The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 33

[33. Sultan’s Resolve]

-Rum Sultanate-

This was the Rum Sultanate, an Islamic nation bordering the Eastern Roman Empire.

“…Sultan, all Crusader forces have gathered in the Eastern Roman Empire.”

A massive force of heretical Christians, who believed in Jesus as the Son of God, not just a prophet, had set up camp in the Eastern Roman Empire.

Damn it, those cursed Crusaders!

Thanks to the news of this Crusade,

the Rum Sultanate was now facing a major dilemma.

Something had gone wrong.

And for good reason.

In the original timeline, after the death of Manuel I, the Eastern Roman Empire would have experienced the successful rebellion of Andronikos Komnenos, leading to a period of chaos with a succession of incompetent emperors.

Sultan Kilij Arslan II was supposed to be comfortably expanding the territory of the Rum Sultanate thanks to that.

But due to the butterfly effect of Safe Zone, the Sultan was now in a state of ‘extreme anxiety.’

The Crusaders were truly a fearsome enemy.

Not like the opportunistic thugs from noble families during the First Crusade, but the real deal, seriously prepared.

“The current situation is like the Prophet Muhammad surrounded by desert tribes.”

That’s how dire the situation was.

Look at what those treacherous Franks (Europeans) were doing.

The Eastern Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Western Europeans.

Those damned heretics, for whom fighting amongst themselves was a ‘tradition’.

Instead of fighting, they were uniting under the banner of ‘Jesus’.

Their rulers were directly summoning skilled lords.

With a massive Crusade, they were now threatening his Sultanate in the Anatolian region.

Even the symbolic revocation of mutual excommunication between the Eastern and Western Churches was infuriating.

The Eastern Roman Empire had joined the Crusade, advocating for ‘the recovery of lost lands.’

Good heavens.

Was Allah giving them a new trial?

Many still couldn’t accept the reality.

Many were sighing.

But the realistic people of the Rum Sultanate, well aware that doing nothing would change nothing, gathered again under the crescent flag symbolizing Islam to resolve this crisis.

“The worst-case scenario has arrived. It’s even worse than the expedition of the late Roman Emperor Manuel I!”

Kilij Arslan II, the Sultan (Islamic ruler) of the Rum Sultanate,

spoke to the Beys (commanders) of the Sultanate, who held ranks equivalent to high-ranking officers in Europe.

The Sultan’s assessment of the situation was so grim that,

“…”

Everyone fell silent.

“This Crusade is different from the past ones.”

Frankly, the Second Crusade was a joke for the Islamic forces.

It was nothing more than a bumbling performance by those heretical (Christian) friends.

‘But now it’s different.’

The Beys’ hardened faces showed that things were different now.

King Henry II of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who wielded considerable influence in the West.

And Alexios II, the young emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, who had maintained Manuel I’s territory.

Three emperor-level rulers were participating in this Crusade.

Therefore,

the time for ‘forgiveness and reconciliation’ had come for the Rum Sultanate.

Even in the Islamic world, where people lived, wouldn’t there be internal strife?

There were geographical, religious, and political differences within Islam.

And that caused many disruptions in national affairs.

But.

Now that the cruel Crusaders were wielding their greatswords, it was time for everyone who believed that Muhammad was the last prophet to unite.

Those abominable heretics had raised an army to target Muhammad’s holy sites.

They couldn’t just stand by and watch.

“I will be Allah’s shield, defending against those abominable heretics on the front lines. And I will cooperate with Saladin to buy time. Meanwhile, we must await aid from the Caliph.”

The Sultan, making such significant remarks,

“Allahu Akbar!”

Led the cry to Allah.

-Allahu Akbar!

The other commanders also steeled themselves.

In the original history, the Sultan of the Rum Sultanate, who would have been the ‘sword’ of Islam,

and the bully of the weakened Eastern Roman Empire,

now had to change his role and become the shield of Islam.

**

-Eastern Roman Empire-

The old Holy Roman Emperor (a term used in the 21st century) was approaching me slowly and said.

“Prince John, I never thought I would see such a renowned figure like you in person.”

“It is an honor to meet Your Majesty.”

I greeted Emperor Frederick politely,

but the reaction was more intense than I expected.

“Haha. John Plantagenet, you are the Roland of this era.”

Oh dear. Roland!

Roland was a knight from the legend of Charlemagne’s Twelve Paladins [legendary companions of Charlemagne].

A brave knight who fought valiantly against the Islamic forces until the end and died a glorious death due to the betrayal of his stepfather, Ganelon.

‘What is this? Are they telling me to fight the Islamic forces and die?’

Moreover, Henry and Geoffrey, my brothers behind me, were staring at me with menacing eyes.

Could this be a check on me?

My mind became complicated,

but Emperor Frederick continued to speak.

“Thanks to you, the Saracens (Middle Easterners) are very nervous.”

What could I have done to make the Islamic friends nervous?

“It is because you have changed the history of Europe.”

“That is absolutely not true.”

How could I, who only wished for my safety, change history?

That’s a misunderstanding!

But Emperor Frederick, who could never know my heart, said with a wrinkled face.

“You are humble compared to what you have achieved.”

‘What’s with this old man?’ I thought,

but the atmosphere was so good that I didn’t want to ruin it.

‘By the way, I thought my father and that old Emperor Frederick would be grabbing each other’s collars over the command, but it feels like things have been sorted out?’

It was unexpected.

There was no ugly atmosphere of such a large-scale alliance.

At least, there was no sign of them fighting over command, supplies, or merit.

Anyway, after greeting the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, I went to meet my father,

and King Béla III of Hungary, wearing the Hungarian crown,

blocked my path.

