Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 216: Changes in the Second Kingdom

The parliamentary system of the Second Kingdom was being reshaped, and this reshaping was not interrupted by smallpox.

Just as Isabella and Balian had discussed before, a parliamentary system was being formed with the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the aristocratic estates abolished, and qualifying elections conducted.

This parliamentary system partially follows the ideas of the feudal system, but is more deeply rooted in the wisdom that Gellis has drawn from future realities, and has been thoroughly discussed and improved by Isabella and others.

In the eyes of people like Garys and Isabella, the parliamentary system can never truly represent the people.

Members of parliament are nothing more than a new type of political creature, motivated by their own interests. They may be eloquent, but their enthusiasm for the public interest is certainly questionable.

Although the parliamentary system cannot represent the general public, from another perspective, these people can at least represent the minority who truly control wealth and power in the kingdom.

Those who have social prestige, strong financial resources and the ability to manipulate public opinion are more likely to become members of parliament.

Although the institutional framework has been established and the first round of the population census has been completed, the Lok Sabha elections are still in the preparation stage.

This will be the first time in the history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem that a clear system will be established to guarantee the political rights of the Saracens, sending a signal of reconciliation to the Catholic community and indicating that the kingdom is breaking away from the past and moving towards a more inclusive future.

Of course, no matter how the political system changes, the material basis for maintaining this political system currently depends on the materials provided by Transjordan.

The road from Tyre to Arnon thus became a busy and important trade route.

Caravans and camel trains traveled back and forth once a month, carrying much-needed raw materials from Transjordan, while also bringing back high-quality and low-cost goods from the Arnon Valley and rare luxury goods, building a bridge of prosperity between the two places.

However, this trade route carries not only ordinary goods, but also a kind of war weapon that does not belong to this era.

Walter carefully examined this most precious cargo.

These goods were not the low-carbon steel breastplates that had just been produced in Yannen, nor were they the priceless floor-length mirrors, but a batch of maroon gunpowder.

This gunpowder is the secret technological crystallization of Transjordan and is more valuable than artillery or shells.

Artillery can last for decades, and shells can be recycled and reused, but gunpowder is a disposable consumable.

Although Tyr's workshop, under the leadership of Balian, can also produce inferior black powder as a potential alternative.

But in comparison, this batch of maroon gunpowder was the real key, so its formula was kept strictly confidential and only produced in the village of Skarl, and then delivered in batches to various parts of the kingdom by specific caravans.

Walter checked the locks of the boxes one by one and found no signs of forced opening. He would occasionally open a box to check the contents.

These chestnut gunpowders are not powders or granules, but are made into cakes suitable for direct loading into the barrel of a gun.

The medicine cakes are brown in color and packaged according to caliber and weight. Each box is separated by straw and cloth to absorb shock and prevent the medicine cakes from breaking.

The scale of this trading trip was obviously much larger than the previous three times. After all, June had arrived, the war season had come, and the land of the Levant was about to usher in a new bloody storm.

After counting the gunpowder, Watt continued to patrol the camp to make sure that each night sentry was properly arranged.

Since Saladin's invasion, the security environment in the Levant has deteriorated dramatically. Bandits and horse bandits are rampant, and Turkmen and Bedouin tribes from all over the country frequently launch attacks, plunder caravans, and capture slaves.

They disregarded the treaty signed between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Saladin and openly violated the peace.

Walter has a deep understanding of this.

During the first trading trip, the caravan was ambushed and three members of the group were killed.

This became a thorn in his heart, making him more cautious in every business trip, and he would do his best to protect every companion and cargo.

The next morning, when the first ray of sunlight shone on the earth, Walter discovered something unusual during his patrol - fresh horse manure appeared where the caravan passed, and it was obviously not from their team.

……

Saladin has been stranded in Acre for half a year, and even though smallpox is breaking out now, it does not affect his plans.

During this period, he continued to consolidate his control over the territory of the former Kingdom of Jerusalem, striving to forge the newly conquered land into an impregnable fortress before the arrival of the European Crusaders.

It was for this reason that the Turkmen, Bedouin, and even Turkish tribes, and even the Kurdish tribes, all regarded the Levant region as their paradise for a time, and they received some unspoken acquiescence from Saladin.

Although this behavior objectively created a large number of refugees; although the Franks mainly lived in various towns, the real victims were the original Muslim villages; although those original Muslim groups had the same religious beliefs as Saladin; although...

