Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 916 0911 [Bedouin and Arabian Horse]

In the face of survival and interests, everything else must give way.

Just like Fatimid and Byzantine, one believed in Islam and the other believed in Christianity, but they allowed each other's followers to exist. Even in their respective capitals, there were places of worship for the other religion.

The same goes for the Crusaders!
By the end of Baldwin I's reign, pagans were allowed to return to their homes because the number of Christians was too small to support the operation of a large city.

In order to solve the marriage problem of the Crusaders, even Christian men were allowed to marry pagan women.

This has to be resolved. A group of bachelors leaving their hometowns will really cause a commotion.

This lasted for more than twenty years, and the population of Jerusalem gradually recovered, with the number of pagans accounting for a very high proportion.

As the King of Jerusalem, Fulk did not have many troops.

Even if all the troops in the country were gathered together, there were only about 500 QS. Each of them had a few infantrymen and horsemen (the total number of infantrymen and horsemen was between a few and a dozen, depending on the financial resources of the QS).

If the grooms were counted as soldiers, the total military strength of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was about 7000 people at that time. When the Ming soldiers captured the Helim Fortress, they killed 8 QS and more than 100 soldiers.

There are two other groups that have a cooperative relationship with the King: the Temple QS Group and the Hospital QS Group.

At present, there are dozens of QS regiments each, with hundreds of soldiers under their command.

After Fulk collected the payment for the goods, he set out with his army in a grand manner.

Many nobles, fearing the possibility of encountering robbers along the way, sent their own help for their own profit. The two major QS groups also sent ten QS each, along with their followers.

It was a huge force, with more than 2000 troops dispatched, including more than 200 QS alone.

As they set out, Fulk's army, which was left near the fortress of Hellim, was attacked.

It was an oasis, with a total of ten QSs and more than a hundred followers guarding the place to prevent domestic nobles from coming here to trade privately.

They were waiting for the Bedouins!
……

But at noon, two or three hundred Arab nomadic cavalry, some even riding camels, suddenly rushed out from behind the sand dunes.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

The Crusader infantry rushed to their weapons.

Some grooms put on saddlery for the war horses, and some grooms helped QS put on armor.

Shhhhhh.

The Bedouins began to patrol and shoot arrows, and the unarmored horsemen suffered heavy casualties.

A few Crusader infantrymen had bows and arrows, but it was difficult to hit the fast-running Arab light cavalry.

The Crusader QS was fully armed and mounted his horse, charging towards the enemy.

The Bedouins did not engage in battle, but rode their horses and camels to fly kites. Their numbers were more than twice that of the Crusaders and more than twenty times that of the Crusaders.

The Crusader QS was unable to withstand the attack and had to retreat while fighting with his infantry and grooms.

Gradually retreat to the Hailim Fortress where Ming soldiers were stationed.

"Which side should we help?" asked Zou Tong, the commander of the Ming army.

Qian Chen was watching the excitement through a telescope and said with a smile: "What does it have to do with us if they fight to the death?"

Zou Tong said: "Those Crusaders are doing business with us after all."

"Don't worry about it." Qian Yu said.

Qian Yu called the interpreter over and asked, "What are those people wearing long robes and turbans?"

The interpreter replied: "Bedouin."

"What's the story?" Qian Chen asked.

The translator explained: "There are two kinds of Arabs here. One kind is like us, doing business, living mainly in coastal areas. The other kind is nomadic and occasionally farming, they are called Bedouin."

"It turns out to be a nomadic tribe in the desert." Qian Chen thought of the tribes in northern Mobei.

The translator sighed, "The Bedouins often fought against the Crusaders, often ambushing and attacking them. Unfortunately, the Bedouin tribes had feuds, and it was difficult for them to unite. Otherwise, they alone would have made it difficult for the Crusaders to gain a foothold. The only people who could unite the Bedouins against the outside world were the four caliphs of the time."

The Crusader QS had already fled outside the fortress and shouted to the Ming soldiers: "Let us in!"

The Ming soldiers ignored it.

The Crusader QS could only flee around the fortress, and they had no time to care about their retainers and grooms.

Some grooms, riding spare horses used to carry baggage, followed the QS and fled.

But the infantry and grooms without horses can only leave it to fate.

As they were fleeing, they were chased, hacked and shot with arrows by Arab cavalry, and one after another they fell to the ground and died.

Perhaps because they were afraid of the Ming army in the fortress, the Bedouins did not continue to chase. They sent some people to clean up the battlefield and sent another person on a camel to shout.

"Guests from afar, this desert is ours!" the camel soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs.

Qian Yu said to the translator, "Tell him I don't care who owns this place. I took the castle from the attackers, and whoever wants to take it back must pay. Gold or silver is fine."

Another man in a long robe came on horseback and said, "The pagans in Jerusalem are all villains. I hope you won't trade with those villains!"

Qian Yu said, "Okay. If you pay to buy all my goods, I won't sell them to anyone else."

The translator turned around and said, "They have no money. The Bedouins are very poor. Tribes often attack each other over pastures and food. This feud has been going on for hundreds of years."

Qian Yu said, "If he has no money, get him out!" The translator shouted, "The Ming Kingdom is here to do business, and only wants gold and silver!"

