Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 178 Death Swallowed Up by Victory
When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that her desolation is near. Then those in Judea will flee to the mountains, and those in the royal city will leave, and those in the countryside will not enter her. This is a day of vengeance, to fulfill everything that is written.

—Luke 21:20-23
After the messenger left, Balian glanced at the people in the conference room, including Patriarch Irakliou, who all lowered their heads slightly.

This is not only because Balian has the highest rank among the existing nobles, but also because he has revealed a character that is enough to shame others.

Long before the siege began, Balian had always emphasized that Jerusalem was a dead end and no soldiers could save it, and tried to evacuate the Franks in the city as quickly as possible.

However, except for a few rational people, the vast majority fell into an unspeakable despair.

Many of them even felt that even if they died, they would rather die in Jerusalem.

Of course, when Saladin's army actually surrounded the holy city, his desire for life as a human being overwhelmed the self-righteous "martyrdom" complex.

But Balian knew very well that Jerusalem was a dead end, but he still crossed the abyss and entered the city regardless of everything.

It was clear that Saladin had shown leniency to Balian and allowed him to leave Jerusalem with his wife and children.

But Balian chose to stay in the city.

The knights in the city had a backbone, Patriarch Iraklius, and they felt relieved after seeing Balian.

"God, you have returned in time at this critical moment." A knight flattered.

Balian forced a helpless smile and said, "Then let's pray to God, praying that we can get through this disaster safely."

"May God bless us and ensure victory in this battle." said another knight.

But after Balian put away his smile, he showed an extremely calm expression and announced to the people around him: "No, I will lose this battle, so I decided to surrender."

The council hall suddenly fell silent, leaving only the crackling sound of torches and a faint smell of blood in the air.

All the knights, including Iraklius, were in disbelief.

The former pillar of the kingdom, the role model of chivalry, and the man who supported the king, is now leading the surrender?

"In this world, there is no country that will never perish, and there is no temple that will never be demolished. Only the temple of human hearts can be passed down from generation to generation..."

"Israel's temple was demolished time and time again by the Heavenly Father. Every time the Jewish temple was demolished, what happened to the Jews who tried to resist?"

As he spoke, Balian turned his gaze towards Iraklius, looking at the patriarch, staring at the uncertain expression on his face.

The knights would not care about history for no reason, but the church must remember history.

History is the church’s past and the church’s orthodox claim. Therefore, the church must record history and tell the past history to future generations.

The Jews rebuilt the temple twice in succession. The first time it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon.

The Bible contains a book called "Lamentations" which records the tragic situation at that time.

[He sent down fire from above, which sank into my bones;]

He laid a snare for my feet, and I was ensnared;

He made me lonely and melancholy all day long.

After this, the Jews returned to their homeland and rebuilt the temple, which is historically known as the Second Temple.

In 70 AD, the Roman general, later Emperor Titus, suppressed the Jewish uprising, captured Jerusalem, and destroyed the Second Temple, leaving only the "Wailing Wall".

Every time the temple was destroyed, it meant a massacre and the Jews fell into despair.

"Do you want us to fall into that kind of misery?"

"Send them a messenger and tell Saladin that we will surrender if he promises to let us leave in peace."

Balian recalled Garys' words and repeated them to those present.

[Do not make unnecessary sacrifices. Remember: it is the people who own the land, not the land that owns the people.]

[Only those who are supported by the people can be called kings even if they have not been crowned. Those who only have land but no people are not worthy of being called a country.]

[Remember, an isolated city cannot be defended for long, because it has no help from outside and no food from inside; but Saladin is not a bloodthirsty person, you can make peace with him. ]

[If they demand a ransom, you should give it; if they refuse, you can threaten them and take the Muslims in the city and the holy places as hostages, but do not carry out massacres, because the hatred in the world should not be increased.]

——Excerpt from the first chapter of "The Book of Balian"

For Balian today, the holy city of Jerusalem may be important, but what is more important is the temple in people's hearts.

Rather than letting the city of Jerusalem be stained with the blood of the Franks, it would be better to transfer the population here to a suitable place and wait for the opportunity to rise again.

