Video spoilers history, starting with the blitzkrieg on Poland

……

Outside the sky.

Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng looked at the scene in the sky where Saladin released the women and children of Jerusalem and sneered, "It's just a woman's kindness."

"He is a hero, but he is still far from being a true top king."

"Speaking of which, what is the reason for the Crusades, the siege of Saladin, and the rebellion of both sides?"

"I see Jerusalem as nothing more than a desolate desert city, at most it has a good location and is convenient for trade."

"Holy City? In my opinion, it is worthless."

……

But in the late Han Dynasty.

After reading it, Liu Bei said to Zhuge Liang beside him:

"Saladin is truly a benevolent and righteous king!"

"He treated the prisoners well and was kind, a role model!"

"Then the Crusaders should be the invaders."

"And for the sake of the people and to protect his homeland, Saladin united all the princes to resist the foreign enemies. He was quite like Duke Huan of Qi who respected the king and repelled the barbarians and united the nine princes!"

Zhuge Liang also had a good impression of Saladin and said:

"This Saladin seems to be very flexible and strategic. He can lead a large army to attack, but also make choices before a fierce battle."

"Know how to unite all forces and rally the hearts of the army and the people."

“This is a skill that is essential for those who want to achieve great things.”

"And later netizens on the Sky Curtain also said that Saladin was a great ruler, almost one of the greatest monarchs there."

"It seems that it is indeed worth learning."

Liu Bei nodded.

I couldn't help but ponder the last lines of the sky curtain segment.

"It's worthless and priceless."

“The significance of this city may really be higher than we thought.”

And just as the ancient people were still savoring the scene of the Kingdom of Heaven just now.

The new sky curtain actually appeared in the background music of the Kingdom of Heaven.

【A video to help you understand the First Crusade! 】

【Speaking of the Crusades, this was not a simple military action. 】

[It is not, as many people say, a group of ambitious Western European knights who went to the Middle East to become bandits.]

[It was a large-scale movement that was embroiled in religious fanaticism, political ambitions, and social contradictions, and profoundly changed the landscape of the East and West.]

[When the cold wind of late autumn in 1095 swept across the Clermont Plain, Pope Urban II's white robe fluttered like a battle flag under the gaze of thousands of people.]

[“Let those who are used to private fighting wage a holy war!”]

[This declaration ignited the entire Western Europe, and thus started a complex expedition that lasted for hundreds of years! ]

【The Crusades.】

Before we delve into the First Crusade, we must first look at the historical background of the time.

【In the 11th century AD, during the reign of Emperor Zhezong of Song in China. 】

【At the same time, Europe was in a complex and delicate period of peace. 】

【From a social perspective, the feudal system has taken root in continental Europe.】

[The nobles controlled a large amount of land, and the peasants worked hard on the land, paying various taxes to the nobles and performing labor service.]

[This class division is serious, farmers live in poverty, and social contradictions gradually accumulate. ]

【In terms of religion, Christianity is dominant in Europe. 】

[The power of the Pope in Rome is at its peak, and he has a strong influence on the entire Christian world.]

[At this time, there were also some disputes and conflicts between different sects within Christianity. ]

[Although agricultural production technology in Europe had made some progress at that time, the population was growing too fast. ]

[Limited land cannot support too many people, resulting in frequent food shortages.]

[Many farmers are in desperate situations and they are eager to have new land and live a better life.]

This socioeconomic dilemma.

[This planted a seed of unrest for the subsequent Crusades.]

[Not only ordinary farmers, but also many middle and lower class nobles are extremely dissatisfied with the current situation. ]

[Because the Western European world at that time was in an unusually peaceful state under the suppression of religious power.]

[In the name of religion, first it was "God's Truce", then "God's Peace".]

[Fighting is not allowed on Fridays and Saturdays, including various Christian festivals and fasting periods.]

[Anyone who stirs up trouble or starts a war during this period will be accused of destroying religion, and no one can bear it.]

[In the end, fighting was allowed only 80 days a year.]

【Peace has come to war-torn Western Europe.】

[The world dominated by the church has fallen into stability, and the order is very solid. ]

[The peasants were exploited obediently, and the nobles carried out limited wars. ]

【Everything is under the control of the church.】

Outside the sky.

Song.

Song Zhezong Zhao Xu saw that Europe, which was the main battlefield of the world war, was so peaceful during his own period.

“Isn’t that great?”

Song Zhezong said happily: "When the world is at peace, there will be a prosperous era!"

"With so many small countries and vassal states in Europe, it's great that they can maintain general peace!"

