Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks-Chapter 601 - 374: The King Takes Action (Part 2)

Such an implicit rule clearly benefits Richard. A noble monarch like him, even if he cannot obtain the Commander-in-Chief position, should be on par with Losa in status, jointly formulating military strategies.

On the other hand, Losa, who was chatting and laughing with Baron Godfrey, casually glanced at Richard the Lionheart, the king from Europe, who was enthusiastically conversing with Cardinal Sebastian, and couldn't help but frown slightly.

Even though Sebastian was merely a titular Patriarch of Alexandria, he was still one of the five most revered figures in the Catholic World.

The Patriarch of Jerusalem, who was of equal status to the Patriarch of Alexandria, had even been disregarding the Pope's orders these years, and the Pope was helpless about it, demonstrating just how exalted the Patriarch's status was.

Divine power without secular support is like a castle in the sky, but now, with the backing of the Lionheart.

Losa stood up and walked up to the hastily built high platform, with a sword strapped around his waist, striding confidently with a mighty aura, without saying anything, the noisy and chaotic Crusader nobles quickly quieted down.

"Gentlemen, in less than a week, we have captured nearly the entire Damietta Province, achieving victories worthy of being recorded in history. This is a miracle, just as I promised before; all who occupy castles and villages can swear allegiance to me, and I will confer upon you titles under the name of the Duke of Lower Egypt."

After the words fell, the Crusader nobles cheered.

Many of them are second sons from families who do not receive favor, destined either to become monks in a monastery or to live in poverty, inheriting a remote, barren territory.

To gain a piece of land, ordinarily, they would dedicate half their lives serving a lord, achieving numerous exceptional accomplishments, surviving several close calls—but now, they merely fought a few easy small battles.

"Praise the Duke!"

"Long live the Duke!"

They cheered one after another.

Even the nobles who had secretly sworn allegiance to Losa didn't hold back their cheers and joy.

Losa raised his hand slightly, pressing down, saying, "The second matter we welcome is a truly sincere and brave Crusader soldier; a great king who, for the safety of the Holy Land and the great cause of the Crusaders, set aside an entire kingdom's affairs and personally arrived at the Holy Land—The Monarch of Albion, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Anjou and Maine, the great King Richard the Lionheart!"

The people cheered once more.

On the surface, Richard the Lionheart's arrival at the Holy Land is undoubtedly a good thing.

"Praise the Lionheart, praise His Majesty Richard!"

"Praise the Heavenly Father; the Crusader's cause will surely achieve victory!"

Richard the Lionheart stepped onto the stage and smiled, saying, "Everything is God's will. Damietta is just the beginning; next, Cairo, Alexandria, Edessa, Antioch, and even Aleppo will return to the embrace of the Christians."

"Marquis Losa, before we continue with the military conference, I have a matter to deal with."

Losa smiled and nodded, "Your Majesty, please."

And then, a somewhat familiar man was brought to the front by two guards of the Lionheart.

Richard the Lionheart looked coldly at the man who had been brought up, saying, "Lord Losa, this Jewish man in the camp is vigorously acquiring the soldiers' hard-earned spoils at extremely low prices, inducing or even defrauding!"

After the words fell, the nobles and attendants became agitated.

Many among them had suffered this loss.

In fact, many people are engaged in such activities.

The Genoese, Venetians, Greek merchants...

But the reputation of the Jews was indeed very poor.

Not to mention that single matter of them causing Christ's death formed a deep hatred with all Christians.

"Could it be that the soldiers, risking their lives to defend the Holy Land's safety and fighting against heretics, end up being extorted and depleted by such swindlers, losing even the last copper coin in their bags, ending up impoverished?"

The surrounding atmosphere became even more fervent.

Many hot-tempered knights and nobles raised their hands, waving their fists, "Kill him, damned Jewish man!"

"Marquis, what do you think? After all, he regarded you as a protector; when my people questioned him, he repeatedly claimed that the purpose of this mad profiteering was to donate to you a sum of protector's money."

Richard looked at Losa, smiling, inquiringly.

Losa's expression did not change at all, he said in a deep voice, "Do you think I instructed the Jews to cheat the Crusader soldiers?"

"How ridiculous. These days, who doesn't know I've set up spoils acquisition in the camp, with prices much higher than the market. If this Jew were truly serving me, would I undermine myself?"

Richard the Lionheart promptly said, "Marquis, I did not mean that; on the contrary, I am speaking for such a noble person as you. Such a despicable person's slander must not tarnish your honor in the slightest."

"Indeed, this despicable man dared to slander the Duke."

"Kill this damned Jewish man!"

Losa sneered; he had already recognized the Jew as Maimonides, a Jewish merchant from Iberia who once served Governor Iben and was also the leader of the Jewish community in Damietta City.

If this man were to die, the Jews in the community will undoubtedly think he breached the cooperation agreement between the two parties, though they will surely lack the courage to launch a rebellion, they certainly would not donate money and goods as enthusiastically as before.

"Master, please save me."

The Jewish man knelt on the ground, lips trembling, softly pleading with Losa to show mercy, "Please."

Losa furrowed his brow.

He originally planned to challenge Sebastian in this military conference, as this guy repeatedly violated military regulations, at least he should hang some of his knights on the gallows to serve as a warning.

But this seemed unfeasible now.

On one hand, the Lionheart was venting for 'his people,' while he executed 'his people' on behalf of heretics or the Coptic deviants; the contrast between the two was clear.

"Take him down and give him a whipping."

Losa waved his hand.

He deeply glanced at the Lionheart, then said, "Gentlemen, early this morning, I received an exciting piece of news—a newly born Divine Wood appeared in the territory of Knight Commander Jeanne, surely this is the Heavenly Father's reward to the pious, and to us Crusaders bravely fighting the enemy. The land in Egypt is so vast; if in the future, the boundless desert all turns into fertile land by the Divine Wood, what a land of opportunity it will be?"

This news immediately swept through the entire council like a storm.