Eagle Byzantium

Gawain stared at the city of Durazzo, then at the brilliant morning light in the east. He closed his eyes and could not help but imagine the scene: on the grassland on the east bank of the Amu Darya River, there were endless nomadic cavalrymen, countless herds of livestock and vehicles, rolling up dust that could cover the sun and the moon, rushing towards the plateaus of Persia and Asia Minor like terrible dragons, and behind them there might be even more powerful and terrible empires.

Now is not the time to follow the old ways.

Several inner palace guards were about to step forward to dissuade the emperor, but Gawain still walked to the piled up Khitan snow barrels, signaled the gunner to use a short spear to cut open the medicine bag made of gray Seleucid paper, and then picked up a ball of light gray granular Khitan snow, "Agnes."

Agnes also boldly used a lit fire stick to burn the Khitan snow wrapped in Gawain's leather gloves.

The flames rose, and Markianius next to him could not help but step back in shock, but the emperor did not show any pain or burns. The Khitan snow burned up quickly, and white smoke quickly emerged and dissipated.

"Is there a problem with the quality of the gunpowder?"

"Absolutely no problem." Agnes replied, "The quality of the gunpowder produced in the Mut River Valley is better than that of the imperial capital's large arsenal workshop."

"How many packs of ammunition are there now?"

"Six packs, Your Majesty." Stalianus replied hurriedly.

"Then increase it to eight packs. The emperor and I will stay here. You can do it boldly. Don't worry about the barrel and the gun carriage. The bear and the lion are the most outstanding works of the imperial gunsmiths. It can withstand it completely." Basilisa immediately instructed.

"Increase it to nine packs." Gawain's light blue eyes flashed.

"I will signal the lion cannon over there first."

"No, the bear cannon will do the same immediately!" The emperor's tone did not allow for rejection.

When the flag signal was sent out, the gunners carrying vinegar barrels in front of the lion cannon, including Nexus, silently accepted all this with an unbelievable look.

The two siege cannons fired projectiles almost at the same time. The cavalrymen who were standing solemnly under the southern fort were disturbed by the shaking of the ground. The horses began to sway in circles in pain. The dust from the cannon fort covered the helmets of the imperial guards holding long halberds under the fort. They raised their eyes and saw two heavy and huge shells, with whistling red flames, getting smaller and smaller in the sky, and then hit the northern wall of Durazzo and a low and thick round tower...

Then came the fierce and continuous bombardment of light and heavy mortars and fire bear cannons.

On the second day, many sections of the northern wall of Durazzo collapsed. The citizens who were forcibly conscripted ignored the threats and all abandoned their posts and fled. They even attacked and killed scattered guards, fiercely resisting the foreigners and wanting to open the city gate for His Majesty the Emperor.

Maxianius on the south rampart saw that all the brigades and companies of the siege troops rushed up from the north and east walls to tear open the gaps in the walls. Hundreds of muskets and cannons were lined up there, spewing out terrible rain of bullets, sweeping away the rushing defenders. Then the skirmishers and spearmen lined up in a bull-horn formation to reinforce each other, stepping on the ruins and rubble and bravely advancing. He seemed to be able to hear the screams of the enemies as their swords and spears stabbed them from the south rampart.

On the third day, the follow-up echelons that came up as substitutes also pressed forward. The exhausted defenders could no longer bear it, and the outcome was no longer in suspense.

On the fourth day, when the Vatican's envoys finally arrived in front of Durazzo by boat, everyone saw a hellish scene under the sails with the "Key of St. Peter" logo. The harbor and tower of Durazzo were covered by gray smoke. Arrows and projectiles with red and white flames kept rising, passing and falling on the top of the city. The flaming ships pulled the sails like drunk people. As soon as they escaped from the harbor, they were captured or sunk by the intercepted Bari or Ragusa warships. The sea was full of gray and white corpses. It was also heard that the city was surrendering like an avalanche.

Fortunately, the envoys encountered two Ragusa warships, received their protection, and landed safely. In front of the Monastery of St. Michael, they successfully met the new Roman emperor.

"Are you finally willing to recognize the throne of me and my wife?" Gawain said to the priests standing in front of him, holding the golden eagle scepter.

"The entire Church of Peter should withdraw from the coast and cities of Dalmatia!" The petite Basilisa next to him spoke fiercely, holding a slender golden wheat scepter in her hand, with a beautiful little crown.

The emperor raised his hand to signal his wife to calm down, and then he changed to a gentler tone and asked the Roman Catholic Church, "Now your legitimacy is not stable, so I decided to use the fleet to cross the Adriatic Sea after the Battle of Durazzo, land in Bari, and then drive directly to Rome to hold a real conference to determine your authenticity and survival."

"Does the emperor want to imitate Attila the Hun or the Vandals?" The priest who led the envoys struggled to resist.

"I am in the name of Constantine the Great and Justinian the Great." Gawain was unhurried.

"As the prince of many dioceses, the position of Pope St. Peter is built on the spiritual rock. How could it collapse because of the power of His Majesty the Emperor alone?"

A correct version can be found in the 16-9 book forum!

It was obvious that the emperor on the throne was caught up in thinking about the interests. For a moment, he seemed to be in awe of the authority of the Holy See, or worried about being deeply involved in the situation in Italy, and then said to the envoys: "I am willing to repatriate the prisoners in Durazzo, and Return the bodies of the enemy's fallen nobles, but require the Palermo Palace, the Ducal Palace of Venice and the Tuscany I will meet them at Fort Ohrid to discuss peace - a peace they must pay, otherwise I will level all hostile countries. Triton, the decision is up to you. You must give me a suitable reply within a month, otherwise you will regret it. "

The envoys of the Holy See looked at each other. Now that the city of Durazzo has fallen, all the elite soldiers and generals gathered here have been lost. There are not many cards to play in the anti-Gawain camp. In addition, the emperor also adopts diplomatic measures. The offensive attracted the Emperor of Germany and the King of Hungary, and even actively sent envoys to distant kingdoms with different flags such as Aquitaine, Cordoba and even England to exchange policies. If we continue to confront him, I am afraid that the foundation of St. Peter's Pope will collapse, and the current situation of the "four popes" being torn apart may not be resolved in the foreseeable future.

In the end, the envoys stated that they would faithfully convey the emperor's opinions to all parties, but before resigning, the emperor suddenly added:

"I plan to reconvene the first ever Christian conference in Adrianople or Veliko Preslav within three years to decide on the plan for the millennium. At that time, I hope that the Roman diocese will also send representatives to participate. Otherwise, by then the Roman diocese will Being separated from it will probably bring many disadvantages to the Catholic Church.”

All the envoys turned blue. The original Eastern Roman Empire had degenerated into the existence of "the Greek state and the Greek Orthodox Church." As a result, the first thing for its revival now was to regain universal power. "The conference under the auspices of the emperor and the high priest ” is the most important part.