Eagle Byzantium

"I heard that you met the hermit in Nicaea at the earliest moment and then came to Constantinople." Behind Gawain, Anna rolled up her butterfly sleeves and slowly walked over and asked.

"That's right, not only with my adopted brother, but also with many people." After Gawain finished speaking, he looked up at the sky, then turned back to Anna and said, "The pilgrimage road is not what most people think, even if we have thousands of people now. Thousands of troops and horses, but they can only be resisted by the Crescent Cultists more fiercely. Countless people will turn into corpses and fall on the road. Moreover, even if they capture the Holy City, they will still face fierce attacks from all directions, some of which are pagans, and some of them. Even fellow believers.”

"Let's face it together." Anna also looked at the lake, very calmly.

At this time, there was the sound of rapid horse hooves from behind. It was Muzaffy Adin who came running. He was half exhausted and rolled off the saddle and fell in front of Gawain. "Master, I changed horses and finally finished counting. Nicaea There are three hundred and sixty-seven towers, large and small, from the main gate to the new gate here."

"Thank you for your hard work!" Gawain replied, and then he pointed to the intentionally built zigzag tooth-shaped city wall between the New Gate and the Water Gate. "It is very difficult to block the Water Gate from here. The defenders will be attacked here." The intensive killing of soldiers' bows and arrows made it difficult for the army to survive in the narrow and muddy area under the city. Operation Tidal Flat - Muzafi Adin went to contact Melo and Wright to arrange a siege camp, but not to attack. Remember, we need double trenches inside and outside and blockades, and then a big battle. The Red Hand Dalian Team is. Those caught between the city army and the reinforcements must protect themselves and build fortifications. "

"Yes, Your Excellency the Grand Duke! The mistress is well, may Allah bless you!" After receiving the order, Muzafi'adin knelt down in front of Anna, then held the scimitar on his waist and led the horse to limp. We turned around and headed to the campground.

This title of military servant made both of them a little embarrassed. However, Gawain soon became ambitious. After all, the war clouds are now thick and private matters cannot be considered too much. "In the past, I retreated like a lost dog on the shores of Lake Nicaea; now, I want to ride on my horse with a spear, Defeat all the enemies that deserve to be defeated.”

"Take me to the Land of Seven Ridges again." Anna said this. Gawain made a sound, expressing his doubts, but Anna stopped saying anything. Instead, she smiled, turned around, and headed towards the camp along the lakeside.

at this time. Outside the city of Constantinople, pilgrims who had returned from crossing the sea were lining up in a long queue. Under the guidance of Byzantine officials, they signed monograms at a temporary office. The emperor had given them vacant land and they were responsible for settling in. In Thrace and Macedonia, they cultivated and served in order to repay their great Majesty.

at the same time. In the open land of Salabria, there was once again a huge team camping there, with colorful flags and tents densely covered among them, and among this group of 60,000 pilgrims. The main leaders are Raymond, Duke of Provence, Hugh Capet, the brother of the King of France, and Robert, Duke of Normandy.

Alexios held a grand banquet in the palace to entertain this group of distinguished guests, especially Raymond of Toulouse, who had always been the target of his efforts to win over. Between the tall arched floor-to-ceiling windows. Raymond was carrying a sharp sword, wearing a cape with an exaggerated Moorish crescent pattern, and held his head high. He walked in unnoticed, surrounded by Roman eunuchs and maids. With the help of light, I found that the Duke's left eye was strangely incomplete, and the eyeball was dim and colorless. Therefore, the right eye tilted involuntarily when looking at people and objects, giving the person an extremely exaggerated sense of majesty, or rather, a sense of humor. . These eyes were caused by Raymond's early pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem when he had a physical conflict with the gatekeeper and was punched and blinded by the gatekeeper. Now, although the Duke is very impressive and has a bright smile, he is still in the huge The middle aisle of the palace becomes more and more diagonal as you walk, The position of Emperor Alexios was shifted, and he was about to miss the emperor. In the end, it was the retinue who always accompanied the Duke, who used a regular bent stick to hook Raymond's waist, and the Duke finally reacted. , tilted his head to adjust his gaze, and finally embraced the emperor warmly.

"Great, great Your Majesty, I, I, wish I could have pledged my oath to you as early as possible."

"Welcome to you, the equally great Count of Toulouse, the Marquis of Provence, and the Master of Saint-Gilles, and also to your great and brave comrades-in-arms." Alexios was also very enthusiastic. He let Raymond walk in first, Of course, there is a purpose. As long as Raymond is the first to offer the oath, the other princes will certainly not be able to object forcefully. And Raymond himself prefers this kind of "boss" and "leader" given by the emperor's younger brother. "Feeling.

Following Raymond was Count Robert of Flanders. He was a very calm man, and his actions made people trustful and reassuring. Because of his status as a loyal elder, he was the second to embrace the emperor.

The third one was Robert of Normandy. Although the weather had warmed up, he was still shivering with cold, wrapped in an old, ill-fitting robe. Alexius had known about this man from his spies and intelligence agents. Although he fought bravely, he never cared about the political affairs of his territory, but spent his time in debauchery. He was unwilling to marry his wealthy fiancée even though he was in his forties. When he passed through Lombardy on the way to the east, he was even more extravagant and proposed to the Duchess Matilda. As a result, Matilda threw him a few hundred coins and told him to get out. Later, he continued to spend money like water in Taranto and Dalmatia, and spent all the 10,000 silver coins he had pledged for the Normandy territory. When he arrived at the gates of Constantinople, he had to stay in bed all day because he had pawned all his clothes and armor. This time, he came to pay homage to him, and the robe he borrowed from others.

"Give the noble lord a gift." Alexius calmly stuffed the box full of gold coins and silk into the arms of Robert of Normandy, and then signaled the eunuch to guide him to sit down at the table, so as not to be seen by others and cause ridicule.

Robert of Normandy, the son of William the Conqueror, accepted the emperor's gift with tears of gratitude and sat down.

The fourth person was Count Stephen of Blois, also the son-in-law of William the Conqueror. He came with Robert. The two brothers took care of each other. The robe was borrowed by him. After hugging the emperor, kissing the emperor's ring and declaring the oath, he also sat down next to his brother.

The last to come were Hugh Capet and his group of palace servants. Seeing that Raymond was ranked first, he consulted with the palace counselor and deliberately walked at the end, because "the first and the last in the whole team are the most eye-catching", and deliberately kept a distance from other lords. Hugh wore his "Cape shawl" (the royal family got its name from this) which symbolized the honor of the royal family, held the scepter, and saluted the emperor politely in the crowd, with a royal dignity, and then sat down.

"Damn, what are you proud of, what..." Raymond, who was sitting at the table, said with hatred, because of his natural stuttering.

Then, he saw a blonde beauty, holding a wine pot, standing in front of his table. (To be continued ~^~)