kingdom of nations

Chapter 355 The Star of Bethlehem - The Knights (Part 1)
A dark-skinned, thin knight walked leisurely through the main street of Damascus.

Despite its simple name, the main street is as old as Damascus, one of the great relics left by the ancient Romans, and even mentioned in the most sacred scriptures.

On both sides of the street, two- or three-story buildings stand side by side. Just like the people of Damascus a thousand years ago, the people of Damascus still use the practice of front shop and back home. The ground floor facing the street is used to open shops, workshops, bakeries, cafes, etc., while the back is the living place of the owner and his family.

In the recent calamity, almost everything of value in these buildings was looted. Even the thin layer of gold leaf above the scriptures engraved on the stone bricks was scraped off. Fruit trees in the courtyards were felled, heavy furniture was used as fuel, and ordinary pottery jars and basins were smashed and discarded.

Behind the corner of the house and behind the wall, there are always traces of things that are too unbearable to look at.

After the Crusaders entered Damascus, Cesar dealt with these ownerless but urgently needed houses in two ways. The first was to gather the survivors and the Saracens who came and ask if any of them knew the owners of these houses. If they were related to the owners, or if there were more than three witnesses willing to testify that the house still had heirs, he would entrust the property to them for safekeeping or to the heirs who might arrive later.

If no heir can be found, the property will be confiscated and sold to residents or merchants in the city through auction. The first thing the merchants do after taking over these houses is to clean them. All the walls must be whitewashed and the floors must be washed clean. It may seem like an overreaction, but it is safe to say that rape, torture, or murder may have occurred in every room here. The walls are covered with scratches and bloodstains, and the pillars may have scars from rope friction or sword cuts.

After these sites were vacated, the first things merchants brought in were grain, oil, cotton cloth... in short, the things that the people and army of Damascus needed most at that time.

In addition, there is another item that might surprise you: water.

Damascus is not short of water. The Badara River flows through steep canyons and enters the Damascus Plain. On the plain, it is like a blooming flower with seven slender and winding petals, one of which flows past the north side of Damascus.

The people of Damascus had long ago dug water channels above and below ground to bring river water into the city, and many households had also dug water storage pools and deep wells.

But before all these places were cleared out, no one dared to drink the water in the city. They might have given up when they had no other choice, but now when they were asked to drink it, they always felt that there was a bloody taste in the water—the blood of their relatives.

More particular families would choose, as César suggested, to drink boiled water—to prevent contracting diseases—or simply go to a coffee shop.

Coffee shops are now starting to use roasted coffee beans.

The Saracens were very clever; they quickly figured out how to process coffee beans, and even refined and improved it—they added various spices to the coffee bean powder to make its aroma more fragrant and lingering.

Amidst the intense aroma that seemed to solidify into a tangible form, many Saracens simply held their cups, silent and dazed, as if searching for Damascus's former glory in the swirling smoke. Like many survivors, they numbed themselves with unrestrained pleasure and arduous labor to avoid dying in despair and heartbreak, constantly telling themselves that there was still a future, that the future would surely be bright. But could it truly be so?
They were unsure.

Several Saracens were visibly tense for a moment when they saw a Christian knight stop in front of the café, but quickly relaxed when they saw that he was wearing a crimson silk cloak.

They didn't know Longinus, but they recognized the clothes he was wearing.

When the inspection team was established, Cesar suggested that these knights wear a conspicuous insignia to distinguish them from ordinary knights, a suggestion that was agreed upon by Baldwin and other kings.

However, another debate arose when deciding on this symbol, since heraldry had become popular at this time—symbols related to religion or heroic deeds had almost all been used up—and any part of the symbol that favored one side could cause dissatisfaction among others.

Richard was the first to become impatient. "Since Cesar was the one who initially proposed the inspection team, why not let him decide on it?"

To everyone's surprise, both Frederick I and Philip II agreed after thinking for a while.

Cesar's proposal was also simple: a crimson cloak without any decoration, as fiery and pure as the blood of a knight; a silver-plated helmet, as well as silver pins and spurs—silver is a sacred symbol, endowed with the meaning of purifying the soul due to its unique medical value, just like the significance of the inspection team.

This plan was approved by everyone.

Therefore, when members of these inspection teams walk in military camps, streets, or wilderness, they can be easily recognized by knights or civilians, and those who want to ask them for help will not hesitate because they cannot be sure of the other party's identity.

Longinus!?

Suddenly someone called out, and Longinus turned around to see Gian.

The young knight had been wounded in the recent siege. Although he had recovered thanks to the priest's treatment, he was still pale and unsteady on his feet due to lack of blood and pain. A servant followed closely beside him, looking at him with concern.

Longinus bowed to him. As the son of Count Magigau, his status was naturally higher than that of Longinus, an ordinary knight, but there was no contempt in Gian's eyes. Not to mention that Longinus was now a trusted confidant of the Count of Edessa and the Lord of Cyprus, becoming a knight with a fief would be no difficult task for him.

In fact, back in Cyprus, Cesar had offered to let Longinus choose a city as his fiefdom, but Longinus refused.

Longinus understood perfectly well that Cyprus, as a Christian and a descendant of the Count of Edessa, might be Cesare's initial capital, but it would not be his final foothold.

