"But is it profitable for us? "

Of course. You will be the forces of the Templars, the troops of the emir and the prince to control all the key roads. The probability of an attack will be scanty. It seems to be a small profit from each caravan, and he will not be superfluous at all. Also, I would advise you in the cities that you are under your control, to develop handicraft shops in order to transport finished goods to Europe, rather than raw materials. This will also give you extra income.

- A curious suggestion. And what if you offer such a service to sailors?

- Reasonable, but incomes will be lower, as a fair amount of pelagic drowning during storms. Now as for the army. Judging from my data, you can not count on crusaders from Europe for quite some time. So you need to find your own resources. Here I'm not your advisor, I can only suggest what Muslims plan to do for themselves-they are going to select strong children from among the commoners and train them in military schools in closed monastery schools. If such guys are also armed well, it will be a good replacement for the knights. At least it is better than any modern infantry many times.

" Good suggestions, Mr. Baron. "But I'm old, and my heir, "the prince nodded at the Count," there will be a difficult struggle for the throne. "

" I know. "Raimund Rupen, supported by your good neighbor Levon II, will fight fiercely, literally gnawing at every inch of this land. Commander, you will help in this difficult matter?

What should I do?

" Prince, you need to immediately declare publicly, by decree, that your son is proclaimed as your heir. "And when you feel that you are dying, then in writing and publicly renouncing it in its favor. And you, Mr. Commander, you will need to come to the witnesses and guarantors of these words, along with the blades that you can put up. Of course, Raymund can not be allowed into the city. It will be wonderful if our eastern friends accidentally take him prisoner. And after solving problems, for a symbolic reward will be released. Prince, what are you sad? I'm not suggesting you kill your own grandson. And he himself will be only a puppet in the hands of Levon II, who is eager to add the principality to his land. And our Raimund is a guy with good ambitions, that's why it will be very easy for a quarrel, even knowing that for the state it is fatal.

" I understand everything the baron, and you are absolutely right. "Commander, will you help?

Of course. I will do my best to solve this problem.

" In that case, I invite you all to my palace tomorrow. "Come by noon. Take faithful people, so that the best people of the principality can see and hear what will happen there. I will immediately transfer power to my son, as I am afraid that I will die in the near future. I have terrible pains at night. And I do not want surprises, especially if I have serious unfinished business behind my back.

- We will come. Commander, can you block the city so that there will be no surprises?

- Let's do it. Prince, will you send messengers through the urban aristocracy?

Yes!

"Only do not forget about Amir's envoys, they must respectfully enter the city and attend the solemn event, unless, of course, they arrive in the evening. "

" Baron," the prince addressed him, "do mercy, do not serve until the end of the negotiations. "We need your participation as a person who played a very significant role in everything that happens. Muslims fear and respect you. And Christians, too.

Yes!

" Then, Raoul, do not take it as a piece of work, give me letters from Demeter and my emissary from Constantinople. "Excellent! Thank you Well, gentlemen, on this I must bow out. Till tomorrow.

The next day was very busy running and pretentious poses. In general, the act of abdication went very carefully, without noise and unforeseen situations. Emir's emissaries were present, were aware of and fully supported this decision. Then came negotiations, in which full mutual understanding was achieved. To improve the interaction between the states, they decided to establish an early form of diplomatic missions in the capitals of both states. Representatives of al-Mujahid received much more than they wanted to carry, and even the young prince, Bohemond IV received yet another allies, which was not bad for him at all. Shortly before the departure of Eric to Constantinople, there was a small mess on the border with the Cilician Kingdom - on Raimund Rupen, who was walking with a small detachment of Nachararim Knights to Antioch, to attack his throne, attacked a detachment of Muslims. All the satellites of the Armenian prince were killed, and he himself is captured and transferred to the maintenance in Mosul. The Emir of Syria decided to develop the idea in order to divert suspicion from himself. Moreover, Armenians with an independent emirate did not just have a skirmish and had an occasion for such an action. But all this is over, since the Baron finally, April 17, 1201, was able to sail from the shores of the Holy Land and go to the ancient city of Constantinople.

