The city of Serdica on the Sofia Plain was not large, and in the eyes of the Romans it was at best a small town in the countryside, but it was the center of Bulgarian power.

It was here that the First Kingdom of Bulgaria was founded, the basin was guarded by giants in all directions, the simple people were nourished by the clear Iskel River, which had not been invaded by foreign enemies for hundreds of years, and the dove of peace has always flown here.

The shepherdess grazing on the grassland sang merrily, and the flocks of sheep under the blue sky and day continued to advance into the distance until a shadow shrouded them.

The shepherdess looked curiously into the distance, a flag rose on the horizon and fluttered in the wind, and the eagle flag with a red background shone in a golden glow surrounded by olive branches, this is the flag of the orthodox Roman Empire, what could be more shocking than this, the horse pole in her hand also fell off......

The shepherdess turned around and beat her horse and ran towards Serdica, and she wanted to report to the elders that the Romans had come to Sophia with iron-blooded troops, just like Alexander the Great in ancient times, always performing miracles, but this was a nightmare for the Bulgarians!

……

……

……

Despite its precarious location, the city of Serdica was in fact a medium-sized fortified fortress with a relatively loose defense. By this time, the city had become a mess after receiving the shepherdess's report, and a meeting was being held in the former royal hall.

"Who else can resist the attack of the Romans, the men over the age of sixteen in the castle have now gathered at the head of the city, but we lack experienced generals and veterans, can a herd of sheep defeat a lion?"

Elder Boris spoke first, but there was no advice, only demoralizing words.

"What you say is really unpleasant, we are the descendants of Simon, free Bulgarians, and will never submit to the tyranny of the Roman Emperor again!"

The opposition also sang loudly, but unfortunately to no avail, the elite soldiers of Rome would not be repelled by empty words.

"Enough, we need to discuss whether to resist the attack of the Roman army or choose to surrender,? If it's resistance, then who can do the heavy lifting? ”

The venerable Archbishop Fyodor slapped his palm lightly to stop the discussion, the old man has always had a good reputation among the Bulgarians, and even now the gray hair is still invited to preside over the situation.

When it was silent in the cold room, there was a earth-shattering roar outside, and even the council hall shook, and everyone ran out in a panic, thinking that an earthquake was coming.

When everyone walked out of the chamber, a huge stone smashed against one side of the chamber's wall, and the chamber now cracked a large crack as if it was about to collapse at any moment.

Elder Boris was gurgling in his throat at this time, but he couldn't make a sound, he didn't dare to think deeply, but anyone with a discerning eye knew that it was a Roman trebuchet that came in, but it was far more powerful than they imagined.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the messenger of the Romans begs to see you!"

A warrior ran in and reported something strange to the frightened Bulgarian elders, could it be that the Romans still wanted to persuade them to surrender at this time, the main battle faction was originally a strong-willed person, but after seeing the Romans' siege weapons, they were already dumb.

"Let us meet the messengers of the Romans and at least hear what they have to say!" Archbishop Fyodor's words gave the main battle faction a step down, but it eased the atmosphere.

……

……

……

Riddle was dressed in a white robe, with a wreath on his head, and the appearance of a messenger of peace made the Bulgarians let their guard down, and they also wanted to see what conditions the Romans would make to persuade them to surrender.

"I have come to submit to you a proposal for peace on the orders of the great Augustus." Riddle opened his mouth to persuade him to surrender directly, and the Bulgarians couldn't help frowning, but they still endured it when they thought of the powerful siege weapons of the Romans, and listened quietly.

"His Majesty the Emperor offers two options for all of you in the city, and if you choose to resist, the Emperor will destroy the city and kill all the living creatures in it.

If they choose to surrender, the emperor asks each family to hand over a child as a hostage, and at the same time offer 500,000 gold coins, and all the elders must serve in front of the emperor's army before the rebellion is over! ”

"It's impossible, you're trying to kill the future of Bulgaria, if the children are in your hands, Bulgaria will be finished! Archbishop, please let me kill him now in memory of our dead compatriots! ”

An elder who couldn't wait had already jumped out to speak, glaring at Riddle viciously, if his eyes could kill people, Riddle would have died tens of thousands of times!

Archbishop Fyodor raised his head, his wrinkled face was full of perseverance, the old man was nearly eighty years old, he didn't have much to live, and he didn't miss much after seeing through life and death.

Only the missionary cause in Bulgaria could not be assured, and now it was the autumn of Cerdica's existential crisis, although he knew that everyone was afraid of death now, but also everyone did not want to bear the infamy of traitors, and the survival of a nation now fell on the shoulders of an old man, which was ridiculous.

"Romans, do your words matter? Can I trust you? If we surrender, will these children be saved as hostages? ”

"Archbishop, are you serious?" Boris couldn't believe that the old man was almost eighty years old and asked him to come out and carry a name, even if he was like himself, he couldn't bear it.

"The rise and fall of Bulgaria is on my shoulders, I have lived here for almost sixty years, and if I can't do something about it, I will return to heaven like this, and God will not take me in......"

The old man laughed at himself, and the rest of the people also shed tears, if the Bulgarians were not oppressed by the cool officials of the Roman Empire, they would not always think about freedom and independence, but the result was easily suppressed by the Romans......

"I am under the command of His Majesty Alexios, Emperor of Rome, and no one's will is above Augustus!" Riddle proudly responded to the Bulgarian's question, which, in his opinion, was superfluous.

"Then I will take someone to the emperor and ask for his forgiveness!" After Archbishop Fyodor's words, all the Bulgarians present wept bitterly.

……

……

……

In the emperor's tent of the Chinese army, the white-haired old man Fyodor knelt tremblingly in front of Alexios and bowed to the emperor.

"The Bulgarians have the right to start a war, but why don't they have the strength to stop it?" The emperor asked the old man.

"The righteous act of a group of hot-blooded young people, but unfortunately they don't have Simon's strategy and vision, so they can only let an old man like me come to the feet of His Majesty and beg you for peace!" Fyodor kowtowed heavily with tears in his eyes.

The Emperor was silent for a long time before moving his lower lip.

"I am here to give you a new life, but the freedom of the Bulgarians is now up to me!"

In the same year, 1181 A.D., Serdica fell.