Текст книги "Eric (СИ)"

Автор книги: Марина Шпак

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But back to the affairs of boring life. By lunchtime the next day, Macarius could not come, because of the hype that was going on in the city. He generally could not appear until a week later. It turns out that he was beaten by the guard because he did not have anything of value. Even the wife, and she, feeling the danger of rape, fled on a boat to the sea. These high-moral defenders of civilians not only beat him and took the donated gift, but seeing that there was nothing more to take, they made a terrible pogrom, at the end of which his dilapidated hovel was burned. So that he now has nowhere to live, except in a boat. And for all this he apologized and, almost crying, asked him to forgive, that he forced himself to wait. A good artist is difficult to find at the present time, so it was decided to keep it to himself, by itself – loaded with work. He and his wife were given a separate room, the blessing that the house was spacious, and dedicated to the rules of conduct. First of all it concerned hygiene. Strange as it may seem, they did not cause any surprise at these rules and they normally merged into the general stream. As new servants of the Baron, they were sewn new clothes and shoes of good material, and, after recovering slightly, after the incident, they began with a special zeal to work. Especially worth noting is a small episode where our hero showed some concern for his charges. It would be completely wrong to leave the situation of senseless beating of the people he needed to some extent with some kind of shantrap, so, as a result of several walks, a list of all the participants of that unsuccessful inspection of the Makarius hut was drawn up. Of course, they were faced with an unenviable fate, since without knowing it, they crossed the road to a very dangerous man. As a result, they all, in turn, were abducted and with the cut tendons left in a small gorge near Athens. There usually nobody looked, but, just in case, that they could not give any testimony, they all were gouged out and the language was cut off. Whatever you say, justice is never elegant and aesthetic. Usually she looks like a well-pumped lady with an ax in her hands, which are smeared with blood in the elbow. In general, the trust of the creative family was deserved. It is also worth mentioning the fact that Makarius was presented to Zinon, who promised to bring ready shields of the detachment that his brother was preparing for the next month to be refined by the artist. In addition to the patches, his wife was contracted for sewing a cotta in the colors of the baron, who were to wear over armor both his riders and the crossbowmen of Demeter. And since the set in the crossbowmen squad was already completed, then with the shields the sizes of each soldier were to come individually, of course – with the tolerances for the armor. Eric was very much in favor of tidiness and uniformity in his troops. In general, he was lucky with the artistic part. True, not only with her. The appearance in the team of Ulrich greatly helped in the equipment of the children, as it could be separated from combat training for two to three hours a day to be used in the smithy. He did not do anything particularly difficult, but he helped me very much with the preparations. So in early August, sets of mirrors and tophelms for each mounted soldier were ready, a set of equipment for the girl was ready and an additional equipment was purchased for the Germans who had joined the ranks of his detachment. There was still time, and, having freed our smith from assistance in the smithy, so that he could devote more time and effort to the military business, Eric began to manufacture uneasy shoulder pads. Of course, it was possible to make simple petals, but there was not much sense from them, so he decided to make good shoulder-straps with a covering up to the elbow as Gothic, but with more significant shoulders, having small vertical petals that cover the neck. Quite a complicated design, but it was worth it. He decided that this unnecessary item of equipment should be provided to all who will have time. But the desire to have the best equipment in the detachment did its job, so that on October 1, 1199 such devices were for everyone except Morrigan.

Just a couple of days before sailing to Antioch, a courier arrived from Pierre de Chamond, who handed him two letters, one from the commander himself, the other from the well-known to him Maria Champagne.

Letter from Pierre de Chamond, Commander of the Venetian Branch of the Order of the Templars for Eric von Lenzburg.

"Good health. I am writing to you, as agreed. The situation with the forthcoming campaign to the Holy Land has seriously changed. Some time ago an attorney from the displaced Byzantine emperor arrived in Venice. Accepted it, at first, it is cold, since from it, by itself, there is no benefit. However, after just a couple of days, Enrico Dandolo, our respected doge, began to behave quite unusually. He literally carried it in his arms, until he sailed. What they said there – no one knows. One thing is for sure – they have something in mind and not the fact that it will do something for the benefit of the campaign, rather, even vice versa. So do not harbor the special hope for joint actions with knights and act without regard for their arrival. Concerning the second letter, I ask you to be extremely pointed. If it falls into the wrong hands, it can be a disaster. It would be great if you destroyed it after reading it.

