Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 252 Your Name Will Be Eden
The newborn God demonstrated His authority in a different way.

The weapon of artillery is indeed going to become widely known.

Barbarossa will also be remembered by generations to come.

After all, from now on, whenever Barbarossa, one of the greatest Holy Roman emperors of the Middle Ages, is mentioned, one has to mention how he died.

When talking about the history of artillery development, we cannot avoid the highest killing targets in the early days of artillery development. They are people who are indispensable in textbooks.

Even Roger, the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, gained fame that he should not have had.

The "Chronicle of Tyre" records it like this: In April 1189, His Majesty Frederick "Red Beard" fought with Saladin's army at the foot of Mount Toruń.

After his great victory, His Majesty Frederick "Red Beard" ordered the captured gunners to fire towards Acre.

The first two shells were fired normally, but for the third, His Majesty personally ignited the cannon, which exploded on the spot, and he and Grand Commander Roger were called by the Lord.

Garys did not participate in this battle, but after listening to the description, he and Balian and others could not help but look at each other in surprise.

Did you win?
Should have won.

But was the city of Acre taken?

No.

With Frederick's unexpected death, this wave of Crusaders' offensive was directly disintegrated due to lack of leader.

And because the Knights Templar had rashly pursued the enemy before, causing their troops to be in danger, internal conflicts broke out among the Crusader coalition this time.

In addition, because the Knights Hospitaller blamed the Templars for the death of their grand master, they took the lead in withdrawing their troops.

The siege in April 89 ended in failure.

"Of course, there is another piece of information here. I think you need to take a look at it. This is probably the reason for Barbarossa's death." As he said this, Balian took out a report and gave it to Gaillis.

After taking the report, Garys glanced at it briefly and couldn't help but sigh. This was a gunpowder composition analysis report.

"70% saltpeter, 15% sulfur, 15% charcoal..."

All I can say is that the Arabs were actually quite capable, as they figured out the formula for black powder of this proportion.

Of course, coming up with a formula with a high nitrate ratio is not an absolute technical challenge.

The problem is that the higher the proportion of saltpeter, the more powerful the gunpowder explosion.

In the early days when metal cannon casting technology was not perfect, using gunpowder with a high nitrate ratio was like asking the gunner to gamble on how many times he could survive to fire.

When the saltpeter ratio exceeds one-half, it is already quite dangerous. Saladin directly raised the stone ratio to 70% in one step.

Although due to various reasons, the combustion of powdered black powder is not very complete and cannot reach the theoretical expansion efficiency of 4 grams of black powder and 280L of gas.

But it is enough to turn the artillery used by the subordinates into potential big firecrackers.

This arrangement had a miraculous effect in an unexpected place, leading Frederick's life onto a path that led to the same destination.

Holy Roman Emperor, King of Italy, King of the Romans, King of Burgundy... so many titles belong to "Red Beard" Frederick Hohenstaufen.

In history, Barbarossa led the most elite knights and soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire to the Holy Land by land. When passing through the territory of the Eastern Empire, he clashed with Emperor Isaac II of the Eastern Empire, and his army plundered Thrace.

In order to seek reconciliation, Isaac II even tried to grant Barbarossa the title of "Ancient Roman Emperor".

After leaving the Eastern Roman Empire, his army won victory after victory in Asia Minor, at one point severely damaging the main force of the Rum Sultanate and occupying its capital, Konya, in May 1190.

And because of Barbarossa's adequate preparation, his army did not encounter the marching disasters like the First and Second Crusades.

And just when everything was going in the right direction.

Barbarossa drowned in the Salif River.

Some said that he had a heart attack because he went swimming in the river because the weather was too hot, while others said that he fell while riding a horse across the river.

Others say that Barbarossa was so obsessed with swimming that he sank in a river where the water was not even up to his waist.

Gellis kept recalling stories about Barbarossa's life, and then he silently sighed in his heart that fate was fickle.

Although Barbarossa launched several expeditions to Italy, most of them ended in failure.

However, it did reverse the decline of German imperial power to a certain extent and strengthened the degree of internal centralization.

Due to his construction of the Holy Roman Empire, he became a national legend in Germany. Even the later German Empire, in order to gain political support, built a monument claiming that William I was the reincarnation of Barbarossa.

Additionally, there were rumors that Barbarossa was not dead, but had fallen asleep with his knights in a cave in the Kirchhauser Mountains in Thuringia, or in the Untersberg Mountains on the border of Bavaria, Germany, and Salzburg, Austria.

When the crows stop flying over the mountains, he will awaken Germany to its ancient greatness.

According to the story, his red beard had grown out of the table he sat at. He kept his eyes half closed in his sleep, but from time to time he would raise his hand to send a boy out to see if the crows had stopped flying.

Barbarossa's flesh was buried in the Church of St. Peter in Antioch, his bones in the Cathedral of Tyre, and his viscera in the Church of St. Paul in Tarsus.

His army was split because of his death, and thousands of knights and nobles rushed directly back to Germany by ship to prepare for the upcoming Holy Roman Emperor election.

The situation facing Garys was actually very similar.

Although Barbarossa was not dismembered and soaked in a barrel of vinegar as originally planned.

But the Holy Roman Empire Crusaders he brought with him did begin to split.

Strictly speaking, the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation was not an absolute hereditary empire. This problem was actually quite common in the Christian world.

In many cases, the throne was decided by an electorate of nobles, but usually the closeness of the blood relationship to the previous monarch was used as the reason.

The Leper King once tried to get the four great monarchs of Europe to form an electoral college to decide which of the sisters Isabella and Sibylla would be the king of Jerusalem.

