kingdom of nations

Chapter 357 Saladin's Wrath

The Grand Eunuch knew he should leave the room to finish his unfinished business and offer his last act of loyalty to his master, Nurdin, but he was like a drained water sack, lying there weakly, unable to move.

He wanted to pray for Nur ad-Din's last remaining bloodline, Prince Saleh, but suddenly felt a sense of despondency.

He had hesitated when he and the First Lady decided to kill Noordin's two grown sons.

He had been observing from the sidelines, never participating in the princes' power struggles, hoping to see who among them might succeed Nurdin. The result, however, was extremely disappointing; they even turned Nurdin's funeral into a joke.

If it weren't for Apol and other elders and students who rushed to pray for the Sultan and turned the tide, the whole situation would have been unpredictable. Even so, they still didn't realize their mistakes; yes, they were still fighting, even resorting to any means to seize the Sultan's throne.

Even today, the Grand Eunuch still cannot understand how the eldest prince could be so foolish as to imprison and torture all of his father's old ministers, thinking he could intimidate others; and how the second prince could so ridiculously believe that his "scheme" could deceive those shrewd individuals, making them grateful and immediately submit.

Even if some people didn't expect them to be so stupid and wicked, many others would tell them that, after all, two-thirds of these ministers came from ancient families in the Syrian region, and they had been operating there for even longer than the entire Zengid dynasty.

Let alone two immature children, even Nurdin had to treat them with caution. What troubled the Grand Eunuch even more was that the First Lady was clearly not so clever. She used the Second Prince and his biological mother to "clean up" those unruly old ministers, but as a woman who had been immersed in the harem for a long time, she hid herself too well, failed to keep up with every step of the conspiracy, and set a trap without understanding the enemy's temperament.

The assassins they sent were of no use whatsoever. By the time the Grand Eunuch found out, Camar and his men had already found Cesar. At that time, he hesitated, wondering if he should use his last trump card to leave Joseph III's son here.

But considering the First Lady and the power behind her, and the fact that doing this could very well bring disaster to Kamal and others as well.

These were all talents whom Nurdin had promoted and nurtured with all his might throughout his life. They were more brilliant and precious than any jewel in the national treasury, and he couldn't bear to part with them.

With just that moment of hesitation, they had already left Apol and headed for Damascus.

Clearly, the First Lady quickly realized her mistake and dispatched two armies in succession. However, the Grand Eunuch's men were also waiting for an opportunity to strike. What Cesar did not know was that if he and his knights had abandoned Camar and the others halfway through their escape with this burden, they would have been met by the Grand Eunuch's army—and they might have truly perished in the wilderness.

The problem was that Cesare did not abandon Camar. He kept his promise and led them all the way to the vicinity of Damascus. The Grand Eunuch's army dared not approach because they had already seen Saladin's black banner with a white eagle. They dared not meet Saladin, let alone fight him. The Grand Eunuch did not blame them. Caution was the right thing to do. He was afraid that Saladin would discover the suspicious circumstances when he found out that he was also hunting down the descendants of the Count of Edessa.

The Grand Eunuch felt no remorse when he executed the two princes; they were beyond redemption. But in the following years, he was once again overwhelmed by disappointment and sorrow. It goes without saying how excellent and wise Nur ad-Din had been, and he didn’t even expect Saleh to achieve a tenth of Nur ad-Din’s accomplishments. But he soon realized that this boy, who had grown from a boy into a grown man, was not the kind of monarch worth sacrificing for.

He was frivolous and irritable, and spoiled by the First Lady, he was lawless. He ignored the Grand Eunuch's teachings and was helpless—after all, the First Lady, her father, and her brothers were the guardians of the new Sultan. As a man who was not a man, he was despised in the court and in the harem.

The chief eunuch had advised the new Sultan Saleh to maintain a friendly relationship with Saif al-Din, the governor of Edessa and Saladin's nephew.

Although he also hated Saladin, if Saladin had brought his troops to support the Sea of ​​Galilee when Nur ad-Din was on his expedition to Arazari, the expedition and Nur ad-Din might not have ended so tragically.

But Saladin did not come; he knew very well that he was already a traitor to Nur ad-Din.

The people of Apollo harbored the deepest animosity towards Saladin. Adjectives like "arrogant scoundrel" and "nouveau riche" were considered mild; some even openly denounced him as an ungrateful wretch and a disloyal dog.

Their attitudes had a significant impact on the young Sultan.

Even though Saladin always acted very humbly—not as humbly as he had towards Nur ad-Din—he always believed that he should protect Nur ad-Din's young heir, Saleh, from among the many "usurpers," which, of course, he was not.

