I Became The King Of Crusaders [EN]: Chapter 70

The Stroll in the Dark (5)

* * *

Egypt

Cairo Royal Palace

The royal palace, rumored to have over 4,000 rooms.

Once the residence of the Fatimid dynasty and the Shia Caliph [a religious and political leader considered a successor to Muhammad].

The golden path to the golden room unfolded.

Marble pillars.

Crystal vases.

Mirrors adorned with jewels and gold.

Even portraits and tapestries with gold embroidery.

Only gold here.

Only gold.

Hundreds of Mamluk [slave soldier] guards in yellow uniforms guarded the golden palace.

“So, what is it you want to say?”

In the center of the audience chamber.

A man wearing a turban stood up.

Al-Adil.

Saladin’s brother and his general.

The men waved their hands at him and shouted.

“Damietta must be punished!”

“The merchants of Damietta negotiated with the Franks [Europeans, often referring to the French or other Western Europeans] on their own! This is the same as ignoring the governor!”

“We must punish Damietta as soon as possible before other Egyptian cities become disrespectful!”

They all shouted, their faces red with anger.

Scholars and poets also joined in.

“To offer money to the Franks just to lift the siege! There is no greater shame for Muslims than this.”

“I know very well what you want to say,” Al-Adil said calmly.

He looked at his men and continued, “But haven’t we already made a decision on this matter?”

Silence fell.

“Allowing them to compromise when they have no choice but to compromise with the enemy… that is the decision a true leader makes.”

“It would have been better to surrender outright than to offer money while our walls were still intact,” one man argued.

“If this isn’t something a common prostitute would do, then what is?!”

“It was a reasonable judgment, given the destruction of the fleet,” Al-Adil countered with a sigh.

His eyes flashed. “Didn’t the Sultan [Muslim ruler] already come to that conclusion? Are you now opposing his orders?!”

“…”

“I will not discuss this matter any further. If we punish Damietta, where public sentiment is already unstable, something irreversible will happen.”

Al-Adil’s words silenced the dissenters. The men bowed their heads and returned to their positions.

“Let’s end today’s meeting here. Everyone, go back. Only Malik, remain.”

“Yes, Governor,” the old man with the white beard said.

Soon, only he and Al-Adil were left in the room.

“Punishing Damietta now…” Al-Adil sighed again.

He fiddled with his beard and said, “The Copts [Egyptian Christians] of Coptos are still looking for a chance to revolt. Now is not the time to increase the number of rebels.”

“Your Excellency is right. But there is considerable dissatisfaction among the young soldiers and officers. The Sultan has taken Aleppo and Mosul….”

“And we haven’t done anything. Is that what you’re implying?” Al-Adil scoffed.

Malik bowed his head.

“The Sultan has entrusted us with the defense of Egypt. Without the revenue from here, the jihad [holy war] would be impossible,” he added.

“Our mission is to protect this treasury well, not to engage in reckless battles.”

“Of course, Your Excellency is right. It’s just that the young warriors cannot fathom the Sultan and Your Excellency’s wisdom.”

“Frustrating, so frustrating. By the way, what happened to what I asked you about last time, Malik?” Al-Adil asked in a whisper.

“Is there still no news from the spies?”

“It seems that one of the high-ranking officials has betrayed us,” Malik nodded grimly.

“The reports from the few spies who barely managed to contact us were all false or misinformation. It is clear that the Franks have noticed.”

“The news from Damascus is the same. This has become troublesome,” Al-Adil muttered.

“But even if a high-ranking official betrayed us, the spies do not know each other. Even if they report it, it would only be a few. How can dozens be caught like this?”

“…”

“Look into it further. If we don’t know where the leak is, it’s useless to keep trying to fix it.”

“I understand.”

“Have you found out anything about those mysterious towers?”

“Because there is not much known about them, I have not been able to grasp it exactly….” Malik continued.

“It seems that they are using moving flagpoles to send and receive signals. They may be giving orders to the troops near the towers.”

“Moving flagpoles? Giving orders to the battlefield from a high place?” Al-Adil frowned.

“The Franks are up to something again. And to think the spies are having problems at a time like this.”

“Those towers alone will not be of great help in battle.”

“Don’t underestimate the Franks. They are the ones who captured fortresses and strongholds with just a few dozen men,” Al-Adil warned.

He looked at the old man in front of him. “You have a look on your face that says you want to say something. Speak freely.”

“As I said, there is considerable dissatisfaction among the soldiers and officers. If we continue like this, something might happen somewhere….”

“It was only a few months ago that the Sultan brought Aleppo and Mosul to their knees and returned to Damascus. Are you saying we should start another war now? And that we should take the lead?”

“A small raid would be enough to appease the warriors. Even if the Franks counterattack, we can just retreat,” Malik suggested.

“Besides, haven’t the Franks broken the peace treaty and attacked Damascus and Damietta? It would also be revenge for that. The Frankish king’s direct territory….”

“You’re talking about Eilat. The city that Baldwin’s son rebuilt. Wasn’t it where the Jews lived?” Al-Adil said, his voice thoughtful.

“I think my brother burned that place once before. Are you saying we should strike there?”

“That’s the only place where we can safely hit and run. If we go any deeper than that, we won’t be able to escape the pursuit,” the old man explained.

“Besides, the garrison in Eilat is made up entirely of conscripts. Even if we burn the orchards and fields near the city….”

