Chapter 4 - Who will rule?
After the Franks killed so many people near Cairo, Caliph Al-Adid sent a secret letter to Nuradin. He wrote: Nuradin called Yusuf and said, ‘Find General Shirkuh.’ Yusuf went to the old general sadly. When his uncle told him to get ready for another campaign in Egypt, Yusuf said, ‘By God! Even if you give me the whole country, I won’t go!’ He still remembered the terrible siege of Alexandria. But Nuradin’s orders were law to all his men. So in a few short days, the army was on its way to Egypt for the third time. Early in January 1169, after three weeks’ journey, they marched into Cairo. Everyone was happy to see the Syrians. The Franks left the country without a fight, and the Egyptians felt safe at last. The Caliph said, ‘Shawar is a criminal. He was loyal only to himself, not to Egypt or to me, and now he must die. You must kill him, Yusuf.’ With Shawar’s death, Shirkuh was the new vizier. He gave all the beautiful things in Shawar’s house to the people of Cairo.He was also now the commander of the Egyptian army, but his love of food killed him after only two months. One day, halfway through a wonderful meal, he gave a great cry and died. Important men working for the Caliph asked, ‘Who will be the new vizier? We must find a good man.’ I no longer think that Vizier Shawar is loyal to the Egyptians. He is too friendly with the Franks, and all the money that Shawar pays to King Amalric does nothing to stop Amalric’s knights killing my people. They want all the country. Then, when they have it, they’ ll use all our gold to make their castles and armies even stronger. Shawar’s ready to give them anything as long as he can be the strongest man in Egypt. We’ re all in great danger. Please help us! ‘We also need a new commander,’ the Syrian generals said. It was difficult. The Egyptians wanted one of their people as vizier and commander of their army, and Nuradin’s men couldn’t work for someone from anywhere but Syria. ‘I know,’ said someone, ‘Let’s make Yusuf the new vizier. He’s only thirty, and knows nothing about ruling a country. We’ll tell im what to do, and he’ll do it!’ Many agreed that Yusuf was the right man for the job, and so he became both vizier of Egypt and commander of the Syrian and Egyptian armies. Not everyone was happy to see Yusuf in this important job. A few soldiers went to Syria to tell Nuradin that the new vizier, Yusuf, wanted to take over Egypt. Nuradin was angry. So, to show that he was loyal to his old commander, Yusuf went with the Caliph and the people to pray for Nuradin every Friday. When his brother Turan Shah arrived from Syria, Yusuf told him, ‘It’s not easy here but, thank God, I learned the law from Nuradin, and how to organize armies from my uncle because we have enemies everywhere – not just the Franks!’ Yusuf was right. One day, one of his soldiers saw that one of the Caliph’s men was wearing very strange shoes on his feet when he left the Caliph’s great house. Inside one of these shoes was a secret letter which Yusuf opened and read. The Egyptians wanted Amalric and his knights to attack Yusuf and the Syrians, but the Franks never saw that letter. In the end the Franks came, but Yusuf and his army were ready for them, and sent them away again without any problems.