He said that, in any case, a young king could not govern such a large country alone; he needed a teacher, an agent, and no one was more suitable for the job than Saladin.

He also continued to write to Saleh, pray for him, and even minted coins for him—that is, coins with Saleh's image on them.

The chief eunuch also believed that Saladin was putting on an act, but that did not prevent them from using Saladin's army and name to intimidate and hinder others.

Moreover, Saladin is currently far away in Egypt. Even if he were to enter Apollo in the future, he would still need to overcome several dangerous obstacles. The governor of Edessa, Saif al-Din, is the one to be wary of. He is young, arrogant, and even more unruly than his uncle. Not only that, he has also once claimed to be Nur ad-Din's successor.

The Grand Eunuch meant that Saif al-Din should be won over with sweet words and promises that seemed like castles in the air, but without actually giving him power, an army, or decrees—but Saleh did not heed his advice.

When he corresponded with Saif al-Din, the Grand Eunuch was somewhat pleased, thinking that he had accepted his opinion—but unexpectedly, Saleh wanted to incite the young man to betray his uncle Saladin.

As the Crusaders marched toward Damascus, he even wrote a letter in his own hand and secretly handed it to Saif al-Din. Due to the First Lady's obstruction, the Grand Eunuch only saw the decree after the matter was already settled, and when he opened it, he felt as if everything went black.

Saleh actually thought this was a good opportunity.

He ordered Saif al-Din to attack Hama and Holmes, which were undefended.

Although Saif al-Din was reckless, he was not stupid. He must have kept Sultan Saleh's secret letter in his possession. Although they all claimed to be the successors of Nur ad-Din's will, neither Saif al-Din nor the governors of Hama and Homs explicitly launched a rebellion. They still regarded Saleh as their master. In other words, they were originally just subjects of the Sultan and had equal status.

Ibn's repeated attacks on Damascus that ultimately failed were also due to this concern—his reason was that Saladin was not a Sultan and had no right to appoint anyone as governor of Damascus.

Saleh's decree was tantamount to giving Saif al-Din the right to openly attack other Syrian cities. Not to mention whether Saif al-Din would immediately turn against Apol after he actually captured Hama and Homs and strengthened his own side, wouldn't the governors of other places be terrified and take precautions?
In any case, Ibn, the governor of Holmes, was at least outwardly fighting the Franks for the Saracen world. Saleh himself wrote many letters full of praise. What does this mean? Is he praising a loyal servant while simultaneously embezzling his property?

The Grand Eunuch disregarded everything else and used the last of the forces Nur ad-Din had left him to seize Homs before Saif ad-Din could. Or perhaps it wasn't quite right to say that—in any case, Homs belonged to Sultan Saleh. Neither Ibn, nor the Grand Eunuch, nor Saif ad-Din were the masters of this place; they were merely servants managing it on behalf of their masters.

But perhaps this was God's will, that He led the Grand Eunuch Mitshkin here—because the young man with black hair and sideburns was also coming here.

The chief eunuch prostrated himself on the ground one last time, kissed the ring Nurdin had left him, stood up, and walked out the door.

------

At that very moment, Saladin stood on the city wall in Bielebais. The warm breeze was comforting, but it could not dispel the sorrow in his heart.

From here, he could see Fustat hidden in the night, a once magnificent and splendid city, as prosperous as Rome, as wealthy as Corinth, and as sacred as Arrasa, where the Caliph's army, subjects, and palaces resided.

When he first stepped into that place with his uncle, he was amazed by everything he saw. But everything that followed disappointed them; the once-shiny fruit was now just a thin shell, filled with filthy cotton and bitter seeds.

He didn't know whose fault it was. Was it Caliph al-Atid's fault? Or Shawar's fault? Or his uncle Shirku's fault? He wasn't sure.

Not long ago, he received a letter from Apol, written to him by the Grand Eunuch—he knew the Grand Eunuch didn't particularly like him, but had never shown it due to Nurdin's favor and his own status.

But the letter and the message from the merchant enraged him, a fury that coursed through his body and scorched him, leaving him restless. That's why he stood there in the dead of night, telling everyone not to disturb him unless the news came from Arazari, Damascus, or Apollo. But he heard a low plea, heavy breathing, and sobbing—Saladin closed his eyes slightly, turned around, and said, "Let him up!"

Upon hearing this, the guards put the man down.

This person was none other than his elder brother, Turansha.

Compared to a few years ago, Turansha's figure has become more bloated, but his hair is much darker than Saladin's. This is understandable, since he has fewer things to worry about than Saladin.

