The sun is scorching.

Lothar lifted the curtain of the tent, and a strong smell of sweat came to his face.

Looking around, it was already full of various crusader princes, and his gaze swept over, and everyone saluted him.

These days, the Crusaders and the Saracens are still in a state of confrontation.

The next day's battle, perhaps under the pressure of rumors, Saladin did not send Torle to fight again, and Veneto won easily, which was considered to be a city back, but the morale of the crusaders did not improve much.

The reason for this is simple: the enemy breeds man-eating beasts, which are to eat ten Saracens a day, and the Crusaders are still worried about facing this beast on the battlefield.

Since then, the two have been in a state of confrontation with no expiration date.

It was not until the enemy troops in Gaza City approached the city and the news that the port of Ella had broken the enemy's main fleet that this military meeting took place.

"Lord Marquis, I heard that in the battle of Ira Harbor, an army of the undead appeared, and they came from the sea and killed the infidels - is this true or false?"

Lothar's expression moved slightly: "The infidels are ignorant and ignorant, and they just spread falsehoods. In fact, it was only the shore defense fleet of Al Harbor, because it was ambushed in a hidden place in advance, and by taking advantage of the cloudy day, the sea was filled with fog, and it came out at a critical moment. In the eyes of the infidels, isn't it as terrifying as the demons of hell? ”

"I see."

Gerald sighed with deep meaning: "I thought that Lord Marquis could train several elite cavalry such as hussars and several elite infantry such as shield infantry, and he was already a rare training wizard in the world, but I never thought that the militia guarding the city, as well as the crew of the ship, would be so elite and brave. ”

Lothar said quietly: "The enemy is weak, but he is just a pirate, and the Knights Templar have many merchant ships, so he must know the combat power of these pirates better than me. ”

Gerard smiled: "Oh, that's right, pirates are at sea, relying on familiar terrain, driving small boats to and fro like the wind, but my knowledge is limited, and I have never seen a pirate with a three-story giant ship." ”

Lothar smiled lightly, "Didn't Isaac of Komnenos once hire a pirate fleet with three masted ships?" ”

"But who doesn't know that it's the fleet of Brincipie and the city-state of Pisa?"

Baldwin IV said with a serious face: "Grand Master Gerald, Marquis of Lothar, this is the Imperial Military Council, not a place for you to talk. ”

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty."

Lothar looked at the dead Gerald, he knew very well that Gerald must be doubting his identity, as a pious knight leader, he had no doubts about his devotion to the Heavenly Father, and the suspicion that Lothar might have "colluded" with evil spirits would definitely not end like this.

But Lothar didn't care about that.

Now that he is in full fledgling, and the situation in the Holy Land is so dangerous, even if he doubts, it is impossible for Gerald to do it to himself.

"Tell me, what do you think of the current situation?"

As soon as the words fell, Princess Sibyla's military chief, Knight Stephen, stood up and spoke:

"Although the Marquis's port of Ella is defended, there are still tens of thousands of Egyptian troops under Gaza City, if we can't eliminate Saladin as soon as possible, once Gaza City is broken, it will be possible to prevent the infidels from being reinvented with the city defenses of Jerusalem that have not been repaired for many years?"

Lothar wasn't surprised that Stephen Cavaliers were the first to step up.

Gaza and Jaffa are both fiefs of Princess Sibylla, so it makes sense that as Sibylla's courtiers, even if he is temporarily working under Lothar, he has to stand up and speak for the return at this moment.

Before the meeting began, Stephen Knight was privately angry with Lothar.

Someone immediately responded: "Knight Stephen is right, right now, eighty percent of the kingdom's army is gathered here, and the heretics are taking advantage of the weakness, if you don't split the victory and defeat with the Saracens as soon as possible, will it be difficult to divide the troops to help?" ”

Baron Goldfrey frowned, "This is exactly what Saladin wants, he wants us to be impatient, to attack his camp with ballistas, horses, wooden fences, and watchtowers, and then throw countless corpses outside the enemy's camp gates!" ”

Guy suddenly spoke: "But we have to do something, the Marquis of Lothar has listened to the advice, but did the duel with the Saracens really boost the morale of the soldiers?" I can't see it! ”

Gao Frey sneered: "Baron Guy, do you think that the duel is useless, do you still dig up some wooden blocks as before, and declare that it is a fragment of the Holy Spear, or tear a piece of rotten linen, saying that it is the so-called Holy Shroud to boost morale?" What we need are warriors, not a bunch of fanatical maniacs, who can only do bad things! ”

The king frowned, "Be careful, Baron Goldfrey. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Gao Frey is as good as a stream.

