The sky was clear.

The sun is blazing.

Camel bells jingle.

After entering Yanbu, Lothar and his party traveled with a group of Kurdish caravans by chance.

The leader of the caravan was talking to Lothar in Kurdish at this time, his Kurdish had been practiced very purely, and the two communicated unimpeded.

If you have strong mental strength, you will have a strong ability to learn.

Coupled with the good teacher of Prajna, Lothar is now proficient in Arabic, Latin, Gaul, and Germanic languages, and is one Greek language away.

"Old Hassan, how did you become a caravan leader when you were a chieftain?"

Old Hassan's swarthy face showed a hint of helplessness: "Rauf wants us to hand over fifty pack horses, fifty camels, and thirty young men armed with bows and arrows this year. ”

"Our tribe is too small to afford such a heavy tax, and we can only hope that this trip will make enough money to buy slaves and pack animals."

Lothar frowned, "Why don't you want to move away?" ”

The nomadic tribes, if they can't afford the heavy taxes, just move their families, why continue to be dogs for Rauf?

"We want to go, but where can we go?"

Old Hassan's face was gloomy: "To the north, we have to pass through the Great Desert of Hur, which can be called the land of death, and we have finally come from there. The pastures on the east side, which are a little more fertile, also have masters; To the west, there are the Crusader demons...... I'm not talking about you, the Franks are good and bad, but that butcher Lothar is definitely a true villain. ”

"Lothar the Butcher?"

Lothar's expression changed slightly.

Jeanne almost burst out laughing.

Lothar explained, "Where did you hear about Lothar the Butcher? As far as I know, Count Lothar is a benevolent lord who treats the low-level commoners quite well, and even if he is a heathen, he can be treated well, much better than you are now. ”

Old Hassan's face showed a suspicious look: "I heard it from the imam, he is a respected elder, a saint who can communicate with the holy fire, and he will definitely not deceive us." ”

"It is said that any Zoroastrian who survives under his command will have to convert to Crusades in order to survive."

"Okay."

Imam is the Persian term for the Zoroastrian clergy.

Lothar didn't say anything more, but said, "Old Hassan, since you are going to take a caravan to the territory of the Crusaders to do business, you might as well take a look for yourself." Find out if it's me lying, or if your imam is cheating on you. ”

Old Hassan was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll go and see." ”

He said so, but the way he looked at Lothar, he was obviously a little more vigilant.

Lothar knew that it was no longer convenient for the two groups of people to go together, so he said hello to old Hassan and parted at the fork in the road ahead.

…

Old Hassan watched Lothar's back go away, and suddenly said, "Let's change the path." ”

He wasn't lying, the salt, cheese, and cured meat transported in the caravan were the most important goods in their tribe.

If they can't sell it for a good price, and don't have enough slaves and pack animals, they will have to send more young men from the tribe to serve under the tyrannical lord of Rauf.

For the sake of the Horde.

He had to be cautious.

Even the incomparably valuable goods in his eyes were not even comparable to a set of specially made fine plate armor in Lothar's eyes.

…

Lothar and his party continued on their way.

As if realizing that he wasn't in a good mood, Cellinina took out a chocolate bar and handed it to Lothar.

"Thank you."

"Nothing...... My lord, do you need me to deal with the enemy leader for you? ”

Cellinina hesitated, but said.

Lothar was slightly stunned, and then shook her head.

"No need."

"Once Rauf dies, his territory will immediately be torn apart and left leaderless, and at that point, he will only be eaten by his neighbors."

Jeanne rode the sweaty BMW and frowned: "Keeping him is equivalent to a piece of fat on the side of your mouth, right?" ”

"Yes."

Seeing that Jeanne's face was not very good-looking.

Lothar knew that she was recalling the border people who had been impaled to death when they were on the border.

Even if she usually seems out of tune, she is still a jealous and hateful person in her bones.

"Don't worry, I won't let him go."

