Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 229 The journey of collecting fragments has ended
One point that is different from many people's stereotypes is that the emergence of firearms did not immediately eliminate the existence of knights as a military unit.

In the early days of firearms, there was almost no such thing as artillery being able to directly destroy castles.

When firearms first appeared in the 13th and 14th centuries, it was even the heyday of the feudal era in Europe, overlapping with the Renaissance, which was the glorious age of knights.

By the 15th century, the emergence of giant stone-throwing cannons was essentially proof that humanity had once again taken a detour in the history of weapon development.

Take the giant cannon "Mons Meg" as an example. It was manufactured in 1449 by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, and given to King James II of Scotland as a gift.

It has a caliber of nearly 500 mm, weighs 5000 kg, and can fire 250 kg shells.

The Urban Cannon is actually one of the representatives of this type of artillery.
But this ancient cannon, which is almost as powerful as the Urban Cannon, has been restored by modern people and it is found that it is not as unstoppable as many people think.

Whether it was the Urban Cannon or the "Mons Meg", they were both wrought iron cannons with limited chamber pressure tolerance, and even the "chestnut gunpowder" used by the Gérice Order did not exist at the time.

Therefore, when the "Mons Meg" cannon was fired, this cannon that could fire 250 kg of boulders was loaded with only 34.5 kg of black powder.

According to computer simulation, it can be concluded that under this charge, the muzzle velocity is only 319 meters per second, which cannot even break the speed of sound.

The final speed will be as low as 209.2 meters per second.

The specific kinetic energy of artillery bombardment at this speed is obviously very limited and is not enough to directly destroy the city wall.

Back to the formula: Ek=1/2mv
单纯以炮口初速计算，发射250千克巨石的“蒙斯梅格”，其实际动能仅为Ek=1/2*250*319，也就是大约1万2千720千焦的动能。

But if it is replaced by a cast metal cannon with a relatively smaller caliber, larger caliber, and more propellant, firing metal shells, such as a 24-pound cannon.

The 24-pound cannon has a much smaller caliber than the Mons Meg. It fires 10.9 kg metal shells, but its muzzle velocity can reach 512 meters per second.

This means that the kinetic energy of a 10.9 kg iron ball leaving the barrel will reach 1 kilojoules.

The kinetic energy of a 10.9 kg shell is greater than the kinetic energy of a 250 kg shell

Its metal material is harder than most city walls, and the pressure it creates per unit area is far greater than that of the "Mons Meg" which launches 250 kg boulders.

In this case, artillery can effectively destroy city walls, but by the time this era came, it was actually after the 16th century.

Of course, since the ancients had no clear understanding of the kinetic energy formula, they often simply relied on their experience and made assumptions.

In fact, the early super-large caliber artillery was based on an experience-based continuation and replaced the old catapult. For the catapult, which was difficult to increase its flying speed, launching heavier stones was indeed the most direct means to increase its lethality.

But artillery is not that simple.

The fact that the actual destructive effect of the Urban Cannon was not even as great as that of a 30-pound cannon in later generations was unimaginable to the ancients.

But Garys succeeded in making people like Marwan understand the problem hundreds of years in advance.

This is the power of knowledge, which condenses crude experience into a short formula, and then uses the formula to guide technological development, thereby producing truly powerful artillery.

Knowledge is power, and that power is concentrated in front of Water, creating this experimental product that is 30 times longer than the caliber and can easily launch supersonic shells.

As the cannon roared, and as Watt saw the shells hit the rocks and destroy them, he couldn't help but ask himself a question.

"If this is not God's revelation, then what is God's revelation?"

……

When Watt brought the bronze cannon from Cyprus to Latakia by ship and sent it to Antioch by land.

Lance realized that he had another opportunity.

Now is the best time for him, Reims, to weaken the nobles in the Antioch region.

The noble lords in the Antioch region were not directly involved in the previous war with Saladin.

But Bohemond mobilized almost all of Antiochus's troops and marched south to Tripoli.

The 4,000-strong army was the main force of Antiochus. They were directly defeated by Bohemond at the hands of Reynald, and then defeated by Gellis.

Nowadays, the various castles in Antioch have very limited manpower to guard the city walls.

In essence, it was the same situation as the original castles in Jerusalem after the Battle of the Sea of ​​Galilee. Although the castles were still dangerous, the guards guarding the castles were slightly insufficient.

