Chapter 184 From now on, Orthodoxy is expected to be revitalized! (2-in-1)
Gaza was captured.
The castle, which had been built since 1149, was given to the Knights Templar after its completion.
A month ago, the castle was captured by Saladin.
At this point, all the port cities on the coastline of the Kingdom of Jerusalem have been captured.
During this month, Saladin held various religious celebrations and held various banquets to appease his troops and thank God for his favor.
After the noise subsided, Saladin spread out the map again. Now in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, there are less than ten Frankish strongholds.
At present, the only places that Saladin himself can take notice of are Karak, Montreal and Tire.
"Muzaffar, if it were you, where would you choose?"
Muzaffar on the side pointed to the port of Tire without hesitation.
"Tell me your reasons."
Muzaffar nodded and said bluntly: "Although Karak and Montreal are the core of Transjordan territory, the terrain is steep."
"A few days ago, Lord Adil led 4,000 men to besiege. In the end, he was defeated and the siege was broken. It also proved that there is a hard nut to crack."
"It can be said that investing too much energy outweighs the gain."
Listening to Muzaffar's words, Saladin nodded. The terrain of these two castles was steep, and he knew that there was really no way to attack them.
"In this case, Transjordan can only put it on hold for the time being."
"As a seaport, Tire is surrounded by sea on three sides and has only one isthmus that can be used as a land attack direction. It is difficult to deploy a large army, although it is equally easy to defend and difficult to attack."
"But considering the anticipated threat of the Third Crusade, this is much more deadly than the two castles in Transjordan."
If there were no Tire, it would mean that the Crusaders from Europe could only land in Tripoli, and they would have to march at least 130 kilometers more to reach Jerusalem.
And if Saladin followed the coast and captured the city of Tripoli, it would mean that the European Crusaders could only land and assemble from Antioch. If you want to reach Jerusalem, you will have to march at least 380 kilometers longer than the Tire landing.
Saladin didn't have an overly detailed map, but he could still tell the difference.
Taking Tire would mean that the Crusaders from Europe would have to travel overland for five more days.
And if Tripoli is captured again, it means that the Crusaders will have to travel by land for about fifteen days.
This distance of several hundred kilometers will bring all kinds of troubles to the Crusaders coming from afar.
For example: supplies, terrain, alien races, acclimatization, a large number of fortresses...
After the siege of Jerusalem, Saladin realized more and more clearly that he was not suitable for on-the-spot command.
Therefore, he chose to take advantage of the situation before the battle broke out, combine the right time, place, people and people, and occupy an invincible position.
Regarding Tire, after conquering Jerusalem, Saladin detached a force of about 3,000 men to block the isthmus, monitor the defenders in the city, and conduct a long-term, low-intensity siege to test the strength of the situation.
Now, the offensive in the southern part of the kingdom has ended, and the army has been repaired.
It's time to launch a general attack on Tire.
And for this attack, Saladin also sent a messenger to notify Adil and asked his brother to mobilize the navy in Alexandria port.
This time, Saladin will gather his main army in the city of Acre and launch a sea and land attack on Tire.
However, there is news that makes Saladin quite baffled.
In the past few days, news came from the Sea of Galilee that one of his own armies was defeated by an unknown enemy.
The weapons used by the enemy soldiers spit out flames, like thunder, or dragon roar, bringing the power of God.
"Dragon?"
"Does such a creature really exist?"
Saladin thought of the long poem of the Persian poet Ferdowsi, about the dragon-slayers in the Book of Kings.
For a moment, Saladin was confused and couldn't figure out what was going on.
This may also be the excuse of those defeated soldiers.
……
The Jordan River is the mother river of Palestine, so just like Leonard, Gairis and the others also chose to march north along the Jordan River.
Because this can easily replenish a large amount of water and purchase enough food from passing villages.
But as far as the situation along the way is concerned, quite a few villages have been destroyed by the war.
Or, experienced robbery.
The land of Palestine is now devastated...
It can be said that Saladin's Muslim army did not show mercy to his brothers.
And on the only way to this marching route, there is a special mountain peak.
Mount Tabor has a unique shape, almost like a hemisphere.
It rises suddenly from the fairly flat surroundings, reaching an altitude of 575 meters above sea level, and then overlooks the town on the plain below from a drop of 450 meters.
