Eagle Byzantium

"His Royal Highness the Prince is willing to cede Castabala Castle and all the fields and pastures within fifty kilometers around it, and hand over the crown and surrender to the Grand Duke." Gorpan begged after coming to the Fei tent.

Gawain was sitting on a chair, with an eagle on his arm, pecking and tearing at the meat on the plate next to him. "I have promised to give up Castabala Castle to Baldwin Eustace, Earl of Adana. If you want Please go and discuss with Reuben, the representative of this area. He is near the city of Antioch at the moment. I can give you horses and weapons as a gift."

Gorpan did not expect that the Armenian kingdom had already been carved up by these gluttonous people on the dining table, but now he could only bite the bullet and continue the negotiation, "In this case, your highness, the Grand Duke, can do whatever you want. Negotiable.”

At this moment, the eagle suddenly opened its brown beak and screamed sharply, which made Gorpan tremble in fright. Then Gawain lowered his head and smiled, and blatantly made the condition, "I want Fanka City, please." Can we talk?”

"This is the capital city of His Highness the Prince and must not be discussed." Gorpan said with caution and a bit of indignation.

"Then there's no need to talk about it. I'll get it myself. Anyway, the whole of Cilicia has never been the territory of your Ani people. As for your prince, you have already committed numerous crimes against the pilgrims. I think this punishment is very reasonable. ." Gawain's hand rested lazily on the armrest.

"Then please do not attack the prince's camp and army during this period. I will go back as soon as possible to ask the prince for more conditions and negotiate with you, the Grand Duke." Gorpan retreated and asked. .

Gawain nodded and said in a very soft voice, "Within three days, our army will keep its promise and will never attack His Highness the Prince's camping ground. We will also please reply to the new peace terms as soon as possible." After saying that, he sent someone to bring the monk to the camp. Sent back.

As a result, Gorpan returned, which triggered a large-scale quarrel and quarrel in Reuben's camp: the prince asked the great nobles to give up some sacred land, or a territory with minerals to satisfy Gawain and save the entire army, but this None of the great nobles were willing to "take care of the country's urgent needs", and there was even a tragedy involving death and injury in a sword fight at the meeting.

Time passed quickly like this. Some Armenian nobles encouraged a desperate breakout, while others urged the letters to be sent out, causing Constantinople or Rome to punish Gawain for his violence. At the same time, in the red tent of the encirclement camp, Gawain placed Ajiehe's sundial in one corner of his desk and a clepsydra in the other corner, waiting quietly.

It wasn't until the next day that the little sunfish opened the curtain in high spirits and walked in without hesitation. She came all the way from the construction site of the waterwheel workshop: after hearing that the battle was about to start, she took the initiative and came immediately. , sitting on the seat below Gawain shaking his skirt,

"You brought the big Pulani cannon?" Gawain asked easily.

"Three seats, dismantled and transported in separate vehicles." Agnes said with her mouth tilted and her head tilted.

"After the shipment arrived, what was the reaction of the entire military camp?"

"Of course it was the roaring cheers that made me realize I had a nickname - certainly not the insulting nickname you gave me."

"oh?"

"The gray-haired female goddess of death." The nickname Agnes said proudly made Gawain laugh out loud.

"But to deal with Ruben's camping stone cannon, in addition to the big Plani cannon, we also need the kind. Have you drawn up the drawings?"

"Of course - but that kind of rock cannon requires more hands to control."

"This is not a problem." After Gawain finished speaking, he pointed to the document held up by the herald officer next to him. "I will recruit three thousand additional civilians from all over West Cilicia to serve as military servants."

"Excluding the needs of building fortifications and transporting food, this group of people is not enough to serve as temporary gunners, right?"

"Then ask my cavalry to go around the city of Kastabala to capture the people who belong to Reuben. In order to escape the war, they are hiding in the mountains and countryside - as long as you don't kill them and give them some food, With patient persuasion, of course there will be many people who will 'volunteerly cooperate' with our glorious and just cause." Gawain was not at all embarrassed by this issue - soon, three hundred knights were drawn from the entire army. Soldiers, carrying nooses, captured and captured Armenians on a large scale along the fifty-kilometer radius around the city of Kastabala. Four to five thousand people were captured in one day. Then, the brothers in the military camp The meeting gave them a brief "mobilization". Each person stuffed a burlap coat used by military servants, a food jar and the corresponding simple tools, and then began to work under supervision...

"I didn't expect that there would be so many of you Armenians." In the scarlet tent, Gawain, accompanied by Little Sunfish, said to General Orson in a mocking tone.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness, the Grand Duke. I am by no means an Ani. I am a standard Roman. I am from a relatively remote place. I live in a fortress adjacent to Alanya, but I am hiding from the Turkish invasion with the Ani people. He just fled to Cilicia." Orson hurriedly touched his chest and bowed in defense.

"Don't worry, don't worry. We will all be Romans from now on." Gawain hurriedly beat up and apologized for his gaffe, but he then said: Tomorrow he will send cavalry to advance along the entire Sanus and Philamis rivers to capture More Armenians came. "To me, these people are not only spoils of war, but also subjects that I will treat equally in the future. In the future, they will move collectively to Alamein Fort in the west to open up new land."

Then, Gawain looked at the little sunfish standing next to him, "Very good, there will be no shortage of manpower now. I will allocate you another five hundred soldiers to serve as gunners and trainers for the new shooting equipment. Anyway, it will not be possible to deal with Ruben." We need so many sword bearers.”

"Then I'll get ready." Agnes nodded cheerfully.

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At this moment, in the fields under the Castle of Barbaron, Dorus Lambert, who was appointed by Gawain and was also the son-in-law of the Orson family, was summoning the farmers who had finished the autumn harvest, accompanied by the brothers and guards. "It's still some time before the soil is sown again. Your time and wealth should never be wasted on idle gambling and playing for your wife and children. Earn more money, now you have a good opportunity - transport food to the front line for the Grand Duke, and each person will be given an extra 'status' (for your own enjoyment) during the working day, and will be given to you by the Renewal Society after you return from work. How about your share of 'rations' (for family members)? Those who don't want food can be converted into 'saffron' or silk cloth like the soldiers."

"We want rations!"

"We want saffron copper coins!" Such shouts suddenly appeared one after another.

Countless farmers tied grain bags or bundles of wood and other supplies, some on simple mule carts or donkey carts, and some directly on wheelbarrows (this technology did not exist in Western Europe at the time, and Byzantium and Persia), marching toward the front camp in a mighty manner.

However, there was also a pale Anselm in the team, riding a donkey. He went to persuade Gawain to turn back, "Because your attack on Ruben is without reason and cannot be approved by the Pope." .”(To be continued~^~)