kingdom of nations

Chapter 252 The Threat of the Eagle's Nest (Part 1)
Leila was initially taken aback when she saw Cesar, then gave him a dangerous look.

Previously, it was Sinan, the master of the Eagle's Nest, who came to Holy Cross Castle to seek an opportunity for peace talks with Amalric I. Now, however, an assassin has arrived, a pawn on the chessboard. Does this indicate that the master of the Eagle's Nest harbors contempt for Baldwin IV?
Whether she sensed Cesar's ill will or not, Leila's first words were: "The elder is in Cairo."

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When the kind-faced elder, whose inner thoughts were perhaps the complete opposite, appeared before Saladin, the vast hall fell into a terrible silence.

The horror of the Assassins has been proven by the lives, heads, and the gold and silk that camels and mules constantly transport to the Alamut Mountains—the Eagle's Nest headquarters. But the elder's appearance here is a provocation, even a threat, and a humiliation.

Saladin and those around him, whether ministers, guards or scholars, were all horrified. Even the usually composed Saladin suddenly gripped his book tightly and stood up.

Where is this? This is Cairo, Egypt, the heart of his painstakingly built new dynasty.

Long before Amalric I attacked Egypt, most of the real power in the Fatimid dynasty had fallen into the hands of him and his uncle. After his uncle's death, Saladin, as the Grand Vizier, was the only one who could speak out in the court.

Although the Caliph Atid was still in power, he was more often used as a shield to defend against attacks from the old guard, or as a spear to stab at the existing beneficiaries in order to implement new policies.

In the past few years, Alaska and the surrounding areas have been in turmoil. Some people have suggested that Saradin send troops to attack Alaska or Damascus, but he has refused. Of course, he knows that this is a good opportunity, and even Nurdin could not resist the temptation.

But he was different; Egypt was not the territory left to him by his ancestors, and his first priority was to consolidate his existing rule.

Saladin knew very well that a magnificent palace could not be built on a shallow foundation—he knew that Shavar would burn down the entire city of Fustat to be buried with the Christian king Amalric I and himself, yet he did not intervene. Why?
It was precisely because Fustat was the capital of the Fatimid dynasty that the remaining orthodox forces were too strong, and he had always been a follower of tradition.

Although countless people had tried to persuade him to join the orthodox side and follow the Caliph of Fatimidity since he arrived in Egypt, offering him countless rewards and temptations, Saladin remained clear-headed. He did not have the blood of a prophet in his veins. If he were to follow the orthodox side, even if he were second only to the Caliph, what difference would it make?
He will always have a Caliph above him who can do whatever he wants to him; he's not that foolish.

As he had anticipated, after the fall of Fustat, the remaining wealth and population of the great city could only follow him to Cairo.

Cairo, already an ancient city, seemed to flourish overnight, and today it is Egypt's largest, wealthiest, and most densely populated city.

During these three years, Saladin also built a huge fortress that belonged only to him—the Saladin Fortress, which resembled the old palace of Al-Apol. It covered a vast area, surrounded by towering towers and wide walls. Inside the fortress were not only palaces and courtyards, but also libraries and temples. It could be said that it was a small city standing in the city of Cairo.

Whenever Saladin ascended the tallest tower and looked down upon Cairo and the surrounding fertile land, he seemed to see his nascent great undertaking taking shape. After arriving in Cairo, Saladin, with almost no constraints, easily reorganized the royal guards and attendants; he purged the original officials—no, it should be said that he used almost none of the former officials of Fustat—those with ability and ambition had already been recruited to his side.

Moreover, he also had those officials who had escaped from Apol and originally belonged to Nur ad-Din. Nur ad-Din truly deserved to be called the light of faith for the Saracens. He had excellent judgment and was fair in rewarding and punishing. Those who could be chosen by him and gathered around him were not ordinary people.

At least Kamal solved many thorny problems for Saladin as soon as he arrived in Cairo.

