Eagle Byzantium

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On the sea outside the small town of Lepanto, Amalfi people on several Pilomon rowing boats were constantly stretching out of the city towards the sea, throwing stones and burning firecrackers on the towers made of rocks. , thick smoke billowed everywhere, and the momentum was very strong.

The grief-stricken Tancred, as soon as he was carried onto the Norman rowing longboat, rushed out of the water gate and fled towards his hometown. Two of the boats that were late were all captured. The Byzantine troops that rushed in captured it.

There were one hundred Norman knights who came to penetrate into Cademia, and they brought with them nearly three hundred Calabrian light soldiers. Thirty-one of the knights were killed and twenty-five were killed. Most of the prisoners captured by Gawain's army and those who escaped with Tancred were injured and in dire straits. As for the auxiliary Calabrians, they were even more damaged, and most of them turned into foreign ghosts in the Greek wilderness. .

Now it was Gawain's turn to stand majestically under the high platform under the city of Lepanto, looking at the Norman prisoners sitting under him. Their chainmail and helmets were all stripped off, and they were killed by the mixed-race Tecopo, whom they despised most. The mercenaries stood guard and said, "I will not kill you. I will ask Bohemond to hand over the ransom." Ten solid gold coins per person, but I don’t want your monarch’s Norman money, I want authentic Frank sous (sou, silver coin), one is equivalent to fifteen sous, I will calculate it for you, that is, one hundred sous per person Fifty sous must be paid in one month, otherwise you will all be executed."

Then, he turned and asked the governor whether the wealth looted by the Normans had been carried away by their remaining soldiers.

"Most of them are not available. In the warehouses of Lepanto and the Pereira fortress on the other side, there are about four to five thousand coins of various values, as well as dozens of fine war horses. There are also no stables in this city. There was no time to take them away - they left in such a mess, Norman's Bandits, go back to your dens!" After saying the last sentence, even Diogenes couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart and shouted, and then all the Byzantine soldiers present sang along, including the Normans present. The prisoners all lowered their heads in hatred.

Yes, although this was only a small victory against Norman, it meant much more to many people, especially Diognis. For thirteen years, he had never been able to recover from Durazzo's nightmare. He came out of it, and now he felt lucky and proud. Compared to Bifalov, Diognis suddenly felt all over his body again. The fighting spirit was ignited: follow Gawain, first go to Italy to defeat the Normans, regain the governorship of Bari and Sicily, then return to Asia Minor, annihilate the treacherous Sultan of Cornea, and regain the territory of the entire empire - the former Stabler George was It was selfish, so he failed, but I, Diogenes, will persevere to the end.

However, do we really have to accomplish such a great feat under the hands of a barbarian with ulterior motives like Gawain?

Soon, the officer was caught in a painful contradiction.

But Gawain didn't seem to notice his demeanor at all. Instead, he commanded left and right, arranging and coordinating everything, "Write letters to His Majesty the Emperor and the Imperial Caesar at the same time to congratulate the victory, telling them that Gawain has recovered Lepanto and Perret." Pull, and protect the barrier of the imperial capital, and your tone must be very humble. "

Although these two small seaport towns facing each other are not large in size, they are definitely choke points. Gawain's good news quickly followed the empire's land and sea routes and quickly headed towards Constantinople, and then on the road, Interspersed with Anna's letters and gifts to Corinth.

Gawain deliberately separated the two letters by one day, so it was Macaulinus who got the good news first. After a little rectification, he quietly sent a private messenger to inform Queen Irene of Brahenari. The undercurrent in Kuai Palace surged.

Queen Irene and Caesar then instigated their trusted court officials to advise Alexios: A man with great literary merit should be promoted to a higher rank and position, given the title of First Military Judge, and appointed as the acting administrator of the Governor-General of Bari (although this Governor-General had long been No more).

But soon, the deputy queen mother Marlena found the younger brother of Isaac and almost simultaneously advised Alexios: At this moment, the small group of bandits in Norman had been repelled, and the water and land passages had been opened, and the emperor should be appointed. Serve as the commander-in-chief personally, or your Majesty personally conduct the expedition, go to the Peloponnese region to wipe out Zahas's forces, and by the way, return Gawain's army to the battlefield of this expedition.

The purpose of Isaac's suggestion is obvious. He hopes to serve as the commander-in-chief of the expedition against the Turkic Zahas. He wants to take advantage of this victory to not only destroy Zahas, but also annex Gawain's men and achievements.

The only one who is really immersed in the dream of victory seems to be Anna in the small bedroom. She is worried about it and does not know whether Gawain has received her letter or heard her congratulations and heartfelt wishes. She can only lie on the table and continue. Writing the letter, hoping that it could truly put on the winged boots of the pagan god Mercury, break through the fog of the ocean and the darkness of the valley, and deliver it to Gawain's hands, Anna imagined: With the sound of bugles, In Tian's camp, the tall Stephen Gawain sat with his knees on a rough stool. Next to him was a dozing military servant. There was boiling broth in the pot. The soldiers outside were escorting the barbarian prisoners of war. The Earl The commander roughly tore open her secret letter with a dagger, leaning his chin as he listened to the scribe reading. Then he smiled under his brown beard, the kind of proud and rough smile he felt after learning the eldest princess's thoughts.

"What the hell am I doing, and what does it matter..." Anna sometimes felt embarrassed after thinking wildly, so she lay on the table and stared at the eyes that were getting bigger and bigger. Blurred candlelight.

"The First Military Judge is just a false title. I can give it to him as much as he wants. If he doesn't have one, I can use my flexible Greek to make one for Gawain at any time." Alexios, who was handling official business in the palace, didn't take it seriously. , "As for Isaac's request, no - Gawain's men are heading to Amalfi. It would be better if they can rescue the siege. If not, that's fine too..."

Then, the emperor said to the imperial ink officer, "In this way, Gawain will be given the official title of 'Arconis of the Lombard Company', as well as a hundred pieces of four-threaded Corinthian silk and satin, and urge him to hand over 70% of the royal trophies and 30% of them." Give it to him for his own use and continue to advance into Italy. As for Isaac, I also gave him the position of commander in the expedition to Sucate and told him to do a good job this time and not lose to Gawain."

Then, with a mischievous smile, the emperor gently cut off the excess candles with scissors, "Keep going, Gawain. I want to see how far you can go."

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When the imperial ink officer Melais was drafting the edict, he was a bit dumbfounded: "Arconis" is the title of the imperial barbarian mercenary commander. The emperor gave him this title, and the meaning is very clear: Stephen Gawain, you will always be nothing more than a mercenary commander. People in the outer circle of the empire have no advantageous position based on blood and origin. Then, Melais used his imperial seal to stamp a purple signature on the imperial edict written in purple ink very hard.