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heading. The few were going to attack the whole Saracen army from the right rear. |
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So fiercely did Richard's few attack, so beclouded was the air, that the Saracens believed a new army, kept in reserve, perhaps landed from the ships, had fallen upon them. The Muslim right flank broke, fouling the rear of the main force, crying aloud of invincible reinforcements, spreading despair and confusion. |
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From Jaffa on September 10, Simon wrote the news to Alinor. She smiled as she read. His hand and seal were proof enough that no matter how dire the battle, Simon had come well out of it. Near seven thousand enemy were slain, he wroteand Alinor noted there were no references to seas of bloodand only a few hundred of their own. It was a pity that they were too weary to pursue. They could have wiped Saladin's forces clean, but what had saved their men's lives, the armor they bore, also made them heavy and slow. |
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On a personal level things also went well, Simon confided. The King had kissed him and praised him and offered him what prize of war he desired. "I told him the prize I dreamed of in my heart was too great for the spoils of one battle, and he laughed and was not angered. He did not promise, my love, but let there be another such battle and I am certain I will have you. However, I know we differ somewhat in this matter. You will be more happy than I to know we are fixed for some time here in Jaffa where the King wishes to strengthen the fortifications." |
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In fact Richard had other plans afoot. He was entirely too good a soldier to miss the implications of the size of the army opposed to him. Although he had lost only hundreds and Saladin thousands, the hundreds were a greater loss to Richard. God's work did not seem so simple here as it had in Europe. Quietly the King began negotiations. Saladin received the messengers with great courtesy. However true it was that |
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