kingdom of nations

Chapter 99 The Death of the King (7)

Caliph Atid whimpered softly in his tent. He knew his behavior was futile and ridiculous, and he didn't know why he was crying. Was he crying for the burning Fustat, for his own uncertain fate, or for Shawar?
Even Atid sometimes joked about Shawar, saying that he was a poisonous snake hiding in his sleeve.

Shawar was originally a businessman. He was always happy to put everything on the scales and weigh it, and then buy or sell it according to the situation. Countless people hated him, but Atid never cared. He never expected to become a caliph, nor did he think there was any benefit in becoming a caliph - maybe there was, but his father was dead, his brother was dead, and if he didn't seek happiness, when would he wait?

Shawar could at least satisfy most of his wishes.

And when this fat big Vizier, whom he thought was his confidant, brought Christians into his palace and made him bow to these people, his heart was filled with anger and anxiety. He did look down on Shawar, but at least he gave him power, and Shawar did not hesitate for long when he betrayed him.

Until the eunuch beside him quietly led him out of the palace - he was reluctant to leave at first, until his eunuch pointed out to him the dazzling colors that suddenly rose in the darkness. His palace was burning, no, not only his palace, his Fustat, his Egypt were all burning, he had lost them.

He thought the eunuchs would take him to Giza or another city in Egypt, where he was still the Fatimid caliph, but the eunuchs did not take him far. He saw the army ready for battle under the moonlight, and the leaders of the army were the two Kurds he was familiar with.

The Caliph never liked them. He knew very well that Nur ad-Din had never given up his ambitions for Egypt. After all, since the death of the fifth Fatimid Caliph Aziz, the fate of the dynasty had been declining.

First, there was the Caliph Aypu, who claimed to be God. Then there was the Caliph Ma'ad, whose mother was a slave sold by the Isaacs, allowing the Isaacs to control the court. Later, there appeared in succession the Baghdad general Baisasili, Badr of Armenia, and the Turkic Taleer... As each region became a separatist power, tax revenue plummeted, the treasury was empty, and the Caliph became a puppet of his generals and ministers...

By the time of his father's generation, although Hafez had some ambitions, everyone saw the result. The subsequent Grand Vizier even had to pay tribute to the king of the Christian Kingdom to ensure the stability of the country.

An ambitious man like Nur ad-Din may have long regarded Egypt as a target for his prey - when Shirku and Saladin were first sent to Fustat, he knew that they were his enemies, not just for faith.

However, Nur ad-Din probably didn't know that his two generals also had their own ambitions, especially the young Saladin.

Saladin walked into the Caliph's tent carrying a plate of figs. Atid couldn't help but flinch when he saw him, but fortunately he brought figs instead of wine, so the Caliph relaxed a little.

"We may have to stay here for a while." Saladin.

Atid stared at the figs. The large, deep purple fruits had cracked a few times, emitting a sweet aroma. He knew without even tasting them that they must be as sweet as honey. But his stomach felt heavy, and he couldn't eat anything. "Why?"

"Their king, Amalric I, is dying," Saladin said. "They ask us to give them seven days so that their king can sleep undisturbed."

"You agreed?"

"This is the respect a king deserves."

"Who killed him?"

"Shavar," Saladin said, his tone filled with some indescribable emotion. Now every Saracen must praise Shawar, because he did what thousands of troops could not do.

Not only did he kill a Christian king, but he also destroyed his achievements and greatly undermined the morale of the Christians. They might not launch a third expedition for several years.

"how can that be possible?"

"Why not?" Saladin said, "Shawar is also a person who has received the prophet's revelation."

"No, I mean..." Atid heard the displeasure in Saladin's words, and he added a little panickedly: "I just want to say that Shawar is not a brave warrior."

"It is difficult to tell the inner qualities of some people from their appearance," Saladin said, "but a fruit with flaws is just as sweet." He held a fig in his hand, not eating it but just smelling its fragrance.

"So the Christians...did they leave Fustat?"

A glimmer of hope suddenly appeared on Atid's face. He longed to return to his palace, but Saladin only hummed softly. "They left, but no one can keep Fustat, Caliph - it has become a hell."

Atid knew that the palace was on fire, but he still maintained a little ridiculous fantasy, "We can go to put out the fire, Saladin, we can, if you want, or your uncle, I can immediately issue a decree to make you my Amir, or Grand Vizier! I can give you any power you want!"

Saladin looked up at the Caliph. Although he had long known what kind of man Atid was, he still felt a little disappointed - especially compared with the heir of the Christian king.

"That is impossible, Caliph," he said. "Shawar has prepared ten thousand barrels of naphtha and thousands of fire starters."

Fustat is burning, and no one knows how long it will burn.

Shawar carefully and carefully hid the jars of naphtha in the corners of the palace, in the cellars of the apartments, and in the warehouses of merchants, mixing them with palm oil and olive oil. Even if someone discovered it, they might not be alerted immediately, after all, in a besieged city, these things would inevitably be stored in large quantities.

And who could have imagined that someone would destroy such a precious treasure as Fustat without hesitation?
At least before Shawar proposed this plan, even Saladin had not thought of it, or he dared not think of it. That was Fustat, a city founded and operated by the Saracens for five hundred years.

This large city has a population of over one hundred thousand, two temples with golden roofs, a huge palace complex, and three huge markets.

When there is no war, the streets are bustling with people, and the flow of people is mixed with camels, horses and mules, their shoulders laden with all kinds of goods.

