Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 184 From now on, there is hope for the revival of Orthodoxy! (Two in one)

Gaza was captured.

The castle was built in 1149 and was given to the Knights Templar upon completion.

A month earlier, the castle was captured by Saladin.

At this point, all the port cities on the coastline of the Kingdom of Jerusalem had been captured.

During this month, Saladin held various religious celebrations and banquets to appease and reorganize his troops in order to thank God for his favor.

After the noise faded, Saladin spread out the map again. Now there were less than ten Frankish strongholds in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

At present, the only three places that Saladin can still catch his eye are Karak, Montreal and Tyre.

"Muzaffar, if it were you, where would you choose?"

Muzaffar on the side pointed to the port of Tyre without hesitation.

"Tell me your reasons."

Muzaffar nodded and said bluntly: "Although Karak and Montreal are the core of Transjordan territory, the terrain is rugged."

"A few days ago, Lord Adil led 4,000 men to besiege the city, but was ultimately defeated and the siege was broken, proving that the city is a tough nut to crack."

“It can be said that investing too much energy is not worth the effort.”

Listening to Muzaffar's words, Saladin nodded. The terrain of the two castles was steep, and he knew that there was really no way to attack them by force.

"In this case, the Transjordan issue will have to be put on hold for now."

"Tyr is a seaport surrounded by the sea on three sides. There is only one isthmus that can be used as a land attack direction. It is difficult to deploy a large army, although it is also easy to defend but difficult to attack."

"But given the expected threat of the Third Crusade, this is far more deadly than the two castles in Transjordan."

If there was no Tyre, it would mean that the Crusaders from Europe could only land in Tripoli, and would have to march at least 130 kilometers more to reach Jerusalem.

If Saladin captured Tripoli along the coast, it would mean that the European Crusaders could only land and assemble in Antioch. If they wanted to reach Jerusalem, they would have to march at least 380 kilometers longer than landing in Tyre.

Saladin did not have a very detailed map, but he could still tell the difference.

Taking Tyre would mean that the Crusaders from Europe would have to travel five more days by land.

If they took Tripoli, it would mean that the Crusaders would have to travel by land for about fifteen more days.

This distance of several hundred kilometers will bring all kinds of troubles to the Crusaders who come from afar.

For example: supplies, terrain, foreign races, acclimatization, a large number of fortresses...

After the siege of Jerusalem, Saladin realized more and more clearly that he was actually not suitable for on-the-spot command.

Therefore, he chose to take advantage of the situation and combine the time, place and people to gain an invincible position before the battle broke out.

Regarding Tyre, after conquering the city of Jerusalem, Saladin sent out a force of about 3,000 people to block the isthmus, monitor the defenders in the city, and test the city's strength with a long and low-intensity siege.

Now, the offensive in the southern part of the kingdom has ended and the army has been repaired.

It may be time to launch a general offensive against Tyre.

And for this attack, Saladin also sent a messenger to inform Adil and asked his brother to mobilize the navy in the port of Alexandria.

This time, Saladin will concentrate his main forces in Acre and launch a sea and land attack on Tyre.

However, there was one piece of news that puzzled Saladin.

In the past few days, news came from the Sea of ​​Galilee that one of his armies was defeated by an enemy force of unknown origin.

The weapons used by the enemy spewed out flames, like thunder or a dragon's roar, bringing the power of heaven.

"dragon?"

"Does this creature really exist?"

Saladin thought of the long poem by the Persian poet Ferdowsi, which was about the dragon slayers in the Book of Kings.

For a moment, Saladin was confused and couldn't figure out what was going on.

This could also be an excuse made by the defeated soldiers.

……

The Jordan River is the mother river of Palestine. Like Reynald, Garys and his men also chose to march northward along the Jordan River.

Because this makes it easy to replenish large amounts of water and purchase enough food from the villages passed by.

But judging from the situation along the way, quite a few villages have been destroyed by war.

Or, experienced looting.

The land of Palestine is now devastated...

It can be said that Saladin's Muslim army did not show mercy to his fellow brothers.

And on this marching route, there is a special mountain.

Mount Tabor has a very unique shape, almost like a hemisphere.