"Zahn can forgive."

"But Rauf will die. Just not now. ”

Through Vodikh, Tabuk, it was only two days.

Lothar could already see the Crusader flag flying in the distance over Ma'anborg and the black and gold lion coat of arms of Baron Isaac here.

Fringilla let out a sigh of relief, "It's finally home." ”

This back-and-forth journey is really boring and boring.

Sitting on the back of his horse, Lothar suddenly spoke:

"Cellinina, what would you do if you were to lead an attack on the enemy?"

"Me?"

Cellinina was a little confused.

"Along the way, you should have a certain understanding of the terrain and climate here."

"What will you do in the face of drought, thirst, scorching sun, venomous snakes and scorpions, poor logistical supplies, and the enemy's geographical advantage?"

Cellinina was silent for a moment, feeling that being a general who commanded the army was still too difficult for her current self.

Especially with Jeanne Zhuyu in front.

"I will try to assassinate the leaders of the enemy, coerce them with my sword to supply our army, hostages, warriors," she said tentatively. ”

"Rauf's rule is far less stable than it seems, and in the case of Hassan Sr., the leaders of many tribal chiefdoms may not be willing to submit to him."

"I think it might work to divide and disintegrate them in this way."

With that, she looked at Lothar with some trepidation.

"Very good."

Lothar held back a smile and looked at Jeanne, "Tell me what you think." ”

Jeanne spoke: "Miss Cellinina's approach is actually quite reasonable, but it does not take into account the most important point, which is the reputation of adults. ”

"Rauf is still very clever in this regard, he stands with the Zoroastrian clergy, avoids the important and trivializes, and easily messes up the reputation of adults."

"Perhaps, Rauf's rule has not collapsed until now, and there is also the credit of adults."

Lothar said helplessly: "Cellinina, do you understand your problem?" As a military commander, you should consider the issue more comprehensively. ”

Cellinina said thoughtfully, "I see. ”

"Speaking of which, I thought that my reputation was not so bad, at least, in the eyes of the low-level Saracen civilians, it should still be very good."

Lothar laughed to herself.

But where do the low-level civilians he bought have the right to speak?

The massacres of infidels that the Crusaders had set off in the Holy Land had made the image of the demon wearing the cross mark deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Even if someone knew the truth, would people prefer to believe him, or the imam in the Zoroastrian church?

He offended the Saracen nobles by dividing the land, and led the people to convert and offended the Zoroastrian clergy, offending two powerful groups at once.

"My lord, do you regret it?"

"Regret what?"

Lothar was a little puzzled, and then reacted: "You mean to break the entrenched tax system?" Or is it the practice of killing all the Saracen heads in one go? ”

"Both."

"Of course I don't regret it."

"Those pagan local chiefs, although they have the right to speak, do they not take things from them, do they want to take money from the serfs and freedmen who have little money in the first place?"

Lothar snorted coldly: "And those clergy, you don't know how much land and money a temple has, I even want to suppress the churches of the Catholic Church, let alone them." ”

Normally, it is most appropriate to pull one faction and fight another, which will make the enemy more willing to secretly communicate with Lothar, in the hope that it will be reused by Lothar after the war.

It also better divides the enemy and reduces the resistance of Lothar when attacking.

Jeanne's face was full of smiles: "My lord, you have chosen a more difficult path. ”

Lothar's face showed a hint of rebelliousness: "If you want to pursue appropriateness and be willing to compromise, I am now the regent of Jerusalem, or a barbarian general in the Eastern Empire, constantly expanding my power, trying to be close to the empress, and I can take a step to the sky." ”

Or is it the same sentence, I'm all open, is it possible that I still have to kneel and ask for food?

Besides, it's just that this notoriety is nothing, and it doesn't even have a siege network.

No one pointed at my nose and scolded me: your notoriety from Ireland to Khitan is known to everyone, and no one knows it.

It's just a piece of cake.