Water Margin people

Saladin was silent. The imagination was beautiful, but the reality was cruel.

Saladin knew very well that he could not convince the high-ranking officials of the Caliphate that they would never cooperate with the Christians.

It would be impossible for Baldwin IV to convince the Pope and King of the West, and those people might even think that Baldwin IV was a traitor.

"What should we do? Are we just going to watch the Qi army advance? You may not have fought against the Qi army before. Their fighting power is very strong and no one can stop them!"

Saladin looked at Baldwin IV. He could no longer think of a good solution and could only place his hopes on this leper king.

"There is no other way. If you are not as strong as others, any scheme will be useless."

Baldwin IV shook his head and said that he had also thought about how to stop Qi, but he had not come up with a good idea until now. He just found that Sun Lei was a little lustful, so he thought of using women to seduce Sun Lei. Once Sun Lei became addicted to women, the war should be eased.

"In that case, Your Majesty, you should take your men back to Jerusalem!"

  Saladin looked at Baldwin IV and said that since neither side had a good solution, there was no need to talk further. Damascus was their territory, and since he was here, the Jerusalem army should withdraw.

"as you wish."

Baldwin IV nodded slightly to Saladin and said that the two sides could not tear each other apart for the time being, and he had no way to capture Damascus.

Baldwin IV returned to the camp and immediately ordered the army to retreat.

"Your Majesty, have you reached any conclusion with Saladin?"

William asked, looking down at Baldwin IV.

"No, they have been frightened by Qi State, and I am afraid they will be defeated again!"

Baldwin IV shook his head. He could see fear in Saladin. He wondered how terrifying an army that could scare the "Sword of Truth" would be.

"In the Battle of Isfahan, the 30,000-strong Abbasid army was completely wiped out. Not long ago, the Persian Gulf was completely lost, and all ports were captured by the Qi navy. It is said that Qi has as many as a hundred of those giant ships..."

William spoke up.

"Teacher, how do you say we can resist?"

Baldwin IV looked at William and said.

"This... I don't know!"

William lowered his head and said that the gap in combat power between them and Qi State was too big, to the point that no strategy could make up for it.

"Forget it, let's go!"

Baldwin IV sighed and said.

"Your Majesty, are you really cured?"

William asked again. He had just seen Baldwin IV touching the hilt of the sword while talking to Saladin, as if he was about to attack. Ever since he was diagnosed with leprosy while practicing sword skills, Baldwin IV has not touched the sword for many years.

"I feel much better! Can you teach me swordsmanship again when we get back?"

Baldwin IV looked at William and spoke.

"Practice swordsmanship!"

William swallowed unconsciously. At this moment he was sure that Qi Guo's medicine was really effective.

Seeing the Jerusalem army retreat, Saladin led his men into Damascus.

……

The news that the Qi army had reached the Mesopotamian region and captured the entire Persian Gulf quickly spread far and wide.

Holy See.

"You are making up stories!"

Pope Eugene III sat on the throne, looking at the priest who was kneeling in front of him to report the situation in the holy city.

"The Qi Kingdom in the east? I've never heard of it! I only know there are the Han Kingdom and the Tang Kingdom over there, but they are too far away. It would take two or three years for a fast horse to go there!"

An elderly cardinal said that they did not know much about the mysterious East, but through the Silk Road, the porcelain and silk made them sure that there was a country in the East.

"It shouldn't be false. This is a report from Baldwin IV. The bishop over there also sent news that the Seljuk Empire has been destroyed and the State of Qi has occupied the plateau!" said the priest.

"The Seljuk Empire has been defeated!"

The Pope and a group of cardinals were all surprised. They knew best how powerful the Seljuk Empire was. If it had not been for the Seljuk civil strife, they would not have been able to take the opportunity to capture the holy city.

"Not only was it defeated, it was completely destroyed, and its sultan was captured alive by the State of Qi!"

The priest spoke.

"capture!"

Now the Pope and a group of cardinals can't sit still anymore. One must be very powerful to do this.

Just as everyone was silent, a priest walked in hurriedly.

"Why come in without being informed?"

A cardinal angrily scolded the priest, saying that this was the most sacred place of the Vatican, and no one except the Pope and the cardinal could enter easily.

"Pope, urgent news!"

The priest spoke, breathing heavily.

"What urgent news?"

The Pope frowned and asked, the priests on the Vatican's side are very well-behaved, there must be a reason for his sudden coming in.

"It is rumored that the Ark of the Covenant was discovered in the mountains south of the Caspian Sea, and it also contains the golden tablets of the Ten Commandments!"

The priest spoke.

"what!"

Pope Eugene III suddenly stood up from his throne, and all the cardinals stood up as well.

There are many holy objects in Christianity, such as the True Cross, the Holy Nail, the Crown of Thorns, the Spear of Longinus, and the Holy Shroud.

These are all things related to Jesus. The True Cross is the cross on which Jesus was crucified, the Holy Nails are the nails used to crucify Jesus, the Crown of thorns is the torture device worn on Jesus' head, the Spear of Longinus is the spear that stabbed Jesus to death, and the Holy Shroud is the linen that wrapped Jesus' body.

But the Ark of the Covenant has nothing to do with Jesus. It is a creation of God. It contains the "Ten Commandments" stone tablets. The "Ten Commandments" stone tablets record the 10 commandments established by God and the Jews, and are the true words of God.

"Is this news true?"

The Pope looked at the priest and spoke.

"I don't know. It's all over there. It's said that the Arabs and the Qi army have gone to the mountains to look for it!"

The priest said, looking down.

"Your Holiness, whether it is true or not, we cannot let it go. The Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments are the holy relics of our religion and the true words of the Lord. We must find them back!"

A cardinal spoke immediately, and the other cardinals immediately echoed.

"The Crusaders have already assembled, let them set out immediately to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments!"

The Pope didn't care whether the matter was true or false at this moment. As the Pope, he had to make a choice.

At the same time, Saladin was also in a state of confusion. He had only rested in Damascus for a few days when the news of the appearance of the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments spread. All Christians went crazy, and men, women, and children gathered together to retrieve the holy relics.

As luck would have it, these creatures were in the northern part of the Syrian desert, which was the territory of the Zengi Kingdom. The Arabs thought that this was a conspiracy of the Crusaders, so they resisted to the death and asked for help from other Arab kingdoms.

"Sir, when are we going to send out the troops?"

"Sir, we must not let those Crusaders find that evil thing!"

……

The generals were all impatient, they also wanted to seize the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments, of course they wanted to destroy the pagan evil things. (End of this chapter)