Chapter 418 The Night Before the Storm

The sun is scorching.

Lothar opened the tent door, and a strong smell of sweat hit his face.

Looking around, he saw that the place was filled with various Crusader princes. He glanced over and everyone nodded to him.

During these days, the Crusaders and Saracens were still in a state of confrontation.

The next day's battle, perhaps due to the pressure of rumors, Saladin did not send Thorle to fight again. Veneto easily won and regained a victory, but the morale of the Crusaders did not improve much.

The reason is simple. The enemy breeds man-eating beasts that eat ten Saracens every day. The Crusaders are still worried about facing such beasts on the battlefield.

Since then, the two sides have fallen into a state of confrontation with no deadline.

It was not until the enemy troops in Gaza City approached the city and news came that the enemy's main fleet was defeated in Ella Port that there was another military discussion.

"Lord Marquis, I heard that in the Battle of Port Ella, an army of the undead appeared. They came from the sea and killed the heathens to a great defeat - is this true or false?"

Lothar's expression moved slightly: "The pagans are ignorant and just spreading rumors. In fact, it was just the coastal defense fleet of Ella Port, because it was ambushed in a hidden place in advance. With the cloudy sky and the fog on the sea, it killed people at the critical moment. Come out. In the eyes of pagans, isn't it just as terrifying as the demons in hell?"

"I see."

Gerald sighed with deep emotion: "I thought that the Marquis could train several elite cavalry units such as winged cavalry and several elite infantry units such as square shield infantry. He was already a rare military training wizard in the world. I never thought that he could train the city defenders. The militia and the crew on the ship are also so elite and brave."

Lothar said calmly: "The enemy is weak, they are just a group of pirates. There are many merchant ships of the Templars, so they must know the combat power of these pirates better than I do."

Gerald smiled and said: "Ah, that's true. Pirates are on the sea, relying on their familiarity with the location and driving small boats to and fro like the wind. However, my experience is limited and I have never seen any pirates driving a three-story giant ship."

Lothar smiled lightly and said: "Didn't Isaac of Komnenos once hire a pirate fleet driving a three-masted giant ship?"

"But who doesn't know that it is the fleet of Brinsidi and the city-state of Pisa?"

Baldwin IV said with a serious face: "Grand Commander Gerald, Marquis Lothar, this is a military meeting, not a place for you to chat."

"Sorry, Your Majesty."

Lothar looked at the dying Gerald. He knew very well that Gerald must be doubting his identity. As a pious leader of the Knights, his devotion to the Heavenly Father was unquestionable. Lothar might have something to do with evil spirits. The suspicion of "collusion" will definitely not be settled just like this.

But Lothar didn't care about this.

Now that he has grown up, and the situation in the Holy Land is extremely dangerous, it is impossible for Gerald to do something to him even if he has doubts.

"Tell me, what do you think of the current situation?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Princess Sibylla's military manager, Knight Stephen, stood up and said:

"Although the Marquis' Ella Port has been defended, there are still tens of thousands of Adil's Egyptian troops under Gaza City. If we cannot eliminate Saladin's reinforcements as soon as possible, once Gaza City is defeated, Jerusalem's city defenses that have not been repaired for many years may not be able to defend it. To house the heavy artillery of the infidels?”

Lothar was not surprised that Stephen Knight was the first to stand up.

Both Gaza and Jaffa are the fiefdoms of Princess Sibylla. Due to emotions and reasons, as Sibylla's ministers, even if they are temporarily working under Lothar, they have to stand up and speak for support at this moment.

Before the meeting began, Stephen Knight was angry with Lothar in private.

Someone immediately agreed: "Knight Stephen is right. At present, 80% of the kingdom's military strength is gathered here, and the pagans have taken advantage of it. If they don't decide the outcome with the Saracens as soon as possible, is it possible that they will divide their troops to come back for reinforcements?" "

Baron Godfrey frowned and said: "This is exactly what Saladin wants. He wants us to become impatient and attack his camp with ballistas, horses, wooden fences, and watchtowers, and then kill countless corpses." Throw it outside the enemy’s camp!”

Guy suddenly said: "But we have to do something. We listened to Marquis Lothar's suggestion, but did the duel with the Saracens really boost the morale of the soldiers? I can't see it! "

Godfrey sneered: "Baron Guy, you think a duel is useless, why don't you dig out some pieces of wood and claim they are fragments of the Holy Spear, or pull out a piece of decayed linen and call it the so-called Holy Wrap, as you did in the past? Can shrouds boost morale? What we need are warriors, not a bunch of fanatical lunatics, who can only do bad things!"

