Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 297 Gothel Goes to the Meeting Alone
What a simple thing.

Looking at Gothel and Adelinde leaving, Isabella curled her lips. Gothel was really confused in this matter, or he was too concerned and couldn't sort out his thoughts.

"To deal with human traffickers and slave-hunting teams, it is enough to find them, capture them and kill them while ensuring the safety of the hostages..."

Because of her personal experience, Isabella's attitude towards human traffickers and slave-hunting teams is very clear and decisive.

However, there is neither the power nor the time in Tyre City to conduct a secret investigation into the case, and if we try to look for clues in a high-profile manner, we will alert the enemy.

Gothel didn't take this into consideration, but Isabella realized the hidden danger because of her own experience. If Gellis hadn't appeared at that time, would she have been able to survive safely?

Thinking of this, Isabella shook her head.

As for Denise, it is even more obvious why Gothel was so concerned.

From Isabella's observation, judging from the facial expressions and subtle subconscious actions between Gothel and the waitress, how could it be possible that these two were not having an affair?
It was because Isabella noticed the unusual relationship between the two that she asked Gossell to spread the word that Denise was his sister-in-law.

As for whether there is any misunderstanding here, does it have anything to do with Isabella?

Anyway, this was the first time Isabella met Adelinde today, and it was also the first time she heard of the existence of Denise.

In order to save an innocent child or even a group of innocent children, is there anything wrong with letting Gothel play a role?

In a city with a permanent population of 30,000, what kind of impact would it cause if someone went missing?

If it were in the 21st century, if a child went missing in a small county of people, it would be okay to make the news known to everyone.

But in the Middle Ages, a city of 30,000 people was already quite large. Nowadays, there are only a handful of cities in the Kingdom of Jerusalem with a population of 30,000, and this is the result of wars causing the rural population to concentrate in cities.

In such an era, an era with clear class divisions, an era where the average life expectancy is less than 40 years.

If someone from the lower class goes missing, apart from his relatives, friends and neighbours, how many people would pay attention to him?

At least there are policemen in Tyre who will go and look for the suspect if they receive a report, and at least there is a Gothel who will call on everyone. But if it were in other cities, it would be like crying out to the heavens and the earth for help but no one would respond.

Everyone in the city is busy with their own lives. How many people can care about the life and death of people who have nothing to do with them?

But in this era, even cheap Internet does not exist. Once a person is gone, he is gone... It is difficult to even find a little sympathy from others.

It is for this reason that the group of human traffickers has been able to run rampant throughout human history, leaving behind one blood debt after another.

[They had their hair cut in half, and rode into the Slavic settlements, their beards fluttering in the cold wind. They snatched the young children from their mothers' arms, and the newlywed wives from their husbands, and then drove the captives to the seaside with knives to load them onto the ship.]

——The Slave Trader

……

"Speaking of which, the people of Tyre have become more energetic in the past two years. "

Gilles was talking about the complexion of the people of Tyre, and then he couldn't help but yawn. His face looked a little gloomy because he didn't sleep all night last night.

From the time Gossel visited him, he mobilized some police officers who were not on duty the next day to start investigating.

It was called an investigation, but in reality it was just knocking on the doors of every household in that neighborhood and asking them if they had seen Denise.

The results of doing so are naturally better than nothing, and quite a number of residents even asked who Denise was and why such a big fuss was made.

It is said that the reputation of the police department has been good in the past two years. They will open the door for you during a meeting late at night. But it is very difficult to make the public understand why so much trouble is made over an ordinary little girl who is missing.

Gilles had the same idea as Isabella and told the police directly that Gossel's sister-in-law was missing.

As long as you leave that street, everyone knows who Denise is, and few people know who Adelinde is. But when Gothel is mentioned, everyone understands.

In Tyre, matters related to Gothel were often taken seriously. Some people even took the initiative to join the search team because they owed Gothel a favor.

However, from the beginning to the end, Gilles never revealed the information about the possible existence of human traffickers to his men or the public to avoid alerting the enemy, or in other words, such information should not be revealed by him.

