kingdom of nations

Chapter 235 Weights and Measures (Part 1)
Heraclius followed Baldwin's gaze, looking at the people around the campfire one by one, and realized that Baldwin was right. A look of understanding appeared on his face.

Although he was a monk, he had always followed King Amalric I of Arrassa. Although he had never followed the Crusader knights into Arrassa during the First Crusade, he had once set foot in several other cities that had been ravaged by war.

For a monarch or commander, acquiring new territory is certainly a joyous occasion. However, the subsequent governance—unless the inhabitants have already colluded with a foreign enemy and surrendered their cities—would take five or ten years, even for a Christian city, to gradually recover to its former glory.

Not to mention cities like Arazarus, Acre, and Jaffa, which were originally ruled by pagans. Both sides fought for their faith, and the significance of their battles was far greater than territory, money, and women. By the time the dust settled, an irreconcilable blood feud had already been established between the two sides. The victor would always slaughter the loser. The best outcome was nothing more than what happened in Fustat, where all the pagans were expelled from the city and had to pay money to buy their freedom.

After that, new residents move in, and it will take another generation before the city truly belongs to its new owners.

Cesar, however, only took a year—even just in Nicosia—to achieve this, and that ability was enough for the Frankish king to extend a warm invitation to him to serve as prime minister at his court.

“It’s not just Nicosia,” Chiraclo said. Princess Anna originally landed in Larnaca because she was going to marry Cesar at the St. Lazarus Cathedral there.

But in her second marriage, perhaps to avoid that suffocating shadow, the Venetians chose a route for the bride to land at Kyrenia on the north side of Cyprus, then pass through Hierolax, and head to the cathedral in Nicosia.

The journey from Kyrenia to Nicosia took a day and a night, and involved passing through several cities. However, the Venetians made no mention of the attacks they encountered along the way. In fact, Portia was received and welcomed by envoys from those cities and accepted gifts from them.

"How did he do that?" Baldwin asked.

Even Patriarch Heraclius found this difficult to answer.

Because, in their view, Cesar seemed to have done nothing; he merely quelled the rebellion in Cyprus, dealt with the families and individuals involved, and then promulgated three laws that couldn't be simpler.

Chirac could vaguely sense some of the clues, but he was ultimately a man of his time and could not understand the efforts César had made.

He gave everyone justice. But the price of this justice was that he had to expend much more effort—he had to search for credible testimonies from all over the world, find potential witnesses, and consult the laws of Cyprus, the Frankish state, and the Church.

We must also do our best to make the public understand our intentions so that we are not taken advantage of by those with ulterior motives.

When will people submit to a strange tyrant?
Most commoners lack courage and insight. They will only try to rebel when they are driven to a dead end, and even then, a priest or nobleman is often needed to lead them.

This means that even under the most severe oppression, they will try to reconcile with their monarch or ruler. This is human nature and not something to be criticized. But when you realize this, you can calm them down very quickly.

When they know that as long as they don't cross those red lines, they can live peacefully and safely, neither faith, hatred, nor the so-called law can shake them.

Do you think a farmer would care if his lord was a bastard? No, if this lord is the same as the previous lord and doesn't collect more poll tax or war tax, then isn't everything the same as before? He has absolutely no need to worry about it, let alone get angry.

Similarly, they wouldn't care who the king or the pope is; they'd probably care more about who the headman and the cowherd are.

As for faith, in fact, when we look through history books, we will find that the essence of faith is still deeply rooted in interests. Just like the scriptures written by the earliest Saracen prophets, it is more like a well-thought-out guidebook for all Saracens, written after much consideration. For the Saracens at that time, every word was indeed precious.

César also considered compiling a complete set of laws.

The current legal system is a complete mess. Most of the time, it only considers the personal interests or feelings of high-ranking priests or lords. Sometimes the law is practically a child's game, left for the nobility to manipulate and mold into all sorts of shapes they want.

Can such a law really serve to warn people and curb crime?
He didn't see it that way. Since becoming a Knight of Bethlehem, Cesar had participated in numerous trials. But the results of each one left him both amused and exasperated—things like judging pigs, judging dogs, or allowing couples to engage in divorce duels were one thing, but another.

There was even a case in Arazari where a person was considered a devil and sent to the dock simply because of his ugly appearance.

