Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks

Chapter 696 3: Refugees and Property_2

...

Originally belonged to Saman Lord's residence.

Richard the Lionheart received the wine delivered by the Saracen maid and drank it down: "I thought the most delicious wine in the world was in Gaul, Fuller, do you know where this wine is produced?"

"I don't know, ever since you initiated the Crusades, I've rarely drunk wine."

Fuller was candid; he was a Norman vassal with over seventy estates in Maine and Alençon, with an annual salary as Captain of the Guard amounting to around fifteen hundred pounds of silver.

This probably equates to thirty thousand Suludes gold coins, a considerable fortune.

But war is a gold-devouring beast; he must maintain his armed forces, repair castles, and a significant portion of the taxes received are in kind taxes, converting them to cash quickly is another huge expense.

Richard embarrassedly smiled, handed the cup to Fuller: "It's from Cyprus, produced from the estate of our Grand Marshal."

Count's Guard Captain frowned: "This Duke Losa's territory is indeed rich in produce."

He took a few dates from the buckle of his belt and handed them to Richard.

Sweetness in this era is a precious taste; even for the King, being able to spread a layer of honey on each meal's bread is a delight.

But in the Holy Land, you can eat as many dates as you want.

"Try this."

Richard took out a paper packet containing yellowed sugar cubes, made from sugarcane mills in Semanud, cultivated by the Saracens specifically for sugar production.

"Is this also the property of Duke Losa?"

"What do you think?"

The two exchanged silent glances.

Richard isn't one to indulge in pleasures, but the abundant Eastern produce and the commercial profits that can be gained still moved him slightly. After all, having wealth means raising more troops, and being at the frontline bordering the heretics, there's never a worry about not having wars to fight.

Richard couldn't help but jest: "If the crown could be sold, I'd really want to exchange Albion's crown with Losa's current territory."

Fuller spoke frankly: "But Duke Losa probably wouldn't want to trade with you; in front of him, an Egyptian King's golden crown awaits him to personally pick it up."

Richard felt a bit frustrated, indeed, compared to the Egyptian crown, what does the crown on that island of Albion amount to?

Suddenly, someone reported from outside that King Philip came to visit.

The two met, but King Philip didn't speak directly; instead, he casually remarked: "Our Grand Marshal, apart from anything else, certainly travels with ample pomp."

In this era, travel pomp is the greatest way to demonstrate a lord's authority.

The royal court of many kings has lower-ranking nobles serving as attendants, officials, as well as Royal Knights guarding the king's side year-round.

But the colorful, chaotic knights obviously can't possess this kind of command and overwhelming majesty.

Most kings also can't afford, or rather are unwilling to bear the expenses every time they travel.

Many times, the person sitting next to you in the tavern might be a king, prince, or something.

You might wonder if a drunkard equally disheveled, reeking of vomit can embody approachable friendliness or lack the dignity expected of a king?

Philip envied, and Richard did too.

Richard frowned: "What are you trying to say?"

Philip rolled his eyes, this guy is as straightforward as ever: "Don't you feel our Grand Marshal is a bit too generous?"

"How so?"

"Disaster relief, provisioning for the Crusaders, settling immigrants on the Sinai Peninsula, each expense is enormous."

"Heh, when I set out, I heard a merchant fleet bearing the Double-headed Eagle Banner arrived in Provence."

"Not enough, far from enough."

"Perhaps the Venetians or Genoese lent him a large sum of money."

"Even if Venetians and Genoese are rich, not everyone would bet."

Philip speculated: "I think he probably discovered a large gold mine; he built a giant mint in a hidden place."

In fact, Losa is indeed on the brink of bankruptcy.

Apart from all these expenses, Losa also bears the enormous cost of upgrading his attendants.

His sources of wealth are four main projects: one being various taxes from within the territory, with commercial taxes from Eira Port accounting for a considerable portion.

Secondly, spoils of war, including taking over the properties of former lords after capturing Damietta and Semanud cities.

Those weapons and armors meant to rot in the armory or be distributed to lower soldiers, were reclaimed and exchanged for gold coins, which was also a significant fund.

The third is Losa's private properties like plate armor, coffee, printing workshops, and vineyards.

Additionally, system upgrades brought many pieces of equipment which reduced the money to be spent on arming Losa's soldiers.

Fourth is the wealth obtained by Captain Hog from robbing pirates, excavating shipwrecks, and collecting treasures along the Red Sea, which is equally substantial, at least much more than those commercial activities which haven't seen much profit.

...

In the Saracen camp by Brullos Lakebank.

Adil, who was focusing on handling military affairs, suddenly had a shadow appear behind him, the shadow respectfully bowed and said: "Master, new information from the city has arrived."

Adil was startled.

"Did Master Shemir send you?"

"Yes, master. The Frankish leader, the Prince Losa, has made a big move today, causing unrest in the city, please be cautious and guard against falling into the trap of another Frankish night raid like before."

Adil frowned: "I understand."

Semanud City ultimately

Even without Saman Lord as the insider, there are still plenty of people willing to leak information as long as Semanud City needs to communicate with the outside world; this is unavoidable.

Even if the whole city is sealed off, the people inside

Adil frowned: "What exactly is Losa plotting?"

The few Black Gulams he sent to test the attack were prepared for abandonment, unexpectedly

Yet they discovered these Franks were merely holding their ground, directly abandoning some fortresses with protruding geographic positions, allowing them to take over.

"For Governor Magid Isma of Fayoum Province to see me, doesn't he always boast about his elite and competent Mamluks wanting to have a port as their territory? Let him lead the charge then."

Fayoum Province, located south of Cairo, has a developed canal network irrigating vast farmland, thus thriving river transport. Fayoum's provincial governor is also considered one of the powerful real power figures among Egypt's many governors.

Adil doesn't intend to simply hold out; in terms of attrition, the Crusaders most likely can't compare with them. But the war erupted

Buhayra's Rashid, an entire big city turned to ruins.

The Crusaders are fierce, they have continuous losses. Although after some encouragement, the army still has decent morale these past couple of days, but no one can guarantee how long this situation will last,