Eagle Byzantium

Sure enough, when the special envoy returned to report the situation in Caesarea City to Theodoro, the old general frowned and paced back and forth a few times along the floor of the Emir's Palace in Amasya City under the gaze of his staff. Next, "How could it be? Remember how Gawain was chased by my cavalry regiment in Paphlagonia three years ago and was embarrassed. Why does he have such a large and powerful army now?"

"It is said that his army can also shoot thunder and fire, accompanied by large rain clouds of smoke, so that the enemy's troops will be charred and fall to death. The powerful cavalry team of the great chieftain of Danishmund was destroyed the moment they encountered him. Disaster." The envoy hurriedly added his own jealousy.

Several priests and monks also held their canes nervously, listening to such rumors. They told the old general, "Thirty years ago, in the country of Kiev in the far north, a wizard made a prophecy, saying that the first day of the new millennium would In a hundred years, the Dnieper River will completely reverse its flow, and the position of the earth will change. Kiev The land of the Russians will be occupied by the Romans, and many anti-Christ demonic instigations occurred in Kiev. Now the Russian prince Monomakh continues to threaten to burn his city and come south to our country. , to change this prophecy in a direction that is beneficial to the Russians."

Hearing this, the old general who had always been superstitious couldn't help but laugh to himself. In fact, he had heard such a prophecy when he was young, and now he was also saying to himself - "I am the Roman who will occupy Kievan Rus in the prophecy. No, I also aspire to occupy the entire Roman Empire... This means that I will form an alliance with Monomach, and get as much as Emperor Vasily did in the past. With the help of the tough Russian warriors, with Kherson (the Byzantine military region and commercial city set up in Crimea), Chardia, Trabzon, Georgia, and Alanya as the base of power, I will also be the one in the future. I want to aspire to the throne of the imperial capital... Then fighting Gawain now seems to be more in the hands of Emperor Komnenos, so I can't fall into it. "

Thinking of this, Theodoro touched his gorgeous breastplate and shouted loudly to his staff herald, "Send a message to me. If you refuse Potrufis's request, the entire Trabizon peasant and soldier division will not do so." I will join forces with the Armenians in Marash, and the target city I will capture immediately is Bayburt.”

Bayburt, located at the strategic crossroads between Trabzon, Chardia and Armenia, is also a very prosperous commercial base, where a large amount of raw silk from the East can be obtained, which will revitalize the old general's entire financial resources.

So Potrufis, who had been waiting outside, was cruelly rejected, and then was "sent" out of the city of Amasya as a gift. "As for returning to Constantinople to report to the emperor, he should go to Marash to repay the Armenian consul's fees." Well, whatever you want."

After much thought, Potrufis could only return to Marash again and report the news to many Armenian nobles.

At that time, a large number of troops had gathered in the entire Maras Fort, and all merchants in the country (regardless of domestic and foreign) had been detained and plundered, and they were preparing to raise the flag to go to war. Therefore, after hearing that Potrufis's mission failed, Feir, Pak'ad was stunned and couldn't make up his mind for a moment - after all, Marash was a small country surrounded by many powerful countries. Without Theodoro's support, they realized that it would be difficult for them to defeat Gawain alone. Yes, there is no need to accompany Danishmund to death.

"Temporarily disband the recruited team and wait for a better opportunity." In the end, Feir had no choice but to get everyone's consent and issued this order.

As a result, the Armenian army of nearly ten thousand gave up its original ambitions and retreated completely.

On the other hand, on the second day after setting off from Caesarea, Gawain's army arrived at the river mouth military station.

This military station was designed and constructed by Gedier. It is backed by the bend of the Sanus River. The main castle is surrounded by wooden palisades and trenches, rising in steps. There is also a villa against the mountains in the south, with two castles. The forts are connected by an earth embankment about eight feet wide, which serves as a long defensive wall. There is also a gate for passing through. At the highest point of the main fort, a small sealed square platform is built in the inner wall of the fort. Store Khitan snow, this is the director The base is about thirty feet wide each, and there is a wattle fence outside to serve as a fence. The top is smeared with wool and mud, and the outside is filled with tung oil and lime. Various Khitan snow barrels are stored in the warehouse, and the wooden boards are hooped with iron and covered with Copper mesh was used, and zigzag wall holes were dug on all sides for ventilation and fire protection. Buckets mixed with fruit vinegar and soda ash were also kept ready to put out fires in an emergency. Twelve warriors on guard were guarding the outside with halberds on patrol.

"Except for the iron fire poles specially used to burn enemy fortifications, the Khitan snow now has to be repeatedly purified and mixed according to a fixed formula." This is Gawain's current request, and finally passed through Seleucia and Tarsus. The local ordnance craftsmen continued to experiment and determined the formula ratio as the most suitable for the dry environment of Anatolia. That is, the Khitan snow formula used for muskets, arrows and fire gates is 60/8 nitrate, and the remaining sulfur, The ratio of charcoal is three to two.

However, under Gawain's instruction, a formula with a higher proportion of saltpeter is still under experimental planning, which will make Khitan Snow burn faster and have more explosive power.

The next day, when the army marched out of the camp, Gawain ordered "from now on to enter the stage of forced march. All soldiers marched with three days' worth of food and pickaxes on their backs, and the large infantry spears were placed on the baggage carts." It will be used after it comes into contact with the enemy. In addition, some of the baggage vehicles carry Khitan fire, and some carry enough food for the entire army. The cavalry regiment surrounds the front and rear wings of the infantry column to serve as a search and security mission. "

The Bishop's Pasture is a vast grassland sandwiched between the tail of the Pontus Mountains and the tail of the Taurus Mountains, with rolling hills in between. It is also located to the west of Melitene City and has always been a suitable place for grazing and fighting. Since ancient times, it has been a bloody battle between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Persian and Saracen Empires. Now Gawain's march has completely given up on surprise attacks or separation. Along the way to Corgizon, he only left behind the troops led by Decius. A small number of armed groups and border troops, as well as a group of reinforcements sent by the Count of Adana, were just wandering around in the area in confusion.

The most powerful fist is concentrated on the road from Caesarea. Gawain wants it to hit Melite in a straight and unstoppable manner, destroying the defense system built by the Turks around it. Being beaten into pieces!

Gao Wen paid more attention to the logistics of the military station. He specifically ordered the civil affairs administrator of the Cappadocia Grand Frontier Area, Ryan Stein, and his Privy Councilor Sven to be stationed here to be responsible for overall arrangements.

Therefore, he required that the soldiers carry three days' worth of food with them and the army's baggage team carry five days' worth of food. They should not eat at will along the way, but must "recruit on the spot" (that is, plunder or expropriate everything from the residents of the entire area) to solve the problem. And when the Hekou Military Station receives the order, it must be ready to transport six days' worth of military rations and corresponding pack horses and vehicles to the frontline camp for supplies (actually six days, three days will eventually be delivered, and the remaining half will be consumed during the transportation journey) (dropped) - In short, everything has been carefully calculated, and there is no room for sloppiness. (To be continued ~^~)