If Baldwin and Cesar hadn't been there for that trial, that poor man would likely have been burned at the stake instead of just being banished from the city.

But even if he could compile a complete law based on his past memories, what use would it be? Reading was a privilege reserved for nobles, knights, and priests; most commoners were illiterate, and some couldn't even utter a coherent, complete, and logical sentence.

Even if a preacher goes to the market to read it aloud, they might only hear the first half and forget the second half, leaving them dumbfounded and completely clueless about what you're saying. They might even think the new lord is joking with them.

But the three rules of not stealing, not raping, and not killing are easy to remember, and César did not use any fancy analogies or embellishments in them. They are so simple and clear that it is difficult for anyone to find any flaws in them.

For ordinary people, it's easy to understand what this means: oh, as long as we don't break these three laws, we won't be hanged, whipped, or have our property confiscated—and of course, we won't live in constant fear.

Even if someone with ulterior motives tries to incite a riot and threatens them with words they don't understand, they can still confidently say, "No, we know that the new lord said we are innocent as long as we don't break those three laws."

Of course, the power and cruelty that César displayed during the "Seven Days of Mourning" did leave a deep shadow on those nobles, but what was their greatest unease? It was nothing more than that their new lord, in order to completely control Cyprus or plunder all their wealth, would frame and slander them at will, calling a deer a horse.

After all, to the Crusaders, they were a group of heretics, and no matter what methods they used, it was not excessive.

But Cesar didn't do that, even though the rebellion was the perfect excuse—even if he slaughtered the entire Cyprus and expelled all his families, no one could say anything.

What happened to the Georgius family afterward gave a glimmer of hope to the nobles who were lucky enough not to have participated in the conspiracy. Some families even thought that Manuel I might have done something good this time.

The Fatimid dynasty of Egypt has never given up its covetousness of Cyprus. They are only able to catch their breath now because Grand Vizier Saladin is suppressing an internal rebellion. The people of Cyprus have long been looking forward to a strong ruler.

They were even prepared to satisfy the new lord's greed, as long as he could fight the Saracens.

Cypriots are still merchants at heart. Merchants never concern themselves with short-term gains or losses. Money is like the sun to them—it sets tonight and rises again tomorrow. As long as the new ruler can guarantee the safety of their ports and shipping lanes, they can earn back a thousandfold what they've lost.

"How about those northern cities?" Baldwin asked.

He was referring to the cities that Cesar had leased to the Knights Templar, "and they seemed quite peaceful there."

Heraclius said that while he had been assisting Baldwin in preparing for the expedition, he was also concerned about his students—the Knights Templar, or rather the Crusaders, had a poor reputation among the people of the Byzantine Empire, as they had indeed committed acts of plundering cities and farms.

In fact, Cesar had anticipated this, which is why he essentially handed over those ports and cities to the Knights Templar for nothing.

The Knights Templar's greatest income came from donations from pilgrims—therefore, a safe and unobstructed pilgrimage route was crucial to them. Not to mention, merchants traveling under the Templars' protection also needed ports for buying, selling, and shipping goods. Furthermore, Cesar had made concessions regarding commercial privileges; the revenue from these few cities and shipping routes alone would be enough for the Templars to recruit another three hundred knights.

For the sake of such enormous profits, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar would absolutely not allow anyone to damage their friendly relations with Cesar, especially for such a ridiculous reason.

"What about the Charity Knights?"

Baldwin need not worry about that. The original roots of the Knights of Charity were a hospital that provided lodging, food, and medical care to pilgrims, regardless of their faith—the idea that saving lives is better than taking them has been a guiding principle throughout the history of the order.

Although they also engaged in trade and warfare, they were never as unpopular as the Knights Templar.

Because of the scandal that happened to the Gerald family, after the matter was settled, they were met with a merciless rebuke and purge by their patriarch, and most of them completely retreated into seclusion.

“By the way,” Chiracio said, “did Bishop Andrei tell you about it?”

"what?"

"Damara, the daughter of Patriarch Gerald—he had found a Frankish knight for her, but unfortunately, before the marriage negotiations could even begin, the unfortunate fellow died in an accident."

Chirac said, "The Gerard family once wanted to marry Damara to César. But as you know, neither Damara, her father, nor César had such intentions."

