Chapter 235: Weights And Measures
Heraclius followed Baldwin’s gaze and looked over the crowd by the bonfire one by one, discovering that he had not been wrong, and a knowing expression appeared on his face.
Although he was a monk, he had always followed King Amalric I of Ayyarasa Road. Although he had not followed the Crusader knights of the first Crusades into Ayyarasa Road, he had also once entered several other cities that had been left in ruins by war.
For monarchs and commanders, gaining new territory was certainly a pleasurable thing. But the subsequent governance—unless the residents here had already colluded with foreign enemies and offered their city to him. Otherwise, even if it was a Christian city, it would take five or ten years to gradually recover its former glory.
Not to mention cities originally ruled by heathens like Ayyarasa Road, Acre, and Jaffa. Both sides fought for faith, and the meaning of their combat was far more significant than territory, money, and women. By the time the dust settled, irreconcilable blood feuds had already been established between them, and the victorious side would always slaughter the defeated side to the last. The best outcome was no more than what had happened in Fustat, where the heathens were completely expelled from the city and had to pay money to redeem themselves.
Afterward, new residents moved in, and then it would take another generation’s time for the city to truly belong to its new master.
Yet Caesar had done it in merely one year—even if only in Nicosia, this talent was enough to make the King of Francia warmly invite him to his court as prime minister.
“Not just Nicosia.” Heraclius said. Originally, Princess Anna had landed at Larnaca because she was to marry Caesar at St. Lazarus Cathedral there.
But in the second marriage, perhaps to avoid the suffocating shadow, the Venetians chose a route landing on the north side of Cyprus at Kyrenia, then passing through Yerolaks to the cathedral in Nicosia.
From Kyrenia to Nicosia was also a journey of one day and one night, passing through several cities, but the Venetians had never mentioned being attacked on the road. Even along the way, Boccia had received visits and welcomes from envoys of those cities and accepted the gifts they gave her.
“How did he do it?” Baldwin asked.
This was a question even Patriarch Heraclius found difficult to answer.
Because in their view, Caesar seemed to have done nothing. He had only quelled the rebellion on Cyprus, dealt with the families and individuals involved in the rebellion, and then issued three laws as brief as could be.
Heraclius could vaguely perceive some clues among them, but after all, he was a man of this era and could not understand the efforts Caesar had made.
He had given everyone justice. But the cost of this justice was that he had to expend more effort—he had to seek reliable testimonies from all places, find possible witnesses, and refer to the laws of Cyprus, Francia, and the Church.
He also had to try his best to make the people understand his intentions, so as not to be exploited by those with ill intentions.
When would people obey a strange tyrant?
For most commoners, they lacked courage and insight. Unless driven to desperation, they would not attempt to resist, and even then, it often required a priest or noble to lead them.
This meant that even under the most severe oppression, they would try to reconcile with their monarch or ruler. This was human nature and not worth blaming. But when you realized this, you could make them quiet down at the fastest speed.
When they knew that as long as they did not cross those few red lines, they could live peacefully without harm, neither faith nor hatred, nor so-called law, could shake them.
Would a farmer care if his lord was an illegitimate son? He would not. If this lord did not charge more poll tax or war tax than before, was it not the same as before? He had no need to worry or even get angry about it.
Similarly, they would not care who the king was or who the Pope was; they might care more about who the farm steward and cowherd were.
As for faith, in fact, when we read history books, we find that the root of faith is still deeply rooted in interest, just as the scripture written by the Saracens’ earliest Prophet was more like a carefully considered life guidebook for all Saracens, which was indeed brilliant for the Saracens at that time.
Caesar had also thought about compiling a complete law.
The current laws were really too chaotic, mostly based on the personal interests or feelings of high priests or lords. Sometimes the law was simply like child’s play, generally left for nobles to toy with and shape into whatever forms they needed.
Could such law really serve to warn the world and suppress crime?
He did not think so. Since becoming a Knight of Bethlehem, Caesar had participated in several judgments. But the results of each one made him laugh and cry. Things like judging pigs, judging dogs, or allowing couples to duel for divorce were one thing.
In Ayyarasa Road, there had even been a case where a person was tried simply for being ugly and deemed a devil.
