“May Heavenly Father forgive them their sins in this life.”
Lothar made a cross in front of himself. He was not a cold person. He could treat his enemies mercilessly. He could also sentence gangsters who massacred the weak and robbed civilians to death without blinking an eye.
But in all fairness, these people have not committed such unforgivable sins.
When Lothar was a social worker in her previous life, she didn't even dare to fish during working hours.
But harsh punishments have been the key to controlling the army since ancient times.
If Lothar had no one in his hands, no soldiers, and no unconditional trust from Baldwin IV, and he dared to do this, he might end up being betrayed.
But he had his own soldiers. Unless everyone in the Royal Knights united and openly rebelled, there would be nothing he could do to Lothar.
After severe punishment, there must be gentleness.
After all, knights are a quasi-aristocratic class, equivalent to the officer class of an army. They cannot just suppress them, but must pay attention to a combination of kindness and power.
This is much more effective than simply applying pressure or showing favor like Count Philip.
Just a small favor will never make an army appreciate your kindness and be as loyal to you as the fingers of an arm.
Even in the past life, when the goddess who had a straight face all day suddenly smiled at you, it was far more flattering than when she usually greeted you with a smile.
Lothar watched the execution end and turned around to leave.
Earl Philip squeezed through the crowd and gritted his teeth: "Baron Lothar, they never expected that someone would attack the crown prince, but you took their lives!"
Lothar looked at him condescendingly and said coldly:
"Count Philip, you have been acquitted, but you must know that this is a trial without the Grand Council and the procedure is unfair. I have the right to take you back at any time."
Earl Philip smiled miserably: "Oh, even after trial, my result will not be worse than this."
"Yeah?"
Lothar chuckled and said, "Sir Philip, how many people do you have now?"
"How much use do you still have for the princes or queens who have wooed you? Is this really enough for them to use their influence to save your official title and life?"
Lothar said in a respectful tone: "My lord, do you know where you went wrong?"
Philip looked stunned.
"The Royal Knights only allow the royal party to exist."
Looking at Lothar's back, Earl Philip sighed. He said to the attendant following him: "Let's go back to the fiefdom of Saxony."
...
In the main hall of the court meeting.
Count Leonard's penetrating voice echoed in the hall: "This is a despicable murder, damn the Saracens, they finally took off their disguise and revealed their ugly true face!"
The former Archduke of Antioch, who had an unforgettable relationship with the pagans, clenched his fists: "War, we need a war. The weak Greeks have made peace with Saladin, and the kings of the West are still fighting for power in the Apennines. There is no People will come to help us, and no one is a truly reliable reinforcement!”
"For the honor of the knights and the will of God, we must take the initiative to go to war with the Saracens. Our army will be like a sacred spear, piercing the heart of the enemy!"
Count Leonard's impassioned speech aroused roars of applause.
Saracens are also a general term for Zoroastrians, regardless of Persians, Kurds, and Egyptians.
Just like Franks, it is also a collective name for a series of Western European ethnic groups such as Gauls, Germans, and Angles.
Promoting the evil of pagans and the honor and courage of knights is a politically correct sentence in this era.
Although Lothar felt that no one should walk out of the fortress built by the Crusaders in this scorching sun to fight against the infidel army.
But this did not prevent them from saying so, and treating anyone who dared to propose to defend the castle and allow Saladin's army to plunder the village as a coward and a traitor who colluded with the heretics.
This also caused Lothar to swallow back the "strong walls and clear fields" that Lothar originally wanted to propose.
If you think about it, you will know that it is impossible for these stupid and short-sighted nobles to have the courage to make such a choice.
As a result, Lothar became a clay and wood sculpture in this Grand Council.
He just calculated that Savoddin would lead the army south, which seemed to be beneficial to King Saleh and Abdullah to cause trouble in the north.
At this time, someone rushed into the hall and shouted loudly: "Lord Tiberius, the governor of Syria Savoddin, with tens of thousands of troops, has defeated Akkas and Rog Fort, and is heading towards Tripoli. Push forward.”
Earl Raymond's expression changed slightly.
The whole hall was even more noisy.
The northern part of the Kingdom of Jerusalem is almost all the territory of Count Raymond and his vassals.
Without the position of regent, he is still the king of the county of Tripoli, but if he loses the territory of Tripoli, he may not still be the regent.
Not everyone can be as lucky as Count Leonard, who lost his title as Grand Duke of Antioch and still became the Count of Transjordan through marriage.
Many of the Queen Mother's party secretly expected that the Earl of Tripoli would lead his followers north to fight against the enemy's invasion.
Then Jerusalem would be theirs alone.
"It was just a feint."
"The Saracens' navy is no match for the Knights and the Tripoli fleet. Even if they besiege Tripoli, they will not be able to break through this strong city in a short time."
Regent Raymond's tone was very calm: "Saladin's real goal is always Jerusalem. They want to take the Holy Land as their own. There are only two ways to go."
"Egypt and Transjordan."
In the former case, the first one to bear the brunt is the territory of Baron Godfrey; in the latter, the first one to bear the brunt is the territory of Earl Leonard.
The climate of the Holy Land determines how long an army can spend on an expedition.
If Saladin wanted to attack from the north, there were too many strongholds that needed to be pulled out, which was obviously unreasonable.
Despite this, Lothar still lamented that Count Raymond was by no means a mediocre person. He could still remain calm when his foundation for life was attacked. This was not something ordinary people could do.
Count Leonard shouted: "Then we should take advantage of this opportunity to eat up the main force of this enemy. In the north, it is very close to the Acre City of the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights' Castle of the Knights Templar." , we can quickly assemble an elite force composed of 500 heavy cavalry, which will definitely make this group of heathens unable to come back."
"Yes, let's start a war!"
People chanted.
Earl Raymond was silent for a moment, and he said: "I have to ask for your Majesty's opinion. If he agrees to let us go north to meet the enemy, then we will send troops to attack."
