Eagle Byzantium

"Now we have assembled a mobile military force of no more than 30,000 people in the two major regions of the East and West, and there are thousands of manpower provided by the Patriarch Masdas, so we can only concentrate our forces in one place to provide Gawain's empty western territory with The most violent punishment, to break his situation, the final At least let him seize the power and be unable to threaten the imperial capital for the time being. I have handed over the management of the imperial capital and the Western Region to Secretary Aksepokos. Then who will stay in Prusa City to monitor the traitor Brenus and his wife. ?" In front of the sand table, John waved the baton gracefully.

He is very smart. He does not discuss the route and candidates for the advance first, but first throws out the candidates who will stay behind.

Sure enough, none of Mikhail, Tatisius and Theodoro responded.

Mikhail Eustace, although his wife Eudocia has been given purple robes, she is actually a hostage detained in the palace, so it is impossible for him not to be held at the head of the battle, risking his sword and arrows. Because Emperor John was still worried about him.

And Titicius was Emperor John's number one general, so he couldn't just sit back and have a boring confrontation with Breanus, a mediocre man, in this battle. After all, this was the empire's last chance.

As for Theodoro Gabuas, who is now the chief executive and co-emperor, he has been allowed to wear a golden crown and crimson boots. He also has the most powerful and powerful army, not to mention his current base. Bordering Gawain, the interests are the most consistent with those of the emperor, and of course one cannot just sit back and watch.

Finally, the post of stay was handed over to Marinus.

As for General Ceces, who had returned from Philomelon, he was also pardoned and led 2,000 infantry and 500 cavalry to Thessaloniki to pacify the backyard.

As for the strongest and shrewdest generals, John devoted them all to the battlefield of decisive victory. Now the remaining problem is the planning of the strategic route.

Because Lydia and Mysia were desperately guarded by Brenus, he built densely extended and very strong fortifications along both sides of the Helms River (now the Gediz River in Turkey), and resisted and defeated the army several times. Infiltration attack by Imperial forces. Therefore, there are only two feasible routes for John's advance against Gawain, which is what Gawain himself expected:

The first one is to advance from the coastal roads of Bithynia and Paphlagonia, then go south to assemble at the city of Amasya controlled by Theodorus, and then launch an offensive on the "middle" of Gawain's territory;

The second article follows the same route of the first Eastern Expedition of the Franks and Normans, that is, marching from the center of the plateau, joining forces with Raymond of Laudicea, and driving directly to Afillon, the western frontier of Gowen.

"Because the first route relies on sea routes, it is very convenient to transport soldiers and supplies. If the speed is fast, the assembly can be completed in three to five days. However, the disadvantage is that if we continue to fight south, we will have to face the two strong cities of Caesarea and Angras. and the second route. If so, the enemies we have to face are some newly formed border soldiers under Gao Wen. It will be very easy on the battlefield, but marching on this route is very difficult. There are many mountain roads and wilderness along the way, and the consumption of supplies will be very large, at least ten to Fifteen days to get to Afyon.”

After listening to the statement, Theodoro naturally agreed with the first march route. He wanted to take the opportunity to take the imperial army into his hands. However, Titicius preferred to take the second route. He believed that even if it took longer, it would have the unexpected effect. Moreover, if Afillon was conquered, Brennus's forces would be surrounded and annihilated. .

"It's better to listen to the advice of the stable master." When John himself was a little hesitant, Sebastocrat Isaac Komnenos, John's uncle, asked to brainstorm ideas.

Mikhail rolled his eyes and asked, "Raymond of Laodicea is holding on to the castle. He has been attacked and looted by Gawain's border guards many times before. Has he recovered his strength now?"

The answer was of course no: in fact, Raymond's territory was now so dilapidated that it could no longer provide supplies and support to the passing imperial army.

Then the stable chief's second question was, from your point of view, how long can Maras Castle be sustained? Current intelligence shows that at the beginning of the war, the Armenians lost their two most important fortresses, Lavodra and Tubasena, and were surrounded on three sides. A large number of Gawain's siege equipment and supplies were smoothly moved east of the Philamis River. Fortunately, a dense siege camp was built against Maras Fort, " Gawain has a powerful trebuchet in his hand. I estimate that even if Marash can get reinforcements from the chiefs of Danishmund or the chiefs of Aleppo, as long as they cannot cause a devastating blow to Gawain's army, the most they can do is Hold on for a month," Mikhail made this judgment.

"It seems that the faster the better." John and most of the people at the meeting came to the conclusion that if they waited until Gawain defeated Marash and then came back for a decisive battle, the empire would have a "60% chance" of defeating him. Failure. After all, even the former emperor Alexios, who was the most skilled in battle formations, was defeated by Gawain in a battle with superior strength. No one present could guarantee that they would definitely do better than Alexios.

"Also, the guard of Anglas is Diognis." Finally, Mikhail raised his eyes and announced this name.

"Are you sure?" Many generals and staff couldn't believe that Gawain would arrange such a candidate.

Is this Gawain's negligence or a deliberate trap?

If it is the former, it is not like Gawain at all, because he has always been very shrewd.

And if it's the latter, it's not like Gawain. He has never been so insidious and cunning.

But this arrangement was indeed placed in front of the imperial army: Gawain directly handed the power of choice to this group of enemies.

"Diogenes has a Norman wife, who was captured by Gawain and given to him when he went to Italy before." At this time, Taitius put his hands on his waist and told this past event that was easily overlooked.

A correct version in 16-9 Book Bar!

Many people present, including Emperor John, showed incredible expressions. Yes, they usually ignored this mixed-blood turbaned guard officer, and they didn't even know whether he had a wife. Only Taitius remembered.

"Then what should we do, use his wife to threaten Diogenes to surrender the castle?" John said in a deep voice, but he still refused in his heart. He didn't want to use such an dishonorable way to win.

"Let's use words to shake him first. I think Diogenes is temporarily submissive. As long as your majesty's army arrives there, he will surrender to us in time because of his strong loyalty." Mikhail concluded.

This plan made John very satisfied, and then he told the strategic goal on the sand table, "Very good, once we get Angrasburg, we can obtain water transportation from the Sakarya River and the Halys River, cut off the territory of the traitor Gawain, and attack Iconium, Caesarea and other places. If Gawain fails to besiege Marash, he will suffer heavy losses from the pursuit of the Muslims and Armenians, and his country will probably fall apart. After all, there are still many Roman people in the newly established country of rabble who are looking forward to my liberation."