“They won’t think of retaliating.”

“If we can get livestock and spoils, the soldiers and officers will be very happy.”

“I can’t take such a risk just to appease the soldiers,” Al-Adil said, though his tone suggested he was considering it.

He fiddled with his beard. “But if we do well, it could be an opportunity to reclaim Hama and Homs.”

Al-Adil added, growling, “Didn’t that young one stab my brother in the back and take those two cities? If the main force from Jerusalem comes down to subjugate us….”

He muttered, “We can immediately turn our backs and return to Egypt. My brother will be able to march north.”

Silence fell.

Outside the palace, the sound of soldiers training could be heard.

Al-Adil approached the window and looked outside. He slowly opened his mouth.

“Have you draw up a plan. I’ll get permission from my brother. This story must never leak out of this room.”

“I will obey your command.”

* * *

March 1183

“It’s not bad for the first time. I was worried because the training period was short,” I said, unfolding the paper.

Garnier and Hugh stood beside me.

It’s been two months since we started building the signal towers with Baldwin IV’s permission.

The necessary materials were prepared by Marco and other merchants.

All that was left was the training of the operating personnel.

The selected personnel began intensive training at the same time as the construction of the signal towers.

And test operation for the past month.

‘The overall result is not bad.’

I looked at the report.

The signal tower boasted a fast speed, as I expected.

The time that used to take a day or two by messenger has been reduced to just a few hours.

“It’s so fast that it’s hard to compare with the past. I heard…,” Garnier said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“The carrier pigeon managers are already afraid that their jobs will disappear. So are the messengers.”

“Both will continue to be used,” I said with a smile.

You can’t even exchange private letters through the signal tower.

It was difficult to completely replace them unless hundreds of towers were installed.

Rather, it would be mainly used for military purposes.

“But it’s not like there aren’t any problems.”

I raised my finger and pointed to the report. “There were a few cases where the transmission was interrupted in the middle… and the biggest problem is that the collected information is not processed in time.”

The amount of information sent from numerous signal towers was beyond imagination.

The movement of nearby merchants.

Sea tribes, bandits, pilgrims, and even requests for supply support.

The Knights Templar [a powerful Catholic military order] were not able to process these reports in time.

It took a day or two if it was late.

It was also difficult to issue orders to the necessary places in a timely manner.

To give an example of a body organ, Jerusalem is the heart.

It was the role of sending blood throughout the body.

Now it’s not doing that role properly.

I’m glad we found out even now.

It would have been difficult if this problem had occurred in an urgent situation.

Hugh nodded. “We are currently severely understaffed. For now, we have priests in charge of exchanging letters, but… we’ll need several times more than we have now to expand the tower.”

“We’ll have to recruit more monks separately,” I said.

The clergy would be familiar with reading and writing.

But will this be enough?

I tapped the desk with my finger.

It doesn’t seem like all the problems will be solved just by increasing the number of people.

I’m doing it too haphazardly.

If this continues, I’m sure I’ll miss important information someday.

Then installing the signal tower would be more harmful.

What I need now is….

A systematic system.

Criteria and rules for prioritizing and reporting information.

More precisely, an institution was needed.

“It doesn’t seem like a problem that can be solved simply by increasing manpower. I’ll have to get permission from His Majesty to set up a separate operations room.”

“If it’s an operations room…,” Hugh trailed off, curious.

“Let’s just say it’s a dedicated organization that analyzes information coming from each signal tower. It can also be called a situation room.”

I said.

There is a similar case in the history of war.

1936, England.

Sir Hugh Dowding takes over as commander of the newly formed British Fighter Command.

As soon as he took office, he immediately began a major reform.

Building a radar network, designing new fighter planes, and real-time aircraft-to-base communication via radio.

The most impressive of these is the Integrated Operations Room.

It created a system that connected radar operators and fighter pilots to the operations headquarters to deliver information in real time.

British fighter planes, which used to fight like lone wolves, are transformed into hunting dogs that move under the command of headquarters.

The fact that Britain was not pushed back in the air war with Germany was also thanks to this system.

‘What I need now is something similar to this.’

Filtering the large amount of information coming from each signal tower and issuing orders to the necessary places again.

I’m glad I didn’t doze off and studied during war history class.

How many chances are there to learn about the British Fighter Command in 1936?

“We’ll also need to install a situation board. This will record the readiness of our troops and the enemy’s advance routes in real time. This will allow us to manage with fewer people.”

I briefly explained my plan.

“It’s like a continuous staff meeting,” Hugh said, fiddling with his chin.

“Either way, we’ll need manpower. I’ll go to the Knights Templar and ask.”

“I’ll go find out now,” Garnier nodded.

He said with a smile, “This is going to cost quite a bit of money again.”

“His Majesty the King will surely allow it,” I said.

It’s definitely easier to work under a wise ruler.

If the superior is competent, the subordinates are also comfortable.

What if I had to work under Seonjo [Korean king during the Imjin War] during the Imjin War [Japanese invasion of Korea]?

I shook my head from side to side.

I don’t want to imagine that.

“But there are still some nobles who don’t like the signal tower,” Hugh said in a serious tone.

“So much money has been spent so far….”

“They’ll change their minds when they see the effect for themselves,” I said confidently.

That opportunity will come soon.

This Levant [historical geographical area roughly equivalent to the modern Middle East] was a place where battles never stopped.