"Well done, great barbarian, as long as we build a pontoon bridge over the Sallev River (the main river of the Seleucian Military District, where the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick the Redbeard I drowned a hundred years later while wading through this river on horseback), and take advantage of the cover of the forest, our army will soon be able to approach the city of Seleucia and launch a deadly attack." When the letter was sent, Anna was excited.

"It would be better to persuade the letter of surrender and the head of the emir to do the trick and open the doors of the fortified Seleucian castle and surrender. Otherwise, now that the heat is gradually rising, the division will stay too long on this seaside impact plain, and the plague will break out. Gawain's attitude was much more cautious.

As a result, at dusk, the Seleucian castle sent a noble soldier as a representative, came to the tent, bowed under the cross-cutting axes and halberds of the guards warriors, bowed down in front of Gawain and Anna, and then to everyone's surprise, this representative is also the owner of a castle called Alarman at the junction of Panphyllia and Seleucia, and it is actually named Nika. The Greek warrior of Callegos, who was also a military aristocrat of the previous dynasty, took up the fortress with his family after the collapse of the imperial power and fleet in Asia Minor, and established himself as the master, sometimes to Zahaas, sometimes to the Sultan of Rûm.

Now, when Gawain's huge division entered Seleucia, and the emperor's army and horses could not arrive in time for the time being, Nika made a quick decision - the Roma soldiers who had been left behind in Seleucia City welcomed him in and embraced him as a general, preparing to resist Gawain - but now Nika directly handed over the keys to Seleucia City, the fortress map and the tokens to Gawain.

In short, Nika surrendered with the capital city.

Delighted, Anna immediately promised that the Callegos family, where Nika belonged, and all the estates around Alarmán's castle would remain unchanged, and that they would be entitled to tax reductions, and that they would only be required to provide a hundred cavalrymen and two hundred spearmen for military service. Just follow the Archer Regiment on an expedition.

"The seven sons of the contemptible and despicable will all be eternally loyal to His Excellency General Stratigues, and His Royal Highness the Princess in Purple." At this moment, when Nika looked up, Gawain realized that the other party was about sixty years old, and his eyes were empty. It turned out to be a blind man (but it was supposed to be caused by an eye disease in his later years). A blind man is a blind man, and he has seven sons in a row, not a daughter, which is considered powerful, "General Nika, what are the names of your seven sons and where do they live?" ”

"The dogs' names are Severn, Ace, Tyro, Leo, Tiga, Gaia, and Nexus. The first three of them, many years ago, were ordered by the previous emperor. Garrison the city of Sith in eastern Cilicia and monitor the local Armenian nobility. Leo and Tiga, in the northern part of the Mut Valley, have their own forts. ”

"Oh? Then please leave your last two young sons with me and Her Royal Highness the Princess, and I will nurture him well. The tone of Gawain's words is obvious, that is, to ask for hostages, for the future stability of Seleucia, the city of Mut is in the north. It is connected to the region of Heraclia (collectively referred to as the northern part of the Taurus Mountains); The city of Alalaman is on the narrow coast in the west. It's the key to the Panphelia region again, and it's now all the territory of the Callegos family, so it has to be guarded against.

"Yes," Nika agreed with trepidation, his two youngest sons, one fifteen and the other thirteen. Now I am with my father on the left side.

"Stay in the Guardian Brigade and serve as my bodyguard." Anna as a show of grace. And then Gaia. Callegos, Nexus. Callegos, the two young warriors, bowed their hands respectfully, and their swords stood at Anna's head.

After the exchange of hostages. Gawain immediately discussed with Anna: the matter must not be delayed, and before Nika falls to your father, hurry up and enter and take over Seleucian City.

The next day, on the surface of the Sallev River, the rising river was surging, it was summer, the woods and long grass on both sides were swaying, the cavalry belonging to the division on the pontoon bridge, the helmets and feathers on the's neck armor were erected, the flags of various colors, the fish and dragon flags were overlapped, the sound of horses' hooves was bursting, stepping on the pontoon bridge, stirring up gusts of water on the river, several rows of flags were raised on the bank, Gawain, Biller, Giovanni, Bramson, Gottschalke, Branas, Dorus and other generals were covered in armor, holding swords, supervising the infantry detachment behind them, and monitoring the ranks of Nika on the opposite side.

