Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 347 Young Louis VII

The seventy-fifth year of the Li Yuan Dynasty.

Although the entire Seljuk region has basically surrendered to the Song Dynasty.

However, most of the people who controlled this place before were military nobles, emirs and the like.

This makes it difficult for anyone to have 100% trust in the loyalty of these people.

can only say……

Keeping it will be a disaster.

Probably the only thing I can do is to take them with me and continue to harm other people.

of course!

The first to suffer were the Assassins.

Then, the second is the Fatimid dynasty in Egypt.

to be frank.

These dynasties were all pretty weak.

If a country could gather a regular army of 20,000 people, it would be considered very powerful.

but……

The reason why the strength has become so weak is that there is nothing we can do about it.

After all, during this period, the Fatimid dynasty also reached a stage where the ruler was young and the country was in doubt.

and……

The Fatimid dynasty was established by declaring itself the Caliphate.

Compared with the Abbasid dynasty, that is, the Muktafi of Baghdad, it is completely incomparable in terms of orthodoxy.

however……

Since the Fatimid dynasty was already quite powerful before, it was only then that it was able to gradually gain a foothold in Egypt.

When Zhao Xin had earlier sent people to the Fatimid Caliphate to persuade the local Caliph to surrender, the Fatimid Caliphate was also in urgent need of foreign aid to help them endorse it.

This led to some reactionary forces in the country finding further excuses to overthrow the original caliph.

nowadays……

Zhao Xin: This certainly can't be considered an invasion.

It should be said that it is rescue.

only……

For a matter like this, just send any former Seljuk emir.

There was no need for Han Shizhong, Yue Fei and others to take action personally.

After half a year of fighting.

The Fatimid capital was soon captured as well.

And at the same time...

The Pope also gave many speeches in Rome and Western Europe.

Bishops from all over the country assist the Pope in propaganda.

Deliver the Pope’s words to the common people.

"Any sane person who remains indifferent to this has not only forgotten the Christian faith, but has even forgotten his own humanity!"

The Pope said this...

The originally chaotic Western world suddenly stopped its fighting.

But the fact is...

This year was also the time when they almost decided the winner.

Ever since the death of the previous Pope eight years ago, the entire Western world has been fighting over who would be the next Pope for the next eight years.

If we talk about orthodoxy, it is of course Innocent II, because he was elected legally.

It’s just that the forces behind him that support him are a bit weak.

The one who competed with him for the position of Pope was Anacletus II, who was of Jewish descent.

The characteristics of Anacletus II were that he had a lot of money and many people supported him.

So at the beginning, Innocent II had to flee to France for refuge.

However, although Innocent II could not defeat Anacletus II, he gained the support of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Holy Roman Emperor at this time was Lothair II.

It was Lothar II who led his troops to invade Italy many times and defeated Anacletus II. After all, Anacletus II was only a Pope, and the area he occupied was at most a small piece of land in Italy. Maybe the most he occupied was Sicily. King Roger of Sicily was one of his important supporters. However, even so, it could not compare with the national strength of the Holy Roman Empire, which occupied almost half of Europe.

This year……

Because he was unable to win the battle on the front line, and the people around him also saw that they could not win and were deserted by their friends and relatives, Anacletus II was probably exhausted and unfortunately died.

Although the person who could succeed Anacletus II was quickly selected, he quickly gave up the position of Pope under the persuasion of Innocent II's supporters.

So far...

Except for King Roger of Sicily who originally supported Anacletus II, Innocent II regained his position as Pope.

of course!

Perhaps in the eyes of Lothair II, the Holy Roman Emperor, his Pope was nothing more than a mascot.

As for your question, why Holy Roman Emperor Lothair II sent troops to help the other side.

That might be the idea of ​​going to Italy to plunder.

After all, Italy is on the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and almost most of the Mediterranean trade passes through Italy.

originally……

After things slowly settled down, Innocent II should have excommunicated King Roger of Sicily.

The so-called excommunication is to prohibit everyone from having any contact with the other party in the name of religion.

But Innocent II also knew that, to be honest, his greatest enemy was not King Roger of Sicily, but all the kings and emperors in Europe outside of Italy, like Holy Roman Emperor Lothair II!
to this end……

Innocent II also decided to lift the excommunication of King Roger of Sicily, but on the condition that King Roger of Sicily would help Christianity and retake Jerusalem.

If he could recapture Jerusalem during his term of office.

Then Innocent II thought that this would definitely help him enhance his authority as Pope.

soon……

All Western countries received the news.

Retaking their holy land and killing all those Muslims can wash away all the sins they have ever committed. Those who have committed crimes and whose souls cannot enter heaven after death can enter heaven and enjoy eternal life and happiness as long as they can participate in the Crusade.

Although anyone with a normal brain should know that this is just a lie.

But this is the situation in the Western world today.

Most of their people are ignorant.

The knowledge of the people is often only spread through bishops and church personnel.

Naturally, the people will definitely follow what the Pope and the bishops say, and all the people will blindly follow them.

Moreover... during the First Crusade, there were uncontrollable massacres of Jews in the Holy Roman Empire, and Jews were forced to convert. They either converted or died, and many Jews died as a result.

It is hard to say whether this is the Pope’s original intention.

