Eagle Byzantium

Hearing that the enemy had approached the city of Larissa along the coastal plain passage, Isaac Komnenos was greatly alarmed. He hastily made the following decision: "If the enemy invades the Thessaly Plain, then he will fight with us." It doesn't matter, John is not willing to provide me with supplies and support at all, and treats me as an enemy, so this king has no obligation to defend the territory for him - I am the king of Epirus and should return to my homeland, so the whole army is heading towards Castor Heading to Riya Pass!”

That is, instead of going to the city of Larissa, we will go back to the starting point via Kastoria.

But at this time, the whole army of Epirus, which needed to pass through the wilderness and mountains, had exhausted its baggage and provisions: more than half of it was lost in the Vileyards River, and then part of it was lost in the Macedonian city of Pella, and now there are more than 10,000 There were many men and cavalry, and it was really unsustainable.

In addition, Isaac was busy going around in circles a while ago, hesitating between "returning to Epirus and Dyrasium" and "entering Thessaly", so he couldn't raise much food in a hurry. , not to mention that this place is also a famous barren and barren area, just on the edge of Epirus and Thessaly.

After Isaac walked randomly for a day, many soldiers fell behind and fled, and nearly half of the cavalry originally coming from the Vardar Valley fled.

Branas also withstood the difficulties at this moment and launched a pursuit of Isaac.

There was almost no cavalry, because all of them were sent out by Branus to monitor the direction of Thessaly and Moria, so - Branas launched a pursuit with the infantry of the brigade, and most of the soldiers left their spears in the camp. Traveling lightly on the deserted and rugged road, they launched an attack on Isaac's rearguard.

The rearguard who had been left behind by Isaac to serve as an ambush, due to unbearable hunger, either came out and became prisoners, or were killed due to exhaustion. The situation along the Aliachmon River was miserable.

In the last desperate situation, Isaac ordered the horses to be killed to satisfy his hunger.

On the other hand, Branas, who was in trouble during the pursuit, also ordered the entire army to kill all the extremely limited number of beasts of burden and share the food with the soldiers.

The pitiful screams of the horses of the two armies filled the valley and fields, and they could not form formations during the battle. Soldiers in small groups fought in groups along the cliffs or gravel hillsides, and many people fell to the bottom of the valley.

In the end, Isaac climbed almost alone to the 7,000-foot-high mountain pass. He was exhausted, the guards around him were all dead and wounded, and he lost his mount. The corners of his mouth were covered with wild grain grass stems used to satisfy his hunger, and he lay on the Kabuto. In the open space in front of Storia Hill Fortress, people were shivering in the cold wind that was close to freezing point at night.

He looked back and learned that the troops were all finished.

He also knew that when he fled here, he happened to pass through the wasteland of Pharsalus.

This is where the decisive battle between Caesar and Pompey took place.

But his current situation is not as good as that of Pompey, because after all, Pompey fought, and his army automatically collapsed under a series of wrong instructions.

Isaac closed his eyes tightly in pain and tears fell from his eyes. He lay on his back on the wasteland on the top of the mountain, his body covered in pain from the gravel.

The next day, Isaac suddenly felt great fear, that is, he did not dare to return to the city of Durazzo, nor to any place in Epirus.

"The cornerstone of a ruler is the army. After losing the army, what is the difference between you and a mortal? A few farmers with ulterior motives can kill you."

He suddenly thought of his brother who died violently. He was so powerful, but after Philomelon was defeated, he was ruthlessly plotted and died worse than a wild dog. He couldn't help but feel more sad and suspicious, and he no longer trusted his nephew John, and even felt that he had no future. It was so gray and hopeless.

I originally planned to be Gawain's lifelong enemy, but before I even saw him, everything ended. "The fact that fate doesn't favor me doesn't mean that I'm not fighting well!"

Although Kastoria Fort could hold on for a while, Isaac had no confidence. Two days later, staying where he was, he received a letter from Branas urging him to surrender. The content was very generous. Branas claimed that he had received the emperor's decree: As long as Isaac could surrender, he would surrender. Enjoy the rank of "Exalted One" and receive generous treatment like a king from the Allied Powers until the end of your life.

"I can't fight, and there is a risk of being killed if I run back. After thinking about it, this is the only way out." So Isaac walked down the 7,000-foot hillside and handed it over to the Branas camp. He surrendered with his sword and received a warm reception, just as he had been captured at Fort Sophia.

Then Branas sent a detachment to capture Kastoria among the towering mountains.

For a time, Dysthuraum, Epirus, Thessaly, and even the Moria Peninsula were extremely shocked: the powerful Isaac Komnenos' entire army collapsed in ten days of battle, so what else was left? Who can withstand the new emperor's soldiers, horses and sword?

Hosios, who refused to give Isaac provisions, did not dare to let go of an arrow at this time, so he abandoned Larissa and fled south.

Then Branas succeeded in his hardships and swept across the entire vast area from the Pindus Mountains (west) to the Thracian Sea (east, adjacent to the Gulf of Thessalonica), that is, the entire Thessaly plain and Magni In West Asia, soldiers plundered local grain, livestock, alcohol and people's property, and arrested nearly 40,000 farmers and sent them away in handcuffs - the Guardian Brigade and the Nika Brigade, because the previous bitter battles had turned into A pack of beasts.

The prosperous area known as "Little Thrace", which was managed dismally during the time of Prince John, was completely reduced to nothing.

Branas' army rushed all the way to Cadmea (the site of the Acropolis of Thebes) before stopping. It is said that Corinth and Athens were shaking like an earthquake. Many nobles abandoned their cities and houses and either fled to Mistra in the south or took a boat to Naxos or Crete. Even the ships of Venice or Sicily here set sail and fled.

Check out the correct version in 16-9 Book Bar!

The situation was not settled until John sent his most trusted minister Axepochus to Corinth to take charge.

After Axepochus arrived, he executed several officers who had deserted the battlefield and whipped Hosiosphen. Then he recruited militia from all over the country to renovate the city defense of Corinth, and vowed to defend this key point of the isthmus to the death.

Then a Sicilian fleet sailed into the Gulf of Corinth, carrying a large number of Norman soldiers who were said to be Axepochus's helpers.

At this time, Branas really felt that the battle line was too long, so he withdrew from Cadmea and returned to Larissa to defend the north of the plain.

At this time, Isaac's military group was equivalent to collapse, and Epirus became a political vacuum. The Sicilian fleet did not send troops to assist in the defense of Corinth, but turned to land on the land of Epirus and began to occupy various castles, expanding its territory here openly.

The Venetians on Corfu Island were not to be outdone. They also sent a fleet to enter Durazzo in a swagger and announced that they would temporarily take over the defense of this big city.

Led by Vladimir, Berdin's younger brother, 6,000 Serbian soldiers really went south along the Vardar River Valley and approached the city of Pella, but they were still a step too late: Isaac had surrendered and was destroyed, and it was meaningless to provide support. After looting, they could only retreat in regret.