But the consul did not seem to have any intention of stopping, but she went further, unsheathed her soldiers' swords and sabers, took off her armor, and wore a single layer of jackets, to show that she had no hidden blades or poisons, "Your Highness Princess, I have absolutely no thoughts or thoughts that offend you, but I ask you to forgive poor me for the sake of the same sex - and give the embers of the Paulicians a way to live, and in return, all of us true believers will do a good job of defending the territory." ”

And Goethehilde, who was beside him, was constantly pleading with him to forgive the archon for her offending actions, for the sake of the unity of the expedition. Anna sat back in her chair and slowly put the chess pieces back in place, in fact, she was also thinking in her heart, since she could not let Kabeamia be humiliated or escape, the chess game returned to a stalemate, if she chased and fought hard, she would inevitably appear narrow, and she could also make a high gesture to invite the hearts of the Paulians.

"A prodigal person like Gawain, I will strengthen my control over him in the future." Anna regained her composure, and her decision to dispose of it won Goethehild's applause, "As for the Paulicians, I promise that after stabilizing it, I will set aside a zone and a barrier for you to station, but there must be no half-heartedness, otherwise Gawain and I will completely exterminate you, and all of you will be beheaded or burned at the stake." ”

"I will thank Her Highness the Princess day and night for her kindness and pray for you!" Kabeamia wept silently and fell down again in thanks.

"Well, what's the smugness, little one. Even Gawain himself has converted to our doctrinal creed, and when I am strong enough to take revenge. When Anna had raised her hand and motioned for her to rise, the consuless stood respectfully by the pillar of the room, smiling flatteringly.

Anna quietly gnawed on her little nails. "Damn, Gawain has indeed been with her shameless things, and I will push the boat down the river after Gawain has done it, and assign a remote and dangerous place for her and the group of heretics to be imprisoned. Stay away from me and Gawain! ”

At this moment, as the bell hung from the curtain rang, Staurachos walked in with a group of chefs and cooks, carrying various dishes, and the musician playing the Saracen, "Well, the merry feast is about to begin, and soon everyone should not only drink some wine and enjoy the music." And they will make psalms to repay one another. Goethehilde, who breathed a sigh of relief, felt that the underwear had been soaked with sweat, and couldn't help clapping his hands, feeling that the boulder in his heart had finally fallen.

It was not until the stars began to droop from the sky that the women's feast came to an end, and at this moment Gawain and Baldwin led all the cavalry, cloaked in starlight and dawn. He began to follow the long serpentine pass in the middle of the mountains around the Cilician Gate, and advanced towards the city of Tarsus.

On the right side of the cavalry. Dark peaks and forests, swirling with night owls and the strange and terrifying cries of wild beasts, to their left were the high banks of the river, and below them was the surging Sidnus River. The sound of the waves rolling and splashing on the rocks made all the soldiers feel that they were marching on the water, and that they were in danger of falling and sinking at any moment. Scouts that have been selected. Carefully carving out the way ahead, Gawain and Baldwin secretly rejoiced that Surelman had suffered heavy losses twice in Nicaea and Dolilaim, otherwise he had sent a team to guard the Cilician Gate, and feared that most of the pilgrims would have perished themselves in the valleys and deserts ahead.

As the march progressed, the river below changed from grey-black, to speckled silver, and then to complete white—and at the hour after the first rise of the red sun, all the horsemen burst into shouts of joy, and they had passed through the Cilician Gate, and all the scenery before them suddenly opened up, and the rivers of Sidenus were all about it, and from the hills that stretched down were all wheat fields.

"The straw has been cut off, and it should be to feed the horses. In the entire area of Tarsus, I am afraid that there will be no harvest. Under the watchful eye of the cavalry, Gawain walked into the wheat field, touched the remaining dense stalks with his hands, looked at the remnants of green smoke around him, and said to Baldwin.

"This shows that Tancred's team has completely ransacked this place."

Gawain clapped his hands, stared into the vast distance, and looked, "As time goes by, the weather will get hotter and hotter, and the rivers and plains around Tarsus City are prone to breeding diseases, so we must hurry." Cut off the rest of the stalks, feed the horses, and prepare for battle. ”

Several scout cavalry, galloping in the direction of the city of Karon, begged Anna to follow the rest of the brigade infantry as soon as possible; Gawain and Baldwin also sent several scout troops along the axis of the Sidnus River to detect the movements of the Romconyas.

Soon, word reached the banner of the army formation, "The city of Tarsus is besieged on three sides by the armies of Tancred and Pak Ade. ”

"Why three sides?" Baldwin asked.

The scouts replied that it would be difficult for Tancred to block Tarsus because of the wall adjacent to the Sidnus River, and that it would be difficult for Tancred to block it because it was a huge twin tower that would hold the ferries in place and jut out from the water.

Gawain sighed, and then asked, "How many defenders are there in the city?" ”

"According to the confessions of the people we have captured who swam into the wheat fields on the banks of the river to graze, there are 300 Turks in the garrison, dozens of Armenians, and some merchants and residents who have not fled the city, about 10,000."

In fact, the city of Tarsus, originally the ancient capital of the entire region, has always had a large population, with 50,000 people in peacetime, and now even in the midst of war, there are still so many people who have not been able to leave for various reasons.

"The number of defenders is too small, and the number of inhabitants is too great - Baldwin, it is clear that the Turks will not be able to hold out for long, and perhaps they have begun to sue for peace." Gao Wen's judgment is that our army must seize the time.

"Then we'll strike right away."

"No, wait! The rest of the Turkic castles around will definitely go to reinforce Tarsus. Gawain calmly stopped, saying, "When we attack, we must have a harvest and merit, otherwise we will be taken away by the Normans." ”

The patience soon paid off: soon the light cavalry spotted a detachment of about 200 Roma soldiers, marching from the nearest fortress of Zefelim, ready to come to the aid of Tarsus.

"Here's your chance." Gawain and Baldwin spoke in unison.

They quickly gathered all the elite cavalry to quickly intercept this group of reinforcements. (To be continued.) )

PS: If you don't know the geography, you can go to the post bar to see the latest map update.