Such a raised mountain peak from the flat ground occupies an extremely strategic position. It is the intersection of the north-south route of Galilee and the east-west road of the Jezreel Valley.
The Highway of Maris, which leads north from the Jezreel Valley to Damascus, passes here.
"This is the command of the LORD, the God of Israel: You are to march to Mount Tabor with ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and Zebulon. 】
The battle for this key point has occurred frequently in history, and it can be said to be a battleground for military strategists.
However, Mount Tabor is not simply a key point of conquest. It occupies a prominent position in Christian mythology.
According to the records in the Bible.
Brother Jesus once revealed His Holy Face here.
At that time Jesus ascended this mountain with the three apostles, and was transfigured before them, and his clothes shone and became exceedingly white.
Two more prophets, Moses and Elijah, appeared and talked to Jesus and the three apostles about the fate of Brother Heaven.
So much so that clouds in the sky covered these people, and a voice came from heaven saying, "This is my Son, my chosen one, obey him!" 】
In this incident, the fate and future of Brother Tian were also revealed - his suffering was the Father's will, and his death was a foregone conclusion.
Due to the special nature of this place, it has become a pilgrimage site for Christians as early as the Roman Empire.
In the 8th century, there were four churches and a monastery on the mountain.
When the Kingdom of Jerusalem took control of the area in the 12th century, the Benedictine monks built their own monastery on the basis of those churches and monasteries.
Due to the terrain, the Santa Marcovia Monastery was built extremely solidly, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.
In fact, from the perspective of the Saracens, such a monastery is no different from a castle.
The people in these monasteries took advantage of the terrain and had repelled Saracen attacks many times.
So angry that the Saracens, or Turks to be precise, gathered thousands of soldiers on the north side of Mount Tabor, just to capture this place.
Benedictine monk Mishka, looking at the small black spots gathering at the foot of the mountain, knew that their monastery was about to be unable to hold on.
The quantitative gap between the two sides is indeed too large.
"God Almighty, Supreme Creator."
"In this holy place where Jesus Christ was revealed, I beg your mercy."
"Lord, you appeared on this mountain to bring hope and light to your believers. Now, I cry out to you here, asking you to renew your covenant."
"In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
"Amen."
Mishka cried out to Heavenly Father, but he also knew that there was no army in the kingdom that could rescue them.
The shadow of death has already rushed towards them.
While he was swaying, another monk next to him gave a suggestion:
"I heard that those pagans would not kill converts."
"Mishka, how about if we pretend to convert, it will repent every day?"
……
Like Leonard's army, Garris's troops also faced a dilemma, which was the height difference between the Jordan Valley and the surrounding land.
These cascading and diverse terrains brought considerable trouble to the march, but the advantage was that such terrain also covered the march of large troops.
After arduously walking uphill, about 7 kilometers south of Mount Tabor, Gallis realized the superior terrain of Mount Tabor.
After a brief exchange with Balian and the others, Balian took over the command of the army.
Garris took several Paladins with him and planned to go to the surrounding villages to inquire about the situation.
After climbing over a mountain ridge, Garris and several Paladin followers behind him saw farmland and villages.
Because the number of Garris's men was small, and they all dismounted before approaching the village.
Although the villagers in the village were very wary, at least they did not express any clear hostility.
After trying to communicate in Saracen, Garris was surprised to find that these locals actually spoke Greek, and they were all Christians.
Without saying a word, in front of these farmers, Garris pinched his thumb, index finger and middle finger together and made the sign of the cross from top to bottom and from right to left.
The thumb, index finger and middle finger symbolize the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and the way Gehris makes the sign of the cross is also a typical Orthodox Christian way.
After finishing the painting, he took out a metal cross from his pocket, kissed it lightly, and said "Amen".
In this way, he showed his religious beliefs to these Orthodox villagers.
"Brothers, we are devout pilgrims coming to this holy mountain. Can you give me and other hungry travelers a bite to eat?"
With that said, Garris took the initiative to take a few steps forward, took the hand of the old man who seemed to have the highest status, and stuffed his metal cross into it.
Neither the villagers nor the Paladins behind Garris could react for a moment.
It's just that Garris' familiarity is too efficient.