It rises abruptly from its fairly flat surroundings to a height of 575 meters above sea level, and then overlooks the town on the plain below with a drop of 450 meters.

This mountain rising from the flat ground occupies an extremely dangerous position. It is the intersection of the north-south route of Galilee and the east-west highway of the Jezreel Valley.

The Maris Road, which runs north from the Jezreel Valley to Damascus, passes through here.

This is the command of the Lord, the God of Israel: You are to march toward Mount Tabor with ten thousand men, from the sons of Naphtali and Zebulun.

The battle for this strategic point has occurred many times in history, and it can be said to be a place that military strategists must fight for.

However, Mount Tabor is not simply a strategic point for battles; it occupies a prominent position in Christian mythology.

According to the records in the Bible.

Brother Jesus, the Heavenly Brother, once revealed his holy face here.

Then Jesus went up the mountain with three of his apostles, and was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling and extremely white.

Then two prophets, Moses and Elijah, appeared and spoke to Jesus and the three apostles about the fate of the heavenly brother.

There was even a cloud in the sky that covered the people. Then a voice came from heaven saying, “This is my Son, the one I have chosen. Listen to Him!”

In this incident, the fate and future of Brother Tian are also revealed - his suffering is the will of the Father, and his death is inevitable.

Due to the special nature of this place, it has become a pilgrimage site for Christians as early as the Roman Empire.

In the 8th century, there were four churches and a monastery on the hill.

By the 12th century, the Kingdom of Jerusalem controlled this area, and the Benedictine monks built their own monasteries based on those churches and monasteries.

Due to the terrain, the Monastery of Santa Maccovia was built extremely solidly, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

In fact, in the eyes of the Saracens, such a monastery is no different from a castle.

The people in these monasteries, taking advantage of the terrain, have repelled the Saracen attacks many times.

The angry Saracens, or more precisely the Turks, gathered thousands of soldiers on the north side of Mount Tabor in order to capture this place.

Benedictine monk Mishka looked at the small black dots gathering at the foot of the mountain and knew that their monastery would not be able to hold on any longer.

The numerical gap between the two sides is indeed too big.

"God Almighty, the Supreme Creator."

"In this holy place where Jesus Christ was revealed, I beg you for mercy."

“Lord, you appeared on this mountain and brought hope and light to your followers. Now, I cry out to you and ask you to renew your covenant.”

"In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

"Amen."

Mishka called out to God, but he knew that there was no army in the kingdom that could rescue them.

The shadow of death was already approaching them.

During this shaky moment, another monk beside him gave a suggestion:
"I heard that those pagans would not kill converts."

"Mishka, how about we pretend to change our faith and repent later?"

……

Like Reynard's army at the time, Garys and his troops also faced a dilemma, namely the height difference between the Jordan Valley and the surrounding land.

These undulating and diverse terrains brought considerable trouble to the march, but the advantage was that such terrains also provided cover for the march of large troops.

After a difficult uphill walk about 7 kilometers south of Mount Tabor, Gellis realized the superiority of Mount Tabor's terrain.

After a brief exchange with Balian and others, Balian took over the command of the army.

Gellis took a few Paladins and planned to go to the surrounding villages to find out the situation.

After crossing a ridge, Gailis and several Paladins following behind him saw farmlands and villages.

Because Gellis and his men were few in number and they all dismounted before approaching the village.

Although the villagers were all very alert, at least they did not show any obvious hostility.

After trying to communicate in Saracen, Gellis was surprised to find that these locals actually spoke Greek and were all Christians.

Without saying a word, Gellis put his thumb, index finger and middle finger together in front of the farmers and made the sign of the cross from top to bottom and from right to left.

The thumb, index and middle fingers symbolize the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and Gelis's way of making the sign of the cross is a typical Orthodox way.

After finishing the painting, he pulled a metal cross from his pocket, kissed it lightly, and said "Amen".

This is to show his religious beliefs to these Orthodox villagers.

"Brothers, we are devout pilgrims who have come to this holy mountain. Could you please give us, the hungry and thirsty travelers, a bite to eat?"

Having said this, Gailis took a few steps forward, shook the hand of the old man who seemed to have the highest status, and stuffed his metal cross into his hand.