Or maybe the people saw that the Jews were rich and engaged in business, and felt that they were being exploited, so they took the opportunity to take revenge. That is also very possible.

After the Pope's speech.

In addition, the Pope still has great prestige in the hearts of the people.

For this reason, the kings and emperors of the Western countries had to prepare for the Second Crusade again.

Of course!
At this point in time, it is actually quite difficult.

For one thing, England is currently engaged in a civil war over the throne.

England and Scotland are at war.

The situation in the Holy Roman Empire was not much better, because Emperor Lothar II, who had helped Innocent II attack Italy, unfortunately died.

Lothar II probably had no son, only a son-in-law.

Since the Holy Roman Empire was leaderless, a prince, Kondratieff III, took the initiative to step forward and proclaimed himself king.

However, his claim to be king was opposed by Lothar II's son-in-law.

then……

The Holy Roman Empire was also divided into north and south, with Kondratiel III occupying the south and Lothar II's son-in-law occupying the north.

So, to be honest, the Holy Roman Empire today is also in the process of division.

If you have to say who really has the time to take action nowadays, it would probably be the King of France, nicknamed 'Young Louis VII'. However, just as his nickname 'Young Louis VII' suggests, Louis VII at this time was only 18 years old at most.

It seems that he has very little experience in leading troops in battle.

The key point is that the young Louis VII also wanted to annex some of the lands of the dukes around him.

therefore……

It is not an easy task to unify the chaotic West into one force and send troops to retake Jerusalem.

But there is one thing that is well said.

Money can make the world go round.

In the West, there is also a saying that has been circulating among the Crusaders on the Eastern Expedition, which says that in the West, you may be just a civilian or even a thief, but if you go to the East, you may become a lord or even a city lord.

It is precisely because of this huge temptation that the Pope's words have gained the support and recognition of many people.

And this statement is not groundless.

Because after the First Crusade, some people stayed and established four Crusader states.

If you fight bravely and are appreciated by the kings of these Crusader states, then maybe the kings who founded the states will reward you with land, people, and slaves.

One thousand acres of land, one hundred Muslim slave households, and maybe even a few female slaves to serve you food and drink.

Who wouldn’t want to live a life like this?

The East is actually synonymous with getting rich quickly.

Of course!
The most important thing is to wash away the sins that have been committed against you.

Ah!
This is the most important thing!
Young Louis VII was still young after all.

Although the Kingdom of France is not short of money and is not very poor compared to other countries, the wealth of France is insignificant compared to the wealth of the entire East.

Silk, spices, tea, these are all they need.

Then he asked his important adviser Xure: "Do you think we should go to the East?"

The West today is extremely poor.

You mean science and civilization?
That's not good at all!
And even if you were able to seize the land of an earl or a duke, it would not be as much as what you could earn by going to the East.

of course!

At the same time, we have to admit that although the West is not very good now, some of their castle buildings are still quite well built.

Some castles are built on high mountains, and any military strategist would probably feel a headache after seeing them.

It is absolutely easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Xure was also an important adviser to the other party's father, and was deeply trusted by both father and son.

Xure said, "I heard that this time we have to deal with not only the Seljuks and Muslims, but also the Song Dynasty."

"Rumor has it that it is an ancient civilized country in the East, and its strength is even stronger than the Seljuks and Muslims."

“And the silk we use is produced there.”

Young Louis VII said: "That would be even better! If we defeat them, we might be able to force them to pay us silk as ransom."

Xure also thought, 'It's hard to say who will be defeated by then.'

However, Xure could not dampen the enthusiasm of his king, so he said, "If you really want to go, you must be fully prepared. Moreover... King, you are only eighteen years old, and you have been married to the queen for less than two years. You haven't given birth to any children yet. Even if you go, you can't go by yourself. Also, if you go, what will happen to the queen?"

Young Louis VII did not care much about this and replied: "I can take the queen with me."

Xure also thought, wouldn’t that mean giving away two at once?
in fact……

Only family members know their own business.

The Western world is indeed a bit too poor.

It would be good if we could actually snatch something back.

But the queen now is still young. Just think about it, Louis VII is only eighteen years old, so the queen’s age is also imaginable. In fact, this year, the queen was only sixteen years old.

This is also one of the reasons why they have not yet given birth to any royal heirs.

Naturally, Suger did not want Louis VII to take risks.

But he knew the character of Louis VII, who was an extremely devout Christian.

His love for Christianity may even be greater than his love for the queen.

But is there a possibility that because the queen was not good-looking, Louis VII turned his love to God?

to be frank!
If you were a prince and inherited a kingdom, and your father asked you to marry someone you didn't really like.

The key point is that this wife might be a little bit aggressive in character.

The principality where the queen originally lived was no less powerful than the Kingdom of France.

then……

His wife has even more power to disobey your orders.

In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that the Duchy of Aquitaine behind this queen may actually be more powerful than France.

At least they are on par.

In this way...

Let me ask you, who would really like a woman with such a strong background?

It's just like traveling back to the Tang Dynasty, and the emperor forces you to marry a Tang princess.

It’s good enough that I don’t turn against you.

It was because Xure knew his king well that he thought that perhaps it would be a good idea to go out and relax.

But once you really encounter danger, you must remember to escape first.

(End of this chapter)