kingdom of nations

Chapter 69: To Egypt! (1) (Thanks for the collection!)
The sea breeze blew, lifting a corner of the silk carpet hanging on the window, and the sunlight poured in, waking up Baldwin and Cesar.

Baldwin sat up, still a little dazed for a moment. When Cesar on the other couch woke up, he remembered that they were no longer in the Holy Cross Castle, but in the Crusader Castle in Gaza Rafa.

When they were in the Castle of Holy Cross, as the king's entourage, they had to wrap themselves in bear skins and spend the night at the door of Amalric I's room. But when the king went to war, even if there were rooms, it would not be them who were responsible for guarding him, but real knights, who could have their own residences.

In addition, after examining the prince's body, Heraclius believed that bear skin and the cold stone ground were not conducive to the healing of ulcers and blisters, and would aggravate the progression of the disease. Amalric I's only heir was Baldwin. Although he adhered to most of the principles of knights and kings, he had to give in to reality.

Freed from the night labor, Baldwin's condition improved a lot. Perhaps it was also because Heraclius took over the dangerous task. The prince occasionally felt ashamed. He used to respect this teacher very much, especially when everyone left and Heraclius was still teaching him. But in his heart, Heraclius's importance still could not compare with Caesar.

Perhaps this was because he knew very well that Heraclius had done so for his father, Amalric I, while Caesar had done it only for him.

"I'll get some water," said Cesar.

In the Holy Cross Castle, these tedious tasks could be assigned to servants, but during an expedition, everyone was a screw in the war machine. Adding burden to others just for the sake of pleasure would only attract attention and cause displeasure.

Even though Cesar and Baldwin did everything personally, there were still people whispering that Amalric I should not have placed his heir, and another child who was only thirteen years old, in such an important and sacred battle.

But Baldwin and Cesar both understood that the fact that the Byzantine princess gave birth to a daughter instead of a son as expected was a great blow to Amalric I.

He was almost forty years old, and the breath of death in the war could overthrow anyone at any time, even if he was the king. He felt panic and worried that if he died while Baldwin was still a minor, he would have to appoint a regent for Baldwin.

But he inherited the throne because his brother had no heir. If he and Baldwin III still had some blood relationship, then the tragic fact encountered by the current Duke of Antioch Bohemond III told him that a regent would never give up the power in his hands - before Bohemond III came of age, the regent was his mother, or his stepfather Raynald of Châtillon.

Bohemond was born in 44 AD, but when he was sixteen, his mother and stepfather still refused to give him power. It was not until 60 AD that Raynald was captured by the Seljuk Turks. Bohemond returned to Antioch and gained the support of the Antioch knights and Baldwin III, and finally got back what originally belonged to him.

With these guys as examples, Amalric I did not dare to test people's hearts at all, so he made a move that was not surprising in the Franks, which was to promote Baldwin as soon as possible to a position where even if there were people to hinder him, they would not be able to hinder him for too long and to too wide a range.

Fortunately, although his illness was not cured, Baldwin was blessed and had great favor from the emperor. During these three years, no one could deny that he was an outstanding apprentice knight and was qualified enough to be the king's squire.

Amalric I had decided that as long as Baldwin could achieve a victory as commander and leader during the attack on Fustat, he would immediately hold a "investiture ceremony" to knight him.

What he was hesitant about now was whether he should knight Cesar at the same time. If so, he hoped that Cesar could have a surname, but who should give this surname was another question. After all, anyone with a discerning eye could see that if Baldwin ascended the throne in the future, the person he would rely on and trust the most would only be this blue-eyed companion.

Or could he give Cesar a small fiefdom?

In this era, if someone was lucky enough to acquire a new territory, he was eligible to use it as his surname. In other words, people at that time used the same few names over and over again, without adding the place of birth at the end, which was really a name that could attract a lot of attention.

It would be best if it could be called rich, but small enough. Rich because Cesar needed to have a pivotal position in the war and the court, and small because Amalric I was worried that he would become the next Raynald of Châtillon. Perhaps, if he could achieve brilliant results this time, he could reward Cesar with a piece of land far away in Egypt.

He would inevitably remain in Alasar for a long time in the future, serving Baldwin. He would only be able to collect taxes and tributes from the territory, unable to directly manage it. The territory being isolated meant that he would inevitably need to seek Baldwin's help and support to consolidate his position as lord...

As for Baldwin's suggestion of finding an heiress and a widow for Cesar, Amalric I quickly dismissed it. Women! Hey, women! They sometimes wrest power from their sons, but become soft and easy to manipulate in front of their beloved. A king will not share power with his queen, but a queen will place the crown on her husband's head...

He had no doubt that with Cesar's looks and temperament, which woman could remain indifferent to his smile? If he complied with Baldwin's wishes, Cesar would become a powerful lord, or even the master of a county...

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty?"

Heraclius called several times before Amalric I came back. Only then did he focus his attention back on his official duties. There would only be more things to do during the expedition, not less. He lowered his head and saw the draft of the letter Heraclius had written for him - written to Manuel I.

