Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 246 The War is Coming
At Paphos Port, Anthony took great pains to prepare for the reception.

In the city of Paphos, everyone who could wear nice clothes did so. The entire port was decorated colorfully, with colorful flags flying, garlands hanging in every corner, and long tables filled with sumptuous food and drinks.

It is imperative to entertain His Majesty Frederick "Red Beard" and his 15,000 soldiers satisfactorily and then send them to Palestine as soon as possible.

In a sense, His Majesty Frederick "Red Beard" is indeed a living father.

A living father that no one here can afford to offend.

For Germany, Frederick "Red Beard" is a very important figure.

It can be said that it was in the hands of this person that the historical term "Holy Roman Empire" officially debuted. He is considered one of the greatest medieval emperors of the Holy Roman Empire.

But for people of his time, in Anthony's eyes, this living father was quite scary.

During his six expeditions to Italy, he went on a killing spree in Rome during the first one, suppressing the Roman riots, which resulted in the deaths of more than a thousand people.

Considering the bad deeds of previous Crusaders, Anthony could only pray that the other side would treat him like a human being for the sake of the fact that he had the Pope's envoy and the Kingdom of Jerusalem's envoy by his side.

In addition to Anthony, the host, Red Beard was also received by a special envoy from the Kingdom of Jerusalem, who was also the current Speaker of the Senate of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Conrad's father, William, Marquis of Montferrat.

Although Conrad's Montferra family, as an Italian family, spent a lot of time and energy to prevent the strengthening of the Holy Roman Empire's authority in Italy, and even formed an alliance with the Eastern Empire for this purpose.

In September 1179, Conrad personally led the army to defeat and capture the Prime Minister of the Holy Roman Empire, the Archbishop of Mainz.

The two sides had a feud, but another fact is that Frederick and Conrad were actually cousins ​​and they had a common grandmother.

In terms of relatives, old man William is the uncle of Frederick "Red Beard".

Old man William's wife has blood from the Salian dynasty, and he is related to many German nobles.

Therefore, the responsibility of receiving the German Crusaders was handed over to him.

The dock was covered with red carpets, and two companies of the Second Kingdom's standing army stood at attention on both sides of the road.

When Frederick passed by them, hundreds of them saluted in unison. This neat movement, as well as their high-spirited and meticulous standing posture, were different from other armies of that era.

Although the salute did not appear in this era, etiquette is etiquette.

This unique yet extremely uniform and solemn behavior, coupled with the meticulous expression, made Frederick at least certain that this was not some malicious mockery.

"they are?"

Frederick asked old man William who was standing beside him.

"They are the personal guards of the little princess of the Anjou family in Jerusalem."

Old man William replied calmly.

Frederick also nodded. The Anjou family's influence in Europe today is among the best.

He became king of England, took away half of France, and controlled the Holy Land.

“It’s really, really impressive.”

The soldiers displayed a level of discipline that Frederick had never seen before.

Although the other side had few people, Frederick still felt a sense of awe.

……

Looking down at Acre from the heights of Mount Toruń, the scene before us is magnificent.

Inside the city walls, densely packed workshops, houses, churches and towers are staggered and arranged in an orderly manner, surrounding the central fortress to form a solid defense circle. To the south and west of the city is the vast sea, sparkling and reflecting a tranquil atmosphere.

On the land side, a solid stone wall stands tall, giving people a sense of security, while outside the stone wall is a flat sandy land that stretches to the horizon.

This is the largest port in the Holy Land, a gathering place for wealth, and a place for loading and unloading "ships as tall as mountains".

Muslim travelers in Andalusia once praised: "This city is as great as Constantinople."

He visited Acre in the autumn of 1184, when it was still the jewel in the crown of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Now it is the winter of 1188. Not only the pearl of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but also most of the old land of the Kingdom of Jerusalem is in Saladin's hands.

At this moment, Gerald, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, stood on the top of Mount Toruń, and the Knights Templar beside him watched all this in silence.

Once the Knights Templar were born of humble beginnings, and now they are humble again.

While imprisoned in Acre, Gerald no longer heard the church bells, but the Muslim prayers every Friday.

The Temple's houses, farms, land...crops and everything else, passed into the hands of others.

Under the management of the enemy, the palace of the Knights Templar also added a large tower, which stands in the distance, unscrupulously declaring who is the master.

“We will take it all back for God.”

The war is about to begin.

This time, the rider on the red horse landed on the land of Palestine.

With the arrival of Barbarossa, the Third Crusade officially began.

Previously, the peace agreement, which was already on the verge of being invalidated, was completely abolished.

But relatively speaking, Saladin's speed in recruiting soldiers was much slower.

The area he ruled was much larger than Shinra, and the rule of each region was even more fragmented than Shinra.

When Saladin invaded the Kingdom of Jerusalem before, it took him a whole year to mobilize his army.

When the next call for conscription is made, it will be slower because the Muslims' enthusiasm for jihad has declined.

But Saladin had anticipated this and made advance arrangements. A large number of nomadic tribes, instigated by Saladin, moved into the Palestinian region.

By promising the power to tax land, Saladin obtained an army of nomadic light cavalry that could be quickly recruited and easily maneuvered.

In just a few days, Saladin's legion began to expand like a snowball.

Gerald glanced at the city of Acre again. In that direction, many nomadic cavalry had already noticed their arrival.

Over there, smoke and dust were billowing, and one could see hundreds of cavalrymen galloping.

It seems that the current owner of Aka City does not welcome his former owner to spy on him.

"Time to go, guys."

Gerald called out, and the Templars around him packed up their belongings and prepared to evacuate.

When he left, he left behind a word that dissipated in the wind.

"This is God's land, and I am the agent of God's will..."

(End of this chapter)