The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 66

66. Alexandria is a Port (4)

—Ireland Estate—

Here, the waves crash against the rocky shore of a populous island. This is Ireland, the island of peace, governed by Prince John!

The day begins with the boisterous calls of slave traders.

“Heathen slaves with strong bodies, selling cheap!”

Thanks to the influx of new slaves and manpower, the local industry is transforming into a forward-looking enterprise, prospering with each passing day.

The road of St. Patrick, which Prince John promised to build upon his arrival, is gradually taking shape. A large-scale livestock market is established, and several ranches are being developed.

The reason for these new developments is simple: they are profitable.

Ultimately, public sentiment hinges on people’s ability to secure food, clothing, and shelter. Under Prince John’s rule, the people of Ireland at least feel secure.

In this brutal medieval era, the people of the estate are grateful to those who protect them.

The thoughts of the native Celts of Ireland, whose historical pastime was resisting England, are gradually changing.

‘Independence, resistance… is it truly necessary?’

Everything is working in favor of Safe John.

Of course, not all Celts welcome Prince John’s rule.

‘Don’t be fooled; it’s an English trap.’

‘Don’t be swayed by English brainwashing. They want to slaughter us.’

They remain wary, viewing Prince John’s benevolent and prosperous rule as a way of fattening livestock before slaughter.

However, the Celts of Ireland, who are increasingly enjoying meat, bread, and milk, begin to think:

‘Ireland under Prince John’s rule… is this a life worth living?’ As the economic situation gradually improves, the birth rate in Ireland also begins to rise.

Whether it’s the 12th century or the 21st century, human resources are crucial.

‘Yes, if the population increases, we can accomplish more.’

Peter, who has become Ireland’s steward in place of Prince John, welcomes the increase in the birth rate and begins to revitalize the economy by utilizing slave labor.

The younger sons who newly join without estates become officials of Prince John and handle more tasks.

Thanks to the increase in personnel, Mary, the Duchess of Ireland, whose workload has decreased, invites her mother-in-law, Queen Eleanor, for a tea party after a long time.

After taking a sip of wine, she asks Queen Eleanor:

“Mother, will John be safe?”

“Are you worried about John?”

“Am I the only wife who worries about her husband on the battlefield?”

Mary has already experienced many hardships even before becoming the Duchess of Ireland, but she is not accustomed to the long wait. It’s all because of her husband.

Thinking about it, she feels a complex emotion.

‘Thanks to John, so much has changed.’

Originally, Mary wanted to wander around disguised as a nun in a monastery without getting married, but she eventually became someone’s wife.

Of course, there were calculations behind it.

Just as her husband wanted the influence of her Clare family as mercenaries, Mary also desired Prince John’s potential. Being a prince of England was a position with many advantages.

As the two mothers-in-law are spending a leisurely time, news of victory in the Middle East arrives.

“Did my beloved son Richard capture Damascus?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Congratulations, Mother.”

Richard is Queen Eleanor’s most beloved son.

Naturally, Queen Eleanor’s expression is radiant.

‘Ah, John was also there.’

Realizing that her youngest son John is also in the Crusades, Queen Eleanor says:

“I hope John fares well too. Well, since he captured Cairo, Alexandria will be captured soon.”

“Of course, naturally. Because he is Safe John.”

Mary smiles brightly.

In a dream, Mary’s deceased mother had said, [John will be safe.], and Mary believes those words.

* * *

—Crusades, Throughout Persia—

With the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Crusades as the core forces, they possess the most powerful military force as the ‘Sword of Christ.’ Therefore, the military operations in the Levant region, where Henry II and the young Eastern Roman Emperor Alexios II are, proceed smoothly.

They gradually occupy eastern Syria and northern Iraq and begin the ‘stabilization’ of Anatolia [modern-day Turkey], which is the most important task.

With this alone, they have already secured Anatolia (Asia Minor) and obtained a smooth land supply route. Moreover, thanks to Prince John’s efforts, they have secured a sea supply route due to their naval power!

It is a natural fact that a well-fed army fights well. Moreover, the number of troops has increased, making it possible to target the Persian region.

Henry II and Alexios II’s Crusades now aim for the entire Persian region.

