Water Margin people

Chapter 1578 Jerusalem

"I am just a nobody in the army, I don't deserve the title of a brave general!"

Han Shizhong shook his head.

"You are an Oriental, what are you doing in the West?"

A fat noble with a big beard looked at Han Shizhong and asked.

"I already told you, I was just passing by!"

Han Shizhong said vaguely.

"I think you are here to spy on the military! It would be fine if you went to the Arabs, but you dared to come to our Holy City!"

A burly Templar Knight said in a cold voice. Judging from his attire, he should be the leader of the Knights Templar.

"You can think whatever you want!"

When Han Shizhong saw that it was the Knights Templar who were causing trouble again, he knew that this was another diversion of the internal conflicts within the Kingdom of Jerusalem and that these Knights Templar wanted to make an example of him.

The Templar was furious and was about to draw the greatsword from his waist again.

"Captain Andre!"

Several nobles began to scold in low voices, saying that they should not take action before the king spoke.

"I wonder what you two have discovered in the Arab world. My Kingdom of Jerusalem is willing to be an ally of Qi and will not embarrass you!"

Baldwin IV spoke.

"Nothing much. It's just that Saladin, the Sword of Truth of the Ayyubid Kingdom, is preparing to retake the holy city, which is here."

Han Shizhong said.

This news made the nobles present silent in an instant, and the atmosphere of war became increasingly intense, but they did not expect that what was coming was a holy war.

"What evidence do you have!"

A noble stared at Han Shizhong and asked.

"There is no evidence. Believe it or not, you share a border with them. Didn't you send people to get information?"

Han Shizhong continued to drink wine and eat meat and spoke, saying that he was indeed hungry after the long journey on the run.

"Everyone be quiet!"

Seeing that the nobles were somewhat panicked, Baldwin IV immediately spoke out to stop them, determined not to undermine the dignity of the kingdom in front of the people of Qi.

"Thanks for the reminder. I have asked for help from the Church and the Empire. The Crusaders will arrive soon! We will still win this holy war!"

Baldwin IV nodded to Han Shizhong.

Han Shizhong couldn't see Baldwin IV's expression clearly, but he could tell from the calm eyes through the holes in the mask that he was not lying.

"We have obtained important intelligence again. The people of the Kingdom of Jerusalem are well prepared. The Holy Roman Empire and the Church in the West will send troops."

Han Shizhong was very satisfied. He came here to get more information.

Upon hearing the news that the holy war was about to break out, all the Jerusalem nobles fell silent. They were no longer interested in asking questions. The two Orientals were no longer important. Their mortal enemies were coming to kill them, and they needed to prepare for a war.

The banquet did not last long. After Baldwin IV announced the end of the banquet, all the nobles bowed and left.

Han Shizhong and Ma Lin were kept behind by Baldwin IV, along with William.

"Do you two want to go back to the East?"

Baldwin IV looked at the two and asked.

"Your Majesty, just let us go. We will return to the East on our own!"

Han Shizhong replied.

"You two may not know that Damascus, Zengi, Abbasids, and Seljuks in the east are all very hostile to Qi. Among them, Seljuks are fighting a war with Qi. It may be difficult for the two of you to cross the Syrian Desert and the Persian Plateau!"

Baldwin IV spoke.

"What's that? We've traveled all over the west. Crossing the desert and the plateau is nothing!"

Ma Lin said indifferently.

"But there are always risks. The two of you are now hated by the Arabs. Once your whereabouts are exposed, you will be hunted down." Baldwin IV said.

"Your Majesty, is there any solution?"

Han Shizhong looked at Baldwin IV and asked.

"I have already contacted the Emperor of Qi and will be meeting him soon. You two can come with me. I can guarantee your safety along the way!"

Baldwin IV looked at Han Shizhong and Ma Lin and spoke.

"You have correspondence with His Majesty?"

Han Shizhong was a little suspicious.

"This is a letter from your Emperor!"

Baldwin IV took out a letter and said with a smile.

"I wonder when His Majesty the King will leave?"

Han Shizhong looked at Baldwin IV and asked.

"Two days later!"

Baldwin IV held up two gloved fingers.

"Okay, I'll obey your Majesty!"

Han Shizhong nodded in agreement. They had fled all the way and were now exhausted. They needed to rest before continuing their journey. And as Baldwin IV had said, it would be very dangerous for the two of them to cross the area controlled by the Arabs. Now the wanted order might have been issued.

Baldwin IV arranged for a waiter to take Han Shizhong and Ma Lin to rest.

"Your Majesty, are you being too hasty?"

William looked at Baldwin IV and said.

"My health has improved a lot recently. This medicine is very effective. I can even ride a horse for a long time now! I have to go!"

Baldwin IV said that when he was ill he felt so uncomfortable that he could not even ride a horse and could only ride in a carriage or sedan chair.

"Your Majesty, I will go with you, bringing the knights!"

William did not dissuade him any further, but spoke firmly.

Baldwin IV, wearing a mask, nodded in agreement.

Han Shizhong and Ma Lin rested for a night after arriving at their residence. The next day, they began to wander around the city, collecting information about this holy city.

"There's actually nothing to explore. It's the same everywhere, with numerous churches and temples, and endless rituals. Don't these people work?"

Ma Lin said that they had traveled across thousands of miles of land and found that every city was similar and was under the control of religion. Religion was the only existence in this land.

"This is the wisdom of your majesty. Your majesty has been prepared for this!"

Han Shizhong smiled and said that long before the Western Expedition, Sun Lei had unified the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in Qi State in order to use religion to deal with religion.

"Do you think we will be beaten with military sticks if we go back?"

Ma Lin said with some concern that their mission had been completed long ago and they should have returned to the Western Regions three months ago, but Han Shizhong insisted on having his own way and went further and further away.

"A military stick is definitely indispensable!"

Han Shizhong said that disobeying military orders must be punished, and it is a false proposition that a general will not obey military orders when he is away from the battlefield.

"You disobeyed my orders and ended up hurting me too!"

Ma Lin was furious. He was a well-behaved man in the army, but now he was harmed by Han Shizhong.

At this moment, a team of cavalrymen in Crusader armor galloped on the street. The civilians on the street hurriedly dodged, and the cavalrymen went straight out of the city.

"These people have also started to prepare, but such an isolated place has neither strategic depth nor natural defenses. It is surrounded by enemies, namely those Arabs, each of whom has his own ulterior motives. They are greedy for life and afraid of death, and each has his own little calculations. If it were someone else, they would have been wiped out long ago!"

Han Shizhong spat and said.

"What does it have to do with us? Just let them fight!"

Ma Lin didn't care. Even if the two waves of aliens died, what did it have to do with them? It was just right that they all died. They would take over this land.