Chapter 83: To Egypt! (3)

The precious map was laid out on the center of the table, which was formed by pushing several tables together. It was likely made from the hide of a single sturdy calf, without any visible seams or glue marks. When Heraclius leaned over to examine it after washing his hands and changing his outer robe at Baldwin's service, Cesar and Baldwin could also see the map clearly.

In the other world, there were few people who could not read a map, save for those elderly who had not received compulsory education; anyone who had taken a geography class knew how to distinguish location, direction, and elevation.

But maps in this time and place were more like crude landscape paintings. The mapmaker would "faithfully" draw houses, castles, mountains, forests, and rivers; one would find it difficult even to distinguish roads, and they lacked contour lines, only roughly distinguishing elevation by the size of buildings or terrain.

Some mapmakers would even draw animals and human figures...

Outside these maps, they would inevitably draw beautiful patterns, depicting saints and angels to pray for their protection. The indicator for cardinal directions was a sphere, on the right side of which was drawn the scene of Adam and Eve being driven out of the Garden of Eden, as Eden was at the far east. Opposite it, on the west side, were the Pillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar.

The central position was occupied by Shengcheng, for to these people, no place was more qualified to be the center of the world than the Holy City.

This map was no exception, and it used patterns in addition to text to identify locations. Fustat, on the map, was a tent, because in the language of the Saracens, the name originally meant "tent." Surrounding the tent were several buildings, mountains, and a conspicuous great river. It was only because this river occupied such a large space that one could be certain it was the Niluohe.

This giant city of Fustat stood right against the wide and mighty river. When the Saracens built it, they cleverly placed one section of the city wall facing the turbulent river and constructed it as steep and straight as a cliff. If anyone wanted to attack from this side, there was simply no place to stand.

Perhaps you might say, what if the enemy used a fleet? Siege engines like ballistae could likewise be fixed onto ships. Thus, the Saracens established an arrow tower on the opposite bank, on Taibaliehu.

This arrow tower bore two tasks: one was for observation and warning, and the other was to raise iron chains hung between the tower and the city wall to block enemy ships invading from the mouth of the Niluohe from entering this narrow zone.

After the Zengi commander Shirkuh arrived here, he personally oversaw the construction of the fortress on Taibaliehu. This castle surrounded the original arrow tower, and then they used iron chains to raise a drawbridge—this was at a high level. At a lower level, they used connected ships as a bridge to cross the river.

What made Amalric I angry was clearly not this simple bridge that could be burned with a single fire. On the map, there were two fresh, ink-stained scratches. "Who was the merchant responsible for scouting this area?" Amalric I roared. "If they dare to come and claim their reward again, seize them immediately, confiscate all their property, and throw them all into the Niluohe without leaving a single one!"

"Let us discuss this later," Heraclius interrupted him, as only he dared to do. He examined the location of the new bridge carefully. "The part between Taibaliehu and Fustat is indeed too narrow and straight. If they wanted to hide it from others' eyes, it was not impossible. After all, merchants could not enter Taibaliehu, nor could they stand under the walls of Fustat to look down."

"Has it been confirmed to be a stone bridge?"

"Our men saw cavalry galloping on it," Bohemond answered Heraclius's question. Heraclius's face darkened instantly; it was no wonder Amalric I was so distraught.

Their original plan was to attack the Wangzhe Sect and the Shengli Sect of Fustat mainly. The third gate—the Market Gate—faced the mouth of the Niluohe. According to the agreement, once the siege began, the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I would send his navy upstream along the Niluohe to exert another pressure on Fustat.

So, what did the sudden appearance of an island connected to Fustat mean? It meant Fustat had gained an impregnable satellite city. Once war broke out, they would not only have to be wary of the other two gates of Fustat but also be careful of the Saracens moving from the great city onto the island and then using the bridge to attack the siege forces.

Furthermore, the west side of this island faced the vast Niluohe. Egyptian cities were strung out along the Niluohe; other cities might not be as wealthy as those in the Niluohe Delta, but providing some support to Fustat was still possible. In other words, the nightmare of the besieger—the inability to cut off the supplies within the city—was about to descend.

