Eagle Byzantium

After the defeat of Zara, Bertin's sphere of influence was expelled back to Serbia. Since then, he has worked hard to govern. Except for occasionally playing the "double-dealing" game with the previous Emperor Alexios, most of his time was spent on internal affairs and war preparations. . Especially when the city of Ragusa began to manufacture artillery and muskets, Bertin also had the foresight to form a musketry army.

The reason why he opposed peace talks with Gawain was that he knew that Gawain's backing was not in Constantinople, but in Asia Minor on the other side of the strait, which was the source of his power. In other words, it will take time for Gawain to integrate Thrace, and Macedonia and Bulgaria are full of old aristocratic forces that resist him. Now is the best time to incite resistance everywhere, even if it turns Thrace into a scorched earth!

This would at least make Gawain lose a firm foothold in the imperial capital and consume a considerable part of the resources generated by Anatolia. “Only by not giving Gawain time and maintaining the offensive on the Thracian lands can peace be achieved. Once he lets go, Gawain will look back. With enough food, he can open a mouth that is more powerful than all of us combined and swallow everyone in one fell swoop. Remember, he now has a population of five million, and his equipment, weapons and personnel are getting better. It will be as terrifying as a volcanic eruption."

But in the end, it was only the Venetians who agreed with Bourdin. Others either have their own affairs or are unable to do what they want.

In September, Gawain led the Red Hand Brigade and returned from the Golden Gate of the capital.

Many officials below the Prime Minister of the Empire, Burrill, lined up at the city gate to welcome him, "Father of the City, you must notice that although His Majesty the Emperor gained Thessaloniki during this expedition, he did not bring back many. He was captured, but he provoked many enemy counterattacks, and it was not a triumph. Except for a group of unarmed monks, he did not capture any enemies.”

"The Bulgarians are now outside the walls of Adrianople and they have sacked the border areas."

Several nobles raised their sleeves and whispered beside Burrill, discussing the gains and losses of the new emperor.

Burrill remained silent. He knew that many nobles and officials in the capital were worried and waiting. Because these people were familiar with the lessons of past history, they didn't know what this barbarian emperor could do. How many years will you last in the imperial capital?

However, a few days later, Gawain publicly took out a lot of gold from the palace in Gallipoli. Some of it was obtained from the monastery during the attack on the Ato Peninsula, and some was obtained from the city of Thessaloniki. He took it out of his treasury, paid the wages of the workers who renovated the Grand Palace, and rewarded all the soldiers.

After the news spread, the atmosphere in the entire imperial capital relaxed.

However, the Red Hand Brigade, the Nikka Brigade, and the Opushkin Brigade were soon sent to eat in the Prusa area on the other side of the strait, where grain reserves were more abundant. And only Gawain's Palace Guards were left in the imperial capital - Mikhail's Palace Guards were asked to go to Gallipoli, and together with Diognis's Guards Cavalry, they came to protect Basileus, Safety in Basilisa.

On the periphery, only the Guardian Brigade of Thessaloniki and the Hierapolis Brigade of Philipsburg remain. In Adrianople there is the new governor Birel, who has two thousand soldiers under his command. Many people in Si's old department want to choose an opportunity to defect to the enemy. As for Wizeburg, there are about a thousand old Thracian Plonian knights and their private soldiers who are ready to be reorganized. They are supervised by the "Royal Court Military Envoy" Algieli. Issues in terms of morale and loyalty are also very serious. big.

In the palace, Anna found her husband and said, "The situation is already very tense. The rebels have bypassed the defense line of the Evros River and are approaching Weize. Behind Weize is the imperial capital."

Gawain stood by the map table with his hands behind his back, looking back and forth twice. "There is a shortage of food and ammunition. The situation is very serious."

"We haven't moved into the new palace yet, so we have to abandon the imperial capital and retreat? There are now about 100,000 people in the capital, mostly craftsmen, servants, officials and nobles. There are also imperial guards and two brigades around who need food." Anna frowned. He raised his eyebrows, worried.

Gawain signaled her not to panic, "The worst case scenario is that all the people in the city will be thrown to the Bulgarians, and they will all starve to death in the coming year. We can take over the empty city and rebuild it easily..."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Anna blamed Gawain for still joking at this juncture.

"It seems that someone must be activated." Gawain's expression turned serious now.

"Who?"

"Dido's husband..." Gawain named this candidate.

"Him?" Anna still had some contempt and questions in her heart.

But soon the inner palace attendants took a boat across the strait and came to the city of Abydos. This is where Brenus and his wife work and live. Brenus is now the commander-in-chief of the Mysian Fleet Supervisory District, and his wife Dai Dido was the Lady in Purple, but Dido was resentful because she had the same status as Eudocia and Inglina, "Why do I, as the majestic Princess in Purple of Komnenos, be with two blond Varyags?" Women have the same status?"

But now the compliments and solicitations from sister Anna came: Brennus was promoted to the rank of Caesar. Now in the whole country, Mercolinus was considered retired, and he was the only one who held the position of Caesar. Moreover, Brennus was appointed as the "Grand Duke of the Academy of War", and was in charge of the grain, equipment, and fleet transportation affairs of Thessalonica, Constantinople, Prusa, Iconium, Tarsus, and Tripoli. Of course, Dido's share could not be forgotten. She was granted the power of "complete freedom to enter and leave the palace", and a title "Sebastocrata" was specially created for her, which was a mixture of the two titles of "great nobleman" and "Augusta" to show her uniqueness, and she was given a unique shawl and golden headdress to symbolize her identity. Even the couple's son, Theodore, now surpassed Gawain's illegitimate son and entered the rank of the superior.

Dido felt comfortable immediately and asked Brennus to accept this important appointment immediately.

Check the correct version in 16-9 Book Bar!

So Brennus had to take up the post and shoulder a heavier burden.

He went to Prusa and formed a capable staff, living in this important transportation hub between the east and the west. Then he issued orders independently of the country's tax process, sending special personnel to form an "office" to live in Iconium, Tarsus and Tripoli, and sent the order documents to Andeodate's tent on the front line of Tyre.

Andeodate then divided the fleet in the waters of Tyre into three teams according to the instructions of "Imperial Caesar" Brennus. Two teams maintained the siege, and one team followed a fixed route to purchase a large amount of food in Antioch and Jerusalem. King Baldwin was very generous and sold a lot of wheat to Gawain's fleet at a low price. Bohemond also rarely sold a batch at a fair price.

Then Brennus sent assistants to Cyprus and Tarsus, who, in exchange for reducing commodity taxes, forced all merchant ships bound for Constantinople and abroad to use a quarter of their cargo holds to transport purchased grain and fodder to the Golden Horn.