Eagle Byzantium

News of the enemy's presence on the Via Egnandia reached the city of Ohrid, and the entire Burdin court was in chaos.

Just yesterday, when the envoy from Durazzo arrived here and told that the Eastern Expeditionary Legion organized by the pope was about to come along the road for reinforcements, the face of Bertin's Queen Giaquinta was still filled with overflowing excitement. , a large banquet and singing and dancing were immediately held under her order. The queen and a group of her courtiers brought from Italy praised each other at the banquet. Giaquinta also claimed that it was because of her and Thanks to the efforts and scheming of his favorites, Tuscany was able to assemble this group of elite troops to fight against Gawain, blatantly disregarding the sacrifices of the local Zupan nobles in the army. "If the sky falls, the Norman knights' The tip of the spear can also push it up again. Once the weak Greeks face the charge of the knights, the queue of 100,000 people will be overwhelmed in an instant!" Giaquinta's argument won a disgusting approval.

"After the victory, Catholic churches should be built in the two castles of Pecs and Ras to repay the generosity of His Majesty the Holy See." Contarini, the queen's favorite and palace purchaser, took the opportunity to raise his wine glass.

But how could the enemy now appear, as it had through the pass of Kastoria, between Lakes Ohrid and Prizren, and threaten the highway?

At this time, the palace officials were panicking. The entire army of nobles from across the country was either in Sophia Castle or in Prizren. There were not many teams left behind in the city.

Fortunately, Giaquinta is a woman from the Norman ethnic group after all. She has seen a lot of martial arts, and her attitude is still calm and arrogant. "Continue to send out the scout troops to see where the enemy is going?"

At dawn, red and golden clouds covered the clear blue lake. The scouts in the city of Ohrid noticed signs of enemy cavalry movements on the west bank of the lake. Durazzo's Eastern Expeditionary Army joins us."

So Giaquinta hurriedly sent a messenger to go to Durazzo to request Almosh's reinforcements.

But on the way, the messengers were captured by the rangers sent by Branas. Branas ordered that the letters of the messengers be found and burned, and he took off their clothes and cut out their tongues. After they were separated, they each threatened them. They were all tied to horses and sent back to Ohrid. When several messengers with blood on their mouths lay on the palace floor and rolled around, writing contradictory information about the enemy, the queen on the seat was also frightened and couldn't help herself.

Because all kinds of information were interfering with her limited knowledge.

Branas lied that he had brought 20,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry, as well as 50 cannons capable of destroying the city wall, and all the outposts from Durazzo were annihilated by him. In three days, he will fight with all the troops. Follow the Egnadia Avenue to attack the city of Ohrid.

But Giaquinta actually believed it. She didn't have the calmness and bravery of Anna to defend the city of Seleucia against the pirates while still pregnant. She wanted to abandon the city and escape under the instigation of her favorites. But Contarini reminded her that there was a Prizren Castle nearby, and there were 8,000 elite troops under Grand Duke Vladimir there.

"Then ask Vladimir to come to the rescue!"

Vladimir, who received the letter, was angry and dissatisfied. "Ask the flattering Italians and Normans around her to repel the enemy. It's bad enough here. The enemy has tens of thousands of elite troops on the opposite side." Besides, it can pass through Kastori. How could there be 20,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry in Ashan Pass, and what about fifty artillery? It must be a bluff by a small team. As long as we hold on to Ohrid for three days, we can grasp the enemy's true situation. It’s never too late to come to the rescue.”

Giaquinta was restless next. In fact, Ohrid where she was located was also known as "Fortress of Tsar Samuel". It was the capital of the Bulgarian Empire at that time. Tsar Samuel built this city for many years. The castle is It is oval in shape, has thick walls and many arrow towers, and has one side next to a vast lake, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. Therefore, Giaquinta relied on the garrison team to hold on for a period of time without any problem.

At this time, Branas used his strategy again. He asked several brave and experienced subordinates to put on the clothes of the Ohrid palace messengers, mount their horses and gallop to the city of Durazo, and went to release " "False report": It was claimed that Bertin had inflicted a large number of casualties on Gawain's siege forces in the Lesvorno Fortress. Bertin requested that all the Eastern Expeditionary Forces not go to Ohrid, break through the Kastoria Pass, and prioritize the recovery of Lari. Samoa, Pella, Macedonia and Thessaloniki. Anyway, it's true and false, and it messes up all parties.

Just when the generals of the Eastern Expedition were still "Jiang Xin Jiang Suspicion", Branas withdrew from the vicinity of Egnadia Avenue and led his team to obtain followers and supplies from a small local Slavic tribe called "Betia". He sneaked into a hidden hill between Lake Ohrid and Lake Prizren, cut down trees and set up fences, waiting for the fighter.

Three days later, Giaquinta, who stayed still in the fortress but was always on guard, felt that three days had passed, so what should be done?

Branas gave her the answer: A detachment each from Nika and Opushkin suddenly appeared in the southeast corner of the city with only three artillery pieces. They raided and captured several villages, then dug trenches to connect them in series and set up a The artillery fort then fired cannonballs at the turret of Ohrid with a "clang".

Soon the palace in the city was in chaos again.

"Countless enemies are coming!" This is what people lamented in common.

Giaquinta ran to the corner and looked at the enemy artillery on the hillside below. The command to shoot continued in the smoke. I don’t know how many cannons there are. The shells whistled and hit the bottom of the city wall. Some people behind the battlements lay on the ground, and some crouched and crawled. Giaquinta didn’t know why, and could only shout "Why haven’t Vladimir’s reinforcements come yet, why haven’t Durazzo’s reinforcements come yet", and once again had the idea of ​​abandoning the city and running away.

In fact, Durazzo’s Eastern Expedition Army was originally ready to set off at this time, but it hesitated because of the false report of Branas. In the end, the two sons of the former Venetian Consul Fellaye were more cautious and sent several waves of scout cavalry to go deep into the Ohrid Lake area for reconnaissance. Sure enough, they fought with Branas’ sentry cavalry. Those who returned told everyone, "There are many enemies in Samuel Castle. The number is unknown, and the equipment is unknown, but it seems that artillery is bombarding the city wall."

Only then did Almosh order the entire army to follow the Egnandia Avenue and rush to Ohrid to reinforce.

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At the same time, Queen Giaquinta sent another letter full of fear to Prizren, in which she clearly told Vladimir, "The enemy's bombardment is extremely fierce. If you don't send reinforcements, I will have to abandon this capital and flee eastward."

Vladimir had no choice but to withdraw 500 cavalry and 500 infantry from the camp and advance towards Ohrid.