Wood and furs… iron, silver, gold, and copper… linen, silk, wool, and cotton… sugar, wine, porcelain, and glass… alum, soap… and spices: camphor, rhubarb, coptis root, cloves, sandalwood, cardamom, agarwood… and, most importantly, grain: wheat, barley, and rice…

People of all faiths, skin colors, and identities, coming from all directions, crowded here. They spoke each other's or their own languages, doing business and transactions of all sizes. Countless gold and silver flowed here, and documents and contracts were like fish swimming in the river.

Fustat originally meant tent, but later people used it more as the city of gold to describe it. It was not just a empty word, but now everything is over.

Atid stared at Saladin as if he had no idea what he was saying, until Saladin pulled him up and out of the tent, letting him see for himself. The firelight illuminated the Caliph's eyes.

Saladin also had his eyes on the city, which was one of the important reasons why he and the Christians agreed to negotiate.

In other words, Saladin was not the kind of person who was keen on killing and plundering.

Although the revelations given to him by the Prophet allowed him to cross the threshold that separates the ordinary from the extraordinary, he never thought that the gift of God and the Prophet meant that he was superior to others.

He was still a human being, just as some people are always smarter than others, stronger than others, kinder than others - but still a human being.

He stands on the earth, looks up at the sky and the stars. He is willing to give everything for his beliefs, from money to status, from life to honor, but unlike others, he is not willing to impose this cognition on others. Even if they are willing, he hopes that they can cherish their lives instead of wasting them because of a momentary recklessness.

He persuaded his uncle to accept Shawar's plan. Although it was an honorable and pious act to defeat the Christians on the battlefield, what was the price?

The price is that more Saracen warriors will die on the battlefield, and the cries of their widows and children under the horses' hooves will startle the birds in the city. Their souls can ascend to heaven, but how can those who remain on earth escape the pain and sorrow?
That is an unnecessary sacrifice.

And things did develop as they expected. During the first day of negotiations, the Christians proposed that they could give up Fustat and Bilbao.

Even if the fire was extinguished, only charred wooden beams, burning gravel and collapsed city walls would remain. If they wanted to stay here, they would have to rebuild the city, which was definitely not something these Christians could afford.

As for Bilbais... not many people are willing to stay.

After all, in Amalric I's army, most of them were guests from afar - they came here for faith, money, and perhaps a small fiefdom, but now all they can get is the first and second, and even if it is money, if they continue to stay, it will seep out like sand between their hands until nothing is left.

There was no hope for territory. Without new conquered areas, Amalric I would never be able to give them fiefdoms.

There was another problem, which was that knights fought for their lords or kings, and their service period was usually only four months. After the service period was expired, the knights could ask to leave or ask the initiator of the campaign to pay additional commission.

But in order to organize this expedition and ensure the discipline of the army during the expedition, Amalric I never spared any expense. Now the funds he had were simply unable to support the knights' future salaries.

Even if he could lend money, those knights who had already accumulated a fortune would probably be eager to go back. After all, they were not planning to stay here, let alone guard an isolated city in the Saracen territory.

But if they wanted the Christians to withdraw from Bilbao, it would not be without cost. They demanded a ransom of one million gold coins from the Saracens.

The Saracens meant that although they did not want to start a war lightly, one million was too many. After all, Fustat no longer existed, and Bilbais was an empty shell that had been squeezed dry. It would take several years to recover. Moreover, they did not think that the Christians had the courage and perseverance to fight them.

So the Christians said in return that they could also stay in Bilbais, which was also a rich and prosperous city with fertile land everywhere. Perhaps it could become a new Acre or Jaffa.

"Is this what their king meant?"

"It should be." However, after only one day of negotiations, the Christians suddenly requested a delay. It seemed that Amalric I originally thought that he could hold on until the end of the negotiations, but contrary to his wishes, his condition was rapidly deteriorating.

Saladin and Shirkuh did not even mention a word about negotiations to Caliph Atid.

Atid drew a cruel message from this, that is, the two Kurds were not prepared to let him retain his throne and the title of "Caliph" like the previous powerful ministers, and they would not let him go to Bilbeis or Giza, or any city under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, so as to prevent others from using the title of Caliph to oppose them.

"Why did Shawar hand me over to you?" he murmured.

Saladin heard him but did not answer him.

Shawar was still a Saracen after all, and he would not hand over his country to a Christian - and no matter which faction Saladin and his uncle belonged to, they were at least Saracens, and he could also see that between Saladin and his uncle, Saladin was obviously the more prestigious and far-sighted one.

Would he have been a good caliph or a good sultan?

Shawar couldn't be sure, but by then the Fatimid dynasty had already become a crumbling and decaying palace.

Although everyone was cursing Shawar, when Shawar really stood up and looked around, he found that they were not much better than himself. Just like the man who thought he was Ruzik's direct descendant, his political enemy, he cursed Shawar for bringing Saladin of Zengi and Shirku, but when he found himself unable to fight against Shawar, didn't he also ask for help from the Christians, hoping that they could send troops to help him?

Shawar had no hope for himself or his entire court. He handed over the Caliph Atid to Saladin in the hope that a new branch of vitality would sprout from the ashes of this great city. As for religious sects and ethnic identities, he did not care about them.

He would not send Atid anywhere else, lest he become someone else's banner to fight against Silku and Saladin. The Saracens in Egypt could no longer withstand internal losses, and they had to unite outward to fight against the Christians.

Otherwise, today it is Bilbao and Fustat, tomorrow it could be Giza and Alexandria, and more cities.

Atid also knew his future fate very well. He saw the cruelty in Saladin's eyes. Saladin might only need him for a year or two, or even just a few months. Once the Egyptians recognized his rule, Caliph Atid would die. He would not give others the opportunity to use him.

Atid wept in despair, and his tears fell on the plate of figs.

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The same crying sound was heard in Amalric I's tent.

(End of this chapter)