The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 67

67. The Rebellion of the Northern Barbarians

[Our glorious Christian army has recaptured Alexandria and reclaimed lost Egypt!]

The news that John and Emperor Friedrich’s Egyptian campaign had captured Alexandria spread throughout the Christian world.

Both the Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholics, and even the Orthodox Christians of Ethiopia, were thrilled. Of course, this was an inevitable reaction.

Iberia and Egypt, once part of the Roman Empire, and even half of Syria, had fallen to Christians in succession.

‘Oh… Lord!’

Christians reclaimed their noble old territories from the wicked Islamic forces.

Some cheered, and some shed tears. Egypt was that kind of place.

At this time, John’s reputation, which was constantly being reevaluated, naturally rose.

He was virtually surrounded and about to be captured by Muslims, but he did not forget his unique chivalry and did not give up.

John, a true romantic who never forgot his pure heart even after being rejected over 200 times.

Eventually, Princess Agnes ended up marrying into the Eastern Roman Empire, but it was John who wished Agnes and Alexios happiness without resentment.

Empress Agnes, in Constantinople, thought about her past with John, which was now a memory.

‘Prince John deserves to be respected.’

She blessed John’s future, who had become another woman’s husband.

When his wife, Empress Agnes, praised Prince John, Alexios II, who was on the front lines, also praised John.

‘The only Western heroes I can think of are Richard and John. They have the ability to do great things for our Eastern Empire.’

He praised Prince John as being on par with Richard, who had defeated Saladin. Of course, Alexios II did not only have pure praise in mind; it was the emperor who ruled the Eastern Roman Empire, which had ignored Westerners decades ago, who directly praised him.

Because of this, the pride of Westerners rose again, and the joy of another Westerner, Henry II, began to soar.

Emperor Alexios II of the Eastern Roman Empire and Henry II were in the same place.

‘Some say that our John is ordinary compared to his other brothers. But if you have eyes and ears, look – is the achievement of our beloved son really ordinary? Ah, I want to give Aquitaine [a region in southwestern France] to John.’

This was, in his own way, high praise, but a dangerous remark for John.

Soon, a mood arose in Europe: ‘Prince John of the West, recognized even by the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, John, a proud son comparable to Aquitaine! This is what a true prince should be like!’

Among the nobles of England, a rising new power these days, those who were not on bad terms with Prince John or were neutral began to say that if they had sons, they should have filial sons like Prince John.

John’s teacher at the Vatican, Pius II, also had a lot to say about Prince John, who could be said to be a major contributor to this victory.

First of all, thanks to John’s words in his childhood, Henry II, who was worried, saved his life, and now…

‘From the time I taught him, Prince John was already a bright person.’

Pius II, the successor of Saint Peter, once called Thomas Becket [Archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in 1170], praised John slightly, but still sincerely rejoiced in John’s victory.

Although he took military action with Emperor Friedrich, it is true that all the decisive variables that led to victory came from John’s hands.

The people of Mortain and Ireland, who had become safe due to John’s rule, rejoiced. Because it was their lord’s business.

‘Our lord is worthy of it.’

‘Oh, Lord, thank you for giving us a merciful and capable lord like Prince John.’

They sincerely liked the great achievement of Lord John, who conquered Cairo-Alexandria, which was virtually everything in Egypt.

But while so many people praised John…

‘Hmm… is that so?’

Intelligent people felt doubtful.

It is true that Prince John has achieved great things as a Crusader knight, but they wondered if it was something to be praised to this extent.

Yes, it was excessive praise.

Queen Eleanor and Duchess Mary of Ireland, who were beaming at Prince John’s great victory, immediately realized that this praise was artificial.

Mary frowned slightly and said.

“Mother, what is this?”

“It seems like work has been done.”

“It’s like it’s meant to provoke our brothers-in-law.”

“Isn’t it just Henry and Geoffrey? How many people are unhappy when others are doing well?”

Humans are jealous creatures. Isn’t the reason why Cain murdered Abel because he was jealous of Abel, who was favored by God?

Moreover, there were countless people who were jealous of Prince John for often achieving unexpected feats.

While mother-in-law Mary and daughter-in-law Mary were worried about John.

Peter, with a desperate face, said to Mary.

“Duchess, something terrible has happened.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Duchess, that’s….”

Following Peter’s words, the expressions of Mary and Queen Eleanor, who was listening to it, began to change dramatically.

Something, something was about to happen.

* * *

—Egypt, Alexandria—

With Alexandria as the end, our Crusaders have completely occupied Egypt, the land of the Middle East where the sun shines.

‘Alexandria was the city to complete the conquest of Egypt.’

Finally.

We obtained Egypt by occupying the last major city in Egypt.

Christians had reclaimed Egypt from the Muslims for the first time in a long time.

“God. Thank you for finally giving us Egypt.”

Friedrich I, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, pretended to kiss the ground with a moved expression, like the Jews who had regained the promised land of Canaan.

We also followed the emperor and pretended to kiss the ground.

This is not an ugly act. In a sense, for Christians, the land of abundance, the land of the black desert, Egypt, has long been desired.

I lowered my body and congratulated Friedrich.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty.”

“Congratulations.”

Our Crusaders’ atmosphere was so good. Egypt is so sweet.

* * *

—Islamic Camp—

There is a saying that you should be careful of falling in moments of glory.

The Islamic army, which had many grievances against Christianity, would never celebrate the Christian victory, but they observed the Christian arrogance.

