Eagle Byzantium

John of Crete was the first to react. He ordered the garrisons of Corinth and Thebes to start a diversionary offensive against Larissa under the leadership of Aksepochus.

However, the entire army was blocked by the two major Slavic tribes that had surrendered to Gawain at the Kadmea Pass and the wilderness, Megilin and Ezeriti. Nearly 10,000 Slavic infantry troops formed a stronghold to resist the battle. Xepokos fought hard and was unable to break through, and tried to attack Larissa by going back to the shores of Macnesia, but was held on by hundreds of garrison troops sent by the Magilin tribe to the city.

At the same time, another Slavic tribe in the northwest corner of the Peloponnese, the Verziti, also accepted the bribes and inducements from Gawain's envoys. They suddenly raised their flags and began to attack various market towns and fortresses loyal to John, which made John completely confused. The Leah area could not rest in peace. Axepochus's offensive lasted less than five days, and he had to retreat to the city of Corinth in embarrassment to quell the burning backyard.

At the same time, the rebels on the island of Crete also regrouped. Due to the embarrassment of the Venetian city-state, they continued to make a comeback under the leadership of the two major families "Curtatzis" and "Callergis" and once again used John's power. Forced to retreat into several fortresses in the north.

John was greatly embarrassed.

At this moment, Branas's brigade has advanced to the plains at the northern end of the Vardar Valley, facing Prizren Castle in the distance. The golden tangerine flag of the Guardian Brigade stands on the vast wilderness. Soldiers holding spears roll forward in formation under the blue sky. Burning smoke rises from mountain villages and pastures everywhere. More than a dozen soldiers wearing embroidered robes The Vardar headman, wearing various headdresses, half-knelt in front of General Branas, begging the emperor for forgiveness. So Branas asked them not to be afraid. The emperor would not kill the good people who surrendered, but in the next battle, each of their tribes must provide themselves with fifty to one hundred light cavalry.

Soon, Branas got more than a thousand horses and 900 cavalry from the many surrendered Vardar Turkic tribes, and he recovered instantly: plus the attached cavalry of three brigades, he quickly had The strength of two thousand cavalry.

The emperor's strategic arrangement for him was: "Go north to the Vardar Valley and threaten the southern side of the Burdine defense line, that is, the Prizren and Magolon areas. However, I will not interfere with the specific action plan. You can attack Prizlin head-on." Lun holds Bolding's flank, and you can also choose other routes to win over the Turks and Slavic tribes in various places. I grant you the advantage of power."

So Branas first ordered three brigades to build camps, and announced that the logistics station would be moved to the city of Thessaloniki. He had prepared roads before and prepared to cross the valley pass and besiege Prizren on another day.

But at the same time Branas had a bold idea.

He shifted his gaze to the Kastoria Pass on the west side.

It's like this. From the sand table map, Bertin's brother Vladimir set up heavy troops in Prizren City to block Branas' advance. However, Kastoria and the capital palace of Burdine are connected by a mountain path of only a hundred miles. If the cavalry is used to launch a surprise attack from this road, it will be easy to cut off Ohrid and Durazo. The connection between them and appearing behind the city of Ohrid can lead to a surprise attack.

But this is also very dangerous. The Venetians in Durazzo, the defenders of Ohrid, the main force of Vladimir, and even the enemies of Fort Sophia may react violently and launch a crazy siege into the "pocket" or " "Soft Belly", and once he crosses the Kastoria Pass, he is in a state of no logistics.

Branas, who was looking at the sand table, thought of this, and couldn't help but feel a burning excitement and pain all over his body. He was not a general who liked to take risks under the emperor's camp. He had always been known for being stable and reliable. If it were Melo or Bramson, , perhaps no hesitation in launching a surprise attack...

"Two thousand cavalry... In addition, if you want not to alert the enemy, you can only bring one or even half a brigade..." Keep an eye on Kastoria on the sand table and the surrounding areas. Several city fortresses, he couldn't help but feel some deadly magic that made his blood boil. Burning, "No, no, we can't let Shahnameh become a widow again... let another general of the brigade under my command go? That's not possible, you must make Shahnamey proud of me." ..." So Branas held his chin and paced back and forth.

In fact, to some extent, Branas was overly worried.

In mid-spring, representatives of various countries that had agreed to send troops gathered in the Castle of Canossa to quarrel over the amount of ships, soldiers, and food. In Sophia Castle, many Zupan nobles are also making noises. The reason is very simple. Their manor territories need to be taken care of and the wheat harvest season will be in half a month or a month. If they are abandoned, it will be difficult to manage the next year.

"In the coming year, Gawain will help you harvest with a scythe!" Bodine scolded them angrily.

In this year's battle, Gawain's Thrace and Thessalonica actually gained a lot, and order and trade were restored. For me, the entire winter battle not only failed to damage Gawain's vitality, One wing of the Mosia rebel army was brutally wiped out by the other side, and now this group of country nobles was noisy, like a group of toads in a swamp.

Then Bodin also felt that just getting angry was not enough, so he taught them some principles of "understanding the general principles" and finally calmed down the situation for the time being.

But at this time, the gate of Sofia was rumbled open, and two scouts with feathers on their helmets rushed in on horseback. Several grooms in the stables ran after the sweaty horses, struggling to pull the roaring four-legged beast in the dust. Then the scouts raised the leather barrel and threw it to the soldiers on the third floor of the wooden shed behind the city wall. The soldiers reached out to catch the leather barrel, ran along the wooden fence all the way to the main tower, and handed it to the guards beside Bodin.

Bordin took out a dagger, scraped off the seal on the leather tube, took out the brown paper roll and opened it. The light from the lamp stained Bordin's fingers with a light gold color through its fine texture. "What, the enemy troops at the Trajan Gate have moved... Countless, definitely more than three brigades... The two brigades that Gawain took away are back, and all five brigades are heading for Sophia Castle! He wants to break through, besiege, and massacre this great castle head-on!" Bordin's voice became louder and louder, shocking the Zupans around him so much that they dared not say a word anymore.

"Gawain also captured Sofia Castle once, accompanied by the hateful Franks." Boding gritted his teeth, and his scalp tingled at the same time. "What was supposed to come finally came. It turned out that Gawain was just bluffing at the Stara Pass, and his main force was still at the Trajan Gate. Very good, Gawain, I must tell you that the attack on Sofia Castle from the direction of Nis that year was completely different from the attack from the direction of Trajan Gate now. I, Boding, must teach you a lesson!"

A correct version in one book and one forum!

As a result, the next day, Iltiman Castle, located at the outpost of Sofia, was broken by Gawain's vanguard Red Hand Brigade within two hours in the early morning. Less than fifty of the five hundred defenders in the castle ran back. "The enemy used thunder and fire guns to smash the hardwood fence outside our fortress. I have never seen such a fierce bombardment." - After all, the current Serbian soldiers have some knowledge and contact with firearms.