The Prophet’s City (2)
Italy
Rome
Pope Lucius frowned as he read the letter.
“So, the Saracens are threatening Jerusalem?”
“According to the letter, Tiberias may soon fall into the hands of the infidels,” Cardinal Homber bowed and replied.
“Perhaps after that, they will target Jerusalem directly. With most of our forces in Egypt…”
“It will be difficult to go and save Jerusalem right away,” the Pope replied.
He looked at the bishops with a thoughtful expression.
“This is not the time to stand idly by. I must take action myself.”
“Your Holiness, if you take action yourself, does that mean…”
“If Jerusalem falls into Saracen hands, the great work we have painstakingly built over decades will collapse. The church unification we have achieved with such difficulty will also be for naught.”
Having said that, Pope Lucius stood up.
“If I, as Pope, travel around Italy and give speeches, wouldn’t even one more of the Lord’s warriors go to Outremer (the Levant)?”
He added, “What Jerusalem needs now are knights, warriors, and protectors.”
* * *
Medina
“So, the Franks are trying to invade the Holy Land again.”
Kasim Ibn Muhanna, the Amir (ruler) of Medina, frowned.
“Egypt must have fallen into their hands. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to go to Eilat.”
He clicked his tongue, looking at his terrified subordinates. Kasim’s family had ruled Medina for generations.
The last prophet and founder of Islam, Muhammad, fled here to escape the oppression of Mecca and built the first mosque (temple).
The place where he was buried after his death was also Medina.
For Muslims, this city was the second holiest place after Mecca.
“Have you forgotten how Renaud’s head was cut off?”
“Reports say that Abyssinians (Ethiopians) have also joined the Crusades,” one subordinate said.
“They plan to join forces in the Red Sea and attack this place with an even larger force than before. Their ships are already appearing on the coast.”
“First, inform the Sultan of the situation and send a request for support. It will take time to come here from the Levant, but…”
Kasim said, “At least we need to inform them of the situation, even if they can’t come.”
Having said that, he fell into thought. After Renaud invaded Medina and Mecca, public sentiment was greatly shaken.
No matter how strong the legitimacy and power, a ruler who has lost the public’s trust cannot survive.
This problem had to be solved by the Emirs of Arabia.
“I have one more thing to report to Your Excellency,” a general said.
“The Badawi [Bedouin] tribes have recently resumed their attacks. The damage isn’t significant yet, but pilgrims are becoming agitated.”
“Those guys who were quiet as mice are finally showing their teeth again,” Kasim scoffed.
The Badawi tribes always caused problems at difficult moments.
“Guide the pilgrims to Bahr and Wajh for now. If they go back west, they won’t encounter the Badawi.”
He said, “We’ll deal with those guys after we drive out the Franks.”
“Then I will summon the army right away,” the generals stood up and said.
They didn’t all say it, but they were all thinking the same thing.
It was their turn to repay the humiliation they had suffered from Renaud.
“The Franks will sink into the sea before they even set foot on the coast.”
* * *
Northeast of Medina
Desert area
“You deliberately enlisted the Badawi tribes to divert their attention,” Aigh said.
“That way, we can avoid being detected by the pilgrims passing through here.”
“They’ll only be looking at the coast. They wouldn’t even think we’d come from this direction.”
I nodded.
The Badawi tribes were our guides and decoys to divert attention.
“If we had just marched straight in, the pilgrims might have discovered us.”
The Badawi warriors pretended to attack and drove the pilgrims away appropriately.
That wasn’t all.
Before marching, I used my sixth sense to search the surroundings thoroughly. It took some time, but it was better than being detected by the enemy.
‘The Medina soldiers are probably preparing for a landing on the coast by now.’
It’s a bit pitiful to think about them going through all that trouble for nothing.
I looked at Aigh.
“How’s your arm?”
“It will take some time to heal completely, but I have no problem wielding a sword,” Aigh shook his arm as if to say he was okay. It still looked uncomfortable to move.
Turning around, I saw a long camel train.
Knights and squires alike had removed their armor and were half-hanging onto the camels.
But they still looked exhausted.
We mainly marched at night to avoid the sunlight.
‘I guess the horses have it the easiest.’
The horses, which were easily exhausted by the heat, followed leisurely without carrying anything.
“So, bringing the Jews was…”
Aigh muttered, looking back at the group of Jewish people from Eilat.
“You’re planning to infiltrate the knights into the city, disguised as Jewish merchants.”
“You’re quick on the uptake.”
“I’ve been by Your Majesty’s side for years. I have to have this much sense, don’t I?”
Aigh said with a smile.
“And Your Majesty has always focused on surprising the enemy.”
“I guess you could say that surprise is that important,” I shrugged.
Caesar, Napoleon, Hannibal, Rommel, etc. All the great generals in history knew the importance of surprise.
First, make the enemy panic.
Then you can easily take control of the situation.
‘I’m not quite on that level, but…’
I could imitate the strategies and tactics they used in a similar way. Then Aigh said in a worried tone.
“But if we fail…”
“If we can’t even capture Medina, Mecca is out of the question. If we get stuck here, we’ll have to give up the Mecca campaign cleanly,” I said.
It was impossible to go down to Mecca without occupying Medina.
If that happened, I would have no choice but to give up on Mecca and fight Saladin.
Saladin would be waiting for me to come.
That’s not a choice I particularly want to make. Then Richard, who was at the front, approached.
“The preparations are all done. I’ve only chosen members who are fluent in the Saracen language, so they won’t be detected right away.”
“Still, going all at once will raise suspicion. Let’s send them in three groups over three days,” I nodded.
Medina was now only a day away.
