Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 251: Death of Barbarossa
The overall structure of the current Second Kingdom is obviously problematic.

Rather, it is a blatant multiple shadow government state.

The nominal supreme leaders were still Guy and his wife, but the Parliament of King's Landing had hollowed out the royal authority, depriving the king of power and turning it into a figurehead.

Because Guy himself was defeated in the Battle of the Sea of ​​Galilee, even the traditional aristocratic system began to abandon Guy and form their own factions.

At the same time, although the current highest authority is the King's Landing Parliament, which is a combination of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the King's Landing Parliament itself does not have an executive body, but instead relies on the seven departments of the Royal Government that are being reconstructed to implement the bills.

Even the power to form a cabinet is nominally directly controlled by Parliament.

However, nearly all mid-level management positions in the seven departments have close ties with the sect, and quite a number of people are from Transjordan.

This means that the orders issued by the cabinet essentially need to rely on the church to be executed.

In other words, no matter what the cabinet ministers say, it is not as loud as a fart from Garys.

This situation is undoubtedly problematic and cannot be sustained.

But politics is the product of compromise. Under the wave of the Third Crusade, even Gellis did not want to stir up too many variables, allowing the order to surface directly, or to truly sort out a suitable central structure.

Just make do with it and be patient, because the Crusade wave comes violently but goes away just as quickly.

During this process, Garys was also busy with some things. He stayed in his study, looking up a lot of relevant information and some reports handed over by Paladin.

Identify some situations.

For now, he has found some clues.

When Isabella walked into the study with a drink, she saw Gailis leaning back in his chair, looking tired.

"what happened?"

Isabella was concerned.

“We are indeed in a dilemma at the moment.”

Garys said something without any context, then took the drink handed to him by Isabella. After taking a sip, he felt slightly excited by the abundant sugar content, and felt much better.

"Everyone knows that in the kingdom, the Franks are the rulers and the Saracens are the ruled, so the Kingdom of Jerusalem is the country of the Franks. Then when the Franks' country was destroyed, what did it have to do with the Saracens who made up the majority of the Kingdom of Jerusalem?"

"For now, the Kingdom of Jerusalem has already reduced taxes and increased political rights in exchange for the Saracens' choice of the 'silent majority' political stance."

"But the Crusaders came, and holy warriors like Gerald began to take action."

"The more religious the Franks become, the more likely they are to attack the Saracens. Especially now that there are a large number of German Crusaders stationed in Tyre, they came to the Holy Land to fight in the name of God."

"Barbarossa can still control his army at the moment, but as time goes by, it's only a matter of time before the Franks launch a large-scale attack on the Saracens. Once this happens..."

In fact, even if there has not been a large-scale attack, small-scale bloody conflicts have already occurred.

Many of the reports next to Garys were about this.

For example, some holy warriors insulted Muslims in the street and were ready to draw their swords...

At the same time, the Saracens were not sheep. The bonds and closed communities based on the same beliefs gave the Saracens a quasi-military organization centered on the mosque.

Regardless of the quality of this mobilization, at least the quantity is quite scary.

"If there is a vicious incident of Franks attacking the Muslim community, you will find that no matter what choice we make, it will inevitably reduce the favorable impression of some groups in the kingdom on the government."

"Isa, what will be the result of a fair and just trial of those Crusaders?" Gailis asked.

"The Franks will think we are not pious enough, or even go against God's will," Isabella replied softly.

"What if we let the Franks attack the Muslims?"

"The domestic Saracen community will band together to fight, and they may even seek help from the Saracen leader abroad, namely Saladin."

It is indeed a dilemma.

No matter how you think about it, as long as it is a conflict at the ethnic level, you cannot jump out of this framework. In the eyes of the Franks, the royal government is their own people. If their own people do not help their own people and instead help the pagans, they must have been corrupted by the pagans.

In the eyes of the Saracens, they are the victims, and their revenge is just and reasonable...

"Let's take a more extreme assumption. What would happen if Saladin encouraged the Saracens to attack the Franks within the kingdom?"

"Or to put it bluntly, what if he planned the attack but disguised it as the work of the Saracens in our territory?"

When Gailis asked this question, Isabella's face froze again.

"We must start the war as soon as possible. The German Crusaders have gathered in Tyre, and Barbarossa has been quite eager to fight these days."

"Let's speed up the process."

"In addition, regarding the internal propaganda of conscription, we must make it clear that this is not a holy war of crusades, but the Kingdom of Jerusalem's recovery of its homeland."

“Replace ethnic identity with national identity.”

