Chapter 153: Breakout (2)

Ten-plus years later, a great Saracen commander would praise it like this: Apoler is the eye of Syria, and Apoler Castle is the pupil in this eye.

Being able to be praised like this, Apoler Castle certainly couldn't just be a big and useless empty city. Just as people were familiar with, it had three gates, each connecting to tall, heavy, and thousands-of-feet-long walls.

The Nanmen, which was the only entrance and exit of Apoler Castle, was also called the Sultan's Gate by some. Because whether it was the new Sultan or the old Sultan, they would inevitably walk into this gate or be transported out.

It was simple and solemn, with almost no excessive decoration, only a proverb written by Sultan Nur ad-Din himself engraved above the lintel—"Truth is like a mirror."

Passing through this gate, you could see buildings standing like scales, but these buildings were obviously small and dense, because the people living here were not the Sultan and his ministers, but the eunuchs, soldiers, and servants serving them. Although they were also part of Apoler Castle, just like the daily sunshine and rain, they might enjoy a part of it, but certainly not the most and the best.

Even so, their treatment and glory had already exceeded those outside this castle.

The second layer was called the Lion Gate. Because a lion was carved on each side of the gate, they were lifelike, glaring, as if they were two of the most alert guards, firmly guarding the Sultan in the city. Sometimes, an Emir or Fatimid would also call himself the lion in front of the gate, which was comparing himself to the two beasts here.

And behind the Lion Gate were palaces standing along the trend of this hill, totaling ten or so, but no Sultan's concubines lived here. This was the place where the Sultan met ministers and handled state affairs, among which the most commonly used were the King's Hall and the Throne Hall.

Unlike what people imagined, when the Sultan handled government affairs, he would not allow all ministers to crowd in one place with him—it was impossible. The Zengi dynasty still used the old provincial system. Of course, under the Sultan, there were only slaves, this sentence was not a lie, but the Sultan's slaves possessed the huge power granted by the monarch—the management right of a region or a province.

Although the Sultan still had the power of life and death over them, if they could gain the Sultan's trust and ensure that the income of the province they supervised could be safely sent into the Sultan's treasury every year, generally speaking, the Sultan would not rudely interfere with his governance of the province. Undoubtedly, this way of ruling would cultivate countless ambitious people.

When a Sultan could possess wisdom, martial force, and people's respect beyond ordinary people like Nur ad-Din, looking around, there were all fallen wheat before him. But if he became weak, or old, or didn't have an heir who could inherit these, these docile crops would instantly turn into sharp thorns, stabbing the monarch until he was covered in blood and pain.

And the third gate had no exact name. Because it connected to the Sultan's harem, people must be full of curiosity about the Sultan's women, but no one dared to be presumptuous here—only some of the most daring guys would call it the Rose Gate obscurely when they drank too much grape juice.

The disturbance occurred in the King's Hall, the Throne Hall, and the palaces hidden behind the Rose Gate. It was very likely that the princes gathered their people here, and the riot behind the Rose Gate might be targeting the Sultan's three wives. Once the bloody war of succession began, what the two princes thought of would inevitably be to hijack or kill the other's mother. Their mothers were not slave girls without status and background, and the meaning of life and death was naturally different.

But clearly, the two ladies were not unprepared. But whether it was those two most important halls or the Sultan's harem, they were at a certain distance from where the Christian knights were temporarily staying. After all, no one would put the enemy's delegation in the heart of the fortress—now it had become their advantage.

And behind the second gate, the residence was separated by low walls or trees. What separated them from another place was an olive grove. Cesar didn't have to worry that his knights would be scattered in the dark night. Even without God's blessing, these knights who never lacked fish and meat intake could see much more in the night than ordinary people.

And just before stepping out of the olive grove, Cesar suddenly stopped. The knights behind him didn't know why, but they also reined in their mounts.

Not long after, they heard a clamor coming from afar. Geoffrey whistled silently—that direction was the Great Stable.

Because the Zengi dynasty adopted the provincial system, the only people serving in front of the Sultan daily might be the Grand Vizier and a few officials. If he wanted to exercise power over the viceroy of a certain province, he would summon him to Apoler. A part of the residences behind the Lion Gate was prepared for them, and the Great Stable that could accommodate thousands of horses also served them.

At that time, the Saracens also asked the Christians to put their horses in the Great Stable to be looked after and fed together, but were firmly refused by Geoffrey. Perhaps some people secretly laughed at these Christians for being a bunch of cowardly guys.

Now, as the noisy human voices gradually approached, all the Christian knights shouted "God bless" in their hearts and cast grateful glances at Geoffrey. It turned out that when the riot happened, a team of unknown Fatimids or Emirs thought of this place. These soldiers attacked the Great Stable, they selected the best horses from it for themselves, perhaps taking one or two, but they couldn't take more, nor could they find a merchant to sell them.

So, they did a cruel thing, which was to quickly hack the remaining horses to death, and then set fire to the stable. They were covered in blood, triumphantly holding high the burning torches, loudly sighing at their luck.

It was fortunate that this was the case. When their eyes, adapted to the strong light, scanned the olive grove, they couldn't detect the knights standing quietly in the dark at all. They passed by the Christians noisily, and the closest soldier only needed to turn his head slightly to see Cesar, who was no more than a hundred feet away, but he didn't.

From beginning to end, Cesar and his knights didn't make a sound. They waited patiently for the other party to go far away before riding out of the olive grove, exposing themselves to the cobalt blue sky light.

The soldiers guarding the Lion Gate happened to be those bought by Ma Like. As soon as they saw the Christian knights, they immediately became alert, but their leader immediately saw Ma Like, who had turned sideways from behind Cesar and revealed his face.

"My lord," he called in surprise: "Why are you here?"

