kingdom of nations

Chapter 124 First Battle (5)

"This letter is from Muhammad, the servant of Allah, together with his Lord, to Heraclius, the Byzantine monarch. May the guide of the path of truth be bathed in the light of peace. I sincerely invite you to enter the gate of... religion. Once you convert, safety will be with you, and Allah will bestow upon you double blessings. If you refuse, you may mislead your subjects and cause them to stray from the right path."

After reading this passage, Nurdin did not continue. He silently lowered his head and slowly placed the wooden box in his hands on his knees.

This should be the Prophet Muhammad's letter to the rulers of the surrounding neighboring countries. Also known as the "Letter to the Eight Nations," in which he persuaded the rulers of Abyssinia, Egypt, Persia, Byzantium, Bahrain, Yemmael, Damascus, and Oman to convert. Regardless of the outcome, this was indeed one of the Saracens' most glorious achievements.

Of these eight letters, only three remain in Egypt and Syria; the others are nowhere to be found. Nur ad-Din gently stroked the mark on the letter—"Muhammad, the Messenger of God." This mark, in terms of size, pattern, and even the tiny missing marks, was exactly the same as the one he was familiar with—the original Muhammad silver ring was indeed lost, but it could still be seen on the official documents kept in the palace.

The tent was completely silent. Everyone stared intently at the sacred object in his hands. Although they were not yet certain, there was no doubt that this miracle, occurring as they were about to launch a holy war, would give them and their soldiers great confidence. It was an auspicious sign, and without saying it aloud, excitement shone in everyone's eyes.

Contrary to what these generals thought, Nur ad-Din felt little joy or excitement. No one could question his steadfastness, piety, and wisdom. It was precisely because of these three things that he dared not believe such a coincidence could exist in the world.

Because their prophet Muhammad once said that God is the greatest in the world and there is no other god besides God, his church is not filled with all sorts of strange and unusual holy objects like the churches of Christians.

As far as Nur ad-Din knew, regardless of sect, the Saracens only recognized three sacred relics, the Stone of Abraham—in Christian tradition, the First Priest Abraham sacrificed his only son on it. But to the Saracens, this stone was proof that their prophet Muhammad, guided by angels, ascended to heaven on a magnificent horse.

The second item is one of Muhammad's Seven Swords. It is called Zulfiqar, and its whereabouts are now unknown. It can only be seen in some records related to Muhammad or in tapestries.

The third item is a black meteorite located in Muklama.

The Abraham Stone symbolizes worship and reverence for God, the Zulfiqar sword represents the heroism and purity of the Prophet Muhammad, and the Black Stone in Muklam is the core of the pilgrimage for believers, symbolizing the threshold to Paradise and loyalty to God.

If this extremely important letter is indeed Muhammad's original, then by Christian standards it would be an absolutely precious holy relic—priests might even cut every word on it for worship.

But for the Saracens, even if it were true, Nur ad-Din was unsure whether to make it public—but when he looked around and saw those expectant faces, he found it difficult to make that decision.

He could guess what these people were thinking, even if the relic was offered to them by a merchant from Isaac. But it hadn't appeared in the preceding centuries, nor in the following centuries, but rather during their faith, when Sultan Nur ad-Din led them in their conquest of Arazari. This was God's recognition and protection of them.

Nurdin looked again at the yellowed parchment. It was so thin and brittle that it could not even be picked up by hand. It could only be placed in an exquisite wooden box, yet it was so heavy. When he picked it up and tried to trace its sacred handwriting with his eyes, some people even subconsciously stretched out their hands, palms up, as if they were about to catch it at any moment.

Nurdin paused for a moment. In his father's secret collection, he had indeed seen handwriting and seals identical to those in this letter. He finally sighed and held the wooden box high: "Look, this is indeed the handwriting of the Prophet Muhammad."

A suppressed cheer and praise suddenly erupted from inside the tent.

