Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 256 War Preparation
In the case of desertion, Pierre did not use corporal punishment or disguised corporal punishment.

But for Roger's company, this attitude of raising high and putting down lightly was almost a humiliation.

They cannot say that they have been punished and therefore have no psychological burden.

When they try to pursue honor, they have a completely different appearance from ordinary troops.

As the saying goes, shame comes before courage.

With Laurent leading the team, even without further training, Roger and his company tried to wash away their shame by passing the devilish midweek assessment.

"Hold on!" Laurent shouted loudly. He was carrying two supply bags on his back.

In fact, he even carried an extra set of weapons.

This was the last day of the Devil's Week and also the last 4-kilometer march. It took them only hours to complete it with all members in armor, and no one fell behind.

However, just as they strode around a small hill, they saw a river suddenly appear.

At this moment when almost everyone was exhausted, swimming across the river became an extremely dangerous option, even though the river was not that deep.

Laurent turned his gaze towards Roger and shouted.

"Roger!"

"To!"

"Take off your equipment, tie up the ropes, and hammer in the nails after you get over there! We need to build a simple bridge right away!"

Laurent immediately realized that not only their company needed to cross the river, but also they needed to prepare for other companies behind them.

As the vanguard, they must not just think about crossing the river themselves, but must consider the issue from a larger perspective.

Although this river may not be deep, the deepest point should not exceed 1.3 meters, so there should be no need to swim across it, and one can just wade through it.

However, if a simple bridge was not built, the entire Antiochus army would be delayed in its march and face the possibility of non-combat casualties.

Since Roger had the best physical fitness, Laurent naturally ordered Roger to nail the first rope.

Just as Roger began to tie the rope and prepare to wade across the water, the sound of a large army marching came from behind. Those troops that had originally lagged behind Laurent's company began to catch up.

Laurent also went over to discuss how to quickly build a simple bridge and allocate work content.

The method they chose was to weave a cable bridge as quickly as possible and reinforce it repeatedly, and it would be best if they could find some boats around.

As for Roger on the other side, after taking off unnecessary equipment, he rushed into the river without any hesitation. When the water reached his waist, he began to fight hard.

When I first entered the water, I felt refreshed. Now it is May and the weather is not cold anymore. All the sweat from before was washed away at this moment.

But after just a few vigorous swims, Roger felt that his body was reaching its limit. This intentional fatigue was not just accumulated from the previous march.

Rather, it is the energy accumulated in the body during the entire Devil’s Week and even the previous extra training.

It was a feeling of both physical and mental exhaustion. Every muscle in his body was telling Roger that he had reached his limit. Roger understood that his body had once again reached the "critical point."

This critical point is not because the body's organs' "inertia" cannot keep up with the motor system, but a warning from the body from the inside out.

The river, which was only twenty meters wide, seemed to have become an insurmountable chasm that Roger could not cross.

His perception of time began to become sharper. Each stroke seemed to last half a minute. His will urged the hormones in his body to burst out, and a force was regenerated in this almost desperate situation.

Swimming in the water became a subconscious reaction to empty his mind, and when Roger touched the riverbed, he realized that he no longer needed to swim.

When he stood up tremblingly, his feet slipped again and he fell into the river again. Fortunately, he still had the strength to get up.

After finishing hammering the first rope with great difficulty, Roger was completely exhausted.

After the first auxiliary rope was laid, several more soldiers crossed the river, nailed more and more ropes, tied wooden boards together, drove wooden stakes into the river, and began to build a simple bridge.

Finally, with the hard work of nearly 300 people from two companies, it took only half an hour to build a simple bridge that could be quickly passed by people, horses, and camels, and it could be reinforced later.

When this matter was reported up the chain of command, even Gailis remained silent.

Judging from the current military quality of these troops, although they cannot be called an iron army, they are already enough to cope with the cold weapon battles of this era.

Its terrain traversability, daily forced march distance, and formation advancement when physically exhausted should make it one of the best infantry corps in the Mediterranean.

……

After the Devil's Week, there was a week-long rest. The entire army got a rare break and had the opportunity to relax.

Everything from muscles to mind is soothed.

This relief is enough for them to remember it for a lifetime, and to say "I miss the old days" when they are old.

During this week, Gailis also brought Isabella and other important figures to visit the troops to comfort them.

Garys didn't make any big fuss, he just brought a lot of braised beef and a lot of candy.

Although Gailis did not hold any official position in the Second Kingdom, his influence on grassroots military officers is unquestionable.

At present, whether it is the Antiochus Army or the direct troops of the Second Kingdom, its company, platoon and battalion officers are all followers who joined the sect during the Arnon Valley period.

I have witnessed with my own eyes the process of the sect growing little by little, from a village to a town, then to the entire Transjordan, and now to the integrated Christian country in the Holy Land.

Of course, in addition to the continuous increase in strength, there are also the "miracles" that Garys has performed and the many lectures that Garys has made.

All these little things have come together to form the trust that everyone has in Garys today.

This makes them willing to follow Garys to realize the "heaven on earth" even if Garys is not by their side.

As Gellis walked in the tent, he would occasionally have cordial conversations with some soldiers, and even participated in card games between soldiers and officers, engaging in the most common pastime.

Gambling was indeed prohibited in Garys's unit, but bets were often placed on some strange things or events, such as who would do the laundry, who would run in laps, who would clean the toilet, etc.

