Chapter 161: Isaacites' Little Abacus

The arrival of this group of Isaacites was indeed beyond Saladin's expectation.

He had decided early on that out of appreciation for Cesar and the courage and loyalty of these knights, he would mercifully forgive these Christian knights. They would be released, return to Jerusalem, could take their squires and servants, and didn't need to pay even a single gold coin in ransom.

So when Cesar fainted, he immediately selected two people from inside and told them to return to Jerusalem immediately to report the news.

Damascus is located in the middle of Jerusalem and Aleppo, and the distance is almost equal, which means that if a knight gallops day and night without sleeping or resting, he can go back and forth between the two cities within a week.

Regardless of others, just from what Saladin saw, the emotion between King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Cesar was undoubtedly unquestionable. When Cesar was just a servant of unknown identity, Baldwin IV was willing to guarantee him and regard him as the most trusted companion and future minister.

Now Cesar's identity had been confirmed. He was the son of Count Joscelin III of Edessa, an irrefutable nobleman, and the cousin of the King of Jerusalem. Even if Saladin proposed a request to redeem Cesar for 100,000 gold coins, the King of Jerusalem would definitely agree, and the ministers and lords around him would have no reason to object.

But the envoy of the King of Jerusalem had not yet arrived, while the Isaacites of Bethlehem had already walked into Damascus. Besides, they had actually raised 100,000 gold coins—Saladin didn't care much about this. Damascus also had Isaacites, and merchants also had their own means of communication, and the speed was not inferior to the army.

At that time, Kamal was by his side, even asking if this matter should be handed over to him or Shams ad-Din to handle.

Although Saladin was only the Grand Vizier of Caliph al-Adid of Egypt now, anyone could see that perhaps not long after, he would become the Sultan of Egypt, and in the future might even become the ruler of more territories. A person with such an identity should not have too much contact with those cunning parasites.

However, Saladin was very interested in everything related to Cesar. He had seen Cesar in Jerusalem. At that time, he was just a servant beside Baldwin IV, a young man who was not yet worldly-wise but already had his own thoughts and ideas; he had also seen Cesar outside the palace of Fustat. At that time, although he had not yet become a knight, he had already been tempered by flesh and blood and swords, and was a reliable warrior, sharp and firm, which Saladin appreciated very much.

Of course, compared to the first two, a more important quality he possessed was loyalty, which had never changed.

Only in Bethlehem, his identity was different. He was the master of Bethlehem—although he only had the right to use this land, not the right to dispose of it. But for the people of Bethlehem, whether Christians, Isaacites, or Saracens, he was a terrible dragon. One thought of his could make them bankrupt or ruin their families.

So how would he act in Bethlehem? Especially those people in Bethlehem before—those who had power and status.

Although Cesar didn't stay in Bethlehem for long, no matter what he did, Saladin believed he could find out some information he didn't know before from the Isaacites' account.

The leader of this group was exactly Le Gao.

When he knew that Saladin—the Grand Vizier of Caliph al-Adid of Egypt—was actually willing to see him, besides being shocked, he was also shrouded in an uncontrollable panic.

After all, he was an Isaacite. Isaacites were regarded as "slaves" or "heretics" whether among Christians or Saracens. Even if they all died here, no one would pursue or care.

But at the same time, surprise rose tremblingly from the bottom of his heart. He had heard of Saladin's name. After all, everyone knew that Amalric I's second expedition eventually failed, and this Kurd also had credit.

Isaacites even mocked the King of Jerusalem for being so easily fooled by those Egyptians, throwing away two cities that had already been taken for nothing, and letting a former slave (Kurd) pick up a huge benefit.

Of course, he absolutely dared not say such things outside the room.

But no matter what, Saladin had become the Grand Vizier of the Caliph, which meant that in the future Egypt, he would be a big figure, one person below and ten thousand above.

And this one person below didn't know when it would end abruptly.

Every time Isaacites arrived at a place, they would definitely inquire clearly about the rulers there and the dignitaries who might pose a threat and influence to them.

They of course also knew that Caliph al-Adid of the Fatimid dynasty might be the last monarch of this dynasty. Saladin and his uncle were two ambitious figures. They had served under Nur ad-Din, but after Nur ad-Din sent them to Egypt, these two arrogant generals were very unwilling to listen to his orders again.

Now Nur ad-Din was dead, his three sons (he didn't know Nur ad-Din only had one son) were all incompetent, and there was more than one or two ambitious people claiming to be Nur ad-Din's successors. It was conceivable that in the future, Syria would not say attacking or annexing Egypt, even maintaining the current situation would be very difficult.

Since this was the case, Saladin's status would inevitably be unshakable. If they wanted to expand their business to Cairo or Alexandria in Egypt in the future, they would inevitably be unable to avoid the gaze of this Sultan.

But relatively speaking, if they could win his favor, their business would inevitably go smoothly and rise to the top. Just thinking of this point, when Le Gao knelt in front of this Kurd, he didn't feel embarrassed or ashamed. He even crawled forward, wanting to kiss Saladin's feet, but was stopped by this lord's guards.

"You said you want to redeem your master, that is, the Knight of Bethlehem, Cesar. Yes, he is indeed with me now. He has received very good care, you don't need to worry," Saladin tilted his head slightly, "Stand up."

Isaacite Le Gao climbed up from the ground in fear and trepidation. While Saladin was observing him, he was also carefully peeking at this lord. Looking at his face, Saladin was not the kind of person who was easy to please. Although he had a decent appearance and sharp eyes, he gave people the feeling that compared to an official or ruler, he was more like an ascetic, which was the kind of person Isaacites hated most.

