Saladin was waiting for an opportunity.

Baldwin IV also knew that he was waiting for this opportunity.

In the eyes of the outside world, the young king, who was trapped in his own bedroom and waiting to die, was now sitting in front of the throne, slowly covering the letter in front of him with a ring with a seal: "Gao Frey Qing sent this letter to His Majesty the Pope." ”

"In a hurry?"

The little witch, holding a thick magic book, asked without looking up.

"It's not in a hurry, it's useless to be in a hurry."

It's a letter asking for help, but it doesn't make a difference if it's delivered early or late.

It's nothing more than doing everything and obeying the destiny of heaven.

In his dormitory, the incense that used to linger all day long has been removed, and the residual characteristics of lepers on his body have become less and less, and he no longer looks much different from ordinary people.

"Then I'll give Berian when I leave in the evening."

"Hmm."

Baldwin IV watched as the little witch put away the letterhead, the situation deteriorated faster than he had imagined, and Saleh launched a massive rebellion in Syria that was put down in just two months.

It is said that it is because Saladin's command also has the service of the spellcaster.

"War is about to break out."

What is lacking is just an excuse.

He could not restrain all the crusaders, even if peace had become the consensus of the princes.

But the lawless "foals" don't care about that.

These fanatical, lawless characters in their own territory are impossible to come to a foreign land and expect them to defend themselves, and they also have the righteousness of "holy war".

All it takes is one spark to set them on fire.

"When will Lothar come back?"

Nishaya replied without raising her head, "Mr. Lothar has not returned from the sea, you just asked yesterday. ”

Baldwin IV sighed lightly, "Yes."

"Yes."

Baldwin IV was silent for a long time, and suddenly asked, "Nisaya, have you seen that Barcelisa?" ”

"I've met a few times with my teacher."

"Is it really that pretty?"

Nisanya put down the magic book with some surprise and said in surprise, "Your Majesty, do you care about these too?" ”

"Why can't I care about that?"

"Indeed. Barcelissa is very beautiful, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. ”

"How do you compare to the ladies around Lothar?"

Nishaya thought for a while, feeling a little embarrassed: "It's really hard to distinguish between the superior and the inferior, if you have to say it, you can only say that they have their own merits, they don't belong to the same type." ”

"That seems to be a real thing."

Baldwin IV's face showed a trace of worry, he had seen several servants around Lothar, each of them was a rare beauty in the world, and he was definitely a top beauty on a par with them.

"Are you worried that Mr. Lothar will be attracted to Barcelissa's beauty and will not be able to come back?"

"How could it be..."

His Majesty replied with some insincerity.

How can you not worry.

After all, it is the most honorable position in the world, even if it is just a nominal co-emperor, it is enough to make nine out of ten nobles in this world excited.

Moreover, the empress is obviously not a stingy person, and as soon as she came up, she gave Lothar the title of general of the military district, doesn't this make it clear that she wants to rob people from me?

Baldwin IV knew that Lothar was a man of gratitude, but who made him a shabby king compared to the emperor.

Nishaya couldn't help but laugh and said, "Haha, you think too much, my teacher once complained to me, and I don't know what kind of ecstasy potion you poured into Lothar to make him so desperate for you." ”

"Don't worry, Mr. Lothar will return to the Holy Land after going to sea to run errands."

Baldwin IV smiled awkwardly.

At present, Baldwin IV has direct subordinate armaments, and only the Royal Knights under the command of Hans and the Jerusalem Knights under the command of Baron Goffrey are regarded as standing armies, and the city guards controlled by Amarric of Lusignan can only be regarded as local garrisons, and their combat effectiveness is worrying.

The number of the former has been expanded after the war, and the number of knights has reached hundreds of people, plus squires and sergeants, a total of more than 800 soldiers; The number of the latter is almost twice as high.

But in terms of this military strength, in the private armed forces of the entire kingdom, it can only rank third, the first and second, and they have been occupied by the two powerful princes of Raymond and the Marquis of Lothar respectively.

Saladin, on the other hand, was only a direct part of his Casakian Praetorian Guard, a kind of super-heavy cavalry all wrapped in heavy armor and equipped with horses, with nearly a thousand men, not to mention the huge Mamluk army under his command.

