Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 250 Preparing for War
Developing new urban areas during the war was undoubtedly a very dangerous thing.

Therefore, part of the new city of Tyre was actually built in the form of a military camp.

As simple houses were built, more and more German Crusaders rushed to Tyre from the island of Cyprus and moved into the new city area.

During the two-month construction process, the situation in Tyre also underwent earth-shaking changes.

After all, cities in the 12th century were too small, and just a few fine-tuning could change the look of a city.

Especially when Gillis had gathered a large amount of funds and had talented people to support him from Transjordan.

This city seems to have not changed at all, but everything is changing.

While citizens and farmers increase production and income.

Around the original Paladin patrol system, the kingdom's police department was established and began to recruit and train full-time police officers.

Although it cannot be said that people can leave their doors unlocked at night and no one steals anything on the streets, at least there are people patrolling or on duty at every intersection in the city to ensure that conflicts in the city are kept within limits.

Frederick "Red Beard" also witnessed these changes with his own eyes.

"Red Beard" often strolled through the streets of Tyre, accompanied by old William and his child Frederick the Younger.

Although Barbarossa's own court was not located in any big city, he was actually no stranger to cities.

Of course, most of the time, his encounters with the city were not very pleasant.

He spent more than half of his years as emperor trying to strengthen his control over Italy's cities.

It’s not that there are no results, but perhaps there is more to lose.

“It’s a nice city.”

At the door of a newly opened dessert shop, Barbarossa sat down with the servants beside him, and the staff beside him consciously brought him a glass of sweet drink.

It can be said that Barbarossa is a regular customer of this store.

The desserts in this shop can be said to have truly broken through the taste limitations of the Middle Ages.

A systematic pursuit from the perspectives of smell, appearance, taste and aftertaste.

Rather than simply piling up sweetness.

In fact, the glass in Barbarossa's hand might be more like a cocktail.

Syrup has been used, mint leaves have been added, rum has been used, and ice cubes have been added.

This is not a strong liquor, but the taste is quite mellow. In Barbarossa's opinion, it is still at the level of sweet water.

Old William and his child Frederick also chose their own drinks.

While they were chatting, a conflict broke out on the street not far away.

Two groups of knights, each wearing the cloaks of their order, are confronting each other.

After a while, Paladin led the patrol police here to mediate.

Faced with the Palatine's larger numbers, both the Templars with an octagonal red cross on a white background and the Hospitallers with an octagonal white cross on a black background gave up their plans for a street duel.

"It's really different. It's much better than my hometown."

After seeing this scene, old William also nodded. It was actually quite strange for him, as an Italian marquis, to serve as the Speaker of the House of Lords in Jerusalem.

"In this country, Balian and his people have firmly controlled the city. Everything is orderly and well-organized, without the stench of democracy."

When the stench of democracy was mentioned, Barbarossa showed disgust.

This democracy, of course, refers specifically to Italy’s urban autonomy.

After taking a sip of his own sweet drink, Old William hesitated for a while before saying, "You are too strong. Too much is as bad as too little."

Barbarossa did not want to pursue the subject.

It was at this time that the dispute at the intersection became more intense.

"Let's go and take a look?" Barbarossa suggested.

William nodded, and the servant beside William dropped the dinar and escorted the two old men and the Prince of Shinra to that side.

At the crossroads, the leading Paladin looked a little unfriendly.

This has happened more than once or twice, because the city of Tyre is currently being transformed into a large military camp.

A large number of members of the Knights Templar were gathering here, and conflicts broke out between members of the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar at least once every week.

If it weren't for the Paladins, it would now also be a military order recognized by the kingdom and regarded as a knightly order.

The arrogant Knights Templar would probably not even look at them.

After Barbarossa and his entourage arrived, the three forces put aside their hostility.

The policeman on the side hurriedly saluted Mr. William and briefly reported the situation.

There is now a considerable feud between the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar.

Previously, when they participated in the Battle of the Sea of ​​Galilee, all the members of the Knights Hospitaller died, but Gerald, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, survived.

At the beginning, the commander-in-chief vowed that he would fight to the death!
If it weren't for that great commander who deliberately advocated various holy wars, the hospital regiment would not have to sacrifice so many people.

