Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 220: Go north! Go north!
Renard de Châtillon, also known as Renaud of Châtillon in the film Kingdom of Heaven.

He arrived in the Levant during the Second Crusade and made great achievements in this land.

Twice in succession, he became lord by marrying an heiress.

The first was Antioch and the second was Transjordan.

In a sense, Leonard did leave his name in history and changed the course of history.

It's just that it's not immortal.

But in any case, his military talent seemed to be among the best in this era, but his brain was not very good and he was impulsive and irritable.

"There are only two ways to get to Tripoli from Antioch. Either go down the valley along the Asi River or go through the roads in the mountains."

"The exit on the other side of the valley is controlled by Muslims, and the road between the mountains is the one we are on."

Listening to Leonard's analysis, Jocelyn nodded. He had a very clear understanding of Leonard's current plan.

If Bohemond intends to return to Antioch for support, he will definitely pass through here. By then, he and Reynald will be able to wait here and everything will be easy.

"Have you calculated how many days your adopted son will have to pass by here?"

"How many days?"

When hearing this question, Leonard answered with disdain.

"Just today."

Joslan's pupils shrank instantly. "How do you know for sure? It normally takes six days to march from Tripoli to here. If it's today, you only gave them four days? Isn't that a bit too hasty?"

Reynald smiled slightly and tapped his head with his fingers. "Based on my experience and my understanding of Bohemond. After all, I raised him."

He was silent for a moment, then continued, "Jocelan, I admit that I am indeed old and no longer as agile as I used to be, but my accumulated wisdom and experience are growing day by day. Now you can call me an old fox."

Rosilan raised an eyebrow and asked teasingly, "What are you going to do if that old fox arrives here tomorrow?"

"If it happens tomorrow, it won't have much of an impact." Leonard answered lightly.

"What about the day after tomorrow?"

"If it's the day after tomorrow, I estimate we still have a 60% chance of winning. We can give it a try." Leonard's eyes flashed with confidence.

"What about the day after tomorrow?"

"Then I must retreat quickly, cross the Amanus Pass, and flee to the Eastern Roman Empire."

"cut."

Rosilan snorted softly, with a hint of disapproval.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves rang out again, but this time it was from south to north. A nimble Tukopo cavalryman galloped over and directly crossed the low stone wall into the yard.

Riding on his horse, the hired light cavalryman reported loudly: "Sir, they are here."

Leonard couldn't help but laugh, but when he turned to look at Jocelin, a hint of loneliness flashed in his eyes.

"That child has never really matured."

He thought about the memories of the past and the experience of teaching Bohemond carefully. It was a pity that Bohemond seemed to have only learned the basics and failed to thoroughly understand the essence.

……

Antioch is a fertile land. It was once the cornerstone of the empire's rule over the East. Even today, it is the final transit point of the Silk Road and provides a large amount of commercial grain to the Mediterranean.

To the south of Antioch is a hilly area.

Here, scattered villages are spread out among the mountains, and a road runs from Latakia directly to the city of Antioch.

Roger was exhausted, military life was not good at all.

Really! This is totally different from what he had imagined!
This was supposed to be an adventure that would break up my boring and peaceful life!
He was so eager to put on the ancestral armor and pick up the weapons left by his father, but in the end...

The so-called military life is actually endless marching.

From Antioch to the port of Latakia, from the port of Latakia to Tortusa, from one lord's castle to another lord's castle.

Thousands of soldiers similar to him, led by their respective lords, marched through the mountains, along the coast, and through the farmlands.

Robbery? I have no time. These people are suffering constantly because they don’t have enough food or warm clothes.

Moldy bread, biscuits, cooked or raw meat, you may eat it today but be hungry tomorrow.

You can eat some meat or fish occasionally, but don't expect to get much prey when a legion of 4,000 people gathers together.

All I can say is that the army of this era is such a mess.

It was not until he arrived outside the city of Tripoli that Roger felt a little bit of the atmosphere of war.

Here they built a reliable camp and prepared siege equipment.

It was just when Roger felt that he should prove his worth in the war so that he could get promoted, make money and find women.

An unexpected piece of news suddenly came: Reynald, the former Prince of Tripoli, suddenly declared rebellion and captured the city of Antioch.

