Chapter 347 Prophecy Comes True
Theobald, Count of Champagne, kept touching his palms together, but he was not clapping.

This was just a subconscious action of his in confusion.

Apart from him, the other Crusader nobles present were also quite confused.

Now, things are out of control.

No one could stop the soldiers at the bottom. The long-standing desire for the wealth of Constantinople had soaked the hearts of the soldiers and knights with kerosene. Now, with the slightest spark, a raging fire called greed ignited.

“So, we won?” Count Theobald of Champagne couldn’t help but ask.

Another Count Thibaud next to him nodded.

“According to the news, it seems that the ‘Gloomy One’ Alexius in the city escaped the night before yesterday.”

“Then, yesterday, when we entered the city, another emperor was elected in Constantinople, but he fled again in the night, so there was no one in the city to stand up and organize a resistance.”

When he heard this, the Count of Champagne opened his mouth in shock, not knowing what to say for a long time.

In the year 1200 alone, there seemed to be a total of six emperors in Constantinople, three of whom died, three escaped, or perhaps those who did not escape all died.

“The army has already swarmed into the city through the gap in the wall. It’s impossible to control them.”

It doesn’t take much to figure out what the Crusaders are going to do now.

The high-ranking commanders of the Crusaders present did not have to go out to plunder themselves, so they could still maintain a certain degree of rationality.

But no matter what, they were still surprised that victory fell into their hands so suddenly.

The Count of Champagne glanced at the Genoese envoy beside him and took two deep breaths.

“Perhaps, we should talk about how to take over this ancient empire.”

The Genoese envoy nodded and agreed to a charter on how to cut the cake before it was smashed.

The meeting was not long and was easily concluded while the great city of Constantinople was being looted.

While the lower-level soldiers of the Crusaders were enjoying the pleasure of humiliating the city of Constantinople, collusion between the bigwigs was gradually reached.

Preliminary consensus was reached on the infamous “Partition of Romania” agreement.

In this agreement, the Genoese would retain all the privileges previously granted to them by the Roman emperor, and a committee consisting of six Genoese and six Crusaders would elect a Roman emperor.

This emperor, whether a Genoese or a member of the Crusades, will directly rule a quarter of the empire’s land.

The party that fails to elect an emperor will own Hagia Sophia and have the right to nominate Patriarch Constantine.

As for the three-quarters of the country excluding the emperor, it will be divided equally between the Genoese and the Crusaders.

In other words, in this agreement, the Genoese got at least three-eighths of the empire.

It is common to do business with no investment, but it is rare to make huge profits with the investment. Even if you go out and rob for hundreds of years, it is not enough to make such huge profits.

During this period of collusion among the upper class, New Rome also met its own destruction at the hands of the Crusaders.

They massacred, they set fires, they drank to their heart’s content, violated nuns, and murdered Orthodox clergy.

They smashed the silver iconostasis, icons and sacred books of Hagia Sophia and placed a prostitute on the Patriarch’s throne, making her drink wine from the church’s sacred vessels and sing vulgar songs…

而这一天恰好是儒历1200年12月25日，也是先知历1年1月1日。

It can be said that the world entered a new era with the fall of the City of World Desire.

In such a chaotic situation, it is not that no one stood up and recorded these horrific atrocities.

Zaid is here, Russell is here too.

The relationship between Jerusalem and Constantinople has long been delicate.

Since they do not directly border each other, there is no border friction.

Instead, they often intermarried in order to counter the Principality of Antioch between the two countries and in the hope of achieving a religious alliance.

But it is not necessarily the case that they are truly allies.

After all, when Saladin attacked the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Eastern Roman Empire not only did not send a single soldier, but instead reached an alliance with Saladin to fight against the Seljuk forces.

Of course, the Roman emperor could also say that it was Jerusalem that broke the covenant first and did not return the territory to Rome.

After 1190, Gailis took Isabella to preside over the political affairs of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The relationship between the two countries was even more indifferent, on the one hand because Isabella’s Komnenos relatives were themselves marginalized in the Eastern Roman Empire.