After all, in the Palestinian region at that time, land was not actually scarce; what was truly scarce was population.

Saladin had tens of millions of subjects, so he was able to be defeated again and again.

The Franks had less than one-fiftieth of that.

If we want to rebuild the Kingdom of Jerusalem, every one of them is invaluable.

When Balian expressed his idea, both the knights and Patriarch Iraklius agreed.

"But, there is a problem..." But someone still raised an objection.

"what happened?"

"Saladin once sent messengers to order us to surrender, but..." The knight was at a loss for words.

"But they cut off the nose and ears of the messenger and sent him back." Iraklius added what the knight had not said.

The conference hall fell silent again. The torches that illuminated the hall flickered with dim light, reflecting on Balian's face, revealing an extremely distorted features.

The scar on his face twisted like a centipede, and his fists loosened and tightened, tightened and loosened. He took a deep breath again and again, and in the end, only a long sigh remained.

"never mind……"

"Go and prepare to defend the city walls."

A cold wind suddenly rushed in from the window, and the light of the torch shook violently and almost went out.

Balian's chest was pressed tightly by an invisible weight.

The bloody smell in the air was no longer a vague shadow, but a sticky liquid seeping from the cracks in the wall, forcing into his nasal cavity and corroding his every breath.

Once upon a time, the hall where he stood was covered in blood up to his ankles; once upon a time, the streets of Jerusalem were blocked by corpses; once upon a time, Jerusalem was devastated and the stench of corpses filled the sky...

"The blood debt is too deep, and we are unable to repay it. We can only beg Saladin for a promise, at least to let his men stop slaughtering the city..."

"Arm all the adult Frankish men, and summon all the noble sons and wealthy merchants in the city. I will knight them."

When everyone else left the hall, Balian sat down weakly against a pillar. He heard some noises and smelled even thicker and stickier blood.

He lowered his head, his eyes half closed, and the whole space was shrouded in solidified blood.

Eighty-eight years ago, this place was not the Temple Mount. At that time, it was called Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is the Farthest Mosque mentioned in the Quran and the place where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to the seventh heaven at night.

Here, a flood was set off, gathered from the blood of women and children.

……

Balian knighted all the noble sons over the age of 16 in the city, as well as men from wealthy families.

He organized all the people to collect food and launched a fundraising campaign among the residents of the city to raise funds for the war, or to prepare ransom.

In this busy situation where he couldn't get away, a knight came to find Balian and told him that someone was looking for him.

"Your Majesty, said he wanted to see you."

Balian was confused for a moment, but then he realized who that Majesty was.

"I will go to see Sibilla."

"By the way, where is she now?" Balian, who was about to walk out of the hall, turned around and asked the knight.

"Your Majesty, she is now in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre."

"Okay, I got it." Balian stepped out of the hall of the Knights Templar and walked down the mountain towards the Christian city.

The area of ​​Jerusalem is about 0.9 square kilometers, the city wall is about 4.5 kilometers long, and the average height of the wall is 12 meters.

In this city, there are always 20,000 people gathered all year round, and now because of the war, there are nearly 30,000 people gathered here.

Walking through the streets, all kinds of chaotic prayers and curses entered Balian's ears, and the stench of garbage, feces and corpses penetrated his nostrils.

In his eyes, this once holy city was in ruins.

Jerusalem became detestable because of its sins and evil deeds

[Her filth was all over her dress, she never thought it would end like this]

When Balian arrived at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, it was already under strict guard by some guards.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is believed to be the Golgotha ​​mentioned in the Bible, the place where Jesus Christ was crucified and buried.

More than 1,100 years ago, Jesus was arrested and sentenced to death, brought here and crucified. He was executed between two thieves, with a humiliating sign hung around his neck - "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."

At three o'clock that afternoon, Longinus pierced the Messiah's body with a spear to make sure he was dead, and blood and water gushed out of the wound.

Because it was Friday and the Jewish Sabbath had already begun, Jesus' body was temporarily placed in a nearby tomb until his body was anointed after the Sabbath.

Three days later, when the Sabbath was over, several women took perfume to anoint his body, but they found that Jesus' body was gone. An angel announced to them that Jesus had been resurrected.

