Eagle Byzantium

So after resting for a day, Alexios adopted the advice of the Turkic slaves and divided the 20,000 troops and horses and all military servants and civilians into four parts. One part was built with soil, the other part was harvesting reeds or seaweed, and the other part was using screws. and tankers to drain water, and one to stick to the camp.

Gawain ordered all the besieging troops to go around the city wall of Alamein Castle and dig two trenches, both far and near, ten feet deep and eight feet wide. They would insert forks, thorns and thorns in between, and the construction would be done day and night in shifts. , all the infantry put down their weapons, picked up shovels and dug into the soil endlessly under the sun and moon, while the cavalry formed a battle line and supervised and protected from behind.

When Alexios' staff and generals saw this, they all laughed at Gawain's army: "The construction of the trenches is extremely time-consuming and laborious, and is a tactic used to siege the castle for a long time. By then we will have already drained the swamps and laid the embankments. The army will rush in and attack, and Gawain will never be able to resist it."

"Be prepared for Gawain to turn back the two brigades from the Syrian Gate. It's time to engage in diplomatic tactics and sign a temporary truce with the Danishmund chieftains to recognize their occupation of eastern Paphlagonia. , and then drew out 10,000 soldiers from the Bithynia area to strengthen this place. In addition, he asked Xiaoniao to inform all the Italian city-states in the imperial capital. Consul, they are strictly prohibited from providing any ships to Gawain, whether for transportation or fighting. Once they are found to be secretly assisting the rebels, all their warehouses and workshops in the imperial capital will be destroyed, and all merchants and employees will be executed." In the purple royal tent, the emperor placed his diamond-encrusted sword in front of him and continued to issue instructions to all parties.

Soon, a small boat floated in the swamp with a small flag on it, indicating that it was coming for peace talks. The leader reported to the emperor that he was the acting heraldry officer of the Grand Duke.

"There is no such thing as a grand duke. I have completely deprived Gawain of his title as a traitor, and I am not prepared to negotiate with him!" The emperor was furious, but in the end he invited the heraldry officer in, because Prince John had previously In Miliocephalon, I once met the so-called Seleucia heraldry Andodat. I deeply hated this guy with the mushroom head of a monk, so I deliberately wanted to humiliate him, so I asked my father to allow this person to see him. .

But what came was not a mushroom head at all, but a pretty flashy-faced boy who came in with a cat-like waist and a naturally pleasing smile. When he saw the majestic Alexios sitting on the purple cloth throne, With Prince John beside him and the Queen of Ceremonies beside the emperor, their faces were full of exaggeration. With such an expression that he couldn't help himself, he knelt down deeply on the ground. It was hard to tell whether this was a false sentiment or the true meaning. "Your Majesty, the great, supreme, wise, the thirteenth Holy Apostle Emperor in the world, I, I finally finally To be able to see your face, this feeling of admiration is simply heartfelt!”

"It should be 'over the top'!" Maopoulos and many imperial staff beside John corrected the Sicilian country bumpkin's lack of knowledge and skills with disgust and disdain.

"Yes, it's beyond words." Wright didn't show any anger at all. He thanked everyone with a flattering smile on his face. Then the emperor sat on the throne, raised his hand and made a majestic voice, "As soon as possible Tell your master what he thinks, while he can still speak before he is destroyed."

"Yes, yes!" Wright's head was like a chicken pecking at rice, and then he crawled forward, holding the letter of his master Gawain in his hand, and presented it to the hand of a sword-wielding palace guard beside the emperor. After it was no longer poisonous, it was handed into the hands of Alexios.

“(Blank one space) His Majesty, the Vicar of Christ on earth, the true Holy Apostle, and the Emperor of the Roman Empire.

Grand Duke of Anatolia, your servant Stephen Gawain was so frightened that he could hardly write with fear and humility towards the Lord and the Holy Apostles. The text - previously, because Hugh, the brother of the King of France. The unprovoked murder of Capet caused some minor conflicts between the entire pilgrim camp and His Majesty. Following the instructions of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Bohemond de Tver, I hope to attack His Majesty's territory to urge Your Majesty to hurry up. A supportive attitude toward pilgrims was restored. Because of the previous rebellion in Cilicia and the war in Antioch, many pilgrim lords were full of disgust and hatred for the names Kallegos and Titicius. If such traitors are not removed, His Majesty and The rift among the Pilgrims will be difficult to mend. This is also the reason why my servants used troops against Alamein. Now I never expected that a small disciplinary war would actually alert your majesty to personally lead the army. Here, my servants sincerely advise that your majesty had better not risk it yourself. Yaishi clearly supported traitors such as Kallegos and Titicius, which only confirmed the suspicion of the empire among pilgrims from all over the world, triggered by the "murder of Hugh". Now the war has lasted for more than ten days, and both sides have suffered injuries. The servants are willing to withdraw from the army and take the lead in expressing their sincerity in the peace negotiation. They also implore His Majesty to return to the Royal Capital of Luang. The war will be called off, and Alamein Fort will continue to exist as a middle ground. In addition, I hope that your majesty will take the "Five Articles of Antioch" seriously. If your majesty can understand the general purpose of the pilgrimage, your servants will do your best to mediate and bring Seleucia and Cilicia to peace as soon as possible. and Antioch, to be restored to His Majesty's hands in due time.

In the name of Christ, your servant, the unparalleled and loyal Archduke of Anatolia, Stephen Gawain”

The core content of Gawain's seemingly humble but actually arrogant letter is: I have not rebelled against the empire or the emperor. On the contrary, in order to maintain the overall cooperation between Your Majesty and the pilgrims, I resolutely launched a just war against Pamphylia and Alaman, just to "clean up the court". Now if Your Majesty does not understand my good intentions, then Bohemond will not return Antioch. This situation is not what you and I want to see.

After reading it, the emperor had a blank expression on his face and passed it to John for review. After reading it, John passed it back to his father. Then Alexius waved at Wright, who was kneeling on the carpet with a smile on his face, and said, "Flog him thirty times with a whip."

At first, Wright hugged his knees, curled up, and shouted, "Don't hit me, I just recovered from my injury." Later, he could only hold his head and dodge, shouting, "Don't hit my face, don't hit my face, that's my capital."

However, the emperor did not seem to really want to cripple the envoy. After all, he represented the supreme Roman Empire. Alexius just threw the letter on the ground, stepped on it a few times with his boots, and then kicked it in front of Wright. "Go back and tell your dying master that the donkey with a spiked saddle tied in front of the imperial arena is waiting for him. In the future, he will be accompanied by Bohemond, Godfrey, Gillicki, and Baldwin." (To be continued ~^~)