Chapter 10
17Ā Toward Destiny
After returning to Tyre, Michael headed to the barracks first.
From the moment he passed through the city gates and entered the inner castle, things such as the way the soldiers moved, the angle of their hands holding their weapons, the way they wore their armor, and the tension coming from the horses naturally caught his eyes. Even while staying in Jerusalem, he had often imagined the state of the forces in Tyre and Acre in his head, but seeing them directly was certainly different.
“Gather everyone.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Since Bernhardt had already been knighted, he was no longer merely the leader of Michael’s attendants. He was now delivering Michael’s orders as a full-fledged knight.
His voice had become heavier, and there was much clearer authority in his eyes when he looked at the soldiers.
The acting lord of Tyre and Acre.
And the official second-in-command under Michael.
All the soldiers knew that these titles were not merely words.
Soon, the soldiers gathered in the training ground.
Heavy cavalry sergeants, infantry sergeants, archer sergeants, garrison soldiers wearing gambesons, Genoese crossbowmen, and even Cuman cavalry.
Their clothing and weapons were all different, but at least at this moment, every one of them was conscious of Michael’s gaze.
Michael silently looked at them for a long time.
That silence made the soldiers straighten their backs even more.
“Raise your spears.”
Clang.
The sergeants, who had been turned into heavy infantry, raised their spears at once.
The sound of chains rubbing against each other under their chainmail rang out quietly.
“Raise your shields.”
With a dull sound, the shields came together in front.
“Good.”
It was only a short word, but the soldiers’ expressions changed slightly.
Before, they had simply been training. Now, they felt as if they were being tested to see whether they were worthy of their lord’s approval.
After that, Michael personally inspected the horsemanship and charging posture of the heavy cavalry sergeants. He also carefully examined the infantry sergeants’ ability to maintain their formations.
The archer sergeants were also drawing their bows under the harsh guidance of the Cuman instructors. Their accuracy and precision were still lacking, but they were not at a poor level.
“Not bad.”
At Michael’s single remark after inspecting the heavy cavalry sergeants’ training, Bernhardt quietly let out a breath.
He knew better than anyone how hard he had pushed these men to finally hear those words.
“Especially the heavy cavalry sergeants have become quite good. After changing all of them into transitional armor, their ability to withstand attacks has improved greatly.”
“Show me.”
At those words, Bernhardt immediately called one of the heavy cavalry sergeants forward.
The soldier seemed slightly nervous as he straightened his posture and stood before Michael.
The armor he was wearing was clearly different from before.
It was not full plate armor, but metal plates had been added over the chainmail to reinforce the chest, shoulders, and parts of the arms.
In other words, it was transitional equipment between chainmail and plate armor, commonly called transitional armor.
Michael personally checked the connections of the breastplate, shoulder guards, and elbow area with his hands.
Since it was made using Milanese steel, the quality was certainly good.
Mass-producing it according to completely standardized specifications was still difficult, but it was more than enough to raise the quality of his troops in the direction he wanted.
“Good.”
At those words, the soldier subtly puffed out his chest.
“How is the weight?”
“It is fine once you get used to it, my lord. It is a little more uncomfortable than wearing only chainmail… but when a spear or sword strikes me, I feel much safer.”
“Good. Feeling safe makes a man fight longer.”
After saying that, Michael immediately decided to replace his own equipment as well.
If he intended to fight directly in the middle of the battlefield, then he had to wear stronger armor before his soldiers did.
Of course, with a body possessing the strength of ten thousand men, ordinary weight meant almost nothing to him. Still, there was no reason to take unnecessary risks.
A few days later.
In the middle of a forge in Tyre, Michael was personally examining his newly made armor.
It was made by adding a reinforced breastplate, shoulder guards, arm guards, and shin guards over his existing chainmail-based equipment.
It was still not full plate armor, but by the standards of this era, it was certainly equipment one step ahead of the rest.
In particular, the steel plate covering his chest had been made strong enough to deflect most ordinary spear thrusts and sword strikes.
“How is it, my lord?”
At Bernhardt’s question, Michael slowly bent and straightened his arms while wearing the new armor.
There was no weight.
More precisely, it was certainly heavy enough for an ordinary person to feel the burden, but to him, it meant almost nothing.
Instead, he liked the feeling of security coming from the stronger armor.
“Good.”
He said that as he put a sword around his waist and strapped a bastard sword to his back.
He put a white surcoat over the armor that mixed chainmail and plate. When the black crossed-sword emblem became clearly visible on top of it, Michael unconsciously raised the corner of his mouth.
“Now I finally look like a knight.”
“You were already a knight.”
Bernhardt answered bluntly, making Michael chuckle.
And so, the barracks of Tyre and Acre were gradually improved.
The heavy cavalry learned to use heavier equipment and more precise charging formations, while the infantry sergeants repeatedly practiced shield formations and spear walls until the movements became instinctive.
The archers were still inexperienced, but thanks to the unique and harsh training of the Cumans, they had at least been brought up to the level where they could fire arrows at moving targets.
Above all, the increase in the number of Cuman cavalry was significant.
It had now become quite familiar to reach toward the north through the Genoese merchants. As long as enough money was offered, the Cumans, who lived by killing and raiding, would always flow in.
In this way, fifty Cuman cavalrymen were stationed in Tyre and another fifty in Acre. Even excluding the Cuman cavalry that had accompanied Michael in Jerusalem, the Cuman cavalry force continued to be maintained steadily.