The land of Persia, flowing with milk and honey, is a hub for trade and economy, as well as a military stronghold, so the Crusaders fight fiercely.

They occupy many territories, but there is a limit to this. They are slowly entering the realm of overexpansion.

They have taken too much and it is time to digest.

Summoning the commanders, Henry II says in a serious voice:

“Emperor Alexios, the time has come to fully absorb the numerous territories gained in this war. We must now rest for a while.”

“King Henry, I am well aware of that.”

Alexios II now agrees with Henry II’s words that it is necessary to defend against the Islamic forces and stabilize the territory, rather than conquering more territories.

Conquering territory can continue, but the important thing is to absorb only the land that can be managed.

Of course, the most important thing is to appropriately divide the ‘land’ among the knights who fought hard in the Crusades or to distribute the wealth obtained through the war.

At that time, news arrives that Damascus, one of the heartlands of Syria, has been captured by the Crusaders.

It is a great victory in the Syrian campaign.

Cairo and Damascus.

The moment the two regions fall into the hands of the Crusaders.

“Baldwin IV and Richard have done it.”

“Waaaaah.”

The Crusaders throughout Persia rejoice at the valuable victory in the nearby region. If the territorial conquest had been slow, jealousy would have taken precedence, but the Crusaders throughout Persia already have no shortage of conquered territories to consider for distribution.

Moreover, the fact that one of the heartlands of Syria is in the hands of the Crusaders means that the Caliph’s movements are now likely to become more passive.

Henry II, observing the excited atmosphere, looks at the red-burning sky and thinks:

‘When will we negotiate? With the Caliph… after the port of Alexandria is captured?’

He feels annoyed by the still persistent Caliph and.

‘John… this father is doing well. You rascal, are you fighting well over there?’

Thoughts filled with worry for his youngest son, John.

* * *

—1187, Throughout Egypt—

Mercenaries do everything for money, but they have a tendency to betray their employers when things get dangerous.

It is not for nothing that the Swiss mercenaries, who kept their trust even when facing immediate death, were famous.

The same is true of the Western Liao mercenary corps defending the port.

The mercenary corps, mostly composed of Turks who made up the majority of Western Liao, believe in Islam, but they are not so fanatical as to die for their faith.

At first, they fought for the fun of slitting the throats of Christians, but as the war situation gradually became unfavorable and they felt that their lives were in danger, they immediately.

“Let’s run away!”

“I refuse to die in vain.”

Words that the proud people of Western Liao could never utter come out.

“Execute the cowards.”

The commanders of the Western Liao mercenary corps, who absolutely do not want the morale of the troops to drop immediately, voice summary executions.

Summary executions or whatever, the Western Liao mercenary corps, feeling the most human desire to ‘live!’, begin to miss their homeland ruled by the Khitans [a nomadic people who founded the Liao dynasty in northern China].

Of course, not all of the Western Liao mercenary corps collapses.

There are also people who can’t give up easily after coming this far, rather than having a mercenary’s sense of duty.

However.

—Arise, warriors of the Lord, the day of glory has come~.

When the Crusaders begin a large-scale landing operation with the latest updated new song by Prince John.

“Stop the landing!”

“Damn it, what did the navy do?”

Their morale crumbles.

—Phew.

Freshly improved Irish arrows begin to pour in on the Islamic forces at close range.

The landing forces, already victorious in the naval battle and with high morale, advance without fear even when their comrades die in front of them.

“Hahaha, it’s time to eat the main course.”

Charles, who has gloriously won the naval battle, brilliantly orders the landing operation.

Another Crusader approaches the military port, singing ‘The Song of Cairo.’

Moreover, the Venetian army, also famous as notorious slave traders, begins to approach. An exciting campfire begins.

As a result, the atmosphere begins to collapse again, and the cornered Islamic forces slowly.

“Surrender! I will surrender.”

Starting with the surrender of the mercenary unit, the armies of the Ayyubid Sultanate [a Muslim dynasty founded by Saladin] and the Khwarazmian Sultanate [a Persian Sunni Muslim dynasty] gradually begin to collapse.

Every battle has its essence. What is the essence of this battle?