Amalric I was furious. He had negotiated a marriage contract with the Byzantine emperor, marrying his grandniece, Princess Maria. According to the agreement, Manuel I was to bring a dowry of thirty light warships and ten heavy warships, equipped with sufficient oarsmen and sailors, and, most importantly, Greek fire. But in the end, Princess Maria arrived with only thirty court warriors, thirty heavy cavalry, and one hundred light cavalry, which was within the agreed scope. The warships were nowhere to be seen.

Most of the thirty warriors were killed in the welcoming ceremony, and the cavalrymen - fortunately, Amalric I did not trust the Byzantines so much, and only placed them in the reserve team with a trial attitude in the conflict with the Templar Walter de Lemesnil.

As it turned out, if Cesar hadn't been so vigilant and kept Walter's characteristics in mind, and if his knights hadn't been brave enough, Walter's surprise attack might have succeeded...

And he, the king, would become a laughing stock.

Of course, he should also know that he shouldn't have any hope for the Byzantines. If their cavalry could still fight bravely and victoriously as it had during the reign of Justinian, why would their emperor ask the Pope of the Latin Church for help? And during the First Crusade, even the earliest peasant armies armed with pitchforks and flails were able to defeat the defenders of Byzantine cities and rush in to plunder...

Without soldiers, knights, or sons, the only thing Amalric I could seek in this marriage was the warships promised by Byzantium. Fortunately, after delaying for more than ten months, Manuel I finally fulfilled his promise, providing thirty light warships and ten heavy warships, fully loaded with weapons and armor, and fully equipped with sailors and oarsmen.

Now they were anchored in the port of Rafah, along with other Frankish, Castilian, or Hungarian galleys, bringing with them new Crusaders, their masters, and high clergy.

Snow-white seagulls fly across the clear blue sky, and gray sails fly through the transparent air. The Crusader Castle in the port of Rafah is quite large, large enough to accommodate thousands of knights.

But the number of people here has exceeded 10,000 and is still increasing rapidly. The endless tents spread rapidly in all directions like moss after rain, and the colorful flags are like blooming flowers. All the filth produced by these people is dumped into the sea, breeding a large amount of seaweed. The seaweed attracts small fish, and the small fish attract big fish and seabirds.

Along with them came merchants, craftsmen, and entertainers. Even residents of Gaza Rafa flocked here, hoping to do business with these outsiders. At the junction of this city and the port, a new small town was almost formed. The daily conflicts, shouting, and fighting could last from the brightest to the darkest, and the hostility could extend from region and race to faith - heretics have always been more hateful than pagans!

For this reason, Amalric I had to speed up the pace of action. It can be said that he held three or four meetings with senior Crusader generals every day, trying to determine the steps and rhythm of the battle as soon as possible. "Let these young men direct their energy towards the Saracens!" he said.

This letter, written by Heraclius and personally penned by Amalric I, addressed to Manuel I, had only one thing in mind: money! Money!
Amalric I no longer intended to waste time on the Byzantine army and ships. Now the army gathered in Rafah. Although it is said that those who fight for God should prepare their own weapons, horses and food, don't joke. If the knights were really so noble, there would be no looting of European and Byzantine cities and villages.

The reason why these guys can still use money to buy things honestly is that Amalric I has begun to generously reward everyone, and there is also a sweet bait he has hung in front of these guys - Fustat.

Fustat was the first capital built by the Saracens in Egypt. It was prosperous, wealthy and sacred, and was waiting for their favor - she was a graceful girl wrapped in gauze, plump and charming, covered with gold, gems and pearls, just waiting for a strong and powerful knight to snatch her away and hold her in his arms.

Of course, attacking such a huge ancient city would not be an easy task, but now that these people have come here, would they still be stingy with their lives?
However, the daily consumption would still make Heraclius, who was doing statistics and calculations, feel dizzy every day, and the answers he summarized would always make Amalric I feel uneasy.

The daily supply of salt, sugar, barley, wheat, oil, wine... wood, stone, cowhide and sheepskin, black iron and fine steel... horses, donkeys and mules... were all clamoring for him to win this battle, otherwise he would have to mortgage Alasar.

This made him feel more justified when he wrote the letter. He even shamelessly said in the letter that if the siege failed due to insufficient preparation, he would take his army to seek help from Constantinople...

Heraclius checked the king's grammar and spelling, and hoped that Manuel I, who was no longer a young man, would not be so angry that he was "struck down" (Apoplexy in Greek means stroke, and the word was coined by the ancient Greek medical saint Hippocrates). But it would be a lie to say that he had any sympathy. Amalric I did not hide his intentions towards Caesar from him. He was wholeheartedly trying to find a good place for his student.

He handed the letter to the messenger and leaned out the window, looking down, and saw the annoying yet lovable child walking across the bustling square, carrying a pile of linen, and behind him came a knight without a tunic, Longinus, who was carrying two copper kettles, one of which was still steaming.

He knew this knight, and the king had wanted him to enter the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, but he considered it and refused.

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"Longinus," said Cesar, "are you really not going to try again?"

(End of this chapter)