Aid and Plans

Lothar spoke frankly, "His Majesty has a task for me, but I have too few men available right now. I need your help, Lord Godfrey."

He then explained in detail to Baron Godfrey what Baldwin IV had entrusted him with.

"I have a hundred cavalrymen and twelve knights under my command. How many do you want to borrow?"

Baron Godfrey asked with a serious expression.

So many cavalrymen?

Lothar was startled by the strength Baron Godfrey commanded. Few imperial counts could match such a large standing army.

Imperial counts referred to those directly under the emperor of Greater Germania, not those enfeoffed under grand dukes.

Werner was one of them.

If all the conscripted militiamen were included, Baron Godfrey alone could muster over a thousand men.

Lothar pondered for a moment and replied, "At least twenty. As for knights... I need someone who is adaptable and familiar with the terrain and power structures of the Holy Land."

Baron Godfrey asked leisurely, "What do you intend to do?"

"If it's about burning a few villages, pillaging, and slaughtering a few hundred pagan civilians, then ten cavalrymen would be enough. Their combat skills are very proficient."

Lothar frowned. "Burning villages? Slaughtering civilians?"

"I never intended to do that."

Although war always affected civilians, he would never personally slaughter unarmed people.

He couldn't overcome that inner barrier.

Lothar's expression turned solemn. "Justice, mercy, punishing evil and promoting good, not drawing swords against the weak – that is the creed of a knight."

Baron Godfrey said earnestly, "But His Holiness the Pope said that killing heathens is not murder. Lothar, you must understand that the pedantic cannot achieve great things, whether in the Holy Land or elsewhere."

Lothar fell silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"My lord, what you say may be true. But one cannot disregard their conscience. I cannot lie to myself and say this is the right thing to do."

Baron Godfrey remained silent for a long time.

Lothar looked up and saw relief, admiration, and nostalgia on the Baron's face.

He sighed deeply. "Lothar, you are truly nothing like your father. I speak from the heart."

"Aside from your intelligence and courage, you resemble him neither in appearance nor in character. You are far more handsome than your father."

Baron Godfrey patted Lothar's shoulder, and the two men shared a smile.

"Your father was a devout believer. He understood strategy and military tactics, but he did not possess the kindness you do."

"He was known as the executioner, a cold-blooded butcher who showed no mercy to his enemies, nor to those Crusader nobles who colluded with heathens. The Crusader nobles feared him, and the heathens hated and dreaded him."

Seeing Lothar's changed expression, Baron Godfrey chuckled. "But rest assured, many in the Court Party and the Queen Mother's Party also admire Werner's fairness and integrity. No one will hold it against you, at least not openly."

Lothar smiled.

He wasn't actually afraid of being targeted. Only mediocre people are not envied. Since he benefited from Werner's legacy, paying off his father's debts was nothing.

However, it would be best if there were no repercussions.

The smile on Baron Godfrey's face gradually faded, replaced by a hint of sadness. "The reason your father left the Holy Land back then was because he disagreed with me and His Majesty. On many occasions, we not only failed to support him but even opposed him."

"He believed we had betrayed the noble ideals we once established, seeking peace with the heathens instead of fighting resolutely to the end."

Baron Godfrey's face showed a trace of bitterness.

Lothar was slightly taken aback. Count Werner's past actions indeed seemed like those of a devout believer.

But this was the first time Lothar realized how upright he had been back then.

Even after the Battle of Montgisard defeated Saladin, the power disparity between the Crusader states and the Ayyubid Sultanate remained immense. The sheer scale of their forces was a factor.

"However, looking back, he must have come to terms with it, otherwise, he wouldn't have sent you to us."

"Lothar, the fact that His Majesty could entrust you with this important mission shows that he also thinks highly of you."

Lothar said solemnly, "I will certainly not disappoint His Majesty or you."

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Returning alive is more important than anything, even if it means bearing shame. Only by living can there be a future."

"I understand."

