People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted - Chapter 867: Jerusalem
People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted
Chapter 867: JerusalemChapter 867 Return to JerusalemRoyal Palace, Jerusalem, courtyard.
The old baron, who had just returned to Jerusalem from Ibelin, came to the palace immediately.
"Sir Godfrey, are you here to persuade me as well?"
Godfrey stared at the young face of Baldwin IV, smiled and shook his head: "Your Majesty, you are much more handsome than before."
Baldwin couldn't help but touch his cheek. He had been wearing an iron mask since he was thirteen years old due to facial ulcers. If that was the last time he "met" Godfrey, it had been exactly ten years ago.
He laughed dumbly and said, "It's been ten years, Lord Godfrey. I have forgotten what I looked like back then."
Godfrey sighed and said, "Your Majesty, in my memory, you still look like you did ten years ago. I am not here to dissuade you this time. I just wonder if there is any more legal means."
He did not have the idea of pushing the Ibelin family to the throne. After all, Baldwin intended to match Sibylla and Balian after he recovered his health.
At that time, although Princess Sibylla's son Baldwin the Younger was still the first heir to the throne, almost no one thought that Sibylla could still become the regent of Jerusalem.
"What do you think?"
Godfrey frowned and said, "Why not marry Her Highness Sibylla to Lothar? This will make sense from a legal perspective."
"Sir Godfrey, you are really..."
Baldwin laughed dumbly: "I understand your concerns, but Lord Godfrey, do you think the law is higher than the king, or the king is higher than the law?"
Godfrey hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the king is of course above the law, but a king who provokes everyone to oppose him is not a king."
"Sir Godfrey, power is above the law and above the king."
Baldwin IV gently pushed down the "king", "queen" and "bishop" on the chessboard: "In my opinion, the only difficulty in passing the throne to Lothar is whether he is willing to take over, not whether he can."
Godfrey was slightly stunned, frightened by what Baldwin said. It was too naked: "If power is really above all else, Your Majesty, then Lord Raymond would not have been just a regent."
"When Raymond was at his most prominent, he could only represent half of the kingdom's voice. The other half was always his rival. Moreover, there were powerful enemies surrounding him outside."
"As for Lothar, even if we combine the power of the entire kingdom and bring in the help of Richard and Philip, we still cannot resist his will. This is also what I like most about him. He has such a powerful force, but he is very restrained in doing things."
Godfrey was silent for a moment. He had witnessed the power that Lothar wielded with his own eyes, and he had no doubts about it.
"But your majesty, this will most likely lead to a war, and the entire kingdom will be reduced to scorched earth."
"You think too highly of them."
Baldwin chuckled and said, "The power difference between the two sides is so obvious that no matter how much they clamor and oppose, they will never dare to take the dead end of armed confrontation. Even if there are really those who don't know how to live or die, they will become docile when the dragon flies over their heads."
Baldwin looked at Godfrey and said with a smile: "I believe that he will be the greatest king of Jerusalem, a monarch who can truly create the heaven on earth in your mind and mine."
Godfrey was obviously persuaded, and couldn't help asking again: "Then where do you plan to go after you retire, Your Majesty? Go back to Europe? Or stay in the current royal territory and make it your fiefdom?"
Baldwin smiled but said nothing. Godfrey's loyalty was beyond doubt, but precisely because of this, he felt that if he really told Godfrey about his idea of becoming a knight-errant, Godfrey would definitely try his best to stop him.
But he was really fed up with the dark palace, and now that he had recovered his health, he just wanted to see the colorful world outside.
"How is the news spreading in the city about Lothar coming to take over the throne of Jerusalem?"
Baldwin took the initiative to spread the news in order to see people's reactions and to pave the way for his subsequent actions.
"This issue is being discussed in the streets and alleys, and the vast majority of voices agree, but in many closed-door meetings, opposing voices are the mainstream."
Baldwin smiled and said, "A secret meeting. I didn't expect that the Franks would learn the Greeks' faults so soon after arriving in the Holy Land. But Godfrey, you should know that all the cunning tricks will not make any waves in the face of the grand situation."
He paused and emphasized, "Since they only dare to shout in dark corners, it means that Lothar's assumption of the throne of Jerusalem is what everyone wants!"
As soon as he finished speaking, three loud dragon roars sounded from afar.
Baldwin and Godfrey looked up and saw a huge three-headed dragon soaring in the sky with its wings spread. The shadow it cast seemed to block out the sun in the sky.
He smiled and said, "It seems that what I said before succeeded in convincing him."
The city of Jerusalem was in chaos.
Although they had long heard that Lothar had subdued a dragon, few had ever seen the three-headed Ladon with their own eyes. Even if they had seen a dragon before, it was a red and black dragon transformed from Lothar's true dragon.
For a moment, the whole city was in an uproar.
"The dragon is coming, quickly climb to the top of the city and prepare for defense!"
"Hide back in the house."
The sounds of children crying, women screaming in fear, and men wailing in despair were heard everywhere.
A priest of a church held up a Bible in his hand and said: "Don't panic, don't shout, this is a test from God. As long as we have firm faith and pray sincerely, the dragon will never hurt us no matter how ferocious it is."
But soon he was pushed aside by the panicked crowd.
After all, there were not only Franks, Saracens, Greeks, Armenians, etc. in Jerusalem, and they neither understood nor cared about his sermons.
"Don't panic."
A penetrating and majestic voice suddenly sounded.
On top of the central head of the three-headed dragon in the clouds, a monarch wearing a golden crown and a cloak on his shoulders was holding high the holy spear in his hand. The sacred golden light soothed the hearts of all the panicked people and granted them peace.
"It's His Majesty Lothar!"
"That three-headed monster is the dragon that His Majesty Lothar subdued!"
People were pleasantly surprised.
They have heard countless bizarre legends, and no matter how wonderful the legend of Lothar is, it would not seem special among them.
Until they witnessed with their own eyes that this legend came from fantasy into reality.
"God, His Majesty Lothar must be the reincarnation of Saint George!"
"No, even Saint George can only kill the dragon, but cannot control this evil beast. His Majesty Lothar must be the Son of God incarnate!"
Some people secretly speculated that Lothar was definitely the incarnation of the devil, otherwise why would he be hanging out with the "dragon", but such people would never dare to jump out and sing a different tune when people were expressing such fanatical emotions.
If they really did this, even if they were tied to the stake and burned to death by the mob, there would be no way to hold them accountable afterwards.
"Praise the great Crusader King!"
At some point, someone started shouting out this title that Losa had never publicly acknowledged, and soon, it triggered waves of voices.
In the distance outside the city gate, hundreds and thousands of cavalrymen stepped across the horizon, holding high the cross battle flag, and slowly marched towards Jerusalem.