Chapter 93: Daily Life in Constantinople (Part I)

Beside Gawain, and around St. John's Cathedral, there were terrible armored cavalrymen in heavy armor, and the four generals, Gaudí, Diognis, Mikhail, and Evraimius, all wore white cloaks on their golden and silver armor, and the scabbards of their swords rubbed against their shins. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Before leaving the army, Gawain reorganized the forbidden army system, the original forbidden army infantry team has always been maintained at the level of two detachments, about 300 people, all of them are heavy halberders, and now Gawain has added the "Fethias Detachment" and "Erickson Detachment", expanding the number of soldiers to 600 people, and then the equipped cavalry regiment was officially included in the forbidden army system, and an additional 200 archers were selected from the Ducasse private army, and 500 long guns were selected from the shooting corps of each brigade and regiment to form a 1,300-man cavalry and archery team. Omiya Forbidden Army" - Gawain handed over the position of commander-in-chief to Gauti.

Ben Mikhail's inner palace guards were also reorganized into a new forbidden army of 1,500 people, but they could not be stationed in the city, but at the Vasily Imperial Mausoleum, becoming the "Imperial Tomb Forbidden Army".

Finally, Gawain also prepared to immediately recruit a cavalry of 300 men from Anatolia, Greater Armenia, northern Thrace, and Syria to form the "Forbidden Army Garrison Cavalry", which was stationed in the Salabrea Forest, composed of Oghuz, Ani, Komaloy, Pecheneg, and Tekopo, and the commander Gawain explicitly asked Diognis to divide the position between Vlaimius.

Diognis said I was going back to Tbilisi.

Gawain said to him, you stay in the capital for three years, and after three years, I will naturally let you go, and the Bellerophon Brigade will be handed over to your subordinates to train and take care of, "The palace needs you after its safety, and if you protect it, Anna will be more at ease." ”

This was said by the guarding officer, and there was no room for refusal.

As the sun rose over Constantinople, the mournful bells rang in the churches everywhere: the Orthodox clergy inside saw the streets full of well-armored and terrifying soldiers coming from all directions, and the rubble of the houses trembling under the sound of their boots, and knew that Gawain, the "Varyag barbarian emperor", was not in any mood to negotiate with them, and he wanted to follow the example of Justinian six hundred years ago, directly kill the mob, and cleanse the entire imperial capital, no, all the synagogues and monasteries of the whole empire.

Prior to today, Gawain had received a message from Patriarch John of Antioch from the city of Tarsus. Oakhill's letters, in which he expressed his dissatisfaction with the church in the capital, but accused Gawain of the idea of violent suppression.

But Gawain did not respond, but said to Patriarch Gottschalke beside him, "The affairs of the East Synagogue will also be entrusted to you soon." ”

At the second hour of the morning, the flags of the Red Hand Brigade fluttered in a row, and a dense formation was set up around the cloister-like "Grand Cistern" connected to the Hippodrome on Avenue de Metz, with columns of soldiers armed with various weapons, with their backs to the Grand Cistern, and their heads turned to the northwest, facing the Palazzo Lanús outside the Racecourse, opposite the crossroads of Metz, connecting the Grand Palace, the Hippodrome and the Cathedral of the Saints of Wisdom. Stone-throwing shield, and hoping to terrify all the Christian soldiers on the other side.

Commander Merlot, dressed in a white robe with gold riedness, rode on a black steed, standing in front of the guards of the stragglers, looking even more handsome and erect, drew his sword, and said to the many shouting and scolding mobs on the barricades, "The new Supreme Emperor is willing to forgive you for your crimes one last time, and immediately give up the halls and public places that you occupy and defile, and swear allegiance to His Majesty Gawain." ”

"Get out of here, Varyag brutes!" On the ramparts of cars, rocks and wooden fences, many mobs of Greens and Whites shouted at Merlot's banner and rained down on the flying rocks in their hands, while many people shouted in support of the crowd, and flags flew in all corners of the Grand Palais and the Racecourse.

Many stones hit the area more than ten feet in front of Merlot and the warhorse, and they flew over, and Merlo pulled his mount back again and again.

At the same time, at the same time in the square of Constantine, another brigade of defenders marched along the streets between the "Second Hill" and the "Third Hill" to the Acropolis of the Golden Horn, and was also stopped in front of the "Palace of Botanias" by barricades erected by thousands of armed diners of the Great Almshouse, and Branas, riding forward, gave them an ultimatum, and warned that if they refused to comply, the entire Almshouse of St. Paul would be burned and razed. The same dense sling, accompanied by the unyielding shouts of the diners, struck General Branas......

"Citizens, get out of the way!" At the second hour and third quarter of the morning, Beriel, the mayor of Constantinople and the reciprocal of the empire, also appeared in front of the Lanus Palace, and the old man, hoarse and sincere, shouted to the barricades, "Otherwise, this place and the stadium will be cleared soon, and the citizens please cherish the hard-won peace!" His Majesty the new Emperor promised you that he would continue to open horse racing, bullfighting, polo and other entertainment in the future to protect your rights and interests. Therefore go quickly, go home, hug your wives and children, and accept the relief food that will come soon, or anyone with a little common sense will be able to see that as long as Your Majesty's iron horse continues to advance, will you still be able to resist? ”

"Die, old and undead traitor!"

"You should have a dog's tail tied to your head and go around the racetrack seven times!" The barricades erupted with insults, drowning out Buriel's exhortations.

The trumpet sounded, and Merlot and Burriel looked back at the same time.

It was Gao Wen who led the forbidden soldiers here.

The first thing the new emperor said impatiently was, "Why don't you start pressing?" ”

Merlot hurriedly turned around and gave the order to sound the flag.

Facing the Lanus Palace, nine hundred soldiers of the Red Hand Brigade of the Shooting Corps, each thirty men in a small wing, drove into front of the barricades in overlap, their umbrella-like feathers close together, carrying long firearms, skillfully changing formations until they formed a three-sided formation, and began to raise their firearms, silently aiming at the barricades in all directions, and the arquebuses screamed.

Enraged, the mob marched up the barricades, shouting and waving their arms in all sorts of provocative gestures.

"Varyag barbarian, you are not worthy of being the emperor of Rome at all, you are not a Roman at all!" In the crowd of barricades, a tall man pointed his thumb down at Gawain.

Under the banner, Gawain tightened his mount, causing Agthius to let out a long, violent hiss, his front hooves raised, and he pointed back, "Then I will conquer the land of Varyag and make it part of the empire." Shoot me! ”

Before Gawain's words could reach the ground, a cloud of gunfire exploded: all the shooters did not hesitate to shoot the projectiles in the long guns, and in the rain and the sudden sound of the wind, many of the icons and mob bodies on the barricades were shattered and torn apart, and they fell to the street with screams.