Chapter 87: Siege! (7)

Baldwin raised his hand and slapped his forehead with a "pop." Richard deserved the credit for making a youth who was at an age that should be carefree, and who almost wouldn't have any economic or status constraints, make such a gesture.

They were just exhausted, not fatally wounded. So after being received, they just slept well for a whole night and received treatment from the clerics, and immediately became lively again.

And Cesar woke up half a day later than them, but in just this half day, Richard made Baldwin sincerely feel that he didn't know how many sins his father, Henry II, had committed to have such a son—no, it should be said that his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was equally sinful.

Although from our perspective, Richard loved his mother very much, but in any case, Baldwin didn't expect that Richard had mentioned twice about arranging a marriage for Cesar, and the one he was referring to was his mother.

"Eleanor?" When Baldwin heard this name, he couldn't help but widen his eyes. Then he thought this might be Richard's sister, the Duchess of Aquitaine and Henry II's second-to-last daughter, Eleanor, who shared the same name as her mother and was born in '62. Calculating this way, the age was quite suitable.

"But my sister doesn't have a fief," Richard said honestly. "I'm talking about Eleanor of Aquitaine, my mother."

Baldwin couldn't even find words to answer him for a moment. He was speechless, and only after a while did he say, "Are you trying to petition the Pope to annul the marriage between your mother and your father, Henry II?"

This was a major event, involving not only the ownership of the vast Aquitaine but also the legitimacy of the several children Eleanor had given birth to after marrying Henry II. Once the marriage was considered invalid, these children, along with Richard, would all become bastards.

"That's not what I meant."

"You just said..."

"My father is already very old; he won't live for many more years."

"This isn't a question of whether he can live or not," Baldwin shouted loudly.

Even if Henry II passed away, as his widow, the Queen of England, and the Duchess of Aquitaine, she couldn't possibly entrust herself to an ordinary young knight.

Perhaps Constance of Antioch (Bohemond's mother) could do so, but that was because the several Holy Kingdoms in the Holy Land had their own particularities. Even so, after Bohemond came of age, Constance still lost the support of the knights, lost the power in her hands, and was exiled by her own son to a remote monastery, spending the rest of her life in loneliness.

If Cesar were his true brother, perhaps there would be a slight possibility. After all, there was a hellish kinship between him and Richard—the relationship was quite close.

His grandfather, Fulk V, had a son from a previous marriage, who was Henry II's father, Geoffrey, nicknamed "the Handsome" or "Plantagenet." He obtained the throne of England through marriage, and his eldest son, "Shortmantle" Henry II, was Richard's father. That is to say, they had a common ancestor, and Baldwin was actually Richard's cousin-uncle...

But the problem was, Cesar was not. His starting point was far lower than most knights. To marry a great lord like Eleanor, unless he could build a kingdom for himself with the sword in his hand after Baldwin ascended the throne.

Even so, because it involved the ownership of Aquitaine, both the English and the French would attack this lucky fellow together.

To explain simply, how large was the fief of Aquitaine? One-third of France, far exceeding the direct territory of the current King of France, Louis VII. And Eleanor had already married Henry II and had several children with him. Richard had only recently been confirmed as Duke of Aquitaine.

That is to say, after Eleanor passed away, he would become the master of this fief. What was going on with a new husband for Eleanor suddenly jumping out?

In the face of such a critical issue, the age gap between Eleanor and Cesar wasn't a big problem anymore.

Speaking from the heart, if Cesar could truly obtain Aquitaine through this marriage, Baldwin would really strongly support it, but it was a pity that he couldn't.

"Then what will you do?"

"I have always wanted to give up the fief and join a knightly order. Both the Templars and the Hospitallers are fine, or your father's Order of the Holy Sepulchre," Richard said righteously.

"I would rather be a knight than a king. I would rather fight for Christ than for my father or a monarch. I want to accomplish this sacred and great cause, and would rather die on the battlefield like King Arthur than on a bed that only mediocre people would like."

He felt his idea was very good. "When my father dies, my elder brother will inherit his kingdom, and my mother—she needs a young, strong, loyal, and brave knight to protect her."

He waved his hand. "The reason I am willing to be the Duke of Aquitaine is just to help my mother keep her fief. My father has always been eyeing her dowry, ready to move."

"And Cesar is so young," he said bluntly. "If he marries my mother, he will have to rely more on my mother's past prestige and the respect people have for her."

"He has to establish his own authority, and he still has to wait for my mother to pass away. By then, he should have established a solid relationship with the nobles and people of Aquitaine and can peacefully complete the transfer of power."

"I don't have to worry about my mother, sisters, and brothers anymore. And Cesar is so beautiful. Even if he doesn't have children with my mother, just admiring him every day would be enough to make my mother feel happy and radiant for the rest of her life."

Baldwin... Baldwin was already numb.

He had to warn Richard that if he dared to tell this idea to anyone other than him, he would immediately go to see Amalric I, have him tied up immediately, put on a ship to Rafah or Yafa, and send him all the way back to London to let his father deal with him.

Richard could only close his mouth sullenly. "This matter is entirely feasible," he muttered. "Don't you believe in your brother? And if he encounters danger in Aquitaine, I will also lead an army to help him."

Before walking into the tent, he was still trying his best to persuade Baldwin and finally exposed his shameful true intention.

He meant that after this battle ended, there shouldn't be any big battles here. Cesar staying here, wasting his youth in vain, wasn't it a pity?

He could take Cesar back to London or Aquitaine first. His mother had already been imprisoned by their father, but it didn't matter. He believed that with him and Cesar, they would soon gather an army.

