Chapter 62: Little Fish (Part 2)

Cesar's decision was of course opposed by Baldwin, and Heraclius as well, and even the Templar held a disapproving attitude. But what surprised Cesar was that even Amalric I showed hesitation and did not immediately agree readily.

But to others, Amalric I would not suffer any loss in this move, only benefit.

First: Even though Cesar's status now could be said to be equal to any knight, he was ultimately still a child, which meant that if Amalric I sent him to be an envoy, it was an undoubted humiliation to the other side.

But the Templars of Tortosa intercepting Amalric I's ally, the envoy of the "Eagle's Nest," wasn't that a naked contempt and mockery of Amalric I?

The King would only regret not being able to see their expressions in person.

Second, what Cesar plotted was indeed very likely to succeed.

Don't talk about Amalric I having already prepared for the siege. As long as one has a brain, no lord or knight is willing to attack a solid and well-prepared castle.

The castle of Tortosa was not even built by the Templars. Baldwin I built many castles with the dowry of his third wife, and Tortosa was one of them. After being transferred to the Templar Order, the Order successively repaired and reinforced it in the decades that followed.

Although the castle of Tortosa now could not be compared with the Holy Cross Castle, it was also a rocky mountain that was difficult to shake. Not to mention that the Templars of Tortosa knew that they would inevitably be reprimanded and attacked by Amalric I before they set out to intercept those Saracens.

Before this, they must have stored enough food, water, and other supplies.

Even the King could not be sure how long this siege would last? Three days, ten days, a month, or even a year. Such things were not unheard of.

He also knew very clearly that he could not possibly hold out for more than three months. Cesar walked in the camp and saw charcoal about to be burned; Amalric I saw a bottomless abyss about to swallow every gold coin of his. Even for the conscripted peasant soldiers, there was remuneration every day, although not much, but think about the number of people...

The mercenaries were even more so. And a long siege would also make many people feel slack. They would leave quietly, or just do their own things, and more likely gallop out to loot nearby merchants and pilgrims.

If it were in a heretic city, this behavior might be encouraged. But it was also within the sphere of influence of Al-Salu, and merchants and pilgrims were also protected by Amalric I. The King did not want to wait for them to come up and cry, and then be overwhelmed by dealing with this matter.

Third, also hidden in Amalric I's heart and never spoken out loud—he had vaguely felt that in Cesar and Baldwin, the dominant one was Cesar, not his son.

He was very worried that after he passed away, a prominent, unshakeable power-broker would emerge in the court of Al-Aras.

If it weren't for the fact that Cesar could not produce any proof of identity to prove that he was the son of a count or a duke, even if he had made such a vow, the King would not continue to tolerate him staying in Al-Salu.

Now he took the initiative to propose going to negotiate with that brutal and hungry beast. Isn't this a good thing that hits Amalric I's heart?

But Amalric I had the same question as the Templar: what good would this do him? He now had a solid position, was loved by people, and his future was a flat and bright path that could be seen at a glance. He was not a bishop who could drive the masses to launch a riot by relying on such a sacrifice and then making them kneel at his feet.

And this matter was not asceticism or prayer. If he failed, he would of course be a clown. Even if he succeeded, could those ignorant people understand his meaning? They might even think that their Little Saint had betrayed them and intended to take away their opportunity to make money.

Amalric I did not know that about seven hundred years later, someone would say that sentence—when all the evidence points to one answer, this answer, no matter how unbelievable it looks, is the only correct explanation.

But he had now begun to believe that Cesar was indeed the kind of good person who was kind by nature and possessed great love.

He was of course more willing to keep such a good person by Baldwin's side, by the side of his possible second son, and even the descendants of his second son—even if he became a power minister, so what? As long as he would not have the intention of usurping the throne, until he died, the person sitting on the throne of Al-Salu would still retain the bloodline of Amalric I.

But thinking of the possibly endless siege, the King could not help but hesitate. This was not a great war that would hurt the bones and muscles of Al-Salu, but it would also wear off a layer of his skin and flesh.

And he planned to launch a second expedition to Egypt within three years. For this expedition, he needed to make full preparations and absolutely could not allow himself to be like the first time, although he achieved victory, because he was deceived, he returned to Al-Salu empty-handed and was mocked by countless people.

In the end, he still agreed to Cesar's request.

However, he prepared a herald, a messenger, and four attendants for Cesar. They carried the flag of Amalric I and followed behind Cesar, looking worried, but still majestic. This was the configuration that an envoy of a King should have.

Cesar was also a bit surprised. He thought Amalric I would directly call a guide for him, and then throw him out, letting him walk into Tortosa Castle alone.

What surprised him even more was that just as he left the camp and hadn't walked far toward Tortosa Castle, at the edge of the rolling hills, he saw a familiar figure.

"Geoffrey!" he called out in surprise. The Templar just nodded at him listlessly.

Behind the Templar followed a sergeant and two attendants, carrying the familiar black and white flag, and he was dressed very formally, wearing a helmet, chainmail, a surcoat, holding a spear, and wearing a long sword and dagger.

And when he greeted him, Cesar realized that there were actually four sword and shield infantry behind him—the heavy infantry in the Templar Order we mentioned earlier. They received strict training like knights and could play a huge role in the siege.

"Didn't you say the Templars wouldn't intervene in this matter?" Cesar asked.

"Uh, in fact... it's like this," Geoffrey scratched his chin, "But have you seen my horse?"