While they were eagerly passing around this precious manuscript, Nur ad-Din had already gotten up and left the tent. The chief eunuch followed closely behind him and was not particularly surprised when he asked about the Isaac who had delivered the manuscript.

“That…guest has been kept in my tent, and he will be treated with great hospitality in the coming days,” said the chief eunuch. He could see that the arrival of the Isaac merchant and the holy relics he offered did not please the Sultan, but rather annoyed him.

Normally he would have quietly withdrawn and then ordered his servants to hang the Isaac merchant, but: "The Isaac merchant said," the chief eunuch said in a low voice, "that he has more treasures, but he came alone and cannot take them all with him."

"What else? Gold, or jewels?"

“Books,” the chief eunuch replied, “the books and documents that the Issa people have collected from various places over the past few hundred years since they left the road of Arazars. These include manuscripts, documents, records, poems, architectural drawings, legal documents, and of course, the most numerous are scriptures and commentaries.”

How did he get these things?

"According to him, he was once a student of a wise man, but because of some conflict with his people, they expelled him, but he did not give up what was rightfully his."

He had secretly followed his teacher several times before discovering these items—he was somewhat disappointed, as he had hoped to obtain some money or artifacts, but instead found only documents, yet still a valuable collection. He offered these to us, hoping…”

"hope?"

“Yes, Sultan, his idea is ridiculous, it’s practically delusional…”

"Tell me, what does he want?"

“He wants to be your minister, Sultan. He wants to serve you in your court. Even if he can’t become a governor or a vizier, he should at least be a scribe or something like that…”

"Is he an ordinary person, or someone who has received prophetic revelation?"

"It should be the latter."

Nourdin pondered for a moment. He didn't like this person who had suddenly appeared and disrupted his plans, but he had always valued education highly. During his decades of rule over Syria, he used the national treasury and his own money to build many schools and libraries and hire teachers to teach children.

If the Isaac merchant had only brought relics, or gold and silk, he might not have been tempted. But if he said he had many precious books—in any case, Nurdin wouldn't kill him before obtaining them. "It sounds like his appetite isn't so small after all," Nurdin said jokingly, and the chief eunuch immediately bowed deeply.

Whether in Christian palaces or in the Sultan's royal court, those who have received blessings or revelations are always more trusted and valued by those in power than ordinary people. After all, they have proven their piety and specialness; otherwise, how could they be called "chosen ones"? Moreover, those who have only received meager blessings—like Witte—can hardly rise to prominence.

Nur ad-Din recalled the Isaac merchant he had met in the tent not long ago—who insisted on seeing the Sultan before he would hand over his treasures, otherwise he would rather destroy them.

He didn't seem like an Isaac, nor did he have much of the mercenary air typical of a businessman. He was pale, with black hair and black eyes, and his appearance was very clean and refined, making him look more like a scholar.

Nurdin did not question the other party's intentions. After all, ever since the Isaacs were expelled from Canaan, Rome, and Egypt, they had been a group of homeless, wandering rats, without land or foundation, destined to be excluded from society. Whether in Christian or Saracen cities, they were discriminated against and found it difficult to gain respect, thus developing a two-faced and opportunistic nature.

However, some people say that if they can betray even their savior, then what about anything else?

This statement, though harsh, is also quite true. It wouldn't be surprising if a shrewd Isaac merchant sensed their determination to seize Arazare and wanted to secure a foothold for themselves first.

“They also had King David and King Solomon, but alas…” Nurdin shook his head, but in the end he was still tempted by the ancient scrolls that were said to fill an entire underground cave. Anyway, it would only be a matter of a few months, or after the war started, he could have someone take this Isaac merchant to retrieve those books.

“If things are as he says, I can arrange a librarian position for him—hopefully he’ll be satisfied,” Nurdin said, a sly smile playing on his lips.

