While the battle around Baghdad raged, huge crusaders were also in action in the east.
The two main strongholds of Islamists in Syria, Aleppo and Damascus, are both under siege by the Crusaders. The situation here is different from the eastern cities captured by the Crusaders before. The Islamists have strongholds in these two cities and their surrounding areas.
The forces are very deep, and the majority here are Muslims.
Although they have a mass base, in the face of the powerful Crusaders, the local emir can only stick to the city. They can't ask for help at all. The road to the east has been completely blocked by Christians, and the Seljuk Sultan is also busy with his work.
In this war, reinforcements cannot be expected at all.
The Crusaders plundered the countryside of these two emirate states, but they found that the emirs had shaved off the underwear of the local residents before the arrival of the Crusaders, and removed as many men as possible.
, which made the Crusader feel as sick as if he had eaten a fly.
But even so, the Crusaders still found some villages and small lord castles to attack. These guys are local snakes in the emir's country. They are "local energetic people" who the emir can't do anything about. They are commonly known as local tyrants, so they can only
Only supplies can be obtained from these guys.
The Crusaders are happy to wipe out these rich people. After all, it is too unsafe for the pagans to stay behind. In the past, no one could tolerate it without soldiers. Now that there are people everywhere, they have to kill their entire families.
Moreover, such small-scale wars also have another function, that is, they provide opportunities for some lords who want to take shortcuts. There are always some people who do not want to fight big wars because the death rate is too high, but they have to be in the Holy Land.
Fight, otherwise how can you call yourself a crusader.
Therefore, King Baldwin proposed the service of burning villages and destroying fortresses. Since you are afraid of death, we will take you to fight against these strongholds with lower difficulty and greater advantages of the Crusaders. In the end, you will go home with the title of Crusader.
This kind of battle is a real battle, and the degree of danger is also there. It is completely enough to go back and brag after it is completed. As for if you die during this process, you can only blame yourself for being too weak. The gold plating will kill you.
.
At present, there are not many people requesting this service. Most people still want to prove their devotion to God through fighting. However, King Baldwin, who is doing this business, believes that this business will become more and more popular.
"What? Why didn't I know?"
"Hey, there are people who can handle this kind of thing, so why should I pay attention?"
It’s just that for the Crusaders, taking Syria is more important than Egypt at the moment. After all, the former is related to the Crusaders’ living space. As for the latter, since the Fatimid soldiers lost Ashkelon, the Egyptian army wants to go to the Holy Land.
City, it would have to traverse the entire Sinai Peninsula.
"For God! Onward!"
However, as soon as they entered the water, they found that the situation was completely different from what they thought. Under the influence of the current and the sand under their feet, their solid formation inevitably became loose.
When seeing arrows falling from the sky, and seeing water splashed by arrows everywhere around them, anyone will fall into panic, and this panic often results from the sole of his foot slipping and falling into the water.
After saying that, the two caught up with the team, and not long after reaching the team, they received good news and bad news, brought by Italians.
The Crusaders naturally set up camp very close to the Nile River, preparing to forcefully cross this river that had been crossed by many Egyptian conquerors. In their direction, the Fatimid army gathered to prepare to face the enemy.
Moreover, this will not have much impact on the combat effectiveness of the Crusaders. As long as this person has not left the Holy Land, he must participate in the battle. In this land full of pagans, battles can happen anytime and anywhere.
"It's a pity that we play the role of bringing death and destruction. Ha, stories about our evil deeds will continue to be circulated for thousands of years."
"I'm talking about the Copts, one of the Eastern churches. They still account for one-third of Egypt's population. We will need their help in the future."
As the Crusaders came to the bank of the Nile, they saw Fatimid flags everywhere on the opposite side, and various strongholds everywhere, as well as Islamic soldiers operating among them.
"What are you talking about?"
The most important thing is that those who have firm beliefs will not take this choice in the first place. These Crusaders' most reliable warriors will not be reduced because of this, and those who are timid and just want to gain a reputation, the more they do this
The more these people come, the more they come. Although these people are timid, they all have fighting ability. Who doesn’t want more troops under his command?
Returning to the war, although the Crusaders now have the advantage in strength, it is not easy to capture these two cities. These are two famous and huge cities, and the city walls are no less than those of Antioch and Jerusalem, and
After knowing that there would be even larger Crusaders coming from the west, these emirs were storing large amounts of food, enough to last for a year or even longer.