But the fact remained, and they could only decide now whether to attack Taibaliehu first, or Fustat, or both.

The problem was that not everyone was willing to attack Taibaliehu. Taibaliehu was a true military fortress, meaning there was little of value inside. Moreover, since the Saracens had built a fortress and high towers on it, it could not be taken easily. Not to mention, before attacking the castle, they would have to face one or two bridges.

What was the most famous battle in the history of Xipo? Undoubtedly, the Battle of Thermopylae. In that battle, the Spartan King Leonidas I led three hundred elite Spartan warriors and a portion of the Greek city-state coalition to resist the invasion of the Persian Emperor Xerxes I at Thermopylae, repelling tens of thousands of enemy attacks four times and delaying them for three full days—though the reason was actually because the Greek city-states were holding the Olympic Games... we need not dwell on that.

But from this battle, one could see how much of an advantage the side occupying the terrain could have, especially with bridges, which were even more dangerous and cruel than narrow mountain paths.

First, to pass through these narrow bridges, it was impossible for many people to cross, horses could not gallop, and even spears would be hindered. The knights' advantage here was almost non-existent.

Second, if fighting on a plain, even if they fell from their horses, knights could leap up and continue fighting, but if they fell into the water, although chainmail was not very heavy, it weighed about sixty pounds, plus the plates, surcoat, and even the best swimmers among the knights might not be able to float.

Finally, the enemy would certainly build arrow towers on both sides of the bridge, even if only wooden ones would suffice. They would shoot arrows from above, and the knights would have to advance slowly through a rain of arrows for several hundred feet.

"We could burn them first."

"That means we need to fight the defenders of Taibaliehu first. They can rush out from the castle at any time, and there are also the defenders within Fustat. The Wangzhe Sect is not far from Taibaliehu."

So the problem returned to the start: they must attack both places simultaneously, otherwise Taibaliehu, connected to Fustat, could stab them in the back at any time. Likewise, if they attacked Taibaliehu and ignored Fustat, Fustat would become a threat to them!

And just as people were hesitant, Amalric I made a decision. Their army would be divided into two forces: one would attack Fustat according to the original plan, while the other would attack Taibaliehu. And he generously took on this difficult problem; this heavy responsibility would be borne by him, the commander of the Crusaders and the Lord of the Holy Land. Cesar could clearly see the faces of several lords relax significantly.

After all, these people brought their own knights. They came to the Holy Land for some noble reasons, as they told others, but in fact, everyone knew they were willing to come here and follow Amalric I's arrangements for their own honor and tangible interests.

Fustat had been managed by the Saracens for seven hundred years. Who didn't know that the heathens habitually used gold and jewels to decorate their palaces and temples? The Caliph's purple robes were piled high in cedar-wood chests and rooms, and armor and weapons were piled like mountains.

In Bilibaisi, they had already received their first return. With this return alone, their trip was not a loss.

But if they could reduce the loss of knights, who wouldn't be willing? When they returned, they would still have to face the greedy Church, Amalric I, and other lords. To use a harsh metaphor, they were like beasts of prey hunting outside; on one hand, they had to satisfy their hunger, and on the other, they could not get hurt (reducing their own combat power), otherwise, other beasts would swarm in to tear them apart.

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Amalric I made the sacrifice, and everyone was satisfied and dispersed. Before this, they re-confirmed everyone's positions: who was in front, who was behind, who was on the perimeter, who was inside, how to divide into several teams, who was in charge of which positions, who was responsible for the reserves, who managed the camps and logistics, as well as the hired soldiers and laborers... and the noblewomen and women accompanying the army, etc...

This kind of thing was always the most tedious but also the most important, because it was not uncommon for allies to turn and leave mercilessly due to disagreements on the battlefield. Fortunately, Amalric I still had Heraclius by his side.

What else could Heraclius do? He had known this day would come. In addition to Amalric I's affairs, he was also responsible for the arrangement of various sacraments, such as fasting, holy processions, litanies, sermons, etc. These sacraments had to be performed not only in Bilibaisi but also outside the walls of Fustat.

Not only that, he had to be careful; there were always people with ulterior motives who would sabotage these ceremonies and then shift the blame onto the targets they wanted to poison.

