[{"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-59":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},2333027,4562,"Chapter 59: Swear the Oath (Special Thanks to Patron Sunset Oath for the Extra Chapter!)","the-nation-of-ten-thousand-nations-chapter-59",59,"\u003Cp>“If, back then,” Cesar asked, “I hadn’t killed those servants who meant to harm me outright, but had appealed to you or fled instead...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Baldwin closed his book and entertained the hypothesis as Cesar had suggested.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm,” he hesitated, “perhaps you’d have been sent away,” he added, “I know you’re a kind man, but if you’re not just kind but indecisive, you won’t survive in Arasalu—you’ll die. Even for your own good, we’d have to send you far away.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an answer he could have predicted; Cesar’s heart was calm: “And what about you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Me?” Baldwin laughed bitterly. “Not long before you arrived, when I was still healthy, shortly after my ninth birthday, under my father and teacher’s supervision, I executed a vile thief.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He was a lord from Lower Lorraine,” he continued, “and for that reason, my father allowed him to build a castle on a small stretch of land near Jaffa. He generously promised that all pilgrims passing through would find safety, warmth, and free food and water in his castle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, he seemed to have kept his word—groups upon groups of pilgrims entered his small castle, rested a night, then departed refreshed, vowing to pray for him before Christ’s tomb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, many left—but some never left at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a cunning hunter. Pilgrims usually traveled in groups—by village, parish, or entire city. Wealthy pilgrims would request lords to assign knights for escort (for a fee) or hire mercenaries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But some naive believers thought that since the king had decreed a harsh law—that anyone who harmed a pilgrim would be put to death—and since God watched constantly, no crime could possibly occur on this land soaked in Christ’s blood—they entered the castle, and under the influence of drink, revealed their secrets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their relatives were thousands of miles away; their purses brimmed with gold or silver; there were no kin or friends among the Holy Land’s inhabitants—even if they bore a surname, it was obscure,” Baldwin glanced at Cesar, “and when granted a private room, they were overjoyed—only to be strangled in the night or crushed by a hammer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This lord was also cautious—he never sold young victims to pagans as slaves, like some others did. All the corpses were stripped naked and dumped into the dense forest; by morning, beasts would finish the work for him. Do you know how he was discovered?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How was he discovered?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heraclius casually used his castle as a math problem,” he said. “It was far more interesting than mere numbers—he made me calculate the monthly expenditure required to maintain a castle with fifteen knights, thirty squires, fifty armed attendants, twenty craftsmen, and a hundred laborers...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then, after subtracting those expenses, and based on his income, how many pilgrims could he afford to feed—one loaf per pilgrim?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A huge discrepancy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“More than huge—he should have gone bankrupt long ago,” Baldwin said. “Once suspicion arose, the rest was easy. Heraclius borrowed a few Holy Sepulcher Knights from the king. They watched and surveilled the castle day and night until the servants carried the corpses out in manure barrels,” he made a gesture, “caught red-handed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He was a lord—he shouldn’t have been hanged—he even demanded trial by combat. But no knight would accept. Finally, Amalric I decided it might make a suitable lesson. Heraclius thought I was too young to be a squire, that the lesson came too soon. But who knew if another fool like him would ever appear again?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I didn’t perform the lesson well,” Baldwin said regretfully. “I hadn’t yet received the blessing. Though I was stronger than boys my age,…” he fell silent for a moment, “he suffered greatly—and so did I. The axe slipped from my hand and nearly struck my toe. His head still cursed as it hit the ground.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sometimes I wonder—did I contract leprosy because I let a Christian suffer needlessly? Was this God’s punishment?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not at all, Cesar thought silently. If anyone was to blame, it was Amalric I.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hand gently rested on his knee. “Today you met Geoffrey. What did he say to you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cesar rarely concealed anything from Baldwin—especially not when meeting the Templars: “He told me some things about the battlefield, Baldwin. I’m worried—I… I’m not the decisive killer you think I am. I feel pity for the weak. I can’t judge others by my own standards… I…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why worry?” Baldwin replied, unexpectedly light. “I command you to do it. I am your master—you obey my orders. Blood flowing from the blade doesn’t stain it. You are the same—if there is sin, let it all fall upon me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, he studied Cesar’s expression closely. He said this hoping to free Cesar from the chains he’d placed upon himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Baldwin had once known little of Cesar; now he understood him at least a third or a fourth. He was not the kind who could kill pregnant women and infants without guilt, simply because he believed “killing infidels was no sin but a virtue.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to call him a womanish, sentimental fool who couldn’t lift a sword was to slander him deliberately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re afraid you’ll become the kind of person you despise,” Baldwin gripped Cesar’s hand tightly, earnestly. “Yes, I’ve seen them—arriving full of love for God, yet under famine, pain, and death, they become mindless beasts. So,” he asked solemnly, “what kind of man do you think I am?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A good man. Undoubtedly a good man in this age and place,” Cesar answered. “People call me ‘the Little Saint.’ But I never take it to heart—not because I’m arrogant, but because I know it’s only their mistaken praise and expectations. Yet I believe you are the saint, Baldwin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A saint with empty hands is easy to be. Baldwin has status, power, and still refuses to indulge himself—that is truly worthy of admiration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then believe me. Obey my orders. I will never make you do anything that violates your own vows. I will never let you become a stranger even to yourself. As long as I live, you will always be Cesar. Will you swear this oath with me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I will.