Eagle Byzantium

So soon, the guards of Castabala were horrified to see that the Roman technology of more than 500 years ago had been revived before their eyes: Agnes ordered the craftsmen to fix four ships on both sides of the Feramis River with ropes and stone anchors, and then installed a downward-firing water wheel in the middle with an ingenious design. The water wheel was driven by the impact of the water of the Feramis River from upstream, and then each drove the stone mills on the ships on both sides. Each ship had four stone mills, all rotating rapidly, and a large amount of wheat could be ground into flour every day.

Gawain ordered that as long as the farmers in his Sicilicia and even Adana delivered a certain amount of military rations and wheat to the military camp, they would not only be paid for their support, but also be able to grind their share of wheat into flour for free and take it back. In this way, the whole land came to visit such a shocking miracle, and the team of farmers who came to grind flour was like an ant colony.

When the guards witnessed the miracle, they saw the horror again: seven huge plani cannons were set up, and they were visible to the naked eye just over a thousand feet away. In front of each of them, earth ramparts were dug and inserted with rafts of wood, and cavalry teams filled in to serve as guards. Then, the bombs continued to hit the walls and towers of Castabala Castle, smashing them into pieces and crumbling. When the guards suffered heavy casualties, Gawain personally presided over the distribution of captured materials from Prince Reuben's camp in the military camp in front of the big plani cannon:

Originally, according to Andeodat and Wright's estimates, in addition to combat supplies, the dead prince's camp also had enough baggage and property worth 70,000 Byzantine gold coins, but the Grand Duke thought it was too troublesome to distribute the physical objects, so he found the Kurramite Chamber of Commerce in Seleucia (mixed Gawain called the heretic Saracens, who were bloody, and asked them to pay 56,000 cash, and then packed up all their things (except weapons, armor and war horses) and took them away. There were two benefits to this. First, Gawain used the 20% discount to enrich his own chamber of commerce. Second, he also obtained a large amount of cash, which he distributed to the lords who came to the army and his own team. After distributing the cash, Gawain distributed the seized weapons, war horses, armor, leather hats and leather boots. Among them, Adana and the Normans received generous rewards.

After dividing the spoils, Gawain was going to kill people: in the previous siege, four Adana soldiers and eleven Norman soldiers (mostly hired from the local area) ignored the constraints and secretly left the team to go back to the local area to harvest wheat. Gawain asked Andeodat to read out the punishment decision in front of all the military camps, and then hanged them all in public. Neither Earl Burke nor Earl Richard dared to protect them.

After rectifying the military discipline, Gawain used the Guardian Brigade and the Gimages Brigade as the main force, and added the teams from the servants to attack the city of Castabala in turn. As for the Red Hand Brigade and the Jinat Cavalry, they were split up and, as mentioned above, went to sweep the territories guarding the Kingdom of Reuben.

A month passed slowly, and it snowed in Cilicia. Anna, the widow, and the Saint Sister all sent letters of concern and inquiry. Gawain's beard was not shaved by anyone, so he called Muzafiadin, but the cunning Turkish military servant was reluctant. "Master, I did help you shave your beard before, but now I dare not. Who would want to eat boiled cowhide after eating tender lamb meat?" Gawain had no choice but to look at Dim Goliath, who was guarding the door of the tent back and forth, and the long-handled hexagonal hammer he was carrying, and he gave up the idea of ​​calling him.

In the end, it was the little sunfish who shaved the Grand Duke's beard... No matter what, the little sunfish agreed. Now she regarded him as a teacher, right? Although many of the experiences he taught were depraved.

"The snow fell more heavily over the Taurus Mountains, and this one only slightly covered the wild land and wheat fields." After finishing, Agnes rubbed the razor on the leather belt, looked at the brown beard stuck on it with some resistance, and then hurriedly threw it into the hot water basin.

"Well, Taurus?" Gawain stared at the file in his hand, carelessly. "Taurus" is the high and steep mountain range in the north, and it is also the name of Reuben's uncle (the original lord of Samosata, who was later killed by Tancred), and it is also the name of Reuben's son.

"Actually, Big Brown Bear, you want to execute Reuben's family and all the nobles, right?" Seeing that there was no one around, Agnes suddenly asked such a question.

Gawain was stunned for a moment, then remained noncommittal, "Isn't this good? This completely eliminates the hidden dangers of my future rule over the mountainous areas of northeastern Cilicia. I have worked so hard and spent so much effort, not to make wedding clothes for others."

"Is this really good? I mean, if you kill all the nobles, who will manage your territory and tribute for you?" Agnes was a little excited.

Gawain, who was still sitting calmly on the chair, was very patient with the girl. He smiled and raised his hand and said, "You are really confused, little sunfish. You saw the attitude of the nobles in the surrender ceremony before. They have no moral integrity at all. There is absolutely no benefit in keeping them. Now I have finally captured them, and I will not let them go. As for the issue of managing the territory, I naturally have a plan. Little sunfish, remember this sentence, who will manage it is not a problem, the key is whether they obey me, this is the problem. If I want to eradicate the previous aristocracy, it is actually a very simple matter, that is, to give birth to and support a new aristocracy, an aristocracy willing to be loyal to me. Wasn't it the same when Ginat rebelled? I slaughtered all the military nobles in Seleucia. Now this territory is also very developed. Are you afraid that no one will grow wild leeks?"

"Will I be a new noble in Lesbos in the future?" Little Sunfish asked with a frown. The big manor and the women's college in her dream must not be turned into dust.

"Of course, you are not only a new noble, but also a family member of Anna and me." Gawain answered without hesitation, "Okay, let's take a look at the siege equipment and the defense of Castabala..."

At the port of Malus on the southern peninsula of the County of Adana, Sapphobel on the pier was shocked. Poor him, he just learned today that Reuben's camp was attacked and the whole army was wiped out, and Gawain and the Normans jointly invaded and exterminated the Kingdom of Armenia Minor. "Damn it, he clearly received the order of the Greek emperor to go to Cappadocia! You mean, Prince Reuben has died in the battle, and his nobles and troops have all been captured? No, I want to go back and force Gawain to release all the nobles, because this is a sinful act that completely ignores the authority of the Holy See."

After saying that, Sapphobel rode on his donkey without any delay, and did not get on the hired ship before, carrying many boxes, and went straight to the direction of Castabala with servants and guards.

But when the Archbishop of Pisa just arrived in Mamistrella, the castle that Gawain besieged had already fallen: his army concentrated on knocking down the wall three days ago, and then sent a death squad to climb up and occupy it. The soldiers of the two brigades took the opportunity to attack separately. General Mamikonian led the team to counterattack, but was defeated in front of the corner tower. Then they fought in the hunting park in the city and were defeated again. Then the two armies fought in front of the Acropolis. Mamikonian was defeated for the third time and fled into the Acropolis. He was killed by his subordinate named Parni in a blink of an eye. Then Parni and the remaining guards surrendered together.

After seeing Mamikonian's head, Gawain said with relief, "I can finally hand over this huge fortress to my most beloved wife, Godhild, as a godfather and a gift for her unborn child." (To be continued ~^~)