However, although the Grand Duke's plan has a whimsical color in it, and no one knows whether it will work, but in the current situation, since a one-sided confrontation with Kobuha's army is already the limit of the ability of all pilgrims, then Dulac from the direction of Damascus can only adhere to the concept of "all dishes are put on the plate" and leave it to Gawain to deal with it with full authority.

"I need two messengers, one to face Kobha and one to face Durak." Then the Grand Duke raised his middle and forefinger, and then he moved his slender middle finger and reminded, "The emissary to Kobha is more noble and important than the emissary to Dulac." ”

Everyone expressed their incomprehension, and Gawain explained: Our attack on Kobuha must be as decisive and sudden as before, and we must firmly control the entire battlefield outside Antioch in our own hands, and now that Kobuha's army is actually isolated, Ridwan has fled, and Dukak has not yet and it is difficult to join him, so the envoys we sent out must actually be humble and willing, confuse Kobuha, and dispel his vigilance and fighting spirit.

"The day of the decisive battle?" Gawain's words aroused everyone's confidence and hope, and Bohemond, as the commander-in-chief of the army, directly inquired about the appropriate date for the start of the war.

"In four days, the second shipment of grain from Cilicia and Seleucia will arrive in port under the escort of the Italian convoy, and our general attack is scheduled for five days." Gawain replied.

"So, the emissary who went to negotiate with Dukak? And the sea reinforcements of the king of Babylon? ”

"Leave this to me, and I will make it impossible for Dulac to reach Antioch in time, and then tell the Turkic prince to retreat." Gawain patted his chest and reassured, then he begged Bohemond, "The men who fought Kobha will leave it to you." ”

Bohemond, who had already thought about it, stretched out his hands, and he looked at his right hand first, "Gawain's camp, and Godfrey of Fort West, and Raymond of Iron Bridge, and a group of troops from the Syrian Gate, now separated from Kobuha by the Orontes River, this is like a right hand. Then Bohemond looked at his left hand and said, "But we can also send a large army to attack the left flank of Kobha in the passage between the St. Paul's Gate and the stone fort in the city, without crossing the river." ”

"The camp of Kobha's army happens to be in the open area between the two mountains of the Iron Bridge and the Stone Fort, and the Great River, and it happens to be surrounded by our left and right hands, so we have to form two iron fists in the decisive battle - the 'Iron Fist' on the right, and hand them over to Gawain as the chief officer, and Lord Godfrey and Lord Raymond as the wings, and your army can go directly through the iron bridge and bridge to fight Kobha. On the left, the 'Iron Fist', with my chief in charge, and Lord Baldwin, Venerable Hugh, and Lord Robert as wings, crossed the land route under the stone fort to fight the other side of Kobha. With both fists, crush and crush this arrogant prince of Mosul! ”

At this moment, Godfrey raised his hand, "I want to swap combat positions with my brother." Then he looked at Baldwin and nodded, in a very loving and gentle tone, "Please forgive me for offending you, my brother would be more relieved if he fought with Gawain, not to question the Duke of April." After all, my injuries may not get better in the future, and the Eustace family hopes that my brother will continue to survive this bloody battle. ”

Baldwin wept with emotion and embraced his brother, and Bohemond readily agreed, at which point Robert asked a supplementary question, "Although Ridwan has fled, his camp in the Daphne Jungle has been taken over by Kobha's men, numbering in the thousands, threatening the northern route of Gawain's attack; In addition, according to reliable information, can the granary of Kobha, located somewhere in the mountains of the Iron Gate Fortress, be able to judge clearly? ”

"Don't worry about these two points, the former Gawain will send a detachment to stop them; And the latter, I will call Tanfred and the Armenian mercenaries, were to guard the acropolis, where there were very high outposts, and we had already judged the ridge on which the Kobha granary was located, and that ridge and the other peaks, by looking down on the enemy's routes for transporting grain and baggage, to form three interconnected roads leading to the present camp of Kobha. ”

As soon as Bohemond finished his preface, Gawain proposed, "In the decisive battle, Tancred must not only defend the acropolis, but also take the initiative to attack fiercely and seize the mountain where the Kobha granary is located!" ”

"There are only more than 800 Armenian mercenaries, and most of them are archers and swordsmen on foot, and war horses are very scarce." Regarding this plan, Bohemond said that although it is good, it is not enough.

Whoever wanted Tancred's fighting spirit to be ignited, this young and fierce Norman general, who did not want to sit on the acropolis and have nothing to do in the decisive battle, asked him angrily, "Please uncle give me another 300 Calabrian light soldiers, and give me all the horses that can be used in Antioch, not necessarily trained war horses, as long as they can be ridden on them, and I promise to take this group of Armenians with me the granaries of Kobha and show them to all the pilgrims to witness the glory of our lord." ”

Everyone stared at and admired Tancred's heroic intentions, and Gawain finally bowed his head, "In the previous battle of Atta City, our mobile cavalry achieved brilliant results, but they were killed and wounded three hundred war horses, and the horses captured from the enemy's camp, because of the relationship between the previous masters, were not familiar with the commands and movements of our cavalry, and could not fight on the battlefield, and could not be quickly repaired. If you want, take these Turkic horses, they are more than capable of simply carrying people on the road - remember, you are atoning for your sins. ”

The "atonement" in Gawain's mouth, Tanfred immediately knew that he was referring to the tragic death of Adelbello and Beatrice, although he was blamed, he still endured Gawain, nodded, and retreated behind his uncle.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in the past few days, all the beasts that can be ridden in the city have also been collected, and at the moment of the decisive battle, anything can play a role." Gawain waved his big hand, and then he walked to the gate of the courtyard of the Fallen Morning Star, and said to the other four who came over, "The five of us must abide by the protocol of the secret room, and drive out the troublesome Hugh after the war."

Godfrey didn't know what to think, but Bohemond and Raymond immediately agreed with the idea, especially the latter, who had had a lot of gaps with the Capetian royal family in Île-de-France, so they stammered, "Drive away, dare to love, dare to love." But, but in name, what is the name? ”

"An emissary for Kobuha, an emissary for Dukak - but an emissary for Emperor Komnenos who abandoned us in the cruel Battle of Antioch also needs an emissary to protest." Bohemond immediately understood, and laughed gloomily, "However, if you go to Constantinople to be held accountable, you probably won't be able to come back here, it's really pitiful" (To be continued. )