these corpses have been looted by the soldiers, some of them are sold in loot stores, and many more are thrown into warehouses.

These worn armors, weapons, and helmets can be reused with only minor repairs.

Most of the weapons and equipment used by the Black Eagle Banner Team also come from this.

The corpses were piled up like rags.

Sprinkle the fire and soon the smoke will be billowing up.

But the people had a beaming expression, the enemy was repulsed, the whole army was rewarded, most of those militiamen did not have a chance to participate in the war, and they could still get the food given by the lord of Kang, it was not too beautiful!

The new week's gacha did not receive Miss Cellinina's allegiance.

But the rewards are still very practical.

It is a large Romanesque irrigation canal that could be placed on an estate near the port of Eyra, which greatly accelerated the construction of hydraulic works.

Of course, practicality is practicality, but the value is not very high.

Lothar himself spent a few hundred gold coins and hired some workers to build irrigation canals and qanats, which were not as effective as those produced by the system, but they were still usable.

"Your Excellency, you should be disappointed, right?"

"After all, it's the new pretty lady, if it were me, I'd be crying now."

Jeanne's face was full of banter.

"You're a crybaby, then."

Lothar lay on the soft collapse with her eyes up, her eyes closed.

In this battle, although he had replenished the blue bars and energy consumed several times in succession because of the upgrade, he still felt a kind of exhaustion that seemed to go deep into his soul.

Tired!

It's so tiring!

I can't wait to sleep for ten days in a row!

But he couldn't do that yet, he had to wait for the vassals to arrive and swear allegiance to him.

The vassals of Transjordan responded to the call for the first time, but they were very fast.

Normally, the vassals of the European continent would not have this kind of enthusiasm.

Slowly, slowly, slowly.

Many times, the war is over, and the vassals are late.

Or, some people come early, wander around the barracks for a month or two, and when their service expires, they pat themselves on the ass and leave, regardless of whether they are fighting or not.

On the contrary, this behavior is completely legal.

Even the feudal lords have no right to punish them.

But this time, Lothar's vassals under his command will not be rubbed, because this is a feast to share the spoils, and the dishes are all on the table, waiting for them to eat.

The hand is fast, the hand is slow.

…

After many noble sons swore allegiance to Lothar.

The Transjordan Crusaders began their expedition to the west.

The war went well.

Lothar didn't even come forward in person, but sent Jeanne and Hans to lead the army, and there was a grand procession, and the main battles were completed by the vassals.

Although it is a share of spoils.

But it also depends on the strength, and it depends on the performance of the individual in this battle to decide who can eat more and who can eat less.

In just three days, the Transjordan Crusaders captured Philorn (Dahab) and a large part of it to the west.

Lothar re-established the bishopric of St. Catherine, the Barony of Tich, and divided forty-six knightly titles - due to the limited number of knights in the imperial decree, many knightly orders, Lothar was really divided.

Among them, the bishopric of St. Catherine, which was temporarily managed by Moreno, the second son of Baron Zugar, was to be directly secularized and become a lord's fiefdom, or whether Moreno would make a lifelong vow to join the ranks of the clergy, depending on how his family pushed it.

Moreno had wanted to ask for Lothar's opinion, but Lothar had no opinion.

Baron Tich was succeeded by Baron Argonne's second son, Berval.

The following knight collar will not be repeated.

Many noble families were given a variety of knightly titles, and it was none of Lothar's business whether they were preparing to develop their territories or exploiting the commoners.

The coastal territories of Tours, Farland, and Galat in the southwest of the Sinai Peninsula were blocked by high mountains, and Lothar did not plan to attack for the time being.

It is not easy to defend after taking it, and you can even see Egypt on the opposite bank and the Arabian Desert east of the Nile from a high place.

Adil would not have allowed Lothar to expand to this point.

For the time being, Lothar only plans to take the southeast of the Sinai Peninsula, and as for those who don't get a piece of the pie, they can only wait for the next time.

Annexing one-third of the Sinai Peninsula, the territory of the Transjordanian Earldom nearly doubled, but the population increased by about 30,000.

There is also a part of the Bedouins who are half-nomadic, half-settled near the oasis.

A grand armed march was completed, and Jeanne, who had barely made any effort, announced to Lothar as soon as she returned to her mansion in Port Ella.

"My lord, from today onwards, you will be a great desert monarch."

Eighty percent of Lothar's territory is now desert.

Such a vast area is more than enough to be a duke on the European continent, but in the Holy Land, if it is not for commerce, Lothar feels that he is equivalent to an ordinary earl at best.