Eagle Byzantium

The castle of Ankara stands on the top of a solitary mountain. It was originally the center of the Byzantine Roman Empire on the plateau. It was connected in all directions. It had also witnessed the prosperity of the ancient times. When Christianity first took off in Asia Minor, the trees here were covered with nails. Christian Cross, because the Christian slogan at that time was "Refuse to serve in the military for Emperor Caesar", which was quite similar to the later proletarian refusal to die for imperialist wars. Later, many pagan emperors also settled their vacation villas in this cool place. In the city at the foot of the mountain. It was not until the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 AD that the urban ecology and transportation around Ankara were rapidly destroyed and decadent by the looting attacks of the influx of Turks.

Now, blown by the spring breeze, the dark gray rock walls are covered with patches of vibrant emerald green. The light yellow city walls and fortresses wind up the mountain. The gray-white paths are like spider webs, which are in harmony with the towering Frankish land at this time. Compared with castles that are mainly made of earth, Byzantine fortresses are more plain, occupy a larger area, and are more scientifically designed. Therefore, even though the Roma occupied the city of Ankara, they still could not bear to raze its excellent city defense. There were always 200 soldiers stationed here, and now Giliki secretly arranged for 500 cavalry to lurk in it. He was far away from himself because the Sultan had a ghost in his heart and was afraid that Gawain would repeat his tricks.

Under the banner of Scarlet Eagle, in the eyes of Giliki Arslan, along the Harris River, Gawain's red-hand Dalian team marched slowly on both sides, covering all the baggage vehicles. Behind them were the Paulist believers and Armed regiment, there was no sense of confusion in the entire team, which made Giliki once again shocked by the power of the red-handed cross-sword flag.

"For negotiation matters that are not appropriate for our army's internal personnel, let's leave it to the Paulist elder Lucios Cornel." Gawain said this order while the army was marching, and Lucios also looked at it. Look at the golden-handed Archon in a gesture of acquiescence. He stroked his chest and agreed - the elder then wore an Armenian church-style black round cap and a short cloak of the same color. He rode a donkey and, escorted by several believers, walked up the hillside where Sultan Giliki was. .

Looking at the elder's leaving figure, Kabeamiya secretly smiled...she understood the meaning of Gawain's move.

"I am here on behalf of the Dalian team and the common will of all true believers, noble Sultan - wait until our army passes the corridor of the Harris River and the Sakarya River. Your wife and children will be sent back. Come back, both Gawain and the consul are willing to swear a poisonous oath on this point. As an elder of the gospel, I am willing to serve as a hostage here." The white-bearded Lucios stood calmly in front of the Sultan's horse. , chatting.

Giliki was speechless, and then looked at his close aide Hajib who was kneeling beside him. He was very moved and said, "Thanks to Hajib's hard work and the secret support of the Pauline believers, my wife and children were able to escape from the Roman dog camp and return from the humiliation of Constantinople. At the same time, I have to say that this The Sultan still owes Gawain Russell a heavy favor, and I promise to open all channels to facilitate his team."

It turned out that Hajib, who had already colluded with Gawain and Anna, told the Sultan after arriving in Ankara: When Shahnameh was escorted to Paphlagonia. He had already despaired of everyone's fate, but a dozen Pauline believers took the opportunity to sneak into the ranks of cattlemen and military servants. With the help of them, who were familiar with the terrain, your wife, children, and I escaped. Tian, ​​was taken in by His Excellency Gawain of Gangala Fort.

In this way, the link of Branas was subtly excluded. The reputation of Shah Nami was preserved.

The Sultan finally kept his promise this time, which had a lot to do with his situation: Bohemond was the commander-in-chief (after the Battle of Doliraam, Bohemond exposed the emperor's hypocritical performance and won most of the pilgrim lords The main force of pilgrims (to whom Godfrey and Raymond could only temporarily succumb) has captured the foundation of the Roma Kingdom: the city of Konya. in addition. Tancred and Baldwin's mobile detachments were also sweeping through the Turkic market towns and strongholds south and east of Lake Cappadocia, opening the way for the main force to Cilicia and Antioch.

All in all, Surelman, the "Lion Sword" who once dominated the Anatolian Plateau, now has only a few thousand soldiers left to fight, and his territory has been divided instantly: part of the Phrygian Mountains, and the Iraqi Kenne and Ankara are not adjacent to each other. They can really be described as falling flowers and flowing water, and there is really no time to deal with Gawain.

At dusk, with the setting sun blazing red, two thousand infantrymen from a large company of red hands formed a strict formation and stood at the northern entrance of the Great Salt Lake of Cappadocia. Under their feet were vast salt-alkali land and endless reeds, and countless white Herons and kestrels soared over the white salt lake that stretched for more than ten kilometers. In the middle of the queue, Shah Nami's shoulder carriage was carried out, the small window was opened, and the Sudanese wife turned her attention to the horse standing by the side, coming to give gifts. The generals of the Dalian team.

"Ma'am, please take good care of me." Gawain, who was in the lead, held the edge of his helmet with his hands and saluted, and then the other generals also saluted.

Shah Naimi also lowered her head slightly to express her gratitude. Her face was still covered by the gauze, leaving only a pair of beautiful eyes, looking at Branas, who had a one-night stand with her. Next, I don’t know if that look is abandonment or attachment. Love, with such a mystery, closed the window again, and Branas's heart seemed to be completely sealed by the iron gate. He watched the love gradually go away, towards the distant glow and clouds. As the city of Ankara gradually dimmed, I felt sad alone.

"God, I, Jiliki Arsalan, rely on the reputation of the Seljuk warriors. In the next year, if I encounter Gawain's troops, I will never take the initiative to fight, never take the initiative to attack, and never pursue the victory. If I violate this, I will die under the thunder and sword in the future." Seeing that the sedan chair carrying his wife and children was sent by Gawain in compliance with his letter, the Sultan, who was deeply moved, immediately raised the trumpet arrow in his hand and swore such a vow to all the Atabeg, Bey, Ghazi, and slave soldiers present.

However, with the Sultan's words, the thunder of early summer still arrived. On the vast salt lake, as the gray clouds rolled and piled up, columnar lightning continued to fall. All the people of the Dalian team gathered around an unnamed farm to camp, waiting for the weather to improve before continuing to march. The wind in the salt lake field, mixed with heavy rain and thunder and lightning, was as terrifying as ten thousand unbridled wild horses galloping. Gawain, standing at the door of the core granary, looked at the dazzling thunder and lightning, and his shadow was constantly projected on the white mud-coated walls of the granary.

This granary is a temporary camp. Anna, Agnes and other female relatives, as well as the female doctor team, will come here to rest soon. The military servants and themselves are packing their baggage. Gawain came first and directed the soldiers to light the candles and repair the collapsed doors and windows to prevent wind and rain from leaking in.

A falcon hiding from the wind and rain, with striking brick-red feathers and back, passed Gawain's eyes, fluttered into the granary, and landed on the window frame high up in the granary like an uninvited guest. On the mottled front, a broken rafter of the house stretched out, just enough for its claws to rest. Then Gawain's eyes confronted it... (To be continued ~^~)