After meeting the guards, a monk led Balian into the underground cemetery in the church.

Dim light filtered through the narrow cracks, forming faint beams of light that illuminated the ground, which was filled with humid air.

Balian walked past the sarcophagi in this mausoleum, which housed the former kings of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

With the help of the lit lamp, Balian could see the patterns on the sarcophagi and the stone tablets on them that recorded their deeds.

“Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

“For as by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead.”

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. When this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.””

Balian whispered the passage in 1 Corinthians about the Passion of Christ and touched the sarcophagi with his hands.

Now, the resurrection of the dead is no longer a lie, and the Lord's flesh walks on earth again. When the Day of Judgment comes, these former kings will also wake up from this sarcophagus together.

Balian stopped when he passed one of the sarcophagi, which contained the remains of Baldwin IV.

"How did the kingdom... fall into this state?"

The young man with the iron mask asked weakly, "Baldwin, this is what we deserve."

"Are you sure?"

"I am sure."

"You, made...a choice?"

"That's your choice."

Balian responded.

After walking a few steps forward, he saw a woman lying on a small sarcophagus and sobbing.

She is 28 years old this year, which is the most charming and attractive age for women.

That graceful figure was enough to captivate the soul, but at the moment Balian had no time to appreciate such beauty.

In Balian's eyes, what he saw was the mistakes, cowardice and incompetence of King Guy again and again.

It was this couple who, with their repeated wrong decisions, pushed the Kingdom of Jerusalem to its current situation.

"You...can...kill,her."

"This way... there will be no more obstacles..."

Balian's hand reached for the hilt of his sword, but he did not draw out the blade.

Instead, he whispered, "Baldwin, you really deserve to go to hell..."

"Our... Anjou's final outcome... is hell."

"Because, that is, our home... We are all, descendants of the devil..."

"But Isabella won't. She has made a covenant with God."

"I hope so."

The shadow of the dead still covered the sky, and the former king seemed to be still alive.

Balian turned his gaze to the small sarcophagus.

Inside was Baldwin V, the nephew of Isabella and the Leper King. Balian had carried the child to be crowned king in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Isabella's request.

"He is my dearest nephew, so Balian, can you help him?" Isabella's soft voice sounded in my ears.

Baldwin V is Isabella's closest nephew, so isn't Sibylla the Leper King's closest sister?

The smell of blood has made Balian somewhat insane. He can hardly distinguish what is real and what is fake in this world and can only act according to his conscience.

Sibilla turned her head while sobbing. She noticed that Balian's right hand was holding the hilt of the sword, but he did not react.

"Ballian, you're here?"

"Correct."

“Is Heavenly Father punishing me now?”

“He is punishing all of us.”

“Why are our prayers ineffective?”

"The Father will not deign to listen to the noise of the city, for the stench of adultery, the sickening luxury and the sin against heaven all prevent us from sending our prayers to the Lord."

Sins entangled these Franks, who used the name of false gods to do human deeds. They shouted in the name of faith and greedily seized land and wealth, so the crusades time and time again were filled with blood and ugliness.

Under the gaze of the seven former kings, Balian and Sibylla talked a lot.

There are stories about the Leper King, Isabella, and Gillis.

With Guy now held hostage by Saladin, Balian also made a deal with Sibylla.

"He must abdicate. He must abdicate."

Sibilla's face was bitter, but she could only nod.

……

As time went by, Jerusalem lacked the rugged terrain of Karak.

After the siege equipment was ready, Saladin's army launched an attack from the north gate of Jerusalem, the Tower of David, and the Damascus Gate in the northwest.

Accompanied by dense rain of arrows, Saladin's warriors pushed heavy siege vehicles and siege towers and approached the holy city.

For six days, the ground outside the city was stained red with blood, and brutal sieges were repeated. Each siege ended with heavy losses for Saladin's side.

Finally, amid the joyful gaze of the Franks, Saladin packed up the royal tent, and then, to their desperate fear, he set up camp again in the direction of the Mount of Olives.

