king of ros

Chapter 548
In the land controlled by the Fatimid Caliphate, the march of the Crusaders did not change much, and it was still as smooth as before.

Although it is said that this is the territory of the Fatimid Caliphate, because it was taken by the Turks during the fierce battle with the Crusaders, many emirs here did not obey Cairo much.

So just like in the north, the emirs here also treated the Crusaders all the way, sending supplies and opening the way, just wanting this army to leave their land as soon as possible.

However, as they got closer to Jerusalem, they encountered more and more resistance, because the farther south they were, the more troops from Egypt.

The Crusaders also faced more battles, but they were all small-scale battles. The defenders of Fatima in this land were mainly gathering towards Jerusalem. Many fanatical Muslim lords.

The road of the Crusaders has truly turned into a road of war. Christians and Muslims are fighting non-stop in the wilderness, by the river, in the towns, and wherever they can find, crying out to God. The titles of the people fought with each other, leaving behind corpses.

In most cases, it was the Crusaders who won. The bright red cross marched surrounded by believers. The closer they got to Jerusalem, the higher the morale of the Crusaders, because the walls of the Holy Land were right in front of them.

Soon, the Crusaders occupied Ramre not far from the Holy City. The Muslims here gave up voluntarily because they thought they could not get support. The reason why the Crusaders occupied this place was very simple. It is less than [-] miles away from Jerusalem. kilometer.

The Crusaders dedicated this place to the church, and then they moved on to Bethlehem, which is only 9 kilometers away from Jerusalem, and established their rule here. This city is the city where Jesus was born and was the main stronghold for Jerusalem. It is very necessary to control this place.

However, there were disagreements among the Crusaders about who the city should belong to. Tancred, who took the place, believed that it should belong to him, but others believed that the birthplace of Jesus should not belong to a secular lord.

Just considering that the Pope’s special envoy, Bishop Admalik, had died on the way to the Holy Land, so the city belonged to the war monk Peter, Peter’s civilian crusaders, or Holy Orders (the full name is the Holy Church Believers Crusaders) —the name suggested by Volorida—now they have a stronghold that belongs to them.

Occupying Bethlehem also means that the Crusaders came under the city of Jerusalem, and saw its walls and the sacred domes on the walls. Many people burst into tears when they saw the walls of Jerusalem and knelt on the ground uncontrollably Facing that city, even the crusader lords did the same. They crossed thousands of rivers and mountains, and now they finally came here.

Volorida was also deeply touched in such a scene. Although he was quite indifferent to faith, he could not help but burst into tears when he saw the scene in front of him.

As for Vasilico - he rushed back when the Crusaders occupied Bethlehem - he felt more of a sense of accomplishment, after paying so much, they finally came under this city.

Although all the Christians were very moved in front of the Holy City, they did not forget that the city was being occupied by Muslims, and there was a rather powerful Islamic army gathered here.

Iftikhar Daulay was the city's defender, and he had 1 men under his command, partly from the army of the Fatimid Caliph, and partly from fanatics who had learned of the siege of infidels.

The city has been preparing for war for a long time, with sufficient supplies and weapons, and destroyed all available water sources around Jerusalem.

Moreover, Iftikhar also drove out all the Christians in the city to prevent them from rebelling. These Christians joined the Crusaders after the arrival of the Crusaders.

Including the citizens who joined temporarily, the Crusaders now have exactly 7 people. They surrounded the city in an orderly manner according to the plan agreed in advance. Jerusalem is also a huge city that needs to be concentrated on, and then they found themselves into an embarrassing situation.

The supplies that can be provided to the Crusaders around Jerusalem are very limited. The Islamic defenders destroyed everything that could be destroyed before withdrawing into the city. Now the Crusaders want to collect supplies that are often far away. As for the various materials needed to make siege equipment, they cannot be found locally, and there is not even much wood here!
But there is no way, the Crusaders can only collect all kinds of materials as much as possible, while strengthening the blockade of Jerusalem, but the supplies of the Crusaders are still shrinking day by day, and soon, there is a food shortage problem among the Crusaders.

"Hey, when will this day be the end? Those Muslims really messed us up this time."

Looking at the scorching sun outside the tent and the listless soldiers on duty under the scorching sun, Volorida complained uncontrollably. Originally, he was not a person who liked to complain, but the situation in front of him was really too bad.

Under the high temperature in summer, the Crusaders had many problems, but fortunately there was no need to march in the future. In the previous marches, there were as many as a thousand stragglers of the Crusaders.

Rostislav's second son made a cooling fan and fanned some wind on his face. Unfortunately, the wind was also hot. For Volorida, who had lived in Rus for a long time, the weather was really unbearable.

The bad weather didn't even make Volorida interested in finding women. He originally planned to go to the Holy Land to have fun with those Arabian and Persian dancers, but now it's a war and the weather is bad. If it's true, don't even think about it. thought about it.

"Wait, we have to wait. When the supplies arrive, we have just repaired a few long ladders right now. If these things are used to siege the city, they will be sent to death." Vasilico said flatly. The environment did not make him irritable. Still calm, "Let's go, let's go to a meeting and see if there is any good news recently."

After speaking, Vasilko stood up, and then wrapped a white cloth around his head a few times. After fighting in the Holy Land, Vasiliko also learned some pagan tricks.

Volorida followed him, and he was still not used to his younger brother's attire. In fact, there were not many people in the Crusaders who accepted the pagan methods so frankly like Vasilico.

The crusader lords are in a huge tent. The dress here is very simple, except for benches and seats. There is nothing, and the red crusaders of the crusaders are flying in front of everyone.

