Water Margin people

As soon as Baldwin IV finished speaking, a horn sounded outside the tent, and it was unusually rapid, which was a warning of enemy attack.

Everyone rushed out of the tents to gather their knights and prepare to meet the enemy.

There was a big fire outside the Crusader camp, and the watchtowers were destroyed and knocked down one after another. The Arab cavalry had already rushed to the outside of the Crusader camp.

Screams suddenly rose loudly, and the cavalrymen in the front fell into a pit. The pit was full of sharp wooden stakes, and both the people and horses who fell into it were pierced.

The Arabs who were charging stopped immediately and dared not move forward.

"Where did all these Arabs come from?"

Conrad III, who climbed onto the high platform, looked at the flames outside the camp and his face turned grim. The dense flames represented that there were tens of thousands of Arabs besieging them.

These pits were dug under the order of Baldwin IV. At that time, Conrad III and Louis VII could not understand it. They thought it was a useless effort as they had already built a solid camp and the pits would only make it difficult for them to enter and exit.

But now, these pits have become an important barrier for the Crusaders to catch their breath. If it weren't for these pits, the Arabs would have already reached the camp.

"Where did all these big cannibals come from? Where is our food?"

Frederick was also horrified when he saw the densely packed Arabs. They only had 20,000 people now, and the Arabs seemed to be coming in an endless stream.

"We fell into a trap. Saladin never thought of cooperating with us! He wanted to kill us from the very beginning!"

Louis VII gritted his teeth and said that they had all been deceived. The Arabs had misled them about Qi and used their greed for the Ten Commandments to trick them.

"What should we do now? The pit has blocked them, but it's difficult for us to get out!"

Conrad III looked at the Arabs who had formed a huge encirclement. He knew that the enemy had succeeded and they had no choice but to break through.

However, the pits surrounded the entire camp, and only a few exits were safe. Now the Arabs were heavily guarding the camp, and their hope of breaking out was slim.

Baldwin IV just looked at the Arabs outside. He didn't say anything. No matter how much he said, it would be useless now.

The Arabs were very excited. They had figured out the location of the pit through trial and error, and they would not make unnecessary sacrifices. The Crusaders were already caged beasts.

"These despicable cannibals!"

During the Crusades, the nobles and knights were all filled with indignation.

Louis VII commanded his soldiers, trying to test whether he could break out, but as soon as the camp gate was opened, the Arabs attacked fiercely, and he was defeated every time he tried several times.

"The Arabs are still coming. If this continues, we will definitely lose!"

Conrad III analyzed.

"I have a way to break through!"

Baldwin IV, who had been silent, spoke.

"What can I do? Tell me quickly?"

Everyone didn't care about anything else and hurriedly urged them on.

"When the northern wall was built, I set up a mechanism. It can be pushed down. When the wall collapses, it can become a bridge for us to cross the pit!"

Baldwin IV spoke.

"You have this prepared, so what are you waiting for! Let's go now!"

Conrad III said with a look of surprise.

"But there are too many enemies outside. We need to divert them away and keep trying to break through in the other three directions! There are not many enemies outside now, so we still have a chance!"

Baldwin IV spoke.

"Okay!" There was no point in everyone thinking, and they immediately ordered their soldiers to pretend to break out.

The battle soon became fierce, and the Arabs were even driven back some distance.

The Arabs immediately began to mobilize their encirclement forces and concentrated heavy troops in the areas where the Crusaders' attacks were most fierce.

"They're going south?"

Saladin frowned as he looked at the battle situation. The Crusaders' most intense attack was actually from the south.

"They must want to join the team attacking Qi!"

Some people analyzed that most of the Crusaders went to fight against the State of Qi.

“It’s still a little weird!”

Saladin frowned and said, if they go south, wouldn't the Crusaders be caught between them and Qi? This is unwise, it's like jumping into a trap.

"They have been surrounded. There are pits everywhere outside the camp. They block us and them. They can't escape!"

The other Arab generals all laughed. The Crusaders' tactic of setting a trap seemed clever, but it was actually very stupid.

"We still have gunpowder, take it out and blow it up. I feel like there's something wrong. The Crusaders shouldn't just accept their fate and wait for death. It's better to end it sooner rather than later!"

Saladin spoke.

"We don't have much gunpowder. The Crusaders are surrounded. It would be a waste to use it on them!"

Everyone immediately objected. They were reluctant to use gunpowder. In their eyes, the Crusaders were already doomed.

"Use it. I have a bad feeling. These are all high-ranking Christians. Don't let anything unexpected happen."

Saladin shook his head and said that there was a cardinal, several kings, and hundreds of nobles in this camp, which covered most of the elite troops in the north. If they could be killed, the holy war would end with their victory, and the Christians would not be able to launch another holy war within a hundred years.

"All right!"

Seeing that Saladin was so determined, the others no longer objected. There were indeed too many important people this time and no accidents could happen.

Just as the Arabs were preparing gunpowder, the north wall of the Crusader camp collapsed with a loud bang. The muffled sound spread throughout the battlefield. The collapsed wall also raised a large amount of dust, which rushed directly towards the Arab cavalry outside.

Everything happened so suddenly. The oncoming gust of wind brought with it a large amount of sand and stones. The cavalry and horses were blinded by the sand and stones. The cavalry was fine and reached for their kettles to wash their eyes, but the horses were frightened and ran around uncontrollably, causing the formation to be in chaos for a while.

"sand!"

Conrad III and Louis VII roared and rushed out with the Crusader Knights.

The situation on the battlefield suddenly reversed, and the Crusaders, who had been surrounded, rushed into the Arab defenders and threw them into panic.

"Hurry, they are trying to break out, gather your forces and surround them!"

Saladin immediately gave orders. All this happened too suddenly. A large number of soldiers had already been transferred to the north. Now with such a rush, it would be easy for the enemy to break out.

The Crusaders who broke through fought to the death and killed the enemies in front of them. Seeing hope appear, their morale was high.

Even though the Arab cavalry formed two lines of defense in a row, this makeshift organization was no match for the swift Crusaders and was defeated in the first battle.

"Follow the river and find a place to cross!"

When Baldwin IV saw a large number of Arab cavalry surrounding him, he immediately began to give orders. There were many rocks near the river beach, which would hinder the war horses.

The Crusaders fled northward along the Tigris River, and the Arab cavalry pursued them from the outside. They wanted to kill the Crusaders, but the terrain near the riverbank blocked them. The Crusaders even walked into the muddy sandy land, and the cavalry did not dare to approach them at all. Once they got stuck in it, it would be difficult for the horses to get out. (End of this chapter)