Video spoilers history, starting with the blitzkrieg on Poland

Ying Zheng made careful guesses, and a strong curiosity about the Byzantine Empire ignited in his heart.

And the sky continues.

【The Crusades were established.】

[Do you think the Knight set out immediately? ]

【In fact, it is not. 】

[No one expected that the first group of people to respond to the jihad would be a group of ragged farmers.]

[Their story happened before the official Crusades set out.]

【Therefore, it is also called the 0th Crusade. 】

[Also known as the Peasants' Crusade.]

[In the early spring of 1096, Peter the Hermit appeared on the street riding a donkey.]

[This fanatic, who was less than five feet tall, was followed by tens of thousands of untrained poor people.]

[They used iron pots as helmets and tied sickles to wooden sticks as spears.]

[The oxcart was loaded with wives and crying babies.]

[These "poor people's crusaders" firmly believed that once they reached Jerusalem, the city walls would automatically collapse like Jericho in the Bible.]

[The rise of the Peasant Crusade was largely due to the hardship of life for the lower-class peasants in Europe at the time.]

[They heard that participating in the Crusades could gain religious salvation, which was very attractive to the fanatical religious atmosphere at the time.]

【Of course, the more important thing is. 】

[Poor peasants could use this opportunity to escape the exploitation of European feudal lords and have the opportunity to acquire land and wealth in the East.]

【So the enthusiasm was very high. 】

【Additionally, with the encouragement of missionaries from various places, a large number of poor farmers spontaneously organized themselves.】

[Some bankrupt knights, city vagrants, and mercenaries eager to get rich also participated in it. 】

[The leader of the Peasant Crusade was called Peter the Hermit.]

[He traveled around France, promoting the idea of ​​the Crusades and attracting a large number of peasants to follow him.]

[The Peasant Crusade had a complex composition of members, most of whom were illiterate peasants. They lacked military training and their weapons and equipment were very simple.]

[Without money, the peasants can leave at any time. ]

So they gathered very quickly.

[In the spring of 1096, the Peasant Crusaders numbered about to people, bringing their families with them, from France, Germany and other places, heading east.]

[However, the Peasant Crusade's journey to the East was full of hardships and difficulties from the very beginning.]

[They lacked organization and discipline, and often ran into trouble during the march due to lack of food and water.]

[Moreover, they knew nothing about the geographical environment and cultural customs along the way. ]

[I don’t understand politics either.]

[Often in conflict with local nobles and residents.]

[This mob moved eastward along the Danube River, and clashed with the locals in Hungary over food and fodder.]

[They also conquered the Hungarian border city of Zemun and captured this Christian city.]

[During five days of looting, thousands of Hungarians died.]

[The Crusaders have made a good start. ]

[And Zemun in Hungary also became the first city in history to be conquered by the Crusaders. ]

[But then the Crusaders fled in haste, with countless casualties.]

[In Bulgaria, the Peasants' Crusade also encountered difficulties.]

[The local Bulgarians were also hostile to the uninvited guests, and the two sides clashed again.]

[The Peasants' Crusade suffered another heavy defeat.]

[But they continued their "Eastern Expedition", or rather, they fled, or even roamed and robbed people.]

[When the survivors fled to the Byzantine border, the team was less than 30,000 people. ]

[Emperor Alexius stared at this group of "reinforcements" in amazement, and hurriedly sent troops to "escort" them so that they would not cause any more trouble.]

[After reaching Constantinople, the peasant crusaders, who had little experience to begin with, were stunned by the magnificent city before them.]

[This is true even for the mercenaries and monks who have been to Paris and Cologne.]

[They never thought that there would be such a magnificent city in the world.]

[Even the palaces of the lords and kings of Western Europe were like shabby beggars’ dwellings.]

[And this group of "crusaders" who came from afar are truly like beggars. ]

[So much so that the kind citizens of Constantinople shed tears of emotion when they saw such poor outsiders coming from afar to support the Eastern Roman Empire.]

【And donated money and materials. 】

Barrages of comments also appeared on the sky screen.

"Wow, what a great start."

"Conquer your own city first."

"The Hungarians brought this upon themselves, bullying foreigners, and now they've run into a bully."

"Will this escort keep him mature?"

