Eagle Byzantium

At the edge of the valley behind the city of Atta, Gregor led hundreds of Syrian Greeks, carrying livestock and simple weapons, and stood in front of Gawain's horse, "Please take us back to Cilicia." Fight for the glory of the Empire and the Grand Duke."

Gawain, under the feathers of red hands, tightened the reins and said, "Gregor, stay here!"

The other party raised his head with some fear and worry. He was afraid that if he turned to Gawain this time, he would be abandoned again. However, Gawain's continued words dispelled his worries, "This land of Syrian rivers and mountains was originally owned by the Romans." Land, you can do a lot more here - as for Cilicia, I will Everyone's names are registered, and you also enjoy the sacred property. When I return to Syria immediately, I will organize you into an army. You will be treated as the Red Hand Brigade is treated. Go ahead and do it, Gerry. Gore, there is no need to fear anyone now, not the Turks nor the Armenians!”

"Yes, yes, Lord Gawain!" Gregor took over the battle flag with silver tassels awarded to him. He was extremely excited. Behind him, all the Syrians in simple and even ragged clothes crowded over and looked at them in wonder. With this flag, "Remember, when you go from Ata City to San Simeon In the ports, they occupied many of the fortresses abandoned by the Turks, contacted all local forces, and acted in the name of the Roman Empire and the emperor. They gathered food and grass, trained soldiers and horses, purchased good horses and weapons, but tried to avoid conflicts with pilgrims. , often taking the opportunity to attack small groups of Turks Just wait for me." After Gawain finished his instructions, he used green ink and a brocade book to draft a petition and named this group of Syrians a new brigade, namely "Jimajis Brigade" (Jimai). The Giths were local Christians hired during the previous war between the Byzantine Empire and the Saracen Empire. (the collective name for the Maronite soldiers), which can be said to be very refreshing, because Gregor's troops now only have a few hundred people, which is still far from the 5,000-man establishment. However, Gawain is already very familiar with this method. In Calabria he threw letters of commission flying all over the place.

After bidding farewell to the "Brigade of Jimachus", Gawain rode his horse and continued to lead various armies, advancing towards the towering Syrian Gate. On the Bay of Issus, ships of all sizes fly on their masts the red cross flag, the Lion flag of San Marco, the crown cross flag and the blue cross flag, namely the Red Duck (forgive me, the name of the city-state is blocked), Venice , Pisa and Amalfi all in Italy It belongs to the city-state Leicester City and covers the entire sea surface. The deck reflects the light golden light and heads towards the Port of Saint Simon. The storm period on the sea has ended, so this group of ships seems to have emerged from the sea fog in an instant. The speed efficiency is staggering.

"Holy sister, look, this is the forerunner of the devil, a swarm of sea bats." Gawain smiled, pointed to the seaside area, and said to the amazed Cabernetia - and the female consul began to believe that Gawain had previously Wen's prediction turned out to be true. As soon as the pilgrims arrived in Antioch, the ships of these city-states rushed to follow them, coming from the sea. Driven by the devil's power of money, nothing could stop them.

However, the Italian city-states were by no means the only ones to play the role of jackals, devouring the remains of the wreckage. In the Brachna Palace in Constantinople, Emperor Alexios Comnenus regained his strength and spoke with great ambition. Standing in front of the sand table, in his eyes, the Roman Empire was the most beautiful place among the pilgrims and pagans fighting. The biggest profiteer: the crucial islands of Chios and Samos were returned to his hands; the team carrying the purple imperial flag headed south to recapture Ephesus, Smyrna, Sardes, and Africa. Ancient and beautiful cities such as Radophiam and Atalia, as well as Bithynia to the city of Sinop to the north, also accepted the monarchy again. Under the rule of Constantinople, the empire's territory suddenly crossed the Hellespont Strait and expanded to half of Asia Minor. Orthodox and elegant monasteries were re-established, military towns everywhere began to be fully armed, and taxes increased steadily—— Alexios thought very hard and had to personally deal with all the trivial matters, so Now he has to admit that the previous Turks and Turkmen horseback barbarians did too much damage to Anatolia, so they must actively move out the population from Thrace and Macedonia to fill it. Only these empty and desolate newly occupied areas can provide the empire with abundant military service and taxes in ten or twenty years.

Ten years or twenty years is still acceptable. At that time, I was only around fifty years old. Bastards like Gawain were about the same age as me. If I continue to compete with wisdom and experience, I would not He will be at a disadvantage, not to mention that Gawain may not be able to survive until then!

Thinking of this, the emperor held a stack of secret letters and smiled proudly, "Send Harold and Yagfi to the city of Konya to urge Titicius to send troops to Tarsus as soon as possible." Then he He clasped his hands behind his back and thought for a while, "The soldiers and horses from Macedonia can also be mobilized and gathered under my royal flag to stand by. If we march into Tarsus and are attacked by any force, If there is any obstruction, such as Gawain or Baldwin, Titicius's 10,000 soldiers and horses will fight first, and then I will lead 25,000 elite soldiers to rush in and crush any party like an egg in my hands. Harold and even Titicius dare to show any intention of refusing to fight, and I can directly replace any of them, or even imprison and execute them."

"Where's the Patriarch of Rome?" the imperial ink officer reminded.

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, the pilgrims have sworn an oath and signed terms with me before. Cities like Tarsus and Antioch should be handed over to me. So Gawain, Baldwin, and Bohemond, There is no one who keeps the promise, I want to fall out with them now, There is no need to feel guilty at all, but the empire is still weak now, so there is a sequence." Alexios said, holding the "miniature Seleucia" made of eggshell lime on the sand table with his fingers, and suddenly moved it. He squeezed the powder into the air, "The first one to bear the brunt is Gawain!"

Hearing this, the ink officer Melais also felt excited, and he handed another letter into the emperor's hands, "Prince of Denmark? Didn't they cross the strait? Forget it, I won't guide them to safety this time. Natolia Plateau, tell them to follow the road of Nicaea, Ephesus and Philatophiam, and go to Gawain... There, Giliki Ars Lan's men and horses will deal with this prince... In this way, my march will not have any trouble. I can quickly drive directly to the Cilicia Gate from the middle of the plateau and solve all this. As long as I occupy Tal Seuss, Gawain and Baldwin will be separated. When the time comes, Gawain will be destroyed first, and then Baldwin will be expelled." Alexios, who has the wisdom in his hands, feels that the whole situation is under his control.

Finally, Alexios breathed a sigh of relief and reminded the ink officer, "Send the letter to Prince John immediately and ask him to 'receive' the Danish prince well and prepare the back-up plan to march into Seleucia... ..." Looking at the palace buildings bathed in the beautiful autumn scenery, the emperor smiled deeply. (To be continued ~^~.)