On the other hand, Antioch had been taken by Geris, and even Cyprus had become an ally or vassal state of Jerusalem.

The lack of common interests between the two sides has instead increased border frictions.

However, due to the decline of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Jerusalem’s lack of intention to expand northward, the two sides maintained a relatively peaceful diplomatic relationship.

In order to deal with some trade and immigration issues, the Kingdom of Jerusalem even sent a delegation led by Russell and Zayed to Constantinople.

Originally, it stands to reason that since the original target of the Crusaders was Jerusalem, the Jerusalem delegation in the city also faced considerable risks.

After all, there was no international law in those days, and systematic diplomacy between countries only gradually became formalized after the Treaty of Westphalia was reached in the 17th century.

But it may be due to some considerations of diplomatic interests, the protection of expatriate communities, and Zeid’s personal reasons.

The delegation chose to take the risk and stay in Constantinople.

Of course, the delegation is not completely helpless and simply relies on recklessness.

“Think carefully, at this time, are you still planning to ask for a price?”

In front of Zayd was a burly captain of the Varyag soldiers with broad shoulders, blond hair, deep blue eyes, and an angular face.

The other party looked very conflicted, because the salary Zayed offered of 10 Baizants per person, or 10 gold coins per month, was really cheap.

In 988 AD, the Byzantine Emperor Basil II reached a political alliance with the Grand Prince of Kievan Rus, Vladimir. In order to consolidate his rule, Basil II obtained 6000 Rus warriors from Vladimir as his private army.

Because of its loyalty and combat effectiveness, this unit was officially incorporated into the emperor’s guard and became the prototype of the “Varyag Guard”.

In the early years, if Vikings wanted to join the Varangian Guard, they not only had to pay for their own travel expenses and spend a year or two on the journey, but they also had to pay several pounds of gold and pay for their work before they were eligible to join.

Of course, it’s all worth it, because a Varyag soldier in the guard can easily earn about 1.3 pounds of gold every year, and after a long time, it can increase to 2.5 pounds of gold.

2.5 pounds of gold is equivalent to at least 250 gold coins. A monthly salary of 20 solidus gold coins is enough to make even a small European lord’s eyes light up when he sees this amount.

You have to know that the money Barbarossa offered to buy a knight’s life during the Third Crusade was only about one hundred gold.

Of course, the Eastern Empire was wealthy and powerful, and with the income of several million gold coins a year from commercial taxes and land taxes, it was fully able to pay for the expensive mercenary costs.

However, it is now the last year of the 12th century, and the glory of the Eastern Empire is gone.

The Varangian Guard also had a hard time. The main troops had long since changed from the original Vikings to a mixture of English, Normans, Russians, etc.

A few days ago, Alexios V was still negotiating salaries with them, hoping that the Varangian Guards could hold the city walls even when they did not have enough money.

The Varyag Guard was organized into teams of 500 men, and when fully staffed, there were 12 teams, which still totaled 6000 men.

Maintaining the salaries of these 6,000 mercenaries was not a problem at the beginning.

But now the city is in decline.

Therefore, when the Crusaders attacked the city earlier, it cannot be said that the Varangian Guards did not fight desperately, but they obviously did not fight that hard.

I originally thought that the number of Crusaders was not large, and everyone could hold out by relying on the city walls.

As long as the emperor doesn’t do anything weird, everyone can still hold on.

But the emperor of Byzantium, the emperor of the defeated court…it was impossible to avoid accidents.

As a result, not only was the Count of Champagne shocked that victory fell into his hands so easily, but the Varyag Guards were also extremely anxious when the city was broken.

Even if the Varyag Guards wanted to make up for their mistakes at this time, it was too late. Facing the influx of Crusaders, their defeat was already decided.

At times like this, in addition to fighting, you must also consider your retreat.

As the deputy head of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Zayd contacted some of his previous connections at this juncture and found Captain Varyag who was assembling his troops.

He currently has more than 300 men gathered under his command.

