Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 302 Damietta and Damascus
The sword in Robert's hand was already full of gaps. If he continued to chop, it would break in a few strokes. But now, there were no soldiers in front of him who were worth his sword.

Three full days had passed since the day a breach was blasted into the city wall. The appearance of the breach was only the prelude to three consecutive days of bloody mincing.

The panic caused by the artillery was nothing compared to the panic of massacre that the Crusaders might face after breaking into the city. The men in the city were brave and fearless, and created a myth with their flesh and blood.

But unfortunately... the heavy infantry is the main force in the meat grinder war, and ordinary civilians who take up arms will only become the dead souls under Robert's sword.

Should I put away my sword? Robert looked at the city streets littered with corpses, and fell into a daze. Then the infantrymen beside him unscrupulously inflicted their brutality on the remaining women and children in Damietta. Property and women were stimulants for the Crusaders.

Three days of bloody fighting had accumulated unspeakable pressure of terror, which urgently needed to be released.

Robert no longer had the leisurely feeling he had when he watched the artillery fire at the city walls. At this moment, he could no longer evaluate the art of war from a condescending attitude of a bystander. He was a participant in the war and the creator of bloodshed...

Throwing aside all unnecessary reserve, Robert joined the soldiers around him in massacring the city as a high-ranking commander of the Crusaders.

In this hell on earth, the only person who can still walk and watch the atrocities of others is Lionheart.

Lionheart brought destruction to Damietta, transforming his soldiers into man-eating beasts, but he himself only found it interesting.

There is no doubt that Lionheart has good intentions. He can forgive the mistakes made by his relatives and can fight for his brothers and sisters.

But his kindness never extends to those who are not close to him, or in other words, in his eyes, only lords and people who are useful to him are human beings.

This attitude is not uncommon among the aristocracy in this day and age.

The difference in lifestyle between the nobility and the lower-class serfs was so great that they could not see each other as equals.

As for those pagans... in the eyes of many European lords or nobles, they were like wild monsters in later games.

Killing wild monsters to get gold coins, how normal is that? Anyway, they had never crossed paths before, they didn't know each other's names before they came, they used swords as tools for communication after they came, and they left corpses all over the ground after they left.

Only those Franks who grew up in the Middle East, such as Balian, would, because of living together with them all the time, establish the recognition that this land is their homeland, and would try to understand the residents here who have different beliefs from their own.

This is where the conflicts and differences between the foreign Crusader nobles and the local aristocratic factions lie.

And Lionheart is just one of the outstanding representatives.

"That's enough, Robert. I need you to reorganize the team now. Also, take a group of people who are not crazy about killing and go to protect the Christian residential area. They can be useful to me."

Lionheart held down Robert, who had just finished venting and entered the sage time, and explained his mission to him.

As for the disheveled woman on the ground, Lionheart had no interest in even taking a look at her. Even the sight of the two flesh worms entangled with each other made him feel sick.

Robert obeyed Lionheart's order, put on his armor, and then looked coldly at the girl who couldn't even cry and was in a trance. Robert squeezed the sword hanging on his waist, then let go and gave up the idea of ​​killing.

At least Robert has regained his rationality, but as for those soldiers who are still addicted to carnal desires and plunder, they are still unscrupulously showing their bestial side and venting violence.

Following closely behind Lionheart, the two of them, together with some attendants, began to gather a team in the chaotic city.

Although many of the soldiers recruited by Lionheart looked regretful and reluctant, Lionheart's prestige was there and no one dared to provoke him. Robert also promised that he would arrange a separate piece of spoils for each of them afterwards.

After receiving this promise, many people looked much better.

Lionheart led a small group of people and headed straight for the Christian settlement in the city. As for the chaos along the way, Lionheart did not interfere.

The massacre of the city was something that Lionheart tacitly approved. He didn't care about the lives of the residents in the city at all. He gathered his troops for more benefits, not to protect the safety of innocent civilians in the city.

Of the three Abrahamic religions, Islam is the youngest. The worship of Yahweh can actually be traced back to thousands of years before Christ, but modern monotheistic Judaism only began to take shape in the sixth century before Christ.