If Baldwin and Caesar had not been at that trial, that poor man might have been burned at the stake instead of just being expelled from the city.
But even if he could compile a complete code of law based on his past memories, what use would it be? Reading was a privilege of nobles, knights, and priests; most commoners were illiterate, and some could not even speak a coherent, complete, logical sentence.
Even if a herald specially went to the market to read it aloud, they might forget the second half after hearing the first half, staring in bewilderment, completely not knowing what you were saying. They might even think the new lord was joking with them.
But “do not steal, do not rape, do not kill”—these three were easy to remember, and Caesar had not used any fancy metaphors or embellishments in them. They were so simple and clear that it was hard for anyone to find flaws.
For ordinary people, they easily understood the meaning: oh, as long as we do not violate these three laws, we will not be hanged, whipped, or have our property confiscated—of course, we will not live in constant fear either.
Even if someone with ill intentions wanted to incite riots using words they could not understand to scare them, they could confidently say, no, we know what the new lord said: as long as we do not break those three laws, we are innocent.
Of course, the power and cruelty Caesar displayed in the “seven days of mourning” had indeed left a deep shadow on those nobles, but their greatest unease was what? Nothing more than their new lord framing them at will, turning deer into horses, in order to fully control Cyprus or plunder all their wealth.
After all, for Crusader knights, they were a group of heretics, and no means was excessive.
But Caesar had not done so, even though the rebellion was the perfect excuse—no one could say anything even if he slaughtered all of Cyprus and expelled all the families.
And the events that later happened to the Giorgiu family also gave those nobles who had luckily not participated in the conspiracy a glimmer of hope. Some families even thought that Manuel I might have done a good thing this time.
Egypt’s Fatimid Dynasty had never given up its designs on Cyprus. Now it was only because Grand Vizier Saladin was quelling internal rebellions that they could breathe a little— the people of Cyprus had long been looking forward to a strong ruler.
They had even prepared themselves that even if this new lord was greedy by nature—as long as he could fight the Saracens, they could find ways to satisfy his appetite.
The Cypriots’ true nature was that of merchants; merchants would never quibble over temporary gains and losses. For them, money was like the sun: it set tonight and rose tomorrow. As long as the new lord could guarantee the safety of their ports and sea routes, they could earn back thousands of times what they lost.
“What about those northern cities?” Baldwin asked.
He was referring to the cities Caesar had leased to the Knights Templar. “They seem very peaceful too.”
Heraclius said. Although he had been assisting Baldwin in preparing for the expedition, he had always been concerned about his student—the Templar Knights, or Crusader knights, had a poor reputation among the people of the Byzantine Empire; they had truly committed robberies of cities and farms.
In fact, Caesar had foreseen this and essentially gave those ports and cities to the Knights Templar for free.
The Knights Templar’s greatest income came from pilgrims’ donations—so a safe and unimpeded Pilgrimage Road was very important to them.
Not to mention that merchants traveling under the protection of the Knights Templar also needed ports for trade and cargo transport, and Caesar had made concessions on commercial privileges. Just from the revenues of these cities and sea routes, the Templars could recruit another three hundred knights.
For this huge profit, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar would absolutely not allow anyone to damage their friendly relations with Caesar, especially for such ridiculous reasons.
“What about the Knights Hospitaller?”
This was something Baldwin did not need to worry about. The Knights Hospitaller’s origins were in a hospital, providing lodging, diet, and medical care to passing pilgrims, regardless of faith—the idea of saving being better than killing permeated the entire history of the order.
Although they also traded and fought, they had never been as unpopular as the Knights Templar.
And the Gerard family, because of that scandal—after the matter was settled, they faced the unrelenting rebuke and purge from their patriarch, and most had completely shrunk back.
“By the way,” Heraclius said, “has Bishop Andrew spoken to you?”
“About what?”
“Patriarch Gerard’s daughter Damara—he had previously found a Frankish knight for her, but unfortunately, before the marriage negotiations even began, that unlucky fellow died in an accident.”
Heraclius said: “People from the Gerard family once wanted to marry Damara to Caesar. But as you know, neither Damara, nor her father, nor Caesar had any such intention.
But what they did afterward, you saw—it was simply laughable.
