In the Middle Ages, people drew cards to be promoted to nobility.

In my ears, flies buzzed.

Lothar covered his mouth and nose with a mask. The strong smell of blood and corpses was nauseating.

The Royal Knights suffered heavy losses, and the disadvantaged Saracens suffered even more serious casualties, especially those light cavalry who only wore leather armor or no armor at all.

The corpses of Saracens were everywhere. They had been stripped of their armor and their bodies were naked. Even some of their personal clothing had been taken away by the sergeants.

Participating in the Crusades is a sacred mission, but no matter how sacred the mission is, if it cannot be linked to plundering the wealth of the pagans, it will no longer have its original appeal.

The torn body was cut into sections, and densely packed mosquitoes and flies were lying on it, squirming back and forth.

As each vulture flapped its wings and landed, the mosquitoes and flies dispersed and exploded into a black mist, lingering in the air.

Hans said with emotion: "My former instructor once said that flies are the revenge of the dead on the living. The living kill the dead, and the dead breed flies."

Lothar chuckled and said, "Your instructor is Knight Frederick, right? This is the first time I've heard that he is actually a philosopher."

Hans was a little surprised: "You actually know?"

Lothar recalled: "Knight Frederick is a very powerful officer. Although his personal martial arts is limited, his ability to train new recruits and boost morale is not bad. I really hope to call him to work with you."

This Friedrich Knight is a five-star retinue. Although his combat power is average, he has three halo talents.

For a follower like this who can benefit an army, his personal combat effectiveness seems less important, not to mention that he is also good at training new recruits.

Hans said with emotion: "Indeed, if instructor Frederick had commanded the Royal Knights, we would definitely not have fought this battle so hard."

Lothar turned around and ordered: "Andreas, send someone to burn the corpses of those Saracens."

This first-generation citizen who once worked as a knight's valet has now become a heroic wing cavalry. In the previous battle, he killed three enemies in a row.

Andreas wondered: "Sir, in the Zoroastrian faith, after death, the body is burned and can return to the Kingdom of God. Do we really have to be so lenient to them?"

Lothar shook his head and said:

"This is not a kind act. The rest of the Crusaders are behind us. I'm worried that exposing these corpses to the wilderness will breed a plague."

Lothar paused slightly, then added: "As a hussar, you should also know what 'bacteria' and 'viruses' are, which are the source of disease."

"I've had enough of these 'quack doctors' who chop off an entire leg when an injury can be cured by applying anti-inflammatory herbs. They think it's a pagan who has a headache after being hit with a blunt object. The devil has invaded and wants to drive a cross into their skulls."

"Is this killing someone or saving someone?"

Hans said with some indignation: "The hussars taught them battlefield first aid knowledge, but they were scorned by those people. In my opinion, all these quacks should be kicked out of our team."

"Then do it, and when you get to the next place to stay, drive them all away!"

Lothar said coldly: "Those who disdain my orders because of their status as doctors should be eliminated from the Royal Knights. I would rather invite some Saracen doctors to my army than them."

While talking.

The group had already crossed the battlefield.

On a hillside ahead, the Saracen cavalry had gathered here.

Seeing Lothar and his party approaching, the leader of the Mamluks shouted in Gaulish: "Stop, Franks, where is my master?"

Lothar nodded and said, "That's right."

"We will surrender to you in compliance with the master's will, but I must remind you that what you can't get on the battlefield, you can't get at the negotiation table either."

Lothar frowned: "Do you want to disobey your master's will?"

Mamluks who disobey their master will lose all their political credibility.

This is not yet an era when the Mamluks have formed huge military and political groups and can even influence government affairs.

The Mamluk leader loudly said: "No, of course not, the master's will is our life."

"We will pay the equivalent of our own lives, but don't expect us to walk into your prison camp obediently, because we know very well that if we do this, the safety of our master will not be guaranteed!"

"Can."

Lothar nodded in agreement: "Maybe you don't believe it, but I never thought about harming your lives from the beginning to the end. Since you are willing to pay the ransom in advance, I am also willing to accept it."

Lothar cleared his throat and said loudly: "According to the ransom, we should at least receive gold and silver equal to the value of your full set of weapons, equipment and war horses."

"That is to say, for each light cavalry, I will get twenty suludes, and for each armored cavalry, I will get one hundred suludes - you still have one hundred and fifty people left, right? "

Lion Lothar said loudly: "To put it all together, I want 10,000 Sulades gold coins, or equivalent silver coins, jewelry, and war horses."

"No, you're blackmailing!"

The Mamluk team was immediately shocked by this terrifying number.

"The ransom for a nobleman is often only a thousand dinars of silver coins, and a strong Frank slave is only worth ten dinars. How dare you ask for such an outrageously high price?"

The Mamluk leader said angrily: "Even if we take out all the money we have, we still can't come up with this number."