Historically, most of the German Crusaders chose to give up the Crusades in order to gain a chance to win the throne, and the same is true for Tyre now.

In the early morning of Tyre, the gray-blue sky was low and the sea breeze mixed with salty and humid air blew across the quiet streets.

The church bells echoed slowly and long in the dawn mist.

In the church, light shines through stained glass onto the stone columns and marble floors.

These mottled colors reflect fragments of countless people's memories.

Barbarossa's coffin lies quietly in the center of the main hall. It is made of dark red oak and inlaid with intricate golden patterns, symbolizing his glory and authority.

The main priest held up the cross, and behind him stood a row of monks in white robes.

They chanted "Elegy" in a low, long voice that flowed through the crowd like a tide.

“May the Lord have mercy on his servant and let his soul rest in eternal glory.”

When the tide receded, only little Frederick remained in the church.

People are people, even those who sit on the throne are unexpectedly fragile.

Sword, disease, famine, drowning...

Now there is a new weapon that can take people's lives - artillery. Of course, my father did not die from the shooting of artillery, but died from operating the artillery...

Little Frederick, who was only 22 years old, still felt quite embarrassed and could not swallow the bitterness in his mouth.

Besides, where should I go?
Just go home like this?

Little Frederick was a little unhappy. After all, he had come all the way here and the empire even lost an emperor.

So you didn't even bother to look at which way the gate of Jerusalem opens and just gave up?
This will become a joke.

But with his current prestige, he was actually unable to suppress the German Crusaders that were falling apart.

Just like when Gellis was going to take Isabella to Jerusalem to choose a king, many of his knights felt the cold and had the urge to give little Frederick more clothes.

But will this work?

Is this good?
Given his shallow foundation, there would be no good ending if he really went back to Germany.

Just when little Frederick was struggling, he suddenly heard footsteps. When he turned around, he saw that there was a person in the aisle.

The man had a typical Frankish appearance, with light blond hair.

He had a very tall figure and was wearing a strange black slim-fitting dress. What was even stranger was that he was holding a strange object in the church.

The black cloth was covered on the iron frame, like a crutch, held above the other party's head.

Very mysterious and weird.

Of course, it was very strange that this person could be seen in the church aisle when the church doors were closed.

"who are you?"

Little Frederick was quite alert, and his right hand had already reached for the sword at his waist.

"Your father's friend."

"Father doesn't have a friend as young as you."

"Young? Don't judge a person by his appearance, kid. I have been in this world for more than a thousand years."

"After I died thousands of years ago, only a little spirit remained, floating in the world. I have witnessed the changes of the world, the collapse of empires, studied everything, and knew secrets unknown to the world."

"Nonsense!"

With a clanging sound, little Frederick drew out the long sword from his waist. He didn't want to see blood in the church.

But the other party appeared here inexplicably, probably with bad intentions.

"Nonsense? That's not important, but I really don't want to see blood in my brother's residence."

While the other person was speaking, little Frederick's eyes suddenly widened because the other person disappeared.

Then, the sound of breathing came from behind him.

When little Frederick subconsciously swung his sword back, the umbrella in the opponent's hand easily blocked the attack.

"You should have heard of my legend."

"what?"

“In Cyprus.”

Garys reminded.

Little Frederick's pupils shrank suddenly.

"The Holy One from Jerusalem?"

During their time in Cyprus, both Frederick the Younger and his father had naturally heard rumors about President Gérice.

After all, it was because of Gellis that Cyprus leaned towards the Catholic world and was willing to provide logistics and bases for the Crusaders, making traveling to the Holy Land by ship a more preferred option.

He had heard the rumors about Garys performing "miracles" more than once.

Of course, just because you’ve heard of it doesn’t mean you’ll completely believe it.

But now, he seemed to have no choice but to believe it.

Because after blocking his attack, Gaillis disappeared again and reappeared on the altar, under the cross of the crucifixion of Jesus.

"I once prophesied to Balian that Jerusalem would fall, so that he could take the city's residents to various places for refuge safely. If you don't believe me, you can go to Balian to verify it."

"And now I prophesy again: For Zion's sake I will not keep silence, nor for Jerusalem's sake I will remain silent, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a burning lamp. The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you will be given a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will give."

"You will be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, a royal diadem in the hand of your God."

Frederick was stunned by these words. He was a young man, already twenty years old, but being born into a royal family, he was not immature.

"Father's preferred successor is my brother." Frederick said with a little bitterness.

The reason why he appeared here instead of in Germany, apart from religious reasons, was also due to secular interests.

As the Duke of Swabia, as a prince... he was obviously a strong contender for the throne. Barbarossa brought him here, probably because he didn't want him to return to Germany.

“Your land will not be north of the Alps, but between the Euphrates and the Tigris.”

When little Frederick was at a loss, he saw this so-called Saint of Jerusalem, Gairis, walking towards him, and he did not avoid him.

But when he wanted to avoid the other person, he found that the other person was walking too fast, and then a horrifying scene appeared.

Garys's figure seemed to overlap with his for a moment.

Is there a physical entity?
Little Frederick was horrified.

At this moment, another word came from all directions, like the words of God.

"Your name will be Eden."

Eden...

[A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided into four rivers... The name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria; and the fourth river is the Euphrates.]

Eden slapped himself.

It was a very crisp sound and there was real pain, so it must not be a dream.

Eden didn't know why it was him, but why couldn't it be him?

Instead of going back to Germany to add clothes to yourself, it is better to add clothes to yourself directly on this land.

Unlike later generations, the Levant at that time was truly a rich place compared to Western Europe. As for the area between Tigris and Euphrates, he had also heard of it.

(End of this chapter)