"You won't do anything unprovoked to my guests, will you?" At this time, even Alexios vaguely felt the seriousness of the situation, he knew that this group of Normans was ruthless and unjust, although Gawain was also his "sworn enemy", but why was it in the hands of Bohemond? As the Emperor's eyes saw that there was no figure of the person he cared about in the information around Bohemond, he continued to ask, "I heard that the Norman expeditionary army was divided into two heads, so why didn't your nephew Tank Red arrive, and where is your uncle Roger?" ”

"Not to mention my uncle, who has no interest in the Great Expedition and has not responded to the call of His Majesty, such unbelievers will go to hell sooner or later, and the vast majority of the Tver family will sink there anyway. As for my nephew, when I was about to accept the canonization of His Majesty, he was unwilling to quarrel with me—and now the boy Tancred, who had taken most of his party from the palace of Juquantina, had gone to camp on the seashore in search of ships to cross the sea, and paid no attention to me. Bohemond Depi explained with a smile.

Sure enough, it was the treacherous Duke of Apulia, who entered the palace in this name, and feared that the emperor would take him hostage and attack his subordinates, so he and Tancred had a red face and a black face to deal with the emperor's strategy. And before, he and Tancred had a secret discussion, and this was the plan reached.

At this time, the emperor was passive, but Alexios was also battle-hardened, and if he provoked an attack at this time, it would be useless, the main thing was to reach a peace agreement with the pilgrim Western lords as soon as possible, and send them all to the other side of the strait, "Then." Did you bring the people I wanted to meet on this trip? ”

Naturally, both sides understand who this person is. Only Anna and Dedo didn't know why (but Anna expected it), so Bohemond didn't answer directly. The eunuch standing beside him made an affirmative gesture to the emperor through the curtain, and Alexios's tone softened a lot, and Anna's heart fell, "Ducasse seems to be finished," she thought, and touched her sister's hair, and comforted her softly, "The person my father said is still in the future, not this red-haired brute. Subsequently. Anna hugged her sister, and some resentful gaze passed through the curtain and projected onto Bohemond's body, she didn't know what Ben was, but her heart still swelled with worry (to the big brute) and resentment (to Bohemond).

And the Duke of Apulia also keenly felt that behind the emperor's throne, there were a pair of absolutely unfriendly eyes, staring at him. A sense of unhappiness also ignited in his heart.

The Emperor, who was not yet aware, said, "Since I have proposed a plan to you and Gawain almost at the same time, and you, Bohemond, have arrived first. I will not break my word - I will grant you the position of Grand Duke of Anatolia, the post of Supreme Commander of Asia, and the title of the first white-robed nobleman of the Empire. "Between words. The bird summoned several eunuchs and delivered seals, medals, inkwells, and robes to Bohemond's attendants.

And Bohemond picked up the beautiful seal. Touching the red beard, he was very proud. It seems that the advance plan was completely successful, isolating Gawain and preempting the opportunity - he was more pragmatic than Godfrey, and understood that the crusade had to gain the support of Constantinople, even as a vassal of the emperor.

Then Alexios continued, "Now that you have attained these supreme glories, but the title requires an equal amount of obligation in exchange, you are to go and negotiate with Godfrey or Gawain that he will also accept my canonization. Because in the official rank system of the empire, you are their superior, and in the future, when the territory is divided, you will also stand in an advantageous position and get the support of the empire's backing, understand? ”

"Godfrey's side is easy to handle, but I can't guarantee Gawain's side, who knows if he is alive or dead now?" Bohemond once again felt the angry gaze of the throne, and deliberately provoked.

In an instant, Alexios felt a swift wind blow behind his head - it was his daughter Anna who lifted the curtain and stepped out, wearing a crown and an aggressive gaze like an aggressive little lioness, while Dedot was pushed back to her seat by her sister, and it was not clear what had happened.

"Originally, the emperor of the empire had already made an appointment with the Grand Duke of Barry, and the duke, you, to enter from the Golden Gate, why are you the only ones here now?" Anna walked over to her father's throne and stood, confronting Bohemond.

"This is Your Majesty's own arrangement, I just followed it, and now he comes to ask me!" When Bohemond saw that it was a thirteen or fourteen-year-old cardamom girl, thinking that this should be the emperor's daughter, he didn't take her seriously at all, and retorted.

"Anna, go back" Alexios began to turn his head, disgruntled.

