Lothar left Limassol that night, re-boarded the ghost ship moored on the shore, dived to the bottom of the sea, and headed for the Holy Land at great speed.

Turriados's ability to govern is still above the passing line, and the Limassol Military Region has been running quite well over the years, with a population of nearly 10,000 in Limassol City, and tens of thousands of people in affiliated towns and villages, and the standard of living is above the subsistence line.

Lothar didn't think about replacing him, taking matters into his own hands or entrusting the governor.

As an alien lord, he kept his "duty" very well.

Likewise, he did not intend to recruit an expeditionary force here and follow him back to the Holy Land.

To put it mildly, he can't look down on the combat effectiveness of the Greeks, except for the personal guard of high nobles like Turiados, because it is a standing armament, it is trained every day, and it is still a bit of combat power.

But to recruit these Greek nobles who were attached to him and ask them to help the Franks, who had always looked down on them, to resist the Saracen attack could easily attract resentment, and although he could suppress it with a strong hand, it was really not necessary.

To use the Habsburg Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was discredited and dubbed the sick man of Europe, as an example, it used Hungarian money to feed the imperial navy, but Hungary did not even have a coastline, which naturally attracted the collective opposition of the Hungarian aristocracy.

Of course, if Lothar paid for an army in Limassol to bring back to the Holy Land, it would be another matter, but the quality of the troops here, even if all the Frankish pilgrims were recruited, the combat effectiveness would not be able to catch up with the peasant soldiers in his own territory, and the cost performance was far inferior.

Back on the boat, Lothar briefly mentioned it to Hogg.

Hogg immediately looked embarrassed: "My lord, I have been a pirate for hundreds of years, and I have never done the work of escorting caravans. ”

Lothar couldn't help but nod approvingly, calculating Captain Hogg's earnings for the past two months.

Not only that, seeing that the war was coming, the sea supremacy of the Red Sea was very important, and in addition to the merchant fleet formed by the landlord Muller with the assistance of Lothar, the coastal patrol force of the port of Ella only had more than ten small shore defense ships, and it was impossible to even resist a little when it really ran into Saladin's fleet.

"Indeed, this matter is put on hold for the time being, as if I didn't tell you."

Lothar walked alone to the side of the boat, frowning.

In this era, there is no army that has not committed any crimes, and when the army crosses the border, even its own villages and towns will tremble, for fear that this group of butchers with swords in their hands will rob them even with their own people.

Unless it is a general like him who has enough prestige and the army under his command is loyal enough, he can restrain his subordinates.

If the port of Ella is captured... Not to mention being captured, or the passing of the army, it was a disaster, and the farms, manors, villages, irrigation canals he invested in and built had to be burned.

"What are you worried about?"

Jeanne walked slowly with a glass of red wine: "I see that you are frowning as soon as you come back from Limassol, have you encountered any problems?" ”

"Nothing."

Lothar shook his head, Saladin's march route is most likely to go south from Syria, the territory of Fort Calleburg and Duke Raymond is the northern gateway of the kingdom, as long as it does not fall here, the war will not burn Lothar's territory.

It's just a high probability, but it doesn't mean it's certain.

"I'm wondering if Adil, the governor of Egypt, will lead an army to attack my territory from Fiorn."

"Is he crazy?"

Jeanne rolled her eyes, thinking that Lothar was unfounded.

For Saladin, Jerusalem was the ultimate goal, and giving up Jerusalem, no matter how much territory he acquired, would not be as meaningful as the city it represented.

This has nothing to do with the strategic importance of Jerusalem itself, its population, its wealth, its land, it is purely religion that gives the city its extraordinary definition – and to follow the line of Philoun would also mean crossing the Sinai Desert.

Adil had only reached the border of the Barony of Tikh with his troops, and there were few villages along the way to supply the army.

"It's not crazy, Jerusalem is a loose alliance, if they take Jerusalem directly, they will face the main force of the crusaders from top to bottom, and if they attack from all sides, they will face a scattered sand."

"If my territory is attacked, I will surely return to defend it, and then the garrison of Jerusalem will be weakened—it is not impossible."

Lothar sighed lightly.

Originally, the Crusaders were defeated at Harding while supporting Raymond's territory, and the army was almost completely wiped out.

It was impossible for Jerusalem to defend only one holy city, and if the kingdom did not send troops to support the kingdom if the territory of the courtiers was attacked, the legal basis for the existence of the entire kingdom would be destroyed.

The fanatics would not approve of such a approach, let alone the lords of the outer realms.

Jeanne wondered, "Didn't Saladin do it yet?" I heard that he was not a very upright man who would tear up the armistice so easily? ”

"There's no better time than right now."

Lothar looked at Jeanne and said seriously, "Do you remember the Sassanid envoys you saw when you were in Jerusalem?" In addition to renewing the non-aggression pact with the empress of the Eastern Empire, in private, the leader of their emissary group, Grand Vichel and Mustafa, told the empress that they hoped that the Eastern Empire would be able to help the crusaders in time when Saladin recovered the Holy Land. ”

Jeanne was stunned.

"It's ironic."