Neither the villagers nor the Paladins behind Garys were able to react for a moment.

It's really that Garys's ability to make friends is too efficient.

When it comes to being friendly with others, Garys is truly humble and can blend in with the masses with just a few words.

Even Alexandros Alp Karis, the former Greek-Turkish mixed-race slave, couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.

Even today, whenever he recalls the scene when he first met Garys, his heart still beats. It was a candle that lit itself, and behind Garys, like a thin line of small town, lights were lit one after another.

The night is long and wild beasts are rampant. Garys will hold the torch against the wind and go against the tide.

This man is like a harbor, attracting ships sailing on the sea. Even Alexandros would look for a place to settle down.

Then, Garys often behaved in a way that was not consistent with his identity as a prophet. Instead, he was very close to the old farmers.

As for these Greek peasants, although they doubted whether these foreigners before them were heretics, they no longer had any doubts after carefully looking at the cross.

It was a standard Orthodox cross, exquisite and ornate.

Of course, what these Greek peasants didn't know was that Gary actually carried several crosses of different sizes.

Make sure you blend in with any Christian you meet.

"Brother, thank you very much for your care!" After saying this, the old man made the sign of the cross and said "Amen".

After Gellis and his companions gave some small gifts to others, they learned the origin of the village from the villagers.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country.

This multi-ethnic and multi-religious population does not mean that the only people are the Franks and the Saracens.

In fact, the further north you go in this land, the more Orthodox Christians there are, and there are even some native Jews and Samaritans.

Among these Orthodox Christians, quite a number are Greeks.

It was the intermarriage between these Greeks and Saracens that gave rise to a large number of mixed-race people like Alexandros.

However, although these people are Orthodox Christians, in terms of social status, they are still clearly second-class citizens and a marginalized group in society.

The village that Gailis came to existed before the Arab conquest era and has remained to this day.

Although Gaillis felt that the other party was bragging, he didn't mind agreeing with it for the time being.

When talking about the current war in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, these old Greek farmers showed a sense of gloating.

Originally there was an Orthodox church on Mount Tabor, but when the Franks came, the name of the church on Mount Tabor was changed to Catholic.

And their Orthodox village has to pay rent to the monastery on the mountain!

This is really too much.

But they also had concerns: "Who knows what kind of beastly things those Turkic bandits will do?"

Today, there is no longer a truly Orthodox country in the Levant.

The Eastern Empire, which once ruled the eastern Mediterranean coast, is now in decline, and these people are the ones who have been abandoned.

We hung our harps on the willows there; for our captors demanded that we sing there; our captors demanded that we sing for joy, saying, “Sing us one of Zion’s songs!”

“How can we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?”

[“If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill.”]

—Psalm 137:1-6
Compared with the Jews who were captured and left Palestine, these Greeks, who had never left their homeland, had long since become strangers in foreign lands.

When the Saracens came, they were required to pay the jizya tax.

And when the Franks came, they also had to pay the Ghizya tax.

It’s a bit abstract…

According to the old farmer's complaint:
"We had to pay jizya taxes before the Crusades came, and now that the Crusades have come we have to pay jizya taxes again. Isn't this like coming here for nothing?"

Jizya is a poll tax imposed on non-Muslims in Islamic countries.

The tax was levied on adult men who were physically able to serve in the military and financially able to pay taxes, excluding slaves.

The origin of the Jizya tax can be traced back to Chapter 9, Verse 29 of the Quran, which states that non-Muslim residents who do not believe in Islam can avoid being beaten by paying the Jizya tax.

This tax policy did not force the Greeks and other nations to convert to Islam. On the contrary, maintaining the Greeks' orthodox beliefs could increase the financial income of the Islamic lords.

In response, the Franks, as the Crusader kingdom that conquered Palestine, readily followed suit.

Preaching? Preaching what?

Collecting taxes from pagans is really good!

Gellis arranged for a Paladin to go back and inform them of the situation, while he and Alexandros and other Paladins who had Greek ancestry, or were Greeks, stayed in the village.

That evening, they received a "rich hospitality" from the simple peasants of the Middle Ages.

……

Alexandros struggled to get up from the haystack, suffering from a headache after a hangover.

As a teenager, he had never drunk so much.

