Chapter 127

"What is Philip thinking? Doesn't he know he is cultivating a new enemy for the Knights Templar?" Raymond sat behind the table, only raised his eyes when he heard this, and had no interest in answering Bohemond's words.

Compared to Baldwin, who was only fifteen and would not be sixteen until February next year, both Raymond and Bohemond were mature people in their forties.

Before the Battle of the Sea of Galilee happened, well, Raymond thought he could continue to be regent for ten or even twenty years. Although Amalric I said that the regent should return power when Baldwin was sixteen, he also had a plan. As long as he kept the young Baldwin IV isolated from official business and war (it could be illness, or it could be "mistakes"), who would trust him, and who would dare to trust him?

Even after leaving Jerusalem, he heard that Baldwin intended to go on a tour to inspect Jerusalem's defensive lines, army, and fortresses, but he never took it to heart—for him, this was just a child's willful act.

"We shouldn't have left Philip in Jerusalem in the first place," Raymond said. Compared to the previous Grand Masters of the Knights Templar, Philip's personality was clearly more inclined to idealism. Even if he was often in opposition to Amalric I, it was all out of public interest rather than private interest.

"He donated his own territory. What do you think?" Bohemond asked back, rarely without too much sarcasm in this sentence, more of regret.

Compared to Raymond, he knew Philip better. Indeed, he was an upright and pious person, but so what? After they left, were they going to take the hundreds of knights of Jerusalem to attack Damascus or Egypt?

Stop joking.

However, the cruel fact was placed in front of them like this. Baldwin actually defeated the invincible Sultan Nuerding and the tens of thousands of troops he led with only these hundreds of knights and a thousand soldiers.

Not only that, they also captured Nuerding. Even if he was already dying and died shortly after entering Jerusalem, it did not prevent the Saracens from being at a disadvantage in subsequent negotiations. That was the symbol of their faith and the leader who led them forward. Even if Baldwin was not the kind of person who would insult the enemy's corpse, they could not let him stay in Jerusalem like this.

It is ironic to say that Nuerding once said more than once that he wanted to die in Jerusalem. He probably didn't expect this sentence to be fulfilled in this way.

Raymond mentioned Philip because these two commanders who had been immersed in the battlefield for many years saw at a glance—although Philip attributed the victory of the Battle of the Sea of Galilee entirely to their King Baldwin IV, in fact, who else could control the whole war situation and direct the knights to calmly cut, drive, and confuse those Saracens?

Except for the experienced Grand Master Philip, there would be no second person, but he did not take credit for it, and even took a step back, letting the people of Jerusalem put praise and flowers all over Baldwin. How did he know that Baldwin would not be the next Amalric I?

As an independent military organization, the Knights Templar could never get along with the King of Jerusalem. The glorious image he created for Baldwin IV would become a spear stabbing the Knights Templar in the future.

This is the disadvantage of idealists. He joined the Knights Templar not because of the current status and wealth of the Knights Templar. He had always followed the original purpose of the Knights Templar—to defend the Holy City and protect the weak.

If he felt that the current Baldwin could do these two points, he would also lean toward the King without hesitation, and would not care at all how the Knights Templar should continue to develop in the future—the Knights Templar was not his career, fighting for God was.

Bohemond felt a burst of annoyance. He walked to the window, looked at the scene outside the city from there, and then something that made him even more irritable came. He saw a few civilians or pilgrims—he found it hard to distinguish them—wandering near the city wall, praying and begging to the towering main tower—they were kneeling to the King of Jerusalem, just like...

Originally, having a little saint by Baldwin's side was enough to give him a headache. Now the people of Jerusalem had raised Baldwin to the position of the first Godfrey. Mentioning Godfrey, who didn't say he was an impeccable holy knight—if Amalric I were still alive and saw this scene, he would definitely laugh out loud and couldn't stop.

This was originally what he and Heraclius wanted to see, but he probably didn't expect it to come so quickly.

"Clap!" A quill pen was thrown at Bohemond's feet.

The ink on it not only stained the carpet but also stained the Duke's robe. Bohemond picked it up helplessly and placed it squarely on the table, "What's the use of getting angry at a quill pen?"

Afterward, he smoothed out the documents on the table—sure enough, it was those annoying things again—the casualty list of the Crusaders.

In the previous Battle of the Sea of Galilee, although Baldwin did something that could almost be called crazy—charging the camp of tens of thousands with hundreds of people, the casualties of the knights could be said to be negligible, especially the more than one hundred knights who charged into the camp with him. The most serious injury they received might be Nuerding suddenly falling off his horse—letting their achievements fall into the hands of the earth.

And relatively speaking, what about the Crusaders that Raymond and Bohemond took out? It was as if God was also intentionally punishing them for their contempt for the King. They first encountered a storm, and after marching continuously for several days and nights in the cold rain, everyone was exhausted. When it cleared up, they were led into a muddy swamp by a hateful guide. After they finally struggled out of the swamp, Mleh's crossbowmen had been waiting for a long time.

The Crusader soldiers, who were cold, hungry, and tired, could be said to have been slaughtered by the thousands without any ability to fight back. At this time, they already regretted it. At this time, Raymond received a letter for help—Nuerding and his army were heading toward Jerusalem—it had to be said that this was indeed a quite good step down, although they were still a bit unwilling.

But what they didn't expect was that just as they were preparing to return to Jerusalem, not only did Mleh's Turkic cavalry keep harassing them, but his master Tughrul II also moved. He and Mleh were like two fierce hunting dogs, chasing behind their butts, biting them from time to time.