Once, five years ago, Eric ran away from his castle, fearing for his life. Then his property was meager, and therefore the maximum he could count on, having all this - a place in the squad of some small nobleman. Yes, times change. Now, standing on the nose of a huge nave, he peered into the sea horizon, and behind him, in a wake, was a small squadron of the same large and slow ships. That's what it took to place his people with property. Of course, the trading company subordinated to him was able to distinguish these ships with the crews without any problems, but all the same, he was amazed at how his suite grew. Now close friends, a squad and a bunch of servants surrounded him. A whole mass of people number about two hundred. All with horses, good clothes and stuff. His trading company. It's amazing. Thus, the secondary organization serving its interests was the largest organization in Europe. The elder brother of Demeter was like a Venetian doge and had an influence on him, and the trade circles respected him. His trading company carried out a huge cargo traffic on the busiest route - between the Antiochian principality and Venice. In addition to his own trading and transportation operations, the guys everywhere were working for the operations of the Order of the Knights Templar, including the military. The expanses of the Adriatic, Ionian and Mediterranean Seas surfaced seven dozen large ships of the company and up to fifty small ones. A good trump card in the future game. But we digress. During the voyage Erik read over and over again the letters received from Raul, and pondered his next steps. There are only three letters: from the new Grand Master of the Order of the Templars, Philippe de Plesier, from Demeter and his emissary. The master informed him that he wished to meet with him, and therefore would stay in Constantinople and wait for him there. What does he need? Eric could not understand - why such a thirst for personal communication, as he supposed all the cases with the Templars had long been resolved. But the letter was dated February! In this case, one could only guess on this issue. Another thing is Demeter. She, as he ordered, arrived in the city in March this year and was waiting for his arrival. So, this lady brought with her a full report on the financial activities of the company, as well as a number of rare and valuable things that he ordered from her last summer. Of particular value there were stones, "sticking to the iron," as well as small pieces of clean, devoid of inclusions and crystal clear crystal. He needed a compass and good lenses for optical instruments. Alas, but from the local glass nothing sane except cloudy translucent marbles can not be achieved. In terms of optics, first of all he was interested in making a telescope and at least a primitive level, since the need for these devices increased every day. Moreover, it is desirable to make a telescope not one. In addition, Demetra was to bring a group of seamen specializing in the drawing up of sailing directions and maps. In truth, this cartography is more in words than in deed, as they still get terribly primitive. Have you ever seen medieval maps? Here I am about the same. They can be admired only as works of art, but to use for their intended purpose there was no possibility. They were inaccurate, devoid of orientation and important details, and disproportionate. But nothing, if it turns out to make a level and a compass, then it will go much better. Well, of course, a squad of crossbowmen. He was very interested in what they could do. On paper, everything went out just fine, but was it really so? It is difficult to say, it is possible that they are lying. In any case, he will have time to make from this fifty troubled people with crossbows good marksmen. Fortunately, his emissary, who last summer departed for reconnaissance of the situation and execution of instructions, did not cause any hesitation and unnecessary questions. Everything was done accurately and accurately, so in May, a batch of Hungarian twin bows for crossbows from a trusted master will appear, numbering 200 pieces, and in June-July a batch of silk paper from China is expected. He was tired of writing on rags, and there was nowhere to develop production. Therefore, the only thing left for him was to order paper from the manufacturer. Together with the order he sent a thin oak shield, the size of which was to make the sheets. In all, the party was to come in a thousand sheets, about thirty by forty centimeters in size. The price for all this pleasure, of course, is solid, but he now could afford such things. So, in thinking over the details of the forthcoming work, this tedious journey passed, and on the ninth day in the morning on the horizon through the fog the walls of the ancient city - Constantinople - came through.