If he wanted to become Cesare's knight and his minister, he would never choose Cyprus as his fiefdom, nor was he so greedy as to want both Cyprus and Edessa at the same time.

For the lords, Longinus's loyalty and patience were almost as precious as his master's—they had seen too many knights who were eager for quick success and quick profits, and who would shout and even turn against their masters at the slightest inconvenience.

Gian waved to him cheerfully, then took his arm. "Let's go in and have a coffee and talk for a bit."

Longinus glanced at the Saracens watching them. "Or perhaps you'd like to go to a tavern." "Cesar said it's best not to drink too much after being injured. Would you like a drink?"

“No, I don’t like drinking either,” Longinus said. In fact, because Cesar was always very wary of alcohol, the people around him never drank alcohol. If possible, they would even refuse light wine and drink boiled tea or coffee instead.

Longinus loved tea, but he wouldn't refuse coffee either—a drink that could invigorate the mind and clear the head. It was perfect for him now, though he worried that—the café was still predominantly Saracens, and it seemed odd to have two Christian knights sitting inside.
The café owner did not refuse them, not out of fear—he silently led them to the back of the café, arranged a table for them in a corner, and brought them a large pot of steaming coffee with plenty of nutmeg and cloves, the scalding heat making them feel as if they were in a hot garden.

Longinus wasn't sure if the Saracen had heard his master's name, so he picked up the pot and poured himself and Gian a cup of coffee.

“It’s rare to see you with free time,” Gian said. “You’ve always seemed so busy.”

Cesare was preoccupied with political affairs, and Longinus, as one of the few trustworthy people around him, took on the role of messenger, delivering all the important documents to the various monarchs and lords.

When César saw him today, he told him to go and rest. Longinus was naturally unwilling, but he rarely went against César's wishes. However, after leaving the governor's palace, he found that he had nothing to do.

He was unmarried, had no need to spend time with a wife and children, and had few friends—he had always been a loner before meeting César.

Should he go to training? Or go to sleep? But he had no interest in either, so he walked out of the governor's palace and down the square in front of it until he met Gian.

"Has anyone come looking for you lately?" Gian's question was a bit too hasty, but as a young man, he wasn't good at small talk before getting to the point—his question immediately alerted Longinus.
"Who, who's looking for me?"

Were they his family members? He thought those guys had finally given up.

Fortunately, the news Gian brought wasn't anything unpleasant or bad. "Someone asked me if His Highness intended to form a knightly order solely for himself."

Cesar now had over a hundred knights by his side, but their composition was quite diverse. After all, when Cesar entered the Castle of Holy Cross, he was merely a commodity of Isaac's slave trader. He had no squires, no armed attendants, and no family or elders.

Although he was later recognized as the son of Josephine III, he remained landless.

At that time, Baldwin gave him several knights, and when he was on his mission to Apollo, some young knights were willing to follow him. Later, when he had Cyprus, the knights of Count Joseph II of Edessa came to join him, and he selected some of the young men who had come all the way from the Franks to Cyprus.

Given Cesar's reputation and all his wealth at that time, recruiting three hundred knights would not have been difficult for him.

Unfortunately, he placed great importance on the morality and character of the knights, even though some of them might not be evil people. But they hated being constrained.

Needless to say, those treacherous villains not only dare not swear an oath to Cesar, but also want to leave Cyprus as soon as possible for another place where they can be allowed to run rampant.

But Cesar's willingness to leave half of his troops in Damascus is indeed a worrying matter.

Longinus recalled carefully that there were indeed several young knights who were exceptionally attentive to him, either leading his horse or helping him prepare his gear. Some even extended warm invitations to him to taverns and offered him horses and armor. However, he always came and went in a hurry, refusing their invitations and not paying attention to their gazes.

"They want to..."

“Yes, they want to be our colleagues,” Gian said proudly, “but they have been waiting for a long time and have not seen His Highness issue any announcements to recruit knights, or invite knights to join his ranks at banquets.”

"how many people?"

“Many. If Your Highness does not make a choice and takes them all into your possession, you will have more than three hundred knights, and six times that number of squires and armed attendants.”

Gian was not exaggerating. Take Philip II as an example. Many of the lords who followed him brought not only their eldest son, but also their second son, third son, and so on. It was one thing for the great lords, but the lesser lords, apart from their eldest sons, could hardly get any land. Even if they did, it was only a very small piece, or even just a forest and a few mills.

They came here hoping to build a fortune for themselves.

The problem is that among the four Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land, Antioch and Tripoli of Arazari have stood for decades, just like the Franks and the Germans. Their territories have long been divided up. Even King Amalric I of Arazari had many landless knights who received annuities. Where would they get land to share?

So they set their sights on the young and promising Cypriot lord.

Even if this eastern expedition ultimately stops at Homs, Hama, or Apollo, it is still an extremely vast territory. In addition, this young lord already possesses Damascus, Cyprus, and Bethlehem.

Of course, they were even more eager to completely capture Edessa, whose original area was almost equivalent to three Arrassa Roads, two Antiochs, or five Tripolis.

Such a goal is not necessarily unattainable. Everyone knows that fruits hanging high on branches, yet seemingly within easy reach with a simple jump, are the most tempting.

(End of this chapter)