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And yes, the Pope is a Dandolo but a different one from the Venetian dynasty from the fourth crusade and sack of Constantinople. Honorius III died a little later (about fifteen months) than historically and instead of Gregory IX, who excommunicated Frederick II and threatened to depose the bedridden Emperor we have an accidental namesake of Enrico Dandolo. There will actually be a Gregory IX in less than three years but not the same person.
 
Here's to a successful Crusade! :)

I have no plans to botch it. ;) Historically, King Louis actually lost (they misunderstood the Saracens and surrendered themselves as POWs when something close to a white peace was being offered; they were exhausted and ridden with diseases at that point) but it would be weird to try and mimic it on purpose... and even if it worked, the Sultan would need to die soon too and a new regime start, so it'd be quite impossible to reflect the historical circumstances. Plus, that'd be one crusade later. In this crusade, he's not even supposed to be participating in historical terms, but the AI Germans don't seem to be coming down and winning it, so someone has to. ;) (But it won't be Louis.)
 
At Cyprus

The decision to join the crusade is not one that goes down easily.


Joinville Said the Queen Mother: 'Remember, my son, that God loves obedient children. Stay till thou canst go with a larger army; God is no caviller; thy excuse is that thy senses were dazed and thy wits wandering.'

To this the King replied, 'You say that weakness of wit was the cause of my taking the Cross; lo, then, since you desire it, here I lay down the Cross, I resign it to you,' and putting his hand to his shoulder he tore off the badge and presented it to the Archbishop. At this there was a buzz of applause and congratulation from all who sat round. Then said the King, and his voice and face changed, 'My friends, you agree now, do you not, that I am in full possession of my senses? that now at any rate I am sane in mind and body? Give me back then my Cross. For He who knows all things knows that no food shall pass my lips until my Cross is restored to me.'




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It would normally not be a choice to make at this point. England has not yet made clear its intentions, the Kaiser sends his regards but his true thoughts are unknown and the peace of the realm has only recently taken a more solid ground and is far yet from whole. However, the Imperial hosts are not coming, the crusaders are losing badly and meanwhile the Kingdom of Jerusalem has lost the entire Duchy of Ascalon to a holy war by the the Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt of the House of Saladin, either Mas'ud Yusuf, the current incumbent, or Al-Kamil whom he seems to have replaced.



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The situation desperately calls for France's involvement. The Kingdom is ripe to go down in one or two holy wars declared by one of the many surrounding Muslim rulers, dragging the other ones in as allies, truce or not, and both Tripoli and Antioch also in one holy war each. Perhaps simultaneously with each other or even with the Kingdom itself. If we fail to act now, there may be no Outremer to save when we are ready.

Thanks to France's involvement, King Louis finds a new way to finance the crusade... the Pope allows him to collect a special tithe from Church property.
(This is actually exactly what happened.)




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Bishop Ancel's activities in Toulouse bring fruit:



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On 30 October, we are already on the shores of Jaffa and Ascalon... no longer Kingdom of Jerusalem soil. We prepare to make our landing:



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On second thought, this is not a good idea:



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Muslim forces marching through the region already outnumber us and there is another ten thousand at Tyrus, deep into Jerusalem territory and not stopping there.

As difficult as it is for us to take, we need to wait at Cyprus:




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Joinville: The King would gladly have pressed on into Egypt without stopping, so I heard him say, if it had not been for his barons, who urged him to stay and wait for the rest of his followers who had not yet all arrived.


While waiting at Cyprus and moving the troops, Louis sees to his brother Robert's education:



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Meanwhile the efforts of our holy chaplain reach the family of the Dukes of Toulouse:



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And our chancellor sends word that the Kaiser is our friend, for the time being:



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(Historically, the Kaiser came to King Louis's aid with some supplies when his own ran short at Cyprus during the crusade Louis actually participated in some years later.)

This is most fortunate news. The King himself must engage in diplomacy between his errant subjects, who never cease plotting to further their petty goals or avenge grudges:

(Which is about what he actually did there.)



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A scary moment comes when young Robert of Artois climbs the tower at Famagusta during Louis's inspection:



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But the trust put in the boy's sense pays and he is now a brave lad:

(He became too brave, actually.)



