Todd glanced around at the room full of officials, then nodded, signaling Huggins to read the latest battle report from the East.
"On January 17, taking advantage of the frozen rivers, the Ayyubid Empire began its northward march the day before Advent. The Mamluk dragoons disguised themselves as merchants and cut off communication between cities. Hades' legion used towed cannons and darts to blast open the gates of Masca, Tias, and Mozanlulyuk, while the Parthian legion's spear-and-shield formation defeated the defenders of these cities."
"On February 5, the Ayyubid Empire approached the Holy City in the East, and the Orthodox Church issued a decree for holy war. On the same day, King Payez XI of the Holy City recalled all the kingdom's troops stationed abroad and began to defend the Holy City."
"On February 19, the Ayyubid Empire besieged the Holy City. Saladin sent an envoy to persuade the king to surrender, but the king refused and the envoy was killed. The siege of the Holy City officially began on the 20th."
"On February 28, the ninth day of the war, the number of casualties on both sides had exceeded 10,000. On the same day, the Second Expeditionary Fleet of the Ayyubid Empire bypassed the Assyrian Peninsula and forcibly entered the Bay of Saint Sol, beginning to suppress the western district of the Holy City with artillery fire."
"On March 6, under the cover of fleet artillery fire, Ayub's army built an artillery position on the hills on the west coast of the holy city. The landing force used cranes to transport sixteen heavy mortars from the ships to the hill position and used poison smoke bombs and incendiary bombs to achieve a comprehensive attack on the central urban area of the holy city."
"On March 11th, King Payez XI of the Holy City led the Royal Guard, the Knights of Ketral, and the Just Crusades, totaling 743 knights and 8,000 soldiers, in an attack on the mortar positions. The battle lasted a full 27 hours. Under the gunfire of the fleet and the camp's defenders, the attacking side of the Holy City fought to the very end, with no one surrendering. King Payez was struck in the neck by a stray bullet and ultimately died from excessive blood loss..."
Upon hearing this, Cumberland sighed deeply: "The destiny of the King of the Holy City ultimately ends on the battlefield, and this has been the case for three generations of the family."
Todd glanced at Cumberland, then said to Hudgens, "Keep reading."
"On March 13, Saladin, the Caliph of the Ayyubid Empire, proposed a one-day truce to the Holy City and allowed the defenders to collect the body of King Payezi for a funeral."
Upon hearing this, Todd was secretly startled, but his face showed an approving expression: "This emperor of the Ayyubid Empire—Saladin—is at least an enemy who respects his opponent."
Emerson glanced at Todd with a furrowed brow, but said nothing.
"On March 19, after obtaining Saladin's three promises of 'no massacre, no enslavement, and no expulsion,' the Holy City formally surrendered to the Ayyubid Empire."
After Huggins finished reading the last sentence, the entire room fell into a deathly silence.
After a long while, Cumberland stroked his silver beard and said in a low voice, "The City of Ten Thousand Cities, the Sacred Cross that will never fall... in just one month, only one month, it fell into the hands of the Southern Empire."
Emerson continued, "After reading a lot of information about the Ayyubid Empire, I thought I had a clear understanding of them, but now it seems I underestimated them."
Todd tapped the table lightly with his fingers, thought for a moment, and said to Huggins, "I want to know the Southern Empire's troop types, weapons, commanders, formations, and other information. Tell the Alien Association in the city to cooperate with you in this matter."
Huggins nodded in agreement.
Refocusing his attention on the battle report, Todd suddenly said, "Have you noticed something strange?"
Seeing the many officials looking at him, Todd pondered for a moment before saying, "The war between the Ayyubid Empire and the Abbasid Empire lasted for three whole years, only ending last year with the former's victory. This war, involving two major empires, was protracted and brutal beyond description. Logically, after a war, the first thing to do should be to stabilize the domestic environment, build up national strength, and prepare the army. But this Saladin did the opposite, immediately launching a siege of the Holy City. Don't you find that strange?"
Cumberland and Emerson exchanged a glance, then a knowing look.
Cumberland spoke up, "Regarding the question Your Majesty raised, I have two reasons in mind."
Emerson shrugged: "I can think of three."
Cumberland glanced at Emerson, snorted, and said to Todd, “First, from a logistical perspective, the southern armies, having just finished the war, must be experiencing varying degrees of supply shortages. After the Ayyubid Empire's victory, Saladin incorporated the Abbasid army, and although his army has expanded to 100,000, the supply of food, cloth, herbs, and funds must be problematic. He only has two options: one is to risk damaging morale by implementing a rationing system within the empire; the other is to launch another war immediately before the war machine has completely cooled down, relying on plunder to make up for the empire's logistical deficit.”
Todd said incredulously, "But didn't he consider the risks involved? In a situation of food and clothing shortages, launching a rash attack on the Holy City could plunge the entire empire into complete chaos if the war drags on."
Cumberland nodded: "If I'm not mistaken, when Saladin launched the war in the Holy City, he only had enough food and funds to last his army for a month at most."
Todd closed his eyes and let out a long sigh: "So what's the second reason?"
Cumberland continued, "The second reason is related to us."
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