"The stinky Western Europeans are coming to our Eastern Roman Empire to beg for food."

《Citizens of Constantinople: They are in this state and still come to help us. Let’s help them first.》

……

Canopy.

[Emperor Alexius, who was very disappointed with the Peasant Crusaders, also arranged for them to cross the Bosphorus Strait and be sent to the front in Asia Minor before they caused any trouble.]

[Rather than support, it's more like diverting trouble. ]

[The Peasant Crusaders in Asia Minor thought that this was a pagan land and plundered it extensively.]

【Completely lost the support of the local people.】

[The Crusaders fought blindly, achieved some results at first, and plundered cruelly.]

[But soon, Kilij Arslan II, the great ruler of the Sultanate of Rum, returned with his army.]

[The Seljuk Turks were well-trained and well-equipped. Facing the Peasant Crusaders who had no combat experience, they defeated them with almost no effort.]

[The Turkic light cavalry drove the Crusader peasants into the canyon like driving a flock of sheep.]

[The arrows easily pierced the unarmored peasants.]

[Then came the harvest, which was trampled by horses’ hooves.]

[Most members of the Peasant Crusaders were massacred, and only a few were rescued by the Byzantine Navy and managed to escape.]

[Peter the Hermit survived the battle and fled back to Constantinople with the remnants of his army.]

【Alexius felt sorry and hateful for them for traveling thousands of miles to get their heads, so he gave them permanent residence in Constantinople.】

【Let them become Romans.】

【You can say that.】

[The Peasant Crusade was a tragedy in which people were sent to their deaths thousands of miles away.]

[It did not have any effect except making the Eastern European countries along the way more wary of the Western European Crusaders.]

……

Outside the sky.

Seeing the Peasants' Crusade seemed like a farce.

In the end, tens of thousands of people were almost wiped out.

The ancient people were speechless when they saw this.

Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on the images of the Peasants' Crusade playing on the sky screen.

All we saw were ragged farmers, holding crude weapons, shouting slogans, stealing cattle and demolishing houses along the way.

Showing the ugly appearance.

And finally, they were even more vulnerable when facing the nomadic cavalry.

The corners of Ying Zheng's mouth slightly raised, revealing a hint of contempt. "Haha, I was looking forward to the Crusades, hoping to see a wonderful battle."

"How dare such a mob call themselves an army? They are just a bunch of fools who were incited for a few minor benefits."

Ying Zheng then asked Fusu who was standing beside him, "Fusu, look at these peasant crusaders, what do you think of them?"

Fusu naturally looked down on these people and replied:
"Report to Father."

"These peasant crusaders have no discipline at all and their marches are disorganized."

"They are called an expeditionary force, but in reality they are a group of thugs."

"I think that the Qin army is so strong and disciplined that it can sweep across the six kingdoms."

"It is ridiculous that they try to change the situation based on impulse and unrealistic fantasies."

Meng Tian also echoed: "Your Highness is right. If such an army encounters our Qin cavalry, it will collapse in a short time."

Ying Zheng nodded slightly and continued:
"Look at their demands. Apart from being ignorant after being brainwashed by religion, they also want land and food and clothing."

"Humph, if there was a wise leader who could organize them and place them properly, they wouldn't act so blindly and become a laughing stock."

"It can be seen that the lords of Western Europe are not talented people either."

……

The sky curtain also continues.

[However, the peasants' tragic experience did not dampen the knights' enthusiasm for participating in the Crusades.]

[Soon after the failure of the Peasants' Crusade, the official First Crusade began to gather.]

[On August 1096, 8, the real war machine began to operate. ]

[This Crusade team was composed of nobles, knights and soldiers from all over Europe. ]

[Compared to the Peasants' Crusade, they were better organized, trained, and equipped. ]

[In the autumn of 1096, the main force of the First Crusade, about soldiers, divided into four groups, marched towards the east.]

[These four crusades were led by different nobles. ]

[The main lineup includes Hugh, Duke of Vermande, Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, the Byzantine emperor's mortal enemy - Prince Bohemond I of Taranto in Normandy, Tancred of Normandy, Baldwin of Bouillon, Godfrey of Bouillon and other feudal lords. 】

[Some of these lords are ambitious and eager to achieve great things. ]

[Some people have great wealth and are eager to fight for their beliefs before they die, leaving their names in history.]

