I Became The King Of Crusaders [EN]: Chapter 152

< 152. King of the Crusades (2) >

“Lord Balian. Are you serious?”

Saladin said, observing the man in front of him as if studying him.

A Frankish knight in a typical square helmet and chainmail.

Balian remained calm even in the heart of the enemy camp.

“You’re asking me not to go to Damietta until the prisoners escape.”

Saladin scoffed.

“I know Christians freely drink, but this is a bit much.”

“If I were drunk, I wouldn’t be asking the Sultan for this favor.”

“Well, if you were truly drunk, you’d have drawn your sword and charged at me, wouldn’t you?”

Saladin chuckled. Balian still stared at him with an indifferent expression.

“Then let’s hear your reasons. Why should I let the Frankish prisoners escape?”

Saladin exchanged glances with his nephew, Taqi ad-Din, who was standing behind him.

“It seems like this is only good for you. How about we formally negotiate a prisoner exchange?”

Saladin asked.

“If you immediately withdraw your fleet from Damietta and tell the prisoners to stop resisting, I’m willing to consider it.”

“That’s impossible. I’m sure the Sultan knows that much.”

“Then I’ll have to go to Damietta myself, drive out your fleet, and behead the prisoners. I’m sure you know that much.”

Saladin shrugged.

“We Muslims don’t massacre prisoners who can’t pay ransom like you do. But if they participated in a rebellion, that’s a different story.”

“…”

Balian slowly opened his mouth.

“Then let me put it this way. If you accept my proposal, the Sultan will also benefit.”

“What exactly are you referring to?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard the news that a considerable amount of gold and silver treasures were leaked from Cairo.”

“…”

Saladin stared at Balian, his mouth shut. A brief silence filled the tent.

“I won’t confirm anything. But let’s say that’s true.”

“Uncle!”

“This is not your concern.”

Saladin held out his hand.

“What does that have to do with releasing the prisoners?”

“The Assassins [a Nizari Ismaili Shia sect] have divided the treasures and are passing through southern Levant [historical geographical area encompassing modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan] via caravans. They’re probably planning to take them to their base in Masyaf.”

“Interesting. And the reason you’re telling me this is…”

“I’ll tell you the location of the caravans carrying the treasures. Then you can recover them through the Bedouin [nomadic Arab] tribes who follow the Sultan.”

“…”

“Consider it the ransom for the prisoners.”

“First, you came with cavalry to stop me, and now you’re offering to return the treasures stolen from Cairo in exchange for me doing nothing. An interesting proposal. I’ll give you that.”

Saladin said with a faint smile. He picked up a glass from the table.

“But isn’t that like a thief offering to compensate with the money he stole?”

“I won’t deny that.”

Balian said.

“But I’m not here to argue right and wrong. The money is already in the hands of the Assassins.”

“Well, if we only argued right and wrong, politics wouldn’t exist in the first place.”

Saladin stroked his beard. He tapped the glass with his other hand.

“You wouldn’t make such a proposal without Baldwin’s permission. Alright, let’s say I accept your proposal.”

Saladin said. He smiled at his nephew, who was frowning.

“It’ll take me at least a few days to send letters to the Bedouin tribes. Even if you tell me the location, there’s no guarantee we’ll catch them. You might be trying to deceive me in the first place.”

Saladin said.

“If the prisoners escape from Damietta in the meantime, I’ll be the only one left holding the bag, won’t I?”

“I understand what you’re saying.”

Balian said.

“If the Sultan accepts my proposal, I and my knights will remain here as hostages.”

“You’re willing to be hostages in place of the prisoners. That’s how much you trust Baldwin?”

Saladin asked.

“It’s probably a plan set up by young Baldwin. A sick King of Jerusalem wouldn’t take such a risk.”

“A king speaks through his actions.”

“…”

Saladin raised his glass and drank.

He said.

“Alright, I’ll give you an answer soon, so wait comfortably for a while. I’ve told my men to treat you as honored guests.”

As Balian left the tent, Taqi ad-Din immediately spoke.

“This is clearly a trick by the Franks, Uncle. You must advance to Damietta immediately.”

“Then we can catch the escaped prisoners. But we’ll lose the gold from Cairo. What Balian said was sincere.”

Saladin said.

“He volunteered to be a hostage himself.”

“But if the prisoners escape like this, the public sentiment in Egypt will rise up.”

“Will it really?”

“Yes?”

“Egypt has been free from Frankish invasions for the past few years. Merchants are receiving Venetian gold, and citizens think of the jihad [holy war] as something happening in the Levant.”

Saladin said.

“But it’s different now. Now that the Frankish fleet has stormed the docks of Damietta, no one will claim they’re friends.”

“Are you saying it’s more beneficial to let the prisoners escape?”

“If they were trying to occupy Damietta, the battle would have already begun.”

Saladin nodded.

“But they only managed to occupy the docks. That means it’s a hastily assembled fleet to rescue the prisoners.”

He added.

“What if we enter Damietta around the time they’re carrying the prisoners away?”

“Then all the citizens of Damietta will think you drove out the fleet, Uncle.”

“Exactly. It’s a bad story for Al-Adil, but all the blame will be directed at him.”