The history of Christianity is tied to the AD chronology, and by the year 12 in the 1189th century AD, it had a history of more than years.

But what about Islam? From the year 610 when Muhammad wrote the Quran to 1189, it was less than years, only half the history of Christianity.

Judaism is only taught to Jews, and polytheism has been losing ground in the face of the spread of Christianity. However, before the rise of Islam, the Mediterranean cultural circle was a paradise for the continuous spread of Christianity.

When the Roman Empire ruled Egypt, Christianity was the only true faith there, and the Patriarch of Alexandria was equal to the Patriarch of Rome.

Of course, things changed when the sword of Islam was pointed at this place. The heavy poll tax forced many Egyptian Christians to convert.

But even so, the power of Christianity is still full of vitality. As late as the 12th century, there were still a large number of Christians in Egypt. In fact, even in the 21st century, about 7% of the population of Egypt still believes in Christianity.

Many of the Franks who were wandering around when Jerusalem was broken came to Alexandria, Egypt, and returned to Europe with the help of Christians there.

Now Lionheart is also trying to seek help from local Christians, so he needs to bring soldiers here specifically to protect the Christians in the city. He does not want the relationship between the two sides to become too strained.

The team led by Lionheart stopped the soldiers who were blood-thirsty and trying to commit violence against people of the same faith. The way he stopped them, apart from giving two simple orders, was to draw his sword decisively, without any regard for the soldiers who had just been fighting for him.

When the first drop of blood flowed, the soldiers present realized that Lionheart was not joking with them.

The violent soldiers dragged the wounded away in anger, and Lionheart showed his goodwill to the local Christians through his actions.

This was the beginning of his plan.

Lionheart looked at the blood trail dragged away by the soldiers, his fingertips stroking the cross relief inlaid on the hilt, and a sneer rolled out of his throat:
"Lambs need to be kept in a pen so that they can produce milk and be sheared." Lionheart whispered to himself.

Lionheart did not simply name his actions the Crusades, but declared that his presence in Egypt was the reconquest of Egypt by the Christian world. All Christians, whether Catholic or not, could be his allies.

He declared that he would assemble a truly Christian coalition, and his target of attack was Alexandria, the last holy place lost by all Christians, to rescue the oppressed Christians there.

There are five patriarchal holy sites in the Christian world: Jerusalem, Rome, Antioch, Constantinople and Alexandria.

These five patriarchal holy sites were the seats of the five patriarchs during the Roman Empire. However, with the decline of the Roman Empire and the rise of pagan forces, Jerusalem, Alexandria and Antioch were successively captured by non-Christian countries.

After the rise of the Crusades, Antioch and Jerusalem were successively recaptured by the Christian world. In such a situation, Alexander seemed to be a little special.

Even though the Coptic Patriarch still has great influence in Alexandria, and Coptic Orthodoxy has considerable influence in Muslim society, to Muslims, they are pagans after all.

Today's Muslim society is no longer as enlightened as it was at the beginning, but it is still better than the worst. However, if they encounter a slightly fanatical ruler, life for Christians will not be easy.

In such a situation, Lionheart's announcement that he would recapture Alexandria and rescue the Christians there was actually... not very useful.

At least Lionheart could not convince those Coptic Orthodox Christians to join his army. At most, Lionheart found a group of "friends" who could manage the land for him and assist him in plundering the land.

In the Coptic Orthodox quarter of Damietta, Lionheart told a Coptic Orthodox priest in front of him what his troops had done.

"They will kill all the male Saracens in this city who are taller than the horse's back. Unless a Christian guarantees that a Saracen is a good man and worth redeeming, I will spare his life."

One thing that needs to be clarified is that Lionheart is not a bloodthirsty person, he just lacks the feeling and respect for human life.

For him, killing is not something worth pursuing, but killing is not something to be feared. For him, what is the difference between killing a person and killing a chicken? This is something that others do not know.

But one thing is certain, that is, in history, King Richard the Lionheart captured 2,600 Muslim defenders after he conquered Acre. He used this to extort ransom from Saladin, but not long after, he slaughtered all the captives on the grounds that Saladin did not pay, and he had no interest in selling them as slaves.

