kingdom of nations

Chapter 366 Nightmare (Part 2)

"Your Highness!"

Gian shouted, and Cesar looked up to see Gian and his squad galloping from behind a dark hill under the silvery moonlight. The squires and servants in the camp rushed over to help the knights hold their mounts, taking the flags, spears, and prisoners that were lying across their saddles.

"As you said, we've captured a prisoner this time," Gian said with a chuckle. "He even claims to be a nobleman and swears someone will come with a ransom to redeem him."

"Turks? Or Saracens?"

"Sarazans."

Cesar looked Gian up and down. "And you? How are you?"

“We are all fine, Your Highness. They are just mortals with brute force. Like wolves hunting sheep, we will not be hurt.”

“Don’t be careless,” Cesar gently reminded him. “Sheep have horns too, and their horns can sometimes tear open a wolf’s belly. Alright,” he reached out and patted Gian on the shoulder, “you can go and rest now, you’ve done a great job.”

Gian immediately showed a proud expression. He bowed slightly to Cesar to show his respect, and then invited his knight companions to enjoy the food and comfortable beds that had surely been prepared.

This treatment isn't unique to Ji'an—every patrol and guard team receives it.

Ever since they left Holmes, this annoying harassment has continued, day and night, during rest, mealtimes, and while they are traveling, there is always the possibility of a group rushing in to shoot arrows or attack.

Cesar and Baldwin had to divert some of their forces to isolate this dangerous interference.

Among these people were Seljuk Turks, Saracens, and Armenians who were also Christians, but none of them were soldiers or warriors; or more accurately, they were just hired bandits.

The repeated harassment severely hampered the army's progress and made the knights feel tired and irritable.

After traveling for two or three days, Cesar discussed with Baldwin the idea of ​​having the blessed knights lead their squads to sweep through the area the army was about to pass through. This indeed startled many vultures and hyenas that were waiting for fresh flesh.

As Cesar watched his entourage throw the bandit leader, who claimed to be a nobleman, into a tent, he was about to go in and question him when he heard a sharp, long whistle. He immediately rushed to Castor, mounted his horse, and galloped swiftly in that direction.

At the same time, billowing sand and dust appeared from several other directions.

This was a common tactic used by the Turks: feigning defeat and fleeing, then ambushing and annihilating the Christian patrols—which is why Cesare insisted that every knight carry an eagle whistle.

This eagle whistle is used to summon falcons; the sound can travel a long distance and is easy to pinpoint the location from which it originates.

At first, some knights thought he was making a fuss. They were all blessed people. How could they possibly be injured or even killed when facing ordinary bandits?
But the harsh reality shows that this was indeed necessary.

The team was still some distance from the camp. By the time Cesar arrived, the other two teams that had heard the whistle and rushed over had already joined forces with the team that had been lured into the encirclement and slaughtered the despicable Turks. However, a few of the entourage were also injured.

“You all go and rest first,” Cesar said. “Leave the rest of the work to me.”

The trapped knight thanked him apologetically, but Cesar didn't seem to mind. If it were just ordinary enemy troops, it wouldn't matter; they were already tasked with driving out these annoying flies, so they couldn't just watch these guys wander around—they would definitely chase after them. But to expect them to both ensure the safety of the main army and be able to see clearly and avoid falling into the enemy's trap was asking too much.

“Your Highness, there is still one survivor here.” Cesar nodded. “Take him with us, and we’ll return to camp.”

Back at the camp, Cesar threw the Turk and the Saracen together. At first, neither the Turkic bandit nor the Saracen "noble" wanted to speak. They believed that they were determined and could endure any physical pain.

Besides, they had also heard that this black-haired, blue-eyed Christian knight was a rare good man who would not do what the Grand Eunuch or Ibn would do, and at most he would just die—but how could people like them be afraid of death?

Cesar didn't have much time to waste on them. He stepped out of the tent and called out, "Laila!"