At the same time, Saladin selected trustworthy individuals from among his supporters and granted them vast fiefdoms, much like a Christian king grants land to his subjects. This move immediately won over most of the people's hearts—compared to the previous caliphs who treated their subjects like slaves, the current Sultan Saladin was like a messenger sent to earth by God.

In addition, like Nur ad-Din, he built libraries and schools. Of course, the doctrines taught in these libraries and schools were traditional, which aroused dissatisfaction among some orthodox people, but what could they do?

Saladin laughed heartily when he heard that Cesare had done the second most important thing on the island—the first being the three laws he had promulgated—abolishing a year's miscellaneous taxes and significantly reducing poll taxes and land taxes. He never imagined that there were people in the world who shared his ideals and practices. He could even use Cesare's actions in Cyprus to refute those who protested that he not only spread traditional religious doctrines but also allowed Egyptian Christians to continue to have their priests, temples, and ceremonies.

His rebuttal left these people speechless: "If our enemies can be tolerant towards civilians with different beliefs, but we cannot, doesn't that mean that those we consider barbaric are more civilized than us?"

As a result, his opponents had no choice but to back down, since no one wanted to admit that they were more ignorant and backward than their enemies, and this move did indeed gain a lot of support from the people.

Most of the people did not have that kind of strong hatred—they were farmers, artisans, or scholars—and here we are talking about those scholars who had never heard the prophetic revelations—and the benefits gained from the war would not fall to them because of the generosity of those in power.

On the contrary, what they feared most was war, which meant increased taxes, forced conscription, and a host of other forms of forced labor.

At this time, labor service did not only take place in fields and forests. While men were inevitably conscripted, sometimes even women were requisitioned to provide clothing and food for the army.

They desperately craved a stable living environment, and who the ruler was was not so important; some were even willing to pay three times the taxes for it.

At this point, Saladin believed the time was right and had Caliph al-Aid "fall ill".

Saladin then demanded that all temples resume praising the Abbasid Caliph during ceremonies and no longer praise the Fatimid Caliph. The next day, he held a grand military parade in Cairo, with 147 formations reviewed – all the wealth he and his uncle had accumulated over the past decade. He paid nearly 30,000 gold coins for this parade, and the result was well worth the investment.

People say that no sultan or caliph could possess an army like Saladin's. Shortly after, Caliph al-Atid died. Of course, everyone knows why; Saladin no longer needed him. After his death, Saladin gave him a simple yet dignified funeral.

The Ayyubid dynasty was thus established, and he became its first sultan.

If Nur ad-Din were still alive, Saladin might have allowed Caliph al-Atid to live a little longer—after all, Nur ad-Din was his mentor and only sovereign. Therefore, when Nur ad-Din decided to launch his expedition to Arazari, Saladin, faced with the messenger's decree demanding his army's cooperation, dared not refuse outright. Of course, he also did not accept the order. He knew that even with an army of 100,000, the moment he saw Nur ad-Din, at Nur ad-Din's command, those around him would still seize him and strangle him with bowstrings.

Saladin's delay was worthwhile. Nur ad-Din tragically perished in the Sea of ​​Galilee. The moment he breathed his last in the city of Arazarus, the last weight on Saladin's shoulders was lifted, and he was finally able to act with abandon.

Saladin certainly had the right to be proud; he was born in 37 and was only forty-one years old at the time. As a male ruler, he was like the blazing sun hanging high in the sky at noon, dazzling and awe-inspiring wherever he went.

But just as he was preparing for the expedition to Damascus, as if a sudden noise had been inserted into a piece of music, the elder of the Eagle's Nest appeared before him without any prior notice.

This is the deepest part of Saladin's castle, a hall connected to the harem, used by him and his "scholars" to teach the prince—Saladin already had a wife when he was nineteen—the daughter of the governor of Damascus (formerly), but they had no children.

He now has eight sons, all born to his concubines—they were born this year and are still infants, but his eldest son is already eight years old.

