Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 309 Various small talk with Arsalan
For Gellis, simply achieving military victory was no longer an urgent need.

Given the current state of integration of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, winning is not difficult.

Even if Gairis had not appeared, it would only be a matter of time before the Egyptian kingdom, which was plagued by internal conflicts, fell.

Crusader Egypt did not establish a clear centralized government. Local lords divided and ruled the country, and the ethnic conflicts under their jurisdiction were even more serious than those in the original Kingdom of Jerusalem.

There was no more formidable enemy than Saladin.

Gellis's focus is on his own religious mission and his desire to establish a harmonious and mutually supportive regional and international order based on the mission.

The complex ethnic situation and unique geographical conditions in the Near East, including the Middle East, have often resulted in fragmented political regimes there.

In this land, territorial expansion based on the state usually quickly enters a state of rapidly declining marginal benefits.

Once the energy consumed in dealing with internal problems exceeds the benefits that can be obtained from territorial expansion, then for a country, it is actually just bloated.

Restricted by internal conflicts and complex natural environment.

In the Middle East, a country that cannot effectively mobilize its human resources will find it difficult to be efficient when dealing with external issues, no matter how large its population or how abundant its resources.

Saladin actually encountered this problem. He ruled a large country with a population of tens of millions and surrounded the Crusader States on three sides. However, the main force that he could mobilize quickly rarely exceeded 30,000 people.

You have to know that during the Chu-Han contention, the total population of both sides should not have exceeded 20 million, but the total number of troops deployed on the battlefield was at least in the hundreds of thousands.

Comparing the two, this is enough to show the special situation in the Middle East.

It is normal that with such mobilization capabilities, it is difficult to effectively resist the nomadic peoples migrating westwards.

Not to mention that if there had been no drastic changes in the historical line, it is possible that an unprecedented monster would be born on the Mongolian Plateau.

Gellis has begun trying to obtain information about the Far East through the Arab trade network, but it may take another year or two, or even longer, to get accurate information in return.

If the possible Mongol invasion of the West is used as the imaginary enemy, then Garys needs to find a way to truly mobilize resources in the Middle East quickly.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was just one step in the plan. All the kingdom had to do was to launch a war of liberation against Egypt with Jerusalem as the center. This was the consensus reached by the top leaders of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The Egyptian region has a concentrated population, clear beliefs, and is relatively single. It is not far from the Kingdom of Jerusalem and has the possibility of coordination.

The Anatolian region, or more precisely the area north of Antioch, is a quagmire that should be avoided as much as possible, with the goal of supporting new friendly countries as buffer states.

If the plan is completed, it will be roughly equivalent to the territory of the Mamluks in the 15th century.

To complete this plan, at the kingdom level, it is necessary to invest national strength in competition with the Crusader Egypt, border frictions, and the spread of faith...

As for the Anatolia region, Gairis will need to come here in person.

The Fourth Crusade provided an opportunity for Gellis.

An opportunity to raise the Roman flag, rebuild identity and establish a new country centered on Rome.

When the Eastern Empire still existed, doing so would naturally be ineffective, but once the Eastern Empire perished, it would become much more convenient.

After all, Gellis is the Duce of Cyprus. As a former Roman province, it seems normal for him to participate in the upcoming Roman battle royale in Anatolia.

However, before specifically deploying manpower to the north, Garys, as always, chose to go it alone.

Before truly building a society, Gellis needs to understand this broken land and measure the road with his own footsteps.

Only in this way can we get close to the masses, understand what they need while living with them, give them direction, and enable them to change their previously unchangeable predicaments.

This will also lay the foundation for the success of the project and prepare the preliminary work for the subsequent support of personnel.

……

The blood-red sunset splashed on the jagged mountain ridges, and the wind-eroded rock pillars pierced the iron-gray clouds like broken spears.

The land and sky of Anatolia, like the political situation there, always have a smell of iron.

The camel caravan walked across the dry riverbed, with the occasional sound of horses neighing.

Yusuf's caravan grew in size, and Arsalan, faced with the might of Gairis's fists, chose to join if he couldn't defeat him.

Although he has not yet acknowledged Gellis's status as a religious prophet.

But he acknowledged the strong, and Garys was undoubtedly a strong man.

In this era, when nationalism has not yet been born and has not become a consensus, serving the strong people of other races is actually justified.

Even when the Sultanate of Rum was established, Alexios took the initiative to support this sultanate established on Roman land, thus using it as a buffer state between the Seljuk Empire and the Seljuk Empire to oppose the westward advance of the Seljuks.

If Rome can cooperate with Roma, then what about a group of Turks serving Geiris?

It just so happened that Gellis, who had just arrived, needed a guide. After asking Arslan a few questions, he kept him by his side.

One of the questions was: "Do you think pillaging is a noble warrior act?"

Faced with this question, the young man Arsalan did not answer immediately, but hesitated for a long time.

Obviously, Arslan had some ideas about Garys's problem, but he couldn't quite convince himself of that idea.

In this era, many nations naturally regard looting as an important means of survival.

Warriors in early Turkic society took pride in plundering, believing it was a way to prove their bravery, accumulate wealth and win glory.

To be a successful warrior one must not only be brave and fearless on the battlefield, but also be able to bring back spoils. This is their definition of a successful person.

At last, Arslan gave his answer:

"If I were a sultan, I would definitely criticize the looting of my territory, but I am not a sultan yet, and there is no sultan among my people. No matter what, we have to survive."

Garys was a little surprised that Arslan would give this answer. Perhaps this was the reason why heroes have always emerged from youth. After all, young people can always think about the world more freely.

The raiding would lead to a depopulation of the rural population, affecting agricultural tax revenues and food supplies.

