Eagle Byzantium

From the Bay of St. Simons to the valley between the Syrian Gate, Fort Maidens, Fort Debicre and Little Alexander Fort, which the Turks had abandoned before the Pilgrims, happened to guard the passage from Antioch to the entire Amor. On both sides of the tunnel of the North Mountains, the Little Alexander Castle on the top of the core mountain is surrounded by blue sea water, red-yellow gravel and rugged cliffs. The castle was built by Alexander the Great and is the tallest The silver spiked flags were hoisted on the towers - these castles have now been occupied by the Jimmagis brigade. Syrian Greek soldiers riding war horses shuttled through the mountain paths, vigilantly scouting and patrolling. In these days, They not only defeated the Normans who came to plunder, but also repelled several groups of Armenians who infiltrated from Mount Amonos, ensuring the smooth flow of the road and maintaining the sphere of influence of the brigade's garrison.

Of course, this brigade was supported by Gawain: just last month, Seleucia passed through the Adana River and crossed the Gulf of Issus, secretly sending five thousand Byzantine gold coins by ship. It turned out that they were recruiting troops. . The Temach general Gregor of the brigade also understood it. Previously, more than 10,000 Syrian Greeks had fled to avoid being plundered by pilgrims. He generously accepted them. The weak ones settled in the valley of the castle to graze and plant, and the strong ones settled in the valley of the castle. Training and joining the army.

"The Grand Duke is coming!" Gregor in the castle opened a letter and said excitedly to the generals, "We must provide garrison and supply work through the Syrian Gate Mountain Road, go and Friar Peter's camp contacts do a great job.”

After he walked out of the gate of the fortress, he suddenly heard a huge sound coming from the sea outside. Looking along the sound waves, he saw a dozen sailing boats fighting fiercely on the sea under the sun, leading Flaming stone bombs and hurled cans arced across the water and across the decks. Then there were waves of fire, and soon several ships flying the flag of San Marco retreated to the long beach in embarrassment, dragging their remains and smoke, and many sailors waved their arms in the waves, swimming and calling for help, and the cargo and corpses were scattered everywhere.

"Here we go again, Your Majesty Commander! This is the third time this month. This time the Venetian fleet failed!" People around Gregor exclaimed.

"The Pisa people defected to the Normans, and the Red Duck was the Marquis of Provence. The fleets of Venice and Amalfi, which were loyal to the Roman Empire, were intercepted by these two city-states. The conflict became increasingly fierce, and everyone wanted to occupy the Gulf of Issus. And Port Saint-Simon!" Gregor put his hand in front of his eyebrows to protect the reflection between the sun and the sea. sighed.

The victorious fleet of hot wax ducks flew the flag of the red cross on a white background, beat the drums of victory, and responded to the songs of the crew. They lined up triumphantly and sailed into the Port of San Simeon.

The soldiers of the Gimmegis Brigade ran onto the beach from the sentries and houses. Everyone wore single clothes and simple armor, carrying hooks with long wooden handles and iron claws, and even fishing nets. Many of them were barefoot. They screamed and ran to the shore to fish for people - and of course, they also fished out all the money and goods from all the defeated and wrecked Venetian ships - this was stipulated in the wild medieval maritime law. Ships that were in distress and docked, regardless of whether they were In the event of an attack, an irresistible natural disaster, or the shore people or the army coming to salvage, everything on the ship will automatically belong to the latter, and it is natural and natural.

"Leave food and clothing for the crew members who have been fished out." Gregor waved his hand and shouted the order below. He knew that the Grand Duke had a close relationship with Venice and the city-state of Amalfi.

In the Seleucia Acropolis palace, Gawain is wearing a sword and a white cloak. Wearing exquisite and luxurious armor, the gold-plated cross on the shoulder armor sparkles. Standing majestically at the end of the long red velvet carpet, the princess in purple, the little sunfish, Prince Sven and his fiancée, Count Reinstein, the camp manager Mello, the commander-in-chief Bergot Schalke, and the special guard of the Guardian Brigade. Commander Branas of the March, "Poor Knight" Sanzabal Walter, Giovanni, Birrell, Bramson and other generals gathered on both sides of the carpet and swore to march towards the city of Antioch. .

"The purpose of our war is contained in the letters of the pilgrims asking for help. Now that the snow is melting on the earth, spring always comes earlier in Seleucia and Cilicia than in the north, so the end of the pagans in Antioch also comes earlier. Earlier!" Amidst laughter, Gawain raised a stack of letters and said to everyone, "Sven, the most honorable prince in the Kingdom of Denmark, has also joined our ranks, adding great strength and courage, and will allow us to The march is more fearless!”

While Gawain was impassioned, the petite princess in purple beside him, Anna Doukas, blinked her eyes and looked keenly at the woman behind Merlot. Except for the beautiful and generous Qise Merlot, there was no other woman. Not even blond.

"That woman is still in the villa by Akum." Then, the little sunfish sitting on the small desk next to Gawain quickly wrote a note in Latin and showed it to Anna.

Anna's faint smile was condensed in the pear vortex, and the Konama vixen did not show up. It was great that these messy women avoided the limelight of their wisdom and nobility.

Among the people who were shouting noisily and clanging their armors, Qi Se squinted her eyes and saw Anna's proud look beside Gawain, and secretly laughed...

The "Three Wings of Seleucia", namely the Red Hand Brigade, the Twin Cavalry Company and the Guardian Brigade, totaled about 11,000 troops (5,000 in the Red Hand Brigade, 1,200 in the Twin Cavalry Company, and less than 4,000 in the Guardian Brigade), carrying about 300 baggage carts and 4,000 military servants (most of whom were temporarily recruited with money), marched along the Lamas coastal road towards the city of Tarsus.

Originally, according to the Byzantine Roman military system, an army of 10,000 people should have 1,000 baggage carts (historically, when Manuel the Great went to Miliocephalon, the number of Eastern Roman troops was unknown, but some people inferred that Manuel led an army of 30,000 people based on the historical records of 3,000 baggage carts at that time), but Gawain did not allow the soldiers to put their luggage and weapons into the vehicles, so his 300 baggage carts were actually only used to transport food and large siege equipment. As for the soldiers of the brigade, they all hung dry food bags and flints on their belts, carried huge spears and two-handed swords, and carried luggage and shields with small pickaxes and shovels on their backs, restoring the requirements of the army in the ancient era and trudging forward with heavy loads.

Since they relied on the sea route to advance from the plains, and Antioch itself was a land of mountains and forests, Gawain felt that the army at this stage did not need to be lightly equipped, and such armed marches would help sharpen willpower. (To be continued ~^~)