When it's time to be friendly with others, Garris really has no airs at all and can blend in with the people in just a few words.
Even Alexandros Alp Karis, a former Greek-Turkish slave, could not help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
To this day, whenever he recalls the scene when he first met Garris, his heart is still throbbing. It was a candle that lit itself up. Behind Garris, like a thin line of small towns, lights lit up one after another.
The night is long and wild beasts are rampant. Garris will hold the torch in the wind and swim against the tide.
This man is like a harbor, attracting ships sailing on the sea. Even he, Alexandros, will look for a place to settle down.
Then, many times, Garris' behavior is not in line with his status as a [prophet], but he is close to the old farmers.
As for these Greek farmers, although they doubted whether the strangers in front of them were heretics, after taking a closer look at the cross, they had no doubts.
It was a standard Eastern Cross, exquisite and ornate.
Of course, what these Greek farmers didn't know was that Gary actually carried several crosses of different specifications.
Make sure that whenever you meet any Christian, you can blend in with them.
"Brother, thank you very much for your concern!" With that said, the old man also crossed himself and said "Amen".
After the Galisians gave some small gifts to others, they learned about the origin of this village from the villagers.
The Kingdom of Jerusalem is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country.
This multi-ethnic and multi-religious world does not mean that the only exceptions are the Franks and the Saracens.
In fact, as this land goes north, the number of Orthodox Christians will increase, and there will even be some native Jews and Samaritans.
Many of these Orthodox Christians are Greeks.
It was the intermingling of these Greeks and Saracens that gave rise to a large number of mixed-race children such as Alexandros.
However, although these people believe in Orthodox Christianity and are Christians, in terms of social status, they are still clearly second-class citizens and a marginalized group in society.
The village that Garris came to existed before the era of the Arab Conquest, and it remains today.
Although Garris felt that the other party was bragging a bit, it didn't matter if he agreed with him for the time being.
When mentioning the current war in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, these old Greek farmers showed a sense of gloating.
Originally, there was an Orthodox church on Mount Tabor, but when the Franks came, the church on Mount Tabor was renamed God.
And their Orthodox village still has to pay rent to the monastery on the mountain!
It's really too much to deceive.
But they are also worried: "Who knows what kind of beastly things those Turkic bandits will do?"
Today, there is no longer a truly Orthodox country in the Levant.
The Eastern Empire, which once ruled the eastern Mediterranean coast, is already in decline. They are the people who have been abandoned.
[We hung our harps in the willows there; for our captors required us to sing there; our captors wanted us to sing, saying, "Sing us a song from Zion!"]
【“How can we sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land?”]
[“O Jerusalem, if I forget you, I would rather my right hand forget its skill.”]
——"Psalm" 137:1-6
Compared with the Jews who were plundered and therefore left Palestine, these Greeks had never left their homeland, but they had long become passers-by in the land of the Gentiles.
When the Saracens came, they had to pay the jiziya tax.
After the Franks came, they had to pay the Jiziya tax.
It’s really a bit abstract...
According to this old farmer’s complaint:
"We have to pay the Jiziya tax before the Crusaders come, and we still have to pay the Jiziya tax after the Crusaders come. Doesn't this mean that we came in vain!"
The Jizya is a poll tax imposed on non-Muslim people in Islamic countries.
The tax was levied on adult men who had the physical strength to serve as soldiers and the financial resources to pay taxes, excluding slaves.
The origin of the Jizya tax can be traced back to Chapter 9, Verse 29 of the Quran, which mentions that non-Muslim residents who do not believe in Islam can avoid being fought by paying the Jizya tax.
This tax policy did not force peoples such as Greece to convert to Islam. On the contrary, maintaining the Orthodox faith of the Greeks would increase the financial income of the Islamic lords.
In this regard, as a Crusader kingdom that conquered Palestine, the Franks followed suit.
Mission? What kind of religion are you preaching!
It’s so sweet to collect pagan taxes!
Garris arranged for a Paladin to go back and inform him of the situation, while he stayed in the village with Alexandros and other Paladins who had Greek ancestry, or were Greeks.
In the evening of that day, several of them received a "lavish reception" from the simple peasants of the Middle Ages.
……
Alexandros struggled to get up from the straw, troubled by a headache after a hangover.