"First of all, you are so brave and good at fighting, how can you compare with ordinary slaves? The price of a noble is just right. But the problem is that the asking price of one thousand dinars is for you to leave empty-handed - but now it is obvious that you You will not hand over your weapons, equipment, baggage, and mounts, because you cannot leave the borders of the Kingdom of Jerusalem with just your legs.”

The Mamluk leaders were stunned.

Someone whispered in a low voice: "Sir, I think what he said is very reasonable. In terms of bravery, we are not inferior to those nobles in the slightest."

The leader scolded him and continued to shout: "No, don't fool us with such nonsense. We are just slaves, not nobles, and we should not bear such a high ransom."

Lothar refused to give in and said: "High? No! This is a reasonable price. If I hadn't reached an agreement with your master, I would have killed you all on the battlefield. When the time comes, everything about you will become mine." The spoils of war!”

The Mamluk leader said angrily: "If you continue to fight, you will also suffer huge losses. This is not a favor to us!"

Lothar said coldly: "You have disobeyed Prince Zaheer's order. I generously agreed to your request, but you are pushing your limits and are not even willing to hand over a single sum of money. You are tarnishing your master's reputation." , putting him in a position to break his oath sworn by the Holy Fire and the honor of King Saladin.”

"Think about it, if Prince Zahir goes back, how will he treat you group of 'Mamluks' who are not loyal enough?"

These words completely defeated the psychological defenses of the Mamluks.

I saw them talking quietly for a while.

After a while, the leader shouted: "We really don't have so much money, and we can't give up our armor, weapons and mounts. That would be no different from entering your prisoner camp. If you want to violate your oath, We won't have any way to fight back."

This time, his tone softened a lot.

Lothar frowned, calculating that ten thousand sulades was indeed a bit outrageous, and said: "Then eight thousand, this is the lowest number. If it is any lower, you will go against the master's will and use it." Let the master suffer the sin of breaking his promise!"

The Mamluks discussed for a while, and the leader shouted: "Okay, we will collect the money before sunset and send it to your camp, but I want to warn you that you must protect the safety of your master, otherwise We will launch a desperate charge against your military camp at all costs!"

"no problem!"

Lothar readily agreed.

War, although tragic, is indeed the fastest way to make money.

Eight thousand Suludes gold coins, in terms of tax collection, are equivalent to the tax revenue of Jorge Rusburg for hundreds of years.

As long as he returns to Germania Magna with this money, finds a good way to buy a fiefdom in the earldom, it won't be a problem.

In the evening, the Mamluks sent a group of people into the knights' camp.

They lifted heavy wooden boxes from the backs of camels and moved them into Lothar's tent.

When he opened it, he found that it was filled with gold and silver vessels, coins and gems. Many of the items were beyond valuation. If they were thrown into the system mall, they probably wouldn't be able to exchange for 8,000 gold coins.

But that's because the system mall is inherently black and does not consider "artistic added value" at all.

If one slowly sells off those gems and gold and silver vessels, instead of just taking their precious metal value, in exchange for 8,000 Sulades gold coins, it will be more than enough.

The Mamluks kept their promise, and Lothar naturally reciprocated the favor and generously agreed to their request to meet their master.

In addition, Lothar also ordered people to spread the news about recovering the loot, and asked the sergeants and knights to take all the loot that was inconvenient to carry to a camp to exchange for coins.

Lothar returned it to the system mall in exchange for gold and silver coins with his face engraved on them, and took one-tenth of the "fire consumption" in exchange for them.

It's not that Lothar wanted to "spend a lot of money". He was just carrying these bits and pieces, which would greatly slow down the march of the Knights.

In addition, increasing the circulation of gold and silver coins bearing his image will also greatly increase his reputation.

By the time we finished all this, it was completely dark.

Hans walked into the camp and said with a smile: "Sir, did you know that the sergeants of the Knights gave you a nickname in private?"

Lothar said with great interest: "What nickname? Stingy?"

The system mall is really dark, and Lothar is also worried that the recycling price he gives will make the sergeants and knights dissatisfied, but if he knew the prices offered by the merchants who accompanied the army, he would definitely not think so.

"Of course not, one is Lothar the Generous, and the other is Lothar the Brave!"

Lothar was a little surprised and said: "Ha, this is really surprising."

The nicknames given to medieval lords were not always complimentary.

For example, Charles the Bald, Louis the Stutterer, and Amalric the Fat (the late king of Jerusalem).

The more neutral ones are Edward the Long Legs and Frederick the Red Beard.

Lothar's ability to obtain the titles of "Brave" and "Generous" is enough to prove that his reputation within the Knights has reached a new height at this time.

It is true that it is easy to suffer losses in a tough battle, but it is also easier to gather military morale.

The premise is that the fight is won.

evening.

Outside Jerusalem.

Military tents are like white flowers blooming on the desolate Gobi Desert.

Most of the crusaders have set off in recent days.