"By the way, Khalid and his men also arrived a few days ago. In the next few days, to be more precise, when the German Crusaders leave Tyre, I will personally organize a propaganda team to reduce the hostility within the kingdom."

……

"I know what everyone is worried about, but I want to ask, is Saladin our Sultan?"

"The small jihad preached by the Caliph ended when Jerusalem was conquered! We must now fight for our own great jihad! Only those who obey the command of God and please Allah are the great jihad!"

Gairis can be said to have revisited his old place, and he brought Khalid and several other imams of the Hanafi school to preach in various Muslim settlements.

He had a long conversation with the local village elders, and was accompanied by some Arab officers who had already served as company commanders.

Let them tell their stories to the locals in Tyr, or simply gather everyone together to chat about family matters and make everyone feel at home.

The purpose is to make the Saracens in the kingdom understand that changes are taking place in the kingdom.

Not only is the tax collection lower than before, but there is also room for improvement in political status.

Jihad is a very special concept in Islam, which literally means "effort" or "struggle". It has multiple meanings in Islam and can include personal spiritual struggle or collective social or military action.

Generally speaking, Greater Jihad refers to spiritual self-improvement, while Lesser Jihad is a "defensive" war against non-Muslim regimes with the purpose of defending Islam, and is seen as the last choice under "oppression."

The manner of warfare is subject to many moral conditions.

In a sense, Jihad is the only war word permitted in Islamic teachings.

Muslims can even launch minor jihads against road bullies, violent groups, and non-Muslim leaders and countries that attack Islam. Generally speaking, Muslims understand minor jihads as defensive wars.

There are many theoretical issues involved, and there will be many changes in actual implementation. Especially since there are many schools of thought in Islam, the interpretations of different schools often differ.

Therefore, the preaching initiated by Gairis, claiming that the Lesser Jihad has ended and that the Greater Jihad is now to be carried out, is not considered to be a heresy. Instead, it is quite consistent with the original meaning of the Quran as understood by many people.

Even now, Gairis's public speeches and debates with the imams are a kind of jihad of the tongue.

Naturally, this process was not smooth sailing, and many Imams launched verbal counterattacks, criticizing Khalid and others as traitors.

However, in terms of Gellis's theological attainments, coupled with the amount of information he has been exposed to in later generations, it is far beyond the reach of ordinary Imams of this era.

During these debates, Gelis's reputation was actually enhanced, and many Saracen villages near Tyre knew that there was also a great Islamic scholar among the Franks.

The breadth of his knowledge is far beyond the reach of ordinary people, and when he quotes from classics he can speak so clearly and logically that people cannot help but be convinced.

There are even many Saracens who expressed the hope that Gellis could become their parliamentary representative so that he could speak for them in parliament.

It was also during this process that the first large-scale battle of the Third Crusade broke out.

……

April in Palestine is the time when the rains have just stopped. Strictly speaking, spring is the time when Palestine is in a period of famine, so it is not a good season for war.

But in Barbarossa's view, this was also the best time.

As early as a year ago when preparing for the German Crusade, Barbarossa had reached a consensus with the Venetians.

With the participation of the Venetians, the Crusaders were far superior to Saladin in terms of both the number and quality of their naval vessels.

A large number of galleys used Tyre as their base and began to blockade Acre from February, intercepting Egyptian ships that were transporting food supplies to Acre.

At the same time, the Venetians also contracted the food transportation of the German Crusaders, which also meant that Barbarossa would have an advantage in logistical supplies.

Therefore, as the highest-ranking figure on the Crusaders' side, Barbarossa issued an order to launch an offensive at the military meeting.

Now, almost all the German Crusaders have arrived in Tyre, and together with the troops of the Second Kingdom, the total number has reached 20,000. With the help of the fleet provided by the Venetians, this army surrounded Acre in just three days.

However, Saladin's army was not in the city. When he discovered that Barbarossa was preparing to march into Acre, he left Acre with the tribal troops he had recruited nearby.

He set up his own command post on Mount Ayadia to avoid being surrounded by the Crusaders and being unable to command the overall situation.

Barbarossa commanded his army and fleet to besiege the city of Acre, while Saladin built a position in a crescent curve with a larger radius, which seemed to be surrounding Barbarossa's army.

Over the next two weeks, small-scale clashes continued between the two sides.

Saladin's troops attempted to break through Barbarossa's blockade of Acre, constantly trying to find weak points in Barbarossa's encirclement.

They were sometimes successful, and were able to maintain a supply line into Acre and occasionally ambush Crusader forage parties.

Several battles broke out between Barbarossa's army and Saladin's troops over this supply line, but both sides were quite restrained and did not deploy too many troops.