In addition, there were a large number of auxiliary regiments such as Turkmen cavalry, Bedouin cavalry, Berber infantry, Nubian infantry, etc., which were usually from lower vassals and formed mercenary regiments, and were also non-productive professional armies.

The previous war had only passed for less than half a year.

Although the military strength of the entire kingdom is due to the feudal system, the knights who died in battle have their own heirs to make up for it.

The heir is also replaced by a new fiefdom knight.

The purchased ordnance could also be repurposed to arm a large number of pilgrims.

But the combat effectiveness of these knights will inevitably decline.

It's not about personal force, squire, sergeant, these people don't grow back like leeks when they die.

A well-trained armored sergeant is by no means comparable to the ordinary town militia and the old peasants, and a knight who has just obtained a fief and has not yet accumulated wealth and cannot even arm his attendants will have a significant decrease in combat effectiveness.

What's more - Jerusalem ran out of money.

The previous formation of an army of 20,000 pilgrims had almost exhausted the military resources left in the Great Treasury by Henry II (Richard the Lionheart).

The Great Monastery and the lords of various places must still have money, but it is not easy to get this money out of their hands.

Once, after he had just won the Battle of Mongisa, when his prestige was in full swing, he was able to do it.

Not now.

Baldwin needs Lothar's support.

But Lothar, who stepped on two ships, already had the capital to retreat even if he lost all the territory of the Holy Land, which made Baldwin IV a little lost.

Nishaya was a little puzzled, "Your Majesty, why don't you go back to power, and let those who despise you know that you are the supreme monarch of the kingdom." ”

"The king is never supreme."

Baldwin IV sighed: "At least, not in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, it is purely a group of victors, and as a result of the distribution of the fruits, the Norman prince Bohemond gets Antioch; Godfrey of Bouillon got Jerusalem; Raymond of Toulouse got Tripoli; Baldwin of Boulogne gets Edessa. ”

"Of these, only Godfrey of Bouillon, keeper of the Holy Sepulchre, the title of First Consul of Jerusalem was chosen."

"Do you think that even if I stand up now, I will be able to set things right?"

Baldwin IV looked a little regretful, in exchange for when he had just led a large army to defeat Saladin, if he could cure such a terrible disease, he would naturally be able to forge a great cause.

Available now.

When he stood up again, it was tantamount to the old emperor on the sickbed, when the twins were seizing the throne, he suddenly lifted the quilt and stood up, announcing that he could continue for another thirty years - not only the two crown princes couldn't stand it, but the people who bet on the two crown princes couldn't stand it either.

…

The bottom of the Black Sea.

The ghost ship is still moving at great speed in the sea.

"Six six, I won, pay for it!"

On the deck, Lothar looked at the zombie sailor on the other side with a smug face, during this time, with his agility beyond mortals, he had honed an amazing dice shaking technique without relying on mental power to cheat.

The zombie sailor who gambled on the bet could only obediently pay for it, and couldn't help complaining: "My lord, you have been too outrageous recently, just six one, six six, if this continues, who wants to play dice with you?" ”

Lothar put the silver coin in his hand into his pocket and raised his eyebrows: "I didn't cheat, it's all based on my level, I'm willing to gamble and lose, don't let me look down on you, okay?" ”

"Yes!"

The zombie sailor's back molars are crushed.

"Attention, it's going to float!"

Captain Hogg's loud voice sounded, "The Golden Horn is ahead, my lord, I'll send you to the shore and wait nearby." ”

Lothar smiled and said, "Don't wait too long, I'll give Anna the ruby that Duke Nikephoros asked for and come back, I've been away from home for too long, and I can't wait to return to the territory." ”

The unicorn nightmare was happily pacing the horse's hooves on the deck, seemingly aware of the fresh air it was about to breathe in, and was a little eager to pull Lothar's sleeve with its mouth.

It is no wonder that the knights from the continent have a staggering rate of loss of their mounts.

Even a transcendent war horse like the Unicorn Nightmare Beast, after holding it in the cabin for so many days, it is obvious to the naked eye that it has become sick.

(End of chapter)