As a result, the fact that such a person "surrendered" and survived naturally made the Knights Hospitaller feel disgusted. Whenever they met the Knights Templar, they would be sarcastic towards him.

However, this time, the Knights of the Hospitaller met the Grand Master of the Templar himself in the street!
Gerald, who was combative by nature, naturally drew his sword in the street.

After some mediation by the police and with old William present, the duel naturally ended in vain.

But Barbarossa still invited Gerald to sit aside.

"Young man, I heard you're worth a Gaza castle?"

When Gerald heard the word Gaza, his breathing became rapid, but he did not deny it, while the other knights beside him looked normal.

Barbarossa noticed these small details and paid more attention to Gerald. The Grand Master of the Knights Templar was just a position, not a master.

In theory, the Knights Templar were only loyal to God and the Pope. Although there was a strict hierarchical relationship within the order, they were often full of a spirit of sacrifice in the name of God.

The Grand Commander can be replaced, but if Gaza Castle is given up and wanted to be recaptured, it would cost hundreds or even thousands of people.

If such a high-priced transaction can still be carried out, it only means that Gerald has an irreplaceable position in the hearts of the Knights Templar members.

After realizing Barbarossa's identity, Gerald and the knights behind him performed a salute.

In medieval Western Europe, it is actually difficult to say that there was a real person with so-called absolute power.

Even the Holy Roman Emperor Barbarossa spent most of his life engaging in a lot of games of war with various internal factions.

Not only was he at war with Italian cities, but his good friend from his youth, Henry the Lion, also became his old rival.

Of course, even after defeating Henry the Lion, Barbarossa did not kill him. After he admitted defeat and repented, he granted him a duchy so that he could spend his old age in peace.

In other words, whether it is the emperor or the king... in medieval Europe, he is essentially a member of the nobility, not above the nobility.

In this situation, as the Grand Master of the Templar Order, who was famous in Western Europe, he showed respect when he met Barbarossa.

But it cannot be said that there is any gap in power status between the two sides.

"Your Majesty, I will definitely wash away my shame."

"It will be soon. It will be soon."

……

The coastal plain of Israel stretches from the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt in the south to Rashhanikra in the north.

The location of Tyre has already exceeded the scope of ancient Israel. Strictly speaking, it is not in Palestine, but more of an ancient Phoenician land.

In other words, today's Saladin has essentially taken full control of the territory of ancient Israel and has taken all of the land of former Palestine into his possession.

But this did not completely destroy the resistance of the Crusader states. Long before the arrival of the Crusaders from several major European countries, a large number of scattered Crusaders had already begun to gather in Tyre.

At the same time, Tripoli and Antioch north of Tyre can still serve as strategic depth, providing manpower and wealth.

Among the three major knightly orders in later generations, the Teutonic Knights have not been established yet.

The Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar lost hundreds of elite knights after the disastrous defeat on the Sea of ​​Galilee.

But now, the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller were gathering, and knights from Antioch, Tripoli, and one knight's castle after another responded to Gerald's call.

Gerald easily took back his power from the acting Grand Master Trix and gave a passionate speech in front of many knights.

He stirred up a fanatical atmosphere, and with one cry of Deus vult after another, he announced that he would lead the Knights Templar to launch a holy revenge against Saladin.

At the same time, a large number of branch organizations throughout Western Europe also provided fresh blood to the headquarters in Palestine and transferred large amounts of funds for rebuilding the troops.

It can be said that Gerald alone set off a wave in the Crusader states. Countless Frankish young people began to be inspired by him and actively joined the arms of the Knights Templar.

However, the royal government remained silent on this matter, and only methodically recruited and trained soldiers in the remaining lands of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Tripoli area, and began to establish the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Military Affairs.

In this round of military expansion, the kingdom’s standing army stationed in Tyre already has four battalions.

"In a sense, things are looking very good."

When the cult organization was holding a meeting, Garys said this directly.

After all, there are more and more reliable people gathered in Tyre now, enough to half surface and start more institutionalized construction.

Nowadays, Garys no longer needs to preach alone in Tyre, nor does he need to perform "miracles" to recruit people.