As expected, when the Caliph realized that Prince John had been deprived of Alexandria by the Egyptian Crusaders led by Emperor Friedrich, he knew that it was finally time to start diplomatic maneuvers.

The target is John, the youngest prince of the English Angevin dynasty.

The Islamic forces already knew that they, divided by the interests of Sunni, Shia, and various sultans, had barely formed a coalition called the Sword of Ishmael. The Western coalition was not a solid coalition.

Their greatest heyday was the ancient Roman Empire. Since then, they have been divided and fought each other, even within the same Germanic tribes and Celtic tribes.

Moreover, there were many carefully selected rebels.

There were many nobles who had grievances against Henry II, who was called the Duke of Anjou at the time when he fought for the unification of the Kingdom of Britain a long time ago.

And they will take up their swords whenever they have the opportunity, like the last ‘Great Rebellion’.

Saladin, who was thinking about the future, heard the news of his brother Saphadin’s death with the most calm expression possible.

‘Brother….’

Although they had quarreled due to various problems, the fact that they were blood relatives did not change.

Of course, Saladin did not have a desire for revenge against Prince John. The battlefield is always a place where you have to guess when the angel of death will come. Of course, even so, the loss of blood relatives was heartbreaking.

Saladin lost his brother, but even though he lost his brother, he did not forget to protect his subordinates as the leader of a force.

He showed the soldiers the image of a leader as much as possible.

‘They are indeed our true Sultans.’

Saladin thoroughly defended the remaining areas from Richard, even if he lost the northern region of Syria.

Also, he had a prepared plan to cooperate with the Caliph, who is fighting against other Crusader forces far away, even in difficult situations.

And Saladin met with people from the Janggi Sultanate that he had destroyed.

“Sultan, I will hate you until the moment I go to Allah. But no matter how much we hate you, we are not foolish enough to let the Islamic world collapse.”

“…Do you really think so?”

“You are a generous person. You showed mercy by saving us even though you knew we would take revenge, and you did not take our lives. Think of that mercy as being rewarded today.”

“Yes… I feel good when you say that.”

Forgiveness and reconciliation took place in the Middle East.

Of course, it was never for reasons like fairy tales or 막장 [makjang – Korean slang for over-the-top, absurd drama] dramas.

* * *

—Egypt, Alexandria—

The Jerusalem issue was noisy, but the Holy Roman Empire said they would take care of it.

Anyway, I didn’t think of those traitors of Jerusalem that way either. That problem will give Richard and Baldwin IV a headache.

Anyway, the victory celebration continued.

Of course, while the banquet was being held, we searched for the tombs of Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, and Antonius for the development of human archeology, but they were not found.

Then, I have no choice but to eat and enjoy, right?

The development of human archeology was a little disappointing, but I just decided to enjoy the banquet. I’ve had a lot of trouble, so it seemed good to take enough rest when resting.

Of course, the main dish was the pork dish that I mainly insisted on.

Pork that Muslims and Jews cannot eat even if they drool! How can you resist this delicious dish?

—Pour!

—Drink!

Now that Alexandria is in our hands, we will have a safe life for a while.

Because the Crusaders’ conquest of Egypt is virtually over, as we have already occupied the most important cities in Egypt, Alexandria and Cairo.

But these damn medieval nobles still slandered me.

“Your Highness, bad rumors are circulating again these days.”

“Another instigation and fabrication.”

[The new ruler of Egypt will be ‘King John’].

It is a rumor that calls him ‘King’ instead of Prince.

Yes, Egypt is definitely a desirable area. However, it is an area that cannot be ‘maintained’ or ‘defended’.

“Your Majesty, I will now retreat.”

“You have done a lot of meritorious deeds in Egypt. Are you not greedy for these rich territories of Egypt?”

I smiled at Friedrich and said.

“I am greedy. Egypt… there is no more fertile granary than here. However, it is not mine.”

Anyway, I know.

Manpower supply, grains, excavated goods, and just the right amount of fame. I didn’t have much more greed.

In addition, I obtained the competent oriental Akbulhoe, and all the manpower such as slaves, workers, and converts.

“Hmm… but think about it more. As the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, I have the authority to give you fertile land.”

“Yes, I understand.”

But Friedrich really pretended to be sorry and persuaded me.

Are you going to give me a little piece of fertile Egyptian land and ask me to be the scapegoat for others? You cunning old man.

But whether God is helping me, a sudden incident occurred. It is an event that becomes an opportunity for me to quit the Crusaders and ‘run’.

“Your Highness, something terrible has happened. Now in Scotland….”

‘These guys?’

The fact that they are filming Braveheart [referencing the movie about William Wallace’s rebellion] in Scotland.

What is Braveheart? It means that they rebelled against the English.

I quickly moved and said to the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire with a troubled expression.

“Your Majesty, I have no choice but to return to my country.”

To my father, Henry II.

[Instead of my brothers who use knives to slaughter cows, I, who use knives to slaughter chickens, will beat down the rebels. However, the Crusaders are no longer possible.]

In the end, I received permission from Friedrich and my father. The reason was so simple.

Suppressing a rebellion is the most legitimate reason for retreat throughout the East and West.

“I’m going to suppress the rebellion!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

‘Now, say goodbye to the tedious Crusaders.’

With that in mind, I quickly boarded a ship and went to suppress the rebellion in Scotland. Did these mountain friends leave their minds in France?