Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks-Chapter 435 - 117: Transjordan Mobilizes

"War is unavoidable."

Duke Raymond stood up, picked up the goblet filled with mead on the table, and drank the sweet wine in one gulp: "Get my formal attire; we are going to the court. His Majesty will surely summon Saladin’s envoy personally."

Raymond was not the only one who had learned of the news.

On the road, there were lords, nobles, knights, and even monks hurrying towards the Royal Palace.

Many commoners were also crowded on the road and square, trying to get firsthand information.

"Good day, Lord Tiberias."

Baron Godfrey, riding a tall and strong horse and clad in full armor, passed by him.

He turned back, smiled, and bowed to Raymond in greeting.

"Good day, Baron Godfrey."

Raymond managed to muster a faint smile.

"We will be fighting side by side again."

Godfrey gently pounded his chest armor with a fist, and the iron gloves made a crisp metallic clash against the armor he was wearing, the refined plate armor gifted by Losa, and Raymond was wearing the same.

This seemed to represent their shared stance.

"May the Heavenly Father bless us."

Raymond couldn’t help but smile, indeed, they would fight side by side again; it seemed only on the battlefield that they could temporarily set aside disputes of interest and put everything aside just to win the final victory.

Outside the court, it was already crowded with people wanting to enter.

Hans, with his sword at his side, led the soldiers of the Royal Knight Order to block the door.

After Baldwin IV’s personal attendant walked to his ear and whispered for a while, he instructed the soldiers to clear the passage: "His Majesty ordered the court assembly, all please enter, but do not offend the envoy."

Inside the court.

Seated on the throne, Baldwin IV had evidently been talking to the envoy wrapped in a black robe standing at the steps for a long time.

"Your Majesty, my lord has already proposed the most lenient terms he could offer; he can no longer make any concessions."

"Conflicts among lower lords have always existed; Losa has not affected the populace. Instead, this battle arose because your lord’s vassal kidnapped Losa’s servant Reynard’s fiancée, and Rauf even actively invaded our borders. How can your lord merely blame my loyal servants?"

Baldwin’s tone was gentle; he seemed not at all influenced by the arrogant attitude of Saladin’s envoy.

The envoy was silent for a while, then softly said, "But a promise is a promise; the process is not important, only the result. Your country’s lord Losa has occupied our lord’s land and severed crucial pilgrim routes."

"As far as I know, Losa has not troubled any pilgrims passing through this area but has instead cleared away many bandit groups that camped there, making it much safer for your church’s pilgrims than in previous years."

The envoy was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "This does not make sense."

Baldwin IV sighed lightly, "Saladin is a reasonable man, but now it seems he is unwilling to be reasonable."

"Go tell your master, if he wants war, I will give him war."

Baldwin IV’s voice was still calm and composed, unhurried.

But everyone could hear his resolve.

He removed the silver mask, revealing a young and spirited face.

"You... you’ve healed?"

The envoy’s face was full of disbelief.

Leprosy was a universally acknowledged incurable disease, and even Saladin’s court physicians had no certainty in healing such a fatal illness.

He no longer needed to play the role of an invalid; under the pressure of foreign invasion, all internal conflicts among the Crusader Princes had to be set aside.

He would reassert the power of the King.

"In this war, I will lead the expedition personally. All nobles, vassals, and civilian officials who receive the summoning decree must arrive at the camp outside Jerusalem within three days, or face the stripping of their titles."

Baron Godfrey’s eyes rimmed with moisture.

How long had it been since he last saw His Majesty like this, so vigorous and spirited?

...

Reynard sneered, "Heh, Losa is now a criminal breaking the ceasefire agreement."

"Even if the young King favors him so much, he should at least be like me and be stripped of the title of Count of Transjordan."

"Heh, thinking about these things is useless now, that brat has hooked up with the Empire’s charming widow, why would he care about an Earl’s Domain..."

Reynard let out a long sigh, held onto the city wall, and looked at the sparse sand dunes and few caravans in the barren desert, instructed, "Mobilize all strength, the Heavenly Father’s loyal warriors are to fulfill the mission of killing heretics again."

...

The entire Holy Land was in turmoil. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The priests, wearing white vestment robes, stood under the scorching sun, hoarse and parched, preaching to the crowds, urging people to enlist and defend the Holy Land once more for redemption.

If someone were to look from above, they would see countless knights from all corners of the Holy Land, each gathering with their attendants like grains of sand forming a tower under their upper lords.

Then, their upper lords again...

...

Transjordan was the same.

Hundreds of Imperial Knights dispersed across various manors raised the farmer soldiers trained during their leisure time, gathering them like rivers flowing into the sea to the military camp outside Hebron City.

Excluding Losa’s expanded standing army, Transjordan drafted nearly three thousand recruits.

Moreover, these recruits were already subject to a certain degree of military training, equipped with simple armor, organized into formations of long spear phalanxes and shield phalanxes, their combat effectiveness far beyond the average recruits.

Some of these farmer soldiers who had once been hunters or had military experience even went to recruit training camp for further study, mastered basic archery or catapult techniques, and would be organized into light infantry battalions established by Losa previously.

Besides the recruited farmer soldiers, the more than a thousand strong standing army previously expanded by Losa was already trained. Adding the winged cavalry, Varangian Guard, armored archers, woodland archers, retained veteran battalions, and the Black Eagle Banner Team that followed Losa in the Limassol campaign.

Alongside the Teutonic Order and the Saint Lazarus Order enlistment, including over a hundred knights and their attendants, there were about five hundred light and heavy cavalry, the forces gathered in his direct territory could reach a terrifying number of six thousand.

Adding the Barony of Petra, Barony of Tih, Barony of Zujar, Barony of Shokuba, Barony of Sanoriel, Bishop of Saint Catherine, and other vassal forces dispatched by Losa’s lower vassals excluding Reynard.

The power in Losa’s hands reached an extremely terrifying ten thousand!

Even some small European monarchs had no such terrifying military might under their command; once famous and renowned, Duke William of Normandy, who had conquered Albion, brought just about this number of troops when attacking Albion.

For the Transjordan Border Territory, which had a total population of just over two hundred thousand, such militarism was already excessive, considering the Albion King facing Duke Harold II of Normandy had gathered just over ten thousand in opposition.

And at that time, Albion had a total population of one and a half million, 7.5 times that of the Transjordan Border Territory, commonly referred to as the "Transjordan Vassal Prince Domain."

Reaching such an effect is partly attributed to the wealth of the Holy Land, but more importantly, it lies in Losa’s deep control over this territory, and the vassals and Christians of Transjordan know well that if Jerusalem falls, they cannot remain unaffected.

This is starkly different from the many in the Normandy government campaign who watched indifferently as King Harold II of Albion was defeated, many Albion lords having a completely different stance.