Based on economic interests and the guidance of the doctrine itself, more and more people have contacted the "cult" and started to join this "underground church" endorsed by the kingdom. "Now, the highest authority in the kingdom has actually been established. On one side is the House of Lords, which is nominated and appointed by the nobles and the church. On the other side is the House of Commons, which is elected by each constituency. When the two are combined, they will serve as the King's Parliament and have the right to discuss many matters in the kingdom."

"In the church system, it seems that Iraklius is the patriarch and the supreme leader, but in fact, most of the churches in Tripoli are our priests."

"After we recover the lost territory, we will also be the main force in rebuilding the church system."

The instructions given by Gellis were to replace one thing with another. The sect not only had to wear the skin of the Church of Cyprus, but also the skin of the Church of Jerusalem, so as to take over as soon as possible.

"Another thing is that the original six-official system of the kingdom is actually dead in name only. In the past year or so, everyone has been appointing officials based on personal relationships."

“Therefore, a truly central government also needs to be constructed. Using the successful construction of the Ministry of Police as a template, we will also establish the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Taxation, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Military Affairs, for a total of seven departments.”

"Constitutes the central government organ of the kingdom."

"If possible, the seven ministers and the speakers of the upper and lower houses will form a cabinet to serve as the executive body of the parliament to decide on major issues of the kingdom."

"Of course, you still need to take care of these situations."

After Garys finished speaking, many people at the meeting began to discuss in a low voice.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was newly established and had long faced the threat of war.

This resulted in the kingdom having a certain tradition of centralization. Of course, this centralization was in the form of aristocratic parliament rather than a significant increase in the monarch's personal power.

Relying on the aristocratic parliament system, the kingdom is able to mobilize a large number of troops in a short period of time.

However, due to the circumstances of the times, the system of six officials was born, namely the governor, marshal, general manager, eunuch, steward and chief justice.

These positions were loyal to the king, appointed by the king, and then each was responsible for some unclear duties.

Of course, under Saladin's violent destruction, the kingdom's original system had completely collapsed.

In this environment of reconstruction after the fall of the kingdom, the kingdom's original local aristocratic groups were unprecedentedly weakened.

Even without Garys's presence, the cult could begin to control the kingdom's political arena in the form of a secret party.

In a sense, this is actually a shadow government.

After the seven major departments were established, the Second Kingdom brand was almost truly taken over by Garys.

By then, half of the parliament was composed of members of the sect or its allies, and most of the backbone of the civil service government came from Transjordan.

Who sits on the throne is actually just that matter.

At present, allowing Sibylla to still sit on the throne and not directly depriving Guy of his crown is actually giving the old aristocracy a false sense of security to prevent them from making desperate moves.

The biggest advantage of such a system for Garys is that he himself does not need to take care of anything.

You can put your energy into education and technological restoration.

As the prophet in the cult, everyone who has witnessed Garys' "miracles" has basically reached an unprecedented level of personal worship for him.

If Gellis wants to enforce his will, he can overturn the collective decision with just his own words.

In this situation, not only does Gellis not dare to abuse the "cult of personality", but he needs to protect the system and shut up about giving orders carelessly.

So much so that most of the time, he was watching the people in the cult take action.

Even if someone really did something wrong, he would not rashly give instructions.

The way he influenced the members of the sect was to use ideas and theories, gradually avoiding the use of various direct commands.

After all, there is no one who is always right and can always lead the organization.

If the cult organization lacks the ability to correct its own mistakes, the consequences can be imagined when Garys leaves.

……

Pierre got promoted again.

When he first joined the army, he became a squad leader. Because he brought his fellow villagers with him, he handled the Bedouin looting issue very well and was the first to make merit.

In the first subsequent army expansion, after receiving Garys's short-term officer intensive training, he became a company commander after only one month as a trainee platoon leader.

Now, when the troops were expanding massively and setting up battalion-level units for the first time, Pierre directly skipped the deputy battalion commander and served as the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion.

Of course, Pierre was definitely not the only one who was promoted.

Therefore, after the brief yet grand awarding and appointment ceremony, the army began to prepare for a dinner, intending to celebrate this special day.

"Pierre, have you ever thought about giving yourself a last name?" At the dinner table, after drinking some fermented grape juice, Charles hugged Pierre and started to blow.

Charles was a Paladin working with Pierre and was responsible for the religious and spiritual life of the entire camp.

