To the north of Arish is an ocean of rippling blue waves and warm sea breezes.

In the south, there is a blank yellow sand, the vast Gobi, and there is no end in sight.

It is a town founded by settled Bedouins and pilgrims, and several Bedouin tribes that surround the city are the main guardians of the city and the source of trade.

To the Saracens, it is the gateway to Egypt and the largest settlement in the Sinai Peninsula as Gaza City is to Jerusalem.

Saracen pilgrims who come and go, whether they go to Jerusalem or the two holy places of Hashemite, will be replenished here.

If you want to make a detour from the south of Arish, you have to climb up the plateau, which is difficult to navigate, sparsely populated, and difficult to resupply, and the situation will only improve when you reach the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula, which is mostly occupied by Losa.

In the city lord's mansion in Arish, there was a fierce quarrel early in the morning.

"No, absolutely not!"

Adlam took the case.

He was the Sheh of the largest Bedouin tribe in the vicinity, and he was summoned by the lord of the area, Yasar, who had never thought that he would want them to destroy all the water sources and oases, which was worse for the Bedouins than for the desert nomads like the Bedouins.

"You are crazy Yasar, if it is usually a dry year, do you know how many people we will die in order to grab water? And now you want us to destroy those precious water sources? ”

The lord of the old god said with a blank face: "This is the order of Lord Adil, the royal brother of King Saladin, not to ask for the opinion of your little Shekh.

Of course, it was not to ask me, and if we did not follow the order, we would have to face the Frankish army ourselves. ”

"I don't care whose order it is, it's for our lives!"

"Calm down, Adlam, if you weren't a friend who drank a bowl of water with me, you wouldn't even have a chance to sit here and get mad at me right now. My soldiers, together with Lord Adil's guards, will set you and your people on fire, as well as the oases. ”

Yasar's tone grew angry.

"You can try!"

Adelam roared angrily, "The men of the Sodria tribe are never threatened! ”

"Then let's try it!"

Yasar stood up, his hands propped up on the table, his face grim.

The two of them looked at each other for a long time, like angry bulls, with hot air spewing out of their nostrils, and their faces were even pressed together.

In the end, it was Yasar who gave in and sat back in his chair.

He said helplessly, "Well, old friend, if I really wanted to do that, I wouldn't have invited you over." ”

"Not only the settlements of your people, the oases that you frequent, but also the hidden water sources nearby that only you know about, but even the beautiful city of Arish, the mansion in front of you and me, will be burned to the ground."

The anger on Adlam's face gradually subsided, replaced by astonishment and puzzlement: "Are you willing? ”

"Have you forgotten how we grew Arish from a town that only fed pilgrims to what it is now? It's not a matter of one or two people, it's the concerted efforts of all the surrounding tribes, as well as you, the lord. ”

Yasar let out a long sigh, "How else, leave this city to the pagan army of the Franks?" ”

"My old friend, I know you are unwilling, how can I be willing? But you have to think about it, is it worth your hard work to stay in the desert and be a little Shekh for you and your people? ”

He paused slightly, and said in a deep voice: "Bring your people to join me, they are all brave and skilled young men, I will take you to the richer territory and allocate you to more fertile pastures." ”

"Oh, you said that the so-called governor of Egypt promised you, right?"

"Yes."

"You trust him so much?"

Yasar said seriously: "Many people will die in this battle, and as long as I can prove my loyalty, the territory of those dead will definitely fall on my head." ”

This is both a crisis and an opportunity.

As a lord of North Sinai, most of the people under his rule were fierce Bedouin nomads, with barren territory and difficulty in collecting taxes, and he would regret this opportunity for the rest of his life.

Adram fell silent for a long time.

"There's no time to think about it, man, the enemy is about to drive under Gaza City, this is not a matter of choice, just by us, we can't hold Arish at all, there is no natural danger here."

Yasar's tone was hurried, "All we can do is to abandon Arish, or even Vadara, and turn this desert into a Jedi, so that we can have a chance to stop the Franks in Feremai. ”

Adelam sneered, "What if we choose to work with the Franks? ”

Yasar nodded lightly, "Of course you can, but if you really want to do that, you won't say it to my face - be honest, my old friend, that Marquis of Lothar can be magnanimous to ordinary heretics, but a leader like us, he will definitely uproot us!" Otherwise, what will he use for his military expenses, to reward his wolf-like soldiers? ”

Yasar sneered: "Don't forget what those Transjordan heads who came from his territory said some time ago. ”

Adlam's face changed for a long time, and he sighed: "I know." ”

"I'll help you convince the other leaders, but I need you to swear to the Holy Fire that if they don't agree to your request, you won't use your sword."

Yasar looked at Adlam and nodded with a complicated expression: "I swear that I will not be the first to use force to resolve the conflict, but if I really can't convince them, I won't stop there." ”

…

Jerusalem. The Marquis of Lothar, with his great victory over Saladin, called for a new crusade, and word of it was already spreading.