As a teenager, he had never drank like this.
On the contrary, the prophet on the side mingled with the farmers and performed a show of not getting drunk after a thousand cups.
Alexandros felt a little strange when he thought of the prophet's generosity.
Just as Alexandros went out to drain the water, he suddenly felt someone shouting: "Allah Huqba!"
When he looked back, the village was ablaze.
Some memories are rolling in my mind, some impulses can't be resisted, and the scenes from the past flash before my eyes again.
Two tears rolled in his eyes.
The flame was like a demon devouring the earth, grinning ferociously at Alexandros.
He had seen this scene once upon a time, when... he was still young.
"Alexandros, your name is protector. When you grow up, you must remember to protect the village!"
Where is the village?
Hasn't it been burned to ashes?
The men howled, picked up pitchforks and wooden sticks, and rushed towards the pagans who came on horseback. The cries of babies and the screams of women and children penetrated the flames.
Alexandros felt phantom pain. He seemed to have returned to the past again, and he was still so helpless and confused.
A Turk on horseback noticed Alexandros.
The Turk first slashed sideways, and with the help of his horse power, he caused the head of a farmer who couldn't avoid it to fly up.
A few hours ago, Alexandros was drinking date wine with this man at the table, chatting in Greek with which he was familiar, but now they were separated by life and death.
Immediately afterwards, the Turks on horseback rushed towards Alexandros again.
But this young man, with empty hands and no weapons, was frozen on the spot.
Every time the horse's hoof hits the ground, the god of death is ringing the urgent bell.
The sound increased in speed, and Alexandros came closer.
Then the Turk passed by Alexandros.
The Turk's head rolled to the ground.
Then, with a crisp slap, Alexandros felt his face burning, and he woke up.
Garris stood in front of him. Unexpectedly, he had a Turkic scimitar in his hand, and his body was covered with blood.
"Go back and put on your armor and pick up your weapons!"
"Yes!"
Alexandros shouted as he woke up.
【Lord! You light up my lamp! 】
【My God illuminates my darkness. 】
【With you, I charge into the enemy army! 】
[By my God I jumped over the wall. 】
【He delivered me from my enemies, and from the violent ones. 】
[Lord, therefore I will praise you among the heathen and sing praises to your name. 】
——Excerpt from Psalm 18
Alexandros rushed into the room as fast as he could. He didn't have time to put on all the armor. He just casually put on the shoulder armor outside the armor, and then rushed out again with his long sword.
With him were two other Paladins.
They didn't have the spears to fight the cavalry, but they still formed a formation without hesitation.
What is the most essential difference between a Paladin and a commoner?
It has never been about holding a weapon, but a heart that is always ready to fight and sacrifice in order to fulfill the oath.
Of course, what's more important is that Gareth is ahead of everyone.
How could they, Paladins, not follow them?
The village was burning with raging fire, and the beast-like roars and sharp cracking of silk were intertwined in the dark night,
The night was as dark as ink, and only the beating flames added a strange brilliance to the darkness.
However, in this chaotic dance of demons, a figure shimmered like a ghost.
Every time the sharp blade cuts through the air, with a harsh whistle, streams of blood gush out like springs, spreading on the land and seeping into every crack in the earth. .
Those Turks, those war horses... when they faced Garis, they were so insignificant, like fallen leaves swaying in the wind, weak and hateful.
In this horrific confrontation, the Turks' faith and courage were like paper walls, ruthlessly shattered by Gairis.
The protection of Allah that they once thought has become illusory now, and no longer favors these fighting warriors.
Their eyes showed panic and despair. Only by running away could they have a chance to survive.
However, on this enchanting night, the flames lit by the attackers themselves turned into a mirror for them, reflecting their miserable figures.
Every fearful face and every pair of struggling hands were distorted in the firelight, forming miserable scenes.
"Garys! Garris!"
The farmers who had witnessed Garris's attack no longer bothered to think about what was going on. They just kept shouting Garris!
This is God's favor, this is the coming of an angel, and he must be a living saint who will let the blood of pagans spill on the earth!
From now on, there is hope for the revitalization of Orthodoxy!
And Alexandros and the others were also clearing out the remaining enemies.
Still a two-in-one chapter
(End of chapter)