People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 878 Contradictions
The next morning, news of the civil unrest last night spread quickly throughout the Crusader camp like wildfire.

A large number of Gallic nobles were outraged and clamored for severe punishment of the murderer and revenge for the murdered knight.

But since last night, the Germanic Crusaders have tightly closed the camp gates and heavily guarded the entrances, refusing to open the gates no matter how the visitors shouted and cursed.

At this time, under the wall of the village, more than ten knights wearing barrel helmets, surrounded a knight in gorgeous clothes and arrived.

Leopold on the wall looked at the newcomer.

The knight riding on a tall and strong horse took off his helmet and shouted:

"Good day, Lord Leopold. I am Manuel of Poitiers, son of Bohemond and the only legitimate heir to the Duke of Antioch. Please allow me to extend my warmest greetings to you."

Raynald of Châtillon also served as Duke of Antioch, but he entered Antioch as a son-in-law. After the death of his ex-wife Constance of Poitiers, he lost the right to rule Antioch.

But this was not a big loss. Reynald turned around and clung to Countess Stephanie, while the Poitiers Antioch branch could only live in exile in the court of Jerusalem with a nominal dukedom.

"Good day, sir."

Leopold, who came to the wall, sneered in his heart. Antioch had fallen into the hands of pagans for many years, but he was still clinging to the title of a duke's son. How respectable did he really think he was?

As a "royal family" also in exile, Count Georgelin of Edessa was in a much better situation. At least he still had some scattered territories in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which allowed him to maintain a strong army and the most basic dignity.

For example, these knights of Antioch, the old-style barrel helmets they wear are covered with mottled marks, and they are probably antiques passed down from their ancestors.

"In the terrible conflict last night, the thugs killed two noble knights, and their servants, weapons, and supplies were looted. This is naked robbery and must be punished."

Manuel shouted at the top of his voice: "Your Highness, I am ordered by the Lord of Aquitaine and Albion to hand over the thugs who attacked our friendly forces."

Although the Poitiers-Antioch branch had gradually drifted away from the Poitiers family of Eleanor of Aquitaine, it was still a close relative. After Richard the Lionheart came to Syria, the exiled royal family of Antioch quickly moved closer to him.

"Noble Duke's son, King's messenger, I swear by God and the honor of the House of Babenberg that there is another reason for this terrible conflict."

"But the details still need to be investigated. Before that, I will not let you arrest my soldiers, because everyone knows that you are not treating my compatriots fairly."

Manuel frowned and said, "Sir Leopold, I have to reiterate that this is the unanimous decision of the two kings of the Military Council and His Royal Highness Prince Raymond of Tiberias."

Leopold smiled and said, "Unfortunately, as a loyal servant of Emperor Henry, I will only obey the will of him, the Lord of the Franks in Europe, or the King of Jerusalem, the recognized Lord of the Holy Land."

He pressed the sword at his waist and paused:
"How about this, noble sir, the new King of Jerusalem, Lord of Egypt, and lord of all Franks in the East, His Majesty Lothar, will soon arrive at the front. I believe that His Majesty will make a decision that satisfies both of us."

Manuel became a little anxious: "I'm afraid your answer will not satisfy His Majesty Raymond. From today on, His Majesty Raymond will no longer bear the military supplies of your army."

"Then I will report to your Majesty that my soldiers have had enough of eating moldy bread and bean porridge that tastes like pig food. From today on, we will no longer comply with all the resolutions of the military council, and all military supplies will be supplied by the Austrian army."

The military supplies Leopold brought with him, even if he purchased a lot more from Alexandria, would certainly not be enough for all the Germanic Crusaders to eat in the long run.

But everyone knows that the Germans' predicament will not last too long. When King Lothar arrives in Homs, he will definitely not sit idly by.

No one doubted the financial strength of Lothar, who owned Egypt. Except for the Queen of Constantinople, there was probably no one in the entire Mediterranean world who could compete with the new King of Jerusalem in terms of financial strength.

After Leopold finished speaking, he turned around and left.

Only Manuel and a team of cavalry were left standing in a daze under the village wall.

"What should we do, Sir Manuel? Should we report this to His Majesty?"

Manuel gritted his teeth, his face full of anger.

He was not the only heir to the Duke of Antioch, and the power under his command was not strong enough. Now he had finally got on Richard's good side, but he failed to accomplish the first task he was asked to do.

"What else can I do!"

He said angrily: "Sending troops to attack friendly forces? Even if the Crusaders were fighting a heretic Greek, that Lothar would interfere. If a real fight breaks out, do you have the ability to slay a dragon?"

After calming down, he snorted coldly, "Let's go back to see His Majesty Richard."

At the military council, the three alliances all looked unhappy.

Although it was expected that Leopold would not hand over the person readily, no one expected him to refuse so bluntly and not even give the Military Council any face.

Raymond coughed lightly and said, "Everyone, Lothar's scouts have arrived at the camp and asked us to build a camp for his army."

The entire Kingdom of Jerusalem is only this big, and the straight-line distance between the city of Homs and Jerusalem is only 300 kilometers. Even if it needs to go around along the coastline for a distance, it should be able to get there in a few days.

Richard asked in return: "Your Highness Raymond, what do you think?"

Lothar has now been crowned King of Jerusalem, but Raymond and other northern lords have yet to swear allegiance to the new monarch.

If Raymond is willing to accept Lothar's orders, it will show his obedience, and at least there will not be too much conflict between the two sides.

If we refuse, a civil war might really break out.

To be honest, although Richard was a warmonger, he and Philip had fought with Lothar before and were well aware of the power Lothar possessed. They would probably have to mobilize the entire country to be able to contend with him.

In addition, their main purpose of coming to the Holy Land is to gild themselves and gain fame. If they are really involved in a civil war, their reputation will be ruined.

Raymond was silent for a moment.

He had been thinking about this problem for many days. Either he would submit to the new king or he would raise the banner of rebellion. But even with the help of the two kings, he had no confidence that he could resist Lothar's army.

What's more, he didn't think these two kings would really help him.

After a long while, the prince of Tiberias sighed and said, "Now that the new king has been crowned, as a vassal of Jerusalem, I will naturally fulfill my obligations."

Philip frowned and said, "So what do the people below say about their demands?"

Raymond smiled bitterly and said, "Let's continue the negotiations and try to get Leopold to hand over the murderer. We can't go to war with our allies just because of this. When Losa comes, how are we going to explain this to him?"

"Damn you Leopold."

Philip rubbed his brows. The nobles and knights who were killed were all from his lineage, and now they were urging him to stand up and uphold justice.

Although as the most honorable Augustus in Gaul, he never acknowledged that there was any authority in the world higher than the Gallic crown, but in the Holy Land, Lothar's golden signboard was obviously more effective than his.

"Since Lothar's reputation is well known, we can use his name to appease them."