I Became The King Of Crusaders [EN]: Chapter 205

The City of the Prophet (5)

Mecca

“To reduce food rations! They are openly disregarding Your Excellency!”

“That’s right! Shouldn’t we show them who’s boss, even if we have to use force?!”

Kasim listened to his subordinates’ conversation with his eyes closed. He slowly opened his mouth.

“Now is not the time for us to fight each other. This commotion is exactly what Baldwin wants.”

Having said that, he sighed. It had already been several weeks since they were driven out of Medina and came to Mecca.

He and his army were being treated like livestock that only consumed food.

When the Franks first besieged Mecca, the soldiers were full of enthusiasm.

‘Stop those idolaters who came to destroy Mecca! Then you will go to heaven!’

But the Franks never attacked. Thousands of defending soldiers spent their time on the walls without much to do.

In the meantime, the stockpiled food was rapidly decreasing.

Baldwin only besieged Mecca and did not attack.

“It would have been better if the Franks had attacked.”

“Aren’t the Mecca families distributing more food only to their own troops?”

A subordinate officer shouted in an angry tone.

“They are feeding themselves while the citizens are starving to death!”

“The food issue will be resolved at the next war council. If not, I will take action myself, so stop it.”

Kasim frowned and said.

“Even though the enemy is right in front of us, the emirs are only busy fighting each other.”

The families that ruled Mecca and the families that came to support from surrounding cities, like Kasim.

From food to security issues.

There was constant fighting over who would be in command. As Kasim was lost in thought, an officer burst into the room.

“Your Excellency, the Franks are throwing stones with catapults again!”

“They’ve been throwing stones with catapults for days. What’s so special about that?”

Kasim asked with a sneer.

The other officers reacted in the same way. They shook their heads in disbelief.

The Franks were throwing bundles of paper, not stones, with catapults.

The contents written on the papers were simple.

‘Our Jerusalem army did not come to destroy Mecca! If you hand over the city and disarm, we will guarantee free commerce and freedom!’

More than hundreds of papers were scattered, but all had the same handwriting.

The same propaganda that had been spread in Damascus before.

The emirs released troops to collect the papers, but many citizens were agitated.

There was even a ridiculous rumor that King Baldwin was actually a Muslim.

‘The King of Jerusalem must have come to Mecca to make a pilgrimage!’

‘Isn’t that why he occupied Medina, to see the tomb of the Prophet [Muhammad]?’

There were also cautious claims that they should negotiate with Baldwin.

But so far, the majority opinion was that the Franks should be driven out.

“He’s offering generosity and mercy. It’s just a trick to seduce Muslim citizens.”

Kasim said, shaking his head.

He looked at the officer, who still had an uneasy expression.

“So, are they spreading new paper this time?”

“That, well… what they’re throwing now isn’t paper, Your Excellency.”

The officer replied in a cautious tone. The atmosphere in the room changed coldly at his words.

They don’t throw paper anymore.

That meant only one thing.

“They’re not throwing paper. So, are they finally throwing stones?”

“It’s not stones either. They’re throwing food…”

The officer muttered in a small voice.

“They are throwing bread and food with catapults. Citizens are already gathering in the streets.”

“…What? Bread?”

Kamil asked back.

The next moment, all he could do was cough.

The other officers also looked at each other with their mouths shut.

“The Franks are throwing bread?”

* * *

“Why can’t I take it?! My children are starving!”

Food is falling from the sky!

It didn’t take long for this news to spread.

Mecca was crowded with citizens who had fled the war.

From citizens and merchants who originally lived in Mecca to people who came for pilgrimage and were caught up in it.

There was not enough accommodation and food for everyone.

Although the city emirs distributed food, it was far from enough for everyone to fill their stomachs.

It took less than a week for the amount and cows needed for the pilgrimage rituals to be slaughtered.

“This was sent by the Franks! Who knows if they poisoned it!”

“I fed it to my dog, and there was no problem! But what right do you have to take the food away?!”

The bread and food fired by the Jerusalem army continued to fall into Mecca.

People waited for the sound of the catapult and ran straight to where it fell.

In some streets, fights broke out over food.

The soldiers who tried to stop them were pushed back by the crowd and chased away.

‘Remember Ramadan [Islamic holy month of fasting]! Just think of it as fasting for a few weeks! Are you going to surrender to the idolaters?’

‘Then you starve! You hypocritical bastard! Does anyone not know that soldiers get the most rations?’

The starving pilgrims shouted.

The clothes they wore for the pilgrimage, ihram [two white cotton cloths worn by male Muslims during the Hajj], were already stained with dust.

It wasn’t just food that fell from the sky.

Papers stamped with the Jerusalem royal seal also fell with the food.

[Safety Guarantee Certificate: The safety of the person holding this paper is guaranteed under any circumstances. Soldiers can also surrender with this paper and be released without paying ransom.]

Citizens picked up food and naturally took papers with them.

The soldiers tried to confiscate the propaganda in any way possible, but the food and papers fell in different places each time.

There was a commotion when soldiers beat a boy who picked up a paper.

“They hit the child! They hit a child who is starving because he can’t eat properly!”

