Eagle Byzantium

Gawain, standing in the central courtyard, saw that the shadows between the pillars of the corridors around him were all the palace ladies hiding like elves. They were all wearing the most beautiful clothes. Finally, they could see the man from the West. The silver bell-like laughter went away and approached.

A team of Sultan's servants and guards came out, saluted Gawain respectfully, and made a gesture to invite him to talk.

The three-year-old Sultan was dressed very formally and cutely. His face was pink under his turban. His robe was obviously wide. He sat on a chair under a flower window, his feet were not on the ground, and his boots were on both sides. The chair of Emperor Varyag was about six feet opposite him, and Tabo, Kobha, and the generals brought by Gawain, such as Melo, Branas, and Gregor, surrounded the two rulers and stood in between. A huge mosaic map board was also erected.

Behind the screens and curtains of the stained glass windows, many eunuchs and maids were hiding high and low. They were waiting for various orders and eagerly spying on what the Christian emperor looked like.

Gawain soon realized that he had no way to communicate with the little Sultan named Mahmud in front of him. The other party might have to urinate or relieve himself before talking for half a quarter of an hour.

So the emperor politely turned sideways and communicated mainly with Kobha and Tabo.

Sure enough, the little Sultan dozed off and fell asleep after half a quarter of an hour. Just now, dressing and wearing a hat had consumed most of his energy.

"We have deployed 8,000 elite infantry to garrison Nishapur, and added various city defenses in the castle, deployed countless crossbows, and a 4,000-man cavalry team as a second-line reserve, waiting for an opportunity to attack the enemy who dared to advance in a roundabout way." Tabo pointed to the mosaic map board and explained the deployment to Gawain.

"Well, are there any reserves?" Gawain supported his chin.

Tabo said that there was a third-line reserve force of 15,000 people behind them, which was to resist and consume the power of these Eastern barbarians step by step.

"Very good, I will give you two more brigades to assist in the defense of Nishapur. In that case, even 80,000 to 100,000 Eastern barbarians will not be able to easily break through the frontal defense line."

"What about you, Your Majesty?" Tabo asked.

"General Kobha and I will concentrate our forces to destroy the enemy's southern line first, that is, the army of Ghazni Khan. The enemy has now crossed Sistan and is approaching the Kerman Pass."

As soon as Gawain said this, Tabo was jealous. He looked at Kobha twice: At this time, the eunuchs and maids behind the stained glass window understood that Tabo and Kobha had always been at odds. Although both of them were the assistant ministers of the little sultan, Tabo was pro-Baghdad Caliph, while Kobha was the representative of the Turkish nobles in his country. Everyone wanted to monopolize power, so they were incompatible.

Tabor was worried that if Kobha relied on Gawain's help to make great contributions on the southern front, his future would be in danger.

So Tabor tried his best to persuade Gawain that it was not a wise choice for Gawain to send his main force to Kerman, because there was a sea on one side and a mountain on the other, the terrain was narrow and closed, and it was difficult for the army to march and supply. Even if the Ghazni Khan Yisrael could be repelled, it would not be able to achieve great results, but would delay the front battlefield of Nishapur.

"You mean, even if I defeat Yisrael, I can't completely defeat him?"

"Yes, your Majesty, the respected Roman Emperor, because you have to go through the Sistan wilderness to pursue Yisrael, and it is also very difficult to get water there." Tabor took the opportunity to say.

Gawain pondered. No matter what Tabor said this, it made sense after all. It is said that a considerable part of Yisrael's supplies were transported by sea by ships from Sindh (now Sindh Province, Pakistan), which was indeed faster and more convenient than him.

If you want to blame someone, blame the Seljuk Empire, which didn't even have a decent fleet.

The following is the daily quarrel between Tabo and Kobha.

The emperor did not get involved. His eyes were fixed on the mosaic map without saying a word.

After a long time, the little Sultan licked the saliva on his lips and slowly opened his sleepy eyes. The court eunuch came to report: the brave Ghazi warrior Zengi came with eleven prisoners as ordered.

Zengi was waiting in the riverside garden behind the palace. When Gawain and his party appeared, he immediately stepped forward to salute.

Gawain looked at the group of prisoners. They were wearing dirty robes and leather armor, shaved with Turkic or Khitan braids, sitting cross-legged on the ground, guarded by the swords and halberds of the guards, with small and blank eyes.

Then Gawain asked Zengi to describe the battle in detail, the opponent's tactics and armaments.

Then he interrogated the prisoners again, but could not get any useful information: they were all tribesmen, following the orders of the leader. He only knew that there were like-minded people around him, and everyone wanted to kill and plunder in Isfahan.

"This is definitely not the direct armed forces of the Great King of Justice, but just ordinary nomadic barbarians driven and lured by him." After making a judgment, Gawain was even more uncertain in his heart. It seems that this Great King of Justice is a bit mysterious, and his direct troops are always elusive.

"But there are too many of them, just like a group of locusts, covering the vast area from Nishapur to Amur!" Zengi replied angrily.

Zengi's words suddenly gave Gawain a flash of inspiration, and the map he had just seen suddenly became active.

Then the emperor asked everyone present a question: "Let's not talk about the Great Fair King for now. The key question now is why Ghazni Khan did not attack through his border fortress, Khert City, but bypassed Sistan and attacked Kerman by the sea? This is totally unreasonable!"

The correct version is in the 16-9 book forum!

Several guards immediately carried the map board to the garden.

Over there, the little Sultan has begun to play with the slaves.

Everyone followed the emperor's question and looked at the map board: Indeed, Ghazni Khan was obviously seeking the far side at the expense of the near. Why didn't he just go out of Helt City and directly cooperate with the center front of the Great Fair King?

Could it be that Ghazni Khan and King Da Ping are inseparable in appearance?

"No, no, there must be a more appropriate reason." Gawain was unwilling to be so hasty, and he vaguely felt that there was something to be done here.

But Zanji gave a reason.

It turns out that in the mountains and valleys of the Herat Fortress, there lived the "Gur tribe", a vassal of Ghaznavids. Gur is also a Turkic ethnic group and has settled there for generations. It is in the buffer zone between Seljuks and Ghaznavids. They are brave and good at fighting, especially good at armor making, dog breeding and mountain warfare.

Zanji then told the emperor that the Gur tribe had had a big conflict with Ghazni Khan before. The reason why Ghazni Khan did not march through the Herat mountains now was probably because he was afraid that Gur would waver and rebel against him. In this case, this person would be in danger in the steep mountains.

After all, the enemy is not monolithic at all.

"Very well, Zanji, tell me the grudge between Gur and Ghazni!" Gawain was very happy and demanded loudly.