However, no matter how obvious these contradictions were, the Levant was, after all, newly conquered territory; after all, the food output of this land would still be needed for war next year; after all, these tribes could provide Saladin with a steady supply of mounted warriors.

There is no doubt that Saladin was a feudal lord.

After celebrating the recovery of the holy city, the once oppressed Muslim villagers were ruthlessly pushed into the abyss of reality.

Although the poll tax was no longer required, the harvest from the fields was still exploited; a single order from the tax collector was enough to put several families in dire straits.

Frequent looting among tribes also made rural security even worse.

Faced with these problems, local Muslim residents turned to the garrison for help, but what they received in return was additional "protection fees" and no substantive promises.

Saladin was aware of all this, but he never paid any attention to it. The recovery of the holy city made him famous in the Muslim world, and these flaws were easily covered up.

The focus is on the holy city and the war situation in the holy land. For this reason, most Muslims outside Palestine do not think there is anything wrong with this.

Someone has to sacrifice, right?

The plight of the peasants was of little concern as Saladin focused on the more pressing goal of meeting the Third Crusade and securing victory.

In addition to relying on the tribe to provide knights, his mind was also on another thing - the new weapons of the Franks.

Although they had thought about the relationship between saltpeter and the tubular weapon, the Saracens were never able to comprehend the mystery.

The various obstacles that stood in front of Saladin made him realize that it was difficult to create weapons that could rival those of Tyre with existing technology.

It was at this time that a caravan traveling between Tyre and Transjordan caught his attention.

From his informants in the city of Tyre, he learned that the production of that mysterious weapon was unlikely to come from near Tyre.

"How about a raid I had no idea about?"

True, the agreement between Saladin and the Second Kingdom remained in force, and he would not have been "aware" of such events.

……

Walter didn't know where the "fresh horse manure" near the caravan came from, but he soon realized that there were uninvited guests secretly monitoring them.

Although the other side had a small number of people, it was enough for Watt to understand that the caravan's whereabouts had been targeted.

To this end, the caravan held an emergency meeting, and all members quickly reached a consensus: protecting the caravan’s goods and lives was the top priority.

Walter learned from the painful lessons of his first trading trip and distributed the soft steel breastplates that were intended to be distributed to the soldiers in Tyre.

This time, the merchants were not only transporting goods to Tyre, but in fact they were also sending the talents that had been trained in the Transjordan region for more than a year to Tyre.

Assist Isabella and others to establish a more modern kingdom center.

These talented teams, together with the caravan's original guards, totaled more than a hundred people, and Marwan from Alhadi Town was also among them.

After he skillfully put on the breastplate, he demonstrated to his companions the correct way to put on the armor.

These soft steel plates were made by Shaban himself.

The so-called soft steel is actually low carbon steel.

With the advancement of metallurgical technology in Transjordan, this material has been able to be mass-produced after adopting steel-frying technology.

Compared to chain mail, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive to produce, breastplate is cheaper due to its simple manufacturing process.

When making a breastplate, Shaban would first design the molds for the different parts, and then use a hydraulic press to press the heated metal into the molds to cool and shape them.

He would then use a hydraulic lathe to fine-tune the blank, and finally riveted the components together into a complete breastplate.

With the help of advanced tools, Shaban can make a breastplate in four days alone.

The production process of the helmet is similar, but the appearance is slightly rough.

When the caravan members were fully armed, the sheen reflected from their breastplates shone brightly in the sun, and with swords and spears in their hands, they looked brand new, like a small, well-trained army.

In a moment, a menacing aura of murderous intent was already emanating from the more than one hundred people in the caravan.

As this caravan had to travel hundreds of kilometers, its members were strong young men, many of whom had received rigorous militia training.

Once they put on breastplates, helmets and held weapons, they immediately looked like an elite army.

Walter reorganized these well-equipped young men into a team and coordinated them with the original caravan guards, instantly creating a team with considerable numbers and combat power that seemed not to be underestimated.

Unlike those high-quality chain mails that weigh more than ten kilograms, the breastplate made by Yannen weighs only about seven kilograms. Together with weapons and equipment, the whole set weighs less than ten kilograms.

This allows caravan members to maintain their combat effectiveness for a long time without expending too much physical energy during long-distance marches.

The next day, when the scouts tracking the caravan approached again, they were stunned.

Is this still a caravan? Why are there over a hundred fully armed soldiers?
These equipments alone can empty the wealth of many small lords! Why would ordinary lords grant fiefs to knights?

Isn’t it just because of poverty?

