Eagle Byzantium

You know, in the past, when Gawain went skiing, swimming, mountain climbing or hiking, he was always accompanied by beautiful women, and he had unlimited luck, but now, in front of him, there was an old man in tattered clothes.

This area is a border line where various forces intersect. There may be patrols from the Roman Empire, Byzantine Roman soldiers, Zahas's troops, and even more likely bandits and robbers.

So Peter and Gawain agreed with each other that Gawain would wear a headscarf commonly used by Crescent believers and lead the black mare, while Peter would walk behind him with a cane - if they met Turks, they would say that Peter was a pilgrim captured and enslaved by Gawain; but if they met Byzantines, they would say that Gawain was a follower who converted to Christianity and escorted the hermit Peter.

Fortunately, the snow blocked the mountain, and the continuous bad weather also made the patrol teams from all sides lose interest. They did not encounter any danger along the way and walked to the mountainous area near the city of Prusa, which was temporarily controlled by the Byzantine Roman emperor.

The two stood in the snow, in front of a dilapidated village, which was a common scene in Asia Minor. Farmers originally gathered around fertile orchards and wheat fields to form villages, but twenty years ago, the border defense of the Byzantine Roman Empire completely collapsed, and the Turks and Turkmens swarmed in like sand, turning everywhere into their pastures. War, looting and massacres destroyed the life of the towns and villages that were originally dotted here. Many farmers fled to the other side of the strait to make a living, and those who stayed behind also lived a life that was extremely worse than death.

But Peter and Gawain were even worse. The little food they had collected from the corpses had long been eaten up, and Peter had never taken out the half of the wheat bread hidden in the luggage roll. Gawain thought it should be used to save his life at a critical moment.

So the next thing was very simple. They were still dozens of miles away from Prusa City, but they could no longer hold on. They could only beg for alms, which was equally feasible for all monks in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad.

Peter sang the "Hymn to Saint Eulalie", which was really melodious and majestic. Gawain also followed behind with his mouth open.

"If I don't eat after singing this song, I will fall down and die of hunger." Gawain thought, his stomach was like a churning sea, and it was painful like a knife.

Fortunately, a few ragged villagers came out with rough plates and jars, inviting them to stand under the eaves of the village hall to avoid the rain and snow, and enjoy some "poor but they tried their best to get" food.

Several children followed Gawain, throwing pebbles and clapping their hands and singing, "The tall Varangian, who crossed seven rapids to come here to make a living, has no shoes, no clothes, and even no sheath for his rusty sword."

On the plate were some berries, acorns, chestnuts and the like, and in the jar was some goat milk. Gawain ate and drank a few mouthfuls, and then vomited again from his mouth and nose. He felt as if his entire abdomen was stuffed with several pieces of black iron, squeezing and stirring him so hard that he trembled all over! He held the porch column, his feet still stretched out in the snow, and his hands holding the plate and food kept shaking. The villagers around him talked about it, and they didn't know what they were talking about.

Peter looked at it and understood, and then stood up and said to the villagers, "My friend and brother hopes to eat hot food, otherwise his body can't stand it."

"I heard that the Varangians can eat anything raw. They use raw meat and raw fish with honey." A village elder looked at Gawain who was vomiting and shaking strangely, and said.

"Please find some hot food, please find some hot food! In return, I can paint a whole set of holy sermons on the painting board in the village chapel!" Peter kept bowing to the villagers and begging.

The elder shouted and took a few villagers to prepare some soup and meat, put them into pottery jars, and then they walked to a house with tiles at the entrance of the village, knocking on the door. Soon, a neatly dressed person came out from inside, standing arrogantly in the snow, looking at Gawain who was shivering under the eaves, and even his eyes began to turn red. He said a few words to the elder with contempt, and then the elder and the villagers half-knelt down, kissed the hem of the person's clothes and boots, and collected a few coins from their arms and handed them to the person. The person counted the number, then smiled contemptuously, took out the key and put it in the elder's hand.

The elder was overjoyed. He held the key and ran back to the front of the town hall, saying repeatedly, "Now we can have hot food." Peter was also full of joy. They walked to a house next to the hall, opened the door with the key, and rushed in. Then Gawain smelled the aroma of hot food. He tried to open his eyes and saw the smoke coming out of the chimney of the house.

Soon after, the two sat there, grabbing the cooked soup, mushrooms and wheat rice in the plate, eating with big mouthfuls, and eating until tears, sweat and snot flowed.

Now Gawain's stomach and intestines slowly recovered, and resumed their joyful and comfortable peristalsis. The heat in his body also returned, and he had the strength to explore this strange world. "Why is it so difficult to cook hot food?" Peter looked at him with a strange look, "Because you need a stove to cook hot food." The two seemed unable to communicate, and Gawain was even more puzzled, "Isn't there a stove?" "The stove and firewood are very expensive. There is only one in this village, and it belongs to the emperor." "Then that person?"

"The emperor has placed tax collectors in various villages. They are in charge of account books, tables and stoves. If we want to eat hot food cooked in the stove, we have to pay him money, and he will pay the tax to the emperor."

Hearing this, Gao Wen was silent and put down the plate in his hand. He didn't know how to speak or comment, and he couldn't look directly at the rough food on the plate. After a thousand years, the things you take for granted are all gifts from the ancestors on the pain and corpses, even a trivial stove - these villagers, day after day, year after year, eat cold raw food, engage in the most difficult labor, and have to endure the exploitation of the emperor's tax collectors. Even to burn a stove and eat hot food, they have to pay a month or even two months of labor remuneration.

A correct version in 16-9 Book Bar!

Peter crouched down and looked at him, as if he could see through him. "Keep eating until you finish it. We have to repay the villagers. I have already said that we will paint murals for the village church and draw some woodcuts for them to use as icons for celebrations."

"What can I do?"

"Go buy paint and cut out square or round woodcuts of appropriate size."

"Hmm..." Gawain agreed, then buried his head and continued eating until he ate all the food on the plate.