On the contrary, the prophet standing aside mingled with the peasants and demonstrated that he could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.

Alexandros felt a little strange when he thought of the prophet's generosity.

Just as Alexandros was going out to release the water, he suddenly felt someone shouting, "Allah Huqba!"

When he looked back, the village was ablaze.

Some memories are tumbling in my mind, some impulses are uncontrollable, and scenes from the past flash before my eyes again.

Two tears welled up in my eyes.

The flames were like a demon devouring the earth, grinning grimly at Alexandros.

He had seen this scene once before, when... he was still young.

"Alexandros, your name means protector. When you grow up, remember to protect the village!"

Where is the village?
Hasn't it been burned to ashes?

The men howled, picked up pitchforks and sticks, and rushed towards the pagans who were riding on horseback. The crying of babies and the screams of women and children rang out in the flames.

Alexandros felt a phantom pain, as if he had returned to the past again, and he was still so helpless and confused.

A Turk on horseback noticed Alexandros.

The Turkic man first leaned sideways and swung his sword, then, using the horse's power, he caused the head of a farmer who was unable to dodge to fly up.

A few hours ago, Alexandros was drinking date wine with this man at the table and chatting in familiar Greek, but now they were separated by life and death.

Then, the mounted Turk rushed towards Alexandros again.

The young man, with empty hands and unarmed, stood there in a daze.

Every time the horse's hooves hit the ground, it was like the god of death ringing the urgent bronze bell.

The sound grew faster and faster as Alexandros drew closer.

Then the Turk passed Alexandros.

The Turk's head rolled to the ground.

Then, accompanied by a crisp slap, Alexandros felt his face burning and woke up.

Gailis stood in front of him. He didn't know when he had a Turkic scimitar in his hand and his body was covered in blood.

"Get back into your armor and pick up your weapons!"

"Yes!"

Alexandros, awakened, shouted.

【Lord! You lit my lamp! 】

【My God illuminates my darkness.】

【Through you and me, we charge into the enemy camp! 】

【By my God I have leaped over the wall.】

[He saved me from my enemies; He delivered me from the violent man.]

【Therefore I will give thanks to you, Lord, among the nations and sing praises to your name.】

—Excerpt from Psalm 18

Alexandros rushed into the room at the fastest speed. He did not have time to put on all his armor. He just casually put on shoulder armor over his armor and rushed out again with his sword in hand.

With him were two other Paladins.

They didn't have spears to fight against the cavalry, but they still formed a battle formation without hesitation.

What is the most essential difference between a Paladin and a commoner?

It's never about whether you have a weapon or not, but about having a heart that is always ready to fight and sacrifice to fulfill your oath.

Of course, more importantly, Garys was ahead of everyone else.

How could they, the Paladins, not follow?
The fire was blazing in the village, and in the darkness there were beast-like howling and sharp sounds of tearing cloth.
The night was as dark as ink, with only the dancing flames adding a strange glow to the darkness.

However, amidst the chaos of the demons, a figure flickered like a ghost.

Every time the sharp blade cut through the air, there was a piercing whistle, and blood gushed out like a fountain, spreading on the land and seeping into every crack in the earth.

Those Turks, those war horses… When they faced Gairis, they were so insignificant, like fallen leaves drifting in the wind, weak and hateful.

In this horrific confrontation, the faith and courage of the Turks were like paper walls, ruthlessly shattered by Gelis.

The protection that they once believed in from Allah now became illusory and no longer favored these fighting warriors.

There was fear and despair in their eyes. They knew that only by running away could they have a chance of survival.

However, on this night of dazzling fire, the flames ignited by the attackers themselves became their mirrors, reflecting their miserable figures.

Every frightened face, every struggling hand, was distorted in the firelight, forming a series of miserable pictures.

"Gallis! Gallis!"

The farmers who witnessed Garys's attack no longer had time to think about what was going on. They just kept shouting Garys!
This is God's favor, this is the arrival of an angel, he must be a living saint who will spill the blood of pagans on the earth!

From now on, there is hope for the revival of Orthodoxy!
Alexandros and his men were also clearing out the remaining enemies.

　Still a two-in-one chapter
　　
　
(End of this chapter)