Having received this answer, the chief eunuch was finally relieved. He tried his best to refrain from touching the small purse at his waist—containing a large ruby, a bribe from the merchant Isaac. He hadn't asked for anything in return, only that perhaps they might become ministers in the same court someday…

The chief eunuch was well aware of the Sultan's health condition, and Nur ad-Din would not hide anything from him. He had told the chief eunuch that once he fell ill, he would entrust his eleven-year-old son, Saleh, to him, making him Saleh's caretaker and regent. The chief eunuch was naturally very grateful for the Sultan's arrangement, but he also knew that the few Viziers and Fatahs he had allied with were probably no match for the boy's two older brothers.

At this point, any force that could be brought under his control would be extremely important. In particular, this Isaac merchant said that he originally lived in Arazarus—in case the Sultan was unable to return to Apore, he could bring his young master from Apore here as soon as possible. Then, by controlling Arazarus, he could still contend with the two older princes.

At this time, it would be even better if there were someone who knew a great deal about Yarasalut.

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The eunuch leader's tent wasn't large, but it could accommodate about ten people. Although the furnishings were simple, they were comfortable. However, the two people inside the tent—Haredi disguised as a merchant and the merchant's servant—whose servant was one of the squires of the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, couldn't help but feel extremely uneasy, even though they were prepared to die.

Philip didn’t trust Haredi much, even though Haredi hadn’t brought the Saracens—he asked Haredi to bring a Christian. This was fine before Cesar became so famous, but now most people knew that the new king Baldwin IV had a black-haired, green-eyed attendant—whose appearance was so striking that it couldn’t be concealed—so he had no choice but to send his own entourage.

Haredi did indeed need a servant. The letter, written by Muhammad himself, was genuine, and precisely because it was genuine, it was extremely fragile when it was taken out; it seemed that the slightest force would turn it to dust. Therefore, it was hidden in a thin, large wooden box and protected with great care.

To prove his point, he also took with him a collection of documents written between the sixth and seventh centuries AD. For someone like Nurdin, a lover of reading and learning, a simple comparison would have been enough to draw a conclusion: Haredi's words were true—there was indeed an entire underground cave of ancient scrolls waiting to be unearthed.

It was precisely because of this that their identities were not exposed.

But the fact that they hadn't been exposed didn't mean they were safe. Who knew what Nur ad-Din was thinking? Perhaps he still thought the Isaacs were untrustworthy, or even that Muhammad's relics were blasphemous and defiled in his hands. But now they had penetrated deep into the Saracen camp, and even with God's blessing, they couldn't get past the swords and arrows of tens of thousands of men.

As soon as the Sultan made a move, they would surely die.

Such waiting was undoubtedly arduous and torturous. They might have waited for hours until someone came in, not with unsheathed swords or sturdy bowstrings, but with some food and water.

Haredi and his entourage breathed a sigh of relief, which at least meant that Nurdin wouldn't kill them at this time.

He had already seen the Sultan during the previous audience. As soon as Haridi saw him, he knew, just as they had guessed, that Sultan Nur ad-Din was indeed nearing the end of his life. For a moment, Haridi even had the thought of assassinating him on the spot, but in the end he managed to control himself.

Regardless of whether it would succeed, he would rather see the painful look in the eyes of this aging beast after realizing that his long-cherished wish could never be fulfilled than a sudden but swift death.

They were still under strict supervision and would later travel with the army, but this attendant had been favored by a saint, and his ability was quite interesting—he could summon small animals and make them temporarily obey his commands.

He crushed the dry biscuit, and soon attracted several plump gerbils.

The squire used dye he carried to paint the gerbils' foreheads red, a secret signal they had agreed upon. He would release these furry little creatures, urging them to cross the Saracen camp and reach the hills on one side, where the waiting knights would capture them and see the outcome.

He released several, since the Saracen camp was quite spacious, and after a distance, no one knew whether the gerbils would continue to obey his commands. They might run back to their nests or hide. Fortunately, even if they were discovered, no one would pay attention to a gerbil's forehead.

After doing all this, the squire and Haredi exchanged a brief glance—they would have to wait again.

(End of this chapter)