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A moment later the plotters see the error of their ways:



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Rock where Despot Isaac Komnenos was taken captive by crusaders and put in silver chains (Richard Lionheart had promised he wouldn't put him in irons) at the end of his quarrel with them following his arrest of a ship with Richard Lionheart's fiancée onboard:



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[Pic source: wiki]
 
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Here's hoping that enough forces gather to help you take out those pesky muslims!

Worry not, I've got about 40K levies, just can't unload a 16K army (limit of my fleet) right on target without needing to babysit it because the Muslims have at least this size of stacks running around the coast. I'm using Cyprus to keep them away from engagement until I can funnel them all at once (ship reinforcement for battles and all). You'll see!

Heh, now that you mention it, having a bunch of frenchmen insulting the egyptians forces seems like a surefire way to win this war!

"Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!"

Actually, Louis banished people from his presence for swearing! He loved songs but the moment he heard an obscenity in the lyrics, forget singing for him again. But he could be quite up to the point when necessary (got himself threatened with a sword to his neck once, bloody knife just used in murder the other time, and a rack or worse machine the third, didn't really faze him).
 
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Acre

Come spring, Louis shows up at war council in Acre:



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(Joinville) When the King arrived at Acre, all the processions of Acre came down to the beach to meet and welcome him with great rejoicings.


Louis's grandfather, Philippe Auguste, receiving the surrender of Acre over a disgruntled Richard Lionheart, forty years ago:




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Despite having been the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem pretty much since its capture, Acre was a relatively new addition, acquired when the Kingdom shrank to the point it was basically limited to the city of Tyrus. Acre changed hands in 1191, following a siege which claimed the lives of Queen Sibylla, Patriarch Heraclius and others. The Queen's decease divested the famously non-delivering Guy of Lusignan, by family a Poitevin vassal of Richard of Lionheart (to whom he supposedly swore fealty even while being King of Jerusalem), of any right to the crown. While Richard supported Guy, France (Philippe Auguste) supported the rather capable Conrad of Montferrat, husband of Isabella, who was a younger half-sister of Sybilla and Baldwin IV, the Leper King, who had defeated Saladin at Montgisard. Where Richard and Philippe were unanimous, though, was that after the capitulation of the city, the banner of Leopold of Austria, a mere duke and vassal of the Holy Roman Emperor, should not have flewn with those of the Kings (that being England and France)... so Richard's men cut it down and threw into the city's moat. This led to much trouble for Richard later on; definitely much more than it was worth. Additionally, Leopold was a relative by women of the Cypriot tyrant Isaakios Komnenos, whom Richard had deposed just before. But back to Conrad, he was quickly removed by the Hashashin, after which the aforementioned Henry of Champagne became king in right of his wife (but did not use the title).

Acre reportedly pulled off an annual income equal to that of the entire Kingdom of England.
 
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Let the Crusade commence!

Two very nice updates :)

EDIT: Also, this might be a tiny bit wrong

Acre changed hands in 1991, following a siege which claimed the lives of Queen Sibylla, Patriarch Heraclius and others.

Although, I'm no history professor, so I'll leave accuracy with you ;)
 
Let the Crusade commence!

Two very nice updates :)

EDIT: Also, this might be a tiny bit wrong



Although, I'm no history professor, so I'll leave accuracy with you ;)

Argh, typo. ;) Thanks. ;)
 
We Are Not Staying

'We are not staying.' Time will show if this was the good decision.

