"It doesn't matter, when I was young, when I came to Italy from Normandy, I and my forty knights received only a small fodder salary a year, so I had to go to the city of Amalfi to steal horses, and when your father heard about it, he duly gave me a sum of money to help me and my wife go to Sicily to fight against the infidels. There will always be wealth, and my wife and I encouraged ourselves in this way when we wore a cloak to protect against the cold during the campaign in Sicily. That's Roger's answer.

Bohemond raised his head with a wry smile and whispered, "Uncle, are you complaining about my dead father?" Isn't it, blame him for expelling you from this place in the first place, if that's the case, then our family deserves to be reduced to this point. ”

"Alright, let me go and mourn my sister-in-law! Just tell me, how is Bohemond going to do it? "Roger is no longer interested in fighting his nephew.

"I'm ready to lay siege to Amalfi."

Roger was stunned, he didn't expect his nephew to be so bold, you must know that not long ago, Amalfi organized an expedition with other city-states to attack the infidels in North Africa, and won the Pope's praise! So Roger looked very embarrassed, "The pagan archers and guards I hired must not be used by you, in case you are exposed, I will become the target of public criticism, so well, three hundred knights, and five hundred good war horses, I will not treat you badly." ”

"Yes." Bohemond stunned, kissed the back of his uncle's hand, and quickly stood up.

Then the procession marched towards the Viking tent where Geta had died, and on the sand of the cliff, the Norman knights, wielding their swords and axes, cut off the heads of the pagan prisoners of war, men and women, old and young, and the bodies of a hundred people, all of whom fell on the land, red. Bohemond deliberately looked at the guards behind his uncle Roger, and the group saw their compatriots being killed, and their faces were all blank and indifferent.

"You should not be so barbaric, you must know that it is much more cost-effective to let these hundred people work and cultivate than to kill them, and it will not arouse the disgust of the Holy See." Roger was unimpressed by Bohemond's approach, but his nephew quickly explained that it was his dead mother's last wish, and the Grand Count of Sicily stopped talking. Although most of the Normans had converted to Christianity, many barbaric customs were still preserved like the Varyags, and Guiscat had no shame in robbing nuns in his early years.

Soon, the body of Gaita and the huge ship covered with the remains of the dead slowly sailed out of the harbor, and soon the flames of the ship burst out of the hull, more and more and more fierce, until they turned into a cloud of flowers floating on the sea.

Bohemond's sister Emma also arrived, crying and kneeling on the sea cliff, and the younger brother stepped forward to comfort her, and then he saw Emma's son, who had been standing beside him, "Is it Tantarred?" ”

"Yes, my uncle." The tall Tanrred, very young, wore a modest sword, his eyes were warm and impulsive, and his mouth had a faint flaxen-colored beard circled at the corners of his mouth, which was very similar to his grandfather's appearance.

"It's not boring to be bored in a house in the country."

"I'm bored, uncle."

"Very good, then combine your bravery with my wisdom and go to fight the world together! The Normans were never willing to go around the hearth and the fruit trees, and in the future we would be able to divide the kingdom equally. "Bohemond stretched out his long hand before the wind and the flames.

"But I'm afraid you'll end up with the same suspicion that you're having with Uncle Roger's grandfather." Tanfred was a frank young man who spoke without pretense.

"Don't worry, because you are the child of my favorite sister, and if it were my brother's child, I am afraid you would not live so much." Bohemond smirked, "Well, I will allocate you a hundred knights, who will directly serve as the general of the army, take charge of my deviations, and rob the money and property of the Greeks or Venetians, all at your disposal." ”

Then Tanfred said that he was very satisfied with the chips given by his uncle, and after shaking hands to indicate the deal, he turned to hold his sword and looked at the vast ocean, looking ambitious.

And at this moment, on the road outside the city of Prusa, Gawain was walking towards the village where he had lived, with Fithias and Erickson, holding a military flag and some luggage, food, and seeds, and the fallen poplar trees were lining up the bumpy road. Gawain just wanted to get there as soon as possible to see if there were any of the villagers who survived, and if some of them could return to their hometowns and get their help and help to rebuild the village, then it would be a wish of his own.

He did not want the village to be destroyed sooner or later, as Peter had prophesied, due to the irresistible plague, the rebellion, the desolation of the land, and the loss of population.

But the scene along the way was not optimistic, there were many half-dead towns around Prussa, but after the people of Zahaas, it was as if there were no living creatures in the whole area, and the wilderness was full of rotting corpses, and as far as the eye could see, no smoke was rising, and Gawain's heart became tighter.

A woman with a child in her arms, almost half-naked, stood on the side of the road, "Don't look at her master, or you will get entangled, such a woman you can give her a copper coin," Fretias reminded.

"Give her twenty friths."

"Oh, master, your bearing and courage are really great." Fethias said half admiringly, half sarcastically, and began to hold the money bag.

"Ask her if the village is still there."

As a result, after taking the money bag and some food, the woman waved at Gawain, and then replied with a round-and-forth gesture.

"What she means is that the village is now only left with late autumn flies still fluttering." Fettias crossed his waist and "translated".

In fact, without the little servant's explanation, Gawain understood it, but he still revisited the old place, followed the road, and finally came to the village.

The black arable land had been turned into a wasteland of the same color, some white and yellow weeds were quickly covered with it, the hedges and wooden fences were trampled by the hooves of the Turks, the walls of the villages had long since collapsed, and there was no water in the urns, all of which were dried by the air. The huts were scattered, and Gawain was the first to drive his horse to the house of the tax collector Fiobis, who was riddled with holes, and when he entered, he found the tax collector's body lying on the table, which had long since dried and sandy, and was full of decaying colors, and Gawain pushed open the door, and the fragments of clothes, books, and tables flew up, as if it were a memorial service.

"The watch books are gone, the tax collectors are dead, and perhaps in the eyes of the emperor of that palace, the village has truly disappeared completely. Anyway, he never paid attention to these ant-like creatures. Gawain did not want to go any further, but went outside, and looked at the small chapel that continued to stand on the high slope outside the village, where the scaffolding on which he and Peter had worked was still standing alone, and it was especially lonely in the wind.