Of course, it is impossible to just play cards during vacation. In addition to pure relaxation, Gellis also organized some sports activities within the army to strengthen the soldiers' sense of honor, teamwork, and obedience to orders.

The most classic one here is football.

Early ball games existed in every civilization.

But it was not until the 19th century that modern football began to emerge.

During the Middle Ages in Europe, football emerged in various forms of street football or village football, usually without clear rules.

The game saw large groups of people moving the ball from one location to another, often in a very chaotic manner, sometimes even causing social unrest.

In the 13th century, some towns in England tried to restrict this "football game" because it was too intense and even affected the order of the city.

It was not until the late 19th century and early 20th century that football was promoted throughout the world.

The army-wide football match, organized by company, was scheduled to start on the fourth day of the holiday. The first three days were mainly to organize some non-sports entertainment activities for everyone.

A total of 32 companies began the elimination round.

Because it is an entertainment match, there are 32 teams and each elimination is decided in one round.

Even Garys played in an exhibition match himself during this process.

Success used the football to leave a dark mark on the goal post.

The simple and pure emotions between men are freely expressed on and off the court.

However, because of his status and the level of power between them, Garris never played in the knockout rounds himself.

He could only sit in the audience and chat with the nobles or parliamentarians who were invited by Isabella to watch the game about things related to football or the military from time to time, in order to get them to know each other better.

When those nobles or parliamentarians heard that the Balian faction already had an army of more than 5,000 people, they could not help but fall silent.

If we only count the troops directly under the royal family, the size of 5,000 people is actually the number of troops at the peak of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Moreover, the morale of the 5,000 soldiers was incredibly high.

A nobleman like Balian who knows military affairs well, watching the soldiers on the field chasing each other for an hour and a half, he could judge that the physical limits of these soldiers were no less than those of the knights who had been training for a long time.

In siege battles, if these soldiers are not riding horses and are fully armed and armored, they will not be much inferior to knights.

"Leper King, have you ever thought that the fall of Jerusalem is the rebirth of your kingdom?" Balian said softly.

"Never."

Next to Balian, the young king wearing an iron mask, who was two years younger than Garys, answered Balian's question.

"And... Balian, you also have to... prepare to join the war. Just... such a small territory... cannot sustain such a large... and powerful army."

The Leper King said something more to Balian, and then his figure disappeared under the scorching sun.

Balian understood what that person meant. He was well aware of the amount of money they invested in their soldiers. It could be said that in order to support such an army of 30 people, the annual military expenditure of the Kingdom of Jerusalem would almost certainly exceed dinars.

It should be noted that even in the early 14th century, England's annual real estate income was only five tons of silver, which was not even one-third of 30 dinars in terms of value.

The false promise that the Fatimid dynasty used to deceive Amory I into withdrawing his troops was only 60 dinars.

In other words, if the Fatimid dynasty really paid the indemnity of 60 dinars, it would only be enough for the current Kingdom of Jerusalem to support its troops for two years.

Balian actually knew something about where Garys's money came from.

It started with the sale of luxury goods, such as soap, perfume, steel weapons, and the like.

Secondly, the tax system was reorganized. The original group of tax farmers were replaced by the Ministry of Taxation and the Ministry of Police. A group of middlemen were eliminated and partial centralization was completed. Although taxes were reduced, the total amount collected by the kingdom did not decrease much.

The next step was to approach the Venetians and the Knights Templar and obtain a large loan by mortgaging the customs of Acre.

Among the three funds mentioned above, the huge profits from luxury goods trade are unsustainable. As the sales volume of goods increases, it is almost inevitable that prices will fall and even the market will be saturated.

As for the loans from the Venetians and the Knights Templar, they were non-renewable in the short term, and they needed to be repaid. Considering the international credibility, even Gérice did not borrow too much.

The current kingdom may be able to build the framework of an army of 5,000 people with these two sums of money, but it cannot be maintained for long.

If one wants to maintain an army of 5,000 people, continue to maintain the current training intensity, and maintain their high morale, then one will inevitably need to expand financial resources through other means.

The simplest method is actually to expand the territory and occupy those rich towns.

Moreover, among this army of 250, there are more than officers who receive salaries and are loyal to Gairis...

Whether following the feudal system and enfeoffing some of them as lords, or appointing them as temporary officials in Antioch, it means that the Kingdom of Jerusalem has the ability to carry out preliminary governance of the newly recovered land.

"So, the time to reclaim our homeland has come, hasn't it?" Balian looked at Garys, who was sitting with Isabella and chatting with others from time to time. He realized that the time for war was ripe.

The dispatch of such an army is inevitable.

Balian's 5,000 standing troops, a total of 2,000 vassal levies, and about 6,000 German Crusaders were assembled.

In addition, when the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar heard that Acre would be besieged again, they also regrouped an army to respond to Balian's call. The total number of cavalry and infantry of the two knightly orders was about one thousand.

The total army numbered 14,000, which was much smaller in scale than previous armies.

Even the total number of cavalry may not exceed two thousand five.

However, Saladin's army around Acre has always maintained a size of nearly 30,000, and the number gap between the two sides is nearly twice that of the previous one.

With this numerical disparity, even the nobles in the House of Lords in the House of Representatives could not help but question the outcome of this battle.

After all, although the troops under Balian's command were indeed well-trained, they were basically composed of infantry and naturally lacked sufficient mobility, making it difficult for them to control the initiative on the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)