kingdom of nations

Chapter 91: Fustat (Part ) ( favorites plus more!)

Of course, Cesar knew that it was an irrational act, even stupid, for him to leave the palace without anyone knowing and go to see a Saracen he had only met once just because of such a short message.

Not to mention what Lady Elena's team had encountered before - just a few days ago, when they were still besieging Fustat, a knight was on patrol and his horse was frightened and fell to the ground. His horse immediately galloped into a valley and disappeared in a blink of an eye. He chased after it anxiously, and his servants and followers followed closely behind. The distance between them was probably only a few hundred feet away - but when they arrived, there was only the horse that was wailing and covered in blood and his headless body.

But he only hesitated for a moment. He could certainly get up immediately and return to the noisy hall, but he could guarantee that as soon as he turned around, the eunuch and the people behind him would disappear without a trace.

How could this person be an ordinary person who could deliver the message to him at this time and place?
He decided to take a risk.

He still remembered the silver ring that the Saracen had given him - he asked Heraclius and Baldwin, and they said that Saracens, especially warriors, would not wear any jewelry on their bodies, such as earrings, necklaces, bracelets... but they would often wear a silver ring.

Because when their prophet Muhammad needed to exchange letters with foreign kings, someone told the prophet that foreign kings would not read letters without seals, so the prophet made a gold ring with "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" engraved on it.

But he did not expect that people would follow his lead and also make gold rings. When the Prophet saw this, he threw away the gold ring and said, "I will never wear it again." However, because he still needed the seal for official business, he ordered a silver ring with the same inscription "Muhammad is the Messenger of God."

After his death, Caliph Abu wore the ring, then Caliph Umar wore the ring, and finally Caliph Uthman wore the ring. But later he accidentally dropped the ring into a well. Even after draining the well, people could not find it. He could only make a new silver ring and wear it on his hand.

From that time on, all Saracen men wore only silver rings on their fingers; they did not wear gold, for that was an abomination to the Prophet, nor did they wear copper or iron, for these were symbols of Hellfire.

These silver rings are often the seals of the Saracens, just like their most revered prophet Muhammad. In their beliefs, an eagle often represents power and rule - just like the "Eagle's Nest".

The person who is qualified to wear this ring cannot be just a businessman or a craftsman. Cesar even has a vague guess as to who this person is - compared to this person, he is just an insignificant little person now.

If the other party could come to see him alone, why should he not go to meet him alone? He was much more important than Cesar.

Cesar's mind was also churning with thoughts. Ever since he arrived at the Eastern Expedition, all he had heard were irritable complaints, cries of violence, and roars of hatred. All he had witnessed were ugly crimes, despicable betrayals, and painful struggles. But he couldn't confide in anyone. Who could understand him? And even if they were willing to listen, what could a few people do to change anything?

And what did the Saracen who had discussed the good and evil of human nature with him think?
He followed the little eunuch silently through a fig forest. The forest was filled with the sweet aroma of ripe figs. Under his feet, he could still feel the soft and plump fruits. They broke gently, making crackling sounds - so fragile that it almost made people want to step on more.

Afterwards, they came to a pier and rowed a small boat upstream along the stream. There were still countless fig trees on the shore. The moonlight fell on them through the dense branches and leaves. On the boat and on the waves, frightened fish kept jumping up, and even jumped onto their boat. Cesar grabbed one at random and found that the fish was covered with leopard-like patterns.

"It's a leopard fish," the eunuch said indifferently after taking a look. "From Gambia. Three gold coins for one."

Cesar loosened his grip and the three gold coins fell into the water.

If he were Caliph Atid, he would exchange all these things for soldiers' equipment, city defense equipment and the third layer of the city wall, or at least he would give all these things as rewards to the generals sent by Nur ad-Din.

They landed and then walked a long way among the pomegranate and myrrh trees - even if Cesar had returned immediately, someone would have noticed that he had been missing for a long time.

Then they saw the man.

He was dressed the same as when they had first met him in the marketplace: no jewelry, no silk, only heavy cotton, dull chain mail, a turban wrapped around his hair, and a loose black robe. He tied a cowhide belt tightly around his waist, from which hung a scimitar and a long sword. Only a silver ring shone on his finger.

A scarlet Arab horse stood beside him. Apart from him, the only person around them was the eunuch who brought Cesar here. As soon as he saw this man, he immediately prostrated himself on the ground to salute him and quietly retreated.

"May I know who you are?" Cesar asked after calming down.

"Saladin. Saladin ibn Ayyub, you can call me Saladin." The man said, Cesar sighed softly, it was indeed this person, after all, God is stingy, and the treasures He bestowed on the world are not many, let alone in such a place.

"I found this on your servant. Was it you who drew it?" Saladin said, showing Cesar a cut piece of parchment, which Cesar recognized as part of the discarded drawings.

He thought Longinus had burned them all, but he didn't expect that he had left a piece. However, there was no signature or handwriting on this piece of parchment, so no one would be able to trace him back with such a small piece of paper.

But sometimes judgments don't require evidence.

"Yes," Cesar said without trying to hide it. He looked up at Saladin and said, "You are also the Saracen that Longinus met."

