king of ros

Chapter 550
As the sun rose, the day began for Jerusalem under a new master.

The crusader spearmen wearing red cross robes opened the city gate to let the rural residents who came to the city enter, but now it was mainly local Christians, mainly believers from the Eastern churches, and the crusaders did not make things difficult for them.

As for the Muslims, most of them dare not come here for the time being, and everyone still remembers the massacre.

However, the Temple Mount is still crowded with devout believers of various religions. For true believers, this is something that is more important than life. Of course, the last ones on it are Catholics.

Due to the large number of dead, it took a while to clean up the dead in Jerusalem, but although there were no corpses on the streets, there was still blood, and the smell of blood still filled the streets, telling people what happened here.

The Christian residents of this city are still focusing on cleaning up the blood in the city, but it seems that they still have to spend a lot of time, because the blood is really too much.

But these Christian residents had no complaints, and the return of Jerusalem to Christian rule was enough to warrant their loyalty to the new conqueror.

However, this massacred city is also showing new vitality. Many Crusaders are unwilling to return to Europe. For example, the civilian Crusaders came to the East driven by hard life and planned to settle down in the holy city.

Economic factors are important, but another important factor that made the Crusaders settle here is religion.

Jerusalem is regarded as the place where the last judgment will be opened, and countless Christians want to bury themselves here, so it goes without saying that settling here is a huge temptation for believers.

Therefore, you can see Latins picking houses everywhere on the streets. As a giant city, after the Crusaders slaughtered the city's Islamic population, there are so many houses left over that the settlers can completely let them pick and choose. .

At this moment, there was a burst of noise on the street. I saw the northerners wearing iron armor holding red crosses and escorting two exquisitely dressed Crusader lords. Seeing this, the people on the street gave way one after another. Many people bowed respectfully to this team.

The recovery of the holy city gave the crusader lords great prestige, and even filled them with a sacred halo, so the people treated the jihad heroes with more respect.

"I guess that's what my father said about vacating cages and changing birds." Volorida looked at the Latins who were either choosing houses or remodeling them with interest, "That's fine, this Latin regime wants to To continue on this piece of land, it is better to have more immigrants, the Crusaders will leave after all, and they are the only ones that can be trusted by the Catholic Church."

"The number of immigrants moving to Jerusalem will soon surge. I guess Latins will come here in a steady stream soon. The desire for salvation will make many people flock here." Vasilico looked around , I saw those Catholics who were excited about being able to settle down in the Holy City, "Now that the roads have been opened up smoothly, Latins can also come to the Holy City smoothly, and Jerusalem will soon be flooded with Catholics." of."

"But it will take time. The land controlled by this regime is still too small, not to mention," said Volorida, raising his head and looking at the high tower of the Jerusalem Palace with slightly ironic eyes. Debating who should be the ruler of the holy city. It's such a boring thing. Instead of listening to them quarreling, I'd rather play with that Persian dancer that the slave trader sent me, that Abdul guy, The one who has been doing business with my father for decades, why don't you ask him to give you one too? That waist is so swaying, I want to bring her back to Ross..."

As always, Volorida changed the topic to Xiasanlu, causing a look of disgust on the brother's face.

"Shut up, Volorida, I don't have your hobbies. You already have eight lovers in Russia, and now you are looking for them. Are you going to find hundreds of wives and concubines like our ancestor Vladimir did?" ?"

After entering the city during this period of time, Volorida germinated in a solid state, which made Vasilko miss his brother who marched hard in the desert with him early in the morning. Turn the topic down three ways.

"Hundreds of them are not bad. Anyway, I must have had hundreds of women... Okay, okay, I won't continue, I'm talking about business."

Seeing his younger brother's expression getting worse and worse, Volorida stopped talking nonsense, and it was because of his statement that Vasiliko's expression eased down, and the topic returned to business.

"Admalik is dead, and the Pope is dead. Since it is impossible for the church to take over Jerusalem, it must be chosen among secular lords. Godfrey is the most suitable one. Isn't it obvious? Why not Not elected?"