[They led their own territorial troops, recruited mercenaries, pirates, etc., and set out towards Constantinople. ]

[In April 1097, when the four armies gathered in the Byzantine capital, Alexios I was sweating profusely.]

[The number of these Western European knights far exceeded expectations. ]

【Even more unruly and difficult to tame.】

[He still had the nature of a robber and openly plundered the Byzantine countryside.]

[Faced with the emperor's request to swear allegiance, the two sides were at loggerheads. ]

[Even because of a misunderstanding, they launched an attack on Constantinople. ]

[Alexios I used diplomatic skills, political games, and economic interests as bargaining chips, using both soft and hard tactics to demand that all lords swear allegiance to him.]

【After some bargaining. 】

【The Western European lords swore allegiance conditionally.】

[Promised to return the territories seized by the Crusaders that originally belonged to Byzantium.]

[The final assembled force included 7.5 infantry and 7000 knights.]

[The lineup is quite large. ]

[The emperor opened the armory and sent away these plague gods and killer gods with Byzantine gold coins and Arabian maps.]

[As the regular army crossed the Bosphorus Strait, the real Eastern Expedition began. ]

Seeing the army gathering, netizens exclaimed.

"Wow, so many people?"

"There are so many people here, this is going to destroy the country!"

《7500 knights? ? ? It’s a bit scary. 》

"The knights in the Middle Ages had years of formal training and were well-equipped. One person could defeat several skirmishers."

"God's Seven Infantry Divisions and One Cavalry Division."

Outside the sky.

Ying Zheng, who had no good feelings towards the Crusaders.

It would be fine to see the Peasants' Crusade as beggars and robbers.

These dignified noble lords, dukes, earls, princes and so on are also like this.

Is even more disdainful.

Watching the so-called Crusader Lords looting villagers around Constantinople.

Ying Zheng's face became increasingly gloomy.

In Ying Zheng's view, these so-called nobles.

Just like barbaric bandits!

Where is the aristocratic demeanor?
"Humph!" Ying Zheng could not help but snort coldly, "Acting like this, these so-called lords are nothing but a group of wolves in aristocratic guise."

Fusu asked respectfully, "Father, in your opinion, why did they do this?"

Ying Zheng looked at him with a piercing gaze, and said disdainfully: "Isn't it just for that little bit of personal gain?"

"For the sake of wealth and land, they disregarded their integrity and burned, killed and looted in other people's cities. When faced with interests, they betrayed their own monarchs and swore allegiance to the emperors of other countries."

"How can you govern a territory well if you have no bottom line like this?"

"I guess there's not much hope for their fighting ability."

"Probably better than the Peasants' Crusade."

"But that's about it."

And in the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin could not stand the Crusaders' dishonorable actions.

I am not optimistic about their results.

"The expedition was a long one, and the supplies had to rely on the Byzantine emperor."

"Both sides are cooperating, but also scheming against each other and guarding against each other."

"It would be a miracle if such an army could achieve any success."

"I guess the Jerusalem on the sky was not conquered during the First Crusade."

Even Li Jing, the military god of the Tang Dynasty, a famous general with rich experience in grassland warfare.

He also speculated: "Are those in front of the Crusaders the Turks?"

"The Turks, haha, their fighting power is not very strong."

"If we fight bravely, the Crusaders might win."

"After all, the equipment of the Crusaders on the sky dome does look very good. They should be elite soldiers."

"But on the Turks' home turf, the Turks have a thousand ways to give the Crusaders a hard time."

"After all, the Crusades were just dancing on a thin rope."

"There are powerful enemies in front, and the reinforcements in the rear are the scheming Byzantine Empire."

"If they can still win this."

"It can only be described as a military miracle."

Li Jing said this, and then added: "Of course, I don't know much about the Crusaders' opponents yet."

"After all, judging from the comments on the sky screen, netizens in later generations seem to highly recognize the knight's fighting ability."

"Those knights should be heavily armored cavalry, right?"

“Maybe we need to observe it further.”

"After all, in many cases, achieving great things requires more than just doing well yourself."

"It is more necessary for the opponent to be bad enough." (End of this chapter)