Your success in Corfu has not been ignored, although they were apprehensive about the methods you used. Declare yourself an ancient God! Yes, you are a brave person, not everyone will decide this. I am informing you that Philippe de Plescier, the right hand of the Grand Master, was appointed responsible for cooperation with you, since you are separated into a separate authority. Now he is in the Holy Land, where he will seek meetings with you, upon your arrival there. As soon as I do not know, so I advise you to prepare for this meeting in advance, before sailing. We have accumulated quite a few questions to you and if you intend to continue to work closely with us, then they will need to be answered. And let these answers be plausible, since there are rumors about your complicity with the Devil. Of course, I think such gossip is stupid, but I do not make decisions. "

Your kind friend, Pierre.

A letter from Maria Champagne to Eric von Lenzburg.

"Kind way to you in your affairs, kind baron. " Our mutual friend showed me mercy and slightly opened my eyes to some of your combinations that you turned in Vienna and Venice. Some stories were so amazing that I involuntarily recalled old legends about the adventures of the ancient German gods and heroes. Very close to you in style. I'm scared to think about what the scale of your activity really is, if even such tiny pieces are so impressive. I would never have thought that such a young husband has such agility and such perseverance in achieving his goals. Especially I was struck by the grace with which you were able to put in place my relative and the famous for all Europe intriguer Philip. He, poor, is still suffering, trying to guess – to whom yet you are working. However, he is not alone in his mistakes. I want to please you – only a few know that you, in fact, go your own way, and completely incomprehensible. Pierre and I have long thought, trying to understand what you need and what you are aiming for. But, alas, ours with the mister commander, abilities is clearly not enough to understand the purpose of your life path.

As for our novel, I can not hate you and wail about the cunning of a broken heart. He completely satisfied me and liked me. It would be foolish and unfair to deny this. Using me for your own purposes, you gave a quiet family happiness in return, returning the spirited husband to the bosom of a legitimate family. I could not stand the child completely, but he, fortunately, was born healthy. The husband is happy, he just shines, because the child was a long-awaited boy. Eric, I get scared when I look at my son, because if a husband suspects something, then it will be very troublesome for me to save life not only for myself, but for the child. I write openly, knowing Pierre as a friend who has repeatedly proved his loyalty, so if you want to answer me, then write to him, and he will already pass on. We called the boy Benno, since he, although very weak, has already shown his bearish character. The other day, he clapped Balduin's hands in his ear, when he decided to shout at him. Yes, so clinging to the fact that we barely tore him. My father laughed heartily, and my husband was completely taken aback. I think that Hugo knows everything about us, but he does not say anything. From the very beginning of our novel he looked at you with a sly glance, as if he suspected something. But I must say goodbye. Go on with the same perseverance, and let the bright sun shine on you. "

With a good memory, your Maria.

