When the warrior of the guard slowly pulled out Sigma's sword, and the cold light fell into Anna's eyes through the slightly flickering curtain, the purple princess let out a laugh, "What is your name, the righteous and the warrior who participated in the expedition?" ”

"Sigmar of Barneville, formerly an independent castle knight, is now free." Then, the sword was closed and returned to Sigma's hands.

"Since you don't belong to any lord, are you willing to take your sword for the cause of Seleucia now?" Anna raised her chin slightly, "Like the Grand Duke of the Empire, I can canonize you with territories and official titles. As for the women in the baths, I can always give you the best of the best, if you want. ”

"Yes, I will kill many infidels in return for your favor and that of the Grand Duke!" Sigma's eyes lit up, and she lifted her sword upside down, and immediately stood beside Anna's shoulder, as if he had now become the most loyal subordinate of the Purple Princess in a long time.

The rest of the knights and sergeants were full of arguments, some envious of Sigmar's timely service, but others uneasy about the present situation because of the constraints of the holy war and their former allegiance to the two counts, for everyone under the bell tower knew that the purple-clothed princess had come to buy them by force.

Seeing that this group of people was hesitant, Anna's behavior was even more blatant, she walked out of her shoulder directly under the guidance and support of the guards and slaves, purple fluttering clothes, petite body, and the tall white bell tower, she could skillfully use the local language of Blois, so openly opposed to the opposite, murderous Frankish knights and sergeants gushed,

"Some of you are from Normandy, some of you are from Blois, and your previous oaths are not binding to you. Why? Think about it, thirty years ago my empire hired a lot of Saxon warriors to serve as the Praetorian Guard of the previous emperor or my father, because the land of England where they were located was invaded by your ancestors, and they lost their fiefdoms, so they had to earn a living, didn't they? Later my father and Norman lord Robert . When Guiscart fought, they all held a bitter grudge against the Normans and shone in various battles. Therefore, no oath is valid without a foothold, and the sword needs money and land in order to exert the zeal to burn it. Now you have all lost your homes because of debt, and your lords have deceived you by asking my father for reinforcements to bring you to Asia Minor, but they will not be able to give everyone a stable place. ”

"Perhaps, we can sell our own force to the Emperor of Constantinople." In the crowd, a knight named Goti suddenly stroked his chest and said, "Yes, we will work with the Count of Blois to serve His Majesty the Emperor." ”

Anna smiled at the corners of her mouth, and then she stretched out her hands, "That's not bad, you must have this thought in your mind, right?" The emperor's salary is distributed to the mercenaries once a year, and the income should indeed be enough for your living needs, but what about your wives and children who are far away from home. In the end, you can only gather around the outskirts of the imperial capital and find a stupid and rough country woman like the Paulines (Anna's resentment) and live out your life. And your wife in your hometown can only be forced to climb into someone else's bed for life, and your children will be abused by masters from all walks of life, working as coolies, and will not be educated and raised. Let me ask you, do you still expect the emperor's fiefdom? ”

"When you come to Seleucia, you may wonder why all sorts of people—Slavic, Saracen, Paulician, and German, are willing to farm and serve Gawain and me in this land, and for no other reason we can secure their land, where they are undoubtedly 'chosen people.'" But my father's imperial system was different, and the right to tax and ownership of land was determined a long time ago by the Golden Edict, and whoever was a Roman nobleman belonged to whom, and where could there be your share? Unless you want to be a mercenary for the rest of your life. However, it may be difficult to say for the rest of your life, because according to reliable information, if you are incorporated into the army of Constantinople, you will soon be thrown into the terrifying region of Paphragonia, where you will fight against the most powerful Danishmond Turks, and be consumed as a front-line force. ”

The purple-clothed princess was convincing, but everyone was shaken again and again, and Anna felt that it was time to join the "reserves" for the decisive battle, and she instructed Count Ryanstein to step forward again, with a contract-like paperwork in his hand:

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you are willing to accept the contract with the Grand Duke and the Purple Princess, you will soon be able to enjoy the Gospel Legion of the City of Tarsus and Cappadocia as the 'Frontier Fortress of Ginat', and the specific duties are as follows - the ownership of the swords, shields and armor that you originally owned will remain unchanged, and if the princess who lacks them will give you free equipment, especially the mounts and their armor - but in return, you shall assemble under the banner of Seleucia and march against the lands of the heathen, Defend the occupied castles and borders, protect the military settlers of Seleucia. Of course, in return, Seleucia will give you a large amount of fiefdom, and here is the Gospel Contract. Please note that only you have a shade in your land, which means that after you have a lifetime, it can be passed on to your descendants. ”

Hearing of such a contract, everyone present was shaken violently, and it was full of naked bargains, completely different from the impassioned holy vows of the Pope's crown: we will sell our lives to the princess with our swords in exchange for fiefs and shadows, but the crusade against the infidels in Anatolia does not seem to have broken the oath we had made. But what is Tarsus? Wasn't it the domain of the Greek emperors of the same faith?

"Tarsus, the capital city sandwiched between East and West Cilicia, and now that my father has burned all the territories he occupies on the plateau and retreated, it is very dangerous for the city to fall into a state of ownerlessness. Therefore you will take it first, and I will manage it on my behalf, and of course a considerable part of the tax revenue from the workshops and commerce that will be restored in the city will be allocated to you as a stipend. After Anna said this, she retreated to her shoulder, "The signing of the contract will be left to the ceremonial officer of Reinstein and the bartender of Staulajos." The rest of you, come with me. Then the widow over there also said to Chiser, "Let's go too."

Subsequently, only this group of personnel remained in the entire bell tower district, as well as two Seleucian plenipotentiaries, "How, have you figured it out, it will definitely not go against the grand wishes of the Holy See, and the conquest of Anatolia will be as brilliant in history as the conquest of the Holy Land." Reinstein was very honest and set up a stack of contracts on his makeshift desk. (To be continued.) )