Or he could find a way to get help from Louis VII. Anyway, this guy had always been thinking about causing some trouble for his father. As long as he hid his final intention, maybe things would go unexpectedly smoothly?

As for when to return Cesar? Of course, it would be the next Crusade. By then, he and Cesar would come to Arasalu together, with their army.

"And then go back together after the fight, right?" Baldwin couldn't help but mock him.

"If I can win a fief, I will stay here," Richard said with expectation. "Cesar can go back and wait for the next Crusade to meet us again. How good that would be, Baldwin! Maybe in the future, we can become Saint Baldwin, Saint Richard, and Saint Cesar!"

What else could Baldwin, who had suffered such a heavy blow, do?

But out of a son's consideration for his father, he didn't repeat this wild theory to Amalric I. Amalric I still wishfully thought that having a junior like Richard, who was heroic and noble, was truly a happy thing.

He praised Richard's courage and piety and thanked him for his help to Baldwin, but also implicitly suggested that he shouldn't make his father and mother worry like that. He said he had already written to Henry II, highly praising him for having such an outstanding son, and on his behalf, asked him to forgive Richard for his previous offense.

Whether Richard wanted this forgiveness was another matter. He performed quite elegantly, calmly, humbly, and restrainedly in front of Amalric I. At least he didn't mention the idea of wanting to marry his old mother, Eleanor, to Cesar.

Amalric I had vaguely heard that he intended to seek a marriage for Cesar, but didn't take it to heart. After all, ever since Cesar had a status, there were many people who wanted to play matchmaker, it was just that some asked Baldwin and some asked him.

Any normal person would only think Richard was talking about one of his mother's maids, the second daughter of a low-level noble, or the youngest daughter. Amalric I didn't even think of Richard's own sisters. How could that be?

In Amalric I's view, Cesar's future wife should be a woman from a remote fief in Frank, far from Arasalu, so that he wouldn't have more power and supporters in the Holy Land. The surname and family status didn't matter, but she must be wealthy, very wealthy—to ensure that when Cesar obtained a fief and built it up, he wouldn't have to worry about being strapped for cash.

He knew Baldwin's temperament. He would stubbornly refuse those who had abandoned him in the past, but if a friend he recognized encountered trouble, he would definitely help with all his might without hesitation.

Heraclius had never thought about it either. His expectations for Cesar's future were similar to Amalric I's, but the focus was on the upper echelons of the knightly orders and nearby vassals. The former might not care much about Cesar's past, while the latter could bring Cesar a fixed dowry, which was a fief.

Hearing Richard's words, Heraclius even laughed. He didn't think Richard could really bring Cesar a good marriage, but who was Richard?

Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou.

Although Baldwin had received God's blessing and didn't need to worry about anyone talking about his illness when he ascended the throne in the future, if he really couldn't live to be thirty, what would Cesar do? Although he was already the Patriarch of Arasalu, he knew very well that his status came from Amalric I—just as Cesar's status came from Baldwin. Once these two supports were lost, their enemies would impatiently extend their claws and fangs.

Unless they could lay an unshakable foundation before then, but, it was too difficult.

But if Cesar could gain Richard's favor, he believed Cesar could also find a place in the court of Aquitaine. And thirty was the best age for knights—young, strong, and experienced. Even he had a way out. Although Arasalu was sacred, it probably couldn't compare to the sunny south of Frank—in terms of retirement.

Before Richard said his true name, Cesar stood up from the small couch. His clothes had also been changed by the clerics, and his body had been wiped. He tried to feel it; the previous soreness, pain, and exhaustion seemed as if they had never existed. He bowed to Richard again and accepted Richard's gift—Richard directly took off the gold cross and hung it around his neck.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Not long, it's dusk of the second day," Baldwin said. "We won a complete victory." Speaking of this, even he couldn't help but be a little excited. "Now Rawda Island belongs to us. It's a pity that the Saracens in Fustat saw that things couldn't be saved, so they immediately burned the suspension bridge and the wooden bridge below—"

"Everything you said was right," Richard added. "At that time, we had already rushed to the highest point of the fortress, and there were too many enemies, so we didn't see it—the Saracens did prepare some ships upstream. The second batch of knights rushing onto the bridge was sniped by them, but someone remembered your reminder, and the knights were always on guard, so they didn't suffer any losses."

"How are our people?"

Mentioning this, Baldwin was even more joyful. "No deaths. Even the two people who fell off the bridge only broke a few ribs. Later, when fighting in the fortress, because we intercepted the Saracen reinforcements from the suspension bridge, and my father's knights blocked the Saracens from the wooden bridge on the right side of the fortress, although they fought a bit difficultly, it wasn't too bad."

"And the King's side..."

"The King's Gate side—and the Victory Gate side, neither made much progress," Richard said. Although he didn't point it out explicitly, one could see from his face that the battle situation at Fustat wasn't going well. "There are too many idiots, and Fustat is indeed a big city... Fortunately, we won here."

Otherwise, being frustrated repeatedly from the beginning would easily make people feel fearful and want to retreat. Amalric I also knew very well that if he relied only on his own army and knights, he couldn't complete the encirclement of Fustat at all.

"My lord!"

Just when Richard wanted to complain about something, a messenger suddenly walked in. He held the King's decree in his hand, his expression serious, and conveyed the King's order to Baldwin and Richard.

"There is a Saracen reinforcement coming from Giza, about five hundred people," he handed the decree to Richard. "The King orders you to choose the knights you think are suitable from his reserve force to intercept them."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 88 =====