Baron Godfrey patted Lothar's shoulder. "I have a unit of Kurdish cavalry under my command. They once served the Zengid Dynasty. After Saladin destroyed the Zengid Dynasty, they swore to avenge their lord, willing to serve even heathens."

Baron Godfrey stared into Lothar's eyes. This was one of his greatest secrets.

Although in the Holy Land, Crusader nobles were more or less colluding with heathens, and even King Baldwin IV had exchanged letters with Saladin.

But this was something that absolutely could not be brought to light.

Lothar said decisively, "That would be for the best, then! Take this unit of Kurdish cavalry! But the problem is, Saladin will surely blame this on the remnants of the Zengid Dynasty."

The Zengid Dynasty had been the suzerain of the Ayyubid Sultanate. They were overthrown and their territories occupied by Saladin a few years prior, making them remnants of the former regime.

Furthermore, their power was mainly concentrated in areas like Aleppo and Antioch, where they were familiar with the terrain.

The former Duke of Antioch, Count Reynald, and Count Joscelin III of Edessa, had been defeated by the Zengid Dynasty's army, losing their territories as a result.

And Saladin himself was a Kurd, so it made sense that this Kurdish cavalry unit belonged to him.

Baron Godfrey chuckled lightly, "How things really are often doesn't matter."

Lothar also realized this and nodded, "The Sasanian King lacks a reason to send troops, and all we need to do is give him one."

If Saladin recaptured Jerusalem, he would become the Savior of the entire Zoroastrian world.

His prestige would immediately overshadow the King of Kings of the Sasanian Dynasty.

And outwardly, the Sasanian King absolutely could not hinder Saladin, otherwise, there would be no way to explain it to the Zoroastrian believers who longed for the Holy Land to be restored.

Baron Godfrey added with a smile, "Even if there are unreasonable aspects, the Sasanian King will cover them up for us."

He looked at the beads of sweat on Lothar's temples and smiled, "You should change into a silk robe. It's cooler and more fitting for a nobleman."

"Don't worry, silk isn't that expensive in Jerusalem. It's only because of those stingy merchants that the price has quadrupled. If you can't afford it, I can give you one."

Lothar quickly replied, "Then I won't be polite."

Baron Godfrey was slightly taken aback and said helplessly, "I was just being polite."

Lothar's face was full of bitterness, "I really have no money. His Majesty rewarded me with a thousand solidus, but I decided to use that money to arm fifty armored soldiers."

"Provisions, military equipment, soldiers' salaries, training grounds – I wish I could split every gold coin in half with this money."

"Fifty armored soldiers?"

Baron Godfrey was stunned.

"Lothar, in the Holy Land, organizing ten cavalrymen with this money would be more effective than fifty armored infantrymen."

Lothar said with some helplessness, "As a knight, I cannot recruit wandering knights and their squires. I can only hire some mounted soldiers, whose combat effectiveness is far from that of knights, and they are too expensive."

The difference in combat effectiveness between knights and ordinary nomads was evident in the battle against the Magyar cavalry.

Lothar certainly knew that cavalry was king in this era; in fact, until the rise of the phalanx, cavalry was the undisputed king.

No matter how renowned Alexander's phalanx was, it couldn't change the fact that companion cavalry was the decisive factor.

The Empire's invincible legions, holding square shields and eagle banners high, still had to hire auxiliary cavalry from barbarian and Nubian tribes.

He also wielded the Winged Hussars' Iris Banner, a divine artifact for cavalry, so he should be vigorously developing cavalry.

But knowing it and being able to afford it were two different things.

A warhorse, not even counting the food it needed to be fed, cost as much as the equipment for several armored soldiers.

"Indeed."

Baron Godfrey was persuaded and nodded, "As long as you have your own considerations, my experience may not be suitable for your actual situation."

"Rest in the city tonight, and we'll set off immediately tomorrow to return to Ibelin. You need to rendezvous with that Kurdish cavalry unit there."

"By sea?"

"Yes, Ibelin is not far from the coastline. I will arrange for you to take a boat north, land at the Port of Haifa, pass through the Galilee region, and enter Ayyub's sphere of influence."