The Scent of the Cross (5)
* * *
East Africa
Eastern Coast of the Zagwe Kingdom
“I feel this every time I see it…”
King Lalibela said.
His vassals and guards surrounded him.
“They seem to know no fear.”
Shouts echoed from all over the battlefield.
The battle was already decided.
The enemies were busy running away.
Only a few shot arrows or fought back.
Saracen [Medieval Arabic term for Muslims] soldiers ran to the coast, abandoning their weapons and shields.
The knights chased after them.
Knights wearing black cloaks with crosses emblazoned on them.
“You must remember that they are outsiders, Your Majesty.”
A vassal said.
“Their fighting for Your Majesty and the kingdom is ultimately for themselves.”
“Do you think I don’t know that? I’m not a fool.”
King Lalibela frowned.
Looking at the vassal who lowered his head, he said.
“Brothers and sisters help each other because they are family. Because they know they will help each other someday.”
He looked at Garnier and his knights.
They knew his legitimacy was threatened.
A sudden change of power and the invasion of the Saracens.
The Knights of Jerusalem had solved everything at once.
“They have given us the justification to defend the Holy Land.”
“You mean…”
“It wouldn’t be bad to visit Jerusalem once. Wouldn’t you agree?”
King Lalibela waved his hand.
Before long, the chase was over.
Only those who were lucky enough to board small boats managed to escape.
Most of the Saracens who had invaded the east coast were taken prisoner.
King Lalibela greeted the knights with a bright smile.
Hunting dogs, camels, and jewels.
Even countless lion skins.
All kinds of gold and silver treasures were brought in by carts.
“Welcome, Sir Garnier. I heard that your knights played a major role in this battle.”
He said.
“I heard that you also fought at the forefront.”
“We were just doing the Lord’s will, Your Majesty.”
Garnier said.
They could now communicate to some extent without an interpreter.
“The Lord’s will. You may be right. Then how about staying in our kingdom a little longer?”
King Lalibela leaned forward.
“If there is anything you want, feel free to say it. My kingdom’s wealth is yours.”
“What we want has not changed.”
Garnier bowed his head.
“If Your Majesty bestows a gift upon us, we will use it for Jerusalem.”
“The hearts of your knights are truly like steel. It would be easier to tame a lion.”
The king said with a smile.
He pointed to the gold and silver treasures loaded on the carts.
“These are tokens of my gratitude, so please accept them. I will leave it to you to decide how to use them.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Garnier said.
He raised his head and looked at the king directly.
“But there is something else we would like to ask.”
“I know very well what you want. Now, let’s go to the tent together.”
King Lalibela said, getting up.
“I have much to discuss with you.”
* * *
Holy Roman Empire
“Say it again.”
Silence fell.
The courtiers all looked at the emperor with their mouths shut.
“Have you suddenly become mutes? I’m telling you to say it again.”
“Count Hartmann has been taken prisoner. Besides him, no more than two hundred knights have succeeded in escaping.”
“And the Jerusalem army fought at the forefront?”
“Yes, while repelling the allied forces in Vicenza and pursuing them, the Jerusalem army suddenly appeared. Thanks to the timely arrival of reinforcements…”
“Timely arrival of reinforcements. No, no.”
Emperor Friedrich shook his head.
His tone was calmer than ever.
“Count Hartmann said that Duke Baldwin was on our side. Would he have stabbed us in the back like this if that were the case?”
Everyone lowered their heads.
The emperor’s anger would burst out soon.
Empress Beatrice also held her breath and looked at her husband.
“Hahahahaha!”
The emperor’s laughter shook the audience chamber.
The courtiers all stared at each other with wide eyes.
Still, no one opened their mouth.
“He must have been flirting with the count since we met in Jerusalem. This is fun. Very fun.”
He wiped the tears from his eyes.
“There was a reason why the Pope called that little brat to Italy. Isn’t that right?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to withdraw from Italy now, Your Majesty?”
Empress Beatrice said.
She looked at her husband and sighed.
“That place is like a mud pit. You’ll only get your shoes dirtier if you step in.”
“If not now, there will never be another chance.”
Emperor Friedrich shook his head.
He fiddled with his red beard.
“For the sake of our son, the Italian problem needs to be resolved now. Now that I’ve gotten rid of that eyesore Heinrich, now is the perfect time.”
Duke Heinrich the Lion.
He was Friedrich’s maternal cousin and once the Duke of Saxony and Bavaria.
But now he has been exiled to England due to a dispute with the emperor.
“We need to double the size of the expedition. No matter how strong the Jerusalem knights are, they will be of no use against a large army.”
“But that would require much more revenue than we have now, Your Majesty. Wouldn’t it be better to compromise with the Communes (self-governing cities)?”
“Now that Count Hartmann has been captured, I have no choice but to make greater concessions.”
The emperor said.
“Even if the Pope wants to reconcile with me, the Lombardy Communes (cities) will not accept it.”