Both sides had follow-up troops pouring towards Acre, and Barbarossa was able to receive support from the Crusaders from Europe from time to time.

Saladin also had considerable forces scattered throughout other parts of his vast realm, some in Aleppo, some in Damascus, and of course more in Alexandria, Egypt.

Such a large army was gathering that everyone who knew about it, except Gellis, believed that the battle in Acre would determine the situation in the entire Levant.

In their view, the result of this battle would either be the end of Saladin's conquest of the Levant, or the complete demise of the Crusader states.

At the end of April, Barbarossa decided to launch a massive attack on Saladin's growing army.

As far as the current situation is concerned, the army under Barbarossa has exceeded a threshold.

It was no longer possible to obtain effective reinforcements, while Saladin's army seemed to be pouring in from the surrounding areas in an endless stream.

In terms of the equipment and training level of both armies, Barbarossa's army, with German knights as its core, also crushed Saladin's nomadic riders. It can be said that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

In the early morning of April 1189, 4, the morning light rippled slightly on the waves of the Mediterranean Sea, and the air was filled with a damp fishy smell.

The coastal plain outside Acre had become a bustling battlefield preparation area. The Crusaders' army was like a plague of locusts crawling all over the land, their flags fluttering in the wind, and the light reflected from their swords and armor was like stars in the sky.

Light infantry equipped with bows and crossbows marched ahead of the main force...War horses, weapons, and a variety of emblems and flags formed the bulk of the army.

The infantry marched in the front, and the crossbowmen formed a long snake-like formation, with their shoulders loaded with quivers. Then came the main army, with all kinds of emblems and flags creating a wave-like visual impact.

The most eye-catching thing is the army of knights.

The 4,000-strong heavy cavalry group was like a steel torrent. The German knights were wearing heavy chain mail, the black and white battle flags of the Knights Templar were flying, and the red cross of the Knights Hospitaller was shining in the sun.

This huge group of heavy cavalry has a size of 4,000 people.

When the Crusaders arrived at the foot of Mount Ayyadia, the battle began. The infantry separated to the left and right, leaving a path for the knights to charge. The knights drove their horses, and the dust raised by their hooves covered the sky. In the distance, there was a commotion in the Saracen formation.

"Charge!" Gerald, Grand Master of the Temple, raised his sword high and rushed towards the enemy camp with the army.

The Saracen army's defense line collapsed under the impact of the Crusader Knights, and the enemy fled like a tide. But when the knights rushed into the camp, they found that it was just an empty shell.

The Knights Templar did not pay attention to their own spoils and pursued the retreating soldiers alone.

But there was something wrong with this direction, it was not heading south but north. When Gerald noticed this detail, he found himself alone, separated from the main force of the Crusaders.

Just as the Crusaders were fighting in vain in the camp, enemy reinforcements arrived from the direction of Acre.

Another part of the Saracen army also came from the foot of Mount Toruń. Gerald turned around and saw thick smoke rising from the original Crusaders' camp, supplies and baggage were burned, and the flames illuminated half of the sky red.

Saladin was clearly superior in this battle, not only did he lure the enemy deep into his territory, but he also managed to change his position.

The neighing of horses, the shouting of soldiers, and the chaotic scene made people feel desperate. The Knights Templar were surrounded, and Gerald led his troops to fight hard. His sword was swung like the scythe of the god of death, but every time he repelled the enemy, more enemy troops came.

After realizing the situation, Barbarossa's headquarters finally reorganized its troops and launched support in the direction of Gerald.

But when those infantry units passed the foot of Mount Toruń, they encountered heavy bombardment from Saladin's artillery positions.

The firing from dozens of artillery pieces caused heavy damage to the infantry units of the Crusaders, and their morale plummeted to its lowest point.

Saladin's nomadic light cavalry also took this opportunity to attack the infantry group of the Crusaders. For a time, it seemed that Barbarossa was about to be defeated.

However, at the critical moment, the iron hooves of the German knights sounded.

In comparison, the performance of the nomadic cavalry and Frankish knights under Saladin seemed very reckless.

When you are in doubt, just act rashly.

In this short distance of a few hundred meters, no one or anything can stop their iron hooves.

When Barbarossa's knights launched a charge, the tribal cavalry once again, as they had done countless times before, easily collapsed. They might have dared to fight with the Tukobos, but they could not stop the charge of the heavy knights.

The tribal cavalry could not stop Barbarossa's knights, nor could the gentle slopes of Mount Toruń.