Tomorrow will be the last batch, namely the Knights of Jerusalem, the headquarters of Baldwin IV, commanded by Baron Godfrey.

In the central royal tent, there is a soft wool carpet, and exquisite woven flower curtains hang on the walls. The tables and chairs inlaid with patterns and magic-blocking gold threads are filled with exquisite oriental colored porcelain.

Baldwin IV leaned on the chair and took off his mask. Judging from the surface, his face had almost completely returned to normal, but the physical deformity had not been improved very well.

Opposite him, Baron Godfrey is holding a black chess piece and playing against him.

"Baron Godfrey, I want to take Hebron away from Count Leonard and give it to Lothar. His fiefdom is too barren. I don't know how long it will take to grow into a pillar of the kingdom."

"Facts have proven that he is very talented. Just a remote castle allowed him to train an elite army. If it were replaced by a wealthy city like Hebron, he would definitely do better."

"indeed."

Baron Godfrey frowned and said: "But I'm afraid that won't work. Unless Kalle Castle is captured, why do you deprive Count Leonard of his territory without obvious guilt? There will be too many people. Objected.”

Baldwin IV put forward a hypothesis: "What if Bethlehem is given to Leonard and replaced with Hebron?"

"This may work, but a better option is to seal Bethlehem to Lothar. Although this will cause his territory to be unable to be connected, Yogurtsburg is not very important. Send a knight to manage it on your behalf. enough."

Baron Godfrey paused slightly and then said: "The only prerequisite is that Lothar can make enough achievements. After all, Bethlehem has been coveted by many nobles for a long time."

"well."

Baldwin IV let out a long sigh.

Uldin's treatment re-infused vitality into his broken life. Combined with the royal physician's aromatherapy, he could feel that his body was gradually recovering to health.

He sometimes thought that if he had been able to receive such treatment when he was young, instead of the "enema" and "bloodletting" proposed by those quack doctors, perhaps the situation in Jerusalem would be very different now.

But by this time, the situation in Jerusalem had turned into a complete mess.

His enemies are the Crusader generals, the stubborn and conservative nobles, the ambitious newcomers from Europe, the independent military order of knights, and those who are full of intrigues and vying for power. Church clergy - in addition, there is the most powerful enemy, the brilliant and powerful Egyptian eagle Saladin.

"Godfrey, let Balian come to my tent and obey my orders. I will make him a Knight of the Banner. Perhaps, he can learn something from me."

Godfrey said in surprise: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Baldwin IV's eyes were still calm, but inside, there was a trace of impatience suppressed. Jerusalem, like him, now looked like a terminally ill person.

The only people he could consider as his confidants were Baron Godfrey and Lothar.

He is eager to increase the strength of the royal party.

By the evening of the next day, Lothar had led the knights to the outside of Montreal.

The Mamluk cavalry had left Jerusalem after meeting Prince Zahir.

Montreal is not Montreal in Quebec.

It is a desert city located in the earldom of Transjordan. It was a city built here during the First Crusade to maintain supply lines.

Therefore, it has a strong Western European castle style, rather than the unified European, Arab and Jewish style of Jerusalem.

On the high ground in the center of the city, a towering castle made of mud and bricks stands majestically. Nearly seventy years of wind and sun have made the city's walls look dilapidated and mottled.

"There's an army!"

On the tower, the guards said in horror: "Is Saladin's army coming? Has Fort Kalle been breached?"

"Impossible. Kaleborg is so majestic, how could it be easily breached?"

They shouted uneasily with the fear of impending doom.

"It's not the Flame Flag, you see clearly idiot, it's the Crusader Flag and the Black Eagle Flag!"

The panic on the guard's face was quickly replaced by excitement: "Reinforcements are coming, great, they are our people, notify your Excellency immediately and prepare to receive them."

Lothar and his party were quickly welcomed into the city.

The city's guard is the stepson of Earl Leonard, the son of Countess Stephanie and her ex-husband, also named Humphrey.

Just like Amalric was both the name of the late king and the name of the Prime Minister of the Palace and the concubine of Queen Mother Agnes.

The rate of duplicate names in this era is too high. Just like calling Charlie in Gaul, Enrique in Iberia, and Hans in Germany, countless people will respond.

Humphrey came in a hurry with his knights and attendants, and he was full of compliments.

"Baron Lothar, I have heard of your name. You solved the swarm of locusts in the desert. Now you have ignored the past and led the royal knights to come to support you. It is really admirable!"

"Count Leonard and I have no conflicts at all, so how can we ignore our past grudges?"

Lothar had a sincere smile on his face: "My army ran into a Saracen cavalry outside the city. They fought fiercely and suffered heavy losses. If Sir Humphrey can agree to us demarcating a territory in Montreal as a It would be great if the camp is repaired and given adequate supplies.”

Humphrey's expression changed slightly: "What a heavy loss..."