"I have." Percheron horse, dark brown all over, very strong, and beautiful. Small ears, long neck, four hooves slender and powerful, it could be seen that it was a good horse worth at least fifty gold coins.

"This was gifted to me by Amalric I."

Facing Cesar's confused expression, Geoffrey said without shame: "And a box sent by the Prince. Inside the box is a Damascus knife inlaid with gems, two gold cups, a set of ivory chess pieces, and a gem gold necklace..."

Geoffrey counted them one by one.

Didn't Cesar know what these were? Baldwin had once taken them out one by one to appreciate with him. They were the gifts Baldwin had received since he was a child, the ones he liked the most.

They followed Amalric I to outside the city. As a squire, it was impossible to carry too much luggage, but carrying a small box was allowed. So Baldwin packed up the few things he liked the most and brought them over with his clothes and weapons.

According to the quantity and content Geoffrey said, Baldwin might have given him all his private collections.

"I didn't want to agree at first, but who told him to give too much?" Geoffrey estimated that these were at least over a thousand gold coins—glancing at Cesar—this child's value was truly getting higher and higher.

Cesar only felt his throat choked and was unable to speak. He had to admit that at the beginning, he had the intention of using Baldwin, and he did not have the idea of staying by his side no matter what. His thoughts and philosophy were independent, mature, and even somewhat arrogant.

He also knew very clearly that he was not a nine-year-old child, at least his soul was. When he saw a real nine-year-old child presenting his purity and nobility in front of him, he only felt ashamed.

After waiting for a while, Geoffrey heard him say, "Please don't... sir, if possible, please keep these things well, do not sell them or give them to others, thank you very much, I will redeem them at three times the price."

"What are you talking about," Geoffrey glanced at him sideways, "Templars have no private property. The Prince's donation will only be handed over to the Order by me, and then the Order will use these things to relieve the poor pilgrims..."

"If a Templar from a hundred years ago said this, I would believe it. Now, well..." Cesar said bluntly, after all, Geoffrey was not a very law-abiding fellow, "Then relieve me. I am a slave of the Isaac people, a lowly little attendant. Even if I have become a squire now, I don't have much savings in my hands...

Like me, a weak, pitiful, helpless, but... but also a very pious Christian, when you see me, shouldn't you give me some alms?

I don't want much, just give me what Baldwin gave you."

He spoke very fast, but Geoffrey could hear every word clearly. The Templar let out an extremely long and meaningless sigh—like a special program for some dwarf or clown performance—they could emit quite indecent and foul-smelling gas for a long time.

But in any case, with Geoffrey by his side, many of the excuses and tools Cesar had prepared could be shelved.

After several days of trekking, when they arrived at the sphere of influence of Tortosa Castle, they met a few sergeants who were scouting around—hoping they were not here to commit arson—they first saw the flag of the Templar Order, and then saw the flag of Amalric I. While vigilant, they could not help but feel worried.

After all, the Templar Order of Al-Salu had said before that they would stand in a position of absolute neutrality—seeing both flags at the same time, the Templar members of Tortosa Castle could not help but worry that the Grand Master had finally changed his mind and wanted to crusade against them together with the King.

They quickly brought Geoffrey and his party back. Although it was said that the ten-year-old child behind Geoffrey was the envoy of Amalric I, they only thought this was a way of humiliation that took a different path.

Also because of Geoffrey, they were able to meet the Commander of the Templar Order in Tortosa, which was that Walter de Mesnil, who was arrogant, rude, irritable, and unruly in Geoffrey's mouth, as well as several other Marshals—Marshal was a position in the Templar Order, generally commanding ten Templars.

Walter did not even look at Cesar, ordering people to directly take a chair for Geoffrey. Geoffrey reminded him that there was also an envoy of Amalric I here. The other party was suddenly furious and shouted loudly.

"I treat you as my brother, but you collude with others to humiliate me. Whether you are blinded by the light of gold or bewitched by the promise of vanity, I will strip the surcoat off your body, drive you out of the castle, and then stuff this shameless dwarf into the basket of a trebuchet and throw him directly into Amalric I's camp!"

For this situation, both Geoffrey and Cesar had expected it. Geoffrey did not show a look of panic, but instead said calmly, "You treat me as a brother, and I of course treat you as a brother, Walter, but please look at the past feelings and listen to me finish—

The headquarters of the Order in Al-Salu has decided not to intervene in the matter between you and Amalric I. And I came here today, indeed not having received the Order's command, entirely out of my own will.

Please do not underestimate this envoy. Although the gem is small, its light is vast, surpassing a pile of stubborn stones.

Even if you are far away in Tortosa, you should have heard the name of the Little Saint. Not to mention that he has already made a vow before God with Prince Baldwin to be each other's guarantee. This is the same as us swearing before God to be truly loving brothers, and there is no false component.

He has not become a knight because he is limited by age, not because he has flaws in strength or character. I can testify for him, Walter, he is qualified to talk to you face to face."

Walter hesitated for a moment. It was clear that he had heard of the name of the Little Saint, but he did not know that the son of Amalric I had made a vow with this child. What did this mean? This meant that like the Castilian knight Rodrigo, he could force Baldwin to swear an oath, or swear an oath on Baldwin's behalf, and require the latter to abide by this vow when necessary.

This might include a permanent territory, a war, or even interference in the choice of heir, or even the ownership of the Holy Land that the church dreamed of.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 63 =====