The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 70

70. Ireland Returns (3)

King Baldwin IV, who had been looking at Richard, spoke.

“You have been expanding the influence of the Kingdom of Jerusalem through various people for a long time, but you still wouldn’t marry my sister, would you?”

“Your Majesty…….”

Richard, being a prince who inherited the blood of his father, Henry II, intended to enjoy a brief affair with the beautiful Sibylla before fully engaging in the Syrian war.

In fact, the princess of Jerusalem, who was preparing for a divorce from Guy de Lusignan, who had politically fallen during the last Jerusalem purge, needed a new lover, and the handsome and imposing Prince Richard was a good romantic partner for her. Well, they had a slight affair.

Unfortunately, the two handsome and beautiful people did not have time to share an Eros-like love [passionate, romantic love], not Agape [unconditional, selfless love]. This was because Richard immediately went to war to attack Saladin.

In any case, marriage to Sibylla, who had recently divorced, guaranteed the position of the next King of Jerusalem.

However, Prince Richard was not very attracted to the current Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Even excluding the situation in Alexandria, where nobles colluded with Islam and Islamic forces disguised as Christians were discovered.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was as unstable as a house built on sand, and if one had ambitions for Middle Eastern hegemony, the newly acquired territories in Syria or Egypt would be better.

Of course, Baldwin IV knew that.

“Even though I am afflicted with the cursed leprosy, and even though I am an incompetent monarch who did not know that the Kingdom of Jerusalem was decaying like my face, how could I entrust Jerusalem to you? What I am asking you is a different matter. You don’t like stepping forward in the first place, do you?”

Even though Baldwin IV spoke indirectly, Prince Richard clearly realized what Baldwin IV wanted.

“Are you asking me to recommend a candidate?”

“Yes, there must be nobles with the blood of the Angevin family [a royal house of French origin that ruled England in the 12th and 13th centuries] besides you four great brothers. But I don’t have information about the members of Anjou in mainland Europe, so Richard, please give me a recommendation.”

Richard was a little burdened by the term ‘four great brothers,’ but he grasped the core of what Baldwin IV was saying.

“…Then there is only one candidate. The only noble with strong Angevin blood, though not our brother, is William… only William. And he happens to be unmarried.”

The Count of Surrey family.

The head of that family, the Count of Surrey, was Henry II’s illegitimate brother.

It was a relationship no different from that of Ishmael (the firstborn) and Isaac (the second son from the legitimate wife) in the Bible.

However, the Count of Surrey had performed many meritorious deeds, and as a result, he used his wife and mother’s ‘noble titles’ to become a powerful figure in England who, though born out of wedlock, founded a new noble family.

Of course, the Count of Surrey was a person with a history of being an illegitimate child not recognized by the Catholic Church. But what about William, the legitimate son of the Count of Surrey, born to a noble lady?

“William is also handsome and capable, inheriting the blood of our Angevin family. He will save the Kingdom of Jerusalem from crisis.”

“William… William, you say… So he was your man, Richard.”

“That’s right. Unlike his uncle (the Count of Surrey) who has the blood of a bastard, he is a legitimate cousin.”

“You too have the blood of the Angevin family.”

At that moment, Baldwin IV saw Richard differently. He realized it now. Richard was not just a commander who was good at fighting, but a hero skilled in politics.

A cunning hero with the insidious blood of the Angevin family.

Then, Prince Richard spoke again.

“Also, there is something I want to request from Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

As Richard began to speak.

Baldwin IV smiled. A smile made as a human, not as a king.

* * *

―1187, Scotland―

In Scotland, where the fragrant mountain breeze blows, Robert, who called himself the commander of the independence army, asked with a serious expression.

“Have the comrades from Wales not arrived yet?”

Things would be easier with the support of Welsh friends. Because the English mainland is threatened.

“That’s… they have already been deposed by the people sent by Lionheart [King Richard I of England].”

“I expected it.”

Robert was well aware that Lionheart Heinrich’s people were planted all over the Welsh territories.

“Your Excellency, a letter has arrived from Prince John.”

“Again, John.”

Prince John is an Englishman who was reincarnated from the Middle Ages, but he is a unique person with memories of his previous life in the 21st century.

So, he removes all medieval European rhetoric.

He was sending letters in the form of 5,700 characters filled with only the main points, according to the number of copies.

To the Great Rebels of Scotland (Part 1)

(Part 2)

* * *

* * *

* * *

(Part 10)

He was sending letters in the form of web novels, not just warning the rebels of Scotland. Starting with conspiracy theories like, ‘You guys colluded with France, didn’t you?’ In the end, Scotland, the rebel army that England will suppress, was depicted as a puppet for proxy warfare. It was a bizarre letter.

