Bologna is a crazy city!

Any pilgrim and adventurer who comes here will exclaim, even if they have seen the most prosperous city in the world.

Angus had seen a city in the middle of the water, a vast city, a city in a perilous location, but he had never seen a city that was constantly growing upward.

Rome is known as the city of seven hills, and Bologna has earned the title of "City of a Thousand Towers" throughout Lombardy, with skyscraper towers densely scattered throughout the city, twelve gates, no matter from which one you enter, you can see the halberd pointing to the sky of Tallinn, and in the remaining open space, new towers are still growing.

"It all started in the Longbeard District, where the Teutons gathered." "If the lords of Lombardy were fortifying their fortresses and guarding their frontiers, then Bologna was a small Lombardy—where the nobles were so confused that no one knew which side of their neighbors were. ”

"So they're building towers on their own turf?" Angus couldn't believe that there was such a ridiculous thing in the world, where people built castles and carved out land within a wall!

Dagobert watched with satisfaction the right amount of surprise on the young Highlander's face, and thought: This is really good, the core of this city is fear, and the power behind me is enough to intimidate everyone. No, I don't need soldiers - they will surely submit to the majesty of the Empire!

"Be careful, young man, don't shake your weapon casually here, and don't draw your sword easily, in the current situation, every time you pull your sword out of its sheath, it will trigger hundreds of long swords to strike!" The priest reminded Angus before leading him deeper into the market.

As it turned out, even during the war, there was always a place for the flute in the city-state, and in a vanilla-smelling courtyard, Angus was introduced by Dagobert to an Italian lord, who raised his delicate head from between a pair of soft breasts, then took a golden cup and took a big sip: "My old friend, I haven't finished reading your last letter, why, is life in the north too boring?" ”

"I can assure you that nothing has been boring lately."

"You can see you're having some fun with yourself." The Italian looked at Angus with a teasing look.

"Ha, this young man wants a job, I think you might know of some opportunities."

Then, Dagobert kindly introduced Angus, "This is Lord Reina, the tyrant on the clouds. ”

"I prefer to be called Arbiter-Elegantiae." The Italian accent revealed a kind of pride, "This young man's affair is a trivial matter, but for you, my old friend, I can only apologize this time." ”

Angus was still wondering why this beautiful Italian was called "the tyrant on the clouds" when he suddenly noticed that Dagobert had given him a color, and he realized that he was signaling him to leave.

After a salute, Angus walked in the direction of Gillick, and behind his head, Dagobert's conversation with Lord Reina had just begun.

"What exactly do you want?" Dagobert looked impatient, "Canossa Castle? Or the Lombard Iron Crown? You know we've got the absolute upper hand, right? ”

"If you already have the absolute advantage, my friend, then why do you need Bologna?" The Italian scoffed, "Don't be angry, maybe I can compensate you in another way?" ”

"It is a pity that the Emperor will not accept anything other than Matilda's downfall." Dagobert refused without hesitation, and he began to use a threatening tone, "Anyone who has fought against Caesar has suffered destruction so far. ”

"You mean Hildebrand and Robert Giska?" The Italian played with the gold cup in his hand, "It is indeed amazing, if it had been two days ago, I might have not hesitated to convince my friends or enemies for you, but now it is not for me to decide." ”

"Did something happen?" Dagobert accepted the hint, only slightly surprised by his intelligence lag.

"Odo of Ostia......" Lord Reina spat out a name, and seeing that the other man still seemed unimpressed, he continued, "Robert of Normandy, Eustace of Boulogne, Godfrey of Bouillon, Baldwin of Lincoln, and Robert Mallett of Carnarfon. ”

Seeing that the list of names had the desired effect, Reina stopped in satisfaction.

"How many of them are there?" Dagobert hoped that the new army would consist only of the personal attendants of these lords, which would be tricky, but at least not hopeless.

"Three thousand." The Italians reported an unacceptable figure.

"How can there be so many?" Dagobert breathed a sigh of relief, much higher than he had guessed, but it wasn't Robert Giska's army of 30,000 after all.

"Baldwin had two hundred knights around him, all of them said to be the king's guard of England, plus the servants of the other lords, a total of seven hundred cavalry, and the rest were the men of Giordano of Capua, led by Bishop Odo."

Dagobert realized the seriousness of the problem, the first threat of this army to the north was Bologna, and once the Bolognese joined the other side, Matilda's strength would be close to 10,000!

"You know, there is no unanimity in the city now, who can guarantee that the neighbors in the tower will not betray themselves when the city is defended? So we have only one choice. ”

The bitter feeling lingered on the tip of his tongue, and Dagobert could not say a word, and behind him there was an army of eight thousand, except for the two thousand men of Prince Conrad, who firmly controlled the key pass to Lucca, and the rest were besieged by Matilda on the plain between Mantua and Canossa under the command of the Count of Alberto and the Duke of Liutbot, so sure that the situation seemed to be about to be reversed in the blink of an eye, and he believed that if he returned to the barracks with the result of a failed diplomatic mission, those men would not let him go easily.

Fortunately, Lord Reina has no intention of detaining him, after all, who knows how the wind will change next month. Priest Dagobert paced preoccupied to the young highlander, who was sharing a leg of lamb with his men.

"Son, Lord Reina has agreed to hire you as his servant."

"Thank you so much......"

Before Angus could finish his words, the gray-robed priest continued, "I am willing to double his price, can I buy your sword?" ”

"No way!" Angus replied without thinking, and then smiled playfully before the other showed a disappointed look, "You can only rent my sword." ”