Yeah, one letter is more interesting than another. They puzzled him. Of course, he remembered the Crusaders' trip to Constantinople instead of Egypt, and did not think that it would be different, but here are the details Masha also hints that it is very possible for her to amputate the head, and in the near future. It would be possible, of course, to score at all and go partisan to the warm sands, and then settle there, where he planned, but he already went very far in his intrigues in order to just go like this. They will not let him go. He, without knowing it, became a figure in the political scenes of this troubled era. I see. So, what do we have in the dry residue? First, the Templars' sustained interest in his person, and he is so serious that they were instructed to deal with the successor of the current Grand Master. What do they need? Clearly, they need help in their operations in the east, so they will bargain. Secondly, Masha and Benno. If everything goes as it was, then in 1204 she will die, and her husband will go into oblivion after her. Of course, no one small boy will not be allowed to become the emperor of the Latin Empire. If, of course, someone will not be behind him with a big ax and a happy smile. And from what will the countess die? And with Hugo a lot of oddities. This is where they have porridge brewed, which can not be disassembled – you need him that with this mess or not. The only question that bothered him about Byzantium was its straits. The Bosporus and the Dardanelles are narrow enough to deal with its transport communications. Yes, those 600-700 meters, that in the straits are observed in the most narrow places, are not so terrible. But this is for a single passage of ships, and if there is a regular transport line, then we need confidence in its relative safety. This is already happening, but on the whole proposed route only this place causes concern. He tried to sort out the emperors of the Latin Empire after her husband Maria. A terrible leapfrog and slaughter. The guys will not be able to keep these lands in order for long. Yes, and generally hold, as the Paleologians will beat them and restore the Byzantine Empire. And quickly. So, the only clue is our little bear cub, who by the certain date will be only about six years old. In general, we have two vectors of interests: the first is the Templars and a good relationship with them; the second – Benno as the heir of the not yet created Latin Empire. So it was necessary to start acting immediately. Of course, not with their own hands. So he began to recycle the materials that were collected in Venice, including by Monsieur Dandolo. In general, Eric especially nothing to alter the data was not necessary, just translate into Latin and correct, removing completely unnecessary details about the order itself. The last two days he slept literally three hours. But at the cost of such efforts, he still managed to prepare an answer for Pierre before departure, which he sent through the courier waiting for him, along with the extensive accompanying documentation.

A letter from Eric von Lenzburg to Pierre de Chamond.

"Kind time of the day, dear commander. I turn right to the point. Our common friend was offered an adventure to switch the forces of the Crusaders from Egypt to Constantinople. The guys do not care what to plunder, but the chance to die is much less. I think it goes against the order and I, and therefore I send you courier materials that were collected in Venice on the person of interest. I hope this helps you in your hard work. I'm writing to you, already boarding a ship in Antioch. I can not wait to wait, I'm going forward. I'll make a little noise on my own. If everything goes as I planned, then you will soon hear about my leprosy in Europe. Sadly, I already knew in Vienna that I would not go to Egypt, so I was preparing for an independent campaign. As for our mutual friend, I can not write to her, so as not to compromise her by chance. In words, say that I understood everything about the boy, I can not immediately intervene, but in case of an immediate threat to his life he can count on my support. I hope by that time I will have something to support, in addition to my own sword. And, if it is necessary, I recognize the boy as his lawful son. I hope she does not break the firewood and will keep sanity in the game with her husband. Especially I ask you to look after our leader of the Crusaders, he is most likely preparing an attempt. Most likely it will be poisoning, portioned, so that death looked as natural as possible. Zasim say goodbye. "

The distance from Athens to the nearest port of Antioch is about 700 miles. That nave that drove Eric and his team to the Holy Land, developed from the strength of 5 knots, since it was loaded as much as possible. So the next week the guys had to spend in a fascinating chat in the middle of the sea. And this time should be used as much as possible useful for psychological training of fighters. Alas, of them only Rudolph was a warrior, the rest – completely random people, who only took a very persistent character. In their minds, they are still the very small people who were abused and harassed by all to whom not laziness. And what will happen if they meet an army larger on the battlefield? As if the pants do not get dirty. Training and equipment still does not make a man a warrior. It is important that he begins to perceive and understand them. There was very little time left, so immediately after sailing he retired to Rudolph and shared his plan with him.

" Eric, tell me, where is that little stone you hit your head on? "I also want to.

"I'm afraid I forgot this with my past life. "

– By itself. "Rudolph smiled," you have answers for everything. "

– Let's not be distracted. What do you think about the form of pumping guys that I have sketched?

– Very cruel method. Quite probably the part will be completely broken. In fact he will die.

"Will this work? "

Yes! But at what cost!

" All right, call all of us. "I'll tell you everything, let them decide who to be next.

"You still will not give them a choice. "

Of course. This will be the beginning, let them think that this is their voluntary path.

"And my nephew? "

– Do you understand that in his current state he is guaranteed to die in the first battle?

Ok. I call them.