At his words, the other lords nodded.
They poured out their words.
“If we cancel the expedition now, we will only be boosting the Italians’ arrogance.”
“What if the Pope joins hands with the Greek Basileus (Eastern Roman Emperor) again? The authority of the empire and His Majesty the Emperor will suffer irreparable damage.”
The emperor slowly rose from his chair.
“You are right. If the Roman Pope joins hands with the Greek Emperor, where does the authority and legitimacy of our Holy Roman Empire come from? From that Eastern Greek Emperor?”
He scoffed.
“I cannot tolerate such a situation. Raise taxes as much as necessary. Gather all the mercenaries in Europe.”
“I will follow Your Majesty’s command.”
“First, we must reconvene the Diet [formal assembly]. If the Lord allows it…”
The emperor said.
“We may be able to get the Holy Cross that Christ was crucified on into our hands.”
* * *
“It would be a great honor if Your Excellency would visit our city. You don’t have to stay for two or three days. One day. One day is enough.”
“I understand, Podestà (Chief Magistrate). I will definitely visit before returning to Jerusalem.”
“Thank you so much, Your Excellency! Then, before you visit Milan, please visit our city first…”
“Let’s discuss the schedule later.”
I escorted the Podestà [Italian for Chief Magistrate] of Cremina out the door.
This is really endless.
Since returning to Verona, the nobles and officials of Italy have visited me almost every day.
In addition, there are various religious events presided over by the Pope.
It felt like what I suffered in Constantinople was nothing compared to this.
“They are doing this to somehow get the Holy Cross to come to their city.”
Wig laughed.
He took off his silver mask and put it on the table.
“I heard that even tents have been set up outside the walls of Verona. That’s how many pilgrims are flocking there.”
“If I had known this would happen, I would have left it in Jerusalem.”
I said with a sigh.
Well, what better opportunity could there be for Christians right now?
You don’t have to go to Jerusalem to see the Holy Cross!
As this rumor spread, pilgrims gathered from all over Italy.
The number of pilgrims increased even more after the victory in the battle with Count Hartmann.
Wig said.
“The Emperor is still gathering troops. Rumor has it that it is an army of over 100,000.”
“That’s an exaggeration. But it will be at least 20,000 to 30,000.”
I said.
In this era, it was common to exaggerate the number of soldiers.
But even 20,000 to 30,000 is a much larger number than expected.
There will be quite a few heavily armed knights.
The Lombard League led by the Pope.
The Holy Roman Empire of Emperor Friedrich.
A full-scale war between the two has begun.
Why does the ominous premonition always come true?
“Fortunately, we caught the spies the Emperor had planted. Now information won’t leak out.”
“There will still be some left. We have to keep looking.”
I replied.
My influence became solid as I defeated the Imperial army.
Thanks to that, I was able to catch the spies.
Even those who initially resisted or were suspicious closed their mouths when the evidence came out.
“By the way, I thought it would be difficult for a large army to pass through the Alps?”
“It is impossible to cross all at once, but there is no big problem if you keep sending troops. It just costs more money and time.”
Wig replied.
“The Emperor is in a hurry because the achievements he has built up in Italy over the past few decades are in danger of collapsing.”
“It would be nice if we could defeat the Imperial army in the same way as last time, but…”
I muttered.
There must be German knights who escaped from the last battle.
Even if they didn’t, Italian spies would have passed on the information.
The Emperor wouldn’t be stupid enough to fall for the same tactics.
“In the first place, we don’t have enough horse archers to use the same tactics. Even if we mobilize the members, we won’t be able to properly surround them.”
He added.
“Count Hartmann’s knights were already exhausted when they fought us.”
“You are right. We have to think of a completely different tactic. Still, the allied forces have more infantry…”
I tapped the table.
Okay, let’s think about it.
The Empire had far more knights.
Even if we include the Jerusalem knights in the allied forces, the chances of winning are not high.
Since the Battle of Hastings in 1066, heavy cavalry had dominated the battlefields of Europe.
Infantry was relatively neglected compared to cavalry.
But well-trained infantry could also take on heavily armed knights.
The Battle of Courtrai in 1302.
The Battle of Morgarten in 1315.
Even the Swiss mercenaries of the 14th century.
Wouldn’t it be possible even now?
“I need to see the spears that the soldiers are using.”
I came out to the training ground with Wig, who was tilting his head.
Picking up a spear, I measured its length.
The longest one is about 2.4 meters.
It’s about the same length as the halberds used by the Swiss pikemen in the 14th century.
This is not enough.
We needed spears that were at least 4 to 5 meters long.
“The Imperial army won’t rush in right away. It will take that much more time for a large army to cross the mountains.”
I said.
That meant we had that much time to spare.
“In the meantime, we have to cut down trees. And start training.”
“Suddenly trees? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t build signal towers?”
“I have no intention of building signal towers. Instead…”
I smiled and replied.
“We’re going to make spears.”