Eagle Byzantium

On the northeastern ridge of the Sanukh Highlands, countless large infantry spears slowly rose, accompanied by the steady pace of the returning brigade soldiers and the rhythmic sound of drums. In fact, many of them struggled to persist in showing off, because the previous spear assault on Trabzon's three major phalanxes had exhausted most of the people's physical strength. Many soldiers in the queue stumbled. It's just the will that exists that keeps the spear from falling.

But the condor just appeared and cast its shadow on Gawain's body, which made the heart of David, the builder of the King of Georgia, feel as if he had sunk to the bottom of an icy black lake.

David was arrogant, but also superstitious. For example, he always believed that the eagle-shaped birthmark on his shoulder was passed down from generation to generation. It was a symbol of the legal system of his family's rule over the entire kingdom. As for the giant eagle that just flew from the Caucasus peaks, there is a very clear conclusion among Persia, Georgia and even the Turks who entered later. That is, this eagle is sacred. Whoever its shadow falls on will You will have omnipotent victory and unparalleled power.

The man named Gawain on the other side is really favored by God!

At this moment, David's defeat was doomed, but he was unwilling to even put up a slight resistance - Holy Oak Mentor George pulled the reins of the pale-faced King - and he was about to turn around and leave.

George gritted his teeth and warned in a low voice, "Theodoro has fought hard and died. If you leave the battlefield like this, then the royal family will lose its rule over the entire country, and the future scene will be like the snow melting on the peaks of the Caucasus. Turn into a flood and completely wash away all the roots of your power from Kutaisi to Shirvan.”

David's head was drooped under the crown. He lost his original high-spiritedness. He shrank his neck, his beard and lips trembled as if he had a fever. His eyes wandered, and finally he turned his head as if he wanted to explain something to his mentor. , but there is nothing to say.

At the same time, all the artillery of the Tarsus army on the Sanuh Highlands began to roar and fire one by one. David was surprised, and then he saw the soldiers around him start to commotion and scream - "The enemy's flag has been raised on the main castle of Kars, it has fallen!"

The sad king twisted his neck, raised his forehead and looked back.

Thick smoke billowed from the main tower on the west side of the city of Kars. It was indeed what the soldiers said. It was attacked from the west sluice gate by a small group of elite Tarsus men. The commander was none other than Diogenes.

On the remaining three walls of the fortress, General Branas was commanding two brigades of troops to bravely climb and attack the fortress, but they were also crumbling. There were few defenders in the city who still imagined that they could be saved.

The first to collapse were the 3,000 Ani soldiers in Chiarte Town. After they saw that the fall of Kars was a foregone conclusion, they abandoned their positions to the Haddadi-Shirfan coalition. The entire army collapsed completely, no matter what. This team fought so bravely before, but it suddenly collapsed at this moment. Some people walked out of the fortifications and surrendered, while more people fled with General Zacharias.

About an hour later, the entire city of Kars fell, and General Mahadzeri was captured in the tower by the soldiers who invaded the city.

When he was tied up and escorted down, he happened to see Diognis standing outside. "You are indeed a traitor." The general was furious.

"No, this castle should have been returned to the Romans or Armenians." The guard replied.

"We are Ani people too!" Mahadzeri shouted.

"You are not, you are just a group of mercenaries under the wings of the tyrants of Georgia or Babylon (Egypt)." The guard's words were actually very sharp, leaving Mahadzeri speechless.

Before the main castle of Kars was lost, the Georgian army had begun to be completely defeated. The soldiers marched from different valleys and gorges: some towards Kutaisi, some towards Tbilisi, and some towards Roy and several other places. They fled in different directions, and thousands of troops fell apart, as if they were in a dream without a trace, because their king escaped with his guards first.

The victorious Gawain led countless red-handed cavalry against the setting sun and rushed into the builder David's camp behind Chakmak Mountain. There, Gawain dismounted and walked into the camp and saw the map sand table that David had used previously. , it also marked how to attack his front, and there was a golden eagle-headed scepter lying across the table.

Gawain grabbed it and lifted it up. It was heavy and seemed to still have the residual warmth of the Georgian King's hand. It is not difficult to imagine that in the early morning of this morning, the king was still holding an eagle staff and giving orders to the entire army, but now his situation is not much better than that of a bereaved dog.

"Phylactus, write down my order. Let Bellerophon's Brigade go northwest from the city of Kars, break through the pass between the Pontus Mountains and the Caucasus, and attack Trabzon; the Red Hand Brigade and Ji The Magis brigade was led by me personally, and Haddadi's army took the lead, heading north of Kars and directly towards Kuta. Isi City; Branas's Guardian Brigade, led by the Sylvan Army, went east, demanding that Ani, Duin, Roy and other places surrender to me because I just achieved a great victory here. You should submit to my will and accept all my arrangements like a wife and concubine serving her husband.”

After the confidential officers recorded everything and turned away, the soldiers escorted the captured Mahadzeri.

As a result, Gawain just turned around and looked at him contemptuously, and then ordered the soldiers to take him out and give him to the leader.

Then the scene of the Seljuk Turks sweeping across here forty years ago was repeated, but this time the protagonist was the army of Tarsus. The city of Ani, which once boasted of having a thousand apostolic churches, was the first to surrender to the detachment of Branas and handed over the city gate keys and power. Then it was Duin. When Branas arrived at the city of Roy in the north half a month later, the city surrendered without any hesitation. The entire Black Lake (Lake Selvan) area belonged to Gawain. Gawain specifically instructed Branas to send a detachment to occupy the mountain fortress called Pabos, because it had the best and richest silver mine (this silver mine is located halfway along the trade route from Trebzon to Tauris, and Marco Polo's Travels specifically mentioned it).

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Because Gawain now felt that the entire country had developed to this point, and it was no longer possible to adapt to the economic and military expansion by simply minting copper coins "Saffron". He needed to occupy the silver mines in Greater Armenia and the gold mines in Trebizond, and then issue a large number of copper and silver (most of the silver coins in the Middle Ages were added with copper, not so pure) mixed coins, so that he could more effectively control the trade economy of the Levant - after all, everyone urgently needed a better coin to fill the gap after the collapse of Constantinople.

"Can't let Venice take the lead like this." This is Gawain's voice.

At the same time, Diogenes, who gained great fame in the battle of Kars City, led the Bellerophon Brigade to break into the east of Trebizond; and generals such as Melo and Oson also broke through the New Caesarea Gate and appeared in the west of Trebizond - then the two armies advanced against each other and soon besieged the richest and most important city on the south bank of Euxen.