After the poem was recited, the Great Emir cried out angrily, "Have the envoys to Marash not brought back any valuable news?" These lowly and swaying Ani people, who groveled like handmaidens when they needed me, now see the true colors of the wind and rudder, but they are exposed. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

The returning envoys brought news that Marash Armenia had adopted a very "compromise" approach: Armenia would not send troops to assist Merrick in defending the kingdom, because their economy and diplomacy were controlled by Billeoni and Potrufis, and since the former was a representative of the Holy See and the latter was an envoy of the emperor, it was impossible for Armenia to send troops to help the infidels at this time; Marlash, however, secretly sent goods and supplies worth 40,000 Byzantit gold coins to the Great Emir, and they begged the Great Emir to accept the secret gift and continue to open the trade routes of Sivas - until a month later, they would send another one.

This strange act was also secretly instructed by the emperor, who hoped that the pilgrims would win, but did not want them to win too easily, not too easily, not too quickly, so that the emperor could calmly control the whole situation with his "whip" and "bridle", lest the barbarians of Alemanni and Gaul learn from the lords of the first crusade and wantonly encroach on the fortresses and lands that belonged to the empire.

Thus, the various merchants mixed in the ranks of Raymond, Conrad, and Guillaume, and the Greeks, Armenia, and Pisa, and the Hot Duck, while enriching themselves in speculation, also sold all kinds of information to Merrick's spies.

Therefore, the great advantage of the great emir now is that he is at least well aware of the actions of this rabble of 200,000 in Paphragonia.

So the Great Emir Merrick raised his horse from the chessboard and rested it in a corner, "Gather together the warriors of the whole country, and hire eight thousand Sagitus cavalry with the money sent by the Ani, and focus on the siege of the pilgrims from the west in Paphlagonia." ”

Then, with a deep groan, he flicked away the few wargames he had now, "First throw a few cities to the pilgrim bandits who don't know the height of the sky, Calabi, Gangara, Castamonu, etc., especially the last one, which is said to be the place where the family of the Greek kings arose, abandon it, and then let all the pilgrim bandits flock like crocodiles into the deserts and mountain passes of eastern Paphragonia, and then I will completely surround them there!" ”

After saying that, Merrick put the rook in another corner, "Let Kudb command four thousand men, including a thousand Kurdish light cavalry, and garrison them near the left side of Melitane, and defend Sivas to the north and Kayseri to the west." Previously, Kudb had defeated Gawain. Lusail Akin's contingent, presumably he is determined to win again against this man. Then Merrick muttered again, staring at the chessboard, holding an elephant from his finger in the bag and resting it in the center of the board, "The battle lines are long and staggered, and Kayseri is at the pivot of the gateway, and if you abandon it, the whole battle will not work, so that the Divangash (a military colony of the Turks) in the city of Nazar, north of Cappadocia, and the garrison of Kayseri will be ready to communicate with each other, and if necessary, withdraw the former and merge them all to Kayseri." ”

"What about Konya and Ankara?" Several court officials asked.

"These two forts are very strong, just leave them to Maimon, and when I defeat the pilgrim bandits and contain Gawain, of course I will be able to keep these two places."

Soon after, when it was learned that a large group of Raymond and others had arrived at Sinop along the entire Yukchen coast and began to move south into the mountains of Paphragonia, Merrick had mobilized an army of 20,000 men and horses, gathered a large number of men and horses, built a pontoon bridge to cross the Harris River, and arranged in several valleys on the opposite bank, sending scouts and light horses to gather the direction of the pilgrims' routes.

The whole rugged Paphlagonia was instantly crowded with more than 200,000 men of all colors, and all the valleys and wastelands were crowded with oppressive people, the rich people sat in chariots and shoulders, and the poor people walked on foot, and many people looked around, almost feeling that it was a long journey, not a war.

However, war was about to break out, and this was evident in Sinop Castle, which served as a relay station - the ships of Pisa and Reladuck were clustered in the harbor, and the bazaar selling supplies and supplies stretched a long way along the breakwater, and the supreme commander of the castle was Harold, but because he had to join forces with Theodoro, the old general went to rendezvous with his detachment, so the full authority of the remaining guards was given to Mikhail. Eustace.

Mikhail, who had a gloomy face all the way, commanded the team to escort the baggage supplies, and secretly trained the team without slackening.

Later, the chief of the palace guard secretly summoned some close dead soldiers in the inner courtyard of the fort, and the handsome but uncertain chief of the guard said to the other party with some resentment, "We will go at once to reinforce the battle of Paphlagonia, where the mountains are dangerous and especially suitable for the enemy's ambush and surprise attack." I grew up in a farming family near Kastamonu, and I knew that there was an arrow that would not reveal our identity and would be suitable for shooting at the enemy. ”

After speaking, Mikhail raised the barrel, "This weapon has a small sound, the arrow flies very fast, and after hitting the enemy, the opponent cannot shoot it back." It is used by many of the hunters of Paphlagonia, and I am going to have fifty soldiers learn this art of archery, and I will be with me to support all the soldiers on the battlefield. ”

Although he felt strange about the sudden renewal of his weapons, the soldiers regarded obedience as their duty, so Mikhail's men soon began to practice shooting wooden targets in the inner courtyard of the fort, using this equipment.

"Listen to my commands, I will not wave the flag in your hand, and you shall not shoot arrows indiscriminately; And once you swing, no matter who the other party is, you will shoot with dead force! In the inner courtyard, with the sound of whizzing arrows, Mikhail clenched his fists and repeated the admonition.

In the scorching heat, the whole plateau of Asia Minor became hotter than fire, and people from all corners of the world were fighting each other with fire and sword, far away in the city of Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia, in the towering Acropolis Palace, but through the ingenious design of air ducts and doors and windows, a refreshing breeze was sent to the whole hall, Anna sat on the side couch, her belly was already very prominent, she was holding a scroll of transcribing ancient poetry in her hand, she was reciting, her loose collar and hair were slanted down her shoulders slightly, It was already quite obvious that there was "some material" under her slender neck, which was after all an instinctive preparation before becoming a mother, just like a man would stock up on food and weapons to carefully prepare for war.

In this respect, unlike other noblewomen, Anna told Hertomia and Agnes that she would continue to read poetry or historiographical manuscripts to her child every day, and to breastfeed her after birth. (To be continued.) )