Eagle Byzantium

Although the emperor on the throne spoke very tactfully, Gawain, who knew the Roman official system, instantly understood the emperor's intention: he wanted to rely on the pilgrim army as his vanguard, but he also regarded it as a consistent priority to drive a wedge of infighting among them.

In theory, Gawain himself was appointed as the Grand Duke of the Armenian Military District by the emperor, so his route of advance was fixed: once he conquered Nicaea, he had to march to Paphlagonia in the north, followed by Trebizond, and Alexius' army would follow him and reap the benefits.

Doing so would have several benefits for the emperor. First, it would prevent Gawain from "hanging out" with the group of pilgrims, which would be absolutely beneficial to the safety of the empire. Second, he could take over the territory conquered by the Red Hand Company without spending any military supplies. Third, he could divide the pilgrims into two groups and march at the same time, one along the coast of Cilicia (other pilgrim lords) and the other to Paphlagonia (Gawain). The emperor could speed up the recovery of Asia Minor and rebuild the glory of the Roman Universal Empire in two ways at the same time.

However, the emperor's idea was very good, but all ideas had a premise: I have a diploma, so why should I listen to you? When I was in Bari, I pulled the flagpole myself. There is no reason for me to be governed by you in Asia Minor, the abyss that the dragon loves most. I am Sun Wukong, please use the Five Finger Mountain.

At this time, the eunuch walked up to Gawain, holding a plate in his hand, which contained the golden edict granting him his official title, as well as seals, medals, etc. "How about it, no small tools to take people's eyes?" Gawain took it, raised his forehead, and said to Nicodemia with a little irony.

"Now those things are outdated, and sometimes blood is not needed to solve problems." The bird laughed sinisterly. It seemed very sincere.

"I don't agree with bloodshed either." Then Gawain stood up and prepared to thank the emperor behind the curtain.

As a result, the emperor's figure stood up, and when he raised his hand, the servants hidden behind the pillars pulled the curtains open one by one until Gawain could see Alexius' figure, "You are not allowed to look into the emperor's eyes!" At this time. The guards standing in front roared at Gawain, but Alexius waved his hand to stop them, "No need to do this, Gawain has already seen me, and I just didn't see him clearly at that time."

As soon as the voice fell. Anna saw that Dido, who was sitting on the seat next to her, happily tapped the mechanism on the armrest...

There was a sound of birds chirping, and from behind the emperor, several strange things flew out and flew straight towards Gawain. Gawain reached out and grabbed one, and found that it was a very delicate mechanical bird. It was probably made of fine wood, metal, glass, etc., and it was still beating in his palm. The eyeballs were made of pure glass and printed with magnificent dome patterns.

Between the shaking curtains. Alexius smiled triumphantly and slapped his palms twice, and then the gauze curtain behind him was pulled open. Anna, who was still a little at a loss, did not react and was still sitting in her seat, but Dido next to her. She had already walked to her father's side in gorgeous clothes and wearing a crown.

"There is nothing to hide, so let's avoid the complicated etiquette between the courts. We should act in the mode of the Franks or Varangians. I want to marry my youngest daughter Dido to you, even though Dido was not born in the emperor's purple palace like Anna. But she is also the daughter of the noble Komnenos, and will never bury your origin. The official title and title just now are just the beginning." Alexius smiled, patted Dido's shoulder, and said to Gawain.

Gawain was stunned immediately. He looked at the so-called emperor's little daughter, who was even smaller than Anna. From the looks of her, she was really born by Komnenos. Combined with the excellent genes of his parents, her big eyes were also looking at him fieryly. Of course, Dido was different from Ingrina. The etiquette of the Roman princess regulated her, and she would not be as "open and unrestrained" as a widow. So after a few glances, Dido pursed her lips, revealing a shallow dimple, and intentionally turned her eyes to other places.

Then, Gawain looked through the middle of the emperor and Dido (because the emperor was much taller than his little daughter), and saw Anna who was still sitting on the seat, not knowing what to do...

Anna wanted to talk to him for a long time, but didn't dare to. Since the coup of the imperial Caesar failed, Gawain was naturally very clear about Anna's situation.

He felt a surge of hope to comfort and pity Anna. This "little deer" with brown eyes just sat there, his face flushed, and his fingers were constantly entangled with the laces on his clothes.

"Respected Princess." Gawain knelt down again, facing Anna.

But the emperor just continued to laugh a few times, "How about Gawain, such an honor, you won't turn a blind eye to it? You will also be a member of the Komnenos family in the future, and I can also consider letting you inherit a famous Roman noble family, so that there will be no rumors against Dido's marriage."

"Princess Dido is too young." Gawain answered in a hurry.

"What are you afraid of? Irene, Anna and Dido's mother, married me when she was twelve years old." It was obvious that the emperor could not accept this rebuttal.

Gawain rolled his eyes upwards and saw Anna sitting in her seat, quickly gesturing at him with her fingers, then pretending to look around, and then continued to plead, "But Gawain heard that the noble Princess Dido is only eleven years old this year. I am from the Varangian people, and the women in the Varangian people really don't get married so young."

"How do you know Dido is eleven years old? In this palace, ordinary people can't find out the age of the royal family." The emperor's eyes were sharp, and then he turned his head and looked at his eldest daughter who looked innocent behind him, his heart Zhong also knew the answer, "Dido can wait in the palace for a year, and marry you after Anna's marriage is over, because she is not a princess of the Purple Palace. I only need to send her across the strait, which will not delay your military conquest. Just pray to the Lord that you will not die or be injured in this year."

"Yes, yes... Your Majesty's kindness is appreciated, and I stand before the Lord and offer my body and loyalty to the glorious Komnenos family." Finally, Gawain, who could not resist, bowed down and thanked the emperor.

A correct version can be found in the 16-9 book forum!

Alexius and Dido, who was leaning against him, were very happy. Then the imperial inking officer handed the golden edict on the plate to the emperor. The emperor raised the gold-studded reed pen and quickly signed his name with purple ink. Then he handed it to Anna, "After all, you are Gawain's patron. Go ahead and sign it and put your fingerprints on it." Anna agreed, took a quick look at the edict, and then quickly put a few rows of fingerprints on it and passed it to Gawain. (To be continued ~^~)