The two prisoners in the tent were puzzled, because Leila was clearly the name of a Saracen woman. Could it be that a Saracen noblewoman had been captured here?
Who was she? Could she be used to threaten them by this Christian knight? As they pondered this, Lyra walked in.

Women were common in the armies of that time, whether Saracen or Christian.

The accompanying women were either virtuous laundresses or wives and sisters of laborers. The latter took on most of the chores, such as washing clothes, cleaning weapons, cooking, and carrying items, and sometimes even fighting.

But this woman—whose head was wrapped in a headscarf, yet whose figure was graceful and whose steps were light—was clearly neither a well-behaved noblewoman nor a vulgar and tyrannical servant. As soon as she stepped into the tent, she revealed a cheerful smile, and before the two prisoners could continue guessing, she drew a curved knife from her waist. "Do you need me to kill them?"

Cesar nodded, and the two prisoners' expressions immediately changed.

“If you are willing to tell me what you know, and I think it is valuable enough, I will let the soldiers in to cut off your heads.”

"But if you refuse, then I will have Leila slit your throats," Cesar said.

Later generations might find it strange that dying at the hands of a soldier is any different from dying at the hands of a woman.
Yes, indeed. At that time, people, whether Christians, Saracens, or Turks, considered dying at the hands of a woman a shameful thing.

The Turks and Saracens went even further, believing that if a person was killed by a woman, their soul would not be able to ascend to heaven and would be tormented in hell forever.

“People say you are a kind man!” the Turk cried out.

“I am very kind,” César replied gently. “I have not subjected you to any torture.”

“This is worse than torture!” cried the Saracen who claimed to be a nobleman. “Are you humiliating us?”

Cesar didn't think so; he conveyed to the two men with his expression that he didn't have such thoughts, but he knew that such threats were very effective against them.

It was indeed effective, even more so than physical punishment. They eventually revealed everything they knew, though they were indeed hired and didn't know much. But it was certain that they were hired by Saracens, "Apols," the Turk said firmly. "I can tell their accents." But judging from their descriptions of appearance and height, it should be two people—but possibly one master.

Cesar listened carefully, and when he was sure the other man could say nothing more, he called the guards outside the door and, with their relieved looks, ordered the two men to be executed.

If they were truly Saracen warriors or Turkic cavalry, they might have been treated as prisoners of war, left alive, and then sold. Only the desert bandits—who inevitably carried the heavy burden of bloodshed, a burden that could never be washed away.

Not to mention Christian knights like Cesar, even if the Saracens captured them, they wouldn't see the sunrise the next day.

"What are you doubting?" Leila asked in a low voice after stepping out of the tent.

"You've already been to Naresa and some nearby tribes. Did you notice anything unusual?"

"As with every war, the checks have become more stringent, people have begun to refuse to accept outsiders, and the surrounding tribes have stopped migrating. They are all waiting for a result."

Neither I nor the businessmen I knew... saw any signs of troop movements elsewhere.

Are you worried about Saladin? But his army is attacking Arrasa. In any case, he couldn't possibly appear suddenly from so far away, or be another Fatah and Emir, or even a Caliph?

Leila smiled and said, "However, I don't think he has the courage to do so. The Sultan of the Seljuk Turks and Aita Beg of Mosul (the Saracen chief advisor, Nur ad-Din's nephew) would rather see you both suffer heavy losses. They won't make a move before the situation is clear—even Saladin's promise is unlikely to sway them."

After all, they knew very well that once Saladin truly regained control of Arazari, he would be the new beacon of faith, and he wasn't like Ibn, so easily manipulated.

------

"What I'm worried about is the powerful eunuch."

“The Grand Eunuch?” Baldwin asked in surprise. “Isn’t he dead?”
We all saw his body. If it were a caliph or sultan, it's possible that he would arrange for someone who looks similar to him to act as a double, in order to deceive the assassin.

