"What? Let Isabella come over? Come to the siege camp where the plague broke out?!"
The mountain breeze blows away the smoke and brings the coolness of the morning. King Fernando's expression changed and he became excited. He stared sharply at Inquisitor Thomas, staring at the old and withered face. But the other party just nodded calmly and responded calmly.
"Fernando, in the current situation, if you want to inspire the Jihadi Army in the siege camp, especially the main Castilian army, you can only rely on the devout Isabella! And Isabella only needs to know what is happening in the camp. Given the current situation, with her strong character, she will definitely come on her own initiative!"
"What's more, after I came to the camp, I also communicated with the priests accompanying the army. In addition to the jihadist armies from various countries who were clamoring to evacuate, the various lords of the Kingdom of Castile also had the intention to retreat. In these circumstances, you As the head coach of the Jihad Army, it’s impossible not to know!”
Having said this, Justice Thomas looked at King Fernando with sharp eyes and asked in a deep voice.
"If Isabella doesn't come, can you suppress the powerful nobles who lead the troops in the Kingdom of Castile? Enrique, Duke of Medina-Sidonia? Ini, Duke of Infantado Go? Duke Alvaro of Behar? Duke Beltran of Albuquerque? Duke Faslik of Alba?. And Louis, Duke of Messinaceri, who has the highest status and the most influence!"
Upon hearing this series of names of great nobles, King Fernando looked gloomy and pursed his lips.
This series of dukes, with fiefdoms spread across the west, central and north of the Kingdom of Castile, is actually the biggest resistance to the centralization of royal power! The leader, Louis de la Serza, Duke of Messinaceri, originated from Fernando de la Serza, the eldest son of King Alfonso X of Castile more than two hundred years ago. Erza. Well, coincidentally, he has the same name as King Fernando.
Duke Louis made outstanding achievements many times in the wars with the Portuguese and the Moors, and had a great say in the army. Faced with the threat of the plague, the always brave Duke appeared worried and may have had the idea of retreating. And the only one who can restrain him is the pious, fearless and respectable Queen Isabella!
"Fernando, if the dukes proposed to withdraw their troops, how would you appease them? Or were you originally prepared to take advantage of everyone's suggestions to withdraw their troops? And then put the responsibility for the withdrawal on the duke who led the proposal? "
Thomas the Inquisitor said calmly. King Fernando closed his eyes and clenched his fists silently. After a while, he opened his eyes and looked at Justice Thomas.
"Dear black monk, you are right! Only by Isabella's coming can we boost the morale of the army and allow the Crusaders to persevere. Now, I have no other choice. I can only use all my chips to surround myself. The mountain city!"
"Praise the Lord! Fernando, you have finally made up your mind! The Book of Ephesians writes, 'God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.' '.This is to devote yourself completely and believe in God to achieve success!"
Justice Thomas smiled with satisfaction and spoke a passage. Then, he looked serious and said in a deep voice.
"Isabella can appease the more than 20,000 people in the Kingdom of Castile. As for the thousands of jihadists from various countries who want to evacuate, let them evacuate! It is impossible for us to attack the mountain city of Basa. Even if it’s less, it doesn’t matter.”
"God's siege must find a way to last longer. The Moors' defenders must make it difficult for them to hold on! Fernando, do you have any ideas to further attack the Moors?"
"Well, fight the Moors"
King Fernando pondered for a long time, with a ruthless look in his eyes. Then, he lowered his voice and spoke softly.
"Dear black monk, I thought of some old events in history, but they are not very consistent with the mercy of the Lord."
Hearing this, Justice Thomas nodded and promised.
“When facing pagans, no matter what methods you use, you will be forgiven by the Lord. The Lord will remove all your sins!”
"Well, I need a dead soldier infected with the plague who can enter the city of Barcelona in the name of an envoy and negotiate with the Moorish nobles! It's best for him to stay in the city and have as much contact with the Moors and water sources as possible. Or even die there."
"good idea"
Upon hearing such a ruthless plan, Thomas the Religious Chancellor showed no change of expression. He pondered for a while and responded affirmatively.
"God bless you! Two of the priests accompanying the army have been in contact with patients and have developed rashes. I will choose one of them to be the dead soldier who enters the city to negotiate."
"The Lord God witnesses! If there are two, in the name of the chief and deputy envoys, it will be more secure."
"Okay, then let both priests go. I believe they will dedicate themselves to the Lord!"
"By the way, before these two envoys enter the city, I will release a few Moorish noble prisoners and let them get infected first. To ensure nothing goes wrong. God bless you!"
"Praise the Lord! The merciful Lord is watching us and uses His promised blessings to achieve the victory of the Holy War!"
After the agreement was reached, King Fernando and Justice Thomas looked at each other with a faint smile on their faces. They stood in the light smoke and mountain breeze, bowed their heads and prayed together for a while, watching the smoke dissipate in the wind, and then left.
That night, a few messengers, one person and three horses, rushed to the Hahn camp in the northwest. Two days later, the Holy War Army showed its sincerity and first released a group of prisoners of Moorish nobles back to the city. Then, King Fernando sent envoys into the city to discuss withdrawal and surrender with the Moorish lords and nobles in the city.
Several days passed without any progress in the negotiations between the two parties. However, King Fernando's envoy fell ill in the city and was sent back by the defenders. When the black smoke of burning corpses rose again in the siege camp, similar smoke also began to appear in the mountain city. The morale of both sides besieging the city dropped almost at the same time.
The black and gray smoke pillars change in the sky, like the palm of death, gently touching everyone under the sky. He doesn’t care about nobleness or belief. Once he chooses one, he takes away the soul!
The sky is dark and the sunset is dark red. In this cold and frightening atmosphere, a gorgeous and solemn caravan, painted with royal patterns, surrounded by thousands of cavalry, appeared at the end of the northern sky. Soon, the golden and gorgeous caravan arrived at the siege camp.
Under the disbelieving gaze of tens of thousands of jihadists, a queen with a resolute expression and sharp eyebrows, wearing the royal uniform of Castile and carrying a gilded royal staff, strode down from the caravan. Accompanying her was a kind-faced cardinal wearing a golden crown.
Note: The dukes appearing in this chapter are all great nobles of the Kingdom of Castile during this period. These titles are also the oldest ducal titles in Spain.