– I gathered you all in this close cabin because I want to tell you about the last stage of preparation, which needs to be done, in order to be transformed spiritually and become warriors. You are of all ignoble origin, and therefore, by the will of fate, most of your life was forced to walk with your head bent. In you from the birth drive, that you need to do this. Look at yourself. Strong muzhiks, you have some military skills, excellent armor and weapons, which only very wealthy people can afford. And now answer honestly – are you warriors? Be silent? Correctly be silent. That's why I gathered you all here. We have very little time to change you. Therefore, I propose a very cruel method that all can not survive. But on the way out in your soul you will collect a piece of a warrior, which you can later grow and develop. Who is not ready for this, can say right now, and I will saddle him on the nearest island, with armor, weapons and a small amount of money.

Sir! Do not offend us. We all owe you a favor on the coffin. If you have to go to hell for you, just say so. Am I right, guys? – and all loudly zagaldeli, confirming the words of Valentino.

Excellent! So it's like that, we're all dressing up the aketon and going to the deck immediately.

On the deck, he broke the guys in pairs – all but Rudolph. And then he told them an easy improvisation on the basis of the Soviet method of pumping consciousness in the airborne troops. The first in the pair began distinctly, loudly and slowly to pronounce the recitative: "Who is the best warrior? ", And the second in the pair answered: "I'm here the best warrior! " In this case, the second, in time with every word, beat his fist in the chest of the first. After that, the roles changed. Rudolf was given an hourglass and was instructed to change partners every hour. Leaving his future warriors in such a tough version to swing the psyche, he himself and Morrigan retired to prepare for the next stage. They will reel not earlier than the second or third day, when a sense of pain and anger will start burning in them fear, humility, obedience and other nonsense. They will begin to slowly approach the state of combat rage. Of course, before the battle such pumping to do, at least, inappropriate. Therefore, you need to prepare an activation mechanism for a low level of the psyche. Like Pavlov's dog with food. The best option in this case is the song. And not just a song, but one that will carry additional paralinguistic and emotional loads.

The third day began the most interesting – his future warriors came to the brink, after which it became clear what kind of person really is before you. They from time to time spontaneously passed into a state of combat rage. And all the most secret strings came out, they did not restrain themselves and were not limited in their sacred thirst for blood, which arose from the mere sight of the other person that gets in his way. The surprising quality of this state is that consciousness is not in doubt, it is crystal clear and works at the level of ancient instincts. From them emanated such an aura that the sailors avoided them with a frightened look on the side of the ship, afraid to attract their attention. Fortunately, everyone was able to learn how to achieve combat fury, no one broke down and turned into a kvashnya. Further training became less intense, and instead of eight hours a day, which were originally, by the sixth day of the journey reached a couple of hours in the morning. The main time was more and more given to more complex psychological forms of processing, transferring the output into a state of combat rage to a more manageable form. The seventh day rested, slept almost full day, as psychologically and physically were exhausted to the last extreme. The children's chests were a bruise, which it was painful to touch, but this training did its work, and confidence in themselves and their forces awakened in them. Then it had to be tempered with battles. By lunchtime eighth day on the horizon, the port of Saint-Semion appeared – the sea gate of Antioch. Disembarked on the pier and a bit on the sidelines settled with horses and property. After Eric, accompanied by Morrigan and Ostrolega went to the Templars, and Rudolph with the rest remained in place, keep an eye out for the property and prepare it for the equestrian crossing to Antioch. All the members of our baron's group were in beautiful red and white cottages, which were made of quality wool and decorated with embroidered coat of arms, its coat of arms. In general, it turned out quite spectacular. In the port, the Templars had only a small representation for a dozen people. Their head – the sergeant – was aware of the arrival of our hero, he accepted it normally and was able to answer questions on the operational situation in the region. The conversation turned out to be rather short, since it was necessary to get to the city before dawn and to find a lodging for the night. From the port they were already traveling by the column. Eric was riding ahead in his black Gothic armor, over which were wearing red and white colors with a coat of arms. Behind him moved the girl, who in armor was perceived rather as a squire. She was also in the colors of the baron, but the armor was already ringed. In her hands she held a standard, fixed on a horizontal shaft, which, in turn, was fixed to the main shaft with one end. The top of the main shaft was decorated with an elegant spearhead, framed by white horsehair. In a pair with her rode Rudolph. And behind them were mounted mounted soldiers in a column of two, also with armor and in red and white coat of arms. Each warrior had one horsehorse with a luggage, which was tied to his saddle. At the very end, a creative family was riding in the colors of the baron. Total – in the caravan were 13 richly and brightly equipped riders of 23 horses, including 10 winding. Before Antioch reached quite quickly and without adventure. Their processions strictly followed the place on the road and did not put any obstacles at all. Arriving at the city, he ordered Rudolph to take the children and begin to look for a place to stay overnight, and himself, accompanied by Morrigan and Ostro-nega, advanced to the place where the Templars were quartered in order to inform about his arrival and to probe the ground in the current political situation. Our hero did not want to become the cause of some unexpected war.