“The King of Jerusalem didn’t do anything in Medina either! Didn’t he leave the sacred tomb of the Prophet intact?!”

“Why doesn’t the Sultan come to save the holy land?!”

Even in this chaos, the emirs focused on defense. If they bought time, Baldwin would eventually have to return to Jerusalem.

There was no other way but to endure.

“I’d rather open the gates and fight them…”

“What if that’s what Baldwin is aiming for? A considerable number of troops have already crossed over from Abyssinia (Ethiopia). They must be ready too!”

“Then what are we going to do?! If the food runs out first…”

In the meantime, the food thrown by the Franks continued to fall into Mecca.

* * *

“To throw food into a besieged city.”

Eig muttered.

The catapults moved incessantly, throwing bundles of paper and food.

The papers scattered in the air looked like large snowflakes.

“If I had heard that a few days ago, I would have thought you were joking.”

“It’s an unusual situation.”

I held back my laughter.

The army that came to besiege was throwing food instead of fighting.

“But if the food problem in Mecca is solved, won’t the siege be prolonged?”

“The amount we throw is extremely small compared to the citizens of Mecca.”

There are at least tens of thousands of people in Mecca right now.

Merchants, pilgrims, citizens, and refugees from surrounding villages.

No matter how much preparation you have, the food will run out quickly.

“Even if you add up all the amount we’ve sent so far, it’s only enough for hundreds of people to have one meal.”

At night, I approached Mecca with a small escort.

The atmosphere inside the city, felt by intuition, became more and more fierce day by day.

“If Saladin uses similar tactics in Jerusalem…”

“Jerusalem has been preparing for a siege for years. And both Balian and Raymond are capable commanders.”

I replied.

Neither of them would do anything stupid like the Battle of Hattin [a major battle in the Crusades where the Ayyubid army decisively defeated the Crusader forces].

The reason I struggled to get rid of Count Guy and Reynald was to prevent such a situation.

For now, I had no choice but to trust Balian, Raymond, and Theodora.

“Saladin knows that too and will try to push through with force. He will try to win quickly by putting a large army forward.”

Having said that, I looked at the walls of Mecca.

“From the beginning, Mecca and Jerusalem are different situations.”

Mecca was originally ruled by noble families.

Even after Muhammad won with Islam, Mecca was ruled by several major families.

And now, families from Medina and other regions have joined.

There must have been a mess over the right to command.

“Then let’s start dealing the final blow.”

“If it’s the final blow…”

“Show the citizens of Mecca that surrendering to me is the most rational choice.”

Having said that, I handed the paper I was holding to Eig.

“It’s a notice that we will pile up food in front of the gate tomorrow morning. Everyone in Mecca must have heard the news since we are throwing it with catapults now.”

“Pile up food? What do you mean?”

Eig asked, widening his eyes.

“How can you pile up food when there are so many guards on the walls? Arrows will pour down before you even get close.”

“That’s exactly what I want.”

I answered with a smile.

“Let’s think about it from the emirs’ point of view. Would they just watch the camels and horses come to the front of the gate?”

“They’ll probably try to stop it, thinking we’re up to something.”

I nodded instead of answering.

Any commander in their right mind would definitely stop it. They can’t let the enemy come to the front of the walls.

“But how will the citizens of Mecca accept that?”

“…They will think that the emirs are preventing them from sending food for the starving citizens.”

Eig muttered with a blank look.

“Even if the emirs explain, they will take it as an excuse.”

“Because we sent food, but the emirs prevented it.”

“But what if the emirs accept Your Majesty’s offer?”

Eig asked.

“If they open the gates wide and receive food…”

“To move that much food, the gates must be open for a long time. During that time, Richard’s cavalry can enter.”

I shrugged.

No matter which option they choose, it was only beneficial to me.

An unblockable skill, a ‘Gabulgi’ [Korean term for an unavoidable situation] if you will. Eig let out a hollow laugh as if he was dumbfounded.

“You’ve been avoiding looting and massacre until this very moment. Sometimes when I see Your Majesty…”

He muttered in a small voice.

“It’s like I’m seeing a devil, not an angel.”

“Don’t you know that lese-majesty [the crime of violating the dignity of a ruler] is punishable by death?”

Having said that, I patted Eig on the shoulder.

Yes, I’ve been doing unnecessary hard work until this moment.

“I will conquer Mecca without shedding a drop of blood.”

Turning my head, I saw Kang’s camel corps diligently moving supplies.

“That would be the first and greatest achievement that a Crusader lord could establish.”

Unlike firmly established commercial cities such as Petra and Palmyra, several scholars argue that there is no concrete evidence that capital was accumulated in pre-Islamic Mecca. Furthermore, historical evidence and geographical judgment make it clear that Mecca was not located on the traditional trade route of the Arabian Peninsula. Crone asks, “Why would merchants deviate from the road and enter Mecca, a hostage valley, when they could rest in Taif, located on the trade route?” Crone’s words are valid. There is no reason to travel to Mecca or settle there. Except for one reason, the Kaaba [a sacred building at the center of Islam’s most important mosque]. There was no other reason for a market to be held in Mecca. Moreover, Mecca was a deserted desert land that could not produce anything.

– No God But Allah (Reza Aslan)