Outside the heavy gray curtain it was a sunny day, but there was still a candle flame burning in the damp and cold envoy, and Gawain opened the stalemate, "Then the agreement will be signed, and I can also promise to use force if necessary to ensure the security of Cyprus." Now let's talk about it, what are the contents of the transaction? ”

"Yes, yes, you know, honorable general, and the following is also the opinion of the Grand Duke of Lapsotomeths, that Cyprus is an island of very poor agricultural land, because of the great scarcity of water, and although the central mountains and rivers provide irrigation, it is limited to the land around the capital city of Nicosia."

"Cut to the chase as soon as possible, what can I give you, and what can you give me in return?" Gawain has always been very dissatisfied with the rounding around the negotiators.

"We want your country to be able to supply Cyprus with a sufficient amount of wheat in their fleet – and in return, we exchange olive oil and wine, you know, Cyprus wine is the best on land and sea."

Gawain raised his hand to veto, "I don't agree. ”

The envoy was immediately stunned in embarrassment, but Gawain continued to speak his thoughts, "Wine is a luxury in the city, and now that Seleucia and Cilicia are in military power, it is not suitable for either residents or soldiers to import this commodity. What I need is copper, lime, and stone from your islands. ”

The other party smiled again, "Of course lime and stone are easy to solve, but this copper"

"In reciprocity, I can also cut down the timber of the Taurus Mountains for you, as your Grand Duke's fleet is known to be in short supply. Egypt and the Levant were not produced, and trade fleets were built and maintained. It can be said that it is the foundation of your island's survival. Gawain took the opportunity to expand the content of the trader's agreement and raise the stakes.

The proxy envoy also felt that it was profitable. At least there was no damage, so he agreed, but he still didn't give up, "You really don't need the grape wine of our island?" ”

Gawain laughed and said that in the whole Mediterranean, it has always been the Venetian city-state that has monopolized the wine business, and they sell the wine from the Rhineland to the Balkans, and then sell the wine from Cyprus to the Apennines. It will inevitably hurt the trust and cooperation between me and Venice so far, and it is too uneconomical, "However, in the trade of the Seleucian fleet, I do not accept the contents of the commercial agreement you have just submitted to me regarding the mutual exemption of tariffs on merchant ships. ”

"Why?"

"Because the size of our fleet is small, and the size of the fleet in Cyprus is large, and we are exempt from customs duties on each other, it is in your favor, and it is easy to dump all your goods into Seleucia. In this way, my territory will become a colony for your lord to suck blood. Gawain's words made the envoy sweat a little—the general Stratigues, who said he was a brown-haired, blue-eyed brute, but with a sense of smell and an eye for business. It's just more than the professionals in the imperial capital.

"Alright then, we'll give you a specified number of copper bars; You will need to import the required amount of wheat into Cyprus. Other than that. lime and stone, and your wood. You can trade freely and there is no upper limit. Your merchant ships come to our port. Three years ago, you could enjoy duty-free treatment, and when our merchant ships docked at your port, four merchant ships could be discounted into three tariffs. ”

Gawain read the revised treaty in detail again, and finally nodded his head in approval, signed it in green ink, stamped it, and shook hands with the Cypriot envoy, "I swear before St. Eobermonus and St. Nicholas that this treaty will henceforth be as holy as the unwearable brilliance of a gold coin!" ”

Three days after the signing of the treaty with Cyprus, while Gawain was leisurely paraded in the nursery behind the church, the military servant Muzafiadin walked in and bowed before him, proclaiming that Allah had blessed the general, and the news from the front came that Fort Koleadio had been captured.

Originally, Asba was equivalent to being "framed" by Gawain, belonging to the role of "rebelling", the preparation and soldiers were not sufficient, only a few Jinat landlords who were related to him joined the resistance camp, and Gawain co-opted most of Jinat, so he was very passive and isolated from the beginning.

But it is said that the brave Asba resisted until the last moment: he stood on the fortress's pheasant moat, facing Nika. Callegos shouted, saying that Gawain's wanton attack on us is a violation of the imperial decree and the authority of the emperor, and that he wants to establish himself as king in this land, and that you will follow his banner, and that in the future when His Majesty's majesty will come, you will all be guilty!

But the blind veteran was not moved by words at all, and continued to command the siege with Branas, and finally the city gate was smashed open by the battering ram, and the vanguard of the Germans in the Guardian Brigade, armed with two-handed swords, poured in, and opened a killing ring, in the chaotic bloody battle, the seven local Jinat nobles who followed Asbar, and their families and slaves were mostly killed, and the corpses were piled up all over the small fortress. Callegos received a report from the scouts that Aspar was fleeing to the deeper valley to the north, and sent light cavalry in pursuit.

Eventually, Leo. Callegos, with about thirty horsemen, spotted Aspar's traces in a grassy cave on a mountain, where he was hidden by a tenant farmer loyal to him, who caught him, forced him to find the road in front of him, and blocked him inside.

"The Genats of Seleucia have forgotten their glory, and are all rats of flies and dogs." In desperation, Aspar killed his mount, armed with a Cretan bow and arrow, stood behind the rock at the entrance of the cave, continued to resist, and shouted at Leo.

"I can understand your wishes, Lord Asba, but you have chosen the wrong time and the wrong way - my father will not join you in burying the Callegos family." Although Leo is close to his heart, he can only command his soldiers to continue the siege.

In the end, the desperate Asbah, after shooting the arrow, was bound by Leo's soldiers, "Give me to Gawain, I want to see what he will do with me!" But in an instant, Leo drew his sword, cut off Aspar's head, and brought it into his hand.

"I'm sorry, if Gawain puts you on the emperor's side out of affection, you will definitely create a new estrangement between the Callegos family and Gawain." As he spoke, Leo raised his hand to Aspar's miserable and bloody head, looked at the dead man's half-closed eyes, and said, "Father said that it doesn't matter whether the estrangement is true or false, the important thing is that Gawain will take the opportunity to slaughter our family, and if you want to blame you, you are too stupid to blame, and you can't resist Gawain's provocation, and choose to make it difficult at the wrong time - even the emperor of Constantinople has not supported you, so don't blame Callegos for using your head to save himself." ”

Of course, Leo would not tell Gawain about this scene, he just dedicated his head to the city of Ramas. (To be continued.) )