Eagle Byzantium

The furious Bohemond refused all requests and severely criticized these people, "This is obviously Gawain's plan, and when he does this, it means that the city of Barry is in danger. If the Normans face another threat, The city will fall completely in two days, and there will be nothing to gain by credulously believing in the demands of the peace treaty. Not only will Aversa's enemies be defeated, but the entire Norman people will become the most worthy of ridicule. "

In addition, Bohemond also strictly ordered that the camps of the Norman army and the pilgrims be separated by wooden fences and sentries, and it was forbidden for knights and servants to move around at will: knights and soldiers must stay in their respective camps. , preparing for the decisive battle; while the military servants are doing their best to transport supplies and build equipment.

Six simple siege towers were quickly built under the city of Bali again. They all had a very high height, even exceeding the height of the city battlements, and stayed outside the range or shooting range of the city's stone-shooting machines and spear-shooting crossbows. Heavily armed Norman cavalry stood guard on the side to prevent Gawain's men from attacking. At this time, Gawain stood at the top of the city, watching this scene, "We have tried our best to fight. Now the fate of the city can be said to have been reversed by me, but I can't be so reassured. It depends on whether the last two trump cards can... Will it work as expected?" The self-proclaimed Grand Duke said with a firm look on his face. With a touch of melancholy, "Then, with the Acropolis, St. Nicholas Cathedral and the pier as the three final defense cores, if the city walls cannot be saved, let the ships of Venice and Ragusa try to remove the elderly among the citizens. The weak women and children were taken away first, while our soldiers stayed at the end and fought tooth and nail. This is the worst-case scenario."

"It's nothing more than going to hell." Taticius, who came to watch the battle next to him, also responded calmly.

In front of them, the guards, together with ordinary military servants, were struggling along the collapse of the northwest corner of the city wall, arranging wooden palisades, and tying rolling logs and stone bullets to the rear with net ropes. Because they knew very well that in the all-out general attack that the Normans were about to launch, this place would become the bloodiest place.

"It won't fall so easily. After the Battle of Durazzo thirteen years ago, this city fought in the streets for six days after the city wall was breached before it truly fell into the hands of the Norman bandits. I don't believe it. Today We can't compare to the courage of the Roman defenders in the past." Diogenes, the prison guard, was still confident, and then he raised the embroidered quiver he wore to Gawain, "When that day comes, I will definitely shoot. Take the last arrow here."

In the morning breeze at dawn the next day. The residents of Bari City, pilgrims and monks all looked calm, sitting and lying in a row in the trade corridor beside the pier. The luggage around them was neatly arranged, no one was making any noise, and the children who had woken up early had childish eyes. Looking at the ships moored in the harbor and the flags flying on the masts, they wanted to get on the ship as soon as possible and appreciate the scenery of the sea. For them, the current war is more like a human game.

On the streets, church entrances, halls and cloisters, as well as on city wall stairways and battle paths, countless sleeping soldiers were lying. Bonfires were still burning, and sparks kept popping and flying in the cold wind in the early morning, with cyan colors. of smoke. Several soldiers on the sentry were patrolling back and forth with swords and bows raised, looking with some concern at the new Norman siege tower standing in front of them like a giant beast - their enemy Bohemond was making a desperate move. Can the soldiers of Bari City alone resist the wolf-like Normans?

The gap in the collapse. Muzaffy Adin, who was wearing a red oil-stained turban, crawled around like a monkey, picked up a piece of bread on the ground, then broke it open and ate a few mouthfuls. After swallowing, he Facing the legendary location of the Kaaba, he raised his arms and prostrated devoutly at the top of the city. The sunlight slowly passed over the crenellations and shone into the densely packed tops of the city. The spire of St. Nicholas Cathedral emitted sacred light.

Then, with his bow and arrow in hand, Muzaffy'adin cleverly looked down along the perforations of the battle gallery to see if any Norman spies were climbing and infiltrating. Then he suddenly saw a surprising sight. He kept patting the wooden planks of the war gallery, walking quickly from one firing hole to another, and then he didn’t know what to do. Walking out of the war corridor in awe, he came to the open city head - under the bright sunshine, on the ocean behind the gentle hills in the northeast of Bali City, rows of masts with military flags with eagles flying above them were staying there. From here, melodious trumpet sounds kept coming, as if they were deliberately warning the city of Barry.

Muzaffy'adin knelt down and beat the helmet of a Varangian warrior. The Varangian warrior grunted angrily. Then he opened his eyes and lay on the battlement. He saw this huge fleet, and then... He looked at the Turkic military servant with understanding and said A few words of Varyag, and then Muzhafi Adin said a few words of Turkic. The two felt that they could not communicate, so they started shouting. The city soldiers stood up one after another, holding the flagpole, "Give the red-handed cross-sword military flag to Rise up!" shouted one of the warriors.

Soon, from the hills in the northeast, several knights in full armor came up and stood within sight of the city towers, holding high the eagle flag in their hands.

"It's Caesar from Salian, who has come to rescue the city of Barry as promised!" Someone shouted this excitedly, and then the whole city of Barry was boiling, and all the buglers were sent by Gawain. The front city wall was trumpeting desperately at the enemy camp below, and Henry IV's legions ashore over there also echoed the sound of trumpets.

The earth-shaking sound of the military trumpet quickly spread to the Norman siege camp, "Our flank has been attacked!" The sentries and camps there were like an avalanche. Teams of soldiers abandoned their posts and ran down. Bohemond, who walked out of the tent, watched the support army easily occupy the key pass in the northeast of Bari City, and formed a corner with Gawain in the city.

"What a joke, what a joke! I think since I was unlucky in Nicaea, bad luck has always been entangled in my armor and skin. There is no help from friends, but the help from enemies is endless. Even the German Caesar sent a fleet and soldiers to reinforce the city of Bari." Bohemond cried out, and then he began to curse, scolding his uncle Roger for not saving the dying, scolding Zahas for his incompetence, and even scolding the stupidity of the Holy See, "only paying attention to the reproductive matters of men and women, causing the German Caesar to decisively join forces with the Greek emperor."

Soon, the identity of the reinforcements became clear. Henry IV had hired seven Venetian warships to escort them, including 300 mail-armored knights and their followers, 500 armored Swabian infantry, and a considerable number of archers and military servants. The commander of the army happened to be Henry IV's chief standard-bearer, Godfrey of Bouillon. (To be continued ~^~)