Time passed without mercy.
After sending the soldiers away once training was over, Michael personally checked the taxes of his territory, the trade routes, the warehouses under repair, the condition of the ports, the production of the forges, and even the amount of grain stored in the warehouses.
Living a life where he watched the soldiers during the day and the account books at night, he was gradually realizing that being a lord was not simply about being good at swinging a sword.
Of course, it was annoying.
To be honest, dealing with numbers, supplies, taxes, and port regulations was much more annoying and boring than running around the battlefield and cutting off the heads of enemies.
But he also knew very well that an army stood upon those boring numbers, his reputation stood upon that army, and his future stood upon that reputation.
It was during this time.
“My lord.”
One night, Bernhardt entered the study with a somewhat stiff expression.
The fact that the man, who normally would have asked for permission at the door first, had almost walked straight in showed that this was not good news.
“What is it?”
“Renaud de ChĆ¢tillon of Kerak has finally caused trouble.”
At those words, Michael’s eyes became cold.
“What trouble?”
“He attacked a merchant caravan belonging to Saladin’s side, and he even captured Saladin’s sister.”
“Tsk. I knew he would cause trouble sooner or later…”
A low and short curse slipped from his mouth.
The atmosphere in the study immediately became heavy.
Renaud de ChĆ¢tillon.
The moment Michael thought of that name, he instinctively ground his teeth.
He had always been a man like a bomb that could explode at any moment, but now that he had actually caused trouble, Michael felt half annoyed and half delighted.
He was annoyed because he would have to go all the way to Jerusalem again and engage in politics.
But he was delighted because, finally, after the Battle of Hattin, the story of the siege of Jerusalem against Saladin was about to begin.
“What about Saladin?”
“Rumors say that he has already begun moving his army. Troops are gathering from the south and east.”
“Hmm…”
Michael leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment.
It had finally begun.
Historyāor rather, the disaster of this Holy Landāhad begun to move in earnest.
Meanwhile, Guy de Lusignan secretly wanted to avoid war as much as possible.
How long had it even been since he had taken the throne? Would anyone want to gamble the fate of the entire kingdom on a war already?
But what Renaud had done was serious enough to overturn the entire situation regardless of Guy’s personal intentions.
Moreover, if Saladin had already raised his army and begun moving, it would now be difficult to turn back.
Before long, an official message arrived from Jerusalem.
It stated that war would be declared throughout the kingdom and that the vassals and lords would be summoned.
Just as expected.
Michael immediately called the main knights of Tyre and Acre and held a meeting.
Bernhardt, Hugh de Montfort, Raymond de Valence, Matteo Ricci, Pietro Rossi, Giovanni Bianchi, and other key figures gathered in one place.
“The possibility of war with Saladin is high.”
At Michael’s words, the knights’ expressions became heavy.
No one said it aloud, but everyone knew that this would not be an ordinary battle.
“The kingdom will certainly summon its forces. And they will demand that we participate as well.”
A brief silence followed.
The first to speak was Hugh de Montfort.
“My lord, surely…”
“Yes.”
Michael answered firmly.
“I have no intention of taking my troops into this war.”
Low breaths escaped from among the knights.
Their reactions were mixed with shock, understanding, and a little tension.
“The reason is simple.”
There was no hesitation in Michael’s eyes.
“There is too great a chance that we will lose this war. No, to be honest, in our current state, we are certain to lose. I have no intention of throwing away the troops I worked so hard to build because of a war caused by that madman, Renaud de ChĆ¢tillon.”
His words were extremely direct, but they were equally sincere.
He knew better than anyone how much money, time, blood, and effort had gone into building each soldier.
He did not want to waste such forces because of political vanity and fanaticism.
A few days later.
As expected, Michael received an order from Jerusalem to answer the military summons, along with a request to attend a meeting.
He headed to Jerusalem with only a small escort. In a meeting hall with a different atmosphere from the Great Hall, he once again faced the kingdom’s key figures: Raymond III, Balian, Guy de Lusignan, Grand Master Gerard, Joscelin III, Renaud de ChĆ¢tillon, and others.
The meeting was hostile from the very beginning.
“We must hand over Renaud.”
Raymond III was the first to say it.
His voice was calm, but the anger within it was clear.
“The cause of this war is obvious. We must punish the man who robbed the merchant caravan during the truce, hand over his head, and release Saladin’s sisters so that the truce can be maintained. Otherwise, the entire kingdom will face disaster.”
Balian immediately agreed.
“That is correct. The entire kingdom cannot be shaken because of one man’s madness.”
At those words, Renaud de ChĆ¢tillon scoffed.
“Have you become afraid of the infidels? Do the nobles really think we should bow our heads just because I attacked a few caravans?”
“A few caravans?”
Raymond III’s eyes turned cold.
“Then what about Saladin’s sister? Why did you kidnap her? Was it not because of that that Saladin raised his army?!”
Then Grand Master Gerard strongly interrupted.
“Lord Renaud has done nothing wrong. A truce with the infidels was meaningless before Our Lord Jesus Christ from the beginning. What we need now is not a humiliating apology, but a decision.”
“A decision?”
This time, Michael spoke.
At his low voice, everyone’s attention naturally turned toward him.
“Grand Master, I hope that by ‘a decision,’ you do not mean a decision for all of us to die?”
