Sula asks for a monthly pass

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In the sun, the white walls of the church of St. Nicholas and the top of the tower were of pure color, and Gawain, dressed in white robes and dyed with the sword pattern of the brotherhood and ordinary soldiers, walked down the steps to the cheers of the citizens and villagers, and stood between two stone pillars symbolizing punishment and authority, where a pulpit was built, and at the foot was a wide semicircular staircase, just enough for everyone to hear his voice.

"I received 37,000 Bari from six districts, of whom 5,500 were citizens and 31,500 were villagers; It also received a unified and sacred authorization of 6,000 members of the Red Hand Dalian Brigade and 1,500 members of the Bari militia. From then on, the city of Bari will be both a Roman Empire and a Roman city, a beautiful, independent and powerful autonomous city that is both a subject of His Majesty the Emperor Alexios and a follower of Pope Peter! Soon, Gawain's words were drowned out by the tide of cheers and applause.

"I'm Stephen. Gawain. Lusail, the first elected governor of the city, was also the supreme consul, and from then on we could not accept the imams authorized by the city of Rome, nor the officials from Constantinople. I promise to give up all my salaries, to adjudicate matters of all magnitude and small with six advisers to the city-state in the utmost spirit of public service, to guide the city to sign commercial treaties with the various maritime republics, such as Amalfi, Venice and Ragusa, to help each other and prosper, to advance and retreat together with the Duchess of Tuscany, and to rely on each other, and to build new shrines, bazaars, hospitals, and notaries in the city, to help the pilgrims who come and go, and to benefit the city, and that the militias will arm themselves with the horses and weapons they have purchased, We have the power to protect our freedom and independence, and we have to go from the pearls of the entire Adriatic Island. Recruit oarsmen and boatmen to build your own dockyard and fleet. But I have left these matters to your trusted group of advisors, for I myself will go on an expedition to the East with six thousand soldiers of the Red Hand, and you may continue to elect a new governor after my two years have expired. The journey is long, dangerous and arduous, and I need the full support of you and the Brotherhood of the Brocade, so I decided to organize the members of the Brotherhood who can be put into battle into the Dalian team to go on the expedition together, while the women and children who are infirm will continue to stay in the city as backups. You have to believe that the gates of heaven have been opened, and that our suffering is nothing compared to the crucifixion of the Son, and that if we endure to the end, we will achieve ultimate victory. Victory and glory. It will belong to the all-powerful Lord, to the city of Bari! ”

At this time, all the members of the Brotherhood, as well as the populace, raised their hands, "We agree with the speech of the Grand Duke and ask him to take an oath for our holy crusade!" ”

Hearing this, Gawain immediately leaned the Phosphorus Fire Sword against the stone pillar, and then he knelt down on it. The army and the populace, armed with banners and crosses, followed the example of the Grand Duke along the semicircular staircase, and then Gawain solemnly proclaimed in Austroic and Greek: "We are willing to go on an expedition with swords." It is the oath of our holy war, the oath of those who make the oath will not give up, and the one who resolves the oath will leave consciously. ”

Everyone should be reconciled, and Gawain continued. "The banner of our lord is our banner; The sword of Mikhail, the god-like archangel, is the sword of us; The God-like One, St. Nicholas, blessed us and other ships to sail with the wind without being capsized, and blessed us with arrows that were not misguided; Christ will crown him king if he has a red hand. Amen. ”

Then the whole city of Bari boiled, and the merchant ships of Venice, Amalfi and Ragusa, which had been leased, gathered on the shore and set up the gangplanks on the piers, and the Dalian teams boarded according to the strict order, and the fishing boats and barges with good water quality climbed to the deck of the rowing boats along the rope nets.

"To the Holy Land, to the Holy Land, this is the call of the Lord, and with the protection of the archangel and the commander of the Grand Duke, we will be invincible. Night will fall and fill the sky, and we will wait for the lightning of the Sword of Justice to make it disappear again. The monks and priests who accompanied the army, some wearing robes and chain mail, carrying crosses and icons, stood in front of the pier, chanting blessings and cheering for the endless stream of soldiers, military servants, and sailors.

Gawain himself, under the lighthouse of the Marina Trade Corridor, hugged Ingrid goodbye, "I respect your choice. Gawain gently touched her cheek and wiped the tears from her eyelashes.

"My choice is to always follow your soul and not just your footsteps, and take care of and multiply your inheritance like a real woman." Ingrana's voice trembled, then she raised her scissors, twisted off her blonde braids, tied them with silk, and placed them in Gawain's hands.

"Take care." After Gawain kissed her, he relented, hung Peter's amber rosary around her white and slender neck, turned and walked towards the pier trestle, and then he paused, and then turned to the woman in tears, and said, "I will come back, or pick you up." ”

Gawain, who finally stepped onto the deck of the barge, stood there, looking at the widow who was still standing on the lighthouse and watching over him, and the two of them were getting farther and farther apart from each other across the waves

The churning sea, a Byzantine light rowing boat from the port of Dulazo, with a portrait of the Virgin hanging from it, Brenus wearing the crown of the Grand Duke and the purple robes of the royal gift, sitting on the tower of the ship, surrounded by his attendants, trumpeters and servants, under the dense ropes, Diognis also stood beside the Grand Duke of Tiracium, calculating the distance—the sea route from Durazo to the city of Bari was very quick, and in about two and a half hours he would arrive at his destination with His Excellency the True Grand Duke, Take over the city and bring it back into His Majesty's pocket.

At this moment, the keen eyes of the catcher gradually saw that above the sea, a large number of ships were rowed, large and small, in a column of front and back, each mast fluttering the red hand battle flag, and the drums and trumpets broke out one after another, which shook their deck slightly, and Diognis was stunned, and he grabbed the side of the ship, and Brenus also stood up curiously, and looked at the fleet that staggered with them and sailed northeast, "This is from the city of Barry?" Grand Duke Tirasime asked.

But the catcher did not answer him, for Theognes saw that in the middle of the opposite fleet, on the large ship that also hoisted the Amalfi flag, the tall man with his scarlet cloak and red hand feathers was standing on the side of the ship opposite him, and waved his arms slightly at him.

Then, at the shouts of the oarsmen, the boat staggered away with the other boats, splashing white wavy foam.

"Gawain, what the hell are you doing, why didn't you even hold the delivery ceremony, so you hurried to the expedition and left like this?" Although Diognis had some doubts in his heart, he was more confused and dissatisfied. (To be continued.) )