OBS Chapter 854 The King's Will
Chapter 854 The King's Will
Chapter 854 The King's Will
"As a king, don't you have the right to decide on whose head your crown should be worn? I still need to discuss this matter with Lothar. Am I his lord, or is he my lord?"
The young King of Jerusalem, with a smile on his face, came to the pavilion in the garden, sat down, and pointed to the seat opposite.
"You are the feudal lord of His Majesty Lothar, but he is also a king. I must remind you that according to the law of succession, your heir should be the son of Princess Sibilla. Even if he is still young and unable to rule the country, Princess Sibilla should still be the regent. Failure to follow the law of succession is the source of civil strife."
Baldwin IV couldn't help laughing and said, "Mr. Urdin, you are right. Failure to follow the law of succession is indeed the source of civil unrest, but I don't think anyone dares to cause trouble under Lothar's nose. As long as he inherits the throne, Jerusalem will never be in chaos."
He defeated Saladin twice in succession, performed countless miracles since his debut, and recaptured Lothar of Egypt. Now he seems to be the only monarch in the hearts of the Franks in the East.
He wanted to sit on the throne of Jerusalem, and no matter how unwilling the nobles of Jerusalem were, they had to accept their fate.
Urdin was helpless and sighed softly: "Even if you have made up your mind, you should let Nishaya send a message for you to discuss it with His Majesty Lothar."
It would be a good thing for his master to have another crown, but Urdin knew that with his master's character, he would definitely not agree if he heard that Baldwin IV planned to become a knight-errant.
Baldwin IV put away his smile and sighed, "Sir, what do you think makes a good king?"
Ulding shook his head.
"You have traveled all over the country for so many years, so you must have some experience, or do you think like everyone else that as long as you can win the battle, you are a good king? If you can be like Richard the Lionheart, who always rushes to the front in the battle, you will be a wise king who is rarely seen in a century."
Urdin smiled helplessly and said, "When I was in Lombardy, I met an ascetic monk. He told me that all kings and nobles are a group of robbers who only know how to take."
He had never seen any good kings. Even when the Wolf Clan had not expanded northward and was still within the Habsburg sphere of influence, there were few kings in the small countries and city-states on the Apennine Peninsula who could be called good. None of them were arrogant and extravagant, and indulged in pleasure. No one would return the collected taxes to the people and build people's livelihood.
The King of Jerusalem chuckled and nodded: "Although this may sound harsh, it is actually true."
"I defeated Saladin when I was sixteen. I thought I would be the savior of Jerusalem, but when I sneaked out, I found that people's lives did not become better because the war was over."
"Tithes, poll taxes, hearth taxes, Saladin taxes, marriage taxes, tax collectors, and tax farmers, under the instigation of local nobles, tried to squeeze every drop of oil from this land."
"They claim that as the protectors of this land, they are entitled to such rights, but they squander money and indulge in pleasure. This is not the kingdom of heaven that I envision."
"So, I tried to sign a peace agreement with Saladin to open up trade routes and stop the war, but that was all I could do."
Urdin was silent for a moment. He actually understood the subtext of Baldwin IV. He wanted to implement a top-down reform in Jerusalem, and no one else could do this except Lothar.
“That sounds like a lot of shit.”
Baldwin IV couldn't help but laugh and said, "How can it be a mess? If Lothar can sit back and watch the nobles continue as they are, then he will have gained an extra crown and a purse that will produce endless taxes and revenues."
"It seems that you are sure that His Majesty Lothar will not do this."
"Yes, he is the only one who cares about the common people. In the territory of Transjordan, almost everyone can fill their stomachs. You should know how rare this is."
Baldwin IV felt a little emotional. His sister might be a person with political skills and ambitions, but it was obviously impossible for her to follow his will and do such a thankless task.
By the time the news reached Lothar, it was already dark.
"What? His Majesty Baldwin wants to abdicate to me and become a knight-errant?"
Losa was afraid that he had misheard Urdin's heavily accented Germanic language, so he repeated it again.
Urdin on the other side smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, he was determined to begin with. After taking the prepared magic potion today and eliminating the root cause of leprosy, his determination became even stronger."
"From the looks of it, he plans to set off on horseback with his attendants after practicing swordsmanship for a few more days."
Losa couldn't help but stroke his forehead and said, "Your Majesty is such a steady person, how could you do such an unreliable thing?"
Ulding smiled bitterly and reminded, "Don't forget that His Majesty Baldwin is only 23 years old this year, and he has been confined to a quiet room for a long time over the years."
"Is that right?"
Lothar sighed deeply. Whenever he thought of King Baldwin, the wise and gentle eyes under the mask would appear in his mind. They made him feel so reliable, as if everything could be solved.
This often made Losa ignore his age.
"Have you tried to persuade him?"
"Yes."
"He deliberately didn't contact me because he had no intention of discussing this with me, right?"
"Yes."
Losa couldn't help rubbing his head: "I finally conquered Egypt, why does everyone want to add more burdens to me?"
It would have been fine if Lagaia wanted to hand over the throne of the empire to him, but Baldwin didn't even say hello. It seemed that he wanted to wait until the ship he was on docked and then directly deliver a bombshell news to him.
"Where are you now? I want to talk to His Majesty."
Urdin hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said, "His Majesty said he doesn't want to talk to you."
Lothar couldn't help but raise his voice: "Your Majesty, are you going too far?"
The mess in Jerusalem is not impossible to take over. In the eyes of others, sorting out the chaos in the upper class of Jerusalem and consolidating the power of local nobles is as difficult as reconquering Jerusalem.
And the greater probability is that it will not be accomplished at all, and the nobles will unite to suppress it, and they will have to ask "Why is your majesty rebelling?"
But if it were Losa, he felt that he might not encounter so many obstacles.
After all, in the war with Saladin, he had already shown his fists to his "comrades-in-arms". No one wanted to have such a powerful monarch sitting above their heads, but no one dared to stand up and oppose him.
So it's not that he cannot take over the throne of Jerusalem, but Baldwin IV's idea of becoming a knight-errant is too fantastic, as there are extraordinary creatures in this world.
for a long time.
Baldwin IV's somewhat embarrassed voice came from the other side: "Sir Lothar, the Crown of Thorns of Jerusalem is the most sacred crown in the world. I want to give it to you. Why do you sound a little dissatisfied?"
Losa snorted, "Don't act stupid."
Since the two met, although they did not spend much time together in private, both Lothar and Baldwin IV actually regarded each other as close friends.
"You want to leave all the problems to me and walk away without any worries. Don't you think you should at least discuss this with the person involved face to face?"
Losa had a vague sense of déjà vu. He had clearly been the hands-off boss in the past.
(End of this chapter)