Eagle Byzantium

Gawain asked Baldwin to be calm and ordered a messenger to go to Tarsus to report the news.

Soon after Anna concluded her discussions with Andodate, Maglendius, Maimon and others at a small imperial meeting, she sent back the proposed plan, "temporarily waiting for news from two directions, namely the city of Rome and Jerusalem. I’ll make a decision again and be patient for the time being.”

Half a month later, news from both directions arrived almost simultaneously. Avdele's 40,000 Egyptian army had all set off from Ashkelon and defeated a suicidal Holy City outpost army: Avdel sent a large number of troops from Axum (the Christian Kingdom of Ancient Ethiopia) in this battle. The mercenaries act as the vanguard. This group of black-skinned walking soldiers moves as fast as flying. , bare-chested, armed with axes and blunt stone hammers, smashed the heads of the Christian horses to pieces, and then countless pagan Egyptian archers followed up and fired wildly - the 700 Jerusalem outposts were completely annihilated. In the end, all the more than thirty knight standard-bearers who led the team were killed in the battle, and no one escaped.

Rather than saying that they lost their fear of the enemy, it was better to say that it was caused by a deep despair. Godfrey, the original guardian of the Holy Sepulcher, has passed away suddenly, and the crows gathered around him have begun to scatter. Patriarch Sambell only knows how to drink and have a party, and has no sympathy for the soldiers' suffering before the expedition. Now he has He could only shrink into the safest and strongest tower in the Holy City and tremble, and he could only send letters to the city of Rome asking for help, asking the Holy See to launch a large number of Eastern Expedition troops to rescue him. At this time, the leading light cavalry of the Egyptian army had rushed to the Cave Mountain, only fifty kilometers away from the Bethlehem Gate of Jerusalem, and cities such as Arsu, Acre, Tire, and Sidon were also in motion. The Crescent Cult strongholds along the entire coastline They also began to attack everywhere, burning and killing Christian villages.

The news from another direction is this. The Pope and all the cardinals unanimously requested that Gawain's Kingdom of Tarsus, Tancred's Kingdom of Antioch, Baldwin's Kingdom of Adana and Bohemond must form a new alliance. Front, immediately sent a large army to Jerusalem to repel the massive siege of Egyptian pagans; at the same time, the Holy See also recognized that Baldwin Eustace could inherit his brother's career and continue to serve as the secular ruler of the Holy City. In addition, Pope Eugene Owens also demanded that all fleets in the Eastern Mediterranean from Venice, Amalfi, Pisa, and Hot Duck must abandon all previous prejudices and competitions and gather at the ports of Cyprus and the Levant. , responsible for the maritime troop transport duties of the armies of these four generals.

"Perfect. In this case, the battle flag for the march is fully prepared." After receiving the news, the mentor Maglendius immediately raised his finger and said.

But the Pope did not mention the ownership of the Principality of Antioch. Therefore, when April came, Bohemond in Paphos became arrogant and refused to move forward.

So Gawain and Baldwin sent a letter, "We swear to live up to the Kyrenia Covenant. When Baldwin gets the throne of King David, the 400 towers in Antioch will definitely be yours. Everything must be in order. , then we can go to war against Tancred without even needing an edict from the Holy See."

With this "reassurance", Bohemond began to gather all the mercenaries, marched across the Nicosia plains, joined up with Branas' brigade, and then headed for the port.

In the Nicosia Castle, Archduke Apsomates trembled as he looked at the majestic advancing troops under the wall and across the river. He summoned several of his closest associates, "It is estimated that Tancred, who is now attached to Antioch, cannot save him." My power must bring down the Egyptians A caliphate is also involved, even if all the Seljuks are involved, it would be better. Let the war burn more fiercely! I would rather burn the beautiful island of Cyprus to ashes, and I will show them the price of despising me. I just didn't say anything , don’t think that I am a really weak person. That guy from Avdele, it was a stupid idea to choose to fight Gawain and Bohemond on the land between the Holy City and Ashkelon, so he quickly sent a small boat to cover people’s ears. Now go to Cairo and tell the other party—Egypt’s true policy The strategy should be to hold on to the border barriers, and then provoke the relationship between the other countries and ocean city-states, and use the powerful fleet and my island of Cyprus as the center to defeat them one by one. Damn it, who can let that wise idea of ​​mine pass to that Ivor. Does Dele know?”

At the same time, in the hall of Antioch Castle, Tancred was sitting on his seat holding his sword, looking up at the huge and exquisite Persian silk tapestry hanging in front of him, which was undulating in the wind like river waves. It makes a pleasant sound, and the pattern on it is a continuous spring scene - grassland, horses, lambs, and dome. "Why do they always like to draw such scenes?" Tancred asked.

Beside him, his wife Mesander of Armenia quietly replied, "Because in the plateau and desert where they live, there are only forty days of true spring in a year, and the rest of the long years are not hot and dry. Summer is the coldest winter, so they put their love and affection for spring into this silk tapestry.”

"I was born in the mountains of Apulia, where the most indispensable thing is spring. Maybe my uncle's hatred of me is justified. I should have been the one who shouldn't have fought for anything in the port of Lepanto. A young knight who only knows how to fight passionately with a good opponent like Gawain, angry about Raul's death in battle, and happy or sad about the victory or defeat on the battlefield - -At that time, I was like the spring in Italy, like a sharp plain sword forged by Milanese craftsmen. Did the harsh environment here change me?" After a pause, Tancred stood up and waved. "Let the gates of Syria pass through the castles. I don't want to bear the moral guilt. Let Gawain and Baldwin go to Jerusalem!"

Half a month later, in the Herod's Tower in Jerusalem, two monks, Sam Bell and Maurice, hugged each other. In front of them, there were many knights who broke in from the tower door. He has a beard and a fierce look in his eyes, and is covered in iron armor. At a glance, he looks like Dodo, Miles, and Liedhold, who had previously been loyal to the Eustace family, "Gawain and Baldwin's armies have reached the high ground below the city, and the Egyptian Mohammedans are retreating southward like a tide, so please allow us Fight outside the city and join these two to gain the honor of defeating the heretics!”

"You have to protect this tower, no, this city. Retreating is just a trick of the Egyptian Babylonian army to lure the enemy. You can't act rashly." Sambel held on to the pillar and screamed, then he turned around in horror, and saw On the steps over there, brothers Jocelan and Galilan approached. Josselan stretched out his hand and raised his fingers, "Please hand over the command of the entire army. Patriarch, you are making random remarks about matters that you don't understand at all." I personally think this is very dangerous.”