But as you've seen, what they did afterward was utterly laughable.

However, Gerrard's patriarch did not give up his original idea.

However, he couldn't possibly send someone to Frankfurt to find a suitable son-in-law, as the two places were too far apart, and a round trip would take another three or four years.

"He doesn't need to be in such a hurry. Damara is only fifteen years old."

"Perhaps he was still frightened by those greedy and insatiable people. For a father, the best outcome for his daughter is a stable marriage."

So he set his sights on Bishop Andrei's nephew, his real nephew, not an illegitimate child.

"How is that young man?"

“I would say he was quite good,” Chirac said hesitantly. “As you know, young men like you, Cesar, and even David, who are so self-disciplined and gentle, are rare these days. He was a typical Crusader Knight.”

Bishop Andrei's family was, in a sense, a suitable match for the Gerard family, and Bishop Andrei had also inquired with the young man. Although initially he wanted to join a knightly order—I mean, one of the three major knightly orders that required a vow of chastity—currently none of the three orders had a suitable position for him.

So he was already thinking about returning to Frank. He was the eldest son in the family, and Damara would be the mistress of the castle after marrying him. His uncle was fighting alongside us, so no matter what happened in the future, Damara would at least not be mistreated.

“It’s not surprising that he thinks that way,” Baldwin said. “While the Holy Land is alluring, with its many opportunities and honors, it’s not a good place for a woman.” Look at Princess Anna, who died on her wedding night, and her stepmother, the Queen Mother. Maria was also nearly torn to pieces by a raging bear when she entered the Arathi Basin.

Similarly, César's grandmother, wife of Josephine II, Count of Edessa, was abducted to Apollo along with her son. While people remember Josephine III, she has long been forgotten; perhaps she has become a slave to some Saracen and died in grief and oppression.

A father who truly loves his daughter would never want her to be in such a dangerous situation.

"Are they already discussing marriage?"

"It's basically settled. However, what that young man means is that he wants to go on the expedition with you. He said when he set off that he would take the heads of three Saracens, and he hasn't fulfilled the vow he made to God yet."

“Just assign him a few battles,” Baldwin said, not wanting to see old Gerald’s mournful look. What if his future son-in-law went on an expedition with him and died there?
Chirac nodded.

In present-day Syria, such an arrangement is not difficult. Several "successors of Nourdin" are fighting among themselves, and the losers often spawn one or two groups that have lost their honor and faith. Once they are freed from the constraints of law and doctrine, they turn into bandits.

During this period, battles of varying sizes have been taking place in areas bordering Syria.

They strolled leisurely, discussing what would happen next, and before they knew it, dawn had broken.

“I want to stay here, even if only for a few days,” Baldwin complained. “I haven’t seen Cesar for months.”

“Believe me. Even you wouldn’t want to see Cesar during this month—the newlyweds are in the throes of passion,” Heraclius bluntly reminded Baldwin not to spoil the mood. “Besides, don’t you still want little Cesar? If you don’t let them spend some time together, in a few months, Cesar will be off serving you with his knights. How will Portia give birth then? Will she welcome a child like the Virgin Mary?”

Baldwin laughed heartily, realizing he had said something foolish. So he only met with Cesar briefly the next day to say goodbye before returning to Arrasa Road, as he had many things to do.

However, neither Chirac nor Baldwin likely anticipated that the honeymoon would not have been that significant for Cesar.

On the third day, he invited Dandolo to the council chamber for a talk. Dandolo had originally planned to stay longer, preferably past the month. Although Portia's expression and demeanor suggested that the marriage was at least quite perfect in some respects, they were, after all, just a pair of naive young people—there was still much they needed guidance from an elder.

When Cesare's servants came to invite him to a meeting, Dandolo initially thought that Cesare wanted to discuss the dowry with him.

Although the dowry is specified in the marriage certificate, it is not uncommon for the groom to make some reasonable demands after the marriage agreement is signed.

Dandolo had roughly prepared himself mentally: did they want an army? Or more ships? He didn't care. Since 1171, he had only desired one thing, and besides, he was already old and frail; this might be his last chance to squander his wealth.

But as soon as he sat down, Cesar asked a question that seemed somewhat absurd to him at the moment.

What are your thoughts on the current system of weights and measures?

(End of this chapter)