But something today compels him to come before his increasingly fearful brother—simply so that his son may receive his forgiveness.

Upon seeing Saladin, he knelt down and touched his brother's feet with his forehead, but Saladin moved away. Turansha's body immediately trembled. Tears streamed down his face as he clenched his hands and looked at Saladin pleadingly: "Saladin, he is my son, your nephew!"

“You have many sons.”

"He is the one I love the most, and he is also the one you love the most!"

"Yes, it was because I loved him that I arranged for him to go to Edessa. Yes, I gave him power, gave him an army, supported him, and cared for him. It was entirely out of my favoritism that I placed him in a very high position."

But what did he give me? I didn't crave his help—a lion doesn't need barking puppies by its side. I only asked him to stay in Edessa and watch over Apollo, Hama, and Holmes for me until I returned there…

He doesn't even need to fight on the battlefield to achieve my requirements.

I don't expect him to achieve anything immediately; he's still so young—he has countless opportunities ahead of him. But do you know what he's done?

Saladin!

"He disobeyed my orders!"

Turansha, do you know what I hate most?
Betrayal, nothing more!

"But that was the will of Sultan Selih. Wasn't he also revered and loyal to by you?"

"Then why did he write to me before Saleh asked him to go to Apol, begging me to mediate and save him from this difficult task?"

He dared not obey the Sultan's order to go to Apol because he feared that the Sultan would immediately take him hostage or use him as bait, and that neither his freedom nor his life would be guaranteed. Therefore, he refused and begged for my protection.

Now you're saying that Saleh's decree allowed him to march into Hama? Was he obeying the Sultan's orders? No, he wasn't. He was following his own desires and ignoring my words.

“But Saladin, you have assembled a great army that no one can underestimate, not even the Crusaders.”

“I have assembled this army to attack Arrasal, Turansha, not to rescue your son.”

If you insist, I can give you an army, though not many, which you can lead to rescue your son. But beyond that, you will not receive any further help from me.

Saladin lowered his head, staring into Turansha's eyes. "Will you accept this? Leaving here with the last vestige of my family ties?"

Turansha hesitated, hesitant to agree, having witnessed firsthand how Saladin had treated their sister Emina.

If Emina's feelings for Saladin weren't deep enough, she wouldn't have traveled so far to visit her brother.

But when she was in danger and still wanted to return to Holmes, even if it meant becoming her husband's hostage, Saladin gave her a choice: if she stayed with Saladin, she would be a noble princess; if she went to Holmes, she might become a prisoner.

Emina persisted, and Saladin did not try to persuade her to stay. Emina left with the guards Saladin had given her—from then on, the siblings would no longer have any emotional or blood ties; they would become enemies.

People say that Saladin was a mild-mannered, good-natured man.

Indeed, this applies to his friends, relatives, enemies, and even servants—the pagans are the same.

Turanshah had personally witnessed a servant hand Saladin an order to sign as he was about to fall asleep.

Saladin was exhausted and told him to come back in an hour, but the servant insisted, practically bringing the documents to Saladin's face and urging him to sign them.

Saladin said he had no inkwell or pen, but the servant saw some stationery behind him. Instead of going over and picking it up for Saladin to sign, the servant did something very unreasonable—he ordered Saladin to turn around, get the stationery, and sign the document.

Saladin was not angry or even punished the servant. He simply said, "Oh yes, there is indeed an inkwell and a pen here."

Then he took it, signed it, and fulfilled the servant's request.

This scene left Turansha speechless. To be honest, if it were him, he would have ordered the guards to drag the servant out and kill him when he barged in.

Yet Saladin was remarkably sensitive to insults and betrayals. He might forgive a Frankish knight, a woman, or even his enemy—but he could not tolerate betrayal, and worst of all, his son had done so.

Regardless of his explanation, it is an indisputable fact that Saifuddin did not follow Saladin's instructions.

But without Saladin—the Crusaders were heading north, attacking Homs and Hama, and Saif al-Din would have no chance against them.

After venting his anger, Saladin finally calmed down a little.

"Now I give you a chance to write to Saif al-Din and tell him that I will attack Arazari, and the Crusaders will surely send troops back to his aid. If he can rely on himself or seek sufficient assistance from Apollo and Mosul, he may be able to hold out until the Holy Month (the Saracens' January, which is about ten days later than the Christians'). Whether or not I have already captured Arazari, I will send a force to his aid."

But if he doesn't survive until then, I'll allow him to escape. However, if he loses not only Hama and Holmes, but also Edessa, I will execute him, because the former two are not his duty, but Edessa is.

(End of this chapter)