[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-nation-of-ten-thousand-nations":3,"chapter-the-nation-of-ten-thousand-nations-the-nation-of-ten-thousand-nations-chapter-151":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Nation of Ten Thousand Nations",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2333119,4562,"Chapter 151: Coercion","the-nation-of-ten-thousand-nations-chapter-151",151,"\u003Cp>Camal’s sudden visit was within Cesar’s expectations, given that Aple could descend into irreversible chaos at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he hadn’t expected that Camal would only hesitate for a moment before stepping forward, firmly kneeling on the ground, then lowering his forehead and hands as if bowing to a Sultan, and as Cesar instinctively stepped back, he reached out and seized the corner of the young knight’s robe, pressing it to his lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For an instant, everyone present thought him mad—he had mistaken a Christian knight for a Sultan or his heir.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You must think I’ve lost my mind,” Camal could guess their thoughts; he lifted his head, his face ashen, lips purple, yet his voice remained firm and clear: “My lord.” He rasped, “I bring you bad news.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your father, Joscelin III, and your mother, the venerable Armenian princess, are both dead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Cesar had suspected Joscelin III and his wife were likely dead, hearing the news still plunged him and those around him into a heavy silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did they die?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Poisoned,” Camal said swiftly. “They had been imprisoned and guarded in a fortress about a day’s journey from Aple, handed over by Sultan Nur ad-Din to his second son and his mother. Though they received no treatment befitting a Sultan’s son, their food and clothing were sufficient. Joscelin III suffered only occasional coughs and no other illness; his wife grew weak from melancholy and could barely move.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But before we entered Aple, someone removed them from that fortress. When we found them, they had been dead for several days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Several days,” Geoffroy could not help exclaiming, “meaning you only now decided to tell us!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because until today, I too was under strict surveillance,” Camal argued. “The deed occurred before we returned to Aple—if I could have, I would have sacrificed my honor and life, or any man who understood the stakes would have done everything to stop it. Though we never signed our names on parchment, the Saracens honor verbal agreements—especially one I made on behalf of the Sultan’s three sons.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then do you know who killed them? Your enemy, or ours?” Geoffroy stepped forward, pressing hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know. I only know the one who did this is both your enemy and ours.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I doubt that,” Geoffroy replied coldly. “Perhaps you should know what gift we received today.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I already know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Nur ad-Din’s most trusted minister, once a step away from becoming Grand Vizier, Camal had countless spies in court. He knew full well what the second prince had done.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This hollow fool didn’t even realize most of these young knights had taken vows of chastity—they could not marry, nor approach women, let alone pagan ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tried to bribe them the same way he bribed the emirs and fatih—making no distinction, openly displaying his contempt and indifference. The Christian knights saw it as provocation, even humiliation—and rightly so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I...” Cesar remained silent for a long while before asking, “Where are my father and his wife now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They are here with me—I must apologize... my lord, my power is limited...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No,” Cesar said. “You waited for the Sultan’s burial, for Aple’s situation to shift—but now it seems the change isn’t what you wanted.” His words struck true, flushing shame across Camal’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those emerald eyes gleamed with brilliant light—perhaps the sudden downpour of grief, perhaps the storm of rage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Camal understood: Cesar and his sister had been separated from Joscelin III when they were still infants. For over a decade afterward, they were betrayed, captured, and wandered in exile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cesar, a noble son, nearly became a eunuch in the Sultan’s or Caliph’s harem. Even though he was saved and pardoned by Amalric I before castration, for years afterward he was attacked and despised due to his unknown origins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps because of all this suffering, Fortune finally took pity on him—his sister Nattia, by accident, escaped Aple and the Sultan’s harem, sent as a gift to Arasal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This girl astonishingly remembered everything entrusted to her by her foster parents: a secret hoard worth two hundred thousand gold coins, a document penned by the Archbishop of Edessa, and the signatures of a dozen noble witnesses, proving her identity and her brother’s—that she was Joscelin III’s daughter, and Cesar the sole heir of the County of Edessa, his blood noble and devout, closely tied to the King of Arasal. In one leap, he went from a lowly slave to an undisputed nobleman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What emotions had he carried along this journey? No son fails to cherish his father, to long for reunion—especially when Joscelin III had done everything he could. He entered Aple at five. Had he been a coward, he might have accepted a life of humiliation and dread... yet he never disgraced his blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Didn’t he know sending his two children out of Aple would enrage and suspicion Nur ad-Din? He couldn’t guarantee Nur ad-Din would keep him alive as a hostage—or decide to send him to God. Merely for this debt, this young man could never remain unmoved by the death of a father he’d never met.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the second prince and his mother had at least done something in belated repair—they summoned Christian priests to administer last rites and collect the bones—” regarding cremation, Saracens and Christians held the same view: one called it “the Fire Hell,” the other “a land burning with fire.