In the middle of the night, the city of Lalisha was silent, and a Bulgarian army was quietly marching through the city gates, and the light of the fire flickered in the darkness, and Boril stood at the gate waiting for someone.

The fire was suddenly lit, Theodore's face appeared in the night wind, Boriel hurriedly saluted his commander, the Arsen brothers, who had retired from Thessaloniki, were like lost dogs, daring to march at night to avoid being detected by the Romans, and now they returned to Lalisha, at least after entering the city, they could rest.

"Boril, you are my close general, I have always valued you, and you have been equally loyal to my family for so many years, you tell me the truth about what happened to Bulgaria?"

Theodore's red eyes looked particularly terrifying in the night, like the eyes of a wounded wolf, Boriel's heart shivered, but this question was indeed very important, and he had to answer!

Boriel invited Theodore to a corner before he dared to speak: "General, from Burgas to Serdica have all fallen, Kaloyan was killed in battle, Ivanco committed suicide and martyrdom, and Archbishop Fyodor led the elders to surrender to the Roman Emperor!" ”

"What do you say! Yes! Yes! Yes! Theodore roared angrily, his mouth was sweet, and a mouthful of blood spurted out and fell to the ground.

Borriel's face was shocked, although he knew that the news might stimulate coach Theodore, but what he never expected was that the coach was so angry that he vomited blood.

"Quick! Send the Shogun to the doctor! Come on! The guards hurriedly picked up Theodore and walked away.

Watching them leave, Boril was already extremely discouraged, the soldiers of his hometown had fallen and he didn't know that he was out on the expedition, and what was even more terrible was that the commander couldn't vomit blood, the Bulgarian army was leaderless, and the rest of the people could serve the people.

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The next morning, when the guards at the head of the Bulgarian city looked into the distance, a fiery red rose from the sky, and a golden eagle with wings ready to fly had risen over the horizon, and the Bulgarians grew their mouths and were speechless.

"The Romans have slain!" It took a long time for the sentry to cry out, and the bell of the vigilance rang throughout the city, and the remnants of the Greeks in the city wept with joy.

"You also have today, His Majesty the Emperor will kill you barbarians when the time comes!" The old and young women and children in the city were secretly ruthless.

"Go to the city! Go to the city! ”

Ivan Arsen was now elected to the supreme commander of the army, but the mess made him very embarrassed, the Bulgarian army was basically intact, the city defenses were strong, and there was no shortage of food.

What really hurts is the discouragement of the commander's sick army, which is the Achilles heel of the Bulgarian army, which seems to be huge but is actually strong and capable.

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Emperor Alexios led his generals to the city to observe, Lalisha has always been the transportation hub of Greece, and Emperor Basil and the Bulgarians have fought many times for Lalisha, which can be described as a battleground for soldiers.

Although a hundred years have passed, the city is still firmly defended by the strong defenses left over from the time of Emperor Basil, the iron armor on the head of the city is shining, and the military might of the Bulgarians has also worried the Roman generals.

"Your Majesty, if you start a siege war, the odds of victory are really not high, after all, there is not much difference between the strength of the enemy and us. Even if you succeed in breaking the city with a giant trebuchet, you will inevitably start street battles in the city.

At present, the Bulgarian army in the city is roughly estimated to have two divisions, Theodor and Boriel, which are roughly about 40,000, and even if we add the auxiliary corps, we can only be worthy of the enemy. ”

Alexios looked at the city and was silent, in fact, the emperor was extremely angry in his heart, such a fortified city fell into the hands of the Bulgarian army for some reason, needless to say that either the defenders were incompetent or there were rebellious ministers and thieves who sacrificed the city.

Alexios was aware of the Bulgarian rebellion long before he went out to quell the rebellion, firstly, the long-term oppression of the cool officials of the Eastern Roman Empire had attracted the hostility of the Bulgarians, and secondly, when he suppressed the great nobles in the imperial capital, he did not make a big deal.

After all, considering that there were too many external enemies in the empire to leave a chance to take advantage of, I didn't expect them to collude with the Bulgarians to rebel and stab the empire fiercely.

Although the emperor was already prepared in his heart, he was still angry when he saw such a strong city fall into the hands of the enemy.

"Your Majesty, I heard that you brought the same number of hostages this time in addition to 30,000 Bulgarian prisoners of war?" Betak whispered softly from the Emperor's side.

Alexios turned to look at Betak, "What do you mean?" ”

"The Bulgarians on the other side have been away from their homeland for a long time, so it's better to let them listen to the country!" Betak clasped his right hand in front of his chest and bowed slightly.

"Okay, let's do it tonight!" The emperor will be happy, after all, they are all smart people.

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Candles were still flickering on Lalisha's head that night, and patrolling soldiers were constantly checking the walls to make sure that no Romans could take advantage of the night attack.

The news of the fall of Bulgaria has gradually spread among the low-level soldiers, after all, there is no impermeable wall in the world for a long time, and the Bulgarians are worried, thinking about their families all the time, and their hearts are like knives.

"Did you hear anything?" The Bulgarian soldier Varik pricked up his ears in the direction of the Roman camp, and there seemed to be a sound coming from it.

"I'll hear it!" The robes guarding next to the battlements were also curious, and they straightened up and went out into the distance, and there was really a melodious voice.

"That's not right! That's not right! This is the song of my hometown! Varik's eyes were full of tears, and his mouth trembled as he uttered something astonishing.

"Seriously?"

"I'll hear it too!"

The Bulgarian soldiers scrambled to prick up their ears to listen, but tears were already flowing down their cheeks just by listening, and they could only cover their mouths with their hands to prevent them from making a sound.

"La-la-la!" Varik couldn't help but sing along, and the loud singing pierced the sky and echoed through the city of Lalisha.

"You're crazy, Varik stop!" The Bulgarians next to him were stunned when they saw that no one was around him and began to sing like this.

But Varik paid no attention to them, and just continued to sing, and slowly the same ballad echoed through the city, and the song gradually resounded throughout the city.

Theodore, who was recuperating in the town hall, was sleeping in bed, when suddenly a melodious melody sounded in his ears, and in his dream he seemed to have returned to Sophia, dancing with the girl he loved, and they would get married tomorrow.

When Theodore woke up and listened to the music, tears wet his pillow, it turned out that his hometown was so far away!