On the distant horizon, dust billows.
On the walls of Kaleburg, the defenders shuttled back and forth nervously.
Saladin's army, just this morning, crossed the border between the two countries without any warning and headed towards Kale Fort.
squeak--
More than a dozen armored sergeants pushed the winch hard and erected the heavy suspension bridge, ignoring the scattered people who came from the villages outside the city, dragging their families and families, to seek refuge not far away.
"Please, open the city gate and let us in."
"Our village has been slaughtered, and those Saracens will not let us go."
"Limoor, I am your biological uncle. These are the relatives and neighbors who have watched you grow up. Please be patient and postpone raising the suspension bridge!"
People crowded under the city walls and begged.
On the city wall, some people showed unbearable expressions, but no one dared to respond to them.
The enemy's light cavalry is watching just a stone's throw away. As long as they dare to lower the suspension bridge, these cavalry will rush up and seize the suspension bridge at all costs.
The sergeants and levies who defended the city were like hard-working worker ants. They piled round stone balls with the edges polished off next to the trebuchet, which was a hybrid trebuchet.
As long as the rope hanging the weight is cut off, the stone bullet in the net bag at the other end can be thrown out.
The Saracens called this trebuchet the Furious, and it was widely used in their armies.
Large pots were set up on the city wall, filled with black kerosene. As long as it was poured down, a siege ladder could be easily burned down.
Others carried wooden barrels filled with sand and water and piled them in front of the battlements to prevent accidental fire damage.
The carts carried the bricks and stones stored in Kaleburg in advance and piled them in the tower above the first city gate.
After the enemy attacks the first city gate, the defenders can hurl stones downward from the tower to prevent the enemy from further opening the second city gate.
It has to be said that Carle Castle, which Leonard has been running for a long time, is like a strong fortress. It is filled with enough supplies for thousands of defenders for half a year. It is definitely not something that the Saracens can easily defeat.
Leonard, who was covered in armor, his livid face was full of anger. He gritted his teeth and said: "Damn it, I knew that Saladin would definitely choose Kaleborg as his target. He hates me and regards me as his lifelong enemy, even if he gives up Jerusalem wants my life too!”
Stephanie's face was full of determination. This female knight was wearing a military uniform, and her tall and strong body was no worse than that of the male knights: "This is our glory, Leonard, we and the pagans will never stop fighting. The more he hates them, the more he hates them." We, the more we should feel honored."
Leonard laughed loudly and said: "Yes, Stephanie, let Saladin hate me. I will defeat his army here. By then, the entire kingdom will be shocked by my achievements."
After finishing laughing, Leonard said nervously: "Stephanie, has the letter for help been sent out?"
"Well, the letter was sent out as soon as the scout finished reporting it."
"By the way, we need to send someone to our little neighbor. He has trained a good group of armored sergeants and asked his guard officer to immediately send all the troops to support."
Stephanie wondered: "Will the defenders of Jorge Castle agree to abandon their castle and come to support them?"
Leonard said with confidence: "They will know the severity. Once Kale Fort is breached, their pitiful and dilapidated fortress that can be blown down by just a gust of wind will not be able to withstand the attack of the infidels! And! As long as Kalle Fort is defended, even if part of the Saracens' scattered army leaks in, they can only plunder a few villages."
Leonard stood on the city wall, stroking the cold and rough rocks.
There was a blush on his face due to excitement: "Come on, Saladin, I know you have always regarded me as your old enemy, so let us have a big battle openly."
...
On the Gobi Desert outside the castle.
White square tents are located in the palm grove outside the city.
The wandering Saracen light cavalry had swept through all the villages near Kaleburg, and the vacant houses were filled with soldiers recruited from various ministries.
On the edge of the woods, the craftsmen and servants accompanying the army were cutting down trees and assembling ladders, siege engines, siege towers and huge counterweight trebuchets.
In the center of all the tents, there is an extremely tall tent.
A king wearing exquisite golden scales and a black turban was sitting on a gold-inlaid throne, listening to the information reported by the leaders of the tribes.
This was the appearance of a man who could not be said to be handsome, but certainly not ugly or mediocre.
His cheek was thin, with a scar said to have been left by an assassin raised by the old man in the mountains.
Behind him is a huge map hanging up. On it, two red lines are like sharp Arabian straight swords, penetrating into the hinterland of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Obviously, this is Saladin, the monarch of the Ayyubid dynasty who started in Egypt and has now unified most of the Arab region. Zoroastrianism is no less powerful than the Sasanian dynasty of the Millennium Empire.
The chiefs and lords of various tribes gradually dispersed.
Only Saladin and his brother Adil were left in the tent.
Saladin suddenly remembered something and asked, "Adil, Kaleborg is the territory of the one who broke the contract, right?"
"That's right, my king."
"Reynard..."
Mentioning this person, even a calm monarch like Saladin felt a burst of disgust from the bottom of his heart.
Count Leonard, after becoming the lord of Kaleburg, once made a big move, which was to organize a navy and plan to go south to attack another sacred place of Zoroastrianism.
This was used to extort large sums of money from them.
This greedy, despicable, shameless, and unchivalrous villain has always been a thorn in the flesh of many Saracens.
Adil said solemnly: "My king, within three days, I will attack this castle and offer the head of Leonard, the villain who has offended the Holy Land and repeatedly attacked our caravans."
"No, just a feint is enough."
Saladin looked at his younger brother and his beloved general, and said solemnly: "I do hate this despicable and shameful breaker of the contract, but don't forget that our goal is to regain the Holy City."
"The generals and chieftains who gathered under my banner were all invited by me in the name of Jihad. Although there are more than 20,000 soldiers in total, the number of soldiers and horses directly belonging to our headquarters is less than 10,000. number."
"Adil, my empire is not monolithic. We cannot lose too many troops here. Otherwise, we will not even be able to see the walls of Jerusalem and we will have to withdraw in despair."
"The King of Kings who lives in Ctesiphon is waiting to see me return in defeat."
Saladin often boasted that he had hundreds of thousands of troops under his command.
This is true, but it is distributed throughout the Ayyubid Kingdom, including troops stationed in various places, troops that are only loyal to the local lords, and a large number of civilians who can be recruited to serve as cannon fodder.
The expedition was laborious and subject to supply constraints.
Even if the Kingdom of Jerusalem divided more than half of its troops and headed north, Saladin's 30,000-strong army still did not have an overwhelming advantage.