"It was I," Saladin said. "I heard a fight going on there, so I went to see what I saw. A Christian was fighting with three other Christian knights for a Saracen girl and nearly died. The girl was not saved, but the favor she received still existed and has not been repaid, even though the one who helped her was a Christian. He passed by me, so I saved him." Saladin asked with interest, "And you? Did you see the cattle that passed by you?"

"I saw it," Cesar replied calmly and calmly, "and I saved them too."

"I heard about it." Saladin showed a satisfied smile on his face: "The people of Bilbais told me what happened to them." He would not blame Cesar why he did not stop the knights' behavior, return the residents' property, and allow them to stay in the city instead of being expelled. He would not accuse or doubt why Cesar did not do the same thing in Bilbais in Fustat?
No one can snatch blood food from the mouth of a hungry lion, otherwise he will be torn to pieces and eaten by it.

Such courage and ability were beyond the reach of even Cesar, a mere trainee knight, Baldwin, and even Amalric I. They responded, "You did well. You did your best."

"Then may I ask a question?" Cesar asked calmly, "Have you never left Fustat?"

"Or our army. Yes, we did not leave. Although our Sultan Nur ad-Din asked us to return to Damascus, we did not—well, we did not leave immediately. And if you mean to leave Fustat, we left. Otherwise, how could your king have come here?"

Cesar felt a grip of fear in his heart. Saladin and his uncle Shircu had essentially surrendered the city, and why had they done so? If they hadn't given up their ambitions and power, you know, once the Christians entered the city, attacking Fustat would be more than a few thousand Saracen cavalry could accomplish...

He looked at Saladin, but saw only a sardonic smile and eyes filled with pity. A strange thought arose in his mind, and he could not suppress it. He remembered the strange scenes that had happened since he entered the city. At that time, he thought that the residents had either been killed or had gone into hiding.

But now it looks like...

"You bribed the people around Shawar."

"No, there is no need." Saladin said, "Sometimes we really can't underestimate those vicious and despicable guys." He nodded affirmatively. He looked at the child in front of him and guessed the truth with just a little thought, and then indescribable fear obscured his beautiful face.

What kind of person is Shawar?
It can be said that from Christians to Saracens, from kings to the humblest servants, no one looked up to him. He was servile and flattering. He could invite a wolf into the house for his own selfishness, and after inviting the wolf into the house, he would try to drive the tiger to devour the wolf - he was short-sighted, reckless, and made promises that he could not afford to pay.

He fooled Amalric I and Nur ad-Din who was far away in Syria. He manipulated these high-ranking figures at will, just like chess pieces on a chessboard. He controlled Caliph Atid, and everyone knew that this young man was just a little puppet in his hands, and he would do whatever he told him to do.

But could such a person actually do that? How could he dare to do that? Didn't he care about his own life and future?
"Why should I care? He's a Saracen, after all, a Grand Vizier of the Fatimid Empire. His meanness and lowliness were all for this position. Without status and power, he'd have lost all hope—you know Christian kings don't have the Grand Vizier position, and even if they did, they wouldn't give it to him.

"In that case," a smile appeared on Saladin's lips, "it would be a pleasure to be able to sink into the hell with those cruel and despicable Christians."

Cesar turned his head suddenly and stared at the palace in the distance, which was still shrouded in darkness, with only a few places lit. It looked so peaceful, with the chirping of birds and their moving songs floating on the calm lake.

He was about to turn and leave when Saladin stopped him, "Are you sure?" He said, "You left inexplicably and came back suddenly. When you arrived, the incident had already happened. You could not do anything and could not salvage anything. Your sudden departure and sudden appearance would make people doubt whether you were involved in this incident. Can your prince protect you?

I can even say that if he and you were lucky enough to survive, would he be one of the people who questioned you?

Do you want to look into his eyes, that look of disappointment and suspicion? Perhaps he will personally order you to be thrown into prison, where torture and death will await you.

He waited, but Cesar said nothing. He jumped up quickly and rushed back the way he came. Looking at his receding figure, Saladin remained silent, not knowing whether he was relieved or regretful. After a while, the eunuch who brought Cesar to him came out from the dark and asked in confusion, "My lord, why don't you keep him with you?
I have seen him, he is indeed a good man, although he is still so young and so weak, but he still often frowns and sighs for those innocent victims. You don't have to force him to do anything. He is of humble origin, almost the same as me. Although he is Baldwin's follower, he has not yet obtained any rights.

People admired his beauty and his good deeds, but at the same time they vaguely despised his background and the frivolity and powerlessness of his words.

"Those Christians are always so greedy," the eunuch continued. "When they see a gem fallen on the ground, they pick it up, clean it, and set it in a ring or a crown. But every time they admire its beauty and feel the miracle given by God, they still say, 'Oh, if only it had not fallen to the ground.'"

Isn't this a very stupid behavior?
Even if an ordinary stone is enshrined on a sacred altar from birth, it remains a stone and will not suddenly become a gem. If it loses those external elements, it will suddenly become ordinary and be trampled upon by others.

"Are you talking about your Caliph?" asked Saladin.

The young eunuch also laughed. It was obvious that he was one of those people who had no respect for the current Caliph Atid. "I see there is no movement over there. If he goes back..."

"Don't worry," Saladin said. "What you hate is already burning."

(End of this chapter)