Roger gave up on Arish and turned his gaze back to Ashkirun.

He thought, it seemed that this was the best blocking place.

There is sufficient water supply near Ashkelen and a large amount of farmland, which is also close to the city of Jerusalem, and it is convenient to provide for all the troops.

Moreover, the Christian army was not far away from Jerusalem, so even if the people in the country were resentful, they would not dare to revolt.

The vassal tribes could only send troops honestly for Christians to drive.

Roger thought that on the contrary, the Egyptian supply line would be pulled to the longest.

Although they could replenish water in Arish halfway, the food and grass must be brought out from Cairo.

Roger thought that since the Egyptians used Ashkiron as a gathering place and had reserved food in advance, they might only carry food for the convenience of traveling.

He thought that if Ashkillen was surrounded, the tactic of siege and aid were adopted, two trenches were dug outside the city, and the troops were staying in the middle of the two trenches;

Use the inner trench to prevent the Ashkiren from coming out, and use the outer trench to prevent the Egyptians from coming from afar.

Then, the Egyptians can be separated from their pre-existing supplies of Ashkiron.

Therefore, the Egyptians outside lack supplies, while the Ashkirens inside lack combat power.

As long as the Christians in the middle of the two trenches can withstand the attacks on both sides of the enemy and drag them outside to use up supplies, they can defeat this Egyptian army just like the Turks in Romseljuk defeated the Germans led by Duke Welf.

But can Christians withstand the enemy's attack? Especially the attack of the Egyptian army outside?

Roger closed his eyes and imagined:

...

Outside the trench, there seemed to be endless Egyptians lined up, all of whom were in a mess.

Before the scene, the Caliph was giving a speech, and he said:

"Subjects, the remaining food in our hands is not enough to support us in returning to Cairo.

"But, right ahead, in the city of Ashkillon, which you can all see, there are countless foods, enough to make us all eat happily and happily.

“However, there is a group of abominable pagans who stand in front of us and deprive us of hope of living.

“These people who were cursed by God have occupied our holy land, Jerusalem.

"They ravaged this holy kingdom, destroyed mosques, massacred innocent people, insulted chaste women, and greedily plundered all the wealth they saw.

“These evil people are the targets we gathered and vowed to fight.

"They have occupied the geographical advantage, and the sword in their hands is shining with cold light, and they look extremely fierce.

"But if we fear them and turn and leave, then everyone will be buried in the Sinai Desert.

"So, subjects, we have no way out!

“So don’t be afraid, fight bravely!

“Instead of being buried in obscurity by wind and sand, why not fight bravely and ascend to heaven!

“Now, God’s will, I command you to rush up, defeat them, and kill them!

"go ahead!"

......

Roger shivered and opened his eyes.

He thought, this wouldn't work.

Roger thought that his plan could lead the enemy to death, but they still have the power to fight.

Just like at the entrance of the canyon outside Ikang City, he defeated the 30,000 troops of Rom Sultan with the power of one battle.

The strength of the more than 200,000 Egyptians has already exceeded the limit that Christians can bear. Coupled with the power that burst out when they are forced into desperate situations, they can definitely defeat Christians in one battle.

Then my plan is a typical shot in the foot.

Roger thought that the enemy must be weakened and that when they reach Ashkillen, they will be as embarrassed as the Duke Welf, who is struggling to run out of the arid canyon.

But how can it be done?

Roger covered his chin with his left hand and his right fingers rhythmically tapped on the wooden table.

He thought that there should not be enough wood needed to build a 200,000 overnight camp on this road.

It is estimated that most of them can only sleep on the sand like Bedouin men.

Although the Egyptians, as a people who are used to deserts, should be able to adapt to this environment.

But in this case, how to arrange defense?

So in the desert, it seems that the attacking party has the advantage.

When Roger thought of the "Desert Fox" in his memory in his previous life, he seemed to be attacking in Africa. Even if he had to retreat later, he always used short attacks instead of defense.

Roger thought that maybe he should send a force to attack.

He thought that the troops he sent were limited by desert water sources and could not be large in scale;

But it does not need to defeat the enemy, it just needs to harass and attack the enemy, so that they cannot march smoothly.

By the way, you can take out the four famous guerrilla warfare words of the great Eastern people against the Egyptians.

In this way, can the Egyptian army be dragged down?

A plan emerged in Roger's mind.

But immediately, he realized that there was a fatal problem in the plan.

The premise of guerrilla warfare is to be familiar with the terrain, but compared to the Egyptians, Christians are not familiar with the desert.

If you take it for granted, send troops to the desert to harass the other party, you may end up losing the first one.

If you want to harass your opponent in the desert, you must be more familiar with the desert than your opponent.

Roger's quick-moving mind naturally thought of the Bedouin people.

I'm afraid no one is more familiar with the desert here than them.

He thought that maybe he could hire a Bedouin clan and he didn't need them to fight for him. He could guide his warriors to survive in the desert and act.

But a while ago, they had just fought a big battle with the Bedouin people and killed so many of them. Will they accept their employment now?

Roger saw those Bedouins who had accepted his bread and salt and were let go by himself.

He remembered the man named Faisal, saying, "Roger, you defeated us and followed our traditions, so now you are our friend."

He thought that the Bedouin system destined that they could not be a solid piece of solid. Even if someone hated him, he would definitely find someone who was willing to help him.

Roger was a little excited, and the fatal weakness in the plan seemed to have been resolved, and he happily told Adelaide about the plan.

"Although I'm not good at military operations, I know that siege Ashkeen must have the help of the navy, which is also the experience Baldwin has gained in attacking Ashkeen many times before."

Roger was stunned, he forgot about this.

The Ashkiren could easily transport supplies out of his encirclement with ships and hand them over to the Egyptians on the outside.

Cold sweat ejaculated from Roger's head. He thought, is it still a game difference?

But Adelaide came up with a solution and saved Roger's plan.

She said: "In Haifa, Jaffa and other Christian coastal cities here, there are a large number of Genaian merchants.

“Because I was born in Liguria, which is the area where Genoa is located.

“So in this far away from home, they see me as their fellow countrymen, and we have always maintained a good relationship.

“These Genoese merchants do not hate the Pirates of Ashkiron.

"But out of fear of the Egyptian main fleet, they had to choose to endure.

"Now, I think I can convince them to gather all the ships and seamen, and that power is no less than that of the Ashkillen Pirates.

"It is probably not possible to attack Ashkiron's port by Genoa merchant ships, but they should be able to siege it and prevent the enemy from getting heavy and slow transport ships out of the port."

Roger waved his fists excitedly and said, "That's all! Everything is in the plan!"

However, the next day, in the temple, Roger threw out his painstaking plan, but was opposed.

A nobleman with a prominent identity, Lawrence, Earl of Taipalese, seemed to represent all the nobles present, and he stood up and said:

"The invincible hero, the conqueror of Tyre, the respected Earl of Sicily, His Excellency Roger;

“Your plan is so perfect, I sincerely believe that as long as it can be executed, we will definitely win.

“However, to execute it, there is one biggest problem.

“Will the Bedouin people accept our employment?

"You know, some time ago they accepted the Egyptians and were defeated by us, and this is your masterpiece.

“In this case, it’s hard for me to understand why they accepted our employment.”

Roger patiently explained: "The Bedouin tribal alliance was very loose. They fought many years ago between their clans, and the people at the bottom completely ignored the leaders of other tribes.

“So even though we collectively call them the ‘Bedouin’, these people are not solid pieces, but like sand barely piled up together.
To be continued...