Too many looting caravans will reduce merchants' willingness to enter the area, affecting economic development.

These problems are actually obvious.

But many people will deliberately ignore or even deny it, in order to whitewash and brag about the glory of plunder.

Because for a nomadic lifestyle, it is difficult to obtain supplies, livestock and slaves without looting.

Indeed, compared to farming, the herders' property appreciates quite quickly, and it can even be said that it can double every year.

But just one disaster and the herders’ livestock will disappear, and they will have to start all over again.

Nomads are more vulnerable to diseases and disasters than settled farmers. In this case, looting is taken for granted by too many nomads, and even regarded as a behavior that should be praised.

The fact that Arsalan was not quick to make any hasty affirmations showed that he was more ambitious than his fellow tribesmen.

In his understanding, looting was part of a hard life, not something to brag about.

The other few questions were insignificant, but they were enough for Garys to accept.

For example: "If you can survive by farming, will you do it?"

Arslan’s answer was: “Not even a bit.”

"why?"

"Farming is too tiring, and by then, it will be my turn to be robbed."

……

Drought, thirst, and the scorching sun bleached the canyon walls.

As a local, Arslan walked in front of the team, leading the way for Gairis.

The place they were going to next was where the Arsalan tribe was. That was where Arsalan and his people came from.
For Yusuf, this is actually nothing. If he can use Arsalan's relationship to do a business, that would be great.

The camel bells startled vultures and crows from time to time. As Garys and his group walked on the saline-alkali land, most of what they saw along the way was extremely desolate.

On the way, Garys also had a brief chat with Arsalan and the others.

For example, asking the other person where they were going last time.

After all, this group of Turks did not intend to plunder, and the reason they appeared in front of Yusuf's caravan was more of a coincidence.

"It was His Majesty Suleiman. He recruited our tribe, saying that he wanted to fight the Armenians, or the Georgians..."

This Suleiman is naturally not the Ottoman Suleiman of later generations, but the son of Kilij Arslan, another powerful sultan who unified the Rum Sultanate.

But the period of his reign happened to overlap with the golden age of the Kingdom of Georgia. Under the rule of Queen Tamara, Georgia won victory after victory over the surrounding small Muslim countries and supported the Armenians to seize territory.

“His Majesty Suleiman wants to curb the greed of Georgians, so he is mobilizing the entire country.”

When he heard this, Yusuf looked quite uncomfortable, and he subconsciously looked at Garys.

You know, he didn't know this news before, so how did he end up in such a quagmire?
During this chaotic time, merchants doing business are most likely to be attacked by the rebels.

"His Majesty also said that if Queen Tamara is willing to convert to Islam, he can marry her, otherwise he can make her his concubine."

When he said this, Arsalan let out a small smile that any man could understand.

It can be heard that it won't be long before another war breaks out in Anatolia.

And that war will determine who is the real overlord of this land.

Is it Roma or Georgia?

……

When Arsalan brought the caravan back to the vicinity of his tribe, it was already the third day after the two sides met.

Gellis stood on the ridge, with the moist morning mist behind him. He looked in the direction of Arsalan's finger, where the grassland and the hills met not far away.

Some scattered and fragmented settlements are scattered there.

Some are simple wool felt tents, and some are temporary houses made of adobe and wood.

In general, the number is not large, perhaps less than a hundred households.

The word Anatolia comes from ancient Greek and means the east or the land of the rising sun, while Asia Minor can be simply understood as Asia Minor.

The two overlap considerably on a geographical level.

The Eastern Anatolia region where Gelis is now located corresponds to the eastern border of Türkiye in later generations.

Due to the movement of continental plates, the terrain in this area is extremely diverse, with mountains, plateaus, river valleys, and alternating forests and grasslands.

Historically, it has been used as both an agricultural area and a place where people rely on grazing for a living.

Therefore, after a large number of Islamized Turkic tribes migrated westward, they still retained their nomadic traditions for a considerable period of time.

Of course, it can also be said that with the establishment of the Rum Sultanate, many tribes began to gradually move towards settlement.

The tribe to which Arsalan belongs is in such a transition.

"We no longer migrate long distances, but instead each household has designated pastures for the summer and winter seasons, and drives the herds around."

"In spring and autumn, there are a lot of people here. One reason is that it is convenient to sell livestock, and the other is that it is convenient to come here to sow and harvest."

"Many places around here have been developed into farmland by our tribe." Arsalan's tone was a little complicated, and he could not express either joy or dissatisfaction.

Garys was a little surprised when he heard this.

"If you all are herding, how are you going to take care of the fields here?"

Arsalan responded: "Some people can't stand the hardship of herding and would rather endure the hardship of farming, so they have been taking care of the fields here. Except for spring and autumn, it doesn't actually take much manpower."

"Does all the food grown in these fields belong to the tribe?"

"Ah."

Amidst such casual conversation, the caravan began to approach the settlement and passed by the fields that Arsalan had mentioned.

Then Gailis realized that the fields that Arsalan mentioned were actually no different in the Celestial Empire than in the wild.

Although it cannot be called slash-and-burn farming, it is really just about scattering some seeds randomly, and whatever can be grown in the fall is a gift from God.

Such a simple and primitive farming model naturally does not require much manpower most of the time.

Such a production model will inevitably make it impossible to privatize land.

Compared with the more developed agriculture in the Palestinian region, the stage at which Arsalan and his tribe were at was too primitive.

But no matter how primitive they are, as the land can produce food stably, their tribe will become more transformed.

In the process, tribes gradually became more dependent on agricultural production, began to cultivate crops regularly, store food, and establish more stable social structures.

(End of this chapter)