Damn it, the day and night march has begun again. We will go back the same way we came here.

And this time, it is more urgent than before!
If the previous time felt a bit like an outing, this time it was pure torture.

The journey from Latakia Port to Tripoli City, which took more than ten days, was compressed into four days.

Just after arriving at the port of Latakia and having a hot meal, Roger was captured by his team leader in less than half a day and continued on his journey.

When will this day end?

Lift your legs and march, lift your legs and march...

"Captain, what's going on! Captain! Who is that guy Leonard!"

During this process, Roger also took the time to complain to his captain.

When the old soldier in charge heard the name Leonard, his expression also turned bad.

"That was the last Prince of Antioch."

"Uh……"

Originally, Roger thought that Leonard was a vicious person, but it turned out to be just a bunch of family affairs.

In fact, to be precise, for the feudal lords, what is not a family affair?

The civil war between Baldwin III of Jerusalem and his mother was a family affair, and the confrontation between Prince Bosimonde III of Antioch and his mother was also a family affair.

Even the wars and peace between Britain and France were all family affairs.

How many nobles died in this endless family affair?
Conscripts and peasants like Roger...

They are just consumables, dying in the mud with no one to bury them, as lowly as grass, just dust on the glory of the nobility, insignificant.

As for the so-called Prince Bohemond of Antioch, he also looked anxious when he passed through Latakia.

In Latakia, various news about Antioch became more and more frequent.

The efficiencies were varied, and each had its own story, some saying that Reynard had received assistance from the Eastern Empire.

Or perhaps there was a traitor in Antioch, someone connected with Reynald.

The news was all mixed up, but without exception they were telling Bohemond that his family was gone.

He had to hurry back to his own territory before Reynald could gain the allegiance of the lords around Antioch.

Therefore, he was too anxious, and no matter how his generals tried to dissuade him, they could not stop Bohemond from going his own way.

He even promised his soldiers that as long as they arrived at the city of Antioch within two days, each of them would receive a reward of two gold dinars.

However?
However, these promises would never be fulfilled because he was marching in a long queue, dragging a team that was nearly two kilometers long.

The sound of horse hooves roared, that was the galloping of hundreds of knights!

The blood is about to flow.

Only this time, it was a civil war among the Franks.

The two veterans, Reynald and Jocelin, each led a team of knights and infiltrated the enemy at will.

The two of them don't have many troops.

But they were well rested and Bohemond's army was delayed for a long time.

Therefore, this legion of 4,000 people was easily cut into three parts in a short time.

……

Roger was almost at his limit. He had already drunk all the water he had brought with him when he set out from the port of Latakia. The only things left from his luggage were the life-saving armor, weapons, and dry food. The rest were discarded.

Even so, he was still a day's journey from Antioch.

However, according to the captain, it is only a short walk to today's camping site - a village that provides water and food.

But just when Roger was about to try harder, he felt a wave of panic, and then he saw the expression of the captain next to him changed drastically.

A faint roar came from a distance, as if the earth was shaking.

The sudden scene shocked him: an Antiochus flag pierced the sky, fluttering in the strong wind.

Behind the flags, dozens of fully armed knights and hundreds of light cavalry poured in like a torrent.

Roger had heard many people brag about the grand spectacle of cavalry charges, but he had never imagined that one day he would be the one to witness it himself.

In front of such an irresistible force, everything seemed so insignificant. He stood there in a daze until the captain suddenly grabbed him, and then he suddenly woke up and dodged.

As soon as the two men fell to the side of the road, the thunderous sound of horse hooves swept past, making their eardrums hurt.

Roger looked back and saw in disbelief that his comrades who had no time to escape were trampled into a bloody mess by the heavy horses' hooves.

His heart trembled, and at the same time, the flag representing Bohemond in the center of the army fell down.

Desperate cries were heard from the battlefield: "Bohemond escaped alone!"

The glory of the battle had nothing to do with Roger.

To be more precise, the purpose of this war had nothing to do with glory from the very beginning.

It's nothing more than an adopted father and son fighting over the family property.

Why fight?

Why fight? This world is just a playground for a few people. A small person like Roger is not worthy of speaking a line on the stage.

And the protagonist of the story easily abandons them when facing danger.

There was no glory in this battle.

Reynald did not bring many soldiers with him, only fifteen thousand in total in fact.