"Gossel, you said that we in Tyre were targeted by specialized human traffickers. Is it because the children's complexion has improved a lot?" Gilles joked with Gossel as they leaned on a bench on the street.

For safety reasons, Adelinde was left in the palace to rest, while Gothel came here to meet Gilles to discuss the next course of action.

"The living standards in Tyre have improved now. Even children from common families can often eat fish and meat, and the poor can also have an extra meal during festivals. This is much better than the outside world."

To be honest, in Tyre, because of the economic stimulus dividends, overall, everyone's food on the table has gotten better over the past year. The kids are looking good and are even a little plump. If you put them outside, they can't even compare to the children of ordinary landlords.

But Gossel didn't come here to chat with Gilles, but to understand the progress of Gilles's side.

"So have you found any relevant clues here?"

"No."

Gilles gave a straightforward answer.

"I have searched this block and several nearby blocks, and they all say that if she is alive, I want to find her body. A little girl would not go so far away from home for no reason. She must have been kidnapped. And I also heard about the missing persons incident during this process. If you need me, I can start a related investigation."

Gosel shook his head and said, "Don't open a case for now, or don't rush to investigate. Her Majesty Isabella gave me a suggestion. I think we can try it first, and don't make it a mess."

"Row."

……

Everyone had to give face to Gossel, especially when Gossel personally visited every household door to door. Those guys who could be said to be the bosses in their respective neighborhoods then understood what had happened.

This matter is not a big deal, but it is not a small matter either, but it does involve Gossel, so we cannot help but take it seriously.

In just one day, the citizens had more interesting topics to talk about.

"Who is Adelinde? Why did Mr. Gothel fall in love with her?"

"I know an Adelinde here, is it her?"

"No."

A name that was not unusual became the subject of discussion among the relatives and friends, and along with it, the news that spread throughout the city was that Gossel was willing to pay 30 Jerusalem gold coins in exchange for Denise's safety, or for clues or traces of the human trafficking group.

Although the circulation of Jerusalem gold coins is not large, it is actually more valuable than the dinar gold coins because its pattern is clearer and the gold content is more uniform.

In those days, the ransom of an ordinary knight was almost the price of a horse and his armor, and the price of a civilian slave was only a few or a dozen gold coins. The price of 30 Jerusalem gold coins was too high for a little girl.

But if her identity is related to Gothel, everyone thinks this is normal, and even imagines how much Gothel would pamper her sister.

Of course, those who truly understand Gothel know that this is nonsense. Given Gothel's daily spending habits and daily income, where would he get 30 gold coins as a reward or ransom?

As for the rumors and anecdotes between Mr. Gossel and the waitress, many people wrote them down as black history, intending to let Gossel ponder them after the matter was over.

It’s just that those who are somewhat distant from Gossel, or those who don’t know Gossel, believe in those rumors.

The old town of Tyre is a peninsula of less than 800,000 square meters that protrudes from the land into the ocean. On this peninsula, there are multiple levels of neighborhoods, including the Venetian district, the civilian district, the slums, the aristocratic district, the dock district... and the newly built government district.

With the construction of new urban areas outside the city and the expropriation and reconstruction of the old urban areas within the city, the permanent population of the old urban areas is actually in a state of slow decline, but the overall population has not changed much. Those outsiders who are pursuing honor and wealth have filled the vacancies left by those who have moved out.

Areas with an increase in foreign population are always prone to a mixed crowd and high crime rates. Especially these days there is not even a passport system, so who knows where the residents here come from.

The last round of census only involved a survey of population size, which was not sufficient as a basis for governance. According to the Paladins, when the Kingdom of Jerusalem was completely unified, they could try to establish a household registration system in towns first and then promote it to rural areas.

Before that, many problems could only be dealt with. As a result, a human trafficker gang sneaked in.

This is a basement. Candlelight illuminates this small space. Denise couldn't be sure how long she had been here, but she thought it should be almost a day.

