Water Margin people

Chapter 1624 Holy War

The Arab coalition forces directly surrounded the entire city of Jerusalem. After seeing the number of Crusaders, they became even more proud and burst into wild laughter.

When the Crusaders outside Jerusalem saw the number of Arabs, they all looked terrified and held their weapons tightly, ready to fight, because there were too many Arabs outside.

"Don't be afraid, victory belongs to us!"

Conrad III roared at his soldiers.

"Kill, kill, kill!"

All the Crusaders roared madly.

"Kill me!"

Conrad III roared when he saw that the morale of his soldiers had been boosted.

"kill!"

The Crusaders marched forward.

"Just come and kill me like this?"

Saladin frowned as he looked at the Crusaders in front of him. An army mainly composed of infantry dared to attack the cavalry, and they were not even fully armored.

"kill!"

Saladin waved his hand and gave the order without hesitation.

The Arab cavalrymen in black clothes and robes shouted and charged forward waving their scimitars.

On a hillside, several people were looking at the battlefield through binoculars.

"We're just going to fight like this? Are we all fools?"

Ou Peng said that the two armies in front of him had absolutely no tactics at all.

The infantry did not defend the city, but charged at the cavalry without complete armor, insufficient bows and crossbows, and without chariots.

The cavalry didn't know how to keep their distance and expand their strategic depth, and they just rushed towards the city, holding the battlefield not far from the city wall.

"They are all idiots! Stupid pigs!"

Lu Fang looked at the battlefield and started cursing. Even a junior student at the Qi Military Academy would not command a battle like this.

"Who cares about them! It would be better if they were all dead!"

Deng Fei said nonchalantly.

The Arab coalition forces relied on the advantage of cavalry to ride their horses and trample on the enemy. Unfortunately, the Arab native war horses were shorter and lighter, so their charge did not have the power they had imagined.

The Crusaders were in a difficult situation. The confrontation between infantry and cavalry, without the assistance of armor, weapons and formations, was tantamount to suicide.

The spearmen of the Crusaders were at the forefront. Their spears were very long, more than thirty feet long, and could not even be held by one person. Several people were required to hold them as they charged.

The Arabs ignored all this and swung their scimitars, trying to kill the Crusaders in front of them.

What the Arabs lacked most was armor. With an army of 150,000, they could not even muster 10,000 sets of armor, and many people were only wearing linen clothes.

The Crusaders' spears blocked the Arab cavalry in the front, but the Arab cavalry continued to emerge, and the following troops soon caught up and charged directly into the Crusaders' formation, aiming directly at the spears.

"Your Majesty, the army is about to be defeated!"

William, who was standing on the city wall, looked at Baldwin IV and whispered that these Crusaders were too few in number and poorly equipped, and were no match for the huge number of Arab cavalry.

"Get the trebuchets and crossbowmen ready!"

Baldwin IV said that once the army was defeated, they would definitely flee into the city, and then it would all depend on the people on the city wall.

Although the Crusaders fought bravely, they were quickly defeated due to the disparity in strength, and the army of tens of thousands of people fled straight to Jerusalem.

"Don't run, kill them! Kill them!"

Conrad III roared, but the army did not listen to him at all.

"Why are these Crusaders so useless?"

Saladin frowned. He had not experienced the First Holy War, but he had heard from his predecessors how brutal that battle was. He knew that the Crusaders were extremely powerful.

"These aren't French Crusaders, they're Germans from the Holy Roman Empire!"

An older man asked. "German?"

Saladin frowned. The enemies participating in this holy war were indeed mainly the Holy Roman Empire, supplemented by the French.

"The French Crusaders were more courageous and skilled than the German Crusaders."

Several veterans spoke up and said that they had participated in the holy war and had witnessed the fighting power of the Crusaders.

The composition of the Crusaders was very complex. The church issued decrees to various dioceses, and kingdoms, nobles, and knights participated in it! But there were more peasants, servants, and prisoners who wanted to use the holy war to gain status and wealth.

This is actually the same for the Arabs, so the holy war is not only a religious war, but also an opportunity for the lower class to move up.

"Uncle, there are too many enemies, let's retreat quickly!"

Frederick, with his beautiful red moustache, pulled Conrad III back.

As the Crusaders retreated, the Arabs pursued them in ecstasy and killed their way all the way to the city of Jerusalem.

The catapults and crossbows on the city began to fire, and the pursuing Arab cavalry were blocked.

But the Arab cavalry had gone crazy and rushed towards the city of Jerusalem like a tide, and the attacks from catapults and crossbows had little effect at all.

"Your Majesty, what should we do?"

All the nobles looked at Baldwin IV. There were too many enemies and their defense could not stop them.

"Prepare for battle!"

Baldwin IV drew the sword from his waist and said, now we can only fight to the death.

"Keep charging!"

Saladin did not expect the battle to go so smoothly. The Crusaders, whom he regarded as his greatest enemy, were so vulnerable. The army had already reached the gates of Jerusalem, and it was only a matter of time before they captured the city.

Several people from Qi State who were watching the battlefield from a distance kept shaking their heads. They were really speechless about this battle. Both sides seemed to have lost their minds, one side didn't know whether to live or die, while the other side only knew how to charge forward, like two beasts without intelligence.

"Even the Seljuks are smarter than them, not to mention the Western Liao!"

Guo Sheng shook his head.

"I think only Tie Niu likes this style of play the most!"

Deng Fei said.

"Tie Niu is not that stupid!"

Everyone burst out laughing.

"If this continues, the city will probably be taken by the Arabs!"

Lu You said.

"Not really. This is a city. The Arabs are all cavalry and don't have large siege equipment. It's not easy to enter through those narrow city gates."

Lu Fang said that attacking a city is not that simple. The defenders on the city of Jerusalem have not been defeated, and the army in the city is not in chaos, so the city will not be broken.

Baldwin IV on the city wall calmly commanded his army to defend the city, while catapults and crossbows continued to attack the enemy.

After the Crusaders fled to the city wall, they fought with their backs against the city's defense. With the support from the city, they were able to barely fight the enemy.

The brutal fight began, with both sides fighting bloody battles.

In the city of Jerusalem, the cardinal led a group of bishops to pray in the city’s church. The church was filled with devout believers, and for a moment the city was unusually quiet.

Baldwin IV on the city wall felt relieved when he saw that there was no chaos in the city, so he could concentrate on dealing with the enemies attacking the city.

"There is a situation!"

Lu You, who was concentrating on watching the battle, suddenly spoke up and saw another large army appearing on the western horizon.

Trumpets sounded, and an army carrying crosses and flags rushed toward the city of Jerusalem.

"Is this reinforcement?!"

Lu Fang and others all looked over. The eye-catching red cross flag and cross on a white background were too conspicuous.