“That’s the price.” The other party gritted his teeth. Although this salary was less than half of what the Varyag Guards received during their heyday, the Roman Empire had already become a sinking ship at this time, so it was important to jump off the ship in time.

“Then please escort the Arab expatriates in this neighborhood to the embassy.”

The other party nodded and began to shout at his subordinates, asking everyone to move quickly.

It has to be said that many times historical problems are not single.

For example, nowadays, due to trade, a large number of Muslims settled in Constantinople and built many mosques here.

At the same time, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, as a country with Palestinian Arabs as the majority, its overseas compatriots are actually mainly Arabs.

Some of these Arabs are still traditional Muslims, while others believe in Geris theology and convert to Jerusalem Church Christianity.

But regardless of their beliefs, they were all expatriates of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in Constantinople.

This is also the reason why Zayed, as an Arab, came to Constantinople to serve as deputy head of the mission.

He first glanced at the crowd of people who were evacuating their families in the chaos under the protection of the former Varyag Guards, then turned his head to look at the western city area where fire was burning and black smoke was rising.

Zayd couldn’t help but recall the scene when he first met Garys in the rain.

At that time, Gairis easily defeated a Bedouin raiding group alone. From that moment on, Gairis left an indelible image in Zayd’s heart.

It was also on that night that Zayd dreamed of the end of the world and heard the language spoken by Gairis.

“If God had not sent me here, the earth would still be moving along its predetermined path. In a decade or so, the city of world desire will fall, foreshadowing the end of the Islamic world.

In the same year, a true Antichrist will rise in the far east. He will unify the grasslands, and the homeland of the Xiongnu and Turks will become the source of the Great Flood.

The Peach Blossom Stone countries could not stop him, the towering mountains could not stop him, and the vast territory allowed him to roam freely.

Baghdad will burn, the Palace of Wisdom will be reduced to ashes, and tens of millions of lives will be lost in a sea of ​​blood. The Golden Rule of Islam will be shattered, and no one will ever rule the Arabian Peninsula again.

Now, more than a decade has passed, and the original prediction has come true.

The cross from Rome is gnawing at New Rome and destroying Rome!
The prophecy has come true, so there is nothing to be criticized about Garys’ identity.

……

January 1, Year 1 of the Prophet’s calendar.

The looting of Constantinople continued, and some foolish Crusaders intended to launch an attack on the mission station in Jerusalem.

But under the protection of the Varyag Guards and the Paladin Squad, the Crusaders fled in panic, leaving behind a trail of corpses, and clamoring to teach these pagans a lesson.

Of course, no matter how much the other side shouted, another round of arrows were shot from the base, and no Crusaders dared to stay nearby.

But Russell doesn’t really care about this.

Because he knew clearly that the previous sporadic attacks were just random acts by some confused lower-level soldiers.

However, the few people who were truly qualified to have a say in the Fourth Crusade were currently meeting with him at the mission’s residence.

“Crusaders, are you still planning to continue to Egypt?”

Russell asked the Genoese envoy opposite him, who was dressed in gorgeous clothes.

The Genoese envoy just chuckled in response to Russell’s question and didn’t want to say anything.

Of course he did so, because the spoils were so rich. After getting such rich spoils, if he still wanted to go to Egypt to fight to the death with the Kingdom of Jerusalem, wouldn’t it make him look like he had a problem with his brain?

As for the Count of Champagne standing aside, he frowned, opened his mouth, wanted to say something, but then closed it again.

If at the beginning, he didn’t know the inside story.

But at this moment, how could he not guess it?
From the very beginning, the appearance of Alexios IV in Genoa was the result of collusion among these people.

From the very beginning, the goals of the Crusades were manipulated by these people.

The Venetians maintained their stable trade, the Genoese obtained Constantinople, and although the Crusaders were just a knife, they also enjoyed rich spoils.

As for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, it avoided further military pressure and allowed their relative peace with Egypt to continue.

It can be said that throughout the whole process, except for the fact that the corrupt Roman Empire was set on fire, everyone successfully got what they needed.

(End of this chapter)