"Let them go," Ma Like didn't answer his question, but ordered wearily: "At least at this moment, he is not our enemy. I hired them, let them escort us out of Apoler."

This "us" caught the soldier's attention, and then he saw a few familiar faces. After all, every minister had to pass through the Lion Gate when entering and leaving, "Why?" he asked subconsciously: "The new Sultan will need you."

"I don't think so," the one who answered him was not Ma Like, but another minister. Before this, he was managing the treasury of the entire country for his monarch Nur ad-Din and all the people of Syria.

He tilted his body in a strange posture. Only then did the soldier discover that this old man was actually tied to a knight with a belt. He was feeling puzzled, but saw the old man raise his hands, or rather, arms. There were no hands on the bare arms, "This was cut off by the second prince," he said, "because he asked me for money, he didn't believe there was only so little money in the treasury."

But that was true. Sultan Nur ad-Din had consumed an unimaginable amount of money to launch the expedition against Amalric I, and this money should have been gradually filled back in the next few years. After all, every province in Syria was constantly sending gold, silver, and silk to Apoler.

But the second prince didn't believe it. He thought the old man was either intentionally deceiving him or had already defected to his brother, or he had embezzled the money himself. He tortured him severely, and when he couldn't get the answer he wanted, he cut off one of his hands, followed by the second hand.

"You ask Ma Like why he is here? If he weren't here, then I might have lost my hands, feet, and head now." This minister was upright and respected. Even a gatekeeper knew that he was an indispensable person in the court. He had even repeatedly submitted his resignation to Sultan Nur ad-Din on the grounds of old age and infirmity, but Nur ad-Din had never agreed, because he couldn't find anyone more honest and intelligent than him to occupy this position.

"Then, at least there is the eldest prince," he stammered.

"The eldest prince is no better," another minister pointed to someone beside him. He was also one of their colleagues. His tongue had been cut off by the eldest prince. What crime did he commit? Of course not, he just didn't want to say some words against his will.

"But where can you go after leaving Apoler?"

"Anywhere is fine. Syria is very big, if it really doesn't work..." Ma Like paused and didn't continue, "But if they stay here, they will surely die. So if you are still a Saracen and are willing to preserve the last trace of vitality for this great dynasty, open the gate and let us leave here."

The guard was silent for a while. He looked at his companions. The companions took two steps back, and several people ran over to open the gate. They were persuaded by Ma Like, and Cesar breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, he didn't want to waste even a moment here. Apoler now was a powder keg that could explode at any time. He couldn't bet on how much time God had left for them.

However, before stepping into the tunnel, he still looked up at the holes in the ceiling of the tunnel blocked by grilles. Above the holes was also a tunnel, connecting to small rooms on the city wall. When the enemy attacked, or the Sultan wanted to deal with some guy with too much ambition, he would order soldiers to pour boiling feces or hot oil from the holes above the tunnel, which could instantly scald the people in the tunnel until they were covered in sores and their hands and feet were destroyed.

Fortunately, these soldiers were sincere. He led the knights to pass quickly, and the distance between the Lion Gate and the Nanmen (Sultan's Gate) was still full of danger—fortunately, at this time, these soldiers had already accepted the bribes or recruitment of the two princes and were fighting for their Sultan. There were not many soldiers left here, and there were some eunuchs and servants, but they only dared to shrink in their rooms, not even daring to peek.

But there was indeed a small army in front of the Sultan's Gate. They were Nubian slaves belonging to a Fatimid. Not long ago, their master defected to the eldest prince and swore to get rid of the two annoying blood relatives for him. Tonight, he wanted them to guard here, not for Cesar and the others—if the second prince didn't die in the Rose Gate or the Lion Gate, he would have to die in the Sultan's Gate.

These Saracen soldiers saw them and had already raised their spears, but Cesar galloped forward. In an instant, he arrived in front of them. What surprised these soldiers was that what flashed with light was not swords, but gold coins. They were scattered at will, at least a hundred of them, falling to the ground and making a crisp sound—this sound was more pleasant than any music in the world. Several soldiers immediately dropped their weapons and rushed forward, desperately grabbing those gold coins from under the horses' hooves and stuffing them into their bosoms.

Other soldiers also let out roars, but not because they saw the enemy, but because their colleagues actually dared to ignore them and snatch these golden little things first.

However, they didn't have to be too disappointed, because Cesar scattered another handful of gold coins. The gold coins rolled and scattered everywhere, rolling into gaps and holes, making the soldiers more eager.

The knights and some squires jumped off their horses to prepare to open the Sultan's Gate, but at this time, the captain of this team showed a greedy look. He not only didn't move away but also shouted for the soldiers to pick up their spears again, "They have more, more, more gold, don't let them go!" he shouted, but his voice didn't seem to reach his soldiers.

The one who heard this was Cesar, and Cesar's response was very straightforward. He spurred his horse forward. People didn't even see how he swung his long sword, and the small captain was split in two along with the spear in his hand. When his upper body fell to the ground, he still looked surprised, as if he didn't understand how the other party did it.

And at this time, the heavy gate had been pushed open. Under the pure cobalt blue light, there were steep steps, roads, and gray and square houses that looked particularly dark.

A Saracen who didn't know why he appeared on the street saw them. He raised his hand, seemingly wanting to shout, but suddenly, his head tilted to one side, followed by his whole body being driven. A crossbow bolt pierced his head, but this was not the work of some knight, but a team of Turks holding swords and bows. They pulled up their masks to cover their faces, only revealing their eyes, looking fierce.

They also saw the Christian knights. Cesar didn't give them time to react. He charged at them, and with his knights, in an instant, he trampled these Turks under the horses' hooves and slaughtered them under the swords.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 154 =====