"You obey, isn't that how Gawain is? I know the map of the capital, and Gawain will pass through your Norman camp when he comes to the Golden Gate from his camp in Salabria, so do not try to deceive the wise and holy Father. ”

"Don't get me wrong, Your Royal Highness the Princess!" Bohemond shouted, "Don't try to splash the sewage on me, know that Gawain will also pass by your camp of Drasius Da Renus, maybe Brenus kidnapped and ambushed him, or invited him to a banquet, who can say the intrigue within your empire, right?" ”

"Although Brenus is useless, after all, he is a great nobleman honored by the Empire, and he definitely cannot do such a despicable act." The more Anna spoke, the more anxious she became, the more excited she became, as if there was a fire burning in her chest, she had completely ignored the surprised expressions of everyone present, and her mind was full of terrible thoughts about what happened to the big barbarians, whether they would really be poisoned by Bohemond, "Only you, only you lawless Norman thieves, all from Normandy farmers, fishermen, lowly craftsmen, there is no faith and order in their eyes, and the sword in their hands is always doing dirty and bloody deeds, It is not enough to come and defile the borders of the empire, but to pretend to be some innate nobleman - I have long known your bad deeds in the scrolls, and I will continue to use my pen in the scrolls to continue to criticize you, so that the people of all ages will curse you for your wickedness! ”

The eldest princess's words were sonorous and powerful, like countless arrows and stone bullets, flying and echoing in the halls of Brachna Palace, and even Bohemond, who had always been known for his eloquence, was stunned and stood in place, his red beard trembling with anger. And Alexios also looked at his daughter, constantly whispering in anger and quickly saying the words "Anna shut up". But Anna had no intention of stopping, she covered her beating heart with her hands, bowed slightly, combed her chaotic and trembling breath, and then raised her head again at Bohemond with a heavy little crown, "O lowly Apulian bandit, if you do not even know the noble Greek, I can repeat what I have just said in Latin—and now you are quick to answer me, what is the matter with Gawain!" ”

At this time, even the emperor demanded that Bohemond tell the truth, otherwise all negotiations would end here.

"I really don't know, I was just joking with you. Of course, I will shoulder the burden of negotiating with Gawain and repay His Majesty's affection. Suddenly, Bohemond's expression was like a magic change, and he smiled, "By tomorrow at the latest, I will convey the message of all the lords to His Majesty's throne, including Gawain's." Then Bohemond replied to Anna, "I have heard that you have been promised by Your Majesty to Lord Brenus, but I am really sorry for him now, and you care more about someone than he cares for him, even more than you do for your father. ”

Anna's face turned hot, but she quickly calmed down the situation, "I am Gawain's chief protector, and my father will soon entrust Gawain with a heavy responsibility in Asia Minor, and if you dare to disagree with him, it will be a declaration of war against the entire Roman Empire, and you lowly people will have to pay the price for greed and recklessness." ”

"The Normans were no mean!" Bohemond roared, pointing to Anna, "When our Norman ancestors, only forty pilgrims, crossed the Alps into Italy, when half of the Apennines had already fallen into the hands of the Crescentists. At that time, both the Roman Empire, which you proclaimed, and the Salian Caesar, were repeatedly defeated by the infidels, and they lost their teachers and land. It was our Normans who turned the tide and fought hard in all directions, defeated the heathen, and restored the glory of the Lord, and at the worst of the time, there were only twelve knights left in the whole army, and then they made an agreement to elect a leader, and if the leader was killed in battle in the enemy's ranks, his companions would automatically take their place, and continue to command all men with swords and horses, and blow the battle horn against the heathen. After decades of bloody battles, there is now no mosque or crescent moon flag in all of Italy. With that, Bohemond slammed his fist into his chest, "If this is the work of the lowly man, then all the noble should be ashamed of death." ”

"Shut up!" Alexios stood up from his throne and shouted with a raised hand.

And Daido, who was sitting behind the curtain, did not pay attention to it, and pressed the mechanism, and the mechanical lion in front of Bohemond suddenly roared and stood up, raising his claws, which frightened the Duke of Apulia, who had been arrogant just now, and hurriedly drew his sword - at the same time, the warriors of the Emperor's guard, seeing this, thought that the duke was going to act rough in front of the throne, and they also raised their weapons and pressed at Bohemond.

At the last moment, a shout of wind and thunder suddenly came from outside the palace, and then two heralds dressed in scarlet clothes ran in and prostrated themselves in front of the throne, "The pilgrims of Sarabria have launched a fierce attack on the great capital, and the situation is very critical! ”

"What?" Alexios was also shocked. (To be continued.) )