Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

The true identity of the ruler of the Fatimid dynasty of Egypt was that of a Caliph.

However, apart from Fatima himself, most Muslims elsewhere do not recognize his legitimacy.

Therefore, Fulke jokingly referred to him as the "King of Egypt".

The doctrine has been distorted here; a hundred years ago, the Egyptian Caliph even claimed to be the incarnation of God.

However, the Fatimid Caliphate was spared from large-scale warfare, and its science, culture, and art were far more prosperous than those in Persia.

Chen Wo, the Ming Dynasty envoy who led the delegation to Cairo, stood in the Royal Library, surrounded by a dense array of books—more than 20 volumes!

Chapter 3647 Mirror

Philosophy, mathematics, medicine, logic, astronomy, and navigation are highly developed here, and even systematic works on optics have emerged.

For example, Ibn Haitham was well-versed in mathematics, philosophy, and natural sciences.

His book, *The Book of Optics*, had a profound influence on European optics and inspired both Kepler and Newton.

"What's the name of this book?" Chen Wo asked.

The Egyptian scholar standing nearby, through a merchant's translator, replied: "Annotations on Porphyry's Introduction to Logic."

In fact, the merchants didn't know how to translate it either, so they simply transliterated "logic" as "ruoji".

Chen Wo then asked, "What about this one?"

"Commentary on Aristotle's Ethics"

Who are Porphyry and Aristotle?

"Great philosophers of ancient Rome and Greece."

"What country is Rome? And what country is Greece?"

"..."

Although the Fatima dynasty was an Islamic regime in Egypt, it had very deep academic and cultural exchanges with Byzantium.

The two countries exchanged resources and conducted academic research on each other.

For most of the time, they even allowed churches and temples to exist in each other's territories.

Only the Caliph who claimed to be the incarnation of God a century ago went so far as to order the destruction of Christian churches, which immediately provoked Byzantine retaliation.

After the Caliph was assassinated, the two countries quickly reached a religious reconciliation.

They both pledged to help each other restore churches and temples in their own countries and to allow their followers to live and move freely.

“Your Excellency, the Caliph requests your presence.” A court official approached.

The Egyptian Caliph was named Hafez, and he ascended to the throne at the same time as King Fulke of Jerusalem.

However, Hafiz succeeded to the throne as a cousin, while Fulke succeeded as a son-in-law.

Hafiz killed his infant cousin and made him disappear completely.

Then, he went on a rampage, slaughtering his cousin's supporters and even killing the leader of the religious order, earning himself the reputation of a "butcher," and causing the mainstream religious sects in the country to split again.

The nobles and officials of this country have become hereditary.

The Caliph was in a state of "protection" for a long time, while the real power lay with the military leaders, and the Mamluks' power was growing rapidly.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Chen Wo bowed.

Merchants are automatically translated as Caliphs.

Hafiz smiled and said, "I am very satisfied with the gifts presented by your country, and I can grant your request."

"You may choose any books in the Caliph's Library and copy them down."

“I originally wanted to exempt you from the entry tax, but the tax is collected by the officials themselves, and I cannot interfere with domestic taxation.”

"In return, I will give you a large amount of gold and silver treasures."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Chen Wo smiled.

After exchanging a few more words, Chen Wo took his leave.

Hafiz took out a glass mirror and looked at himself in it again and again.

This mirror is also inlaid with pearls, but it has a crescent shape, which perfectly matches the aesthetic.

Behind Hafez, a Mamluk officer was peeking into the mirror with gleam in his eyes.

Just then, Hafiz also noticed his guards' gaze through the reflection in the mirror.

He pretended to know nothing, but in his heart he was thinking about how to kill the guards without causing a Mamluk rebellion.

Under the protection of soldiers, Chen Wo wandered around Cairo.

I passed a shop that was packed with customers, selling Chinese goods that had just arrived from the port.

The most sought-after item was surprisingly the candle.

After all, other goods have appeared before.

However, this specially made white wax insect candle is making its debut in Egypt.

I've heard that it produces no smoke and even emits a fragrance, so rich people want to buy one or two to show off.

The shop assistants were busy as bees, while the shop owner stood aside and boasted to the customers, "My old friend is back this time with the Ming Dynasty fleet."

He said that everyone in the Ming Dynasty could wear silk, and even beggars could afford white candles.

"We could never finish the cow's milk and goat's milk, and every day the leftovers had to be poured into the river."

"So the fish in the river grow up on milk, and their taste is exceptionally fresh and sweet..."

When it comes to survival and self-interest, everything else must give way.

Just like Fatima and Byzantium, one was Muslim and the other was Christian, yet they allowed each other's followers to coexist.

Even in their respective capitals, there are places of worship for the other religion.

The same applies to the Crusades!