For Father Carlisle, at this moment he could feel the indifference in Lionheart's eyes.

The king before him was full of energy and passion in the eyes of soldiers and nobles. He was a monarch worth following because he could bring victory and abundant spoils.

But for someone like Father Carlisle, he only felt a fatal threat - he was at the mercy of others. Father Carlisle could clearly understand that there was a gap between him and Lionheart. They might both believe in the Almighty Lord, but the gap between them was like heaven and earth.

"I purified this city and brought it back to true faith, but some Christians don't understand my approach and think I'm just slaughtering people indiscriminately. I think there must be some misunderstanding, so I specifically asked you to come here. I hope you can explain to the local Christians why I came to Egypt."

"I can promise all the Christians in Egypt that wherever my army goes, that is, the day when all the oppressed Christians are liberated, my army will not harm any Christians, and as long as they pay a high enough price, I don't mind appointing them as city lords or something like that."

In the end, Lionheart made his intention clear. He planned to do his old business in Egypt again - selling official positions and titles.

"Father Carlisle, I know your influence in this area. I promise you that if you can find me a Christian who is willing to take over Damietta, I can give you a church as a kickback."

Lionheart is a generous king. Father Carlisle finally understood the meaning of this sentence at this moment. He is indeed generous enough. He just asked for a kickback of a church.

No wonder so many people are willing to follow him, Lionheart's view on money is completely different from that of ordinary people.

For ordinary people, money is accumulated bit by bit, while for lords, money is plundered from the people. In short, no matter how it comes, money is hard to come by, and only by being stingy enough to spend it can you accumulate enough wealth to pass on to your family.

But what about Lionheart? Other people's money is his money, and his money can actually be other people's money. As long as those people can bring enough benefits, Lionheart will spend money without any hesitation.

Carlisle had to admit that he was tempted, even though he knew that the church would be stained with the blood of countless Muslims. But when such huge benefits were thrown in front of him, how could he refuse?
For a moment, the image of Lionheart became vivid and infectious in Carlisle's eyes.

Lionheart didn't care who would rule Egypt in the end. This was not his territory. Many people said that Egypt was the foundation of the kings and hegemons, which was true, but for Lionheart, so what? What really mattered was his family's territory.

Lionheart did not intend to spend much effort to rule the land of Egypt. What he needed was to accumulate enough fame for himself and accumulate enough wealth for returning to his kingdom later.

War is only a means for Lionheart, and destroying Damietta is just the beginning. When the plan has been made, it is enough to move forward along the established path.

……

Coincidentally, when the English and French Crusaders captured Damietta, the German Crusaders, with the help of the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, were about to capture Damascus.

The time was a little later, and the citizens of Damascus were much less willing to resist the German Crusaders and the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem than the citizens of Damietta.

One of the reasons was that the Kingdom of Jerusalem carried out various propaganda in advance, so that the people of Damascus had a better understanding of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

After the establishment of the New Kingdom, Gelis never defined his military actions as a crusade.

He preferred to call this series of military operations the recovery of the lost territory of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The underlying implication was that the Kingdom of Jerusalem was fighting for territory, not because of religious hostility.

This difference in attitude has also led to quite a number of Muslims choosing to join the army because of the high treatment it offers.

And Garys's strict military discipline is the best of this era, so he will naturally not let those aspiring young people go astray.

With a large number of Muslims becoming members of the army, this has invisibly given many Muslims a sense of trust in the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Of course, the power of this sense of trust is actually not that great, it can even be described as insignificant.

But as long as it exists, it is a possibility, a hope in despair, and a life-saving straw when falling into the river. After the First Crusade, the Crusaders who massacred the city several times still received the surrender of Acre, not to mention the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which is now filled with a large number of Muslims?

Before conquering Jerusalem, Gairis issued a statement that he would protect the Islamic holy site, the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In addition, the enforcement of military discipline after the conquest of Jerusalem also gave other Muslims a sense of security.

That is: there is no need to fight to the death. If the city is defended, it will be good. If the city is not defended, there will not be too much loss.