If they wanted to temporarily replenish their troops, the noble lords of Antioch could not trust the indigenous people around their own territories.

Taking advantage of the assassination of Gellis, he forced Bohemond to write a confession, and then used the name on the confession.

It is difficult for any of the existing Norman nobles in Antioch to prove their innocence.

Lance wants to call those small lords to Antioch for questioning. Will they come or not?

"I'm not saying that we have to kill them all."

"But if you refuse to pledge allegiance to the kingdom, refuse to give up power, and refuse to die, I will be in a difficult position..."

Lance said this very calmly during a routine meeting.

Many people attending the meeting took an attitude of neither supporting nor opposing Lance's speech.

Even the nobles of the Kingdom of Jerusalem did not feel that there was anything wrong when they heard Lance's words.

Firstly, Bohemond did conspire to hire a murderer, and secondly, the nobles of the Kingdom of Jerusalem were not on the same page as Antiochus.

No matter what, most of the nobles of the Kingdom of Jerusalem were of orthodox Frank origin, and many families' ancestors could be traced back to the time of Charlemagne, and they were the ones who entered the country with Charlemagne.

As for those whose ancestors can be traced back to the Merovingian dynasty, let’s not even mention it!
What is Antioch? A bunch of Norman descendants...

His ancestors were Nordic people, Vikings, and pirates who robbed and looted.

The Scandinavian bandits have come to our Frankish territory to beg for food!

Isn’t the Duchy of Normandy just the territory given to you Vikings?
Putting aside the issue of aristocratic discrimination, the Principality of Antioch has played a very disgusting role in the Kingdom of Jerusalem because of its long-standing team-building issues.

He attempted several times to interfere with the succession to the throne within the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

As a "vassal state", it interferes with the internal politics of the "suzerain state".

In addition, he would provoke the Eastern Empire from time to time, bringing unnecessary diplomatic and military pressure to the Crusader states.

This resulted in the Principality of Antioch having a very bad image in the eyes of the Jerusalem nobles.
So much so that the attitude of many Jerusalem nobles towards the Principality of Antioch was actually: it should have been controlled long ago!
"I'm not saying that we must do anything about these Antioch nobles. As long as they can join our Kingdom's House of Lords like you, then everything can be discussed!"

As he spoke, Lance turned his gaze to some Tripoli nobles standing nearby.

Now that the outcome of Antioch was settled, the nobles of Tripoli could not help but walk tremblingly and sweating profusely after seeing the power of Gairis.

Many of them have also made overtures to Gairis, expressing their desire to get closer to the "Saint of Jerusalem."

But when Gellis told them clearly that the County of Tripoli would be incorporated into the Kingdom of Jerusalem, many of them seemed hesitant.

Because the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Tripoli and Antioch are really different.

Although the Kingdom of Jerusalem seemed to be dominated by Frankish nobles.

But in terms of political landscape, it is closer to the English.

For various reasons, a large amount of land was concentrated in the hands of the royal family, and quite a number of nobles actually only held their positions in exchange for the annual pension given by the manor.

The power held by the Kingdom's Parliament is higher than that of the lord.

Apart from the fact that Transjordan is too remote, it is rare to find that "the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal". On the contrary, a law was passed more than 20 years ago, explicitly stipulating the fact that all nobles are vassals of the king.

When the news came from Tyre, it became even more difficult for the nobles in Tripoli to accept it.

In the "Etiquette Plan of the Kingdom's Nobility" which has not yet been passed and implemented, Isabella still divided the nobility into two major categories, one is the landed nobility group, and the other is the landless nobility group.

They are all nobles, they have the same management system and shared noble rank, which will be a symbol of honor.

and eligible to participate in the politics of the kingdom through the House of Lords.

But the difference between the two is that the landed nobles need to bear the obligation to pay taxes and provide military service, while the landless nobles do not have to bear those obligations and are eligible to receive a considerable annual pension from the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

And what is different from the past is that the Etiquette Act has strict regulations on how noble lords should manage their manors.

There are detailed regulations on how much tax to collect each year, how to provide conscripts, and how to distribute the taxes. If the law is violated, a fine will be imposed.

At the same time, for underage lords and female lords, the kingdom will also send corresponding "guardians" to "assist" in managing the manors to prevent those properties from being occupied by certain people.