“Prince John, does this guy have no pride?”

But what Prince John sent was not just letters.

“Your Excellency, the Irish fleet is currently looting coastal cities.”

“Damn English pirates.”

A fair fight was a luxury for the English, and Prince John was also an English prince!

* * *

―Ireland―

First of all, what we need to show our cute rebel friends in Scotland is not just a series of 5,700 characters written in a rigid manner.

Another gift is Admiral Charles’s splendid coastal looting, which has evolved by transplanting the Chinese fleet’s mobile warfare.

Landing operations are notorious even in the 21st century. There is a foothold called Britain, so why bother landing? It’s better to just go underwater for a while, loot, and run away in a guerrilla-style coastal looting.

The Scottish fleet’s power has long been destroyed by our England. Honestly, our Irish territory’s fleet alone can handle it!

Anyway, as I was working hard, I had a strange dream.

[I am the King of Israel.]

A man wearing a crown, not as handsome as me, but handsome in his own way, started the dream by saying he was the King of Israel.

Could this be… the owner of the ring I got?

[Are you David?]

[He is my grandfather.]

Then the person in front of me was the 4th monarch of Israel, but Rehoboam, the dark ruler who made Israel into Northern Israel and Southern Judah because he couldn’t handle politics on a grand scale.

[That ring is the ring my grandfather received as a gift from Prince Jonathan, who was close friends with him.]

Prince Jonathan is the crown prince of Saul, the first monarch of Israel. Saul often kept David, a threatening general, in check, but rather, Crown Prince Jonathan was David’s close friend.

Anyway, it’s a dream, but it’s been authenticated as genuine.

[But it was not my grandfather David or my father Solomon who engraved the phrase ‘This too shall pass.’ I, who lost everything when Jeroboam (the first monarch of Northern Israel) took away 10 of the 12 tribes (tribes) that were the power base of Israel, had that phrase engraved to survive.

But then the Pharaoh of Egypt invaded and looted this ring that the royal craftsman was engraving. Ha, don’t live as incompetently as I did and always live safely. John, the reborn one.]

Honestly, it was a dog dream [a meaningless or nonsensical dream].

But I hoped it wasn’t just a dog dream. If it’s not just a simple dog dream, then this ring is genuine!

“Good!”

I woke up from the dream, shouting.

My family looked at me strangely.

“John, what’s wrong?”

“Papa?”

“Papa!”

“Father?”

Unlike other European nobles, I was taking a leisurely nap in a spacious master bedroom. My whole family saw me wake up.

Mary, James, Elizabeth, Charles.

Looking at my lovely family, I said.

“Mary, I had a very good dream.”

“Kids, your dad had a really happy dream.”

First of all, the Irish territorial army I took with me was disbanded. The contracts of the mercenaries were also over. Of course, I never forgot to fully reward them for their hard work.

I gave the knights and nobles a piece of land that Peter and I had carefully created, or gave them gold. I gave the rest of the guys a bonus in addition to the promised salary.

A considerable amount of budget was spent, but I didn’t regret it at all. Those who suffered far away in the Middle East deserve this reward.

“It was an honor to fight with Prince John.”

“I will never forget that glorious time.”

After disbanding the existing army.

I summoned the army again.

“Our England treated Scotland as warmly and kindly as it accepted Ireland. But as the saying goes, ‘a black-haired beast does not know grace,’ the treacherous Scotland betrayed our England for silver coins (French currency) as cruelly as Judas Iscariot. What a lamentable thing this is!

Therefore, I, under the command of the benevolent, great, and energetic King Henry II, am trying to suppress the rebels. I am recruiting brave men to join this new suppression force!”

Honestly, my father did rob some Scottish nobles, but he was too busy with the Crusades to properly exploit Scotland.

Anyway, at least I am a lord who ruled Ireland benevolently so that no other voices came out, right?

And then Peter came up and explained the welfare benefits that the rebel suppression force with Prince John would receive.

“Long live Safe John!”

“Long live Prince John!”

“Defeat the treacherous enemies!”

There were so many Irish men who were desperate for a fair salary.

* * *

―Western Liao, Balasagun.―

While Safe John was struggling to suppress the rebellion today.

In the East, a cataclysm occurred.

That is, the Jin Dynasty massively invaded Western Liao.

