God's Kingdom Part 13 - Candy From A Baby
The Shia Caliphate being ruled by a boy was too good an opportunity to pass up. Also the Caliphate was still embroiled in a civil war which meant that I'd go down as one of the most foolish kings ever if I didn't declare war. I refused to be a fool.
To my surprise the Shia counter-attacked much quicker than I expected. I had rushed in the levies from Ascalon and before they knew it they were fighting for their lives without much help nearby. Thinking quickly Philippe and I boarded ship and sailed from Jaffa with levies from my duchy. Once again I arrived to save the day.
Battle was a dangerous place to be. Leading men into the fight is even more dangerous. After battle I would always thank God for keeping me safe. He apparently had other things on his mind this day.
Peasants always picked the worst time to cause trouble. Usually that would be when all my levies are far, far removed from Jerusalem. I turned to some rent-a-thugs to scatter the rabble.
As we campaigned in Egypt I noticed that Philippe wasn't quite the go-getter that he once was. Actually that would be putting it gently. The boy was acting lazy. All that time not being able to do much in the Sinai must have caused the change. Maybe I had erred by giving him the duchy to rule. I hoped that getting out and bashing some infidels would help him find his motivation again.
With things not going so well the boy Caliph called on the Emir of Sanaa to come bail him out. Unlike the last war, an army actually arrived from Sanaa. While the 6,700 Muslim strong army would prove a distraction and make me postpone some sieges it was nothing that would stop me from eventually winning Damietta.
The Emir of Sanaa proved to be far more intelligent than I gave him credit for. I always did have a habit of underestimating the infidels. It was apparent that I was going to win the war and when the emir saw almost 15,000 Jerusalemites including the Knights Hospitaller coming their way they turned tail and started running back towards Sanaa.
I debated chasing down the Sanaa soldiers and slaughtering them but decided it wasn't worth the effort. God would forgive me. With Damietta besieged and captured and his armies destroyed the boy Caliph had no choice but to give up his lands to me.
With the war against the Shia completed I was able to turn my attention to matters of state. My daughter Agathe had come of age. She was a beautiful and skilled woman who would make a fine wife. I noticed that the prince and heir of France was coming of age soon and thought that it would be wise to ally our two kingdoms. Yes there were some
issues between Jerusalem and France in the past but that was generations ago. Apparently not enough time had passed as the French king rebuffed my offer. "Desires a better alliance." Jerusalem is one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world. What better alliance could he find than that? I vowed on that day that someday a de Boulogne would get their vengeance on the French.
Soon after my second son came of age. Like his brother he was a skilled man who would do great things for the kingdom. I betrothed him to a Byzantine duchess who was not yet a woman and invited him in my council until it came time for him to leave my court.
Philippe had mentioned a time or two that his wife wasn't thrilled with all the dirt and Muslims in the Sinai. I figured the girl just missed the green, Catholic lands of her childhood and assured him that with time she would come to appreciate things. Perhaps I was wrong and instead of missing Germany she was hinting at wanting to move to Jerusalem. Her time would come eventually but I was in no hurry to go anywhere. I kindly informed her that murdering me would not be appreciated. I also told her a story about a certain German Princess who once lived in Jerusalem and "missed Germany" too.
I declared war on the Shia because there was a boy ruler and they were in a civil war. Two years later there was still a boy ruling and they were still in a civil war. If it was a good enough reason to go to war with them once, it was a good enough reason to go to war again.