As soon as the words "guardian" and "assistance" came out, which of the lords present here is not a shrewd man and who doesn't know what will happen?
If the "Etiquette Act" was really implemented, they, the actual lords of Tripoli, would, in a sense, become subordinate puppets of the royal power and would not be able to do whatever they wanted in their own territories.

Normally, such a "Ceremonial Law" that clearly encroaches on the power of local nobles would not have been passed by the noble council in Jerusalem.

But nowadays, does the Kingdom of Jerusalem have any real nobles?
As Saladin's army occupied most of the kingdom's land, every noble in Tyre became a landless noble.

The possibility of such a bill, which clearly benefits the landless nobles, being passed is very high.

Not to mention the nobles of Antioch, even the nobles of Tripoli would have been in trouble if it weren't for Gairis being too cruel.

Who knows, they might have already begun plotting to raise the banner of rebellion, preparing to lead troops to Tyre to purge the court, rescue Guy Sibila and his wife, and eliminate the cancer of Isabella's chaotic politics.

Lance felt quite regretful when he saw that the group of Tripoli nobles were silent, even though Garys did not attend the meeting.

But the power that Gaillis had displayed still left an unforgettable mark in these people's hearts.

It would be too troublesome to ask this group of people to directly jump out and oppose.

This is the disadvantage of having a [Prophet] as a friendly army. Before you even put in any effort, the other party has already surrendered and expressed regret.

Even if Gairis did not claim to be a prophet, his Samson-like military power alone was enough to convince many people. "Since my colleagues in Tripoli are so clear about the righteousness, I think the nobles in Antioch also need to prove their attitude."

……

Altaïr's absence was not long, and when he returned to Antioch, he brought with him the kindness of Sinan, the old man of the mountains.

Of course, rather than being a gesture of goodwill, it is more like an agreement to keep each other out of each other's way.

As long as Gellis did not pursue Altaïr's previous assassination attempt and continued to regard Masyaf as a non-existent invisible force, Masyaf would ignore Gellis.

Ignore Gillis's claim to be "Imam".

There will be no assassination attempts on the military and political leaders of the Second Kingdom.

At the same time, Sinan, the Old Man of the Mountain, also appointed Altaïr to take charge of Antioch's affairs and understand what was happening in the Second Kingdom.

In response to this "goodwill", Gailis did not forcefully expel all members of the other sect.

Instead, they are required to register their members and tell them that if they have any activities, they should remember to report them and they can only proceed after approval.

Are there any activities that the Nizari Ismailis can report?
Altaïr thought about it and thought, maybe assassination counts as one? In other words, if he wanted to carry out an assassination in Antioch, he would have to report to Garys and his men and get approval?
This felt wrong, but considering the "miracles" that Gellis had performed, Altaïr chose to respect Gellis.

“Imam” Hmm, doubtful…

Anyway, Altaïr had no intention of carrying out another assassination attempt on Garys.

Today, Altaïr is just an ordinary resident of Antioch.

He looks a little different, not like a typical Armenian, and he explains that this is because he is one-eighth Turkic.

This was not surprising, as Altaïr lived in the city like an ordinary resident of Antioch, working from sunrise to sunset and rushing to the workshop every day to earn a living.

Like other Antiochians, he was delighted when he heard that the poll tax and other heavy taxes were no longer levied here.

"Grafa, do you know any Frankish friends?" While they were working, the owner of the workshop suddenly walked in and called out Altaïr's new name.

Altaïr thought about it and decided that he didn't know any Franks. When he was about to deny it, the boss continued, "There's a man at the door who calls himself Jos. He says he's your friend and wants to see you."

"Boss, I'd like to take half a day off. Please deduct my salary for today." Artair said to his boss.

The boss was a little unhappy when he heard the first half of the sentence, but he felt relieved after noticing the second half, and just thought of it as Grafa working for him for half a day for nothing.

After Altaïr changed into his daily clothes, he saw that Joss had been waiting at the door for a long time.

Joss greeted Altaïr and then led him around the city and straight to the military camp nearby.

After sitting down in Joss's office, Joss poured Altaïr a glass of water.

"What is it?" Altaïr asked.

"I have a commission and want to contact you." Jos said bluntly.

Altaïr frowned and did not respond immediately, remaining silent.

"There are two people we want you to pay attention to."

"focus on?"

"Yes, it's not an assassination, we just want to confirm their whereabouts. There are rumors that they have returned to Antioch, but we are not sure where they are now." Jos said calmly.

"who are they?"