***

'We will not be staying.'
'But Your Majesty. With your departure all is lost!'
'Or even more readily without it, my good lord. The crusade for Jerusalem cannot be won in Jerusalem.'
'How do you mean, sire?'
'With Your Majesty's permission.' That was Marshal Count Archambaut. 'If we stay here, the enemy will resupply fresh soldiers until our armies dwindle and we are pushed on the defensive. Forty thousand, thirty thousand, twenty thousand. Once it falls below that, apart from twenty thousand men dead from battle or hunger or disease, or deserting, any new caliphal stack will easily outnumber us. Due to the large number of troops the provinces can now supply for the enemy, now that he holds the castles and cities (and even the sanctuaries, in fact), and their lack of regard for attrition, they can easily move greater stacks that whatever we can supply even in a coastal province such as besieging the walls of Ascalon or Jaffa. True, for a short time we can unload double the number from ships and hope to escape attrition if we move back fast on ships after the victory, if we win actually, but this means the other part of the troops has to wait shipborne on standby or be taken off a siege. If we leave five thousand men continuing one siege to lend the other ten thousand to the defense of another, there can always be another fresh army coming that way from Egypt and catching the rump force by surprise. In short, too much idle time, and it will last forever. This supposing that no pressing news arrives from Europe and this a generous presupposition.'
'Aye, messire le comte de Périgord knows what he's talking about,' chimed in the worn desert fox the ranking representative of the Templar Order. 'I've seen it all. And of all people, King John, bless his heart, certainly knew what he was doing. Unlike Pelagius.'
'Gentlemen, please,' the current papal legate appealed without much conviction, trying to defend the honour of his predecessor.
'No offence, padre, not implying any sort of similarity between the two of you.' There, he had him wishing he had not even started.
The King coughed into his fist at this point and smiled in the general direction when the heads turned. The message was understood. A nod in Count Archambaut's direction followed. 'Impressive,' thought the old Templar but said nothing.
'...We need to strike at the enemy's heartland. Damietta, Pelusia and Gabiyaha can support seventeen to nineteen thousand each. Much more than that when a port is captured. Our ships can move sixteen thousand. You can do the maths for yourselves, gentlemen.' At which point a rather gentle cough broke the sudden silence. It was, of course, Queen Isabelle.
'Begging your pardon, Your Majesty, I invoke soldier's excuse. No offence intended.'
'None taken. Just whack them good and make sure they go away.' The Queen of Jerusalem would later be surnamed 'the Ironside'[1]. Louis briefly closed his eyes at the vocabulary. His tolerance level was famously low.
'This could also take some weight off your shoulders. Chances are we could make the caliph just a bit too busy to trouble you so much up north. We will try to reinforce you as needed. Just please hold.' With this the meeting was finished.




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[1] In the game, of course.
 
Days later the choice Mohammedan army with the Sultan's new retinue, which he plans to reach 85 thousand men with, moves into the mostly infantry and slightly numerically inferior French corps besieging Damietta. We cannot say this is exactly we want but there is one thing the Sultan does not know: a good deal of our army is waiting on ships and the King moves, up to armpits in beach water, to command the defence personally. After that, we unload the cavalry.

*SPLASH*
'Report, serjeant!'
'Mon Roi! The centre is without a leader! Their mounted archers are kiting our infantry!'
'Lead the way. Send a man to Count Archambaut, tell him to get the cav going and lead the charge!




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We capture the chief of the Sultan of Egypt's elite guard, men picked by the Sultan from slave markets and brought up in and for his service, outfitted at his expense with the best of weapons and lavished with gold and dignities until such time as they grow too powerful and are considered to be a threat:



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...And the overall commander of their army, Mayor Izzaddin:



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For some reason, Damietta's own troop of 800 light and 200 heavy cavalry did not enter the battle but another minor force runs into us when it is too late for them to accomplish anything, just as the army rushing back from the Holy Land stops at Farama:



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Meanwhile the King's reign brings prosperity to the cities in his homeland:



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And we prepare to receive the other army but it halts in place for some reason, the Sultan making his soldiers suffer hunger and heat due to his indecision:



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Louis's wound closes eventually and he now has a scar that runs from the edge of his crown to the tip of his chin.



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Still, when the Mamluk Sha'ban's plea reaches him, he orders him out of the dungeon and moved to a guarded house in Damietta:



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After dealing with some lamentable plots back in France:



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...And turning the Duchess of Antioch back in Syria from the path of the wicked, which entailed an embassy with gifts to open her to conversation and enable her to be persuaded:



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The prisoners are set free and returned to the Sultan with tidings:



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'Remit unto me the Kingdom of Jerusalem and likewise shall I return to you what I have taken of Egypt!



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Louis the Holy - very nice, although you're not quite a saint :)

Two very nice updates.
 
