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At a time when no one believed that the civilian infantry was the main force of the battlefield, and that they were poorly equipped and poorly trained to turn around and scatter when the knights charged at the high horses, except for Gawain, who had said in Calabria, "I will wear the wreath of war on the heads of the horsemen as well as on the tips of the infantrymen." The cavalry is the monument to victory, and the infantry is the paving stone and foundation stone to victory, without which the former would have collapsed. ”

But the city of Bari has the advantage that the city-states of Italy as a whole have such advantages, they are full of cities, rich and developed, and it has always been a place where various forces compete, and it also allows the city to swing between the cracks of the great powers, or simply rely on the local powerful people to form a hedgehog city alliance to protect itself.

Self-preservation is armed, and the maritime city-states rely mainly on fleets, plus mercenaries obtained by money; The inland city-states relied on civilian armies and diplomatic skills.

The city of Bari was a little less embarrassing, its shipping lanes were artificially silted up with the abandonment of the Byzantine Empire, and its share of trade was encroached upon by the two powerful maritime city-states of Venice and Ragusa, with Venice having the royal title of "Governor of Dalmatia" and Ragusa attached to the powerful Zataslav monarch Constantine. Berdeen, Barry, is now reduced to an ordinary parish under the papal papal see.

But now I'm Grand Duke Stephen of Calabria. Gawain is here, and everything is going to be different.

"The position of the city of Barry is now to form a people's army, which can defend itself under the pressure of the Normans; Then do the transit trade in the Greek area. "In the abbot's room of the cathedral. Gawain said this to everyone, and Anderodat next to him was still holding a thick canonical paperwork.

Both Diognis and Tetisius were surprised. They had never seen a barbarian so concerned with governance, as in the Empire it was the work of professional bureaucrats who knew how to govern the Hellenistic world. What's more, now that the civil service class in the capital is declining, Alexios often delegates power to the rough and greedy tax collectors. Even though Gawain did not know Greek, he continued to listen to Androdart's translations and narrations, and stayed up all night planning all kinds of things for the construction of the city, without any sense of fatigue, and seemed to have no intention of doing the work of hunting wild beasts and women that the Varyag barbarians loved.

"Transit trade?" It took a long time for this word to come out of the mouth of the guard. And Tetisius over there just shut up.

"Yes, there is no need for high investment, and there is no need for technical accumulation, just pumping!" After speaking, Gawain's big hand slapped on the sand table map, "As soon as possible, we can hook up with Venice and Ragusa to obtain the right to sell salt and timber, and the most important thing is Ingrid of Corinth." Our signature is to abolish the old and backward slave trade in Bari City, and expand the yards and warehouses without the need for any workshops. As long as Ingrid can approve a batch of three or four silk fabrics every year, even if it is only at the level of double silk, we can change hands. This makes a lot of money. It was also effective in protecting the silk workers and technology from being easily plundered by the Normans. ”

"Gawain, you're talking nonsense. Even I know that the silk of the entire empire belongs to the official guilds. That is to say, all silk must be sent to the imperial capital as a whole, and it will be under the unified control of His Majesty. Diognis questioned again.

"That's why I need to contact the Venetians, knowing that they have unlimited trade rights in all the routes of the Empire, which means unlimited goods and exemption from taxes." In this regard, the self-proclaimed Grand Duke explained this, and then he looked at the somewhat uneasy guard, and did not forget to add, "Of course, I will wait for His Majesty the Emperor to be truly canonized with peace of mind, and use my power carefully." ”

Then, he saw that the face of the captor was purple, as if to say: Just like you, it is still called "prudent use of power"?

At this moment, Tetisius, who had not spoken, "You need the Venetian fleet to give you the right to transport and sell the license, which I can understand, but in terms of the source of goods, you must have the approval and support of the rich widow in Corinth. Then, the noseless general crossed his hands and smiled wickedly at Gawain, "Of course, it doesn't seem to be difficult."

The yellow Château de Lepanto lit the flames that guided the way, and a brisk schooner, carrying the "handwritten letters" of the self-proclaimed Grand Duke, sailed towards the eastern seas of the sunset. In front of the Corinthian Temple, Ingrid, who had finished praying, was overjoyed, and she returned to her mansion, dressed in pure black robes, and returned to her mansion, where a messenger from the city of Bari handed over Gawain's letters, one for herself, and one for the royal capital.

At this time, Ingrid seemed to remember something, so she called the servant to bring the box and said to the messenger, "These are all personal letters from the palace of the imperial capital, which are addressed to the commander of Count Gawain (Ingrid did not know that Gawain had usurped the title of prince in Italy), and you should take them back by boat." ”

The messenger took the box and accepted a gift of ten silver coins from the widow of the family of Mesadini, but refused to leave, "The sender needs your reply at once, my lady. ”

"Oh." Thinking that something was so important, Ingrid cut open the envelope with a knife and removed the parchment inside.

Of course, it was not Gawain's words, but Ander Odart's, but there was a huge handprint on it, which was Gawain's, so the widow looked down with joy, but when she saw that in the end, it was all the other party's words asking her to change the goods, and she had to be so urgent, without the slightest sympathy after parting, did the Earl Commander really not have the slightest understanding of my feelings?

Ingrid was slightly disappointed, but she was optimistic by nature and quickly perked up, "After all, I am also a female lord and a businesswoman, why can't I take this trade and become me to take Stephen. What about Gawain's battle situation? Thinking of this, Ingridina's heart calmed down, and she began to write on the back of the parchment letterhead.

The general content is that there is no big problem for me to secretly divide some of the goods to you, as long as I keep them private, do not stamp the mark of the royal official guild, and then sell them to you as headless goods without a mark, except for the high-end goods of four and six wires, it is easy to discuss, after all, the emperor and his ears and eyes do not care much about the two and three wires. But now your city of Bari, Ragusa in Za'tar, and Venice in Dalmatia all want my goods, and there are a few nobles from other city-states who want to get me, and I am helpless, you have to think of a way. If it is appropriate, I will be able to ship some of the goods to the city of Bari before Christmas.

Then Ingrid used a knife to cut off the corners of her smooth black silk robe, carefully folded a flower, and tied it to the edge of the letter. This is the widow's showdown, and the meaning is obvious, "my people and my silk goods" are inseparable, and Gawain must consider the decision. (To be continued......)