There was no more response outside the fortress, and the battlefield continued to be cleaned up.

They were so poor that they even stripped the pants off the corpses, as if they could be worn again after washing.

The looted food and weapons were also piled up and distributed uniformly.

These Bedouins, who came from three friendly tribes, divided the spoils very carefully.

After distributing the spoils, they wandered back and forth outside the fortress, and even approached the port to observe the Ming ships. It seemed that they wanted to do something but found it difficult to do it.

Qian Yu ordered: "Send them a cannonball, just like sending away beggars."

The fort had six guns, all of which were taken from warships.

"boom!"

A cannonball was fired, startling the Bedouins so much that they all looked up at the sky, thinking it was thunder.

The shells landed in the sand, bounced and rolled forward, but did not hit anyone or anyone.

The Bedouins nearby gathered around and confirmed that the thing was made of iron, and actually picked it up carefully. Their expressions were quite awed, and several leaders saluted towards the fortress, then asked everyone to retreat silently, and soon disappeared into the desert.

……

When Fulk heard that his army left in the oasis was attacked, he was so angry that his lungs almost exploded.

They hurried over and spent the night in the oasis at dusk.

The Grand Master of the QS Regiment of the Temple, who also led his troops this time, was named Hugh de Paynes, also translated as "Paying".

He is the founder of the Temple QS Group and is already over seventy years old!
Pa Ying asked, "How many soldiers are stationed in the fort?"

"What do you want to do?" Fulk asked.

Pa Ying said, "We have more than 2,000 soldiers. If there are not many troops stationed in the fortress, we can use a strategy to attack it suddenly."

Fulk said unhappily, "The goods are on the ship. Even if we can raid and recapture the fortress, the enemy's large ships will leave. Are they just going to leave all those treasures behind?"

Paying stopped talking.

The treasures on the Ming cargo ship were related to the interests of countless nobles and merchants. If he dared to destroy this, he would probably die of illness inexplicably soon.

It is normal for an old man in his seventies to die suddenly of illness.

The next morning, Fulk led his troops forward but was stopped by Qian Yan's men one mile outside the fortress.

The translator came forward and said, "Those carrying weapons are prohibited here. Those who want to go to the ship must take off their armor and lay down their weapons!"

Pa Ying drew his sword and stuck it in the sand, saying, "I'll wait here!"

"I'll go take a look."

Raymond de Puy, the Grand Commander of the Hospital's QS Regiment, began to take off his armor with a smile.

They rarely fought at this stage, and mainly provided services to pilgrims, provided food to Christians, treated diseases, etc. The hospital QS regiment would only take up arms when the king led an expedition or encountered an emergency.

Of course, as the war becomes more intense in the future, these guys will eventually become combat-oriented.

Boxes of gold coins were carried onto the ship, and boxes of goods were carried out.

The QSs surrounded the goods with shining eyes and kept chanting praises to the Lord.

Fulk went to talk to Qian Yu about the ransom: "I will offer you a maximum of 5 silver coins for this fortress. You can sell it to the Egyptians if they are willing to buy it. You will leave eventually, and I can take it back from the Egyptians then. More than ten years ago, this place belonged to Egypt. If we can capture it once, we can capture it a second time."

This is complete nonsense. When the Crusaders captured this place, there was no fortress at all.

Now that there is a fortress, with the Crusaders' military strength, even if they can take it down, they will suffer heavy losses.

Unfortunately, the Egyptian caliph was not up to the task, and the Ming envoys had already gone to negotiate. The caliph expressed his willingness to buy the fortress and the port, but only agreed to pay 3 silver coins - this place was very important to the Crusaders, but it was not important to Egypt, and there were not even many people there.

"Okay, fifty thousand is fifty thousand." Qian Yu was too lazy to argue anymore.

Qian Chen picked up 13333 taels of silver for free, which he thought was a good deal. After all, no one died in the capture of the fortress, and the Crusaders were scared away by the artillery bombardment alone.

Fulk returned to Jerusalem joyfully with the Crusaders and goods.

As for redeeming the fortress, he had to wait until the goods were sold to merchants and the money was received before he could come to pay the bill. The fortress would be temporarily occupied by the Ming army.

A few days later, the Crusaders still hadn't come to redeem the castle, but the Bedouins actually came to trade.

They brought more than a hundred Arabian horses, hoping to barter them and then sell them at a higher price to make money.

The purest breed of Arabian horses is in the hands of the Bedouins, and not only has it not degenerated, but it has continued to be bred from generation to generation.

Arabian horses are not as precious as you might think. Their characteristic is their endurance!

If the horse breed that grows in the desert was precious, it would have died out long ago.

Only a small amount of food and water is needed to maintain physical strength, and the heat dissipation performance is superb, making it very suitable for long-distance running.

In order to show their sincerity, the Bedouin warriors stopped at a distance and only sent a few people to drive the horses to the fortress.

Commander Zou Tong observed through a telescope and said, "They are all good horses. Your Majesty will definitely like them. Last time, I was so focused on guarding against the battle that I didn't even think of buying horses from these desert nomads."

Qian Chen said, "There are still some stocks left, enough to buy all the good horses in front of us!"

(End of this chapter)