The Mount of Olives is located in the east of Jerusalem. It lacks an attack gate, making it difficult to effectively destroy Saladin's siege equipment.

The Franks could only watch helplessly as Saladin ignored their presence, prepared a large number of siege weapons, and sent out engineers to dig tunnels.

The catapults, counterweight trebuchets and traction trebuchets all emitted low roars one after another.

Sealed clay jars containing a mixture of saltpeter and kerosene released heavenly fire into the city.

Hundreds of kilograms of rubble fell on the city wall.

Saladin's engineers dug out a considerable space under the walls of Jerusalem, propped up wood inside, and then poured kerosene on it.

With a spark, flames burned under the city wall.

Then the wood supporting the tunnel collapsed, and the city wall above also collapsed.

The real bloody battle also began from then on.

Balian led those knights who had been enthroned for only half a month, and used their bodies and swords to block the gap in the city wall.

The air was filled with anxiety and despair.

Priests marched barefoot around the city, offering their final prayers to the Lord, and women in the city dipped their children's hair into basins of cold water and then cut it off, attempting to remove the anger of God through these confessions.

[The LORD has determined to destroy the wall of Zion; he has stretched out the measuring line; he will not withdraw his hand to destroy. He has made the city and its wall mourn, and they will fall together.]

[At the beginning of the night, rise up and cry out, pour out your soul like water before the Lord. Lift up your hands to the Lord for the lives of your children who faint from hunger in the streets.]

[Should a woman eat the baby she has given birth to and raised?]

[No one will escape or survive in the day of the Lord's anger. My enemies have slain all the little ones I have nurtured and raised.]

——"Elegy for Jemilla"

When dawn came two days later, Balian walked out of Jerusalem alone.

In front of him was Saladin's Saracen army, and behind him was the collapsed city wall, the capital of the Fallen Kingdom.

Balian faced the enemy alone, the blood on his body completely covering up the color of his burqa.

The morning light shines on him, bringing a ray of Holy Spirit's blessing to this lonely man.

He is fighting against the waves and being hostile to the Islamic world. Behind him are countless sinners, praying for forgiveness from God.

Everyone knew that he would lose...

Because he is not the Son of God, he cannot bear the sins of the world on himself.

"Saladin!" Balian roared in anger.

"Is that enough? You want more!"

"I don't mind getting stained with more sins! Killing more people!"

However, the army did not respond.

They just silently looked at this defender of the city of Jerusalem.

The heavy price paid in these days has forced these arrogant soldiers under Saladin to learn to respect.

Saladin, escorted by his personal guards, came before Balian.

"If I tell you that your blood has not been shed enough, will you continue to resist?"

Compared with Balian who was bathed in blood, Saladin was dressed neatly and cleanly, not looking like he was on a battlefield.

In response to the Sultan's question, Balian forced a smile, and the scar on his face twisted.

"Surrender, Balian, and I can see to your safety."

Balian still shook his head. This was far from enough. This was not what he came here for.

"And your queen?"

Balian clicked his tongue. This was not what he wanted.

"Not enough, far from enough. I hope that all the Franks in the city are safe."

"Everything is fine? Then who will pay the debt you owe?"

In the morning breeze, corpses scattered all over the ground dyed the sky red. Saladin's words awakened the ghosts that had been sleeping here for a long time.

The ghosts rushed into the gaps in Balian's armor, soaking the cotton armor underneath.

Blood, endless blood, flooding the earth like a wave,

In the scorching sky, an eagle soared above Yubalian's head, holding a crossbow with seven arrows in its talons.

It cried in a hoarse voice: "Woe to you, Jerusalem! Franks, your retribution has come!"

Those seven crossbow arrows represent the seven deadly sins.

Balian moved his lips. He felt the burden, but he still spoke frankly.

"It doesn't matter if it's more debt or more sin. You should know that there are many Muslims in the city. If you don't give the Franks peace, then let me die with those Muslims."

"Until then, I will bulldoze all holy places."

Saladin looked at Balian, and he walked around Balian twice, just like the last time they met in his tent.

"You are still the same as always, you don't know how to lie."

　I will still update once for every two updates. I will save some manuscripts now and update more on the weekends.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)