The Compound, which was filmed a year ahead for Eric's interests, was just a few minutes' walk from the base of the order, which was very convenient. After a polite conversation with the commander, which is only of a formal nature, our hero went headlong into the preparation of logistical support. To begin with, the huge building that Rudolph found was cleaned of debris and repaired. In particular, new plank floors were laid, doors, shutters were hung, trunks were made. In addition, a clean, spacious and well-ventilated food storage was installed in the basement. The kitchen and the sanitary unit were placed next to the room, in which clean fresh water was stored in large quantities, it was passed through a small homemade filter system before use. The filter system was extremely primitive and consisted of three kegs connected in series to the cascade. In the middle of the first, the largest keg, a filter was installed in the form of a spatial grid of silver wire, which was occasionally bought from local jewelers. It produced the primary settling of water. In the second keg, of medium size, the water passed through a rather massive carbon filter, seeping through it. In the third keg, water passed through a multilayer filter made of silk fabric, which prevented the passage of grains of coal. Thus, relatively pure water was obtained. Of course, before getting into such a filter, water was stored in a closed, ventilated room in clay jugs. Filtered water was used to wash food and drink. For washing, water was used without filtration. In the courtyard was set a small shed, in which were installed five large earthenware jars with leaven for braga. The guard post was equipped, preparations for the stables and the guest room were in full swing, the territory near the house was cleared, the fence was fixed and new strong gates were hung. And after a week and a half, in the midst of a stormy activity, Raul de Combron peeped to visit the baron.

– Good day, dear baron.

"And you have a good day, my dear Commander," Eric said, and smiled in the most amiable way.

"I see, I'm distracting you from your business, but I'd like to talk to you. "

– Well, let's talk. C What questions have brought you to me?

– I was brought to you by my curiosity, more precisely, by his determined reluctance to endure more. Let's speak directly. You have something in mind and want to entangle the order. I know what rumors are about you, and I also read letters of recommendation about you. And if you impose the information known to you on the scale of your preparations, then I can be completely sure that the forthcoming enterprise will be grandiose. In short – tell me, do not tire me.

" I knew that you would not sit still. "But these things need to be talked about without outside ears. Let's go into my room, where in silence and peace I will tell you in general terms the draft campaign. And afterwards, if you are satisfied with the interest that I will offer you, let's move on to working issues that may be less secret.

