"What, the Normans have landed in Durazor, and Brenus has cleared them to leave for Thessaly in the near future." Receiving this letter from the captor, Alexios's heart throbbed, although then Theognes said that the Norman army did not plunder the city and countryside under the banner of obeying the Holy See of Rome and going to Asia Minor, and the letter sent by Bohemond also had a lot of sycophants about himself, but the treacherous and untrustworthy of this Norman prince still made Alexios's heart hang, and the stone did not know when it would land.

"Let Brenus take control of the army for the time being and stay in Durazo to wait, and the ten thousand men of Sebastoclat shall advance rapidly from the valley of the northern Thessalonica towards Adrianople, ready to join us." The Emperor gave a brief and forceful decision, and then another cavalryman with the banner of the fish and dragon also came in a rage, against the advancing brigade, "My lord, the Tevris mongrels have swarmed, and they have united some of the Pechenegs and Cumans, and have also conspired against many ungodly soldiers in Thrace and Bulgaria, and have captured Fort Philip. ”

The emperor in front of the military gate held back his anger, "How are the defenders in the fortress?" ”

"All 300 people were martyred." The herald replied.

"It's too late, Gawain will leave it to Berdin for the time being, and we will first quickly advance to the Thrace River (the ancient name for the Maricha River, which originated from the Rila Mountain, where Alexios had previously won a great victory over the Pechenegs), break through this group of debris, and then decide on the countermeasures according to the speed of Gawain and the Normans' respective advances." The Emperor spoke to several of the guards, and they bowed their heads and began to ride their horses towards the army in front. The commanders of the various departments assigned tasks.

"And Lord, this time the Tevris traitors. He embraced a puppet emperor and claimed to be the fourth son of Romanus. made a very rebellious request to the imperial throne. "The herald cavalry has added a new and tricky situation.

"It's not just a doctrinal war, you're looking for death, Tevris mongrels." Alexios' face was filled with a fierce murderous aura, and at this time, a word suddenly sounded in his ears.

This was said by his daughter Little Anna, who had come to him before he set out on his expedition, and told him, "Father, you will soon achieve a great victory against the heretics of the Thrace, and the commander of Count Gawain has entered Rasnia from Italy, and you two can cooperate - let the soldiers and horses of Brenus spy on Bohemond in the rear." Then Gawain swept away Berdin's forces, and his uncle Myaulinus took his men and fleet to guard the strait, and confronted the Sultan of Konya in Nicaea, so that your father could quickly re-pacify Rasnia, Thrace, and Bulgaria, increase the power and wealth of the empire, and then be able to join forces with Gawain to encircle and annihilate the Norman bandits who had penetrated deeply. Yes, even if they are under the banner of an expedition to the Holy Land, their hearts will always be sinister and untrustworthy. As long as Bohemond can be destroyed, the Frankish princes who will come after them will be terrified and will be intimidated by the might of your father, and you will be able to rule over them. Let them be the precursors of the king, and then successfully recover Asia Minor, and the Roman Empire will be able to regain its former glory for a long time. ”

"Why. Why! In Anna's heart, Bohemond could not be trusted. But she trusted the Varyag brute with the unsheathed sword. Thinking of this, Alexios should have been concerned about the point. has also changed, the nameless fire in his heart has risen, all in all, all the benchmarks of his daughter's plan are based on "cooperating with Gao Wen", which he really can't accept.

I also have 25,000 soldiers and horses in my hands, why can't I control the situation of this empire, let a barbarian with an unrighteous name act as a helper, and share the honor and benefits with him? Could it be that the situation I am facing now is even more dangerous than that of the Normans? I didn't fall back then, and I don't do it today.

So, Stephen. Gawain. Lusail, you'll disappear into the wilderness of Rasnia.

With this in mind, the emperor began to use his spurs to urge his horses to embark on a journey to the west.

In the Philip Fort, the Orthodox monastery and church were on fire, and the black-robed Tevris devotees in front of the hall were wielding butcher's knives, beheading the captured priests, smashing the icons and sculptures in the temple, and on the bloody and barbaric altar main hall, the golden-handed consul Kabeamia sat upright on his seat with a sneer, her elders and co-workers stood on the right and left, and a young man with curly hair and a dark face sat on a small chair at the bottom of the steps, holding a little lamb in his hand.

This was originally a shepherd boy in the mountains of Cappadocia Minor, but at this moment he was coerced and lured by the female consul, claiming to be the widow of Romanus IV (Romanus was betrayed and exiled after the defeat of Manzikt, and died of his wounds soon after, this hapless emperor was born into the military nobility of Cappadocia), and Cabeamia also gave him a resounding name, "Romanus" (of course, the same name as his declared father).

The three hundred defenders of the captured castle were not "all martyred" as the herald had told Alexios, and most of them surrendered without particularly strong resistance, while their officers were tied up and escorted to the feet of the consul and the "emperor" of Romanus, begging for mercy.

"It is not difficult to forgive your capital sins by being loyal to the new emperor, and it is also a good thing for you, because the empire of the current emperor Alexios will soon fall." On the throne, Kabeamia propped her chin with her golden hand, her charming eyes smug with pride.

So the officers knelt before Leo, the shepherd, and kept prostrating his head, and Leo was so frightened that he knelt down and bowed his forehead even louder.

Seeing this funny scene, Kabeamia laughed even more indulgently. After the Battle of the Nicaea Gorge, she led her followers to capture the regions of Paphragonia and Brasilon, but at Trabizon she was defeated by the former Byzantine general Theodoro. Gabrias's resolute resistance (this monarch was the Grand Duke of the Military Region, who took the opportunity to establish an independent state in Trabizon after the complete defeat of the imperial forces in Asia Minor), and after the defeat of the Tevris army, Kabeamia also faded from the idea of continuing eastward expansion, and focused on the idea of crossing the sea to Thrace to incite a riot under the emperor's nose.

The Thracian River, which flows through it, is still the main artery for the smuggling of all kinds of refugees into Europe, and the Pauline propagandists, who preach heresy in small boats and mules, village by village, now have seized Fort Philip, which is a manifestation of its blossoming and fruition.

Fort Philip, on the other hand, is located on the main road between Adrianople and the imperial capital, and Kabeamia's move has to be said to make Emperor Komnenos feel embarrassed. (To be continued.) )