It is the simple fact of whether to seize or defend the strategic point of Alexandria.

The Muslims know this well, but in the end, they fail in the naval battle and fail to stop the landing. From that moment on, the war situation in Alexandria deteriorates rapidly.

And there is a more important fact.

Although the mercenaries from Western Liao try to earn their pay, the Mamluks [slave soldiers] in Egypt could have slightly different thoughts.

‘Our way to survive… is to pretend to be Copts [Egyptian Christians].’

There are those who try to convert most successfully in order to survive. Unfortunately, such people arise even in the vicinity of Alexandria, where a huge battle between the Crusaders and the Islamic forces is taking place.

One of them targets Alauddin, the most vulnerable prey, from the fiercely fighting Islamic forces.

—Phew.

“Your Highness!”

But it is not Prince Alauddin who is hit by that arrow.

“Safadin Bey, why?”

“I… don’t know… I just wanted to save… a bright future…”

Safadin, unable to finish his words, closes his eyes. With a very comfortable expression.

In this way, Alexandria, which had been held by the Islamic forces, falls into the hands of the Christians.

* * *

“The enemies are collapsing.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

I, my guards, and the knights next to me are active.

Robin is shooting arrows and cutting down enemies with his sword. Akbulhoe is smashing enemies with his newly acquired polearm.

Finally, Godfrey, the best knight in Ireland, whom I thought was the most reliable, approaches within my reach and gives me the answer I wanted most.

“We have broken through the encirclement.”

Safe John and the safe army have overcome the encirclement of the Islamic forces. The morale of the Islamic forces is collapsing.

Now I have room to breathe.

‘Wow, I can fight like this.’

In conclusion, I, Safe John, broke through the encirclement.

Unless I am some kind of pseudo-Xiang Yu [a prominent military leader of the late Qin dynasty] or pseudo-Richard from a medieval fantasy, there was bound to be sacrifice. These Islamic bastards came to target me on purpose.

They tried to kill me or take me hostage with all their might, so there was a huge loss of troops, and I had to overcome countless crises.

However.

The end is slowly in sight.

Because Masoud’s army is approaching, cutting down the Islamic forces within our reach.

“John, you’ve been through a lot.”

“Masoud, you’re very late.”

“Sorry, I was dealing with traitors from my homeland.”

Masoud himself is a ‘traitor’ who has converted and joined the Crusades, but from Masoud’s point of view, he had been ‘betrayed’ first when his half-brother Tekish brought in the Western Liao mercenary corps, so it is not wrong.

Anyway, feeling good about the joining of a reliable ally, I look at Masoud and say leisurely.

“Now, let’s push all the way to the main camp where Emperor Frederick is.”

“Okay, shall we bet on how many commanders we’ll cut down?”

“Good!”

As I shake the battlefield with Masoud’s army, I feel the atmosphere of the Islamic forces panicking in the distance.

Does this mean that the operation was successful after all?

‘Charles must have succeeded in the landing.’

I think that Charles’ fleet, which was directly targeting the port, has made a big hit or has already started landing.

Right then.

“I am Safadin!”

“We are Safadin.”

For some reason, Islamic commanders wearing the same clothes, with tearful voices, approach our Crusader camp. Waving the flag of the Ayyubid Sultanate.

Of course… there may or may not be a real Safadin among them. I couldn’t tell because their faces were not visible to the naked eye.

‘Are you trying to run away cowardly again?’

Those who were prepared to die were all shot with arrows and died as they hoped. As expected, the real Safadin was not among them.

Is Safadin thinking of running away again? Anyway, it didn’t matter.

Since the landing operation at the military port of Alexandria has already succeeded. The game is already over.

At that time, the Holy Roman Empire army joins our army. Frederick, the old man leading the army, brings good news.

“John, the leader of the heathens, Safadin, has been killed in battle.”

“Yes?”

News comes that Safadin had died after being hit by an arrow instead of saving the young Khwarazmian prince, Alauddin.

And after a while, a slightly rotten corpse arrives. The face is indeed the Safadin I knew.

So the confusion of the Islamic army I saw last time… was that it?

However, it was not a painful face due to pain, but a very peaceful expression.