In the first place, Western Liao was a country founded by the imperial family of the Liao Dynasty, who were chased by the Jin Dynasty. Of course, the Jin Dynasty had no intention of attacking Western Liao, which did not aim for China again in that corner.

The Third Crusade itself was a historical change that affected Central Asia—Mongolia. The Emperor of the Jin Dynasty, Wanyan Oulu, thought.

‘Western Liao is collapsing faster than I thought, is this doable?’

Originally, Western Liao was gradually running out of strength and collapsing at this point.

However, the Islamic-Turkic people, who were the military base of Western Liao, went on a large-scale dispatch to the Middle East when the Third Crusade broke out.

The infighting that started in the palace and the unit became more extreme. No more forgiveness and reconciliation can be expected, and the end of the world has come to Western Liao, where they can only survive by devouring each other like hungry ghosts.

At that time, the Jin Dynasty army, which briefly raised troops in Jiangnan and warned the Southern Song Dynasty by slightly disciplining them.

‘If you guys mess around, you’ll be killed by the Jurchens!’ The army of the Jin Dynasty immediately began a massive invasion of Western Liao.

The army of the Jin Dynasty, which was running its heyday, was strong, fast, and relaxed thanks to smooth supply. Above all, Emperor Wanyan Oulu, who made their golden age, personally led the army, so morale was high.

The outer walls of Balasagun, the capital of Western Liao, were captured, so the fall of the capital was not far off.

“The history of Khitan [another name for the Liao Dynasty]. It’s burning.”

The Emperor of Western Liao, Yelu Zhigulu, looked at the burning city with tears in his eyes.

“Your Majesty, you must escape. You must save your life and aim for the future.”

“My world is collapsing and burning. How can… only I live on?”

“Your Majesty… Your Majesty! Could it be?”

“Thank you for everything so far.”

With those words, the Emperor of Western Liao stabbed his own neck with a golden dagger like a real man.

Not long after, the moment came when the history of Western Liao collapsed as Emperor Yelu Zhigulu said.

“Catch them!”

“Loot them!”

“Those arrogant Western Liao bastards, did you think we would only watch your chaos!”

The capital was captured by the Jin Dynasty.

“Ah… our Liao Dynasty…….”

“Sniff, I can’t believe our country is going to be destroyed like this.”

While the palaces of Western Liao were burning and the newly created prisoners were wailing as they watched the roofs collapsing along with their homeland.

Another emperor was having the most shining moment in his life.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty!”

―Congratulations!

The emperor, who was cheered by the commanders who followed him, said.

“What we lacked compared to that weak Southern Song Dynasty was economic power. But if we get Western Liao, things will be different.”

The moment the Jin Dynasty takes Western Liao, which is located at the crossroads of Central Asia, as its territory, it can do more than it does now.

“Western Liao. This is where our ancestor, the great Agulta, spared only their lives. Like ‘chicken ribs’ [something of little value or use], there is no meat to eat, but it is too good to throw away. But it’s so good…….”

“What are the Mongol bastards doing?”

“They are still in fierce civil war.”

“Yes, the Mongol bastards have to fight in tribal units like that. Mongolia will be a sufficient threat to the Jin Dynasty if it is unified.”

Because he was the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, which was running at its peak, he knew better about the potential of Mongolia. Fortunately, the Mongol bastards were fighting among themselves, so it was a moment of relief.

However, unlike the happy mind of Wanyan Oulu, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, the tribal strife in Mongolia was virtually over, and everyone bowed their heads to Temujin [later known as Genghis Khan].

However, Temujin accepted the advice of Jamukha, who had now become his junma [close aide or advisor], and was temporarily bowing his head to the Jin Dynasty.

‘Temujin, we can’t beat the Jin Dynasty if we come forward now! They are running their heyday now. But in any country, when the heyday passes, the decline comes naturally.

So, you pretend to fight with Ong Khan and me for the hegemony of the steppe, and release the Naiman women who have been taken as a lot of gold and slaves to entertain the envoys of the Jin Dynasty. Like your childhood, be patient and endure a little. Soon, the moment the Jin Dynasty tries to go downhill, the new Mongolian order with the advanced culture of Christianity will sweep the East.’

Mongolia, which started with the alliance of Temujin—Ong Khan—Jamukha, had already been subjugated under Temujin and Christianized, but the Jin Dynasty did not grasp that fact.

Of course, the reason is that there were officials who ate bribes, but the Jurchens looked at the Mongols as barbarians, just as the Khitans used to look at the Jurchens.

But they didn’t know.

The already unified Mongolia was hiding its power.