Because it is a city of pilgrims, there are a large number of young and strong young people, who may have been craftsmen or just idle and unemployed vagrants, who are now selling their possessions in exchange for weapons, ready to join Lothar and make a windfall in rich Egypt.

The whole city was in an inexplicable state of restlessness.

Some of those who simply came on pilgrimage, following this trend, inevitably had the idea that this was God's will, and that they should take up arms and participate in the crusade.

The city's pagan inhabitants were surprisingly honest, and as the king marched south with the Crusaders and returned to the city with the city guards, their only chance of rebellion was gone.

Although it is likely that they did not have such intentions in the first place.

Because most of the young people left, the tavern became empty.

Renard sat in the corner, silently drinking a sullen wine, his eyes like a fire burning.

Unwillingness, anger, doubt, anger...

Why did God choose him?

Isn't it me who has fought on the front lines of the Crusaders for decades, recognized as the most pious and courageous warrior?

Why is it that it is Lothar who has received God's favor from Hebron, who has robbed him of his cherished Hebron and repeatedly opposed him?

He looked up, his eyes meeting a blonde man in the opposite seat.

He glared at him viciously, and the man sitting across from him also looked at him calmly.

The two looked at each other like this, one full of resentment, the other breezy and calm.

"What are you looking at?"

Reynard, who was full of alcohol, pressed one hand on his saber and rushed in front of the man.

The man, however, did not appear to be flustered, but took a moment to say: "I am looking at the former famous king of the Dead Sea, the butcher who has terrified the infidels—and at the same time, I am looking at a loser." ”

The man in the black cloak smiled: "Renard of Chatillon, the name of the Count of Transjordan, is now resounding throughout Christendom, and in every king's court, there are bards praising his deeds, and you?" ”

"No one will remember that this glorious title belongs to you."

Renard was not stupid, of course he knew that the other party could never just wait here to humiliate him: "Enough! Bastard, you'd better tell your master and your intentions before I get angry. ”

"Reynard, you have to show a little respect to me, for I am in the service of the most honorable Caesar, the king of the Gauls, the great King Philip."

The man said with a smile.

"Huh."

Renard sneered: "Envoys, there are envoys everywhere, I just saw the envoy of the King of Hungary before, he was beaten by a stink, and now there is a person who claims to be the envoy of King Philip. ”

"There are letters to bear witness to this."

The man took out a sealed letter and placed it on the table: "Please take a look." ”

Reynard looked at the wax seal on the envelope, which was indeed a golden iris of the Gallic royal family, without any superfluous ornamentation, which meant that it was not the coat of arms of the rest of the Capetian royal family, but the coat of arms that belonged exclusively to the Gallic king.

(The rest of the royal family had to add their own personal imprints to the golden iris to distinguish them, such as streamers and pendants, which were characteristic of many noble families in the Middle Ages.)

He opened the envelope and the first thing he said was:

To my friend Renard.

I have heard that you have been treated unjustly, that your title has been forcibly given to someone else by the monarch of the royal house of Anjou, that is not what a good monarch should do, and I never think that there is anything to be condemned or punished for your killing of heretics.

Therefore, Renard, if you will remain loyal to me, when I come to the Holy Land, it will be a time for you to be vindicated.

Renard raised his head in surprise, looked at the messenger opposite, and swallowed: "What are you going to do?" ”

…

Outside Jerusalem.

The Crusaders were encamped, and many of the new Crusaders who had come from the city had gathered at the place of registration, waiting for the quartermaster to put their names on the roster, and to assign them according to their skills and the equipment they carried.

Lothar frowned as she looked at the information sent back by the Dark Shadows.

"Wells were poisoned, or filled with dead bodies of people and animals, water sources in the desert were buried, oases were burned, thousands of inhabitants were driven away from El Ash, I didn't expect Adil to have such a strong grip on Egypt."

In the desert, precious water sources cannot be destroyed and reborn.

It is difficult for those who have not suffered from thirst in the desert to understand the importance that the inhabitants of the Holy Land attach to the water source, and even the cobblers here are strictly forbidden to pollute the water to tann leather.

Curs smiled and said:

"So, there is also an additional group of Bedouins who want to take refuge in us, who claim that they will guide us to find a hidden water source deep in the desert, in exchange for allowing them to continue to live here without intrusion."

"Do you think they're reliable?"

Kurs shook his head: "Not necessarily, if I were Adil, I would not let go of such a good opportunity to provide us with false news, as long as we listened to their news and did not find a water source, it would be a devastating price for our army." ”

"But the vast majority of them are certainly reliable."

In any case, one cannot afford to choke to death without eating, and leaving these Bedouin nomads behind will be of great use to Lothar, who wants to pass through the North Sinai corridor.

"But their news is by no means taken without screening, Curles, I will let Cellinina go in person, and then send Hans with two hundred light horsemen, and if they find a water source, they will guard it on the spot."