Eagle Byzantium

The hall was full of dancing and drunken people. When Tancred walked in, all the Normans and Armenians burst into loud cheers for him and raised their glasses to congratulate him on conquering a huge and rich fortress and marrying a man. Beautiful and lovely bride.

Tancred himself was also a little dazed, perhaps because he had used too much force on Mesander on the couch just now. When he stood in front of the wall of the hall, the torch shone on the mirror embedded inside, reflecting his figure. His face was slightly red, and he raised his hand. He drank his own wine glass, as if congratulating himself: "Raul, now I have occupied the entire Marash mountains, and there are tens of thousands of Armenian elite soldiers willing to be loyal to me. They will soon By guiding my uncle's thousands of troops here, not only will I not have to rely on those two bastards Gawain and Baldwin, I will also be able to occupy the city of Antioch in advance and cut off the tentacles of Gawain and Baldwin's influence - wait for me Raoul will definitely tear off Gawain's head in the future - I have vowed that I will surpass him in ten years. Now there is still half the time, so my sword will be invincible!"

Suddenly, in front of him, the bald Paxade, wearing a cloak, knelt down, followed by his son Heracles, who also made the same movement. Tancred asked why.

"We, father and son, have followed you all the way from Nicaea, conquering east and west, and our achievements must be appreciated by you and Lord Bohemond. Please give us and our son a castle, preferably in the mountains of Maras." ” Pak Ade said bluntly.

At this statement, the Armenian nobles from Marash, as well as the commander of Tubersena, Feir, and the commander of La Vodra City, Kusus, immediately reacted very loudly and made an uproar, "Shut up Paxad, You must find out where you are, you are just a wandering noble mercenary and you are trying to claim the castle from you?"

For a moment, Tancred didn't know what to do and could only stay where he was with his glass of wine. He really didn't consider that the Parkards and his son were following him all the way, making suggestions and fighting, and of course they would not be selfless. They just want appropriate compensation, just like the Turkic mercenary Osdu, who handed the Acropolis to me, but also asked for a full 10,000 Byzantine gold coins.

So Park Ade was confident and unyielding, despite countless criticisms. He always knelt there and insisted that the Norman young general give him a suitable fortress.

"My loyal comrades, how about this. After I collect the tribute from Marash and Samosata, I will give you and your son fifteen thousand gold coins like Ostu did. You can buy a beautiful building." Castle." Tancred resigned. So promised.

Hearing this, Hercules quietly struck his father on the back, indicating that he would consider the matter further. There is no need to be too anxious and persistent. The bald man also understood and expressed his gratitude to Tancred for his kindness. As long as he had the reward money, he and his son would definitely continue to serve the Norman regime with their troops and horses after purchasing the castle.

Seeing that this problem was solved, Tancred was filled with pride. He immediately raised his wine glass and said to everyone, "The fortress of Samosata is in my hands. When the troops of Turkic pagans and unbelievers on the other side learned of this, they all retreated. The gate to the Holy Land is facing us. Opened! And the commander of Edessa, Barak, also sent a letter, saying that he was willing to sacrifice his city. Next, I entrusted Brad, Estu and Pakade to lead the army to continue towards Edessa. push, pull Remove the Turkic fortresses along the way and open the road to Edessa." Then he turned to his relative Richard and said, "Please send a fast horse to deliver a message to my uncle and the Priest of Ademar - -They no longer need to go through the Cilicia Gate and act according to the eyes of Gawain and Baldwin. Instead, they can take the mountain roads of Caesarea and Marash and meet me here. Not only can they get supplies from the Armenians, but they can also Can take Antioch!"

Early the next morning, several cavalrymen carrying secret mail bags rode fast horses through the canyons and wilderness among the Maras mountains. Various shrubs, flowers and plants passed quickly behind them. Heraclea left.

About a day and a half ago, when the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in the camp had just arrived at the city of Caron and were preparing to go to the Cilicia Gate and then join forces with Gawain and Baldwin in Tarsus, Tancred's messenger Arriving just in time, he brought such news.

Ademar did not dare to neglect and immediately held an emergency meeting to discuss the route issue.

There is no doubt that the meeting was once again divided into two camps with clear-cut flags:

Bohemond, Robert of Normandy, and of course Raymond, were unwilling to take the smooth road of the Adana to Antioch;

Godfrey, who was injured and lying on a stretcher, did not hide his preference. Anyway, I was going to Cilicia. If I took the mountain road in Caesarea, my injuries might worsen and die in the bumpy road halfway. Side by side with Godfrey were the noble Hugh, brother of the King of France, and the common pilgrims of Peter the Monk;

Stephen of Blois and Robert of Flanders acted as mediators, but reason told these two: In any case, taking Cilicia is the safest and most secure route. Not only are there no enemies along the way, but there are also castles with rich supplies. Provide supplies.

"If you take the Caesarea Mountain Road, it is rugged and difficult. Horse feces will be excreted together and mixed with human breath, which will cause more horses to get diseases." Robert of Flanders was worried.

"Don't those Armenian lords provide us with supplies?" Bohemond said arrogantly, as if from here to Edessa and Antioch, everything was his private territory.

"I, when I saw Gao Gawain's face, I felt unpleasant." Raymond from Provence also echoed, with a very fierce attitude.

So Ademar was helpless. Although he was the chief of the Council of Cardinals and the agent of the Holy See of the Pope, he basically had no decision-making power in the face of this group of lords and warlords when it came to marching and decamping - since Raymond He said, "If we want to go to Caesarea, that's all we can do." Then we will march in separate ways. Those who want to go through the mountains of Caesarea will follow Bohemond, and those who want to go through the Cilicia Gate will follow. Lord Godfrey."

Soon, under the Taurus Mountains opposite the city of Caron, the huge army of pilgrims "parted ways" - about 80,000 people, including Stephen of Blois and Robert of Flanders (the two met Ademar Following Bohemond and Raymond (who had no choice but to stand over), they marched towards the city of Caesarea; while the rest, close to 40,000 people, including 15,000 soldiers and more than 20,000 civilians, followed With Godfrey, Hugh and the hermit Peter, they rolled towards the gorge passage of the Cilicia Gate. (To be continued ~^~)