More than a thousand defeated soldiers from the Sea of ​​Galilee and three hundred hired Tukopo light cavalry.

Including himself, Jocelyn, and the one hundred knights under his command.

With such a small force, Reynald dared to challenge his adopted son.

His soldiers attacked from villages, hills, rear roads and all directions with a show of force and terrifying momentum.

This is war. It is easier to win with more soldiers and more generals, but victory does not entirely depend on the number of troops.

Reynard did not kill all these people. To him, these soldiers were his own team, and if he wanted to regain his power, he needed to use his currency well.

Look, those surrendered soldiers in large numbers.

Leonard took off his bloodstained helmet and breathed heavily. He could feel the weakness of his body and could no longer gallop as freely as before, but he won after all.

With the help of his servants, Jocelyn came to Leonard's side, and was then ridiculed by Leonard.

Jocelin twitched his lips slightly, but he didn't know how to respond to Reynald's ridicule, after all, Reynald was actually older. So he turned around and asked loudly, "Where is Bohemond?"

"He ran away."

"Coward, he should be ashamed."

Reynard just sighed and didn't respond to Jocelin's anger.

"What are you going to do now?" Joslan continued to ask.

"Reorganize the troops. I've seen the calculations. Not counting the deserters, I have two thousand more infantrymen after this battle."

"So what's next? Go and lay siege to Antioch?"

"No, the losses from attacking Antioch by force would be too great."

"So where are you going?"

“To Latakia.”

"why?"

"When word of Bohemond's defeat spreads, all the previous rumors will reach a peak and spread unstoppably. The people of the city will believe that I have captured Antioch and become the true Prince of Antioch because of my victory over Bohemond."

Leonard imagined this beautiful scene.

"What if they don't open the city gates? After all, Bohemond may be in charge of the defense himself, and they may not surrender voluntarily." Jocelyn is more accustomed to dealing with possible variables with caution.

"At that time, my friends at sea will lend me a hand." In the past six months, Reynald not only drank with Jocelin, but also reconnected with his sea contacts.

From beginning to end, Reynald never conquered the city of Antioch. He just made gestures to attack Antioch, then blocked Antioch's contact with the outside world and continued to spread rumors.

Words spread from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred. Words move people's hearts, and people's hearts are power.

Leonard was a gambler, and this time, he won again.

“When I have enough chips, it will be time to turn the tables.”

Leonard looked to the south. He also received a lot of news about Garys.

That guy is just like always, playing tricks and misleading people.

Leonard dared to say that when he faced Garys with a huge army and shot a rain of arrows, Garys would admit his mistake.

As long as we are human, we have our limits. As long as we can still set up the stake, we can burn heretics to ashes.

……

Levant is a paradise for adventurers and a stage for lords. In this fiery land, countless heroes emerge one after another.

While Saladin was achieving an unprecedented victory, Gairis was also integrating his own forces.

But since leaving Transjordan, he is no longer on some isolated oasis island, but has truly integrated into the civilization of the Mediterranean.

During this process, Gaillis gradually retreated from his initial claims and no longer told everyone that he was Jesus' younger brother, the older brother that Hong Tianwang had never met.

He only told the outside world that he was a saint from Jerusalem and the Dux of Cyprus.

The main purpose of doing this is to avoid being too conspicuous in the short term.

To be honest, the Vatican does not care about the appearance of "saints" in certain countries or churches. The deeds and "miracles" of those saints are the cornerstones of religious beliefs.

But if heresy such as Jesus having a younger brother were to be spread at this juncture when the Third Crusade was about to begin, God knows what would happen. It is always better to stay out of the spotlight.

There is no problem for Garys to take care of himself, but when the plate is spread out, he is too busy to take care of everything, and there will always be some things he fails to take care of.

Therefore, the sect cannot surface yet and is still in a semi-underground state outside of Transjordan.

To be more precise, after Gellis took over Cyprus, members of the Pacification Order began to disguise themselves as Orthodox Christians.

When Gellis traveled outside, he often wore the purple robe of the Archbishop of Cyprus, held the royal scepter unique to the Archbishop of Cyprus, and called himself the head of Cyprus.

The Roman Catholic Church is very wary of heresy within its own country, but as for Eastern Orthodoxy...it is not too concerned.