In the past few days, she had only eaten two pieces of rye bread and three glasses of water. The lack of food made her weak and slightly confused. Except for eating, her hands and feet were tied and she could not move. She was not the only one imprisoned in this basement. In addition to Denise, there were two boys and a little girl. They seemed to have been here for several days, and they were even weak in breathing.

What made Denise even more incomprehensible was that they seemed full of despair.

A beam of light suddenly shone into the dim basement. Someone was holding an oil lamp. His eyes swept over the few people in the basement, and then stopped on Denise and another little girl beside her.

"Who is Denise?" the man shouted.

When Denise heard someone calling her name, she didn't say anything. She didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Who is Denise!" the man shouted again.

However, there was still no movement. The man came to Denise with a lamp and looked at her for a long time in the light.

"You are Denise, right?"

The girl didn't answer, but the man didn't dare to use force. Although he didn't know what was going on, this girl was the only one who entered the basement the day before yesterday. Looking at the girl's complexion and appearance, she was not comparable to the children of ordinary families.

When Landolfo thought that his team might get into trouble because of the girl in front of him, he felt that he had encountered an unexpected disaster.

Slave traders are also divided into different levels. High-end slave traders are people like Saladin. In the Battle of Jordan River, tens of thousands of Frankish soldiers were captured. The slave market price in Damascus instantly plummeted to a low point, and it was difficult to sell them even at a discount. At the cheapest time, you could buy a new slave with a pair of straw sandals.

The lower-level ones are like the team that attacked Isabella. They consist of dozens of people and make a living by capturing slaves. They appear at will in any corner of the Islamic world or the non-Islamic world.

The lower class ones are like Landolfo. They don't use force to seize slaves, but usually buy them or kidnap them...

Although acquisition requires a lot of capital, it is relatively safe and will not cause any accidents. As for trafficking, the targets are usually young children. After all, it is relatively easy to bully little kids.

Landolfo belongs to the last category. For the gang he belongs to, risk control is the best option. They would never kidnap children from noble families.

Well... I would never kidnap a child from a noble family... Whoever kidnaps a child will go to hell!
The result... Damn, she is not a noble, but she is more troublesome than a noble. But Landolfo swore to God that the girl in front of him was definitely not kidnapped by them.

The reason why he had been in Tyre for such a long time, for two weeks, without being noticed by any official person; the reason why there were only rumors of his disappearance everywhere, but no one reported the case to conduct an actual investigation.

The problem is that Landolfo and his gang never engaged in robbery or robbery, but only "did business".

They bought children from the poor in various cities and tried to sell them to Damascus. From Damascus, they brought the slaves they wanted according to the needs of their old customers.

Although they didn't make much money from it, they had connections with the higher-ups, so they had always been relatively safe. Even if they did occasionally commit robbery, they would only focus on the rural areas outside the city and would not seek trouble in the city.

In order to maintain order in the city, medieval cities, as places where people gathered, often made harsh laws. Because of the low efficiency of law enforcement, they often used a lot of corporal punishment: hanging, beheading, castration, dismemberment. They strictly applied the law of equal retaliation: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Although the Kingdom of Jerusalem no longer enforces those ancient city laws, its efficient law enforcement has instead deterred more people. Moreover, the sentences of several years or even more than ten years in the Kingdom of Jerusalem are not considered light in an era when the average life expectancy is less than 40 years.

If they do a quick calculation on the risk-return issue here, Landolfo and his people will not try to confront the government head-on.

Landolfo pried open Denise's mouth, stuffed a piece of cloth into it, then picked up the girl with a gloomy look on his face and took her out of the basement.

When the two of them saw the sunlight again, Landolfo's three accomplices had been waiting for a long time in this remote yard, and it was actually already evening.

"This is the girl we picked up the day before yesterday." Landolfo put Denise, who was whimpering and making no noise, on the ground.

Then Landolfo's accomplices nodded involuntarily. Denise's flaxen hair and relatively well-developed body made her unique among the children they acquired this time, so no one could fail to recognize her.

"But the problem is, when I took her in, her mother said the girl's name was Leila!"

