The fleet of Pisians in the outer harbor and on the north of the headland pulled anchor to the cheers and insults of the soldiers and the people of the city, and the city of Amalfi was immersed in great joy, and many hungry citizens spontaneously went to the town hall and the church to thank Christ, Pope Peter and the Emperor of Greece for their protection, "We live in a happy and tenacious city-state, and with the help of saints from all sides, the ship will never deviate, and we can always avoid the treacherous reef." "The teams equipped with the mule carts, as well as the ships carrying the grain, have been assembled in front of the gates and docks according to the instructions of the consul Pantalleoni, ready to buy and raise food from Passalerno, Anzio, etc., to survive the long days of winter.

The members of the council had begun to deliberate on erecting a bronze statue of the commander of the "Red Hand" sent by the Greek Emperor on the Fishing Square: the commercial city-states were not only deceitful, but they valued favors and retribution more than that, so as to reflect the credibility of the city-state, which was the most indispensable for trade on the sea and land - even if it was a commercial contract with a pagan enemy, it would not be destroyed until it was absolutely necessary, let alone a benefactor - except for the erection of statues, Pantalioni also urged the commissioners to pass a second resolution, which was to pay the Red Hand Dalian 8,000 silver coins.

While the city of Amalfi was still hot, Bohemond's face could almost wring the ice water, and with hundreds of Norman knights, he left the infantry and engineers of Calabria to remove the siege of the city and equipment, and came to Avelsa himself, "The armistice and peace are against Amalfi to fulfill the request of the Holy See, but the lackey of the Greek emperor, Gawain, is different, he is from Constantinople and does not enjoy immunity at all. I'm going to crush you and kill you, this time, bastard! In the tyrannical wind, the anger of the Norman knights burned even hotter, and the horses neighed and threw themselves at Aversa.

There were small units of Cuman cavalry along the way. Attacking arrows were fired at them, but they could not stop Bohemond from advancing in the slightest, and on a hillside Bohemond saw on his back the banner of a flying eagle, and below him stood a general with a slashed nose and several lightly armed archers, "You are the servant of the Greek emperor, Tetisius without a nose!" Bohemond knew this and was furious. So he rushed up the hill with a team of knights, and wanted to make him an accomplice and break his body into ten thousand pieces.

Tetisius turned his horse's head and walked away, not in the slightest distraction, but turned back and shot an arrow that knocked one of Bohemond's servants off his horse, and then straddled his brisk horse and disappeared into the valley there.

As the furious Norman knight shouted, he rushed into the mountain pass of Avelsa. It was found that the entire settlement had been completely demolished and burned, and there was nothing left in the livestock pen that survived. Wells were filled and sealed, fruit trees were cut down, and smoke of embers rolled everywhere. Many knights stripped their chains and turbans, and fell to their knees, wailing over God's wrath against them and why he had smashed the iron fist of punishment on what they regarded as a sacred place for generations.

Several Calabrian soldiers opened the door to the central hall - it was preserved by Gawain. Alone in the middle of the land, dozens of pre-captured noblewomen, monks, and nuns were shackled and screaming, but Gawain kept his promise that he would not infringe on the captives as long as Bohemond withdrew from the siege.

Then. In the fortress on the top of the mountain, more than a dozen old knights who had been left behind as frightened birds also walked down and reported to Bohemond: After the enemy swept and looted yesterday, they withdrew one after another, and their whereabouts are unknown, most of them are lightly armed cavalry and infantry, and the speed is as fast as the wind and clouds, and they are afraid that there will be Turkic archers at the bottom of the mountain to ambush, so they do not dare to easily abandon the castle and pursue until the arrival of Your Excellency, the Prince.

Bohemond wept his red beard with his hands, comforted the old knights, and went to the most damaged monastery at the upper pass, where the ground was littered with rubble and scattered arrows, and the statues of Renurf and the twelve Counts of the Fathers had all been cut off and buried in all directions of the road, and their heads were hung from the bell towers and tree branches, like beheaded prisoners, and the embers had not yet been extinguished, and the frightened beasts were scurrying in all directions. When Bohemond saw this terrible situation, he burst into tears: how could the Normans have suffered such a humiliation in the hundred years since they entered Italy? But now, when he was a prince, Gawain's hammer had been smashed in his face, and the Varyag barbarian with his unsheathed sword, though of unknown origin, had acted more viciously and decisively than the bandits of the Land of Ice and Snow.

On the broken pedestal of the statue, an arrow was inserted into the letter, and Bohemond stepped forward to pull the arrow down and unfolded the letter:

"Your sister Emma's daughter, Gusyun, is now married to my border catcher, Theognes. Atrilas, I sincerely hope that you and your sister and Tantared, who I defeated at Kadmia, will pray before Christ and bless them to enjoy the human love that God allows—and I love you most of all, Stephen. Gawain. Lusail. ”

The letter paper was crumpled into Bohemond's hand, smashed to the ground, trampled with his boots, and then the Duke of Apulia drew his sword and frantically chopped the trunk of the tree next to him, and the bark flew wildly, "Gawain, where are you bastard?" Come out and fight me to the death! ”

In the passage leading from Aversa to the Adriatic coast on the east side, the Red Hand Brigade marched towards the "Land of St. Nicholas" with flagpoles made of sacred trees cut down from the sacred forest of the Aversa Monastery, the "Red Cross Sword" and the rest of the flags.

The land of St. Nicholas is the most important Byzantine seaport in Italy, the city of Bari.

In Roman times, Bari was an ordinary seaport town known for fishing and commerce, but in the Middle Ages it rose to prominence because it was a key link between Venice, Sicily, Byzantine Greece and Italy, and more importantly, it was a transit point for Slavic slaves to the Apennines, Sicily and North Africa.

Later, during the Macedonian period of Byzantium, it was the seat of the imperial governor, but when the Byzantine powers were expelled from Italy by the Normans, the city became a parish city under the papacy, governed by the Autonomous Church - eight years earlier, the sailors of the city had transported the remains of St. Nicholas here by ship for burial, and built the beautiful white Basilica of St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, fishermen, and archers (although thieves also worship him, St. Nicholas in modern times, is the prototype of Santa Claus familiar to children), and since then pilgrims have come to the pilgrimage in an endless stream, bringing great wealth.

Before Lepanto's expedition, Gawain waved the sword of phosphorus and fire, and promised all the soldiers and sailors, "Arrive in the land of St. Nicholas", referring to the capture of the city of Bari. (To be continued......)