"We can't do this anymore, comrades-in-arms, if we siege the city like this, we won't be able to conquer this place until the end of the world! We must take that holy city under the watchful eye of Christ!"

As soon as they entered the tent, everyone heard Raymond's roar. The Earl of Toulouse was talking useless nonsense again. He urged the Crusaders to launch an attack, regardless of the crusaders' serious shortage of siege equipment.

"Yes, yes, we all know this, thank you for pointing out the facts that are now well known, but the action will have to wait for the two from Normandy and Flanders to return with supplies."

After the two Russians sat down, it was Tancred who complained. This nephew of Bohemond still followed the crusaders, because although his uncle had succeeded, he still had not found his land, so he continued Follow the Crusaders.

The disrespect in the young Tancred's words aroused Raymond's hostility. He is the most powerful and prestigious noble in the Crusaders. This young man actually spoke to him like this, but Raymond's seizure was caught by Gopher. Ray interrupted.

"If you want to win the holy city, it is not enough to have faith. Lord Raymond, we need wisdom and supplies. We can only continue to wait."

"Continue to watch those heretics show off their power on the city wall? Continue to lower the morale of the army? If we don't take any action, the morale of our army will really collapse!"

What Raymond was talking about was the current predicament facing the Crusaders. The long-awaited supplies, the irritating high temperature, and the siege that God knows when it will end have made the Crusaders extremely exhausted. Some people even think that they will not be able to take Jerusalem. , And then chose to be a deserter.

"If you want me to say yes, the attack will be over as soon as possible."

Volorida whispered to Vasilko that the current situation made him very irritable, so he hoped that all this would end soon.

Vasilico didn't say a word, he knew that his brother was just speaking according to his emotions, if he really thought it was okay, he would have stood up and expressed his point of view loudly.

Just when the discussion among the crusader lords seemed to end in a quarrel, suddenly there was a noise outside the tent, and then a few knights wearing cross hoods walked in with a person on their backs.

This person was dressed as a sailor and looked dying. Looking at this person, Vasilico thought of the Italian sailor he had seen in the imperial capital, and the person finally spoke at this moment.

"Our fleet has arrived in Jaffa...it has been abandoned by pagans...so we occupied it..." the sailor stammered because of exhaustion, "I am from Genoa, our fleet brought supplies and building materials... Siege builders...we need support! We need support!"

After finishing the last sentence, the Genoese passed out. Godfrey immediately ordered the man to be sent down to rest, and then learned from the knights that the man was found in a wilderness not far from Jerusalem. of.

Then Godfrey looked at the crowd, and then saw a meaning from the expressions of the crowd, and immediately went to support the Genoese, and everyone acted in the next second.

The Crusaders quickly selected a select team, bringing together the elite from all parts of the Crusaders, and the camp was handed over to Raymond. Although the earl sometimes liked to sing against everyone, no one questioned his Ability, the earl has always been regarded as a stubborn but reliable parent.

In this way, the Crusader knights galloped across the desert of the Holy Land to rescue their church members and rescue the fleet that brought them important supplies.

"Brothers! We're going to Jaffa soon! Watch out, we're going to war soon!"

The rough voice made everyone grab their weapons, and Vasilko and Volorida naturally did the same. The outline of Jaffa had appeared in front of everyone. Tima soldier.

The Egyptians didn't have time to respond to the sudden crusaders. Almost instantly, the crusader knights dispersed the Egyptian infantry who were about to enter the city.

According to the prior assignment, Tancred's men stayed behind to wipe out the Egyptian soldiers outside the city, driving these people further away, and others entered the city one after another.

At this moment, the city of Jaffa is also in the midst of a fierce battle. Corpses can be seen everywhere on the streets. The Egyptians are besieging a Crusader barricade on the avenue. The two sides are fighting each other on the barricade made of various garbage. One immediately plunged into the front of the heathen, and the others followed.

Vasiliko killed a guy who charged at him with a spear, and then found that his brother not only hacked to death, but also drove his horse to trample to death another guy who didn't have long eyes. As far as the distance, Egypt The people were routing, and the Genoese on the other side of the barricade rushed up.

This declared the end of the battle, and the Egyptians were quickly wiped out facing the siege on both sides, and with this main besieging force resolved, the battle was effectively over, with only a few small battles still going on.

The arrival of the Crusader knights completely reversed the battle situation, and the Genoa fleet, which was still in danger just now, immediately turned to safety. As the last Egyptian in the city dropped his weapon, cheers resounded here.

The Genoese were very grateful for the help of the Crusaders, and the Crusaders were also very surprised by their arrival. After communicating with the commander of this fleet, they found that the amount of various building materials brought by the Genoese far exceeded the expectations of the Crusaders. , which is enough for the crusaders to build a lot of big guys.

Moreover, the Genoese also decided to follow them to the Holy City. As for the reason, although Jaffa is said to be under the occupation of Christians, there are still a large number of Egyptian fleets cruising in the outer sea, and the Genoese are actually blocked in the city. They can only go to the Holy Land with the Crusaders, which is also in line with their ideas. Every Christian wants to go to Jerusalem.

After leaving some of the Genoese as defenders, the victorious team returned to Jerusalem, and their trade was rewarding, not only with a large amount of supplies, but also with the road to the coast.

It is a pity that the coast is still controlled by the fleet of the Fatimid Caliphate, and it is still very difficult for the Crusaders to receive aid from the sea, but after all, the road has been opened, and it is better than nothing.

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(End of this chapter)