Eagle Byzantium

In the beautiful Mamistra city of Adana County, beside the gently flowing river, under a pomegranate tree that blossoms with flowers in summer, Gawain is sitting there upright, squinting his eyes and looking at the sparkling water. Baldwin, on the other hand, was leaning against the shade of tree roots, his hands resting on his knees.

In the distance, two carriages stayed there quietly. Anna and the somewhat sad Mrs. Gottshilde sat in front, comforting each other softly.

On the side, Agnes, Hertomia, Vos and other female officials lined up in a row.

The Turkic military servant carrying a quiver was half-kneeling beside Gawain. In his hand was a long iron blunderbuss with a curved wooden handle. This was an improved model. A fire cover was added next to the medicine room. Gawain stood up and took it, then picked up the long blunderbuss and pulled the trigger to turn the shaft. The dog-head hook standing on the back end to clamp the burning match rope turned down with a "click" sound, sparks shot out, and a "bang" sound floated on the Adana River with a long echo, and a group of people were surrounded by the pungent smell of gunpowder smoke. A group of birds that originally lived in the water plants were startled.

Then Gawain raised two more long blunderbuss and shot them out one after another. After the roaring sound, he threw the bludgeon on the ground, put his hands on his hips and whispered in silence. After a long time, he said to Baldwin, "From now on." I have read the funeral letter from Jerusalem. It says that Godfrey made a death wish. I dreamed that I was sitting on the King David's Seat in the Holy City, and then a door opened in the sky. Golden light shone down from above. A ladder was also thrown down. Countless black crows flew over and gathered on the big door. Next to the King Wei's chair, a passage for climbing up is formed between it and the soft staircase. Godfrey climbed up happily. He longed to see the real Lord and tell the other party that he had returned the immortal Jerusalem to the Lord's true Son. Soon they flew away. Godfrey failed to get on the ladder and fell. The golden The gate of heaven was also closed - after waking up from the dream, he understood everything. The crows were knights and lords from all sides during the Eastern Campaign. When they went through bloody battles to capture the Holy City, they drifted away. Your brother. , before he died, he must have felt the pitiable situation of the new kingdom in Jerusalem."

"Then should I go and gather the crows again?" Baldwin asked Gawain directly, "Because now the Patriarch Sambel has publicly announced after my brother's death that the entire Holy City, including the farmland of the surrounding fiefdoms, shall belong to the ecclesiastical property of the city of Rome, and all free lords and knights of the whole kingdom shall henceforth owe allegiance to his patriarch.”

"Isn't this obvious?" Gawain raised the earliest long fire blunderbuss. Muzhaphiadin had refilled it with Khitan snow and loose lead pellets. Gawain pointed it at the river. , after a ball of gunfire sprayed out, "Oh - I actually hit a waterfowl. My in-laws, my The plan is roughly like this. In response to the perverse behavior of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Tarsus and Adana temporarily remained silent and saved for one to two years. Why? Because I just defeated my father-in-law, and now I have the entire Roman Empire. Father-in-law, my brother-in-law, my sister-in-law and Lian The brother-in-law of my father-in-law and my adopted mother-in-law all have their own chess games. Future divisions and civil wars can be expected, but I will not go too far and take advantage of the opportunity, because the country of Tarsus has also consumed a lot of energy and needs to regain its strength. .When was the restoration of strength, the crown of the consul of Jerusalem, of course. It belongs to you, and of course the future Gervi. I also hope that my daughter can enter the palace of the Holy City. Anna and I have already discussed that the direction in the next three years is to help you capture Jerusalem. I want Marash, Greater Armenia, Cyprus..."

After expressing his determination, Gawain continued his analysis, "Although the Iconium trade route, which brought huge benefits to our two countries in the past, was broken during the war, it will soon be restored, and all Italian city-states will be proud of it." Isn't the purpose of the rustling sails bumping hard on the sea just to share the Levant's trade treasury? In your original hometown, the eastern gold rush and migration will continue to flourish for at least a hundred years. These are not dependent on anyone's will. Baldwin, although our common brother Godfrey has passed away, the new era will not change. But it is waving to you and me, and we will continue to climb into the golden gate. "

After hearing this, under the canopy of flaming pomegranate trees, Baldwin was deeply inspired. He stood up generously and held Gawain's hand. "Brother, I have completely remembered your words in my heart like gospel! But I am a little bit Confused, in just one year, can we repair the Iconium trade route and enrich our treasury and military resources? "

"No, but now Tarsus already has a population of two million. Even though it has lost most of its trade tariffs, it still relies on transportation and trade between internal regions to collect several pillars such as salt tax, commercial tax, and shield tax. "It can also support my five brigades for half a year of fighting." Gawain was very confident, "In addition, we currently lack a reason to fall out with Patriarch Sambel and support you in marching towards the Holy City."

"According to information from Amalfi merchants, Babylon (what Westerners called the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt at that time), Sulla previously said that this name came from the Jewish group who came to Cairo to do business, but now he has consulted the Arabs of Hitti The general history found that this seems to be wrong. The more reliable source seems to be that the ruler of the river fortress in Alexandria (named Babylon), the Grand Vizier Evdel, was gathering troops and horses, and seemed to unite with the Turks on the coast to besiege them. Holy City.”

Gawain nodded, and the Turkish soldier brought the water bird that was "accidentally shot" and presented it to the low dining table next to the tent, "Of course this is one, but it is not enough... So I am going to donate one thousand Byzantine gold coins to St. John's Hospital in Gerard in the Holy City..."

After saying that, Gawain picked up the long musket again and pointed it at the swaying green grass by the river.

After hearing this move, Baldwin was stunned for a moment, then he understood and said "very good".

Then the whole river seemed to shake, Gawain shot another ball of fireworks, then stretched his neck to look, "Oh, oh, hit another one."

"What should we do with Antioch? The current regent Tancred is completely a dog of the Patriarch."

"It doesn't matter. Once you ascend the throne of King David, can the small Principality of Antioch still be able to stop a chariot? Destroy it. My rights are the entire Tripoli coastal land and port, and Baldwin, the Principality of Antioch belongs to you. You can place a relative of Eustace to take over the government there. In this way, the entire Levant will be completely in the hands of you and me, and we will be safe forever." Gawain held the long musket and planned clearly and calmly.