The king frowned and said, "Be careful what you say, Baron Godfrey."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Godfrey is good at what he does.

Humphrey of Torun said: "Baron Guy does not mean to blame Marquis Lothar. I just think that even if we don't attack, we should do something, such as sneak attack on the Saracens' supply line?"

Godfrey snorted coldly: "The enemy has not penetrated deeply. Most of the supply lines are within enemy territory. There are castles as cover. Plus there are enemy falcons in the sky. How can we surprise the Saracens' logistics line?"

Lothar frowned and watched the quarrel at the table without saying a word.

What Godfrey said was also a headache for Lothar.

Saladin's tactics are so stable that they are impeccable. For the dominant side, this kind of tactics that presses forward with majestic force and competes with you for consumption and national strength is the most difficult to come up with clever tricks.

Apart from anything else, the group of falcons overhead would be enough to give people a headache. If it weren’t for the fact that it takes time to transmit information between the falcons and their owners, and it takes time for the owners to filter out the effective information and report it, Baldwin I'm afraid that the fourth generation couldn't win the battle of Mengisa.

Guy looked a little irritable and said: "Then what should we do, just keep consuming it like this?"

He didn't care about the territory of Mengisa. If he could achieve meritorious service and obtain the rest of the fiefdom, the small town of Mengisa, which only had a few grape plantations and farms, would not be in his eyes at all.

But now, it was hard to find a chance to win, and it was more likely that he would return in vain. Just watching his territory facing the front of the pagan troops still made him unknowingly angry.

The Prime Minister of Amalric said: "Lord Godfrey, I am not good at leading troops in wars, but now the price of food is getting higher and higher. Even if there are generous donations from several large monasteries, where can I buy enough food in the short term?" Where’s the food?”

He looked at Lothar and said sincerely: "If it weren't for Lord Lothar's Ella Port, which can still continuously deliver food and baggage, and support it for another three days, the army may have to consider disbanding and returning."

Lothar frowned.

Although Amalric is not a smart man, what he said is indeed problematic.

No matter how wealthy the Crusader princes were, how could they raise enough military rations in a short time after losing the food exported from Egypt? Jerusalem is not like Constantinople, which can mobilize food support from the "imperial granaries" everywhere.

That is to say, Andreas and Captain Hogg guarded the Port of Ella. If the Port of Ella is lost, the only sources of food that Jerusalem can rely on are self-produced and imported from the Eastern Empire.

Lothar nodded and said: "Indeed, we should do something, but we must not attack rashly and seek a decisive battle with the heretics."

It is definitely impossible to win against Saladin.

Saladin has two major bases, Egypt and Syria. Both in terms of territory and national strength, he is far superior to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This is the consensus reached by Lothar and King Baldwin long ago.

"If our army is defeated miserably or suffers heavy casualties, even if you still protect your territory, your next fate will only be to turn into ruins under the iron heel of the heretics."

Lothar stood up and said in a strong and powerful tone: "Please be patient and wait for two more days. A combat opportunity will appear soon."

There was silence.

Guy was the first to speak: "Marquis Lothar, how long do we have to wait? Isn't there any certainty?"

Duke Raymond also said: "Or, we should send a reinforcement army to come back. The walls of Gaza City are strong. With only three thousand more soldiers, we will definitely be able to keep the infidels out of the country."

Lothar shook his head and said: "The fighter plane is fleeting, and there is no accurate time. As for what Sir Raymond said about sending reinforcements, we should think about it carefully."

same day.

Several armies led by small lords left the Chinese army camp and went south to support Gaza City.

In Saladin's camp.

A powerful voice sounded: "My king, the Franks have divided their forces. Is it time to take action?"

Saladin shook his head and said calmly: "Wait a little longer."

Takidin said eagerly: "Is there any better opportunity than this? There is a fire in the Franks' backyard, and now they are divided. Doesn't it prove that there are already cracks in them and they are about to fall apart?"

Saladin shook his head and said, "Look at Adil."

"With the help of Master Salman, Adil can easily take down Gaza City. By then, the military morale of the Franks will be even more shaken, and that will be the best time for us to attack."

Takidin was a little dissatisfied and said: "My king, we have lost the battle of Port Ella. Who dares to ensure that my uncle can take Gaza? What if the Franks also arrange spellcasters in Gaza City?"

Saladin was slightly startled and his tone became lowered: "Master Salman is unwilling to take action against ordinary people. He is a principled person. If he can use it to exchange for a powerful spellcaster from the enemy, it will always be a profit."