The commander was very moved, and immediately stood up, and said very heartily, "Then our Expeditionary Privy Council can guarantee the Grand Duke's military operations, and in addition, I will submit the documents to Constantinople, and together with General Tetisius, I will fight for a generous fief for the Grand Duke and the Purple Princess, so that Your Excellency can obtain the Golden Book Edict as the Grand Collector of Pronia, and obtain the rich assets produced by the fiefdom, and maintain them for life." ”

"If that's the case, everything will have to be helped by you, and Anna and I will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of our lives, and from then on, the unhappiness of Your Majesty will be gone." Gawain stood up excitedly, held arms with the two of them, and promised each other that they would promise.

The Byzantine Roman negotiations and the intrigues of the Normans were all in the shadows, but when daylight came, the attack on Antioch was still a priority.

Now that Ademar was in full control of the military direction of the entire procession, even the armies of Gawain and Tetisius were happy to accept his invitation and arrangement: four thousand mobilized pilgrim craftsmen spent several days repairing the ruined bars in front of the Dog Gate and St. Paul's Gate, while the priesthood appointed all the cardinal friars to preside over the funeral, and spent three full days burying the bodies of the fallen soldiers of the faithful.

Then, what had already been done in the city of Nicaea, pioneered by Gawain, was played out again under the city:

Three hundred heads of Turkic warriors, salted and choked with lime, were neatly pierced with spears and lined up under the walls to intimidate the enemy and boost morale.

Gawain then ordered the Geemagis Brigade. Swept away the mountain passes and forts east of the city of Antioch, cutting off Azzhi. The link between Siyan and Aleppo Ridwan. Ensuring the transit of surrounding materials, he passed through two bridges. A wooden bridge and a boat bridge, which transported a large amount of felled timber, made them into strong wooden fences and fortifications, linked the bars of St. Paul's Gate and Dog Gate, made them one, and strengthened them in height.

On the other hand, at the recovered Stone Fort of the Holy Spring, Ardmar appointed Raymond to lead five hundred warlike Provençal warriors to stay there for a long time. and had the craftsmen reinforce the ramparts with stones and soft asphalt.

After a few days of rest, the rejuvenated army of pilgrims began to use bridges and ships to shuttle back and forth, and transported the beyond-making siege equipment to the rams: these fortifications were so high that they were almost flush with the walls of Antioch in front of them, and then fences and simple pheasant moats were erected on them, and the slopes were covered with thorn branches. At intervals, there are also guarded small fences and towers, patrolled by infantry armed with spears and bows and arrows, modeled after Gawain's bridgehead below. A long, encircling moat and a wall of horses were dug to guard against a counterattack by the Turks in the city.

And these rocks, facing the side of the river. Several slopes were built that allowed vehicles and equipment to be propelled, and pilgrims relied on them. The catapult and the big crossbow were pushed step by step on it, lined up.

Now the Pilgrims and the Combined Army of the Eastern Roman Empire. There was no concealment of his tactical intentions: to concentrate all the main forces and specifically to achieve a breakthrough of the city walls at St. Paul's Gate and Dog Gate.

When countless spears and stone bullets fired from the self-defense rocks smashed into the head of the city of Antioch, the Turks, who had suffered heavy losses in the previous battle, no longer had the ability to ride their horses and rampage out of the city gates as they wished, and launched an attack on the scattered pilgrims. Xiyang did not have time to recruit manpower to repair it, and the walls and curtain walls in front of the two city gates were increasingly damaged.

Yagi who sits in a lonely city. Siyan never plays John again. Oxhilt was hoisted out with a rope to show the crowd, and he was in the acropolis hall in great pain, watching the incomparably vast siege beneath the city, and then summoned his own son, Sansadonias:

The previous sortie failed miserably, and Adesonius lost his life as a result. It is estimated that in another half a month, the city of Antioch will not be able to hold on. And Kobuha's reinforcements will not arrive until three months later. ”

"Father, then we can only concentrate the rest of our men and hold on to the Acropolis and the four Emir Towers."

Yaji. Xiyang touched his white beard and nodded, "Yes, war is a big gamble. Now that we have lost our bets, we have to admit the fact that there is a cloud in the scriptures that 'hardship is often accompanied by ease', and that the strong acropolis on the ridge is now the card we still have in hand, and there is room for the situation to be reversed. Alas, since Adesonius has died in battle, and has gone to the great prophet and entered the heaven of the Word, then my son will take his place and guard the tower. ”

In the palatial palace of Mosul, the rich and great city, the majestic local governor Kobha, on a high throne, cordially received the youngest son of Yagi, who was also the plenipotentiary envoy for help, Budakis. After praising the strength and generosity of the prince, Budakis asked why, almost two months have passed, and the army promised by Kobuha has not yet set out, and if time is delayed, "Perhaps the city of my father and the splendor of Allah will fall in the city of Antioch before you reap the glory of victory over the Christians, Your Highness." ”

"My army and warriors are being assembled, and a warlike man named Amasa is coming to me from the border, and Karaghdi and Boesas, both of whom are extremely skilled in the use of spears and bows, and I need them to be the commander of the whole army in order to make it to the battle." "As for the city of Antioch, with the wisdom and power of your father, and the city which cannot be destroyed by manpower, will you still fear the pilgrims?" ”

"Yes, my father is willing to be loyal and submit to your majesty, he wants to be your best friend for the rest of his life, but that group of pilgrims from the West, every day is killing my father's subordinates and soldiers, destroying my father's lands and fields every moment, so please do not hesitate Your Excellency, please help as soon as possible!" Budakis pleaded bitterly.

Kobha was determined to go on the expedition, but he still needed to boast in front of Yaggie's youngest son to satisfy his vanity, "Budakis, I can't imagine that neither Surelman of Rëma nor Lingzun of Antioch could be so defeated in the face of that group of pilgrims, and that we should inflict such terrible damage on our brave and martial Seljuks. We all know that the soldiers and horses of the Greek emperors were as feminine as women, and they were not tempered by war at all, and could easily be defeated and beheaded by any Seljuk, even a Turkmen; And the pilgrims from the West, as far as I know, are nothing more than a bunch of destitute people. And now, Surelman has lost all his cities in Anatolia, and Ling Zun is also trapped in Antioch, and it is unbelievable that he has come to call for my help. Budakis, noble and honest young man, could you give me your opinion and convince me more of the situation at hand. (To be continued.) )