During the later years of Baldwin I's reign, pagans were allowed to return to their homes because the number of Christians was too small to support the operation of a large city.

To solve the marriage problem of the Crusaders, Christian men were even allowed to marry pagan women.

This issue needs to be addressed. A group of bachelors have left their hometowns; if they really start causing trouble, it could be quite alarming.

This continued for more than 20 years, and Jerusalem's population gradually recovered, with a very high proportion of infidels.

As the King of Jerusalem, Fulke did not have a large army.

Chapter 3648 The Crusades

Even if you gathered all the troops in the country, there would only be a little over 500 knights.

Each knight's retinue consisted of several infantrymen and grooms (the number of infantrymen and grooms combined was roughly between a few and a dozen, depending entirely on the knight's wealth).

If grooms are also counted as soldiers, the total military strength of the Kingdom of Jerusalem at this time was approximately 7000 men—when the Ming Dynasty soldiers captured the Helim Fortress, they killed 8 knights and more than 100 soldiers.

There are also two other orders that have a cooperative relationship with the King: the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller.

Currently, the two major knightly orders each have several dozen members, with a combined force of several hundred men.

After raising the funds, Fulke led his army on a grand spree.

Many nobles, driven by their own profit and fearing encounters with bandits along the way, proactively sent people to help them.

The two knightly orders each sent ten knights, accompanied by their squires.

The force was vast and powerful, with over 2000 soldiers, including more than 200 knights.

Just as they set off, Fulker's troops left near the Helim fortress were attacked.

It was an oasis, with ten knights and over a hundred squires guarding the place to prevent domestic nobles from coming to trade without permission.

They were met by the Bedouins!

……

But then, two or three hundred Arab nomadic cavalry, some even riding camels, suddenly rushed out from behind the sand dunes at noon.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

The Crusader infantrymen hurriedly grabbed their weapons.

Some grooms were tackling the warhorses, while others were helping the knights put on their armor.

Shhhhhh.

The Bedouin began to patrol and shoot arrows, and the unarmored grooms suffered heavy casualties.

A small number of Crusader infantrymen possessed bows and arrows, but they found it difficult to hit the fast-moving Arab light cavalry.

The Crusader knights, fully armed, mounted their horses and charged into battle.

The Bedouin, however, did not engage in battle; instead, they flew kites on their warhorses and camels.

Their numbers were more than twice that of the Crusaders, and more than twenty times that of the Crusaders.

The Crusaders were unable to withstand the attack and retreated while fighting, accompanied by their infantry and grooms.

They gradually retreated to the Hailim Fortress, where the Ming soldiers were stationed.

"Which side should we help?" asked Zou Tong, the commander of the Ming army.

Qian Mian was watching the commotion through binoculars, and said with a smile, "What does their life-or-death struggle have to do with us?"

Zou Tong said, "Those Crusaders, after all, are doing business with us."

"Don't worry about it," Qian Min said.

Qian Mian called over the translator and asked, "Who are those people wearing long robes and headscarves?"

The translator replied, "Bedouin."

"What's your background?" Qian Mian asked.

The translator explained, "The Arabs here are divided into two types: one type does business like us and mainly lives in the coastal areas."

"There is another group that lives a nomadic life and occasionally farms; they are called Bedouins."

"So they were nomadic tribes in the desert." Qian Mian thought of the various tribes in the northern desert.

The translator remarked, "The Bedouins often fought against the Crusaders, primarily through ambushes and surprise attacks."

"It's a pity that the Bedouin tribes have long-standing feuds, and it's difficult for them to unite as a scattered group."

"Otherwise, they alone would make it difficult for the Crusaders to gain a foothold."

"The only thing that could unite the Bedouins against external forces was the four caliphs of that time."

The Crusader knights had already fled outside the fortress and were shouting to the Ming soldiers, "Let us in!"

The Ming soldiers ignored them.

The Crusader knights could only flee around the fortress; they no longer had time to care about their squires and grooms.

Some grooms, riding spare horses used for carrying supplies, followed the knights in their escape.

But infantrymen and grooms without horses could only leave it to fate.

During their escape, they were pursued and shot by Arab light cavalry, and one by one they fell to the ground and died.

Perhaps out of fear of the Ming army inside the fortress, the Bedouins did not continue their pursuit.

They assigned some people to clean up the battlefield, and sent another person on a camel to shout a message.

"Guests from afar, this desert is ours!" the camel soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs.

Qian Min said to the translator, "Tell him I don't care whose place this is."

“I took the castle from the attackers, and whoever wants it back has to pay. Gold or silver, it’s fine.”

Then another robed figure rode up on horseback: "The pagans of Jerusalem are all villains. I hope you will not make deals with those villains!"

Qian Mian said, "Okay. You pay for all my goods, and I won't sell them to anyone else."

The translator turned his head and said, "They have no money; the Bedouins are very poor."