Chapter 302 Damietta and Damascus
The sword in Robert's hand was already full of gaps. If he continued to chop, it would break in a few strokes, but now there were no soldiers in front of him. It's worth slashing his sword.
Three days have passed since the day the city wall was blown open. The appearance of the city wall gap is just the prelude to bloody ground meat for three consecutive days.
The panic brought by artillery is not as good as the massacre panic that the Crusaders may face after breaking through the city. The fearlessness of men in the city created a myth with their flesh and blood.
But unfortunately... the heavy infantry is the main force in the meat-mincing war. When ordinary civilians take up weapons, they just become the dead souls under Robert's sword.
Want to collect the sword? Robert looked at the city streets with corpses and fell into a little confused. Then the infantrymen beside him unscrupulously applied his cruelty to the remaining women and children in Damietta, property and women, Stimulant for the crusad soldiers.
The bloody battle that lasted for three days has accumulated indescribable terrifying pressure, and this pressure is urgently needed to be vented.
Robert no longer had the leisure and ease he had when he watched the cannons shoot the city wall. At this moment, he could no longer evaluate the skills of war with a condescending attitude of bystanders. He was a participant in the war. , a bloody maker...
Putting aside those unnecessary reserves, Robert joined the ranks of the city massacre by the soldiers beside him, and joined the ranks of the city massacre as a senior commander of the Crusader.
In this hell on earth, only one lion's heart is still able to pace and examine other people's atrocities.
Lionheart brought destruction to Damietta, alienating the soldiers under his command into hungry beasts that cannibalize, but he himself felt interested.
There is no doubt whether Lion Heart is kind-hearted. He can forgive the mistakes made by his relatives and use force for his brothers and sisters.
But his kindness never involves those who are not close to him, or in his eyes, only the lord and the person who are useful to him are human beings.
This attitude is not uncommon among the aristocratic groups in today's era.
The lifestyle gap between the nobles and the lower serfs was so great that they could not regard each other as equals.
As for those pagans... in the eyes of many European lords or nobles, it is like a wild monster in later games.
How normal is it to kill wild monsters and explode gold coins? Anyway, they had never had any intersection. They didn't know each other's names before they came. After they came, they used swords as tools for conversation, and left corpses all over the ground.
Only those Franks who grew up in the Middle East, such as Balian, will try to understand this place and Residents of different beliefs.
This is the conflict and difference between foreign crusade nobles and local aristocratic factions.
The Lion Heart is just one of the outstanding representatives.
"Enough, Robert, I need you to rectify the team now. In addition, bring a group of people who are not red-eyed to protect the Christian residential areas. They will be useful to me."
The Lionheart Pressed Robert, who had just finished venting and entered the sage time, gave his assignment.
As for the untidy woman on the ground, Lion Heart didn't even have the interest to take a look. Even seeing two flesh worms lingering before made him feel disgusted.
Robert obeyed Lionheart's orders, put on his armor, and then looked coldly at the girl who could not even sob and fell into disgrace. Robert held the sword hanging around his waist, then let go of his hand, giving up the idea of killing.
Robert has at least found his reason, but as for the soldiers who are still addicted to carnality and plunder, they are still showing their beastly side and venting violence without restraint.
Following Lion Heart, the two of them plus some servants began to gather their teams in the chaotic city.
Although many soldiers who were restrained by Lion Heart looked a little regretful and were reluctant, Lion Heart's prestige was there, and no one dared to provoke it, and Robert also promised that afterwards, he would Arrange a separate spoil for each of them.
After receiving this promise, many people's faces became much better.
Silhouette also led such a small team of men to the Christian settlement area in the city. As for the chaos along the way, Lion Heart did not interfere.
The massacre of the city was something that Shi Xin agreed to. He didn't care about the life and death of these residents in the city at all. He gathered the team for more benefits, rather than protecting the safety of innocent civilians in the city.
Among the three Abrahamic religions, Islam is the youngest. To really discuss the worship of Yawei, it can actually be traced back to thousands of BC, but the Monotheistic Judaism in the modern sense only began to take shape in the sixth century BC.
The history of Christianity is bound to the AD, and by the 12th century, it also had a history of more than 1,100 years.