The anger in Vasilico's tone was greater than confusion. During the time he was sweeping the coast, why hasn't Jerusalem elected a king yet?
As a crusader lord who did not participate in the contest for the ruler of Jerusalem, Vasilico, together with Tancred and Edgar who were eliminated immediately, undertook the task of sweeping the villages and towns around Jerusalem and establishing Christian rule. Vasilico was responsible for sweeping the coast , Tancred was in charge of sweeping the interior, and Edgar was in charge of clearing out the remnants of bandits in the territories controlled by the Crusaders.

Their achievements were great. Within a week, Tancred's march northwards doubled the size of Jerusalem's control, greatly increasing the kingdom's buffer zone.

Vasilico's coastal raids greatly widened the narrow Jaffa-Jerusalem corridor, the only way the Crusaders could now get aid.

As for Edgar, he successfully expelled the remaining Fatima remnants near Jerusalem and put the land firmly under the control of the Crusaders.

"Why not Raymond?"

Volorida said with a smirk, and Vasilko replied subconsciously, "Although Raymond is powerful and highly respected, his relationship with other Crusader lords is too bad, and he has a good relationship with Alexios." Relationships are also a minus point for him, Crusaders don't like Greeks... wait, you mean because of Raymond?"

Vasilico also recalled that it was because of Raymond's interference that he hadn't been selected for so long?
"It's not that they were not selected. In fact, not long after you left, there were only two candidates left, namely Godfrey and Raymond. Normandy and Flanders tended to return to Europe. Some People wanted Raymond to be the king of Jerusalem, but he gave in, and called on everyone not to be the king, and then the throne was given to Godfrey, who said he took over the responsibility, but he was not Calling him the King, but the Guardian of the Holy Sepulchre, made the old man so angry that his army occupied the Tower of David and couldn't come out, and so it is now."

"Ah, that's true. The old man must feel that he has been tricked, and the problem won't be solved in the next week or two." Vasiliko was a little defensive, he didn't expect things to develop like this at all.

While Vasilico was complaining, a group of heavily armed crusader infantry passed through the street. These soldiers were sent to show the prestige of the new regime. Such a team can be seen from time to time on the street.

"No way, no way." Volorida shrugged, "Let's go, let's go see the lords, and see if we can persuade them. But I have little hope for it. If Raymond can then It’s easy to persuade, is that still Raymond?”

During the conversation, they came to the palace in Jerusalem. The former owner of this place was the governor of Fatima. The Crusaders wanted to use the Baasak Mosque as the palace, but it would take a lot of time to rebuild it, so the governor's palace was temporarily used.

An extremely fierce battle broke out here once. A group of fanatical Muslims stood firm on the palace. The Crusaders paid a lot of money to take it down, and blood almost stained its corridors.

But now there are no traces of fighting here, and the blood on the walls and decorations has been wiped off. With the entry of the crusader lords, under the red cross, the palace has regained its former power.

From time to time, craftsmen could be seen busy removing the inscriptions related to Islam on the wall. Seeing the arrival of the two crusader lords, the guards immediately straightened their backs and saluted.

The guards of the palace are very strict. After all, I don’t know if there are any enemies still. There are heavily armed defenders in front of every door, and every platform is monitored by archers. After all, God knows if there are any crazy believers lurking in the city. , must be vigilant.

"By the way, you said you had a relationship with Abdul before? Did that businessman go so far?"

Walking in the forest made up of pillars, the two princes of Rurik chatted while walking. Many of these pillars had traces of chopping with knives and axes, which shows how fierce the battle was at that time.

"He is now the hottest businessman in the entire Monomakh empire, and his cooperation with Monomakh has made him the most successful existence in the entire country."

Volorida said as if accepting her own family affairs. This Persian businessman still has a close relationship with the Kyiv court, and he often sent things to Rostislav. Before the relationship between Monomakh and Rostislav was normalized It also acts as a contact middleman.

Vasilko did not know these things because he had not been in the Kyiv court for a long time.

Just as the two were chatting happily, they suddenly froze. They smelled a familiar smell here. It was a strong smell of iron rust. This smell would never be lacking on the battlefield, but how could it be here?

The smell made them pull out their weapons subconsciously, a habit developed during years of fighting.