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heraclius was asleep. When awakened by the two boys, he listened to their request and hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know what you’re saying?” he asked Baldwin. “If you take such an oath, you assume responsibility for another’s fate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I understand,” Baldwin replied. “But only such an oath can guarantee Cesar’s eternal freedom.” Though Cesar was his squire, once they both became Amalric I’s squires or knights, their master would no longer be Baldwin, but Amalric I.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Amalric I were merely a Frankish lord, matters might be simpler. But the Crusaders originally operated under “collective leadership.” “As originally stipulated, no one, noble or lowly, may oppose any military order.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though now various counties and kingdoms have been established, this “law” still holds some force—especially on the battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If someone deliberately used this to torment Cesar, his position would become unbearable—he’d either abandon his former self or be forced to leave the army. But under the rule of every Arasalu king as Crusade leader, could he truly retreat to a monastery?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you also trust Baldwin?” Heraclius asked Cesar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I trust him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heraclius turned to Baldwin again: “But such an oath—though we all say that after the ‘Selection Ceremony’ we become brothers under God’s gaze—this vow is not particularly binding. I mean, Amalric, Raymond, Bohemond, and…” he hesitated, then spoke: “Joscelin—the Count of Edessa.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This name was rarely spoken in the Holy Cross Castle—it was a scandal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli, and Arasalu should have been natural Christian allies. But in 1144, when the Zengid dynasty attacked Edessa, none of Arasalu, Antioch, or Tripoli came to its aid. There were many reasons… but none were honorable to admit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worse still, Count Joscelin of Edessa joined the Second Crusade in 1149, was captured by the Seljuks, imprisoned, and died in 1159 without ever being ransomed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But if you take such an oath, Baldwin, you will no longer be Cesar’s master. You will be equals. You may command him, and he may command you. You must support each other, guarantee each other. This covenant binds not only you, but your descendants. If either breaks the oath—no one will ever believe in your loyalty again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I understand fully,” Baldwin said sincerely. “Besides, don’t I need a righteous man to rein me in? You fear you’ll change—but won’t I change too?” He looked at his arm. “God’s trial may never end. I know many go mad in such hardship… why not me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze burned. “This is better. Your restraint on me will shield me from others’ malice; my restraint on you will shield you from my own. You trust me, and I trust you to be loyal. No—not merely loyal to me. Loyal to God, because your path is the same as the one God has shown humanity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your father will be displeased.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He will be at first. But think again—he’ll see it differently,” Baldwin said. “The concern he’s always had is resolved. The cost falls on me, yet Cesar’s loyalty must extend to my descendants, my brother, even his own. Isn’t that a good thing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heraclius fell silent for a moment. “I must seek the king’s approval.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go,” Baldwin said. “He will agree.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Baldwin understood his father well. Amalric I was furious—but still granted the request. As Baldwin said, this placed him on equal footing with a slave. Of course, it didn’t mean Cesar suddenly became heir to Arasalu. It meant they bore mutual responsibility and could vouch for each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s a recent example—even though neither party was willing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heraclius said: “Have you heard of Rodrigo, the knight of Castile? He was a Castilian knight. When King Sancho of Castile and his brother Alfonso joined forces to attack their other brother Garcia, Alfonso later allied with their sister Urraca. No one knows what happened—but Sancho died.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Sancho’s death, Alfonso became heir. But the Castilian knights didn’t trust him. No one could force a king to swear an oath—until Rodrigo stepped forward. He demanded the king swear an oath with him. As a knight who had once captured five Moorish kings, his request was no humiliation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alfonso had no choice but to accept. Then Rodrigo demanded the oath be sworn beneath the Church of Santa Agueda. The king swore. Though later, humiliated, he banished Rodrigo, he never stripped him of his title or lands. And after Rodrigo established himself through his own strength and wit among the infidels, he still fulfilled his duties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vast sums flowed into Castile’s treasury. When Alfonso’s protected ruler was overthrown, Rodrigo marched out and brutally executed the traitor. After every war, he selected the finest spoils and offered them to the king—even after he himself became a lord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in 1099, when he died as a Christian king, his widow could no longer hold Valencia. It was King Alfonso who granted her final protection.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heraclius stared at Cesar, hoping the boy understood: this deal seemed to favor Baldwin, but the true cost fell on Cesar. Baldwin remained ill, uncertain if he’d live past thirty. If the oath was sworn, Arasalu would gain a powerful arm—perhaps sustaining the kingdom for forty, even fifty years…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others didn’t know—but Heraclius knew the signs on Cesar’s body. What made him tremble was this: the saint Cesar saw had not revealed a name, yet he still wielded the power granted by Him. In all records and scriptures, the only one without a name was…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Very well,” he reached out and touched Cesar’s face. “If this is your wish.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1940,"2026-06-20T20:58:34.857Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","6b41469c664f1039c9296d739d434c6f6fc42f4e09b601df7f177c810616b697","the-nation-of-ten-thousand-nations-chapter-60","the-nation-of-ten-thousand-nations-chapter-58",168,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-nation-of-ten-thousand-nations-cover.jpg"]