Saladin patted his nephew’s shoulder.

“It seems Egypt will have to be your responsibility again for the time being.”

“I will protect Egypt even if it costs me my life.”

“There’s no need to sacrifice your life. You can always run away if things get bad. I’ve done it many times.”

Saladin burst into laughter. His expression hardened again.

“Baldwin. He’s not an easy opponent after all.”

“But he couldn’t deceive you, Uncle. That’s why he’s trying to make up for his mistakes by taking the Assassins’ money, isn’t he?”

“Every nation and religion is built on stories. Not just Judaism and Christianity, but Islam as well.”

Saladin shook his head.

“It’s rare for a royal family to go to such lengths to save prisoners. Usually, it’s the opposite, isn’t it? Most of them squeeze taxes to pay for their own ransom.”

He continued.

“If it becomes known that Jerusalem made every effort to save the prisoners, more Frankish warriors will fight without risking their lives.”

“Maybe that’s what he was aiming for…”

“That could be it. People like Guy de Lusignan and Reynald of Châtillon are easy to predict. They’re just pigs who move according to their own interests. But something bigger than themselves…”

He muttered.

“Those who fight for a cause are never easy opponents. That’s why we Muslims have lost to the Franks all this time.”

“…”

“From the moment we failed to intervene in the civil war between Guy and Baldwin, we were already trapped.”

Saladin sighed.

“We have to make up for it somehow.”

* * *

“Saladin is not an easy opponent after all.”

I rubbed my eyes. I hadn’t slept properly for days, and my eyelids kept drooping.

In the end, Saladin stopped his march.

By now, the rescued prisoners would have left the port of Damietta.

We managed to solve the problem by going around in circles. Not through fighting, but through negotiation.

Saladin gets back the gold coins that had slipped out of Cairo, and I get the prisoners back.

It was like paying the prisoners’ ransom with Saladin’s money.

‘If you only look at it this far, it seems like there’s no loss…’

I had to mobilize all the spies in Egypt to save the prisoners from the fortress.

Spies are strongest when they’re not exposed.

Now Saladin would have noticed the scale of our intelligence network.

And even the Eastern Roman spies who follow the orders of Constantinople.

‘Still, it’s cheap enough if you think of it as the prisoners’ ransom.’

As I was lost in thought, Theodora said.

“Saladin is probably thinking the same thing as you. In the end, you rescued the prisoners.”

“It was a negotiation that was possible because it was Saladin.”

I said with a smile. If it had been another Muslim leader, they would have likely ignored my proposal.

But Saladin realized the benefits he would gain.

And not only that.

Balian went to Saladin’s camp alone and negotiated.

“It was also Lord Balian who made the negotiations possible.”

“If you hadn’t stepped in, those prisoners would have all been executed. They would have knelt and died alongside the Nubian blacks.”

Theodora grabbed my arm.

“You deserve to be happy.”

“Garnier said this to me.”

I recalled what Garnier had said.

When I asked him why he hadn’t rescued the prisoners sooner, he replied like this.

‘For the Knights Templar [a Catholic military order], being captured by the Saracens [medieval term for Arabs] is a disgrace. Even after returning, they are often labeled as cowards. The same goes for the soldiers.’

Garnier’s voice echoed in my head.

‘Complaints are already coming from the nobles. They say we’re paying too high a price to save cowards who surrendered to the Saracens.’

Theodora frowned after hearing my story.

“But does that mean that kings and lords are not included in those cowards?”

“If it’s a king or a lord…”

“How many lords and kings have been captured by the Saracens and released after paying ransom so far? And what about the high-ranking Knights Templar?”

“That’s true too. Different rules apply to noble blood.”

I chuckled without realizing it.

In the history of the Crusades, it was common for lords and kings to become prisoners.

Right now, Count Raymond and Reynald. The same goes for previous Kings of Jerusalem.

A considerable number of them were released after paying ransom.

Some of them even swore not to fight the Saracens in the future.

‘Of course, they later changed their minds, saying that they didn’t have to keep the oaths they made with the Saracens.’

It’s okay for high-ranking people to be prisoners, but it’s a disgrace for the knights and soldiers who fight on the battlefield.

“If they fought bravely, there’s no reason to be ashamed of being a prisoner. If someone is at fault, it’s the commander who made the wrong strategy.”

I sat down and fell into thought.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem didn’t have a large number of people who could be conscripted.

Even if you include not only Roman Catholics but also Orthodox Christians, it’s still far less than the Islamic forces.

Then we had to treat the people we had well.

‘One for all, all for one.’

It would be impossible to practice this 100% perfectly. But at least we needed to instill that kind of awareness.

This incident could be an opportunity to create that awareness.

“Then, now that things have turned out this way, let’s make a plan to spend some money.”

“Suddenly a plan to spend money?”

“We paid a high price to rescue the prisoners, so we have to get as much as we can out of it.”

I said with a smile.

Fortunately, there were plenty of places to benchmark.

The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, etc.

There are many countries that provide support to soldiers, including veterans affairs.

I stood up from my chair and shook my head.

‘I guess it’s better to leave out the Korean Veterans Affairs Agency.’