"Surname?" Charles didn't react for a moment. He was just a peasant and had never thought about this at all.

"Yes, it's a surname. Just like me, I'm Charles de Compte. You are now a person of status. Your descendants will be proud of you. Shouldn't you leave them a surname that can be passed down?"

Charles raised his glass high and continued, "I don't quite understand you. Anyway, in my hometown, a person's honor is tied to his family. The inheritance of a surname means that I will be the continuation of my ancestors."

Charles is actually not a native of Palestine. His hometown is the French territory of Anjou, and he is considered a fellow villager of the royal family's ancestors.

The reason he came to Palestine was that he joined the Knights Templar in Anjou and was sent here as a representative of the branch.

Yes, Charles was not from Transjordan, and he was not even a member of the order at first. When he first met the [Prophet] Gairis, he was still wearing a red cross on a white background and was a member of the Knights Templar.

Then, he saw the Son of God draw his sword to kill a horse, kick the sword into a stone, and perform emergency surgery to save a life.

Since then, his faith in Christ has been elevated to a higher level.

Later, after the Son of God finished the negotiations with Leonard, he took himself away.

Because Charles himself was literate and had a certain understanding of religious doctrine, Gaillis personally asked him if he was willing to join the Palatine.

The Knights Templar is a military order, and in a sense, the Palatine is also a military order.

And, obviously, the Paladins are closer to the Son of God and God than the Temple.

Charles took off his original Templar cloak without any burden and put on the Palatine equilateral cross.

The indoctrination of Gellis' religious scriptures reshaped Charles, making him a fanatical follower of Gellis and willing to fight to the death.

In this case, he actually didn't care much whether some people came from humble backgrounds, because his measure of whether a person was valuable basically depended on Garys' attitude towards the other person.

Pierre is a person the Son of God values. No matter how Pierre was born, he will definitely have a bright future.

Today, Pierre has become a battalion commander, with nearly 600 men under his command. Even in France, this means he has truly begun to become an upper-class figure.

"What's the use of having a last name? I'm just an ordinary person."

Pierre was holding up his glass at the banquet and was actually quite relaxed.

Unlike in China, surnames became popular in the Christian world quite late.

In Western Europe, surnames became common between the 12th and 15th centuries, while in Northern and Eastern Europe, surnames became common later and in some areas were not mandatory until the 18th or 19th century.

What difference would an additional surname make? Pierre naturally didn't care about such things.

"ordinary?"

Charles smiled when he heard this.

The establishment of the Ministry of War was a matter of time. Due to the massive expansion of the army, people like Pierre, who originally came from humble backgrounds, began to hold high positions.

Charles himself, because he believed in Garys so much, didn't care about a person's background.

But other noble children would still waste their breath on such issues.

Therefore, in order to make civilian officers like Pierre more authoritative and easier to command in the army.

Once the Military Affairs Department is established, the awarding of ranks will begin.

Military rank is one of the representatives of a soldier's level. It integrates factors such as a soldier's honor, treatment, and position, and is a symbol of a soldier's sense of responsibility and honor.

Voltaire once pointed out the significance of military rank.

[Military rank began to become a right, far superior to family background, and what was valued was meritorious service, not ancestral family background.]

It can be said that the combination of the professional officer system and military ranks is very appropriate, as it provides civilian officers with a way to obtain lifelong honors.

Pierre's military rank originated from his military achievements and long service in the army.

If anyone disobeys Pierre, then he can use his military achievements to prove his point.

At the same time, the aristocratic title system has begun to bid farewell to chaos and is undergoing reorganization.

Anyone with a military rank, whether soldier or officer, is considered a lifelong honorary nobility.

Of course, ordinary soldiers are still not qualified to eat at the table. They have to reach the level of sergeant major before they can call themselves honorary nobility.

As far as Charles knew, battalion commanders like Pierre, who had previous experience of dealing with the Bedouins alone, had participated in almost all major battles and had never been punished for bad conduct.

Then Pierre would at least be a major, possibly even a lieutenant colonel.

In the aristocratic system, this should correspond to the honorary viscount.

When ordinary knights see Pierre, they need to take the initiative to salute.

"Come on, cheers!"

"cheers."

(End of this chapter)