But a eunuch... how could that be?"

"There are too few people. Both Holmes and Apole said they brought 10,000 men, but when we attacked Holmes, we didn't have many actual soldiers."

Indeed, when Ibn went to attack Damascus, he took most of the scholars, warriors, and soldiers with him. When he quelled the riots in the city, a large number of soldiers loyal to Ibn died.

It could be said that the most solid military force in the city should have been the soldiers brought by the Grand Eunuch. However, when Cesar examined the corpses of the garrison, he found that they did not resemble those experienced warriors. Their hands, feet, faces, and bodies did not possess the qualities required for war. Even though they had indeed resisted to the last moment, Cesar could not even find many people to identify the dead.

If it were someone else, like Richard, he might have overlooked this due to carelessness, but Cesar had already counted the number of dead, so the number didn't match up.

There is a shortage of at least five or six thousand people. Where did these five or six thousand people go?

Did they leave while they were attacking Holmes, or did they slip away secretly when things turned bad? If so, they couldn't possibly have left no trace.

“You mean the Grand Eunuch handed this army over to someone else…” Baldwin looked outside the tent.

“He… I don’t know, Baldwin. Maybe I’m just overthinking it,” Cesar shook his head and stood up.

"Alright, get some rest. I'll go check out the surrounding area."

Cesar stepped out, leading his squad into the darkness. He could see dense forests, wilderness, the Jordan River like a white ribbon, and some familiar sights. He knew that it wouldn't be long before they saw the bridge he had built.

If anyone had tried to stop them, the bridge might have been torn down or burned, but to his surprise, when they arrived, the bridge was still standing there quietly. Several knights jumped into the water and inspected the piles and the bridge deck. They found that it was not only undamaged, but some parts had even been reinforced. "Many caravans pass through here," one of the knights said.

This is so convenient. Before, they either had to wait until the Jordan River was dry or take a long detour—some tribes even sent warriors to guard the bridge.

Cesar also noticed that the metal's reflection was particularly dazzling under the scorching sun. Their army quickly crossed the Jordan River, and then they traversed a small part of the Valley of Hurrah. Next, they only needed to take the main road along the Sea of ​​Galilee to reach the road to Arazar.

However, while struggling through the Hula Valley, which was filled with lakes, swamps and thorns, they were attacked twice. The knights defeated the enemy, but suffered some losses—the dead were buried on the spot, and the wounded were sent to nearby Christian villages.

After the fall of Damascus, some bold Christians came to cultivate the wasteland. They were not savages, but rather people who had been permitted by Baldwin.

Despite the harsh conditions, Baldwin promised them that one-third of the wasteland they cleared would belong to them.

Moreover, they were exempt from paying taxes for the first three years.

As a result, within just one or two years, several settlements were established here, and even the beginnings of villages began to take shape.

They also sent Cesar and Baldwin some berries and wheat kernels, which were the cheapest gifts Baldwin had ever received, but he was still delighted.

The presence of elderly people and children among these residents indicates that these people are indeed living quite well here. To assess the quality of the surrounding environment, one only needs to look at whether there are vulnerable individuals in the area.

Baldwin picked up a berry and put it in his mouth. It wasn't very sweet, and it was even a little sour, but he felt completely satisfied.

Is this what Cesar once felt? He thought to himself. When Cesar granted tax exemption to the people of Cyprus, countless people laughed at his foolishness, believing that he would be unable to continue managing his territory or support his knights.

In the end, he either raised taxes or incurred a huge debt, which resulted in many people being proven wrong. "Once they truly cultivate the Hula Valley," Cesar said hopefully, looking around at the still barren land, "there will be more people, more irrigation canals, more fields, more livestock, more fruit trees... Your Majesty, people are the most precious asset, especially here. There is so much uncultivated land here that the king need not worry about the land not being able to support the people for at least a hundred years."

(End of this chapter)