The Emperor, in a fit of rage, had a very unhappy night, and it was not until he got up the next day, accompanied by his guards, that he walked to the river hall of the Brachna Palace, that he remembered the crucial question, "Hugh, why was he killed?" ”

According to the prince's report, the murderers left behind arrows, scarlet robes, and the carriage carriages regulated by the Roman Empire at the scene of Hugh's murder, but in Alexios's eyes, all this is just an attempt by the messenger to leave evidence behind and transfer the world's suspicions to the Tekopo soldiers I hired, resulting in the assertion that "the Roman Empire had previously betrayed the pilgrims, and in the face of Hugh's reproach, took the opportunity to kill the killer under a secluded mountain road".

"Meles, the dead brother of the Île-de-France king, what agreement do you want to give to me?" The emperor thought slowly, sat down on the throne, and asked the imperial ink officer.

"Your Majesty, this was taken from Hugh's corpse at the scene, which had been soaked in filthy blood, and was specially copied by our clerk so as not to defile your holy hands and wise eyes. ”

"Hmm, is this also the murderer's intention not to take it and destroy it? It seems that he is determined to sow discord between Western pilgrims and empires. The Emperor, with his somewhat senile eyes (in fact, he was not much different in age from Gawain), carefully read the so-called "Five Resolutions of Antiochus", which was also a vote letter written to himself by the pilgrims:

1. The Emperor must show sufficient sincerity for the cause of the pilgrimage before the pilgrims will consider surrendering the city of Antioch and returning it to the Empire (?). ）；

2. Because of the imminent escape of Tetisius and Theognes, which led to the extremely difficult anti-siege battle, which starved to death many innocent pilgrims, the Emperor strongly demanded that the Emperor punish these two derelict Imperial officers (?). ）；

3. The Emperor should continue to provide the pilgrims with provisions, horses, and all kinds of logistical supplies, otherwise the pilgrims will revoke the oath of allegiance they had made when they had crossed the sea, and will not hand over any newly seized territory to the Emperor;

4. The Emperor must guarantee the neutrality of Cyprus, Latakia, and Seleucia, allowing them to continue to assist the pilgrim armed forces and to provide transit services for ships, and the status of these areas after one year will be settled by mutual agreement between the Pilgrim Military Council and the Emperor (?). ）；

5. Finally, the Emperor should carefully consider the matter of an alliance with the king of Babylon of Egypt and give an answer as soon as possible.

After reading it, the emperor sneered angrily and pushed the document aside. Myles, who was next to him, hurriedly asked His Majesty what his Majesty's understanding of these five resolutions was.

"Don't be anxious, now our focus is on the city of Antioch in the far east, and the real culprit will soon emerge automatically. Yes, yes, my friend of Meles, wait quietly in the palace, maybe five days, maybe seven days, and everything will become clear through the mouths of my agents and carrier pigeons. Moreover, John was told to keep Gawain in check as much as possible on the side of Philadofiam, and to confine everything to diplomatic debate, and not to resort to force, and by the way, let my stubborn son record the situation every day and send it to the imperial capital with horses and the best heralds. ”

"Armaments," Myles asked cautiously.

The Emperor furrowed his eyebrows, stood up and paced to the silver platter that mapped the entire Anatolian landscape, put his hands on the edge, and observed, "Let John change the disposition of the army, appoint Tetisius as a general, and place all the elite in Alalmanburg to support Nika. Callegos, to prevent Gawain's possible turn of face and attack at any time. As long as this seaside fortress is held, Gawain will not do anything, and I will immediately gather 10,000 elite soldiers and horses to cross the sea to the city of Brusa to serve as John's backup. Also, at the end of the day, he wrote a letter to the king of the Gauls (the king of France), saying that I was sincerely bitter and angry at the murder of his brother, but hoped that this incident would not affect the diplomacy between the two countries, and that we should be wary of the sinister divide, and if the king was still carried away by anger and irrationality, and wanted to make enemies of me, then I would be forced to completely close the land roads of the pilgrims to Anatolia and the Levant, and would spare no effort to support the king of Britain in the conflict between Normandy and Flanders. ”

The emperor's "letter of state" is both soft and hard, and he actually understands in his heart that the truth of Hugh's death may never be justified, but it can be sure that all enemies of the empire will use Hugh in the open and in the dark. Capet makes a fuss, like a greedy ghoul, seeking all sorts of benefits, not pinning his fantasies on the case itself, but better at preventing the consequences of the attack.

After that, the imperial ink official worked hard to write a book, analyzing the meaning of the emperor's expression in detail and writing it down in elegant words. Alexios, on the other hand, was preoccupied, standing under the lobby of the River Hall, looking up at the iconoplasm frescoes, constantly planning and comparing the course of events

In the city of Antioch, Bohemond with his characteristic arrogant but restrained expression of excitement, touching his red beard with his hand, as soon as he has any wishes, will make this typical pose, Tanrred and other Norman warriors followed him, and walked into the crowded St. Peter's Church, "We must be guarded, we must be! Bohemond then turned, raised his fist, and repeated his own point, "The Emperor of Greece was treacherous, and now Hugh was killed in a mysterious attack on his land, and I think the Emperor must have been afraid of the sincerity of the pilgrims, and he would unilaterally tear up his previous vows!" ”

"That's not up to us." Several angry lords shouted.

"The five resolutions are sent to the Greek Emperor, and we should carry out the powers we already have in the resolutions!" Several others also helped, the so-called "original power", that is, the five bigwigs carved up the city and various towns of Antioch, and the tax revenue, the five of them also promised, will be gathered together, take out 10%, free of charge for the pilgrims to buy supplies, now that Hugh was killed for no reason, almost all the pilgrims are eager to practice this agreement.

Including Raymond, who was closer to the emperor, did not dare to say anything contrary to the general trend on this scene, and could only adopt an attitude of "not questioning, not interjecting, and not opening up".

Amid the cheers, Bohemond was the first to leap up the steps of the balcony and proclaimed, "The city of Antioch is in my hands for the time being, and I will protect this city of great significance to Christ and believers as I have guarded the city of Taranto, nay, as I have guarded my own eyes." ”

"When is it time to go to the Holy City?" Many lords, while expressing their congratulations, also asked such questions.

"Spend the winter here, and in the coming year we will gain an advantage over the Kingdom of Greece, and after the Emperor who had been in power to apologize, and exterminate the heretics of Azazidze, and secure our flanks and rear, we will march towards the Holy City in one go!" Bohemond presented himself as a leader and issued this directive with great ambition. (To be continued.) )