In the end, they had to abandon most of their supplies, and even part of their horses and weapons, and... part of their soldiers, before finally breaking through the encirclement and returning to Jerusalem.

Failure is not terrible. Even Amalric I had done the expedition to Egypt, but ended up empty-handed and gained nothing. But even the beggar at the corner of Jerusalem's wall knew that this war was not just a war between Crusaders and infidels and rebels—there was also their war with the King.

They were defeated.

They would have to slowly taste the bitter fruit next—the dead soldiers needed pensions, the wounded knights needed treatment, and the deaths of the accompanying clerics had to be explained to the Patriarch. Compared to these, the loss of materials could only be said to be a drop in the bucket. These might all need the treasuries of Tripoli and Antioch to fill. After all, they didn't have any spoils of war to make up for the deficit this time.

Not to mention, Mleh still had to be fought here. Why did the Crusaders exist? Wasn't it to ensure the safety of pilgrims and the Holy Land? Now the news had not been sent back to the Vatican. When the news was sent back there, I think the Pope would soon send a letter of condemnation.

Especially when the young King, who was only one-third their age, fulfilled his obligations so perfectly—achieving an undoubted victory here in the Saracens, capturing their monarch, and not letting the "most holy place" of the Christians be disturbed or defiled at all.

As for the Patriarch of Jerusalem, let alone. Heraclius was originally Baldwin's teacher. He had his current position entirely because he had the support of the former King and the trust of the current King.

In any case, he would not stand on their side. Bohemond looked at Raymond and couldn't help but curse another useless thing in his heart, but he also had to give a reminder, ""Don't forget, there will be envoys from Syria visiting today."

When he was still the regent, no one could bypass him and reach an agreement with these Saracens. This was the only chance he might have to grasp power.

"Cherish it." In the end, he couldn't help but satirize Raymond.

Of course, he also needed to be present—Bohemond returned to his room to change out of this dirty clothes. And in the corridor, he met his son Abigal unexpectedly.

Abigal was already a knight who had gone through the "Sword Conferring Ceremony," but when he saw his father, he still looked like a puppy suddenly kicked into an ice cellar. He even lowered his head until his chin touched his chest, almost sticking to the wall to run past, but Bohemond's cold glance made him freeze in place.

The Duke looked him up and down, especially between his legs: "The Princess hasn't conceived yet?"

His straightforward questioning without any concealment made Abigal's face blush, not out of shame, but out of anger.

What is intriguing is that the Princess has shown no signs of pregnancy for several months—if it were in an ordinary marriage, if there were no children, most people would impose the blame on the woman, thinking that the wife was ill, or that she had blasphemed God to receive such a severe punishment.

But in this marriage between Abigal and Princess Sibylla, people cast more suspicious eyes on Abigal. After all, the Princess had always been very healthy, so healthy that some even said that if only she could transfer this health to her brother Baldwin.

And she was tall, with full breasts and buttocks, a ruddy complexion, and a loud voice. No matter how you looked at it, she didn't look like someone who couldn't have children.

In contrast, Abigal, don't even compare him with Baldwin or Cesar, just compare him with David, he was too thin, his face was gray, his lips were purple, and he looked like a cow or horse that couldn't provide good seeds.

Although his body shape just inherited his father Bohemond, his gray face and purple lips might also be because he was under too much pressure now. After all, his marriage with Sibylla was not just because of pure love, or even an ordinary exchange of interests. Their children meant that the bloodline loved and revered by people could be continued.

Especially after Baldwin achieved such prominent military merits, people were eagerly looking forward to the Princess giving birth to a son, and then during the ten or so years of Baldwin's reign, teaching another holy king for Jerusalem.

Bohemond took a deep breath and told himself to get used to it: "What are you doing here?"

Baldwin had moved back to the main tower and lived in his father Amalric I's room. His attendants and servants also moved with him. The left tower was of course empty. So, after purification and blessing, Princess Sibylla and Abigal moved to the left tower, but they still had their own rooms—just on the same floor.

And Raymond and Bohemond still lived in the right tower they were familiar with, "I, I am here to find your father," Abigal stammered, while slowly clenching his fists, "I want to join the subsequent negotiations."

Bohemond looked at him strangely, "You, what can you do if you go?"

The merciless contempt from his father made Abigal's face turn even whiter. He controlled his trembling body and finally seemed to have abandoned something, kneeling down to Bohemond, "Let me go. Father, please, let me go!"

He begged, but there was no movement for a long while. When he looked up, he saw Bohemond's face was only a few inches away from him. He was so scared that he jumped back violently and almost fell between the steep stairs.

"Your stupidity always makes me feel refreshed," Bohemond said with a smile: "It's Sibylla, right? Isn't it? She told you that if you couldn't even occupy a seat in the post-war negotiations, don't come to her again. This way you can't get into her bed, and you can't have children with her—and we can't wait. Perhaps in a few years, they will announce that this marriage is invalid—you are afraid of this, right?"

Every word in this sentence was like an invisible big hand, slapping Abigal's face one after another. He was beaten dizzy and unable to speak.

"You came to find me, also because you—damn it, it seems everyone knows where my fatal point is," Bohemond's cold voice came from above, "You know I need a child, your and Sibylla's child, preferably a son, so you are unscrupulous. You know I have to do this." He said a dirty swear word rarely. "I really want to go back to Antioch now, and then try to fuck your mother to see if I can fuck out another son—I think this hope might be greater."

Abigal knelt on the ground. He was already numb, but he... he wanted Sibylla. He only had Sibylla.

"Stand up, I do have to draw a position for you."

Abigal smiled. He got what he wanted.

(End of chapter)