People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 62 The Son of Nur al-Din

At this time, the remote Austrian border jurisdiction.

In the palace in Vienna, the red-robed witch nestled in the arms of the high-spirited Count Leopold, waving a letter in his hand, and said with a smile:
"Ha, I'm sure I saw Lothar right. He is a capable person. Coupled with the contacts left by his old-fashioned and serious father, this investment is definitely worthwhile."

"What's up with him?"

The red robe witch blinked her eyes suspiciously.

"He has been valued by King Baldwin IV, and he has been awarded a Greek castle. Now he writes to me, hoping that I can fulfill the original agreement."

"Greek castle?"

"Is he canonized in the territory of the Eastern Empire:"

"No, no, no, I mean, I don't know where it is, but judging from the name, it must be an ancient castle left when the Greeks ruled the Holy Land."

"Anyway, it's something to be happy about."

Immediately, he put his hands behind his back, his face a little dignified: "Unfortunately, my time to go to the Holy Land will be postponed again, and His Majesty the Emperor has issued a call-up order to me."

"If I still want to plan to separate the Austrian Border Region from Bavaria and upgrade it to the Principality of Austria, I'm afraid I will have to be called to go."

Count Leopold is not a very pious person, but he only wants to go to the east, make a great reputation, and grab the rich oriental wealth.

It would be great if you can get a fief in the east.

And if Lothar can gain a firm foothold in the Holy Land, it will become a powerful arm for him.

...

County of Allgau.

Eagle Fort.

Count Werner opened the wax seal on the letter, and carefully read the letter from across the Mediterranean Sea.

Before he knew it, this man with a cold personality, as cold as a stubborn stone, had a rare smile on his face.

Otto looked at the smile on Count Werner's face with some doubts, and asked, "Father, what happened to make you so happy?"

Count Werner immediately withdrew his smile, and he threw the letter to Otto: "I knew that you stole those two wine glasses and gave them to Lothar, and he made it clear in the letter."

Otto's face changed greatly: "He wrote back specially to betray me?"

"Ah."

Count Werner couldn't hold back and laughed out loud.

He patted Otto on the shoulder, with an inexplicably relieved expression: "Lothar is already a baron, and he is highly valued by His Majesty. Maybe next time he comes back, his title will be more prominent than you and me."

Otto had a look of envy on his face, but then he became worried again: "I would love to see that one day, but Saladin...that is a terrible pagan king."

Earl Werner nodded and said: "Indeed, luck accounted for a large part of the reason why we were able to defeat him. Now that he has integrated most of his forces, he is even more difficult to deal with."

It was already noon when Lothar came out of the palace.

Leonard ran over doggy-leggedly and took the reins of Nisaan's war horse: "Master Sheng! What did His Majesty tell you?"

Lothar stopped in his tracks, and his face became very serious: "I warn you, Leonard, don't call me this name again, the Holy Son is spiritual, and I am just a secular lord."

"Yes, yes, my lord."

Leonard was taken aback by Lothar's sudden anger.

"Leonard, I know you always say this title out of awe of me. But you have to know that no one likes a living Holy Son whether it is Jerusalem or the farther Pope City .”

Leonard seemed to have thought of some terrible possibility, and a large amount of cold sweat broke out on his forehead: "No, my lord, I understand, I will never call out such a title again."

Lothar nodded: "Next time, your head won't stay on your neck safely."

He turned over and jumped on his horse, and without waiting for Leonard, he rode his horse and led the team to Constance Manor.

Halfway there, a man in a hood suddenly jumped out.

Lothar instinctively drew out his weapon and pointed at the opponent.

The man whispered: "My lord, I have no malicious intentions, please follow me, a big man wants to summon you."

The man in the hood only showed his chin full of blue stubble, and he didn't have any coat of arms or anything that could prove his identity.

"What kind of big man needs to hide his head and show his tail like this in the Holy Land?"

"You don't need to be on guard, we are definitely not your enemy."

"Ah."