The fiefdoms did not require the provision of horses, armor, or weapons, and the knights would even bring their own followers when they went into battle. This was extremely cost-effective. The "caravan" before them was even more luxurious than many lords' private armies!
The scout quickly reported the situation back to the tribe. When the news reached the ears of the leader, the leaders were immediately put in a dilemma.

On the one hand, Saladin offered a generous deposit, which made this a rare assignment; on the other hand, this caravan looked difficult to deal with, and it was likely that even if the entire family put in all their efforts, they might not be able to get any advantage.

"What should I do? This business is really difficult."

"Why not just rob a few more villages and then run away?"

"How do we deal with the messenger sent by Saladin?"

"Why not just kill him?"

The veterans in the tribe expressed their opinions and soon reached a consensus: run away with the money and make a little extra money before leaving.

Anyway, Saladin was busy fighting the Crusaders and couldn't take care of them for the time being.

As long as they escape far enough, the deposit will be theirs. They can even flee to the Rum Sultanate in the north, seek support from their Seljuk relatives, or simply hide in the Syrian desert. Who can find them?

In this secret meeting, the envoys sent by Saladin were also forced to participate. He cursed these tribesmen in his heart as parasites, but now these people were enough to take his life. Suddenly, he had an idea and shouted loudly:

"A few random steel swords in that caravan's cargo could change an entire village!"

The whole audience was stunned when this statement was made. For the tribesmen with limited knowledge, such a product was simply a fantasy.

"really?"

"It's absolutely true! Now everyone in Akka is scrambling to get these steel swords. But if you want to move to another village, you need at least a few more steel swords."

The messenger vividly described the value of the steel swords produced in Transjordan.

Compared with ordinary swords, these steel swords are miraculous luxury goods, and their basic ability is to cut through iron like mud!
As they appeared in the Tyre market, their prices dropped, but they were still top luxury items that Levantine nobles scrambled to buy.

Listening to the tempting prospects described by the messenger, the eyes of the tribal leaders became hot. They seemed to see that they would become rich enough to rival a country because of their great victory.

The messenger took the opportunity to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. He secretly sighed that working with this group of greedy insects, his life was almost on the edge of a knife, how could he talk about revitalizing the Muslim cause?

"But those tough guys are hard to deal with." Someone spoke hesitantly.

"There is a way! I have a way!" The messenger's eyes rolled, and he actually had an idea and came up with a bad idea.

……

Walter didn't really expect that everyone could put on breastplate armor and fight the horse bandits. In fact, the main combat force of this caravan was still the caravan guards.

The main reason why Watt asked everyone to wear breastplate armor was to make those people around with ulterior motives calm down.

However, while marching along the Jordan River, Watt heard the sound of fighting.

A caravan was being attacked, flying the flag of the nobles of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The caravan used a large number of horse-drawn carriages to form a barrier to resist the attacks of the riders. Both sides shot a large number of arrows at each other, and many corpses were left outside the barrier, having died.

There were not many people in the caravan, only a few dozen.

From what Walter could see, there were still many women and children in the car camp, and he could hear them roaring and screaming.

There were not many Saracen riders outside the fortress, only about thirty. They had been running around the fortress, constantly harassing and weakening the caravan's weapons, trying to find a weak point and then rush forward.

"Row one, row two, row three! Form a team and fight! Let's cross the river!" Watt gave orders to the caravan members who had just been organized in the past two days.

There was no need to hesitate. For Water and his men, rescuing a caravan that was being attacked was just a piece of cake.

The waves of the Jordan River surged, the muddy water created ripples, and reflected the sunlight into a dazzling golden light.

As soon as the caravan's carriage entered the center of the river, a cloud of dust rose on the horizon east of the river. The dust announced the approach of death like the beating of a war drum.

What followed was a sound of horse hooves that resounded through the heavens and earth, shaking the eardrums of those crossing the river and causing the earth to tremble.

The Saracen cavalry poured down the gentle slope on the east side of the river like a black torrent.

They wore simple but flexible leather armor, held scimitars and short spears, and some even pulled longbows. The whistling arrows rushed towards the caravan like a dark cloud.

Watt stood on a high point on the west bank of the river, holding his sword tightly, and gave the order in a hoarse voice:
"One row to provide cover! The rest of you to form a formation and hold steady! Artillery ready!"

His command cut through the din on the riverbank, but was half-swallowed by the rushing water and the whistles of the cavalry.

