Water Margin people

Chapter 1590 Saladin Arrives

"What golden cross? Aren't the fragments of the True Cross in Jerusalem?"

Saladin frowned and said that he had never heard of any golden cross. The church's holy relics were not precious because of the value of the materials. What was truly precious was the symbolic meaning behind them.

Everyone was speechless. These rumors were all fabricated by the people. No one knew whether they were true or not, but the common people were willing to believe them.

“You’ll know when you get there!”

Seeing that no one could answer, Saladin could only shake his head.

"Sir, we killed Baldwin IV, and Jerusalem is ours!"

Everyone laughed and said that Baldwin IV had been staying in Jerusalem and they had no good way to deal with him. Now that they were so far away, if they took action, there would be almost no chance of his survival.

"A king does not kill a king! We just came here, we just won, but we will not kill him! This is a respect for him, and also a respect for us!"

Saladin just looked at everyone and shook his head and continued.

  The people around Saladin naturally couldn't understand this idea. How could the pagans not be killed? How could they recapture the holy city without killing them?

But Saladin's status was higher than theirs, and they dared not refute what Saladin said.

The army marched forward.

"Report, the Qi army was found stationed on the Caspian Sea!"

When they were only twenty miles away from the Caspian Sea, the leading cavalry ran back and reported.

"What? The Qi army!"

All the generals were greatly shocked. The Qi army had become famous in the past six months. Not only had it destroyed the Western Liao Dynasty, but the army had also reached the Hezhong region and even crossed the Wuhu River.

"Stop!"

Saladin roared and stopped the army.

"Sir, what should we do? Have we been deceived?"

Some people began to panic. The terrible news of Qi had spread far and wide. The Seljuk Sultan Sanjar personally led his troops to the battle and was defeated miserably. His men were also captured alive. Now his life was worse than death.

"When we discovered each other, the other side had already discovered us!"

Saladin shook his head.

"Arm your army in formation and move forward slowly!"

Saladin spoke to the people around him. He was also very puzzled. He was clearly here to meet Baldwin IV, so how did he encounter the Qi army?

In the desert, the Arab cavalry with black cloth wrapped on their heads advanced slowly, they were like a dark curtain covering the yellow desert.

The Qi army lined up on the coast of the Caspian Sea and ignored the approaching Arab cavalry.

"That's the dragon flag of Qi. It turns out that the emperor of Qi is here!"

Saladin looked at the dragon flag fluttering in the wind in the distance. He had heard that the Emperor of Qi had come to the West, but he did not expect to meet him here.

"Sir, what should I do?"

All the Arab generals became nervous. If they encountered an ordinary Qi army, they could still deal with it, but if it was the guards of the Qi emperor, they would definitely not be their match.

"The army is waiting here, I'm going to go take a look!"

Saladin spoke to the people around him, and then he rode forward.

"Who is coming!"

Lu Zhishen, holding a Zen stick, stood on horseback in front of the formation and shouted.

"Saladin, the King of the Ayyubid Kingdom! I wonder if this is the army of Qi!"

Saladin looked at Lu Zhishen and spoke.

"Exactly. What do you want to do here?"

Lu Zhishen looked at Saladin and asked.

"I heard that a large army appeared here, so I came to check. Is His Majesty the Emperor of Qi here?"

Saladin glanced at Lu Zhishen, then looked at the Qi camp behind him.

"Your Majesty is resting!"

Lu Zhishen looked at Seradin and said.

"Can you let me know? Since we've met, we can meet each other!"

Saladin looked at Lu Zhishen and said that Qi had already defeated the Seljuks and was targeting the Abbasid and other Caliphate kingdoms. "Just wait!"

Lu Zhishen replied, but did not send anyone back to report.

Saladin looked at Lu Zhishen and felt a little unhappy. He treated him with courtesy, but the Oriental man was arrogant and rude.

However, Saladin did not get angry. Getting angry and starting a war over such a trivial matter would not do them any good.

Saladin returned to his camp and waited.

In the Qi camp.

Sun Lei had already gotten up and learned that Saladin had arrived with his troops, but he did not want to go directly to see Saladin. He wanted to wait for a while.

"Your Majesty, the Arabs are lined up outside!"

Mi Sheng reported to Sun Lei.

"Prepare a banquet! These Arabs are so ignorant. Not only do they come here empty-handed, they don't even have any manners!"

Sun Lei waved his hand and said, Saladin wanted to see him, but he didn't bring any gifts or even prepare some food. Was he really going to chat face to face on horseback?

Saladin showed no sign of anxiety and just waited quietly until someone started to arrange tables and chairs in front of the Qi formation.

"Change my clothes!"

Saladin spoke to the guards around him, saying that the other party had already prepared tables and chairs, so he naturally had to dress formally.

After changing into a clean black robe and putting on an exquisite headscarf, Saladin rode his horse towards the Qi camp.

Sun Lei also rode out of the camp on horseback.

"Are you Saladin?"

Sun Lei looked at the thin, middle-aged man with a big beard in front of him. His face was tanned, and he looked like a common nomad in the desert, exposed to the wind and sun all year round. It was hard to imagine that this was the greatest Arab leader.

"You must be the Emperor of Qi, I am Saladin, King of the Ayyubid Kingdom!"

Saladin raised his hand slightly in the manner of the Arabs.

"sit down!"

Sun Lei pointed to the chair in front of him and said, the food was already on the table.

"I heard that Baldwin IV is here. Are you going to meet him here?"

Saladin sat down and looked at Sun Lei and asked.

"You go look for him, he just left for half a day!"

Sun Lei pointed to the west and spoke.

“Just left!”

Saladin's face changed. It seemed that his guess was correct. There was a connection between Qi and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This was not good news for the Arabs.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem now relied entirely on the support of Baldwin IV, the Leper King, and people suffering from leprosy were destined to die, so the Kingdom of Jerusalem was on the verge of destruction.

But if Qi State got involved, the situation would be different. They would not only have to face the threat of the Crusaders, but also the threat from Qi State.

"Did your majesty reach some kind of agreement with the Kingdom of Jerusalem?"

Saladin asked grimly.

"This is not the right thing to tell you!"

Sun Lei smiled and shook his head. He and Saladin were not familiar with each other, so how could he tell him such a secret matter?

"Your Majesty, that is a battle between us and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Do you want to get involved as well? Do you want to be an enemy of the Arabs?"

Saladin looked at Sun Lei and said, Sun Lei's words were tantamount to consent.

"We are enemies! Didn't Sanjar invade our Transoxiana region on your behalf?"

Sun Lei looked at Saladin and said, the Arabs have never been on good terms with the State of Qi, so isn't it normal for them to be enemies?

"The Seljuks have been defeated by Your Majesty, and this matter is over!"

Saladin looked at Sun Lei and said.

(End of this chapter)