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Burning was seen as punishment or curse, yet they couldn’t leave the unfortunate couple unburied... so they used the method mentioned earlier: when the journey was too long to return the body home, they preserved only the bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this mother-son pair likely intended the bones as a crucial bargaining chip if negotiations collapsed. Yet they failed to guard the living Joscelin III—and now they failed to guard the dead. Camal used several eunuchs and maids he had bribed to swap out the remains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He admitted this act was vile, but it was unavoidable—he ordered his attendant to place a cedarwood chest inlaid with brass corners before Cesar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bones were housed in two large reliquaries, originally made large enough to hold relics like arms, gilded on the surface, with bas-reliefs of cherubim guarding the Ark atop, surrounded by exquisite silver filigree—perfect vessels to hold the remains of two noble persons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cesar bowed his head, gazing at the two reliquaries, his fingers brushing their smooth surfaces, as if still feeling a faint heat—surely an illusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Camal entered the room, he had been frantic. But as Cesar sank into thought and mourning, he made no sound. He could have kept this powerful weapon, threatening the Christians to serve him—but wouldn’t that prove the Saracens were even more base than the Christians?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the young, impetuous King of Arasal had not demanded ransom for Nur ad-Din’s body—would he now exploit a child’s love for his parents to fulfill his own ends?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could not do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you want?” Cesar asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The eldest prince has moved,” Camal said. But the second prince was no toothless dog—he immediately turned on his brother. Their supporters launched frantic searches and slaughter; perhaps by dawn, a victor will be decided within Aple Castle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention they have a younger brother—a child, but his foster mother is the most powerful woman in the harem: the First Lady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I ask you to rescue some people.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If only Camal himself were involved, his escape would still be likely. But here are a group of ministers—not all scholars, yet each admired for virtue and learning, once pillars and steeds of Sultan Nur ad-Din.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Nur ad-Din lived, they were honored—even princes yielded before them. But in this chaos, they are likely the first to be sacrificed. All had refused the princes’ overtures, like Camal—now they have no protector. Any soldier might cut off their heads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You want us to take them with us?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not without benefit to you,” Camal hurried to explain. “Among them are scholars, and others who, though not scholars, are still revered and loved. On the road, if you meet emirs or fatih soldiers, they may let you pass because of them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I will tell them I hired you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Or attract more pursuers,” Geoffroy cut in mercilessly. “The eldest prince’s men harbor ill will toward you. The second prince’s men won’t let you stay either—you became their enemies the moment you refused their invitations. No, worse than enemies—you are traitors.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter their talent or learning, if they cannot serve them, they are merely future troubles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoever wins, or even if no one has yet won, you will have pursuers behind you—until you are killed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Geoffroy’s gaze fell on the reliquary. “You brought us a dire tidings—one caused by your own Saracens. You won’t be hated by us, but neither will you earn our gratitude. You broke the prior agreement first. Your current proposal—I see no benefit to us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What you say may be possible—but if we leave now, no one may even notice a band of Christian knights.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But if we carry a group already marked for death...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Geoffroy glanced outside. They could now hear faint fighting, see flickering, wavering flames. A sudden thought struck him—he turned sharply to Camal: “You’ve already done it! Haven’t you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Camal had already brought those ministers who refused to serve the Sultan’s sons here—and perhaps arranged men to lure rebellious Saracens to this place if the Christians refused his plea. The Christians here might be killed—or taken prisoner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the new Sultan were established peacefully, he might honor Camal’s pledged oath, regard them as guests and benefactors, and let them return safely to Arasal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now the eldest and second princes have torn all pretense away. Everyone knows the new Sultan has murdered his own kin—perhaps more than one. How then can we expect him to show mercy or tolerance to a group of infidels and enemies?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room fell silent, save for heavy, drawn breaths. Cesar lifted the reliquaries and looked at the indignant knights: “Move out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Geoffroy was startled—and some knights thought they’d misheard—Cesar ordered them to first go to the quarters of the slave women—to prepare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the slave women sent by the second prince had been scattered by eunuchs, they were not far from the knights’ quarters, separated only by a low wall. Earlier, they had been singing and dancing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the knights stormed in, they were delighted—better to serve Christian knights than a dying old Sultan or a capricious new one. But the knights showed no interest, swept in and swept out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They took only the gold from their bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1772,"2026-06-20T20:58:34.857Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d54a3747c9f70148995f72b9281a973e344e67781ef517118e122d3b9f829b14","the-nation-of-ten-thousand-nations-chapter-152","the-nation-of-ten-thousand-nations-chapter-150",168,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-nation-of-ten-thousand-nations-cover.jpg"]