Fighting on

For days later, undaunted by the King's reputation of holiness to match his sacred character, the young Duke of Burgundy (himself a Capetian cadet of the house of de Bourgogne) initiates a scheme to replace strict heredity with elective succession in France:



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This is a delicate matter for the Capetian dynasty, seeing as it displaced the then Carolingian blood heirs precisely in an election a little more than two centuries ago, where it was argued that the eponymous Hugh Capet, a mighty vassal of the crown was supposedly more deserving. Even the Carolingians had begun their rule by casting aside birthright.

Meanwhile another minor army of the Egyptian Turks is prevented from joining the others to form a larger stack, while the siege of Damietta, now personally led by the King, who has left his knights behind, clearly gravitates to the advantage of the attackers. It is decided not the force an assault as, while losses in a prolonged siege are inevitable due to sallies, raiders and diseases, assaulting a holding defended by over two thousand well-protected defenders could easily see the death of one third of the army. We will have to wait:




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But for now we need to retire to our fleet to avoid unnecessary loss of life that could be caused by the shortage of supplies inflicted by the presence of so many troops in the province, belonging both to us and the retreating enemy. Speaking of whom, our army from Pelusia lifts the siege to intercept them at Manupura after dealing with the local nobles's dangerous cavalry troops which could form the powerful core of a larger army. As much as our King would prefer to meet an ungimped enemy head on, the longer we prevent the Mamluks from gathering their forces into a large mass, the longer the respite for those in the Holy Lands and the more time we get to proceed with the sieges in the Delta. Manupura itself is not far north from the Sultan's capital in Cairo.



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But for now we need to retire to our fleet to avoid unnecessary loss of life that could be caused by the shortage of supplies inflicted by the presence of so many troops in the province, belonging both to us and the retreating enemy. Speaking of whom, our army from Pelusia lifts the siege to intercept them at Manupura after dealing with the local nobles's dangerous cavalry troops which could form the powerful core of a larger army. As much as our King would prefer to meet an ungimped enemy head on, the longer we prevent the Mamluks from gathering their forces into a large mass, the longer the respite for those in the Holy Lands and the more time we get to proceed with the sieges in the Delta. Manupura itself is not far north from the Sultan's capital in Cairo, where some soldiers are already gathering. Meanwhile a revolt erupts in Farama:



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And in El-Arish another small enemy force raises the banner, completing the checkerboard, just as we learn that the old lady of Chalons has parted this world and her lands reverted to the crown for she was heirless:



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The county will go to the same ungrateful Duke of Burgundy, who according to old customs had some claim as the de iure intermediate holder between the county and the king:



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While far from making him throw himself at the king's feet or neck in gratitude, this does improve the relationship of the two remote cousins, the vassal and his lord. He is further named Cupbearer, which is judged a risky move by some, given as he is a current faction member:



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An Occitan bishop of eminent learning addresses the king with his request to be appointed the chaplain to the royal person but while no fault can be fault with his scholarship, his character leaves much to be desired, forget anything close to the format of bishop Ancel, the King's own old tutor and mystic of fervent zeal.



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News of more momentum reach us from the ecclesiastic realm soon enough. The Holy Father is no longer with us in body, and he has a successor in Gregory IX.



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The King's younger brother, still underaged Robert, seems to have a keen interest in royal guests and he might one day grow to be a remarkable diplomat:



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At the same time, as much as on paper the account of the war is still progressing towards the worse, those in the Holy Land are making use of the second breath we have bought them and an army of ten thousand under the papal flag shows in the countryside of Jaffa, only recently lost to the Ayyubids in the Muslim holy war which claimed the coastal strip of Ascalon. Of other news, as we further inquire into matters here in Egypt, as you can see, it turns out the populace is still largely Christian, by some accounts possibly up to a half of them, albeit this might be somewhat exaggerated.

We also receive word from Amiens back in France, just north of Paris in royal domain, about improvements to archery training and equipment. Can our letters home be bringing effect or is it the King's keen eye?




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He decides to grant Carcassonne to the powerful Raymond VII, Duke (Count) of Toulouse much on the same principle as he did Chalons to the Duke of Burgundy:



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That makes him more eager to listen to the King's words and, in April!:



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