Once people have a way out, they will not bet their entire fortune like a gambler who has lost all his money.

As for the other reason, it is that the Ayyubid dynasty is now in turmoil due to Saladin's defeat.

As Saladin himself had anticipated, the capture of Jerusalem certainly put him on a high pedestal.

But losing Jerusalem would also cause him to fall from his high platform. The Muslim world, which has tasted the taste of victory, would find it difficult to tolerate this transition from victory to failure.

There is a peculiar phenomenon in the Muslim world, that is, in the entire Muslim world with a history of thousands of years, stretching from West Africa to Southeast Asia, the number of dynasties that can extend their dynasties for more than three generations is roughly less than two or three hands.

As for if they stay in the Middle East... death in the second generation is the norm. Those who can reach three generations are considered rare, and those who exceed three generations can be counted on just a few fingers.

The instability of power transfer is a common problem among Muslim dynasties in the Middle East.

Garys has also thought a lot about the reasons.

For example, the vast desert in the central area of ​​the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East cuts off the ability of a huge empire to communicate quickly. If the Caliphate tried to transfer troops from the Red Sea coast to support the Mesopotamian region, it would be too late by the time the army arrived.

For example, the division of power caused by sectarian conflicts can easily tear a dynasty into pieces.

Or, it could simply be because there are structural problems in the construction of the political system in the Muslim world of the Middle East, which is directly an institutional problem.

In short, in the Middle East, the political cycles of various Muslim dynasties were surprisingly short, full of life and vitality, and a perfect embodiment of the so-called "kings, princes, generals and ministers are of the same species"

After all, even if one was born a slave, he could still stand out among the Mamluks, and Saladin himself was actually just born into a Kurdish family, which was not presentable in the eyes of serious Arabs.

This situation has led to the current chaos within the Ayyubid dynasty.

When Saladin fled to Damascus with his personal guards, he was almost captured on the spot and thrown into jail by local forces.

In this situation where the country was busy with internal strife and ignored external enemies, even Saladin could only continue to retreat northward and did not dare to place himself in the mighty city of Damascus.

Fighting a war? What kind of war? At most, it was a messy one. There were large armies and masters outside, and internal personnel struggles continued. When facing the Crusaders, the huge city of Damascus could not even send out envoys to negotiate peace, but only blindly strengthened the city defenses.

Then, under the bombardment of artillery, cracks appeared in the sturdy city walls little by little, until a gap was blasted out.

Even though there were artillery counterattacks from the city walls during this period, due to the difference in quality of the artillery on both sides, it was better than nothing.

However, after the military reform and the early payment of the German Crusaders, their combat effectiveness has been significantly improved.

When they were breaching the city wall, they did not rush into the gap, but instead pushed their light artillery forward to the bottom of the wall.

With a few gunshots, the cannons filled with grapeshot or shotgun shells fired a series of metal bullets, sweeping away the defenders who had been waiting in the gap for a long time.

It avoided the painful mincing that Lionheart encountered when he conquered the walls of Damietta.

For the defenders of Damascus, this was a fierce blow they had never imagined. Although dense infantry arrays were the backbone of the battlefield in the late Middle Ages and even the Renaissance, they were nothing but meat targets when facing shotgun attacks.

The chaotic battlefield fell into silence at this moment. Both the enemy and us were confused. No matter how heavy the armor was, it seemed to lose its meaning when facing the baptism of shotgun shells at close range.

However, many officers in Eden's troops had an idea of ​​what was happening and did not remain stunned for too long. Instead, they looked at the tragic situation of the defenders in the city and hurriedly issued the order to charge.

With just this one attack, the German Crusaders rushed into the city and firmly controlled a section of the city wall.

After completing the tasks at this stage, they did not rush to expand their achievements.

For a mighty city like Damascus, fighting on the city walls is only one part of the battle.

Breaking through the city wall does not mean the end of the battle. Once the battle enters the street fighting stage and once it falls into the vast ocean of people's war, the German Crusaders with only tens of thousands of people may be able to achieve victory. However, the price paid and the blood feud created in the process cannot be described in a few words.

(End of this chapter)