But what about Islam? From the time Mohammed wrote the Quran in 610 AD, it was only six hundred years before the year 1189, and only half of the history of Christianity.
Jewish religion is only preached to the Jews, and the polytheistic beliefs are gradually retreating in the face of the spread of Christianity. Before the rise of Islam, the Mediterranean cultural circle was the paradise for the continuous spread of Christianity.
When the Roman Empire ruled Egypt, Christianity was the only true faith here, and the Patriarch Alexander was also on an equal footing with the Patriarch of Rome.
Of course, when the sword of Islam pointed here, things changed, and the heavy count tax forced many Egyptian Christians to choose to convert.
But even so, the power of Christianity is still full of vitality. By the 12th century, Egypt still had a large number of Christians. In fact, even in Egypt in the 21st century, about 7% of the population believed in Christianity.
Many of the Franks who wandered when the city of Jerusalem was broken, came to Alexander, Egypt, and returned to Europe with the help of Christians.
Now Lion Heart is also trying to seek help from local Christians, so he needs to bring soldiers to protect the Christians in the city. He doesn't want the relationship between the two sides to be too stiff.
This squad led by Lion Heart stopped the soldiers who killed red-eyed and tried to commit violence against those who believed in the same faith. The way he stopped him, except for two simple orders, was to draw his sword decisively, regardless of the soldiers, and was still fighting for him just now.
When the first drop of blood flowed down, the soldiers present knew that Lion Heart was not joking with them.
The violent soldiers dragged the wounded away in disappointment, and Lionheart also used their actions to show their kindness to the local Christians.
And this was the beginning of his plan.
Liuxin looked at the bloodstains dragged away by the soldiers, rubbed the relief of the cross embedded on the hilt of the sword with his fingertips, and rolled out from his throat and sneered: "The lamb needs to be kept in captivity to produce it." The breasts were cut. "Silhouette said in a low voice.
Instead of simply naming his behavior as a crusader, Lionheart declared that his entry into Egypt was the Christian world to conquer Egypt again. All Christians, whether Catholic or not, can be his Allies.
He declared that he would gather a truly Christian coalition, and the target of his attack was Alexander, the last holy land lost by all Christians, to save the oppressed Christians there.
There are five Patriarchal Holy Lands in the Christian world, namely Jerusalem, Rome, Antioch, Constantinople and Alexander.
These five Patriarchal Holy Land were the apostle of the five Patriarchs during the Roman Empire, but with the decline of the Roman Empire and the rise of pagan forces, among which Jerusalem, Alexander and Antioch It was successively seized by non-Christian countries.
After the rise of the Crusades, Antioch and Jerusalem were successively taken back by the Christian world. Then in this case, Alexander seems to be a little so special.
Even though the patriarchs of the Coptic Orthodox Church still have great influence in Alexandria and the Coptic Orthodox Church has considerable influence in Muslim society, for Muslims, they are pagans after all.
The current Muslim society is no longer as enlightened as it was at the beginning, but it is still better than the top. However, if you meet a slightly fanatical ruler, then the lives of Christians are not Not easy to have.
In such a situation, Lion Heart announced that it would retake Alexander and rescue the Christians there, which was actually... not very useful.
At least, Lionheart could not convince the Coptic Orthodox people to join his army. At most, Lionheart found a group of "friends" who could manage his land for him and help him plunder the land.
In the Coptic Orthodox settlement in Damietta, Lionheart told a Coptic Orthodox priest in front of him what he did.
"They will kill all the male Saracens in this city who are taller than horseback, and I will save his life unless there are Christians who believe that a Saracens is a good man and worthy of redemption."
One thing to be clear is that Lion Heart is not a bloodthirsty person, he at least lacks the feeling of human life. Lack of respect for human life.
For him, killing is not something worth pursuing, but killing is not an act of fear. How much difference is there for him to kill a person and kill a chicken? Woolen cloth? This is something that others don't know.
But one thing that is certain is that after the attack on Aka, the Lionheart King captured two thousand six Muslim defenders, and the Lionheart King used this to blackmail Saladin. But not long after, he slaughtered all the prisoners on the grounds that Saladin had not given any money, and he had no interest in selling them into slaves.