His worries were not superfluous. Cesar discovered hallucinogenic herbs in some spices; he found wax-sealed cracks on the holy relics they were ordered to carry during the procession; the horses Baldwin rode during the procession were not as healthy as they appeared... Cesar even discovered that the wine (Holy Blood) to be distributed to the crowd actually contained mercury...

The people behind these acts could be Saracens, or they could be Christians like them. Heraclius had told them bluntly: don't think that just because Baldwin had received God's blessing, everything would be fine, even if his leprosy was cured, it would be the same.

Before Baldwin had his own children, everything was in vain—he could not say how Princess Sibylla was, but it was an indisputable fact that marrying the princess was equivalent to having a kingdom.

And now, everything Amalric I was doing, he didn't know if it was Baldwin's blessing or a death warrant.

After completing the sacraments and seeking God's protection and grace, the great army finally marched majestically toward Fustat.

Whether standing from the perspective of the Saracens or the Christians, this great army was extremely majestic, orderly, and pious. The monks held up holy icons and crosses, and the knights raised their spears, like thorns rising from the ground, surrounding those holy faces.

These young men, possessing strength, faith, and talent for warfare, were all dressed like flowers or birds. They might not be able to wear gilded or silver-plated chainmail like Amalric I and the lords, but they could inlay jewels and pearls on their helmets or hairnets. The surcoats on their bodies and the shields in their hands were bright in color, and the horse trappings were no less inferior.

The raised spears had their tips polished until they shone, reflecting the sunlight like flames. Those who had become knights and possessed banners tied their flags to their spears, and the golden silk ropes and silver tassels fluttered in the wind.

By the time they reached outside Fustat, some barracks and tents had already been set up. The ancient Romans often built their camps very sturdily to survive the winters that were very cruel to them. But in Fustat, Amalric I was not worried; even in the coldest month of January, the temperature here was at most just uncomfortable. Moreover, his plan was to capture Fustat within three months.

"I hope to hold Baldwin's coming-of-age ceremony in Fustat," he said to Heraclius.

From this sentence, one could see Amalric I's ambition. This was also a tradition inherited from the ancient Romans: when a person conquered a new place, they had the right to use the name of that place as part of their surname.

Messengers soon came from within Fustat, but with things having developed to this point, everyone knew that Amalric I would not let it go this time. It was just a procedural formality. Amalric I asked about the messenger's identity and found it amusing that he was only a scribe on the periphery of the court. He was trembling with fear, stuttering, thinking he would be dragged out and executed.

"You can go back and tell Shawar," Amalric I said with a smile, "he always makes me feel happy."

He did not make things difficult for the messenger and let him go back. When the messenger returned to Fustat, he saw many Christian knights running around in front of the walls of Fustat, not fearing the ballistae set up on the walls at all. Among them, two young men who had not yet cut off their swallow-tails (the mark of a knight) were the most eye-catching. One wore gilded chainmail and the other wore silver-plated chainmail, shining brightly in the sun.

Perhaps this behavior aroused the dissatisfaction of some Saracen who also possessed courage and self-esteem. He shot an arrow downward, aiming at the young man in gilded chainmail, but the latter, whether out of boldness or negligence, actually reined in his horse and remained motionless.

Only when the arrow reached in front of him did he lightly wave the spear that had appeared in his hand at some point, brushing them away like a few annoying flies.

The arrows fell to the ground, and the knights following them cheered in unison.

And the other side seemed unsatisfied. Just when the guards on the wall, out of anger, actually used a ballista, he pulled the young novice knight in silver-plated chainmail in front of him and arrogantly told him to turn his back to the wall.

The other side seemed to make a helpless gesture, and that huge ballista bolt, capable of piercing a wild boar, whistled over. In an instant, it crossed a distance of several hundred feet and hit his back!

At this moment, both the Saracens and the Christians were cheering, but the next moment, the Saracens discovered that the bolt had not hit him; instead, he reached back and firmly caught it in his hand.

He showed the bolt to his friend and then threw it casually onto the ground.

The cheering on the wall vanished instantly.

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"All of you, pray through the night!" Heraclius said.

(End of chapter)