kingdom of nations

Chapter 87: Attack the City! (7)

Baldwin raised his hand and slapped it on his forehead. Richard played a vital role in making a young man, who was at an age when he should be carefree and had almost no financial or status constraints, do such a gesture.

They were just exhausted, not fatally injured, so after being rescued, they slept well for a whole night and received treatment from the priests, and they immediately became lively again.

Cesar woke up half a day later than them, but in just this half day, Richard made Baldwin sincerely feel that his father Henry II had committed countless sins to have such a son. No, it should be said that his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine was equally sinful.

Although from our perspective, Richard loved his mother very much, Baldwin never expected that Richard had mentioned arranging a marriage for Cesar twice, and the person he was referring to was his mother.

"Eleanor?" Baldwin couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard the name, and then he thought that this might be Richard's sister, the Duchess of Aquitaine and the penultimate daughter of Henry II, Eleanor, who had the same name as her mother and was born in 62, so the age was very suitable.

"But my sister has no lands," Richard said honestly. "I'm talking about Eleanor of Aquitaine, my mother."

Baldwin couldn't even find the words to answer him. He was speechless for a while before he said, "Do you want to ask the Pope to annul your mother's marriage to your father, Henry II?"

This was a major issue, not only concerning the ownership of the vast Aquitaine, but also the legitimacy of several children born to Eleanor after her marriage to Henry II. Once the marriage was deemed invalid, these children, along with Richard, would become illegitimate children.

"I did not mean that."

"You just said..."

"My father is very old. He won't live for many more years."

"It's not a question of survival," Baldwin shouted.

Even if Henry II died, his widow, the Queen of England, the Duchess of Aquitaine, would never hand herself over to an ordinary young knight.

Perhaps Constance of Antioch (Bohemond's mother) could have done so, but this was due to the unique characteristics of the several holy kingdoms in the Holy Land. Even so, after Bohemond came of age, Constance lost the support of the knights and her power. She was exiled by her son to a remote monastery, where she lived out her life in loneliness.

If Cesar was his real brother, then there might be some possibility, after all, he and Richard were actually related in some way - quite close.

His grandfather, Fulk V, had a son from a previous marriage: Geoffrey the Fair, the one nicknamed "Gardenbroom," the father of Henry II. He obtained the throne of England through marriage, and his eldest son, Henry II the Short-Cloak, was Richard's father. This meant they had a common ancestor, and Baldwin was actually Richard's uncle...

But the problem is that Cesar is not one of them. His starting point is much lower than that of most knights. To marry a great lord like Eleanor, he must be able to build a kingdom for himself with the sword in his hand after Baldwin ascends the throne.

Even so, because of the ownership of Aquitaine, both the British and the French would attack this lucky man.

Just to give a brief explanation, how large was Aquitaine? It was one-third the size of France, far larger than the direct dominions of the current French King Louis VII. Furthermore, Eleanor was already married to Henry II and had several children with him, and Richard had only recently been confirmed as Duke of Aquitaine.

That is to say, after Eleanor's death, he will become the owner of this territory. How come Eleanor's new husband suddenly appears?

In the face of such a pressing issue, the age difference between Eleanor and César is not a big problem.

To be honest, if César could really get Aquitaine through this marriage, Baldwin would really support it strongly, but unfortunately he couldn't.

"What about you?"

"I have always wanted to give up my territory and join a knight order, either the Knights Templar or the Knights Templar, or your father's Knights of the Holy Sepulchre." Richard said confidently.

"I would rather be a knight than a king, and I would rather fight for Christ than for my father or a monarch. I want to accomplish this holy and great cause, and would rather die in the field of battle like King Arthur than on the bed of a mediocre man.

He thought his idea was very good. "When my father dies, my brother will inherit his kingdom, and my mother will need a young, strong, loyal and brave knight to protect her."

He waved his hand. "I only became Duke of Aquitaine to help my mother keep her territory. My father has always been eyeing her dowry and is eager to make a move."

"Cesar is so young," he said bluntly, "if he marries my mother, he will still have to rely more on my mother's past prestige and people's love for her.

If he wants to establish his own authority, he will have to wait until my mother dies. By then, he should have established a solid relationship with the nobles and people of Aquitaine and be able to complete the transfer of power peacefully.

I no longer have to worry about my mother, sisters, and brothers, and Cesar is so handsome. Even if he and my mother don't have children, just looking at him every day will make my mother happy and radiant for the rest of her life."

Baldwin... Baldwin has become numb.

He had no choice but to warn Richard that if he dared to tell anyone else about this plan, he would go to Amalric I immediately, tie him up, put him on a ship from Rafah or Jaffa, and send him back to London to be dealt with by his father.

Richard could only shut up in frustration. "It's entirely possible," he muttered. "Don't you trust your brother? And if he were in danger in Aquitaine, I would lead the army to his aid."

Before entering the tent, he was still trying his best to persuade Baldwin, and finally exposed his shameful true intentions. He meant that after this battle, there should be no major battles to fight here. It would be a pity for Cesar to stay here and waste his youth in vain.

He could first take César back to London or Aquitaine. His mother had been imprisoned by their father, but that didn't matter. He believed that with him and César, they would soon be able to gather an army.

