Prussa, the richest city in the whole of Bithynia, surrounded by extremely well-irrigated fields and with many monasteries on Mount Olympus, is now devastated by the city's devastating inhabitants in previous battles, and its inner bazaars and dense houses are deserted. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

So Anna issued an edict asking the surrounding peasants and craftsmen to settle and migrate, and ordered the monasteries of Mount Olympus to release their slaves and return them to the city, but the poor Orthodox monastery was raided and plundered, and more than 3,000 people were released, so that the city of Prussia soon returned to the size of 10,000 people.

Next, Gawain's military action was even more aggressive: the Hierapolis brigade swept all the way to the left, sweeping across the whole of Misia; And the Gemagis brigade went all the way to the right and began to advance towards the coastal cities of Nicaea and Nicomedia. The operation went as smoothly as initially expected, and after capturing the choke point of Prussa and annihilating John's new army, the brigades on both flanks met little resistance and captured many cities without bloodshed.

The city of Nicaea was surrendered in early September, a fortified fortress between the sea and the lake, which had resisted the massive Crusaders for a long time when Gawain returned to Asia Minor, but it was now quick to recognize Anna. The suzerainty of Ducasse, the Imperial officials and ecclesiastical members in the city, handed over the keys to the gates, as they were unarmed even if they wanted to resist.

About fifteen days later, the city of Nicomedia surrendered.

On the harborside of this great city, in a wasteland overgrown with lush forests, Gawain and Anna hung the tombstone of Hannibal, the greatest general of antiquity, "who had been Rome's most terrible enemy, and who had died like the humblest of men in his caves." Anna looked at the modest tombstone and couldn't help but feel the sentimentality characteristic of historians.

Not far from Hannibal sits the villa of Constantine the Great, where he also died.

And now after several earthquakes, the former royal elegant villa has been reduced to a piece of ruins, Gawain and his wife have also come here, looking at the ruins, and the broken stone pillars, looking at the Marian Inland Sea of various colors and currents, and a little confused in the magnificent sunset of the strait - from here, the outline of the imperial capital and the buildings of the suburbs are clear.

Anna sighed and leaned on Gawain's shoulder: from the time she and Gawain eloped from their wedding at Brachna Palace to their return, it had been less than seven years.

"Great new Rome, I'm finally back......" Anna prayed silently, resting her hands on the pendant on her chest.

And Gawain also surged with very sacred emotions, Yu imitated his wife's gestures, bowed his head in the direction of the imperial capital, and silently recited, "O Empress of Ten Thousand Cities, you are defenseless in front of my eyes, and your beautiful carcass can be seen at a glance." Believe me, I will love and pity you and make your dusty face shine again. ”

At the same time, the Gimagith Brigade had advanced and captured the fortress of Kartarimon (now Kartal in Turkey) on the edge of the Bosphorus, and the officers and soldiers from the Syrian region were shouting and hesitating on the edge of the undulating black waters, and they could indeed see the great capital city glittering with gold!

At this time, General Brinus, who had been guarding the city of Castamonu under John's command, personally arrived in Nicomedia with 2,500 soldiers and horses, surrendered to Gawain and Anna, and presented maps of Bithynia, Brasilon, and half of Paphragonia.

Anna comforted General Brinus and, with Gawain's consent, gave him and his subordinates the title of "Frontier Army of the Great Frontier of Bithynia", as well as the corresponding list of quartermasters and personnel, allowing him to expand his army to 5,000 men, stationed in the city of Nicaea, monitoring the direction of the imperial capital while containing the western flank of Theodoro.

As for the region of Mysia, it was given to the garrison of the Hierapolis Brigade in the city of Abydos, where a second naval frontier was established with excellent ports to the sea and a fertile valley basin, and was placed at the disposal of the Count of the Navy of Jalguba, who had the right to recruit men and demand supplies in the seaports, islands, and inland of the region.

After settling Bithynia and Misia, Caesar and the Patron returned to Prusa, where Anna suddenly issued a command:

Immediate appointment of Grand Duke Nikephoros of South Philippines. Brenus was the commander of the "Cretian Expeditionary Army", and commanded 4,000 Lydian frontier troops (most of them reorganized from his old divisions) to the south, asking him to reoccupy Rhodes from the Venetians and advance into Crete to support the rebels there.

One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and after knowing the news, Dai Duo immediately took her son from Nan Feihong's manor, and rushed to the city of Prusa overnight, and came to Anna's residence.

At that time, Anna had just woken up from a nap, and Gawain was still resting, so she walked out on her own in a light robe and received her sister.

"It's a normal personnel order. The generals of the state of Tarsus had to live and die in order to remain in power. "Anna is righteous.

"Do you wish my husband was dead?" Dai Duo did not hide it, pointing out her sister's intentions, "Everyone knows that Rhodes Island is fine, that Crete is full of barren rocks and mountains, and countless caves, and it is an abyssal hell where demons and monsters live. What's more, the Venetians occupied the entire sea, and perhaps Brenus's ship would have been sunk and buried in the sea before it reached Rhodes. ”

Anna lowered her eyes, neither explained nor compromised, just remained silent, did not pay any attention to her sister, and began to flip over the affairs papers.

And over there, Dai Duo covered her mouth and wept involuntarily.

The curtain shook slightly, and Gawain turned out of the bedroom, and when he saw this scene, he stopped behind the pillars and secretly observed.

Another time passed, and Dedo cried more and more sadly, she leaned down, covered her face with her hands, tears poured down her fingers, and young Theodori stood beside her, looking at her mother aggrievedly, and then at her aunt who was as cold as ice on the other side.

Just when Gawain sighed and was about to come out to persuade him, Anna spoke, "Are you afraid that Brenus will go on the expedition, are you afraid that he will die in battle?" ”

Dai Duo nodded, unable to speak.

"Do you know how worried I am every time the barbarian goes on an expedition but can't show it? I'm afraid he'll be shot by an arrow, fall off his horse, or be slashed by all sorts of murderous enemies! But I definitely can't show it, I can only spend ten times as much energy as usual, so that Gawain feels worry-free. Anna's tone was calm, "Sister, you and Brenus are both from the road, and you two still have to worry about each other during the war, so don't have some unrealistic spring dreams!" ”