Humphrey of Toruń spoke: "Baron Guy doesn't mean to blame the Marquis of Lothar, I just think that even if you don't attack, you have to do something, such as sneaking up on the Saracen supply lines?" ”

Gao Frey snorted coldly: "The enemy has not penetrated deeply, most of the supply lines are in enemy territory, there are castles as cover, plus the sky is full of enemy falcons, what do we use to surprise the logistics line of the Saracens?" ”

Lothar stared at the quarrel and said nothing.

What Gofrey said was also a headache for Lothar.

Saladin's tactics are too stable, stable to be invulnerable, for the dominant side, this kind of battle with the grandeur of the momentum, that is, to fight with you for attrition, fight for national strength, is the most difficult to come up with a trick.

If it weren't for the time it took for the information transmission between the falcons and the owners, and it would take time for the owners to screen out effective information and report it, Baldwin IV would probably not have won the Battle of Mongisa in the first place.

Guy looked a little irritable and said, "Then what should we do, just keep consuming it?" ”

He didn't care about the territory of Mongisa, if he could make a meritorious deed and get the rest of the fiefs, the small town of Monguiza, which had only a few vineyards and farmsteads, was not in his eyes at all.

But right now, the opportunity to win is hard to find, and it is more likely that it will be in vain, just watching his territory face the infidel soldiers still makes him unconsciously irritable.

"Lord Godfrey, I'm not good at leading troops into battle, but now that the price of food is getting high, even with the generous donations of a few great monasteries, where can I buy enough food in the short term?" ”

He looked at Lothar and said sincerely: "If it weren't for Lord Lothar's port of Ella, which still has a steady stream of food and baggage, and it will last for another three days, I'm afraid the army will have to consider disbanding and returning." ”

Lothar frowned.

Amarric is not a smart man, but what he says is problematic.

No matter how rich the princes of the crusaders were, they lost the grain exported from Egypt, where did they go to raise enough military rations in a short time? Jerusalem was not like Constantinople, where it was able to send food from various "granaries of the empire".

That is, Andreas and Captain Hogg defended the port of Ella, and if the port of Ella was lost, the only food source that Jerusalem could rely on was self-production and imports to the Eastern Empire.

Lothar nodded, "Indeed, we should do something, but we must not rush into a decisive battle with the infidels. ”

It is definitely impossible to win with Saladin.

Saladin sits on the two basic bases of Egypt and Syria, which are far superior to the Kingdom of Jerusalem in terms of territory and national strength, which is the consensus reached by Lothar and King Baldwin long ago.

"If our army is defeated or suffered heavy casualties, even if you still protect your territory, the fate of the next will only be to turn into ruins under the iron heel of the infidels."

Lothar stood up, and his tone was sonorous and powerful: "Please be calm and don't be impatient, wait for two more days, and the fighter plane will appear immediately." ”

There was silence.

Guy was the first to speak: "Marquis of Lothar, how long will you have to wait?" Don't have a good idea? ”

Duke Raymond also spoke: "Or, we should send a reinforcement army back, the city of Gaza is strong, and with only three thousand more soldiers, we will be able to defend the infidels from the country." ”

Lothar shook her head and said, "The warplanes are fleeting, so there is no accurate time - as for Lord Raymond's statement that sending reinforcements, you should think about it." ”

That day.

Several armies led by minor lords left the Chinese camp and went south to support Gaza City.

In Saladin's camp.

A neutral voice sounded: "My king, the Franks have already divided their troops, it's time to make a move, right?" ”

Saladin shook his head and said calmly, "Wait. ”

Takidin said with some urgency: "Is there a better opportunity than this?" Doesn't the fact that the Franks have caught fire in their backyards, and now that they have divided their troops, proves that there is already a rift inside them, and they are about to fall apart? ”

Saladin shook his head and said, "Look at Adil." ”

"Adil has the help of Master Salman, and it is not a problem to take Gaza City, and at that time, the Franks will be even more shaken, and that is the best time for us to attack."

Tajidin was a little unconvinced: "My king, we have lost the battle of Al Harbor, who dares to ensure that my uncle can take Gaza, if the Franks also have a spellcaster in Gaza City?" ”

Saladin was slightly stunned, and his tone was lower: "Master Salman is reluctant to make a move on ordinary people, he is a principled person, if he can use it in exchange for a strong spellcaster of the enemy, he will always earn it." ”

(End of chapter)