Eagle Byzantium

When the three of them came to the temporary altar with uneasy feelings, where the bonfire was burning, the lords and lords looked tired and miserable. They all sighed and gathered on the ground below, telling each other the misery of the siege battles these days: Whose grain was burned by the Turks, whose brothers and relatives were injured or killed in the attack on the tower, how tragic this winter rain and snow is, etc.

These words also touched the heartstrings of Robert of Normandy. The rough man shed tears again and sat down with his cloak in his arms. His brother-in-law Stephen hurriedly kicked him twice: On the other side of the altar, A's face was full of seriousness and pain. Demar, several priests, and servants turned around and stepped onto the high platform, holding various crosses and reliquary boxes.

But Ademar just glanced at the group of lords and said nothing, as if he was waiting for someone.

The answer was soon revealed: on the west side of the altar, on the road leading to Port Saint-Simon, a group of frightened chain-mail cavalry, with pennants on their lances drooping listlessly, came slowly, and the leader happened to be the right one. The two most noble Lords Bohemond and Raymond, among whom Bohemond's helmet There was no more blood. There was still blood dripping from the red beard and hair. It seemed that he had been injured by the arrows or stones of the pagans. Raymond also lowered his head. Most of the Provence soldiers behind him were injured. The team moved silently. Walking through the line of pilgrims, the atmosphere was very dull, walking towards the altar.

It turned out that these two lords, with dozens of knights and a considerable number of infantry, had been patrolling between the Antioch siege position and the Port of St. Simons in the past few days. On the one hand, they protected the baggage and supplies, and on the other hand, they also obtained supplies. With the permission of the Council of Cardinals, he robbed villages, towns and tribes around the Kingdom of Antioch everywhere, snatching livestock and food from the Saracens and Syrian Greeks to supply himself and support the war.

"There are a total of one hundred and sixty-five fertile villages, towns or fortresses in the Antioch area. We rob one every day, and we can survive until the moment when Achish Siyan is crowned as head without relying on any external supplies." Before setting off, Bo Hemond is full of confidence. This kind of behavior is equivalent to commonplace for them Normans.

But this group of gangster-like people burned, killed and robbed several villages and towns. This angered the entire local population: about 10,000 Syrian Greeks, carrying luggage and livestock, swarmed towards Gregor's "Gimmage Brigade", which was conducting independent guerrilla warfare in the mountains between Saint Simon and the Syrian Gate. Gregor accepted this group of refugees and personally led his followers. After repelling the Norman attack and killing several knights in an ambush, Bohemond had no choice but to complain to Ademar, but was reprimanded by the priest, saying that this brigade had nothing to do with Armenia. People alike are pilgrims and allies of the Catholic Church. So Bohemond could only curse Gawain a few times (he vaguely knew that this spontaneous army of Syrians had the support of Gawain), and then moved the garrison of Gimagis. It was designated as a "looting restricted area".

As for the martial Armenians and Saracens, they were even less polite. They secretly sent envoys and reached an agreement with Yaghisian, who was stationed in the city, and secretly lent 10,000 Turkic soldiers from the valley east of Antioch. Detour out, and then join forces with the local armed forces in the wilderness outside Antioch. Suddenly, the team of Bohemond and Raymond, who had returned from the autumn wind, were surrounded. When the two lords and knights saw the pagan troops approaching from all directions like a dense forest, they immediately fell into despair - when Bohemond Mondstadt requires all knights and armored sergeants. Mount your horse and set up your battle line. When attacking the approaching enemy, most of the knights actually refused to fight, on the grounds that the battle would be lost and there was no need to waste their lives.

So Bohemond had to ask that the armed pilgrim infantry line up with shields to first cover the cavalry breakout. As a result, when the two lords and the cavalry bravely pushed forward along the mountain road, countless infantry and looted property were thrown into the encirclement. When the Turks surrounded them with horses and arrows, the infantry instantly collapsed, threw down their weapons, and ran wildly along the valleys and cliffs - five hundred well-trained infantry were beheaded, and their weapons, flags and plundered trophies were taken away. All were lost, and the accompanying military servants or pilgrims and civilians were even more miserable. Nearly a thousand people were killed, and the rest were all captured by the Turks and made into slaves.

After learning the news, the mood around the altar became even worse. Lamentations, doubts, and panics arose incessantly. Now, instead of saying that they were besieging Antioch, it would be better to say that they were crucified in Antioch by Achish. To be sure, if there is no external assistance, if the various Turkic princes arrive in two or three months, their entire army will be destroyed, and no one will be able to escape alive.

"You have all failed again and again because of your laziness and arrogance!" At this moment, Ademar, wearing a gorgeous priesthood chapter, hit the altar with his cane and shouted loudly, and the whole crowd After a moment of silence, a lot of resentment broke out again. Robert and Stephen, among others, didn't understand why the priests would criticize them so harshly. It was obvious that everyone had made huge sacrifices.

But the priest raised the letter and said, "Gawain wrote that he had successfully contacted Prince Sven and was preparing to assemble all the troops to join the battle before Easter. And Baldwin, Lord Godfrey, and Invisible Friar Peter was also quickly mobilizing troops at the Syria Gate to come for reinforcements. In the Port Saint Simon area, it can be said that everyone else is doing their best to ensure that supplies are transported from the west to our military camp, but we are pushing and shoving each other close to the city, and some are taking advantage of various opportunities to collude with Italian businessmen. Hoarding and making dirty money from fellow believers!”

Speaking of this, Bohemond immediately felt that many eyes around him were turning towards him. Previously, he had reached a secret agreement with the Pisa merchant fleet to stockpile grain at the port, preparing to sell it at an opportunity to make huge profits; on the other hand, One-Eye Raymond also sank Without saying a word, he also had a ghost in his heart, but he was colluding with the Red Duck people, and their leader was a pirate named "Fisherman Henry". He also gathered a large amount of food at the port and planned to use Lord Raymond as his agent. People, everyone shares the income equally.

Soon the scene became chaotic and noisy, and the quarrels and accusations among each other started again. Ademar continued to bang on the altar with his crutch, and then issued an initiative, "I have gathered all the Catholic monks in the military camp and reached a cardinal's resolution together. We declare, and ask you collectively to do the same, that our famine, our defeat, our suffering are due to our many sins.”

At this moment, under the flags and altar, the lords and all the pilgrims knelt down and shouted in unison, "May Christ forgive our sins and forgive us, and our desire to restore the Holy Land for Him will never waver."

It seems that the priest is going to take the oath and reorganize the entire siege camp. (To be continued ~^~)