Especially after the Church of Cyprus openly declared its willingness to support the Third Crusade and offered the possibility of communion to the Roman Catholic Church.

The value of the Cyprus Church in the united front in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church suddenly increased.

Although the leader of the Church of Cyprus is only an archbishop, it is an independent church.

Patriarch Constantine is only the chief in the Orthodox Patriarchate, not the superior of the Church of Cyprus.

If an independent Orthodox church were willing to recognize the Pope of Rome as its leader, it would be seen as a major religious victory by the Catholic world.

Moreover, the most crucial point is that the Church of Cyprus is the first church in history to have a Roman governor convert. It is an ancient church founded by the apostles and inherits the authorization of the Roman Empire.

Its symbolic significance far outweighs its actual benefits.

[“By believing in Christ and validly receiving baptism, they enter into a certain communion with the Catholic Church, even if it is imperfect.” For the Orthodox Church, this communion is so deep that “only a little is left to achieve perfection, so that they can celebrate the Eucharist together.”]

——Catechism Article 838

Under this possibility, even if the Cypriot Church behaves a little bit out of line, the Vatican is willing to turn a blind eye.

By using this method of borrowing the chicken and laying the egg, Garys successfully obtained an "identity certificate" from the Orthodox Church.

Now, he is the head of Cyprus, and the delegations rushing to Cyprus from Rome are discussing the details for the subsequent communion.

Communion means that both parties recognize each other's baptism, Holy Communion and other sacraments.

In order to achieve communion, both sides need to engage in a deep theological dialogue to resolve past differences and misunderstandings.

And the time required for this discussion... under the suggestion of Gellis, the time required by the Cyprus Church can actually be extended to infinity.

In short, it is to whet the appetite of the Vatican and attract their attention in order to cover up some things that are not suitable to be exposed in a short period of time.

As for the matter of the Archbishop of Tripoli, let’s just pretend it never happened.

After all, the Archbishop of Tripoli’s direct superior is actually the Latin Patriarch of Antioch. Given the current situation in Antioch, the patriarch there may not be able to protect himself.

When Reynard's news reached Tripoli, Garys also held a meeting.

"Duce, there's news from Antioch."

Conrad, an Italian, called Gellis "Führer" without hesitation.

Because of the changes in the situation in Tripoli, Tyre gritted its teeth and squeezed out some troops, led by Conrad, to provide support to Tripoli.

"How to say?"

"Latakia opened the city and surrendered. The former Prince of Antioch, Bohemond III, is currently fleeing south and may arrive in Tripoli soon."

Now, as the plenipotentiary envoy of the Second Kingdom, Gairis has accepted the oath of allegiance of the nobles of Tripoli on behalf of the Jerusalem monarchy.

For Bohemond, if there was anyone who could possibly help him restore his country, it seemed that he could only turn to the Second Kingdom for help.

"Do you think Reynald has taken control of all of Antioch?"

At the meeting, Gellis asked the person next to him.

Jose, Alexandros, Conrad and others looked at each other and started discussing.

"As for the specific information about Antioch, I think the information from the Arab caravan is more reliable than that from the port of Latakia."

"Antioch has not fallen yet."

There is a fog of war, and this fog was particularly prominent in the Middle Ages.

But the more confusing the situation is, the more important intelligence and information become.

As a port, Latakia will be cut off from Antioch, but the Arab caravans have sent news that they can still trade normally.

Gellis had no prejudice against Arabs, so he chose to believe the latter.

"There is no possibility of coexistence between me and Reynard."

Gellis looked at the knights present and made no secret of his hostility towards Reynald.

The moment of reckoning has come, not just for Gillis himself, not just for the brothers who died that stormy night, and not just for Isabella.

It is also for the people who died at the hands of Leonard.

In history, it should not be the people, nor Jesus, who were crucified.

Tyrants like Reynald, "Caesars" who stained the earth with blood, should be sacrificed and purified.

The time of reckoning is coming.

This is not the interest of one family or one surname, at least not a private matter at the moment.

It is to help the victims down from the bloody cross. Garys and his men have already lit the beacon of hope, and it cannot be extinguished.

At least not right now.

"Even though the situation in Tripoli is not stable right now, I declare that we are heading north!"

(End of this chapter)