The dawn of victory and the wealth of gold seemed to shine upon the Saracens for a moment, and they urged their horses to the maximum speed in an attempt to win a quick victory.

There was indeed light shining on them, but it was only the flash of flame when the lead bullet left the gun, and the blood when it penetrated the flesh.

In short, some people fell from their posts, some were beaten to a pulp, and some were shocked by this miraculous scene and were also beaten to a pulp...

However, the Saracens' charge did not stop. The light cavalry nimbly shuttled between the artillery fire, their speed and courage showing their disregard for the threat of death.

A small group of cavalrymen rushed towards the side of the caravan that had not yet formed a battle formation, with their short spears raised high and their scimitars flashing coldly.

In the chaos, several guards tried to resist, but the force of the horses' hooves was overwhelming.

At this time, it was impossible to distinguish between friend and foe on both sides of the Jordan River; the sound of water, shouting, and screaming merged into one.

The caravan guards who failed to cross the river in time were forced to fight in the river. Scimitars and spears clashed, and the splashing water mixed with blood reflected a tragic brilliance in the sun.

Some people had their weapons knocked out of their hands, and some fell into the river and were swept away by the fast current.

One guard tried his best and pierced a Saracen cavalryman's abdomen with a spear, causing the rider to fall off his horse, but he himself was hit on the shoulder by another man's scimitar and fell into the river with a scream.

Walter, who had been watching the battle from the riverbank, drew his sword and shouted:

"Hold on! Hold the formation! Keep firing the artillery! We will surely win!"

The other gun finally adjusted its direction, and the second shell hit the enemy squadron accurately.

When the Saracens, unable to bear their own casualties, chose to flee, the smoke over the Jordan River gradually dissipated.

The river was dyed red with blood, with broken wooden boards, shields trampled by horses' hooves, and countless corpses floating on it.

Watt slowly walked down the river bank, his armor covered in mud. He looked around and found that only half of the caravan members were left. The survivors looked exhausted, but they survived anyway.

There was no sophisticated military strategy involved in this battle. It was just an unfavorable battle in unfavorable terrain.

The reason why Water was able to win, apart from the fact that artillery played a role, was mainly because these people filled the front line regardless of casualties, which was truly fearless and courageous, as well as the advantage in equipment, which enabled them to turn defeat into victory.

The members of the besieged Saracen caravan didn't know how to face such a group of murderous characters.

Walter originally thought that the matter should be over, but after thinking about it, he felt something was wrong, so he led his soldiers towards the besieged caravan.

He left the spearmen outside the fort, and took Marwan and about a squad of soldiers with him, greeted the Saracens in the fort, and ordered them to let him in.

Under the brutality displayed by Watt and his men, the Saracens trembled and opened the barrier to let Watt in.

The corpses and blood in this caravan were real. Watt doubted whether his guess was correct, and he ignored the hospitality of the Saracen merchants.

He examined the bodies on his own, and then he noticed that the women and children were different. Many of them had unusual scars on their bodies.

The shackles and fetters on the people could be seen on the bodies even after they were removed, and the women and children were dressed more like Franks than like the Saracens, as was the case with the merchants.

"Come here." Walter greeted a girl who was being guarded by the caravan guards, but she did not respond to Walter's call. Instead, she pursed her lips tightly and shook her head.

Walter sighed slightly. He began to understand what kind of trade this caravan was doing.

These people traded slaves.

He walked towards the caravan leader who was still courting Marwan, and asked directly: "You killed all those bodies on the ground yourselves, right?"

The caravan leader, who had a good look on his face, gradually froze his smile after hearing what Watt said.

"How could that be? Sir, how could we kill our own people?"

"The Franks and Saracens are not our own people."

Looking at Walter's indifferent eyes, the caravan leader didn't know how to respond. He was not sure what Walter meant by saying that.

"I just counted them. Including those outside the fort, there are a total of 18 adult male bodies. My request is not too high. I will pick 18 of you to exchange your lives for yours. I will spare the lives of the others and take them to Tyre for the kingdom to judge."

The only thing Walter is sure of is that if you treat evil people with kindness, then good people will be harmed by them.

If we must seek to give justice to the evildoers, then who can give justice to the victims who have been harmed?

Walter is not a person like Garys or the Leper King. He is far from being able to think about problems from a global level or across time and space.

His final choice was to seize every moment, hoping to have a clear conscience.

"Eighteen people, should I draw the lottery or you choose yourselves?" Walter's words were like the devil's whispered temptation, leading the current situation to a situation he would like to see.

(End of this chapter)