For Father Carlisle, he could feel the indifference in the eyes of Lionheart at this moment.
The king in front of him was full of vitality and passionate in the eyes of soldiers and nobles. He was a monarch worth following because he could bring victory and sufficient spoils.
But for people like Father Carlisle, he only felt a fatal threat - people are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones Father Carlisle could clearly understand that there was a gap between himself and the Lion Heart. The two of them might also believe in the omnipotent Lord, but the gap between them was like heaven and earth.
"I purified the city and returned it to true faith, but some Christians do not understand what I do and think I am just indiscriminate. I think there must be some misunderstandings in this massacre, so I specially found you. I hope you can explain to the local Christians clearly what I came to Egypt for. "
“I can promise all Christians in Egypt that wherever my army goes, the day when all oppressed Christians are liberated, my army will not be indestructible to all Christians, and as long as they bid high enough If so, I don't mind appointing them as city lords or something like that."
At the end of the day, Lion Heart expressed his intention. He planned to do his old business in Egypt - selling official positions and ranks.
"Father Carlisle, I know your influence around here, and I promise you that as long as you can find a Christian willing to take over Damietta for me, I will give you one The church is a kickback. "
The Lionheart is a generous king. Father Carlisle only understood the meaning of this sentence at this moment. It is indeed generous enough. Opening his mouth means a kickback for a church.
No wonder there are so many people who are willing to follow him, and Lion Heart's view on money is completely different from that of ordinary people.
For ordinary people, money is accumulated by themselves, while for the lords, money is obtained by themselves from the hands of the lords. In short, no matter how you come about, money is hard to get. Only when you are stingy enough can you accumulate enough wealth to pass on your family.
But what about Lionheart? Other people's money is his money, and his money can actually be other people's money. As long as those people can bring enough benefits, there will be no hesitation when the lion's heart spills money.
Carlisle had to admit that he was moved. Even though he knew that the church would be stained with countless Muslim blood, how could he refuse when such a heavy benefit was hit in front of him?
For a moment, the image of Lion Heart became lively and contagious in Carlisle's eyes.
Liuxin doesn't care who Egypt will rule in the end. This is not his territory. Many people say that Egypt is the foundation of kings and domineering. That's true, but for Liuxin, so what? What is really important is the territory of your family.
No mistakes, one poem, one post, one content, one in 6, one book, one bar, one read!
Lionheart did not intend to spend much effort on the land of Egypt to rule. What he needed was to accumulate enough fame for himself and to accumulate enough wealth for his future return to his kingdom.
War is just a means of Lionheart, and the destruction of Damietta is just the beginning. When the plan has been formulated, it is enough to move forward in an unwavering way along the established path.
…
Coincidentally, when the British and French Crusaders conquered Damietta, the German Crusaders were also about to conquer Damascus with the help of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The time was a little later, and the citizens of Damascus were much smaller than those of Damietta.
Among them, the Kingdom of Jerusalem carried out various propaganda in advance, which made the people of Damascus understand the Kingdom of Jerusalem better.
After the founding of the New Kingdom, Gerris never defined his military actions as the crusading movement.
He was more willing to call himself a series of military operations, which was to regain lost territory in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The potential meaning is that the Kingdom of Jerusalem is fighting for territory, not because of faith hostility.
This different attitude also makes a considerable number of Muslims choose to join the army because of the high treatment of the army.
And Gerris's strict military governance is the best in this era, so naturally it will not let those aspiring young people take a wrong path.
A large number of Muslims have become members of the army, which has invisibly given many Muslims a sense of trust in the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Of course, this kind of trust is actually not very powerful, and it can even be described as insignificant.
But as long as it exists, it is a possibility, and it is also hope in desperate situations, and a straw that saves life when falling into the river. After the first crusade ended, the crusaders that had massacred several times still received the surrender of Akha, not to mention that the army is now filled with a large number of Muslims in the Kingdom of Jerusalem?
Before conquering Jerusalem, Gerris issued a statement to protect the Islamic holy land of Al-Aqsa Mosque. In addition, the constraints on military discipline after conquering Jerusalem also gave other Muslims a sense of security. .
