In the palace, snowflakes fell, next to the black cold sea of Constantinople, the winter snow from the north always arrived a moment earlier than the other side, Anna came to the hall in a soft hair, his father was holding the paperwork sent by Gawain, standing in front of the roaring fireplace, saw his daughter coming, and handed it into Anna's hands, "You are also fourteen years old, and you will not only be able to marry soon, but you will also be able to assist me in government affairs." ”

This is Alexios's "little dessert" for his daughter, which has only recently begun to be sold, and the emperor has begun to visit his wife more frequently than before, and the maids and palace people have privately said that Empress Irene is likely to be pregnant again soon, and is expected to give birth to Lin'er next year.

"How? You are Gawain's guarantor, so my father feels the need to let you know what Gawain is doing, and how far he has encroached on the empire. ”

"But father, you should still be courting Gawain, this is a diplomatic trick unique to the Roman Empire. Unlike our barbarian kings, the great Roman emperors often had to appease not only the hearts and minds of the people at home, but also the nations of friends and foes from all sides. The barbarians do have more martial arts than us, and our secret treasure to counterbalance the other party lies in resourcefulness. Anna quietly closed her eyes and smiled as she put the paperwork down.

Well, it seems that my daughter still has an old love for this barbarian.

But soon the Emperor smiled tolerantly, "This is natural, I have carefully analyzed it, Gawain's position in the pilgrims of Mali is very delicate, on the one hand, he is more knowledgeable and courageous than the lowly and dirty country lords of Forsei, and he is not so easily bribed; But on the other hand, the strength of his army. Compared with Bohemond and Godfrey, it is still weak. ”

"That's why fathers should be even more so. First follow Gawain's terms—release Peter, and canonize him as Archduke of Anatolia—as long as Gawain submits to his orders. The rest of the Frankish or Norman princes, seeing that their father was still like this to Gawain, naturally came to take the oath of allegiance. ”

"That's right." Alexios bowed, then he turned around and gave an approval to Gawain's letter, and then asked his daughter with a smile, "Anna, also put your seal and fingerprint on it, so that I believe that Gawain is also a kind of taming, and the beast needs a beautiful female animal trainer." Come and make him obedient. ”

Anna pursed her lips and nodded, then pressed a small fingerprint on it. Alexios coughed twice, as if he wanted to continue with his daughter, and just as Anna was still stunned, in the next palace room, the door curtain was lifted, and under the guidance of several maids, one of them also had black braids and plump red lips. A very noble and beautiful woman, but a younger woman, walked out, "Dai Duo? ”

Dai Duo. Komnenos, the youngest daughter of Alexios and Irene. He had just turned eleven years old.

"Sister." The two sisters saluted each other politely, but Anna had not yet thought of her father's intention in calling Daido to appear.

"Related to Gawain." Then. Look at the wind and snow that are getting bigger and bigger outside, and the sky is dark. The Emperor said calmly, "You are different from Dai Duo. She wasn't born in the purple dormitory, in other words, I could have allowed her to marry more freely. ”

At this time, everyone's words suddenly fell into a huge silence with the emperor's words.

After about half a minute, Anna tentatively asked, "Father, are you going to marry Dedo to Gawain, who can't even write Greek?" ”

"What does it mean to 'not be'? Gawain is not very capable, not very tall and handsome, does not have an army that can be conquered. Rather than make him an unstable and dangerous element within the Empire, it is better to include him in the Komnenos family system, even if he has the blood of an alien race in his veins. ”

"But isn't the Roman royal family only allowed to intermarry with the nobles of Rome itself?" Anna didn't know why she was so emotional, but this happened to be in her father's arms, and he corrected with a smile, "Now that the times are different, daughters, children who were not born in the Purple Palace, I think it is better to be with powerful figures, and the royal family of Rome has also intermarried with the kingdom of barbarians in the past, which will not become a constraint." After saying that, Alexios walked up to his little daughter and touched her little head, "How Dedor?" ”

"I haven't seen that Gawain. Father, who had heard that he was a very rough Varyag general, said that the group of men were all from the very cold ice caves, who drank heavily all day, and were full of interest in treasures and women, and whose faces were all coarse red flesh, covered under the same coarse beards. Dai Duo tilted her head and kept asking, "If that's the case, isn't the daughter sacrificing her own happiness?" ”

"Gao Wen's is not like this!" Anna suddenly shouted this, and then she saw her father and sister looking at her in surprise, so she secretly rubbed her hands twice, "All but according to my father's arrangement." ”

So Alexios half-knelt before his little daughter, and said in a low and soft voice, "The date of the meeting is scheduled for the last day of the week, in the small palace of the Brachna Palace, and then Dedo and Anna will sit behind the curtain, and look at this Gawain, and if you are satisfied with Gawain, twist the bird on the throne, and if not, twist the mechanical lion by the fountain." ”

"It's very interesting." Dai Duo showed her white teeth and smiled at her sister next to her.

On that day, the whole of Constantinople was covered in snow, and the countryside of Sarabria was covered with thick white tents, and many pilgrims began to shake the ground, cut down trees around it, and make fires to keep warm. "Soldiers and pilgrims, want to stay in a warmer place that can shelter from the wind and snow, otherwise frostbite people will soon appear, and that will be very troublesome." In the Dalian team, several only female doctors found Gao Wen and reported so.

Hearing this, Gawain also raised his hand, exhaled a white breath, and slowly walked out of the tent, staring at the scene of the whole camp being crushed under the snow, and felt that what the female physicians said was true, and the most severe test had come, "If you say warm places, it is probably the city walls and towers, which are not uncommon on the outskirts of Constantinople, especially in the area of Juquantina's Palace, but it is occupied by the camps of the Normans and Brenus. ”

At this time, Giovanni, holding the spear in one hand and sweeping the snow from his cloak and shawl with the other, came over and said that Merlot, who had been encamped in front of him, had handed over a reply from the emperor.

"The Emperor is willing to negotiate with me, but the location is in his palace." After the secretary spread out and read, Gao Wen said to the general of the Dalian team, and then his eyebrows twisted, and he saw Anna's small handprint, this little girl not only pressed one place, but lined up in a few different lines, looking very naughty, and added words of persuasion to the signature, so Gao Wen shook his head with a wry smile, secretly thinking, "It seems that this little girl has been surrendered by her father again." (To be continued.) )