Seeing that Lothar was indifferent, the man sighed and said: "You can take your witch and some guards with you. Please forgive my lord for being forced to not meet you publicly. When you get to the place, you will know where it is." A big man."

Lothar thought for a moment, nodded and said, "Go and lead the way."

All the way to a dilapidated hotel.

Lothar recognized the man in black robe standing at the door of the hotel at a glance.

"Abdullah!"

Lothar's face was full of surprises: "Are you the so-called big shot?"

Abdullah also had a smile on his face. It is always a joy to meet again after a long absence.

But he shook his head and said, "I'm not a big shot. The one who wants to see you is my young master."

He pointed inside: "Follow me."

Following his guidance, Lothar saw a young man in a silk coat with his chest open.

He wore a lot of expensive decorations on his body, with the unique luxury of oriental nobles.

Obviously, this is also a Kurdish nobleman.

"I am Ismail al-Malik Saleh, son of Nur ad-Din, king of Syria, true master of Aleppo."

Lothar looked at the dark-skinned, sharp-eyed man in front of him, and asked suspiciously, "Saleh, haven't you died of illness?"

This Saleh is the heir to the throne after the death of King Nur ad-Din.

Saladin has been under house arrest in Aleppo, and the news of his death was only reported a few years ago.

Lothar knew this because Saladin had been loyal to King Nur al-Din and then rebelled. The Crusaders nobles often used this matter to attack Saladin's character.

In fact, Lothar felt that if he changed to the king of the East, he would not just "under house arrest" Saleh.

"It's just a stand-in."

Saleh said coldly: "If it weren't for that, I would never be able to escape Saladin's control. This rebellious person wants to imprison me for 15 years like my father imprisoned Leonard! Even until I die!"

Nur al-Din of the Zanji dynasty, the father of the man in front of him, once captured Earl Renard alive and imprisoned him for 15 years.

During this period, Leonard's first wife died of illness, which also caused Leonard to lose the title of Grand Duke of Antioch.

That's why Leonard hated the Zoroastrians so much, and even repeatedly attacked the pagan caravans passing through his territory, making a good trade route into chaos.

From the perspective of long-term interests, it is more beneficial for him to maintain this business route.

If Leonard found out that Nur al-Din's son was in Jerusalem, he would not care about the overall situation, and would immediately lead troops to chop Saleh into meat paste.

"Then respected King Saleh, you can tell your purpose."

"I want to retake Aleppo, and even the whole of Syria, which is being occupied by Saladin's minion Savudin. I can hear it crying and calling me all the time."

Lothar smiled and said: "I can understand your mood, but I don't understand, what's the use of you looking for me, I'm just a little baron."

Saleh snorted softly: "I know your status is not prominent, but you are highly valued by your king. I want you to introduce me to Baldwin. As a thank you, I am willing to send you ten beautiful slave girls, one A scimitar of Damascus."

Lothar readily agreed: "I will convey your thoughts on meeting the king, but I don't guarantee that His Majesty the King will agree to meet you. At the same time, I hope to convert your thank you gift into something else."

Saleh said proudly: "What do you want? As the lord of Aleppo, even though I am living abroad, my wealth is still far beyond the imagination of a Frankish barbarian like you."

Lothar pointed to Abdullah and said, "I hope to get Abdullah's allegiance."

Saleh was silent.

Abdullah was surprised, he hesitated to speak.

After a long time, Saleh shook his head and said, "No, Abdullah is my loyal warrior and trusted subject, not a Ghulam slave. I have no right to order him to serve a pagan."

Lothar could clearly see Abdullah let out a sigh of relief.

He sighed secretly, and had no choice but to say: "The war is coming, I want horses, or gold and silver coins, only these two can increase my strength in a short time."

"No problem, I will give you ten good horses, is that enough?"

Lothar nodded: "Of course, thank you for your generosity, Lord of Aleppo."

Lothar paused slightly, and said again: "Abdullah is a very good fighter, you made a wise decision."

Saleh laughed and said, "Of course, if I can exchange gold and silver for a fighter like Abdullah, I am willing to give everything I have."

(End of this chapter)