This meant they couldn't defeat him with mellow wine, gold, and women.

He might need them to do things, but he would never be manipulated by them. To him, they were just a tool that could be obtained everywhere. After losing their use value, they would be ruthlessly discarded without a trace of hesitation.

You might say that other kings were also like this, but if a person did everything for his faith or ideals, then everything in front of him would be crushed into powder, and he wouldn't leave them any gaps to beg or tempt.

This person also reminded Le Gao of the Knight of Bethlehem, Cesar.

Although he came and went in a hurry and couldn't stay in Bethlehem for too long, Le Gao had already realized that he had many similarities with the Saracen in front of him. The Isaacite suddenly hesitated, not knowing whether he should carry out his original plan to the end.

But he was already standing in front of Saladin. Saladin was not a Roman prince born in the Purple Chamber. His father was also just an ordinary official at first, and he followed his uncle in the army and saw quite a few Isaacites in the city. It could be said that most Isaacites didn't leave him with any good impressions.

Their selfishness and narrow-mindedness made them aliens wherever they went, not just their religious rituals and outdated customs—it was even difficult for others to understand their thinking and way of doing things—these people always did despicable and shameless things, and always thought that as long as they covered their own eyes, they could make others unable to see the dirty things they did.

Even if they were of the same origin as Saracens, they were also descendants of Abraham—they were even proud of this, but they still didn't have many virtues worthy of this sacred bloodline.

But perhaps these Isaacites would be an exception?

Saladin casually asked Le Gao a few questions, especially about Cesar. When he heard Le Gao mention soap, he realized that perhaps from that moment on, Cesar guessed that Aleppo was undergoing a great change, and it was increasingly approaching a vortex.

The reason why this vortex was generated was because their master Nur ad-Din was running out of time, just like a big ship sailing on the sea. When the helmsman fell because of aging, if there was no one to take over, this ship would inevitably capsize completely on the sea, and all the passengers, crew, and all living things on it would be destroyed.

And the merchants of Aleppo, no, it should be said that the merchants of the whole world were the group of people who could smell the uneasy atmosphere most. If he were Cesar at that time, he could also guess that Nur ad-Din might not be satisfied with spending the last few years of his life on a sickbed.

Saladin let out a sigh of admiration in his heart and couldn't help but ask a few more questions carefully. But gradually, his smile disappeared. Le Gao's stuttering and even falling into silence told him that the bond between these Isaacites and Cesar was not as deep as he thought.

Since this was the case, their behavior of throwing 100,000 gold coins to redeem Cesar was quite suspicious. Although according to the customary law at this time, this was not strange. If a knight was captured, and the commoners on his fief indeed needed to raise money to redeem this lord, it wouldn't be strange. But this group of Isaacites threw 100,000 gold coins as soon as they came up, which was a bit thought-provoking.

Kamal also frowned. If Cesar was a heartless, irritable, and arrogant lord, these Isaacites might not appear here at all. They appeared here and proposed a redemption request with an astonishing number, more likely to force Cesar to make concessions for them in some things in the future with this favor.

It could even be said that if Cesar really succumbed to their threats—after all, in Jerusalem, people called him the Little Saint, and he had always shown himself to be quite generous, humble, and simple like a monk—perhaps he just didn't want to ruin his past image, or it was indeed out of gratitude, their plan might succeed.

At first, it might just be some small requests, a letter of recommendation, a charter, an identity certificate, a pass, and then they might require him to stand on their side in court, or more obscurely build themselves into the confidants of the Knight of Bethlehem, forcing others to make way for them.

Or further, they would try to seize the power in Cesar's hands. Like collecting taxes, like minting coins, or charging fees for some public facilities—don't doubt it, this kind of behavior, this kind of thing, Isaacites had done in Saracen cities long ago.

Even when Shirkuh was still the viceroy in Damascus, he almost fell for the deception of some Isaacites. If Saladin hadn't seen through it in time and reminded his uncle, his uncle might have really made a mistake under the deception of the Isaacites that would make the Sultan furious.

The room didn't know when it had darkened, and the thin red afterglow had disappeared silently like the joy in Saladin's heart.

Le Gao stood there, and the silence in the room almost turned into a giant rock, crushing him to death. He knew he had made a mistake. He was not facing a general who only knew how to ride and fight. Saladin could become a Grand Vizier, perhaps not just because he had an army.

But now, no matter how he regretted it, it was too late.

Saladin did have the thought of directly strangling these Isaacites, but—he smiled again. Le Gao looked at it, like seeing a lion yawning. He trembled and crawled on the ground, and couldn't even say the plea stuck in his throat.

"You are ultimately Cesar's subjects," Saladin pointed at the void with interest: "How to deal with you, let him decide. But speaking of redemption—I have already told him that I will not want even a copper coin of ransom from him or other Christian knights..."

"You are so merciful... so generous..."

"Only for those who are worth it," Saladin said in a tone close to happiness: "But for other... people," he said reluctantly: "I still need to use my power, for example, a group of Isaacites who act on their own and walk into my city."

He stood up, and the shadow covered Le Gao: "These 100,000 gold coins will be used as your ransom, how about it? Yes, or no?"

Le Gao looked up. He opened his mouth, and a look of pleading appeared in his eyes, but he immediately realized that he was going crazy—actually bargaining with a person who could control his life and death!

He immediately threw himself on the ground again, "I am willing! I am willing! My lord, I am willing!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 162 =====