People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted - Chapter 862 The Question of Jerusalem's Succession

When they were under Lothar's command, they were strictly prohibited from massacring and looting civilians' property. Although many of them were forced to obey, they still had a fire in their hearts.

"We cannot be tolerant of these despicable 'sinners who killed the Son of God'. They are good at changing their ways according to the situation. When they were on the side of the pagans, they acted as their minions and tax collectors, and squeezed the Christians under their rule. Now that the situation is not good, they want to abandon their old masters. They have no loyalty and honor. Accepting these people will undoubtedly bring shame to our sacred cause!"

exclaimed a regional bishop from Gaul.

The knights around him also shouted: "No forgiveness, tooth for tooth!"

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Raymond coughed lightly and was about to clean up the situation, but unexpectedly a servant walked quickly into the room and whispered in his ear.

A trace of surprise flashed across Raymond's thin face, which had originally seemed confident.

He asked in surprise, "Isn't your Majesty's condition stabilized?"

The attendant hesitated for a long time before he said, "Perhaps there are some new changes."

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Raymond's mind.

Even though he sent his youngest son to Lothar and Raymond was in awe of Lothar, his first thought after hearing the news was still - absolutely not!Richard drank a glass of red wine by himself. Philip beside him sneered and said, "Guess what news our Prince of Tiberias received that shocked him like this?"

Richard snorted, "It's none of my business. It's impossible that the pagans have broken out of the city."

Philip whistled: "Look, our prince can't sit still."

"Everyone, compared to the news I just received, whether to agree to the Jews' request has become a trivial matter. We will discuss it later!"

After that, he held up the letter brought by the servant under everyone's gaze:"My Lords, this is that His Majesty the Holy Lord Baldwin of Jerusalem has instructed the Regency Council, which I represent, to discuss the nomination of His Majesty Lothar von Habsburg of Egypt to succeed the throne of Jerusalem."

The scene suddenly became noisy.

For most local lords, a strong monarch was clearly not in their interests.

What's more, this is not in line with tradition.

Immediately, a member of the former queen mother's party stood up and said loudly: "His Majesty Sibylla's son, His Majesty Baldwin the Younger, should succeed to the throne. His Majesty Lothar is wise and brave, and there is nothing to criticize, but our sacred tradition cannot be violated."

Although there are some places in Europe, such as Aquitaine and other southern Gaul regions, where imperial law is practiced, Salic law is still the mainstream.

This meant that even though the dukes had always wanted to push Baldwin's other sister, Queen Isabella, who was of the Komnenos family blood, to power, she was legally weaker than Sibylla.

Anyway, even if Sibylla came to power, he would no longer hold all the power in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the Queen Mother's party would not be able to boss him around. He would still be the uncrowned king of the territory north of Jerusalem.

Reynald of Châtillon had not expected this to happen, and said quickly, "Yes, although young His Highness Baldwin is still young, with His Highness Raymond and His Highness Sibylla as regents, he can definitely take charge of the overall situation of the kingdom."

Although he is no longer a key figure in the Queen Mother's party and he will not gain much benefit if Sibylla comes to power, he feels that if Lothar comes to power, he may not even be able to keep his current title of Baron of Kaleburg.

"Bloodline and hereditary succession are the only basis for succession to the throne. Once the tradition is broken, the succession of the entire country will fall into chaos."

This proposal made Raymond's eyes light up.

To be fair, everyone hopes to pass the throne to his son. If Baldwin IV can marry a virtuous queen and give birth to his own heir, it will be a favorable outcome for all parties.

I hadn't thought about it before, simply because Baldwin IV had been suffering from leprosy for a long time and had forgotten to consider this matter.

Philip, who was sitting on a high place, could not help but sneer and said, "Look, the crowd is so angry. They usually praise the heroic name of His Majesty Lothar, but now their true colors are exposed."

They both knew that there was another important reason why these nobles opposed Lothar's concurrent throne of Jerusalem, which was that Lothar's actions in Transjordan and Egypt frightened them.

In a nutshell, the Egyptian king had too much power!

All ministers and local lords were equivalent to local officials appointed by him, and there were also various auditors, traveling courts, etc. who shared the power of local lords.

There was once a joke circulating in the aristocratic circles of Jerusalem that "the lords of Egypt are nothing more than slaves guarding the king's purse."

Philip said, looking at Richard: "Come to think of it, aren't you also the heir to the throne of Jerusalem? How about you just stay here and take over the throne of Jerusalem? I think these nobles will definitely be more willing to support you than Lothar."

Compared to Lothar, Richard is also a member of the House of Anjou. In terms of bloodline, he is undoubtedly more qualified to be the King of Jerusalem.

Moreover, Philip was also looking forward to Richard's willingness to give up his European territories and come to the Holy Land, which meant that his future rival would change from Richard, the great enemy, to John, the useless man.

Even if Richard only held the throne of Jerusalem concurrently, it would certainly dilute his own strength and attention. When he returned to Gaul, he could ignite the fire of rebellion in his territory with just a little incitement.

It's not that he didn't covet the throne of Jerusalem. After all, even without its sacred halo, it was still too wealthy compared to Europe. But he didn't want to just stand out and be pushed by these nobles to become a puppet king without real power.

He will not stand up to confront Lothar and compete for the throne until this group of people are desperate and willing to make sufficient concessions.

However, before Richard himself stepped forward, the nobles under him became impatient.

"Listen to me, Princess Sibylla is just a woman, and her son is too young. In this era of frequent wars, there are obviously people present who are more qualified to be the King of Jerusalem than Princess Sibylla and her young son."

After all, in his opinion, as long as Richard could ascend the throne of Jerusalem, wouldn't they, his "confidants", make a fortune in the future expedition against Saladin?"This person also comes from the great Anjou family. His status is the only one of the most noble among all the people present."

(End of this chapter)