Chapter 5

So, the project. The key place in it is the city of Edessa, which was about a day's equestrian crossing from Antioch. The peculiarity of this city was that it was a hub in the trade and transport communications of the Middle East. First, there was a land branch to Africa from the Great Silk Road. Secondly, through it was a land transportation highway that connected Transcaucasia and Central Asia with the Middle East coast of the Mediterranean Sea and Egypt. On this trading artery there was a huge quantity of the most various caravans which brought quite good income to the most "beloved" neighbor of the Antiochian princedom – to Egypt, possession of which were impudently stretched under Yusuf Salah-ad-Din to the limits of modern Turkey. Monthly there were thousands of brands of silver, and it would be unreasonable to miss them. The most popular goods that could be found on this trade route were silk and cotton fabrics, glassware, weapons and armor. Slightly less popular were slaves and carpets. Strangely enough, neither Muslims nor Christians conducted systematic raider trading operations on trade communications. Few of this, such operations were not carried out even on supply lines. In general – nice such a sandbox with frightened kids, who enthusiastically sculpted kulichiki, sticking out with pleasure tongue. Than should, of course, take advantage. To ensure effective raids it is necessary, in addition to a well-equipped main base, to have strong points in the enemy's territory or near it. These are some analogues of "hopping aerodromes" where you can always get fresh horses, food, water, clean clothes and relax after a hard night of work. And from where it was relatively safe to transfer the looted property to the main base. For example, through independent caravans under the protection of the Crusaders. Raoul suggested that there were seventeen potential sites for such bases. All of them were fairly evenly distributed along the border of the Antiochian principality, which was an undoubted plus. In parallel, it was necessary to deploy a network for espionage and gathering information about the caravans that are passing through Edessa. It was extremely important to know who was going where, where and how much, what forces he was protecting. The next very important link in the unfolding project was the system of operational sale of property, which will rapidly accumulate at the head base. For this task, we needed a direct channel with Europe and its most developed trade center, which would be able to swallow all the good that was delivered – by Venice. Then came Demeter with her unfolding trading enterprise. According to the reports received before sailing, there were already eight naves in the hands of this young girl. And this was not the limit, since the manager paid almost all of the debt, and therefore five more new ships were built for the company's trading affairs at the shipyards of the island city and there were funds for building another twenty. Well, the last stage was a cover – a force was needed, which, if necessary, could cover the retreat of the detachment or help with the catch of a "large fish". De Combron designated the strength of his command in 43 knights and 387 armed servants of different levels of training and armament. A little, of course, but if you do not face the feudal militia of Muslims, you can quite seriously declare yourself. After describing the whole picture of the upcoming campaign, Eric offered the order a third of all the revenues that his squad would receive, provided that Raoul's people would participate in all the background processes and carefully observe the bank account agreement that was signed in Venice.

– No, they are not necessary to me at all. The fact is that I need funds in order to rebuild my city. This is the only way to get them quickly enough.

"Do you want to rebuild Lenzburg Castle? "

– No, I do not need a lock.

I: Clear! About what city you want to take yourself, I do not ask, because, I think this is still a secret.

– Precisely!

" And if you die? "After all, the upcoming case is very dangerous.

– That's a strange question. Then I will absolutely not need a city, and indeed all earthly goods. But I do not plan to die yet.

– All the will of God.

" I think she's on my side hmm on our side. "I'm right?

– I really hope for it.

" Do not torment yourself with doubts, Commander. Do what you must and come what may.

"I would have your confidence, Mr. Baron. "

– So follow me, my confidence is enough for many.

– You are too self-assured, however, in any case, the enterprise is very profitable for the order and the principality, and therefore we are with you. And God is with us.

– And it can not but rejoice.

Having discussed the main issue and proceeding to the stage of coordinated actions with the officers, Eric continued to prepare. He sent a letter requesting two large ships by the end of February 1200 to the port of Saint-Semion to Demeter. I planted Morrigan for studying Latin writing. Its task was to learn the letter, account and learn primitive accounting in the shortest possible time in three categories: income, expenditure, balance. It was a rather difficult task, although she already knew how to read Latin in that time. Another, but very important, task was the compilation of operational maps. Territory from Antioch to Edessa with their surroundings, the baron personally used the whole while studying and making a detailed map. Particular attention was paid to traditional overnight stays, water sources and caravan routes, where ambushes were sought. At the same time, the intensity and nature of traffic were estimated. Many times our hero visited the city itself, where not only made a very precise plan for its defensive structures, but also was able to deploy a reconnaissance network of offended local residents. It became the basis for the information infrastructure, which was developed by the system of couriers, pigeon mail, third-party informants, interested merchants and others. In total, up to 500 people were involved in the information gathering enterprise, which quickly began to bear fruit. The organization of the information flow was such that all the reports flowed to the head office, where the reports were analyzed and the messages were sent to the base bases. By the way, the support bases were built independently by the order under the supervision of Rudolf and Eric, but their intervention was especially unnecessary, as the guys understood what they were doing. Here we should especially note the small preparatory project, which consisted in obtaining a sufficient quantity of high-quality alcohol with high concentration. Primitive distillation cube, grapes from grapes, coal cleaning. Nothing special, but the result turned out quite worthy – our hero has a good universal antiseptic, which is very useful in case of injuries. Three liters of alcohol was placed on strong points, forty liters were stored on the main base. And then came January 21, 1200. Preparation, in general, was completed. Everyone was ready. It was possible to begin.