"I said...my brother, you have been in the Near East for so long, haven't you ever cared about the distribution of the various sects in the East?"
Regarding the expedition to Egypt, this has always been something that various Christian lords have been thinking about. If Egypt can be solved, then the sea will be completely smooth, and shipping between the East and the West will immediately reach a new level.
Volorida rode his horse to the top of a cliff and looked at the advancing Crusaders. The vast desert in front of him echoed with the advancing army, forming a wonderful scene that made him feel a sense of wonder.
A lot of pride and ambition.
The pagans they had longed for appeared quickly, and suddenly Egyptian archers emerged from their hiding places, and rain of arrows rained down on the crusaders' ranks.
The Crusaders were not surprised by this. Fatimid's army must stick to the Nile River. They must take advantage of the natural dangers of this river. Everyone had long been prepared for another bloody battle.
Vasiliko has a different opinion on this, "It's not necessarily true that at least one-third of the Egyptians will welcome our arrival."
Vasiliko didn't continue the previous topic. Since his brother didn't want to hear it, he didn't say much. Instead, he looked at the scenery between heaven and earth, and sighed like Volorida.
The bad news is that every crossing of the Nile is heavily garrisoned, and the Fatimid Caliph has mobilized his people.
The good news is that the Nile Delta is not far from here, and they will finally end this arduous march.
"I feel like we are now like Alexander conquering Egypt, and the Fatimid army is as weak as the Pharaoh's army, hahaha."
"The border people have always been tough, let alone this hard land. The hard land has cultivated strong civilians. I don't think those Egyptians living on the edge of the Nile would have such a group."
But they were still moving forward resolutely. They hadn't seen the pagans yet, so how could they retreat?
"Maybe the Fatimid Caliphate's army is weak enough, but I'm not sure if they will be as weak in Egypt itself." Vasiliko then rode forward and saw what his brother saw, "Before
Although the Fatimid cavalry we encountered were few, their performance was much stronger than what we had fought against before, and I checked their identities and found that they were just a group of civilians."
These Crusaders were quite uncomfortable with the hot climate of Egypt, and they were even more unhappy with walking in the desolate desert of the Sinai Peninsula. If it were not for the constant presence of ships belonging to Italian city-states at sea to maintain supplies, the Crusaders would have had a big problem long ago.
.
Volorida still didn't care. The image of the Egyptians as weak and victorious had been imprinted deep in his heart, and it was difficult to change him with words alone.
The Crusaders advanced in a solid shield wall pattern, which was the most adept formation for the British residents, even for the barbarians.
The Muslims used light arrows, so they could ensure a very fast rate of fire and put a large number of arrows on the heads of the Crusaders. On the Crusaders' side, very few people were actually shot to death by arrows.
Very little, but they succeeded in creating confusion among the Crusaders.
On the other side, a crusade was also going on fiercely. This crusade was the Egyptian expedition conducted by the Russian Crusaders and the British Crusaders.
"The Nile River, we are about to reach the Nile River, Jerusalem, the Nile River, the Pyramids, and Vollorida. I really feel like we want to be in ancient mythology."
Under the shouts of the priests, the Crusaders infantry in simple clothes and even shirtless men crossed into the ford led by the knights. As they entered, the water splashed for a moment.
And now, the Crusaders going to conquer Egypt are advancing along the coastline of the Sinai Peninsula. The large army composed of Russians and Britons is mighty. Although the number cannot be compared with the Crusaders besieging Damascus, it looks quite impressive.
For spectacular.
"Forget it, forget it, whatever." Vasiliko shook his head helplessly, this was really helpless, "Then don't delay, let's set off and follow the team, don't fall behind too late.
"
In short, the war in Syria still needs to be seen, and it is bound to be long-term. At this time, what needs to be competed is the endurance and supply of both sides.
Under normal circumstances, it would be easy for the soldiers to get up, but the current situation was abnormal. In the chaotic situation, many people drowned alive in the water.
Finally, the arrow rain caused the Crusaders to disperse. They left the bodies of their comrades and ran back without looking back. The knights and officers who tried to stop the deserters would be targeted by Fatimid archers at the same moment.
The Crusaders collapsed like this, and the Egyptians couldn't help but cheer loudly. In their view, this was a victory, but from a macro-strategic perspective, this was just a small conflict.