According to the laws Saladin himself promulgated, children should leave their mothers' arms at the age of six to begin formal education—he had high hopes for his eldest son and paid the most attention to him. He naturally hoped that his eldest son would become a resolute, decisive, and sharp-minded person who could inherit his mantle, especially after seeing two exceptionally outstanding children—he was referring to Cesare and Baldwin, of course—and couldn't help but have even greater expectations for his son.

Although he knew that all their talents were gifts from God, like their appearance, health, temperament, intelligence, or stupidity—qualities that were unchangeable—he clung to a sliver of hope: they were his sons; surely none of them would inherit even a fraction of his essence?

The reality, however, left him feeling extremely embarrassed and disappointed.

When they realized that the middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared in the room was neither a servant nor a guest as they had thought, the boys who were listening to Saladin's teachings—his eldest, second, and third sons—screamed and scrambled to their father's side. While the second son, born in 72, and the third son, born in 73, could be forgiven for their youth, the behavior of the eight-year-old eldest son was truly appalling.

When Saladin saw that all they could do was scream and run away, he even wondered if six years old was too late. Perhaps it was like taking the children away from the woman's hands as soon as they were weaned and raising them himself, or handing them over to a trustworthy minister. Their behavior was no different from that of women, and it almost amused the Eagle's Nest leader who had suddenly appeared there.

Sinan's astonished expression was even more unbearable for Saladin than a slap in the face. The scholars who were initially on guard were quickly led away by a clever man.

This was both to guard against the sudden attack of the assassins from the Eagle's Nest, who might harm Saladin's descendants, and to protect them from Saladin's wrath.

"It seems that nothing in this world can be perfect, don't you think, Sultan?"

“You have come to the wrong place,” Saladin said sternly. “You have mistaken Cairo for the former Fustat, allowing you owls hiding in the shadows to roam freely without restraint. You have committed an act of rudeness, barging into a king’s room without prior notice. I am surrounded by countless valiant warriors and wise scholars who have all listened to the prophet’s revelations. You may be able to sneak in through some unspeakable means, but now that you have come before me, do you think you can leave Saladin’s castle unscathed under the watchful eyes of so many people?”

The elder was not alarmed by these words, but simply bowed deeply. "I have come here to have an equal and peaceful dialogue with you, Sultan. But just as the richest merchant in Alexandria would not trade with a beggar, how can you believe I have the right to negotiate with you if I do not demonstrate my abilities?"

Do you think that just because you've come up to me, you have the right to speak with me?

“Why not? Sultan, I know you have a large, brave, and loyal army, and no one has been able to interfere with or restrain you since Nur ad-Din. But just as a beggar may have something that a merchant is interested in, we also have bargaining chips that we can use to trade with you.”

"How many troops can you give me, ten thousand or twenty thousand?"

“The Alamut Mountains cannot support such a large population,” the elder said. “But you should know that a strong camel may be mercilessly killed by an axe, but just as a small thorn stuck between its toes can also cause it to collapse from high fever and poison.”

Our assassins are everywhere and omnipotent. Sultan, you should also know that even though you have heeded the prophet's revelations, possess countless soldiers, and reside in this fortified fortress, you are still a mortal man of flesh and blood.

Our assassins have killed the most devout "scholars," the strongest "Fatahs," the most cautious "wizards," and even sultans and caliphs. You may escape countless times, but we only need to succeed once.

"Your current situation is just like that of Nurdin before," he said, his gaze lingering briefly on the cowering children, almost breaking into a smile. "You don't have, at least not now—a heir who looks decent."

Your ideals, your career, and your aspirations are all embodied in you.

You should be able to see it. If one day you were to suddenly die in an accident, your kingdom and army would immediately fall apart. Your son might one day become a young man as outstanding as King Alassa or Count Edessa under his command, but please believe me, the assassins of the Eagle's Nest will not give you much time.”

(End of this chapter)