Just like in the battle of Montgisard, Saladin was defeated by the desperate charge of the knights. As a result, nearly a hundred of his artillery pieces were thrown at the foot of Mount Toruń.

In the end, Barbarossa's Crusaders won the battle, although they did not save Gerald, although their own camp was burned down, and although the Crusaders suffered much heavier casualties.

But just those dozens of bronze cannons were enough for Barbarossa to make a fortune.

Most of Saladin's artillery was equivalent to a ten-pounder, so the margin of error was relatively large, but it was still about the same. The average weight of a cannon was about 600 to 700 kilograms. All these cannons together weighed dozens of tons of bronze!

Although copper is not highly valued in the Mediterranean area, it is still a very expensive metal.

Barbarossa was quite happy about this. He had paid a lot of attention to the knowledge and rumors about artillery when he was in Tyre. Barbarossa had also visited the artillery on the walls of Tyre and in the coastal artillery batteries.

Gellis was well aware of the artillery research that had been conducted in the city of Acre.

In order to make the Germans pay attention to the potential artillery threat, Balian even demonstrated to Barbarossa on the spot how to use artillery and what they needed to pay attention to.

It was with that knowledge that Barbarossa gained confidence in how to deal with Saladin's artillery.

Although he successfully defeated Saladin's army, Barbarossa also realized the value of artillery, so he attached great importance to these spoils.

The battle was over. Just like at the Battle of Montgisard, three thousand Mamluks escorted Saladin out of the battlefield and handed over their artillery positions to Barbarossa.

When Barbarossa took off his helmet and looked at the bronze cannons that reflected golden light in the sun, his expression became quite complicated.

This battle with Saladin was not the largest he had ever experienced in terms of the number of people involved, but Saladin left a deep impression on him.

Whether it was voluntarily abandoning his own camp and burning Barbarossa's siege equipment, or the artillery position at the foot of Mount Toruń, if the opposing light cavalry had not assembled to attack his infantry group, giving him an excellent opportunity to charge, he would not have been able to turn the situation around in that life-threatening situation.

Barbarossa, the European emperor, personally touched these cannons built by pagans and felt the residual warmth left after the fierce shooting.

Unlike many of the cannons he had seen in Tyre, Saladin's cannons were all made of expensive copper, and their barrels were not as slender as those in Tyre. When he touched them with his hand, he could feel some bumps on the surface of the copper.

As for the gunpowder they used, it was in the form of black powder and had to be packed with expensive silk by gunners before the battle.

Although Syria is a silk producing area and saltpeter is also produced in the Middle East, the materials needed to fire a shell like this are so expensive that even Barbarossa could not help but sigh.

But the high price of this weapon is obviously worth it. Any protective gear equipped by a person cannot block the shooting of this weapon, which also means that anyone can control this weapon to kill the knight.

Barbarossa summoned some captured Saracen gunners and ordered them to demonstrate how to fire a cannon, promising that if they did so, they would be exempt from any punishment.

Under Barbarossa's command, the gunners trembled as they turned the muzzle of a cannon and aimed at the distant city of Acre. They knew very well that this distance would not pose any threat to the city of Acre, so they had no intention of resisting.

The first step in using a cannon is to clean the previous barrel, then load a silk powder bag into the muzzle and push it into position with the gun barrel.

Considering that the tolerance between the muzzle and the cannonball was a bit large, in order to make the best use of the gunpowder gas, the scholars and craftsmen under Saladin came up with a solution. They rolled the straw rope into a cake, stuffed it into the barrel, and then loaded it with lead ball cannonballs.

Finally, when the gunpowder is ignited, the gunpowder gas pushes the straw rope cake with a relatively high degree of sealing, rather than directly pushing the shell with a large gap between it and the caliber of the barrel.

When the gunpowder flames spurted out from the short muzzle, the shells were also pushed out. The warhorses nearby heard the sound of the cannon and could not help but feel uneasy and irritable.

The second shot followed immediately after. Because of the thick barrel, the sound of the shot was more dull than explosive.

Barbarossa felt that operating the artillery was not a difficult task, so he called over Roger, the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, and asked him to help him.

First, put the silk medicine bag into the hot barrel, then put the straw rope cake as a plug, and finally the cannonball. Everything is so simple...

"At that time, His Majesty Frederick showed a bright smile, and he told us that the times would change because of this." The German knight spoke sadly about that scene in front of Garys and Isabella.

"Then he inserted a burning stick into the small hole, and we heard a deafening explosion. Not only His Majesty, but also Grand Commander Roger was killed."

Even Garys opened his mouth wide when he heard this. He never thought things would turn out like this.

(End of this chapter)