“If it’s delayed any longer than that, the Saracen army that went to the coast will realize something is wrong.”
The transport ships that sailed from Eilat were only carrying supplies. If there were no landing attempts for several days, the bluff would be exposed.
“Then it would be best to set up a camp here,” Richard said, taking off his helmet.
“If we get any closer, we’ll be detected by the Medina defenders. Or did you receive some kind of revelation?”
“Revelation, what’s that…”
“It’s almost a miracle that we haven’t been caught in the surveillance net while coming this deep,” Richard burst out laughing.
“And you’ve been leading the way so far. What kind of revelation did you follow to get here?”
Instead of answering, I laughed with him.
A human radar.
It was similar to the situation of avoiding reefs while going to East Rome [Byzantium/Constantinople].
‘Now it’s not reefs, but people.’
I could faintly feel the emotions of over tens of thousands of people with my sixth sense.
Medina.
The Prophet’s City was in front of us.
* * *
Two days later
Medina
“So, how many have gotten inside so far?” Garnier asked in a low voice. The room was filled with the dry desert cold.
The desert air turned icy at night.
“A total of eighty. We can get about fifty more in by tomorrow morning.”
“So, roughly one hundred and thirty,” Garnier nodded.
So far, it was going according to plan.
They had entered Medina disguised as Jewish merchants, and the guards hadn’t been particularly suspicious.
“They believe we’re coming through the Red Sea. They would never dream that we’ve already infiltrated the city,” one member said.
“The main force has already gone to the coast. There are less than two thousand defenders left in the city.”
“But we’re not the only ones with advantages,” Garnier said.
“Without proper weapons and armor, it will be difficult to face all the defenders.”
Disguising themselves as Jewish merchants wasn’t that difficult.
The veteran knights were familiar with the Saracen language, and their tanned skin tones were similar.
But no matter how much they disguised themselves as merchants, they couldn’t bring weapons and armor.
Garnier looked at the club in his hand.
“The most vulnerable place is the east gate, what the Saracens call the Bab as-Salam, the Gate of Peace.”
He continued, “Tomorrow night, we’ll raid this place and open the gate. I’ve checked the terrain, so everyone should scatter for today…”
At that moment, a sharp trumpet sounded – a warning signal announcing intruders.
Soon after, a member burst into the room.
“One of our brothers who was entering the gate has been caught! Soon, they’ll be searching the entire city thoroughly.”
“Sir Garnier, what do we do now…”
“…”
The knights looked at each other in silence.
“What else can we do? We have no choice but to push through, whether it works or not,” Garnier said, standing up.
He looked at the brothers sitting in front of him.
Even before the battle, they showed no signs of panic.
Warriors who had fought in the holy city of Jerusalem for at least 5 years, and as long as 30 years.
There were many who had fought in Italy, England, France, Constantinople, Egypt, and even as far away as Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
“We don’t have swords, but we have clubs and wooden staffs prepared, so everyone take one.”
“Wooden staffs. This reminds me of when we were training.”
“Remember, our goal is to open the gate so that the main force can enter, not to fight the Saracen soldiers.”
“But Your Majesty doesn’t know that we’re opening the east gate, does he? Then even if we open the gate, we’ll be suppressed right away…”
“His Majesty will know which gate we’re opening,” Garnier said, standing up.
“Now we have no choice but to trust him.”
* * *
East of Medina
Hill of Silam
“It seems they’ve noticed something, Your Majesty,” Kang said, lowering his telescope.
A loud trumpet sound was echoing from the city.
The soldiers in our camp were waking up one by one.
The knights quickly put on their armor and mounted their horses.
“I hope there’s no festival going on in the meantime,” I nodded.
Emotions of panic and surprise were erupting like bombs in Medina.
‘One of the disguised members must have been caught.’
If so, the defenders would search the city right away. They would catch all the suspicious people who had entered in recent days.
No matter how skilled the knights were, it would be difficult to face more than ten times their number.
Then I felt familiar emotions.
A calm yet slightly excited feeling. It was definitely Garnier and the knights.
They were all running towards the east gate.
“They’re trying to open the east gate. Sound the advance trumpet!”
No sooner had I finished speaking than the trumpet sounded.
Soon after, knights and horse archers gathered in formation.
Richard approached with a frown, looking like he hadn’t fully woken up.
“An advance trumpet in the middle of the night? What’s going on?”
“The infiltrated knights have been discovered. They’re trying to open the east gate now, so we have to go help them.”
“How do you know the members are trying to open the east gate… No, never mind,” Richard sighed.
“But if the gate isn’t opened, there’s no way to enter the city. Are you suggesting we ride horses over the walls?”
“We can’t ride horses over the walls,” I fell into thought.
The hidden meaning in Richard’s words was simple.
‘If we go now, it’s a dog’s death if the gate isn’t opened.’
If the knights failed to open the gate, we would soon be attacked by the defenders.
So, we have to just wait until the gate is opened?
I can’t do that.
I racked my brains.
“Kang, select the twenty most skilled men from your subordinates. Right now.”
“Your Majesty, could it be…”
“Yes, even if horses can’t cross, pottery can,” I replied with a smile.
The camel catapult was still a ‘catapult’ after all. If we stuck close to the walls and threw Greek fire [incendiary weapon], we could cover the members.
“The defenders will be too busy fighting the knights. They won’t even notice twenty camels getting close to the walls.”
Approach the walls and then throw them into the city! This would allow us to cover our allies without great risk.
Kang said hesitantly.
“But it’s too reckless to throw Greek fire without knowing the location of our allies… Besides, it’s night now.”
“Don’t worry about that part,” I replied with a smile.
I know where our allies are.
“You just have to shoot according to my orders.”