Or maybe he could try to get the help of Louis VII. This guy has always been trying to cause trouble for his father. As long as he hides his final intention well, maybe things will go unusually smoothly?

As for when to return Cesar? Of course, it would be after the next Crusade. Then he and Cesar would come to Alasar together, bringing their armies.

"And then we'll go back together after the fight, right?" Baldwin couldn't help but mock him.

"If I can conquer a territory, I will stay here," Richard said hopefully. "Cesar can go back and meet us again on the next Crusade. How wonderful, Baldwin! Maybe we can become Saint Baldwin, Saint Richard, and Saint Cesar in the future!"

What else can Baldwin do after suffering such a critical blow?
But out of a son's consideration for his father, he did not repeat these outrageous remarks to Amalric I. Amalric I still wishfully believed that it was a blessing to have a younger generation like Richard who was so brave and noble.

He praised Richard's courage and piety and thanked him for his help to Baldwin, but also implicitly suggested that he should not have caused his father and mother so much worry. He said that he had sent a letter to Henry II, praising him highly for having such an outstanding son and asking him to forgive Richard's previous offense against him.

Whether Richard wanted this forgiveness or not is another matter. He behaved quite elegantly, calmly, humbly and reservedly in front of Amalric I. At least he did not mention that he wanted to marry his mother Eleanor to Cesar.

Amalric I had vaguely heard before that he intended to find a marriage for Cesar, but he did not take it seriously. After all, since Cesar had gained status, there were many people who wanted to be a matchmaker, but some asked Baldwin and some asked him.

Any normal person would only think that Richard was talking about one of his mother's maids, the second daughter or the youngest daughter of a low-ranking noble. How could it be possible that Amalric I didn't even think about Richard's own sisters?

In the eyes of Amalric I, Caesar's future wife should be a woman from a remote Frankish territory far away from Alasar, so that he would not have more power and supporters in the Holy Land. The surname and family background did not matter, but she must be rich, very rich - to ensure that when Caesar got a territory and built it up, he would not worry about being short of money.

He knew Baldwin's character. He would stubbornly reject those who had abandoned him, but if a friend he recognized was in trouble, he would definitely help him without hesitation.

Heraclius never thought that his expectations for Cesar's future were similar to those of Amalric I, but his focus was on the top leaders of the Knights Templar and the neighboring vassals. The former might not care much about Cesar's past, while the latter might bring Cesar a fixed dowry, that is, territory.

After hearing Richard's words, Heraclius laughed. He didn't think that Richard could really find a good marriage for Cesar, but who was Richard?

Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou.

Although Baldwin was blessed by God and would not have to worry about anyone using his illness as a scapegoat when he ascended the throne, what would become of Caesar if he truly did not live to see thirty? Although he was already the Patriarch of Alaska, he knew full well that his position came from Amalric I—just as Caesar's position came from Baldwin. Without these two supports, their enemies would be eager to unleash their claws and fangs.

Unless they can lay an unshakable foundation before that, but that is too difficult.

But if Cesar could gain Richard's favor, he believed that Cesar could also find a place to stay in the court of Aquitaine. Moreover, at the age of thirty, it was the best time for knights. They were young, strong and experienced. Even he had a way out. Although Alasar was sacred, he probably could not compare with the sunny Franconia - in terms of retirement.

Before Richard said his real name, Cesar stood up from the couch. His clothes had been changed by the monks and his body had been wiped. He tried to feel the sourness, pain and fatigue he had felt before, as if they had never existed. He bowed to Richard again and accepted Richard's gift - Richard directly took off the golden cross and hung it around his neck.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"It wasn't long before it was dusk the next day," Baldwin said. "We had won a great victory." Even he couldn't help but get a little excited when he said this. "Now the island of Laodai belongs to us. Unfortunately, the Saracens of Fustat saw that the situation was irreversible and immediately burned the drawbridge and the wooden bridge below -"

"You're right," Richard added. "We had already reached the highest point of the fortress, but there were so many enemies that we didn't see them. The Saracens did have some ships upstream, and the second group of knights who reached the bridge were sniped by them. But someone remembered your warning, and the knights remained on guard, so they suffered no losses."

"How are our people?"

Baldwin was even more delighted when he mentioned this. "No one died. Even the two men who fell off the bridge only broke a few ribs. Later, during the battle in the fortress, we intercepted the Saracen reinforcements coming from the drawbridge, and my father's knights blocked the Saracens coming from the wooden bridge from the right side of the fortress. Although they fought a little hard, it wasn't too bad."

"The King's side..."

"We haven't made much progress at the King's Gate—nor at the Victory Gate," Richard said. Although he didn't point it out, his expression told you that things weren't going well in Forstat. "There were too many idiots, and Forstat is a big city... Fortunately, we were victorious here."

Otherwise, repeated setbacks at the beginning would easily make people feel fearful and retreat. Amalric I also knew that if he only relied on his own army and knights, he would not be able to complete the siege of Fustat.

"grown ups!"

Just when Richard was about to complain, a messenger suddenly came in, holding the king's decree in his hand, and conveyed the king's order to Baldwin and Richard with a serious face.

"There is a Saracen reinforcement coming from Giza, numbering about five hundred men," he said, placing the decree in Richard's hand. "The king commands you to select from his reserves such knights as you deem fit to stop them."

(End of this chapter)