However, Patriarch Gerard still had not given up on his original idea.
It was just that he could no longer send someone to Francia to look for a son-in-law candidate, after all, the two places were too far apart, and a round trip would take three or four years.
“He doesn’t need to be in such a hurry; Damara is only fifteen.”
“Perhaps he was still frightened by those greedy villains. For a father, the best home for his daughter is a stable marriage.
So he took a fancy to Bishop Andrew’s nephew—the real nephew, not an illegitimate son.”
“How is that young man?”
“It should be said he’s not bad.” Heraclius said hesitantly, “As you know, young men like you, like Caesar, even David, who are upright and mild-tempered, are rare nowadays. He is a typical Crusader knight.
Bishop Andrew’s family could be considered a good match for the Gerard family, and Bishop Andrew had also asked the young man. Although at first, he wanted to join one of the three major knight orders that require vows of chastity, right now those three major knight orders temporarily have no suitable positions for him.
So he is already thinking of returning to Francia. He is the eldest son of the family; if Damara marries him, she will be the mistress of the castle, and his uncle is fighting alongside us. No matter what happens in the future, Damara will at least not be mistreated.
“It’s not strange that he thinks this way.” Baldwin said, “The Holy Land is alluring, with many opportunities and honors, but for a woman, this is not a good place.” Look at Princess Anna, who died on her wedding night, and his stepmother the Queen Mother, Maria, who had nearly been torn apart alive by a raging she-bear when entering Ayyarasa Road.
Similarly, Caesar’s grandmother, the wife of Count of Edessa Joscelin II at the time, had been captured along with her son and taken to Acre. But people remember Jocelin III, while she had long been forgotten—perhaps she had become a slave to some Saracen and died in grief and oppression.
A father who truly loves his daughter would absolutely not want her to be in such danger.
“Have they started negotiating the marriage?”
“It’s basically settled. But the young man’s intention is that he wants to go on expedition with you. He said when departing that he would take three Saracen heads, and he has not yet fulfilled his oath to God.”
“Just arrange a few battles for him anywhere.” Baldwin said. He did not want to see old Gerard’s resentful look. What if his future son-in-law went on expedition with him and died in it?
Heraclius nodded.
For Syria now, such an arrangement was not difficult. Several “heirs of Nur al-Din” were fighting each other, and from the losers, bands of troops that had lost honor and confidence would often scatter. Once detached from law and doctrine, they would turn into bandits.
This area bordering Syria had been seeing large and small combats all this time.
While strolling leisurely, they discussed future matters, and before they knew it, the sky had brightened.
“I want to stay here, even if just for a few days?” Baldwin complained, “I haven’t seen Caesar for several months.”
“Please believe me. Even you, Caesar would not want to see much in this month—newlyweds are in the heat of passion,” Heraclius unceremoniously reminded Baldwin not to spoil the mood, “Moreover, don’t you want a little Caesar? If you don’t let them spend time together properly, how will Boccia give birth in a few months when Caesar takes the knights to serve you? Like the Virgin Mary welcoming a Holy Child?”
Baldwin burst into laughter; he also realized he had said something stupid. Thus, the next day he only briefly met Caesar, said goodbye, and returned to Ayyarasa Road, after all, he had many things to do too.
However, neither Heraclius nor Baldwin probably realized that for Caesar, the honeymoon did not hold such great significance either.
On the third day, he invited Dandolo to the council hall for a talk. Dandolo had originally planned to stay longer, preferably past this month. Although Boccia’s demeanor and posture indicated that this marriage was at least quite perfect in some aspects, after all, they were just a pair of inexperienced young people—there were still many places needing elder guidance.
When Caesar’s attendant came to invite him to the council, Dandolo at first thought Caesar wanted to discuss the dowry with him.
Although the dowry was already specified in the marriage certificate, it was not uncommon for the groom’s side to make some not-too-excessive requests after the marriage contract was concluded.
Dandolo had also mentally prepared himself: did he want an army? Or more ships? He did not care. Since 1171, he had desired only one thing, and being in his waning years, this might be his last chance to squander.
But as soon as he sat down, he heard Caesar pose a question that seemed somewhat outrageous to him now.
“What do you think of the current weights and measures?”