“Are you John?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“A Christian knight who has achieved many feats at a young age, John, a man who has accomplished deeds worthy of the name John (Yohannes).”

“It is only because there were people who looked favorably upon me.”

Honestly, it was because I was lucky,

but I knew very well that luck was accompanied by connections.

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes, I do.”

“There will be a time to talk more when we become closer, so go to your family now, John.”

Anyway, I parted ways with the King of Hungary.

I was able to reunite with my family after a long time.

“It’s been a while, everyone.”

The first to greet me was, of course, my father.

“Our youngest is here, you must have suffered a lot. I heard you swept away the pirates properly?”

I really suffered a lot because of those damned Islamic pirates!

“Father, it’s been a while.”

Anyway, I met my father, Henry II, whom I had missed a little.

My father started with the words ‘Oh, my baby’ and tormented me for 30 minutes.

Then came my scary brothers.

“Have you come, youngest?”

“John, our Angevin family has become a glorious family thanks to you.”

“It was just luck.”

‘Among those two conceited brothers, is there a brother who sold my information and tried to drown me at sea?’

Brother Richard didn’t need to drown me, so there’s a possibility that the culprit is among them, but I decided to forget it for now.

After spending time with my brothers and father, I met another welcome person.

“It is truly an honor to meet the monarch of France whom I respect.”

Following Henry and Geoffrey, Philip II was a strong suspect as the culprit who sold information to the Islamic forces.

“Are those words sincere?”

“Yes, they are sincere.”

Honestly, I had been criticizing Philip II because we were bound to be politically opposed.

But after listening to Mother Eleanor’s lectures on the Dark Ages,

I didn’t just hate Philip, no, King Philip.

If he had leaked my destination to the Islamic forces, I could take revenge later.

But for now, aren’t we fellow Crusaders?

**

Finally.

The forces of the East and West gathered in one place.

I saw the great army of hundreds of thousands and was surprised in many ways.

The ‘Third Crusade’ that Safe Zone was witnessing was probably the most splendid of all the Crusades.

One of the people representing them was Emperor Frederick of the Holy Roman Empire, who opened his mouth solemnly.

“It does not matter who is the true Rome. What is important to us is the protection of the Holy Land as ‘Christians.’ And sending those heretics to hell.”

“…”

The atmosphere became solemn.

That meant as the successor of the Western Roman Empire and the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

Instead of fighting with the Eastern Roman Emperor over the reason for being the successor of Rome,

it meant that we should be tearing the necks of those heretics.

Moreover,

Emperor Frederick argued for the necessity of the Crusade with very, very practical reasons.

“If we lose the stronghold of Jerusalem to the Islamic forces as it is, we Christians will lose all influence in the Middle East. To prevent that, Christians must unite.”

Christians who sympathized with those words!

Faith?

Of course, it is important.

In the first place, wasn’t the justification for the First Crusade 90 years ago because the Islamic guys bothered the pilgrims visiting Jerusalem?

“I don’t know about the Eastern Empire, but we in the West have no intention of excessively expanding the Crusade.”

The Emperor with the red beard finished speaking.

“We just need to take away the territories from the heretics that our loyal vassals will be satisfied with.”

**

-Kingdom of Jerusalem-

In the Eastern Roman Empire, the Crusaders were cheering.

In the Rum Sultanate, they were shouting for the victory of the Islamic army.

At that time, when each force was working hard,

in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the great purge and post-mortem recovery were all over.

King Baldwin IV of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, who had finished the internal reorganization,

had regained his composure.

Soon after, all the commanders of the Kingdom of Jerusalem were summoned.

Baldwin IV shouted loudly in front of the commanders wearing armor.

“The participation of the Eastern Roman Empire, which has successfully resolved the rebellion, has changed everything.”

Many people agreed with those words.

The declaration of the Third Crusade had changed everything.

Of course, it was possible because various interests were properly aligned.

Christians in the East and West had started talking again.

Christians had united their strength.

Of course, there was a possibility that conflicts would arise at any time like the previous Crusades.

Anyway, they decided to gather strength based on a huge force.

The Crusade command ‘instructed’ the Kingdom of Jerusalem to properly prevent Saladin’s army from joining the Rum Sultanate.

Now was the time.

It was time for the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem to move.

“What we have to do is very simple.”

“Isn’t it to stop Saladin by any means possible?”

Baldwin IV, hearing the words of his vassal, said.

“Not just stop him, but torment them miserably.”

With those words, the monarch of the Kingdom of Jerusalem devised a major strategy to prepare for the Islamic army led by ‘Saladin.’

Baldwin IV’s grand strategy was simple.

Although Saladin, who had captured Aleppo, had virtually destroyed them,

the remnants of the Zengid dynasty [a former ruling dynasty in parts of Syria and Iraq], who were still hiding somewhere and dreaming of revenge on Saladin, the culprit of their destruction, and countless Islamic lords who were also Muslims but were wary of Saladin, would be used.

He would carry out a diplomatic campaign to embarrass Saladin by leveraging their interests.

At the same time, he would launch a major offensive with the troops he had accumulated to take away the power of Saladin and his Ayyub Sultanate, which threatened the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Baldwin IV, mentioning his plan, turned his gaze to Richard and said.

“What do you think if we set up the board like this?”

Then. Richard replied to Baldwin IV’s words.

“Everything Your Majesty has planned is excellent, but Saladin is by no means an easy Saracen. But I, Richard, have a hidden card that Saladin would never expect.”

“What is it?”

At Baldwin IV’s question, Richard smiled and said.

“It’s my youngest brother, John.”

Richard knew his youngest brother very well.

John, who could be Safe or Dangerous depending on how he was used.

John, who receives attention