After mercilessly rejecting Gawain's request for peace, the Emperor's army hastened the construction of the embankment, and according to Axepocos's plan, the Emperor's soldiers first drained the water about ten feet wide by using screws and tank wheels, and then brought in clayey earth rammed into blocks (this kind of mud is abundant in Panfelia), built an earthen embankment about nine feet high on it, and then filled the side of the earthen embankment with reeds and seaweed grass on the side of the earthen embankment facing the swamp, until it was as high as the earthen embankment— In this way, the reeds and seaweed would absorb the rest of the water in the vicinity in sufficient quantities, swell up and tighten the ropes, and become stronger—if so, the construction of such a mixture of earth and grass would effectively dissolve the surface of the swamp twenty feet or more. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Alexios and John, father and son, worked together to fill the water surface of more than four hundred feet after three full days of busy command, and the efficiency was much higher than before, and they were not afraid of Gawain diverting water from the Alaman River: because the seaweed grass was particularly absorbent.

Overjoyed Alexios. Komnenos immediately ordered the promotion of Axepocauth to the palace guard, promoted him from a slave to an imperial nobleman overnight, and safely handed over the entire drainage project and camp affairs to him for overall management, "I will soon allow you to learn the writing and rhetoric of the Greek language, you are both a bureaucratic nobleman in my country, and a personal slave of John, so you can assist him well." ”

And Gawain's army on the other side of the swamp did not seem to have any good way to deal with it, but continued to dig siege trenches against the great city of Alalmanburg, and severely strengthened the discipline in the barracks, and the military judge Giovanni led Gawain's guards, increasing the daily patrol from two times in the morning and evening to four, not only to check the spies, but also to supervise the movements of ordinary soldiers and military servants, and once there was any intention to escape, they were hanged immediately after the interrogation.

But even so, the soldiers still spread the word of mouth in private, "The title of Grand Duke has been stripped by the Emperor, and Prince Ruben has begun to attack our army in Western Cilicia, and now he is suffering from the enemy, and it is said that His Royal Highness the Grand Duke cannot bear it, and he will have to sacrifice and give up the eastern territory in order to draw back the military strength of the other two brigades here." ”

"But the other pilgrims, like Lord Godfrey, don't have any thoughts of reinforcing us?" Behind the wooden fence of the trenches, the soldiers lost the interest in gambling with copper crocflowers, and talked in low voices with shovels and hoes before Giovanni came to patrol the camp.

"I don't think it's likely, you have to know that the current opponent is not Callegos, but the richest and most powerful Emperor Komnenos in the world, and it is said that as long as he spends a little money, all the peoples of Yukxinghai and Shenghai are willing to serve him." A mouthful soldier surrounded the surroundings and made a careful analysis, and then they saw several guards approaching the area, and they were completely silent, and lowered their heads and went about their work.

On the fourth day, the emperor was refreshed, surrounded by a large number of honor guards, standing on the earthen embankment that had been completed with a horsewhip, and trampling everywhere with his boots, and indicating that it was very strong, and the surrounding generals and staff all responded with knowing and sincere laughter, and at this time in front of the imperial capital, the great city of Alalmanburg was more than a thousand feet away in front of him, and if he had a light arrow of the Turks in his hand, he could shoot the arrow directly in front of Gawain's camp, and the city head there was also boiling with joy, Many citizens of Alarmán held the Emperor's holy painting and shook it, braving the fire of the besieging side, shouting praises of the Emperor's wisdom and greatness, and begging Komnenos to save the city.

"After entering the city immediately, the army is not allowed to carry out any robbery or other illegal acts here, because the people here are also my people." The emperor stood between the two screw drainage carts, facing the wet and heavy mist drifting from the swamp, holding the tip of the horsewhip with great ambition, and turned to all the people standing behind him, showing the emperor's majesty and bearing, but his imperial ink official Meles laughed lightly, "Actually, Your Majesty's idea is to take this opportunity not only to repel Gawain's attack and pacify Seleucia, but also to eradicate the power of the Callegos family here by the way, really just like Your Majesty just said - not long after, The people of all Seleucia will be your true subjects, who will pay your taxes completely directly and who will serve you in the military or paddle on deck for generations. ”

Just as the Imperial Ink Officer was thinking this, he suddenly felt that the voices of the people around him had stopped, because in the sky above the swamp behind the emperor, there was a dull thunder, and then on the top of the emperor's head, who was still holding a horsewhip and pointing at Alalmanburg, with the same expression, suddenly five black dots of different heights appeared, projected in the pupils of Meles's eyes, and quickly rolled and became larger, and the "thunder" was caused by their friction with the air, "It's the stone projectile thrown by the enemy, Your Majesty!" Alexios, because of his instinctive vigilance on the battlefield, also quickly stretched out his hand to Meles, so the other party pulled and pulled, the emperor's body moved back and forth twice, and a stone bullet fell straight behind him, smashing the screw waterwheel with the straw shed to pieces, and several people who stepped on the turntable on it were also smashed into powder!

Five stone bullets thrown from the Great Plani Cannon flew without any warning in advance, and one after another, they smashed flowers on the earthen embankment that was being constructed densely covered with the emperor's soldiers and horses, and Alexios, who was still imposing just now, felt that everything around him was shattered, and the entire embankment was tumbling and undulating, as if it had suffered the most terrible earthquake. Several of the equipment that was still pumping and draining water was destroyed, and the frightened pack horses broke free from their poles and scurried around, knocking over and trampling on anyone regardless of their identity, and many palace guards gathered and slashed through the crowd with sharp knives in their hands, opening a bloody path for His Majesty the Emperor and the prince, before rushing back to the relative safety of the barracks—and then, the large prani cannons erected in the Gawain barracks took turns to bombard for half a day, almost smashing all the screws and tank wheels set up by the emperor on the edge of the swamp, The puddles of black mud were littered with broken wood and the corpses of men and horses,

At this moment, the emperor, who was snatched back to the barracks, turned pale, as if he had a fever, slumped on his seat, and muttered to himself, "It's really difficult to do, what about the waterwheel?" What kind of catapult did Gawain use, and why was the range and power so terrifying...... Why ......" Then, the emperor slowly covered his face, extremely painful, "I was attacked by Gawain, and he was more secretive and ruthless than when he fought in front of the city gate, first giving me the illusion that things were going well, and then secretly transferring and concentrating the stone shooter, and destroying all the essences draining on my earthen embankment at once. ”

"What should I do!" Then the Emperor cried out in grief and bowed his head heavily. (To be continued.) )