That is: there is no need to fight to the end. It is naturally good if the city is guarded. If the city is not guarded, there will be no big losses.
Once a person has a way out, he will not bet with his entire net worth like a red-eyed gambler.
As for the other reason, it is that the current Ayub dynasty is also in dispute due to Saladin's defeat.
Jerusalem was taken up and brought him to the high platform, just as Saladin himself had expected.
But the loss of Jerusalem will also cause him to fall from the platform and taste the taste of victory. It is unbearable to the turning point from victory to failure.
There is a strange scene in the Muslim world, that is, the entire Muslim world has a thousand years of history, stretched from West Africa to Southeast Asia, and can continue its dynasty for more than three generations, if it is roughly calculated, it will be more than two-handed.
As for whether it is staying in the Middle East... the second generation is the norm. There are only a few who can reach the third generation, and even if it exceeds the third generation, it will count it with a few fingers.
The instability of regime handover is a common problem in the Muslim dynasty in the Middle East.
Geris has also thought about the reasons many times.
For example, the desert in the central area of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East divides the ability of a huge empire to communicate quickly. If the Caliphate tries to mobilize troops from the Red Sea coast to support the Mesopotamia, then when the army arrives, daylily when the daylight is gone It's all cold.
For example, the division of power caused by sectarian conflicts can easily pull a dynasty into several pieces.
Or it is simply because there are structural problems in the construction of the political system in the Muslim world in the Middle East, which is directly a system issue.
In short, in the Middle East, the political cycles of various Muslim dynasties are surprisingly short, full of life and vitality, which is a perfect manifestation of the so-called peace of kings, princes, generals and ministers
< br>After all, even if he is a slave, he can stand out in Mamluk, and Saladin himself is actually just from a Kurdish family and cannot be promoted in the eyes of serious Arabs.
This situation has caused chaos within the Ayub dynasty today.
When Saladin fled to Damascus with his personal guards, he was almost taken down by local forces and sent to prison.
In this situation where he is busy with internal struggle and ignoring the foreign enemies, even Saladin can only continue to retreat north and dare not put himself in the mighty city of Damascus.
War? What kind of battle is it to fight? At most, I will be confused. There are large army outside and the master, and internal personnel struggles continue to stop. In such a large city of Damascus, when facing the crusaders, I could not even send a messenger to discuss peace. I just blindly strengthen the city defense. .
Then the strong city walls were blasted by artillery, and there were gaps slightly until a gap was blasted out.
Even though there were artillery fires at the top of the city during this period, due to the differences in the quality of artillery between the two sides, it can only be said to be better than nothing.
But after the military reform, the German Crusaders who paid money in advance were also issued, and their combat effectiveness was significantly improved.
When breaking through the city wall, I didn't rush into the gap, but pushed the light cannon under the city wall.
After a few gunfires, cannons filled with grape bullets or shotguns, shot out several consecutive arrays of metal projectiles, clearing the defenders who had been waiting in the gap for a long time.
Avoid the terrible grinding of the lionheart when he conquered the walls of Damietta.
For the defenders in Damascus, this was a violent blow that had never been imagined. Although it was the backbone of the battlefields of the late Middle Ages and even the Renaissance, it was facing the situation. When the shotgun attacks, it is a piece of flesh target.
The chaotic battlefield fell into cold silence at this moment, and both enemies and us were confused. No matter how thick the armor was, it seemed to lose its meaning of existence when facing the baptism of close shotguns.
However, many officers under Eden's troops finally had an idea of this scene. They were not stunned for too long, and looked at the tragic guards in the city, and hurriedly issued a charge order.
Only this time, the German Crusaders rushed into the city and firmly controlled a piece of the city wall.
After completing this stage of the task, they did not rush to expand their results.
For a heroic city like Damascus, the battle on the city wall is just a link in the battle.
Breaking the city wall does not mean the end of the battle. Once you enter the street fighting stage and fall into the vast ocean of people's war, you may be able to win by relying solely on these ten thousand people's German Crusaders, but the price you pay, And the blood feuds formed in this process cannot be expressed in just one word.
(This chapter ends)