Gawain still kept his head bowed, and did not sneer at him, for he had already established in his heart his superiority over this imperial brother: your coveted widow had long served her on my bed, and with her the Mesadini secret, which brought infinite wealth with her beautiful silk-making methods. Therefore, there is no need for a verbal confrontation.

Seeing that the barbarian's reaction was very weak, Isaac felt a little bored, so he coughed lightly twice and said to everyone in a solemn voice, "The Supreme Emperor is not here, but because of an urgent opportunity, he has gone to an uninformed place to deal with it, so all negotiations with the pilgrim army are entrusted to me, and the second glory of the empire, Sebastoprat, has come to deal with it." ”

So, Reinolds and the others hurriedly lowered their heads.

However, Gawain's heart was followed by the unintentional boasting of the emperor's brother, and he sighed: according to common sense, the approach of 100,000 pilgrims to the border of the Byzantine Roman Empire Sophia Fort should be a major matter for Emperor Alexios to handle personally, not to mention that the emperor was already in the army because of the counterinsurgency, and now he handed everything over to Isaac, so there are no more than three reasons - the emperor went to pursue the remnants of the Pauline faction, but this is unlikely, no matter how you think about it, it is only a partial position of general; It is not very likely to take the opportunity to encircle and suppress the Norman expeditionary force from Durazo to Constantinople, because it is said that there is an agreement between Bohemond and the emperor, and Alexios must be the first to turn his face, and the gains must outweigh the losses, how can a shrewd person like Alexios do this; Now, then, most likely, the emperor is going to do something against Constantinople.

Yes, yes, Gawain was previously in the imperial capital before leaving for Italy. Empress Irene and Myaulinus Caesar declared to him that they were now in the undercurrent of the court of Brachna. The fiercest focus of competition is whether the heir to the throne is Anna. Or John. So now that the emperor, the emperor's brother and the entire empire's army are all in the Adrianople area, and who the court is entrusted to now is a major matter that affects the future of everyone and the entire empire: "Whether it is Erin or Malena as regent, the struggle in the court will inevitably enter a state of confrontation, and at this time, Caesar, who is stationed in the strait, will also be ready to move, and everyone will have the mentality of being killed - Anna, Anna, the eldest princess will inevitably be involved in danger" Thinking of this. Sweat ran down Gawain's cheeks.

Sure enough, at the great meeting two days ago, his brother Peter had instructed him, "Now that the hearts of the army are not in harmony, then Gawain will march by another way, so as not to be restrained by the Komnenos royal family." ”

But what about Anna? It's really worrying, the emperor is not here now. The vanishing figure is even more unpredictable, and may have already noticed and begun to control the battle in the court - Alexios. Komnenos was a sane and ruthless emperor, and it wasn't really clear what he would do, but for sure. In the end, it is always him who profits.

Seeing the complicated and concerned expression on Gawain's face, Isaac, who didn't know why, continued to laugh a few times. I thought that this barbarian was shocked by his own majesty, so I just continued to act according to the script explained by my brother. He raised his hand, and the sparkle of his crown made it impossible for anyone present to raise their heads. Then from the cabin of the dinghy where he was, came an old man, who was also an old acquaintance of Gawain, the great eunuch and the head of the royal wardrobe "Little Bird" Nick Demia. Nestas.

No wonder, the hilt of the Phosphorus Fire Sword began to tremble just now, and Gawain wondered when this stupid emperor brother could make his sword so jealous!

"Long time no see, Gawain, now Commander of Aconis, the self-proclaimed Grand Duke of Barry." The little bird laughed dryly, but the cold aura suddenly made the shade of the trees on the water surface of midsummer wither like a cold winter, "Your Majesty cares about you very much"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern, and the servants are willing to repay by escorting the entire pilgrim army across the strait, assisting the Empire and the Holy See in recovering all the lands that have been usurped by the pagans." Gao Wen replied loudly and diverted the topic. Nikdemia looked fierce, and then he no longer paid attention to Gawain, but smiled and called a fat eunuch beside him to come out, and suddenly announced the title of Lenolds and Forsie, it seems that the situation of this team is also in the emperor's control, and the Byzantine spies must have been mixed in advance:

"In keeping with the Emperor and the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Golden Edict was issued, and the entire territory of the empire was unconditionally open to pilgrims, and bazaars were set up in various towns to sell grain at low prices to the pilgrims, in exchange for the pilgrim Frankish lords swearing allegiance to His Majesty. The first good men, Rainold and Forchet, conferred the titles of Count of St. Ku and Comptroller of the Court respectively, and thereafter commanded the entire army and fought for the Empire and His Majesty. ”

Then the fat eunuch graciously handed the edict across the deck of the ship to Rainold and Forcher, and the two of them shook their fingers, caressed the beautiful Greek on it (though they could not read it at all), and the purple imperial ink seal of the emperor, and their souls flew happily to the sky. Then, the eunuch turned his gaze to Gao Wen, who did not know what medicine was sold in the other party's gourd, so he also held the hilt of his sword and knelt down on one knee in front of him.

"It's a pity that there is no edict to canonize Lord Gawain." The eunuch said in a tone of schadenfreude.

As a result, the entire two ships, Isaac, Nick Demia, and the two newly knighted country knights, laughed insolently, showing their mockery of Gawain. But this time Gawain was unusually calm, and did not look embarrassed, but continued to bow his head, very humble, and Isaac then said angrily, "You are still the commander of your majesty's Aconis, so you should do your duty-I tell you now, the remnants of the Tevris are still wandering in the border area of Wallachia, and you should take a large army to pursue them, just be careful, do not become the belly of the Cumans, I heard that many of their powerful tribes are colluding with the Tefris." With that, the venerable Sebastocraert smirked and shook hands with Reinolds and Forcher.

Under the deck of the boat, there were slight ripples, and Gawain was silent for two seconds, and then said to everyone in a deep voice, "The servants obey Your Majesty's orders, and are willing to take the lead, and in three days they will set up camp and leave for Wallachia." ”

"No, Your Excellency Commander Gawain, the matter is not over yet." At this time, Nick Demia laughed, and then he invoked the fat eunuch who had given the golden edict, and "enthusiastically" introduced to Gawain, "This is the court magistrate, and the noble eunuch Staulachos, who is allowed to wear a purple official hat and robes. Sinamus. ”

Hearing this, Gawain raised his face and looked at the squinting eunuch with a fat face, all of whom wore precious and kitsch rings on his ten fingers, enthusiastically opened like duck's paws, rubbing himself, obviously to shake hands with him. (To be continued.) )