"It's ironic, it's a pity, even though their Grand Vizier knows and is moved by reason, and the traitor Isaac Komnenos has made a pact with Saladin, the Empress still doesn't agree."

"Even if you can help the Crusaders hold Jerusalem and gain a lot of fame, these fame will not be as affordable as the recovery of Sicily, where there are still many Greeks who want to be Empire."

Jeanne pondered: "I understand that the Sassanids are not capable of interfering in this war, or are unwilling to bear the charge of sabotaging Grand Jihad, so they plan to take action in the Eastern Empire." ”

Lothar shook his head and said: "There is a high probability that he is just incapable, the last time Jihad, who was so powerful, finally ended up in nothing, and it was a draw on the surface, but everyone knew that Saladin was defeated." The name 'Great Jihad' was not so useful, and the Sassanid king could have used the excuse of 'Saladin's incompetence and repeated defeats' to use troops against him. ”

Lothar picked up a Gentry card, and on the gold-rimmed card, it depicted a Tartar cowardly Xue army dressed in heavy armor, bows, spears, and shields, similar to the Iron Floating Massacre of the Jin Kingdom.

"It seems that the Tatars have really put a lot of pressure on the Sassanid king, and he probably has no room to pay attention to Saladin now."

Jeanne nodded slightly: "In other words, the two forces that are qualified to interfere in the holy war now are not capable of interfering in this holy war, plus Saladin has pacified the civil strife, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem is scattered again, this is the best time for Saladin to make a move?" ”

"There should be more than that, and there may be other factors that prompted Saladin to take action, but the news of his preparations for war cannot be concealed from others, and the prices of food, armaments, mounts, and even herbs from Limassol to Aleppo are rising."

"It seems that this battle is inevitable, and I hope the Crusader princes are ready."

Jeanne is a man who has led soldiers, and the logistics burden required by 20,000 troops is an astronomical amount for this era.

The army wants to move, and it is impossible not to move.

To completely conceal their intentions is even more impossible for the Saracens, who rely on commerce and trade to build their country.

…

Jerusalem, the court council.

The nobles of Jerusalem were all gathered together, dressed in splendid costumes, and stood on two sides, and Baron Gofrey and Berriand stood somewhat isolated, even though Berriand had made a marriage contract to Princess Sibylla, the old baron remained firmly in the royal party.

It's a pity that the backbone of the Wang Party, his most solid and reliable ally, is not there, and it seems that he is a little weak.

In the main hall, as soon as the regent Raymond spoke the subject, someone shouted angrily: "I have long said that I should not make peace with the infidels, and how long has it been before Saladin is about to make a comeback?" ”

"It is true that the infidels cannot be trusted."

"All pilgrims must be mobilized, it is the responsibility of all Christians to defend the Holy Land, and the weapons and equipment that were previously sealed should be ready for use."

The Grand Master of the Knights Templar suddenly spoke: "The monasteries of Ascalon are willing to donate five thousand marks of silver for military expenses, and the monasteries of Yashkilon, Yinerbid and other places are also willing to donate a large amount of silver. ”

The nobles were stunned, their faces full of surprise.

"Well, with this money, we will be able to purchase enough military rations from the Greeks."

"Who is the abbot of Ascalon, what a pious man?"

"But this donation is conditional..."

The Grand Master of the Templar Order, Gerald, seemed to be a little embarrassed.

The eager crusader nobles had already opened their mouths and asked, "What conditions?" ”

"But they wanted to lease the land in New Habsburg and include the land near the sacred tree as church property."

In the main hall, there was silence for a while.

Immediately followed by the boiling sky.

"Fart, how dare they?"

"What's not to do? The sacred tree was originally a miracle from the Father, and there was nothing wrong with being brought under the control of the Church. ”

"That's right, in order to protect the Holy Land, we voluntarily gave up the inheritance of the territory, sold all our belongings for armor, weapons, and grain, and traveled thousands of miles to the Holy Land, is the Count of Lothar unwilling to give up even a piece of territory?"

"You old Anglo of grass goats, the Church dares to threaten us to hand over the territory of Lothar with such a name today, and whose territory will it want to buy tomorrow? Is it possible that as long as there is enough money, a pious nobleman who has made countless feats bow his head? ”

In the hall, there was a lot of noise.

The aristocracy and the clergy were already full of contradictions, and the behavior of several monasteries uniting together was really a bit taboo.

Then.

A middle-aged man dressed in a simple monk's robe washed white walked slowly to the main hall.

"Bishop Uldin."

The nobles opened their mouths to say hello, and during his time in Jerusalem, Uldin's time in Jerusalem can be said to have made a great name, and he cured several great nobles with chronic diseases one after another, and even Duke Raymond had to sell him a face.

After all, no one knew when they would ask to be in front of the Bishop of Uldin.

"The Lazarus Elixir developed by the Order will be supplied to the army guarding the Holy Land free of charge."

Uldin's eyes looked at the Grand Master of the Templar Order: "The fighting monks of the Order of St. Lazarus will also go to battle. Defending the Holy Land is the mission of every Christian, and it is the task of every clergyman who should not ask for anything in return, but should also give his or her all his or her help. ”