Eagle Byzantium

Then, the poor Greek nobleman saw Gawain slowly pushing into him, and then the self-proclaimed Grand Duke said, "How about I give you the title of the First Sword-bearing Noble and the title of Grand Duke of Calabria? Please give me the title of Aconis and leave the army and scepter to you, okay?"

Frightened, Medjos waved his hands hurriedly and hurriedly accepted the letter of appointment, saying that he must be extremely nervous about the titles and titles issued by the royal family, so he had to take this expedient measure.

Seeing that Medjos no longer had any doubts, Gawain pointed to the thick stack of letters of appointment that Andodat had just made next to him, "Squad commanders, sword-bearing nobles, white-robed nobles, palace guards, all Their official titles are all here, stamped with my green ink seal, and signed by the Palace Clerk, His Excellency Diogenes, and the Cuman cavalry commander Teticius. Arm yourself with your own weapons. The whole of Calabria below is your battlefield. You have endured it for ten or even decades. There is no need to be patient below. Attack the Norman villages and monasteries and uproot their small fortresses. There is no need to follow my red-hand company in accordance with the order, and you can fight freely. Use the documents of appointment from His Majesty the Emperor and the Grand Duke to recruit troops. "

Soon, in the highlands and valleys dozens of miles outside Reggio, small Greek nobles who called themselves "nobles with swords" and "nobles in white robes" appeared everywhere, as well as businessmen, rich farmers and armed monks. There were also many green forests. Heroes, hanging icons and carrying the banner of Gawain's "Red Hand Crossed Sword", gathered small armies of thirty, fifty and more than a hundred people to attack isolated Norman villages everywhere and plunder the late autumn. Seasonal crops. There was even a dark-skinned Saracen named Galcuba, who actually took the title of "The First Saracen Mercenary Commander Conferred by the Roman Empire" and took dozens of pirates and businessmen with him. Heading directly towards the northern part of Calabria and the border area with the Lucania Mountains, they chanted the slogan "Return of Rome" all the way.

The Norman count who stayed in Reggio was so horrified that while he wrote a letter of help to Bohemond who was besieging the city, he also sent the letter to Roger in Palermo.

The words in the letter are concise and concise, "Greek gangsters and untouchables have swarmed throughout Calabria. The whole situation is more spectacular than the eruption of a volcano in Italy. Of course, it is terrifying for us. Now, have the Duke and the Grand Earl arrived?" Is it time to rethink our strategic direction?”

At this moment, the real "Red Hand Company" with a strength of nearly 5,000 people has arrived at a mountain pass in the north of Reggio, which can directly reach the western seaside of Calabria. Now the statistics compiled by Gawain's secretary show that : He has five One hundred Cuman light cavalry, five hundred Caesar's personal servants, and five hundred Tecopo mercenaries (one hundred of whom fought on horseback). After the victory at Lepanto, Gawain expanded the number of cavalry in this team to two One hundred men, mainly used to capture the Normans armed with horses and weapons), five hundred Saracen and Amalfi sailors, seven hundred veterans from Benevento and Bari in Italy, and from Aetolia, Thessaly, and Moria, and nearly two thousand people temporarily recruited from areas such as Calabria (Gawain was very wise. The lessons of Nicaea were still in front of him, so he allowed the Greek nobles to start uprisings everywhere, and he only selected simple and honest Greek farmers to join the army. ), Greek soldiers with mixed weapons and sources.

Although these people have different weapons and equipment, they all carry red-handed cross swords and white-backed battle flags. They are arrayed in the valley under the mountain pass. It is also a spectacular scene. The slogans almost overwhelm a small fortress above it. Completely shattered.

The person guarding this fortress is an old Norman knight who is almost fifty years old. Because he is too old for expeditions, he was assigned to guard the important place which is actually very quiet and safe. However, he never dreamed that Kara, who was calm a few days ago, Bria has become like this in a short period of time. But the old knight looked at the cloudy military formation below, and still summoned up the courage inherent in Norman genes, "Back then, I also followed the Great Earl of Sicily to sweep across the entire island of Saracens and complete the mission of the Holy War. Soldiers like you will be afraid of you." A bunch of Greeks?”

Then, with the help of several military servants, the old knight first kowtowed and prayed in the direction of the rising sun and the holy land on the mountain. Then he dressed up, mounted his horse, and rushed down from the fortress on the mountain, raising the flag and shouting loudly. Zhen shouted, "Who in the enemy's camp is worthy of fighting with me? Is there no real warrior in the enemy's camp?"

As a result, in the long infantry phalanx in the enemy's front line, after a few slogans, there was a sound of bowstrings, and a black rain rose up, like countless crows flying up, and the bushes around the old knight were like being hit. When the thunderous chop came, they were all shot bald in an instant. He was hit by an arrow like a porcupine. The blood mixed with the arrow shaft outside and kept dripping towards it. Then the men and horses slumped down and died.

"This guy has watched too many chivalric operas. Now the wreath of war should also be awarded to my loyal infantry and archers." Gawain, under the red-hand feathered helmet, looked with disdain at the man who had lost the opportunity to verify the final glory of his life. The corpses of the dead old knights and horses were summed up by saying, "Everyone, bring the forage and food that you have prepared, break through this mountain pass, and then we will set fire to the west of Calabria."

Then, the Tecopo mercenaries carrying the battle flag walked past the miserable corpse of the old knight and stepped onto the fortress on the top of the mountain. After capturing the remaining military servants, they opened the passage behind the pass, but the Normans But he still kept the flag because he wanted to cover his marching route.

At night, in the white mist under the stars, Gawain sat by the fire in the tent, while the military servant Muzafiadin and the newly "hired" clerk Andeodat were arguing with each other in broken Greek about the records in their respective scriptures.

"Okay, in the future, you are not allowed to have such debates in my room, but Andeodat, you should try not to drink and eat meat in front of him." Gawain stretched his hands over the fire and said. Then he waved to Muzafiadin, and the military servant came over, untied Gawain's coat and armor, and searched for lice in the leather jacket inside. These things have been a pain for the self-proclaimed Grand Duke during this period. Muzafiadin is very good at finding lice. He bites one to death with a "crack" in his mouth, and then spits it into the fire basin, making a crackling sound.

In the firelight, Gawain saw the black eagle embroidered on his tunic, and after a moment's hesitation, he said to Andeodate, "Please help me draft a letter to the imperial capital and have Lady Eudoxia deliver it."

"Yes, Your Excellency, the First Sword-bearing Noble." Andeodate had only recently become familiar with this Greek title.