The money has been spent and the face has been given. Two days are enough to turn this small town upside down.

After determining the possible location, the police from Tyre, together with some brothers called by Gossel, surrounded the abandoned city area that was originally the Egyptian port.

The city of Tyre actually once had two ports, the northern one was called the Port of Sidon, and the southern one was called the Port of Egypt.

The area of ​​Tyre used to be much larger than it is today, but due to an earthquake in 501 AD, a large area of ​​the southern Egyptian port was submerged in the sea, and the remnants of the Egyptian port were also abandoned. However, people still often tried to live in that area, and it would prosper from time to time and then decline from time to time.

It is actually normal that such a neighborhood would become a place where filth and dirt are hidden.

However, although he has identified the place where the human traffickers may be, Gossel has no intention of attacking it by force. The human traffickers may have more than one hiding place, and they may take the children as hostages.

According to the information currently known, although human trafficking is a serious crime, based on the information at hand, those human traffickers are not actually to the point where they are doomed to die. According to the principle of presumption of innocence, Gossel even wants to talk to them.

Of course, what Gossel knew very well was that in the process of human trafficking these days, it was impossible for those traffickers not to have blood on their hands, it was just that they had not been found yet.

"I don't agree, it's too dangerous."

When Gossel expressed his wish to go over and talk, Gilles directly objected, saying that Gossel was taking an unnecessary risk.

"What kind of danger could there be? They are just a group of human traffickers who only target children. And they have the hostages in their hands. It would be best if they could avoid violence. For the sake of those children, I don't mind taking a little risk."

Gossel's attitude was clear, and Gilles knew he couldn't dissuade him.

"Be more careful, don't try to be a hero, and save yourself first when you encounter problems." Gilles reminded Gossel again before he walked towards the yard.

……

Landolfo looked at Denise suspiciously, then tried to call out, "Lila?"

Denise, whose mouth was covered, naturally shook her head.

Just as Landolfo was trying to find out what was going on, there was a knock on the door in his own yard.

Landolfo's right eyelid twitched, and he subconsciously felt that something was not right. He signaled his accomplices with his eyes to let them bring Denise into the house. Then he touched the dagger at his waist behind him, and after making sure that he could pull it out easily, he walked towards the door.

"Who?"

"I, Gothel."

Landolfo, who had been planning to ask some questions and wondering what was going on, wanted to find a small way to slip away immediately after hearing the self-introduction. He had not expected to be visited by the real owner in less than two days.

"We can talk. I know you are in business. There is no need to be so tense. After all, we are not enemies. This should just be an accident."

Gossel, who was outside the door, spoke quite politely, but his words tried to directly characterize the matter. This was also Gossel's way of declaring that he was in control and implying that the status between the two parties was not equal.

Landolfo wanted to refuse, but in the end he opened the door. He knew very well that when Gothel found him, their group would have no chance of leaving Tyre quietly.

After all, Landolfo was a man of insight. He didn't have any idiotic ideas like fighting his way out. Since Gothel gave him face, he had to take it.

Instead of hiding, it is better to see if we can get through this matter safely.

In his understanding, people like Gossel are actually the decision-makers of the lower classes in the city. They are more troublesome than the city gangs, and they are deeply involved with official figures.

When the door was opened, Gothel, dressed in armor, stood outside with a long sword in his hand.

"I'm here to find Denise. She's here." Gossel wasn't actually sure whether Denise was really in this yard, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to trick the other party with some words. As soon as he finished speaking, he ignored Landolfo and walked directly into the yard. He found a stone bench and sat down.

"This is all a misunderstanding, sir. I swear here that when we bought her, we didn't even know her name was Denise."

"Oh? You didn't know her name was Denise, and you could go buy her?" Gossel directly retorted the other party.

But Landolfo was not sure how to respond.

Gossel was too lazy to waste time talking to the other party and directly stated his conditions.

"Release all the children. I swear on my honor to the Prophet that I will never harm you and will take you away from Tyre."

(End of this chapter)