At this time, they were standing in front of the last gate into the palace. Two crusader knights stood on both sides of the gate. Their bodies were covered in blouses with red crosses, and barrel helmets on their heads made it impossible to see expressions.

The two were leaning against the left and right walls, as if they were being lazy. From a distance, no one would think there was anything unusual about it, but when they got closer, they would find that it was full of problems.

Volorida cautiously came to one of them, during which the man did not respond, and then he saw thin bloodstains hidden under the collar, and Rostislav's second son gestured to his brother, indicating that the matter was theirs. As expected.

Then Volorida was eager to try, which was something he had never encountered before, which made his desire for adventure continue to rise. Seeing his appearance, Vasiliko quickly gestured to him, telling him not to think about it. go on an adventure.

"I'll find some soldiers first, don't take any risks, just keep an eye on the gate."

Leaving this sentence behind, Vasilko left in a hurry, leaving Volorida here. There was a reason why he walked so fast, because he knew very well that his brother couldn't rest at all, in other words Even if they were here together, the brother's sense of adventure would drive him in.

So he has to hurry to find the soldiers, the sooner the better.

Just as Vasiliko expected, Volorida couldn't restrain his curiosity at all. After waiting for a while, he really chose to go in.

Passing over the two dead people who were deliberately put on duty, Rostislav's second son carefully opened the gate and walked into the former Fatima Governor's palace. The first thing that came into view was the red cross flag hanging in the center of the hall. Represents the Crusaders' rule over the city.

The scene in the hall is very messy, many tables and chairs are tilted, the rust smell in the air is more intense, it almost smokes people, and blood can be seen in many places.

Volorida's many years of experience in combat told him that there had been a short and fierce battle here, otherwise the sound of fighting would not have attracted the crusaders outside, and these people were very experienced, they packed up the corpses, and Knowing that there are two dead people on duty at the door.

Prince Rurik suddenly felt a pang of regret. Seeing this scene, he realized that he might have encountered a professional. There are at least seven or eight knights and soldiers in this hall every day. They can get rid of people so quickly. The attackers His way is not shallow.

Volorida likes to take risks because he likes to take risks, but it doesn't mean he has no brains. In fact, he knows where he can go and where he can't go. Right now, it's obviously a place he can't go.

He backed away slowly, looked around vigilantly, and first approached the table closest to the door, but just as he was about to leave, a sudden change occurred.

A man in black robe holding a crossbow suddenly appeared behind a fallen table. He directly pulled the trigger on Volorida, but the crossbow was shot by Ross, and Volorida watched intently. Everywhere in the hall, the assailant was noticed the moment he appeared.

But what Volorida didn't expect was that there was a sudden sound of breaking through the air from his side, which made him suddenly realize that it was just a random blow, so he quickly twisted his body, but the thrown dart still hit him.

It's just that due to Volorida's quick reaction, the dart hit the chain mail on his body instead of the throat where the launcher expected. Volorida felt that the chain mail was pierced, but that's all. That's all, the armor at the back offset the rest of the kinetic energy.

Just when he was still rejoicing that he was not too hot to take off his armor, two attackers attacked again. The crossbowman actually loaded the crossbow in such a short period of time, but his blow was defeated by the Ross. The overturned table blocks it.

As for the other person holding a scimitar in both hands and also wearing a black robe, he swung the scimitar like a whirlwind and rushed towards Volorida. If ordinary people saw this scene, they would probably be intimidated and at a loss, but Volorida is not.

He pulled a chair beside him and threw it directly at the man. The attacker had to stop swinging because of the chair, and the next moment Volorida's long sword had severed his head, and blood spurted everywhere.

Then the Ross shrank behind the table he kicked down before, and then there was the sound of crossbow arrows being shot on it. Volorida saw that the arrows of the crossbow arrows had penetrated the table, and couldn't help feeling a little scared.

Then Volorida heard the crossbowman speaking in a language he could not understand, which he knew was Arabic, very sharp and very loud, as if warning something.

The thoughts of the suppressed Ross people were interrupted by the sudden opening of the door. Eight archers rushed in decisively and stood still, releasing the long-prepared arrows, which immediately killed the crossbowman who was unable to react in time.

