Based on the picture compiled by the answers of several people, it is almost certain that the "Iron Gate", Antioch's gateway to the east and south, has been occupied by Kobuha's troops.

On the other hand, when the pilgrims concentrated their efforts on the Acropolis of Agghi, Kobha's earlier team also captured the port of St. Simon, which the pilgrims had occupied.

The situation was such that the pilgrims had captured the entire city of Antioch and killed all of the Aggish party, but had lost almost all of their outer defenses.

"We are surrounded by the army of Kobha." This was the consensus of the people, and they no longer wanted to enjoy the joy of last night's victory, and they were worried: the problem of food, the problem of defending Antioch, and so on.

"A decisive meeting is needed now!" In the midst of the crowd, Gawain suddenly raised his hand and said aloud, "If this meeting is well discussed, then we definitely have the strength to defeat Kobha and his allies." ”

"But there are so many people in our city now, 150,000, 200,000? And the ports of Saint-Simon and Latakia are blocked, and in the event of famine, we will collapse completely. Many lords and knights replied gloomily and pessimistically.

"There are so many enemies, and their 100,000 people, I am afraid that 70,000 are soldiers who can go into battle, including tens of thousands of cavalry, and they can also get food supplies from Aleppo and Mosul. If the Emperor of Constantinople had not come to our aid with his men, ignoring the begging of His Excellency Ademar letter after letter, it would have been extremely difficult for us to achieve victory. ”

"Shut up, everyone!" At this moment, Count Robert, the military general staff, who had always been praised for his mildness and low profile, came out of the ranks of the crowd and said very sternly and resolutely, "A hundred meaningless croaks are not as precise as a precise philosophical thought." When military arrangements and strategies have been formulated by a few of the noblest and most shrewd, the vast majority of lords and knights have only to strictly abide by them, and it is by this that we have won victory after victory in the past, and the bloody lessons of the past have taught everyone that not being subordinate to each other will inevitably lead to tragedy. Therefore, Your Excellency the Consul-General"

"Well, did you call me?" Bohemond in the crowd didn't react for a while, and pointed his finger at the tip of his nose, with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Hold a secret meeting now, and make a well-thought-out plan in a short period of time." Robert then said.

Then the Count of Flanders turned to the solemn Ademar, bowed deeply, and said apologetically, "I beg your pardon, for it is a purely military meeting presided over by the Duke of Apulia, and some of the remarks are inconvenient for you to be present, but you must believe that everything we have discussed is to keep this city, known as the 'cradle of the Lord,' from the sword of the Turks and other unbelievers of all stripes." ”

After a brief pause, Ademar bowed his head and kissed Robert on the cheek, "It's okay, just be honest about your list of attendees here." No good deeds and righteous deeds can be exposed to the sun and the temple of the gospel. ”

The Count of Flanders appointed the following persons to attend:

Bohemond, Gawain, Godfrey, Raymond, and himself.

Even Tanrred and Baldwin were not eligible to attend, either because they were too young or because they were too close to their uncle or brother to make a truly fair military deployment.

As for Venerable Hugh, it was rumored in the barracks that he was about to return via Constantinople, so no one thought that he would stay in the East.

The Danish prince Sven, whose men had been killed and wounded by the Turks and Greek bandits in the mountains of Virginia, had lost his eligibility for independence, and everyone believed that he would have to take refuge under Gawain before he could enter the Holy City and visit the Holy Sepulchre.

The five chosen men entered the secluded transept of the church, a house with a wall outside the window, with no place for eavesdroppers, and all of them imitated the "chamber council" of the cardinals of Rome, and when they entered, they closed the door, and the guards had to stand fifteen feet outside the door.

Gawain sat next to Godfrey on a chair by the window, Bohemond sat alone at the entrance, Raymond sat without saying a word and sat under the third column, while Robert of Flanders stood in the center to show that he was only the host, and made a silent gesture to himself that he would not speak.

The atmosphere was dreary, and everyone seemed to be thoughtful, and no one was willing to speak. On the one hand, the opponent's soldiers are approaching the city, and on the other hand, they are each harboring ghosts.

A quarter of an hour had passed, and everyone became agitated, and their eyes were focused on Bohemond, implicitly that he was the chief of the entire army, and now he had to say it, and he had to say it.

In the end, Bohemond also felt that it was not a matter to go on like this, but he didn't want to show the core things, so he thought about it, anyway, it was a military meeting, and it would be good to "speak in the army":

"Distinguished lords, I have always been thinking, in the face of a menacing enemy, should we stick to the city, or go out of the city to form a field battle, or defend and counterattack?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain suddenly slapped down his chair and stood up, so that Bohemond suddenly didn't know how to say the words.

"If you don't have the same understanding, no matter what kind of tactics you have, you will end in failure!" Gawain's eyes were burning and his words were astonishing, and it seemed that he did not want to discuss military issues at all.

However, although Gawain's words did not coincide with the theme of the meeting, Raymond and the others obviously seemed to have been said to have hit the nail on the head, and even Bohemond spread his hands and said that you have something to say first.

Gawain's footprints were in the middle of the floor of the transept, and behind him, the splendid frescoes and dome of the church, the Grand Duke of the Empire and the priesthood of the Holy See entrusted to the deity, then uttered words that would have terrified the Emperor of Constantinople and His Holiness the Pope, echoing in the transept if Alexios and Urban were present:

"Is the Holy Land and the entire Levantine under the control of the Emperor or the Pope?"

"Enough Gawain, don't say such rebellious words." Bohemond was so indignant that how could he say the words that were buried in everyone's hearts in such a grand manner? It's a crime.

"We must be honest before the Lord! If we had not thirsted for territory and loot, we would not have traveled half the world step by step to this East, which is full of all kinds of things. But all of us should realize that we are responsible for the sins of the world, not the Church, by carrying the cross and trekking through the killing and bloodshed, and recovering the Holy City. But Gawain did not care about the embarrassment of everyone at all, and continued to make a lot of nonsense.

Everyone stood up, trembling, but they wished that Gawain would help them say what was in their hearts. (To be continued.) )