As for the common people being cruelly exploited by the rulers?
This was naturally not something Song Zhezong cared about.

The sky continues.

[Peace is a good thing.] [But for some ambitious lords, especially those middle and lower lords and knights who are eager to gain wealth and status in war, this is not the case.]

【Chaos is a ladder.】

[They long for a place where they can kill at will, rob money, and build their careers.]

【…】

【So, in this peaceful atmosphere under oppression. 】

How did the First Crusade originate?

[This has to start with the Byzantine Empire. ]

[Byzantium, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, is actually the continuation of the Roman Empire, and also calls itself Romans. ]

[Although Byzantium no longer had the glory of the past, and after the Arab conquest, it forever lost the empire's rich provinces such as Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon. ]

[However, the Byzantine Empire, which was driven by two cores, Greece and Asia Minor, was also a powerful empire for a long time. ]

[It occupies a dominant position in southern Italy, the Balkans, and Asia Minor. ]

[Even during the reign of Basil II, the empire experienced a revival and reached its peak after Justinian the Great. ]

【But after the peak comes the fall. 】

[In the far east, the Seljuk Turks rose. ]

[The Seljuk Turks constantly harassed the Byzantine border.]

[Even in the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Byzantine army was defeated and the Byzantine Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes was captured. ]

[This battle caused great damage to the Byzantine Empire.]

[Large tracts of its territory in Asia Minor were occupied by the Seljuk Turks.]

[The Byzantine Empire, the guardian of the Orthodox Church, is in danger! ]

【Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos sends a distress signal to the Western Christian world. 】

[Letters for help poured in like snowflakes to the Vatican.]

[He hoped to obtain military assistance from Western Christian countries to help Byzantium fight against the Seljuk Turks and regain lost territory.]

[This distress signal became the fuse for the First Crusade. ]

[Pope Urban II, then pope, keenly sensed this opportunity.]

[In his view, this was not only an action to help Byzantium, but also an excellent opportunity to expand the authority of the Pope and unify the Christian world. ]

[It just so happens that Europe is deeply involved in the God's Truce movement at this moment. ]

[The knights who were eager to achieve success had long lost their temper. 】

[These brute-force war machines are in urgent need of a new outlet. ]

[The Crusades could both divert the knights’ violence and repair the Great Schism in the Christian Church.]

[Even better is the ability to bypass the secular monarch and directly control the army and territory. ]

[For the Pope, these are all top benefits! ]

[So, in November 1095, Pope Urban II convened a religious council in Clement, France.]

[Countless devout believers came from all over Europe to see the Pope's true appearance.]

【At the meeting, he gave a highly inflammatory speech.】

[Pope Urban II described the tragic situation of the Holy Land of Jerusalem being occupied by pagans.]

【Calling on all Christians to take up arms, wage a holy war, and retake the Holy Land. 】

[The Pope asked believers to sew a red crusade pattern on their right arms.]

This is the birth of the Crusades.

[He promised that all those who participated in the Crusades would have their sins forgiven and their souls would go directly to heaven after death.]

【All debts are automatically eliminated. 】

[After the expedition, their family's property was protected by the church.]

[In short, it can relieve all worries, and while spiritual beliefs give encouragement, it can also actually relieve debts. ]

[Of course, once you join, you can’t regret it. ]

[Otherwise, excommunication is equivalent to social death—unless you are as thick-skinned as a city wall.]

【In that era of religious fanaticism, the Pope's appeal was like a fire on dry wood.】

[This instantly aroused the enthusiasm of Christians across Europe.]

[From nobles to commoners, countless people responded to the Pope's call and threw themselves into this so-called "holy war."]

[A massive crusade has begun. ]

Outside the sky.

Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng was not at all interested in the so-called beliefs in the West or the so-called Pope.

But Ying Zheng noticed the year mentioned by Tianmu.

"The sky curtain says that Byzantium is the Roman Empire."

"And, in 1071, he was defeated at the Battle of Manzikert."

Ying Zheng thought back to the sky before.

"When Attila invaded, there was Eastern Rome."

"Let's do the math. The Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantium, lasted at least 600 years?"

“And that’s not even counting the one before that, in Rome, Italy.”

Ying Zheng couldn't help but reveal an envious look.

"How did the country last so long?"

"But..." Ying Zheng discovered another problem.

"At the Battle of Manzikert, the captured emperor was named Romanus IV Diogenes."

"And the new emperor is called Alexios I Komnenos."

"How come even the last name is different?"

"Could it be the same as Quwo replaced Yi and Tian replaced Qi?" (End of this chapter)