It's just that five or six men in black robes rushed out from the door leading to other rooms at the next moment. They were either holding machetes or daggers, and it was not surprising to see the crusaders who had already rushed in. The darts were thrown directly, and an archer who was caught off guard was shot in the throat and fell down, and then the men in black robes rushed forward shouting Arabic slogans he could not understand.

"Destroy them! Destroy these heretics!"

Vasilico's voice came from behind the crusaders, and then a group of crusaders rushed up to start a fierce battle with the black-robed men, and the black-robed men came to support a few more, making the battle more intense.

Volorida leaned out from behind the table, watching the fight outside, and then he understood why these men in black robes were able to explain the guards so quickly, they were masters in using machetes and daggers, He is also well aware of the weak points of the armor, and he greets it frantically, and at the same time can effectively defend himself.

Moreover, these guys played in a desperate manner, ignoring the possible danger at all, and dared to do even the most dangerous thing, which caused several crusaders to fall under their weapons.

Just when Volorida wanted to observe further, he was suddenly stopped by Vasiliko, "Go, brother, we have to save Godfrey, I just asked, Godfrey is still inside, These people are just trying to stall for time, we must move forward, or God knows what those people are going to do!"

Volorida followed immediately, and followed the elite team organized by Vasilko across the battlefield of the melee. The men in black robes tried to stop them, but unfortunately it was all in vain.

Both Ruriks were very nervous. Godfrey was too important to the Crusaders. Right now, he was the only one who could convince the masses and lead the Crusaders in the Holy Land. If they lost this person, they would not even dare to think about what would happen.

Their father even said that the Godfrey brothers are the key to the Near East, no matter what the reason is, they have to rescue Godfrey.They must not lose the Keeper of the Holy Sepulchre.

Volorida and Vasilico led the knights through the corridors of the palace at high speed, and sent people to investigate every corner. Sometimes there would be battles, but after confirming that there was no one looking for in this direction, No one cares about those battles except the parties concerned, the most important thing now is to rescue Godfrey.

Godfrey is located at the current headquarters of the Crusaders. It used to be the office of the local governor, and now it has become a meeting place for the Crusaders lords. If Godfrey cannot be found anywhere else, then there is only one place .

At the door of the room, the rescuers saw five black-robed men holding daggers and crossbows. Seeing this, everyone knew they had come to the right place.

"Go, rescue the Guardian of the Holy Sepulchre!"

Volorida took the lead, thrusting the small buckler that came along the road in front of his head, and then he felt the impact of the crossbow bolts on it, and when he got close to the enemies, he threw the shield directly.

The shield was easily dodged by the other side. Just when Volorida thought that he would win next time, he slashed the long sword up, but found that the man on the other side had dexterously dodged the attack, and walked around like a snake. behind him.

The gleaming dagger was coming towards the neck, if it was stabbed, Volorida would be finished, but the man forgot one thing, he had to face more than one enemy, a group of people coming from the passage Crusader knights, and there is an excellent warrior in this group.

Originally, the black-robed man planned to use the poor activity time to get rid of the front one first to weaken the crusader's momentum, even if he died because of it, he would not hesitate to die. They were here just to delay time, but they met the crusader For an excellent fighter, the originally judged enough time is not enough.

Vasiliko swiftly sent the sword into the back of the black-robed man, only to fall powerlessly in the end.

And what happened in other places is similar to this. Although these people can use their flexible stature to avoid attacks and kill the enemy, but when the knights block all the space that can be moved, the final result is not necessary. Talk too much.

The closed door was smashed open, and the inside of the door was a mess. Important documents were scattered all over the place, and there were corpses. The most important thing was that two men in black robes were guarding a knight who was tied up. That man was Godfrey of Bouillon.

Needless to say, after a short confrontation, the two men died in front of the swarming crusader knights. They rescued Godfrey of Bouillon, and the crusaders carefully released the guardian. With the rope on his body, when the accompanying doctor came to confirm that Godfrey was fine, everyone cheered from the bottom of their hearts, and everyone was happy that the Guardian of the Holy Sepulchre was safe and sound.

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(End of this chapter)