Water Margin people

Chapter 1852 The Sick Old King

"What do you want?"

Philip II looked at Richard I and asked, if he wanted to deal with the Holy Roman Empire, he needed to win over England, especially Richard I, the King of England who seized the kingdom from his father Henry II.

"Continue to maintain our alliance and support me. I need..."

Richard I put forward conditions, the most important of which was alliance, and the other was a large amount of material support.

"You want too much!"

Philip II frowned and said that France might not be able to afford what Richard I wanted, and Philip II also had his own plans.

"It's not a good thing for us in France that England is too strong! Just across the strait, they will become enemies sooner or later!"

Philip II began to think about it in his mind.

"You can sit on the throne because of our French support! Otherwise, the throne would not be yours!"

Philip II looked at Richard I and said that Henry II, the first king of England, encountered rebellion from his sons in his later years. In the chaos, Richard III finally took the throne of King of England with the help of King Louis VII of France and his son Philip II.

"I told you, you have to pay extra!"

Richard I said.

"That can't be too high. You owe us a lot!"

Philip II looked at Richard I and said.

"Then reduce it by half! This is my limit! I am taking a huge risk in helping you!"

Richard I spoke.

"Okay, half!"

Philip II agreed immediately. The Holy Roman Empire was already in disarray. If something unexpected happened, there would definitely be chaos inside. At that time, France would be able to invade those rich lands to the east.

"Then it's settled!"

Richard I smiled and held out his hand.

Philip II also stretched out his hand and high-fived, and the matter was settled.

In the city of Palma.

The civilians had already been driven out, leaving only some young girls to serve the higher-ups.

"These people have bad intentions!"

Eugene III, who was tidying up his clothes, spoke.

"Your Holiness, don't worry. I have seen clearly today that Conrad III and Louis VII are in poor health and may die at any time!"

"Once they die, the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of France will be in chaos. That will be the time for our church to calm everything down."

Bernard smiled and said that the biggest gain today was that Conrad III and Louis VII were unwell. Under the current circumstances, death from illness was the most normal thing, and no one would doubt it.

"They still have successors, Frederick I and Philip II. They are all here this time, and they can take the throne at any time."

Eugene III spoke up and said that he had also noticed this, so the two kings were also prepared.

"Your Holiness, this is the Holy War period. Even if they succeed to the throne, they need to be recognized by the Holy See, and you need to crown them in person!"

Bernard spoke up.

"Well, that's enough, let's go out! The dinner party is about to start!"

Eugene III was completely relieved after hearing this. As long as the church was the only religion in this land, all kings would need the Holy See to be crowned.

Eugene III changed into a gorgeous robe, wore a crown on his head, held a jewel-encrusted scepter in one hand and a Bible in the other, and entered the hall surrounded by a group of bishops.

"Your Majesty the Pope!"

All the kings stood up and made the sign of the cross on their chests.

According to the custom of Western religions, people should pray to the gods before eating to thank them for their blessings.

With the support of Eugene III, everyone held hands and prayed. Everything went smoothly, with only Conrad III and Louis VII coughing a few times.

"It looks like they really can't take it anymore. They even cough while praying!"

Eugene III was secretly delighted. Prayer was a very serious matter. During the prayer, no other sounds could be made except those praising the gods. Coughing at this time meant that he really couldn't help it.

At the banquet, Pope III sat at the top, and the other kings were arranged on both sides, with Conrad III and Louis VII at the top. Bernard presided over the banquet, constantly praising Conrad III and Louis VII for their piety and urging them to drink.

Conrad III and Louis VII naturally accepted everyone who came to them, as this was the time for them to demonstrate their bravery.

As they drank glass after glass of liquor, Conrad III and Louis VII's faces flushed, but their lips became whiter and whiter.

Bernard was delighted to see this, as it was a sign of poor health and imminent death.

After the banquet, everyone returned to the camp to rest.

"Your Holiness, those two won't live long!"

Bernard said with a smile.

"Haha, God bless us! Let them go to heaven to serve the Lord."

The Pope said piously.

Early the next morning.

A team of cavalry hurried into the city, and the news that the army had been ambushed was only then reported back.

"Who attacked them?"

Pope Eugene III was furious. These were the Crusaders, a holy army. Who would dare to deal with them?

"Your Holiness, we don't know. They died in strange ways!"

The leading cavalry captain said.

"What do you mean by strange?"

A king asked, dead is dead, what's the point of saying strange?

"Your Holiness, please forgive our disrespect!"

The cavalry captain waved his hand, and several soldiers came in carrying the dead body.

"Why did you bring a dead body in? What if there is a disease?"

One king was furious. The horror of the Black Death was still vivid in their minds, and now they could not bear to see even a dead body.

"Your Majesty, these people are not sick, they were all killed!"

The cavalry captain said as he uncovered the white cloth from the body.

The corpse had already been stripped naked. There were no hideous knife wounds, no exposed flesh, no ripped stomach, etc. There were only bloody holes as thick as fingers.

"What kind of arrow is this? Such a small wound?"

Everyone was puzzled after seeing this. They were all kings who had led troops in battle for many years. What kind of wounds had they not seen? But this was something they could not understand.

“It’s a gunshot wound!”

Louis VII's face darkened slightly. He had seen this wound during the last Crusade. It was caused by the guns of Qi State.

"It was done by Qi. Only Qi has this thing."

Conrad III spoke up, he had also seen the horror of guns.

"Are there any survivors?"

Bernard asked.

"No, they are all dead! Not a single one is alive, otherwise we wouldn't have known about it until now!"

The cavalry captain replied.

"Qi State has been here? These people are really bold, killing people in front of our 250,000-strong army."

The kings were all filled with indignation.

"Don't the Qi State have many people? Do they still dare to come and buy?"

Bernard was a little unconvinced. According to the intelligence, Qi only had a few thousand people in Venice. How could such a small number of people dare to come directly here?

"There is nothing Qi is afraid of! Send someone to track down the Qi army! Otherwise, they will continue to attack the follow-up troops."

Louis VII spoke.

(End of this chapter)