Chapter 159 One city, two worlds
The scorching sun burned everything on the ground. Under the shadow of the city wall, Garris showed Lorien and others on the side how to draw the bow and shoot arrows.
Garris stands with his feet shoulder-width apart to stabilize his center of gravity.
Hold the bow handle with your left hand, lift the bow to your chest, pull the bow string with your right hand, and raise your elbow slightly.
"When pulling the string, use your index finger, middle finger, and ring finger to clasp the string together, so that you can pull steadily and give you time to aim."
"When aiming, remember to overlap the arrow head with the string, add your own pupils, and make it three points and one line."
While Gareth was speaking, he was also pulling the long bow.
The 160-pound longbow brought no burden to Garris, and even his breathing was the same as usual.
Lorien and others on the side are also studying carefully.
The bow and arrow shooting method taught by Garris is a Mediterranean shooting method, which is used more often in this life.
When Garris played with a bow in his previous life, he often used the Mongolian shooting method.
Both shooting methods have their own advantages and disadvantages.
The Mongolian-style shooting method is to press the string with the thumb, emphasizing rapid and continuous shooting. The archer can fire multiple arrows in a short period of time, and can even reach a speed of 15 to 20 arrows per minute.
The so-called arrows are raining down, and this is often the case.
In the Mediterranean shooting method, three fingers are often used to hold the string, allowing the archer to hold the string for a long time so that he can spend more time aiming, but the shooting speed is much slower.
After a few brief explanations, Garris loosened the bow string, and with a sound of the string, the arrow whistled and accurately hit the bullseye thirty steps away.
Then he motioned to Lorien and Waldo to take aim.
During these days, Garris selected those young people in the lower city who were in good health. In addition to taking them to patrol the city wall, he used any free time to teach these people how to use weapons.
Naturally, swords are not very useful in defending a city, but bows or spears require time to hone the skills in using them.
And even though these days, thanks to the food provided by Bishop Amedai, many people in Xiacheng District can eat and drink for the first time, but in terms of physical fitness and strength, they are still very insufficient.
Garris himself can easily pull a 160-pound bow, but an average adult can barely pull a 60-pound bow.
A 60-pound bow...to be honest, even leather armor may not be able to penetrate it at a distance of thirty steps.
That is to say, the armies of the Middle East are being bullied these days, and their armor coverage rates are getting lower and lower...
If the armor coverage rate of the Kingdom of Jerusalem is as high as 45%, it can be as low as 30%.
Then the normal armor coverage rate of Muslim armies in the Middle East may be 20%.
The 60 pound bow really comes in handy.
There was another sound of the string, and Lorien's arrow, although it did not hit the bull's-eye, it was on target at least.
As for the other young people, they still have to practice.
At this time, another young man quickly ran up to Garris and muttered something in a low voice.
Garris nodded and said to the people on the side: "I have some things to do here and I have to leave for a while. Let Lorien lead you to practice more and learn from others. Don't just eat every day and lose your memory!"
The young men all laughed kindly, and Lorien also looked embarrassed, showing a hint of shyness.
……
On a warm afternoon, the sun shines through the stained glass windows of the church, casting colorful light and shadow.
Amedena's wrinkled face is reflected, and the traces of time have left deep marks on his pale skin.
He knelt on the simple altar. This was not his magnificent cathedral, but the smallest and dilapidated church in Karak.
Amedei's shoulders trembled slightly and he murmured in a low voice. In front of him was the cross on which Jesus was crucified.
"Lord, I kneel before You, filled with guilt and contrition."
"In the past, I was focused on power and ignored your teaching: whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant."
"I never cared about those poor souls, leaving them alone and helpless beside me."
“Faith without works is dead, and I am deeply ashamed of my indifference to the poor.”
"May I repent, listen to their cries, and become their refuge." "May the Lord give me wisdom and mercy, and let me witness your love with actions."
"May I always remember your teachings and bring your grace to everyone in need at every sunrise and sunset."
"Amen."
While Amedei was confessing in a low voice, he suddenly heard a voice.
"The loving Father in heaven has reconciled all things to Him through the death and resurrection of His Son, and has given the Holy Spirit to forgive the sins of the world. May He forgive you and give you peace for my humble service. Now I In the name of the Father and the Son, I forgive your sins and may you find peace in the light of the Lord.”
Amedei stood up quickly, raised his head and saw Garris. At some point, he appeared in front of him, blocking the cross with the statue of Jesus nailed on it.
At this time, Garris was still wearing rags and no armor.
Garris is also examining Amedee. He is not sure whether Amedee is sincere in his repentance. This is most likely another show by the bishop.
But considering that when the bishop came to the Lower City this time, at least he did not bring any guards with him and his clothes were more plain, Garris felt that he could release some goodwill.
Now the Kingdom of Jerusalem is in danger. Facing the threat of Saladin, the broken fragments of the Kingdom of Jerusalem will try to move closer to a new center.
Garris will naturally have the opportunity to surrender those fragments and then reassemble them according to his own wishes.
"Some saints say that they are very sinful people, because when they look at Jesus, they feel very different and far apart when they look at themselves."
After listening to Gairis's words, Amedeh replied angrily: "Are you praising me?"
"Whatever you think, do you have any business with me this time?"
With that said, Garris sat on a church bench nearby.
Amedei also sat on the bench on the other side.
"The king's army was defeated."
"Yeah."
"Aren't you surprised?"
"I knew it a long time ago, before all of you."
Amedei took a deep look at Garris. Ignoring the mysterious speaking style, he continued: "Adil outside the city, Saladin's younger brother, sent someone to deliver Humphrey's token, threatening Mrs. Stephanie to hand over the city."
"But the MPs are not happy, right?"
"Well, many of them have properties locally, and even some small nobles have Muslim serfs in their estates. If they surrender directly, it means that their properties will be taken away and they will have to leave their homes."
"Then you came to see me, do you have anything to say?" Garris tilted his head and glanced at the old man, Bishop Amedei. He talked for a long time without focusing on the key points.
"I went to find Stephanie. Stephanie was a woman who couldn't communicate at all, and then Adil's delegation came again."
"Again?"
"Yes, Adil proposed a surrender plan, and many members of the parliament were very moved. Adil's envoy said that as long as the people in the city are willing to surrender and pay the ransom, they can avoid being sold into slavery. Destiny.”
"This should not be enough to impress those members of Congress who have local industries."
Garris responded. In his opinion, what the insects in the uptown area long for are the local industries that cannot be moved. If it weren't for the fact that these industries cannot be moved, they would have surrendered and evacuated the city long ago.
"Adil also specifically added that as long as the residents of the city pay double the ransom, he will protect the safety of that resident's property."
"Resident? Individual? Adil, did he collect the ransom on an individual basis?!" Even Garris was stunned for a moment.
He suddenly realized how sophisticated that Adil guy was.
Perhaps Karak City is a majestic city that is difficult for thousands of troops to conquer, but that does not mean that Karak City has no weaknesses.
"The ransom is 10 gold dinars for men, 5 gold dinars for women, and 2 gold dinars for children. Those who cannot afford the ransom will be sold into slavery. Those who can pay double the ransom can stay here. Keep their property ”
The city of Karak can be divided into the upper city and the lower city. This is a city divided into two worlds by physical boundaries.
For people in uptown, it is easy to pay the ransom or double the ransom.
However, for the families in Xiacheng District, how many families can have this balance to redeem themselves and avoid the fate of being sold into slavery?
Fourth update (additional update)
(End of chapter)