Outside the walls of Lleida Castle, there were Moors in white robes and heads, and there were 20,000 people in care, which was by no means something that the Second Legion could hard-eat.

"Lord Rodrigo, are we just abandoning the city of Tarragona and retreating to the castle of Lleida?" Robert, who was patrolling the city walls with Duke Rodrigo, said with a slight frown.

Robert was an impatient, and he impatiently asked Duke Rodrigo, but his brother Otto was much calmer and silent.

"Otto, Robert, you two have only been in Lleida for a few days, you don't know how powerful the Moors are, they are not the barbarians we imagined, but terrible enemies with more advanced weapons, we can't underestimate them." Duke Rodrigo shook his head, pointed to the Moorish army outside the city, and said, "With the current situation, the tens of thousands of Moorish army is surging towards us like a flood, so we have to give up the territory of the isolated Tarragona.

Of course, our losses were not severe, but the Duke of Barcelona, who tried to fish in troubled waters, and most of the Tarragona he occupied was now lost to the Moors.

The Principality of Barcelona is friend or foe, and they have suffered heavy losses, which is very beneficial to us. ”

"Yes, Lord Rodrigo is right, Robert, you just wait patiently for a few days, presumably there will be a new order from His Majesty William." Otto patted Robert on the shoulder and said.

In the face of the persuasion of his brother Otto, Robert had to endure it silently, even if he was unwilling in his heart.

......

"Look, the Moors outside the city are attacking!" Robert said anxiously to Duke Rodrigo.

"Don't be in a hurry, the garrison of Lleida City is sufficient, and the city is high and the walls are thick, so there is no need to worry. What is in front of us is nothing more than a tentative attack by the Moors, and if we put up a fierce resistance, they will not storm our city at the risk of losing most of their strength. As a Castile who had been fighting the Moors for seven or eight years, Duke Rodrigo had the most say, and he waved his hand to signal Robert not to make a fuss.

Sure enough, the young and strong infantry armed with round shields and scimitars were only about four or five thousand people, and they attacked the eastern city wall in three waves, and there were thousands of archers shooting arrows at the head of the city to suppress it, which seemed to be huge.

"Counterweight trebuchet, torsion trebuchet, giant crossbow are all in place, projection! All longbowmen shoot with all their might! Duke Rodrigo commanded in a loud voice.

He was to respond to the Moorish attack with great firepower, and show them that the Normans were not to be taken lightly.

Eight counterweight trebuchets, twelve torsion trebuchets and thirty-three bed crossbows were arranged at the head of the city, and the men who operated these weapons were immediately ordered to tilt the rain of bullets at the approaching enemy forces below the city.

The huge counterweight of the counterweight trebuchet drooped down, driving the cannon tip to shoot out the large boulder of the grinding disc in his pocket, and only two of the eight boulders of the grinding disc were missed, and the remaining six boulders all passed through the Moorish infantry array, making a bloody alley.

Accompanied by eight large boulders of millstones were stone projectiles the size of basketballs and arm-thick crossbow arrows, which were more numerous and faster to fire, and were no less lethal to the Moorish infantry than the counterweight trebuchet.

Even more terrifying was yet to come, as thousands of Norman longbowmen at the head of the city hurled a rain of arrows as hard as they could, and dark clouds covered the sky and sun, nailing a weakly framed Moorish soldier to the ground.

In just a quarter of an hour, more than a thousand enemy troops were shot and killed outside the city.

The huge casualties greatly damaged the morale of the Moors, and the light infantry immediately threw down their weapons and fled in panic despite the fierce Moorish cavalry behind them.

According to Duke Rodrigo's understanding, this wave of light infantry was actually a light army composed of prisoners of war, slaves, and criminals, that is, death squads, and the battle was not strong, and it was able to support it for so long thanks to the brutal suppression of the Moorish cavalry behind him.

The light forces of the Moors were routed, and they naturally did not dare to attack easily after testing the strong fighting power of Lleida, but they did not dare to withdraw easily, for fear that the Normans would send troops to attack them while they retreated.

"Farah, go out of the city and tell the Moorish chieftain, and say that I, the Normans, have promised not to send an army after them while they retreat." Duke Rodrigo commanded to one of the men standing respectfully beside him.

"Yes, my master." Farah knelt at Duke Rodrigo's feet and said flatteringly.

Farah is an Andalusian native of the Iberian Peninsula, as evidenced by his dark skin and black hair.

When Rodrigo captured the city of Lleida, the surrounding Moors quickly opened the gates, handed over the keys to the gates, and surrendered to him.

Among them, Farah was a noble official among the surrendered nobles, he was a lord of Tarragona, but later Rodrigo abandoned Tarragona and brought Farah to Lleida as well.

As a captive of Duke Rodrigo, Farah consciously regarded himself as Rodrigo's personal slave and served his master with all his heart, and he did not hesitate to accept Rodrigo's request when confronted with it.

Fallah fell from the wall with a hanging basket and carried a white banner into the Moorish camp without incident, not to be seen again for a long time.

"Did this slave named Farah take the opportunity to escape?" Robert couldn't help but speculate.

"Farah's loyalty is unquestionable, he won't run away, and we'll see it in a while." Rodrigo said with a slight shake of his head.

Robert wanted to say something more, but was stopped by his brother Otto: "Robert, Lord Rodrigo is one of His Majesty's most trusted generals after all, not to mention that his title is Duke and our commander, we must respect him." ”

"Got it, got it, my brother." Robert had no choice but to raise his hand in surrender.

The three of Rodrigo waited for a long time at the head of the city, and Farah's figure reappeared in everyone's field of vision.

At this time, Farah did not return alone, he also returned to Lleida with a Beindu nobleman.

"Master, I am glad to have fulfilled my mission! The Moors were willing to withdraw their troops, but demanded that we not pursue them. Farah said prostrate at Duke Rodrigo's feet.

"Well, do as they want." Duke Rodrigo nodded and said, "Farah, who is this Beindu nobleman you brought back?" ”

"This man is the envoy of the Archon of Córdoba, and he has come to meet with you to discuss the alliance with you." Farah bowed and said.