"Bohemond's two children."

"Raymond and the Younger?" Altaïr realized who he was referring to, and then asked, "Are you sure you don't need us to help you root out the evil?"

"No need." Jos answered decisively.

Unlike those who hope to achieve some shady purposes through the Nizari Ismailis, Gairis and others do not need to resort to those shady means.

What they value more is the intelligence network controlled by the Nizari Ismailis.

The Nizari Ismailis controlled a vast intelligence network across the Middle East, and to many people they seemed to be omnipresent.

The lords did not know who the Nizari Ismailis were, nor when their poisoned blades would appear.

This fear was a powerful weapon in the hands of the Nizari Ismailis, but it also meant that they were able to gather intelligence very efficiently.

And this is exactly what Gellis and others currently lack.

If intelligence can only be obtained through merchants, it is often easy for Leonard to take advantage of it, or the intelligence may be delayed or its authenticity may be questionable.

So, Gellis decided to seek help from his new friends.

"It seems that you are very confident." Altaïr scratched his head. Although selling intelligence can be profitable, it is still slightly lower than assassination, but at least it is safer.

……

The further he got from Transjordan, the more uncomfortable Gairis felt.

The longer he lived in this era, the more Gellis felt that he was being assimilated by it.

A feeling of being rootless and floating often arises in Garys's heart.

He knew what was going on.

Because when he was in Transjordan, he led the lower-class Franks and Saracens to overthrow the old ruling class from the bottom up and completely rebuilt a political order.

But the situation was different outside Transjordan. In order to quickly integrate the surrounding forces, the sect made a lot of compromises.

By absorbing the old aristocratic groups of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, integrating the territory near Tyre, and gaining the central government of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

By converting the Church in Cyprus, he gained the status of Head of Cyprus and was able to mobilize Cyprus' resources.

Through the will of Count Raymond of Tripoli and by winning over local nobles, he quickly took control of Tripoli.

When he arrived in Antioch, he led his troops directly to conquer it without any contact with the local people of Antioch.

I am being changed.

There is no doubt about it.

"Not going to trial?"

Gellis asked himself.

"Is it necessary to have a trial? Or can I hold one? The truth is that I can only present the evidence to the citizens of Antioch, but I cannot have witnesses present. After all, the witness, Altaïr, is an Assassin..."

The meaning of the word Assassin is a derogatory term for most people of this era.

In fact, in the Crusader States, the evidence presented by the Saracens in court was unlikely to have any legal effect. And for a faction like the Assassins that walked in the shadows, their words had a more direct negative effect.

Asking an Assassin assassin to testify for the victim? That's really ridiculous.

From another perspective, the victim was Gellis, Bohemond's superior.

And the judge must be Garys or someone under Garys' command.

If a trial is held, will Gillis sit on the bench or on the plaintiff's bench?

Instead of holding an inappropriate trial that is bound to be criticized, it would be better to directly use the blood of certain people to establish the authority of Antiochus' rule.

This is not Transjordan, there is no school training talents, this is Antioch, and Gairis only has two companies of his cronies, which add up to less than three hundred people.

Even if we include the volunteers from Cyprus, the number would not exceed eight hundred.

During these days, the various masses, sermons, and sacraments held by Gellis were only meant to bring him closer to the residents here, but were far from mobilizing the citizens.

Those 800 people cannot serve as a basic administrative force; they can only serve as a military deterrent.

In Antioch, Gheris was not destined to be a revolutionary, so the choices he had were actually very limited, at least for the time being, he could not punish the criminals.

Even if a public trial is held in a hurry, it will not achieve the same effect as in Transjordan.

The reason for dealing with the Antioch nobles was that Bohemond rebelled against the kingdom, and it was Gellis who condoned Reims's involvement in the crime.

And nothing else.

"Sure enough, it's time to go back and start all over again."

Gellis thought of the countryside in Transjordan and the plateau, and wondered what changes the canal in front of Skarr had brought to the village.

I don’t know how Alhadi School is doing now…

Then, Gailis thought of Isabella again. The current situation in Tyre was not optimistic.

Although Isabella usurped the throne with the help of Balian and the Venetians and the support of Sibylla, she was never crowned.

Because the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Iraklius, stood firmly against the enemy, Guy is now gathering strength again.

Isabella needs her own help.

The journey of collecting the fragments is over, and now it's time to complete the puzzle.

(End of this chapter)