Under the banner, beside the blind general, were the brothers Leo and Tiga, who were also riding horses and wearing armor, and specially came from the Mutt Valley to help in the battle, "Father, this division is not embarrassed, although Gawain calls himself Stratigos, but in the current emperor's military system, where did this retro military rank come from?" And his seal is still the Grand Duke of Armenia. As for the purple-clothed princess, it is even more absurd, so far there is no golden edict from the emperor, so she hastily handed over Seleucia City, is it really good? ”

"You two talk so much, but you don't have half a word, you two young brothers" Nika raised her cloudy white eyes, listened to the loud sound of the march on the river, and said leisurely, "The roots of the family, in the castle of Alalman, whether it is Gawain, the emperor, or the Turkic sultan, can not take it away, no matter how many generations we need in Callegos, we must firmly protect it." ”

"In other words, the three elder brothers went to Sith City, the two younger brothers gave Gawain as hostages, we will stick to the Mut River Valley, father, you will stay in Alarman City, and we will welcome the emperor when the emperor comes, right?"

"In short, you can't completely throw yourself to one side." Eventually, Nika defined her actions.

When the division team entered Seleucia, Anna's small shoulder, surrounded by the whole guard, came to the eyes of Nika and her two sons, Leo and Diga were the first to dismount and pay respects, and then the blind old general was also supported by the servants, trembling to greet Anna.

"Don't worry, and then if there is anything wrong with the Alaman place, just come to me and Gawain for help." Anna smiled, and made such a promise, but the meaning was obvious—and sure enough, Nika, who understood, promised that he and his two sons would soon return to their castles and possessions, and prepare to follow Gawain's division and take part in the raid on the kingdoms of Antioch and Minor Armenia.

Seleucia, once a huge and fortified military town of the imperial capital, is located in the key area where Heraclia, Konya, Panyhylia, Issuria, and Cilicia meet, and is built on a gray spiraling seaside stone cliff, overlooking the winding Sallev River, the strong gate leads to the flat river plain, and on the stone cliff is the acropolis on which the other gate leads directly to it, and there are stairs under the acropolis, leading to the concave half-moon-shaped military port adjacent to the ocean, which is a large fortress large enough to support the garrison of 5,000 elite soldiers, "Anna, This is the first diamond set in your crown. The soldiers cheering with weapons and flags on the tower of the city gate, waving red crocus petals downward, and in the corridor, the changing light and dark light, through the curtains, reflected Anna's eyes raised with joy, and Gawain's voice came from the side.

"Of course, Gawain ordered that the whole army should rest and feast for three days, and distribute all the goods in the city to the soldiers of the division and the sailors of Jalguba."

At night, in the halls of the Acropolis of Seleucia, the torches were bright, and almost all the Greek nobles and landowners of the place and West Cilicia stood along the pillars and bonfires, among whom Nika and his two sons were the nucleus of the whole crowd, and after a while Anna wore a veil, a necklace of pearls, turquoise, and corals around her forehead and neck, a diamond shawl, purple boots, a huge Gawain, and sixteen guards with flags and axes, lined up in two columns, and walked out of the small prayer room. Along the side steps, Anna looked solemn, walked up the stairs, walked to the high couch, and then turned to sit down, Gawain also stood on the steps below her side with a sword.

Looking down at the group of aristocratic landlords who were bowing down to her, Anna exchanged a few words of greeting and went straight to the point, "From now on, I will rule this land in the name of the Ducasse family, do my best to clear my father's empire of all kinds of enemies, and fully support the pilgrims to recover the holy city." ”

Then, under the scarf, Anna's upright face reflected by the firelight was as cold as frost, she raised the enamel box that Gawain handed over, and her voice echoed in the hall, "In this box, it is my unique seal, token, gold-inlaid quill pen, green ink kettle, from now on I Anna. The seal that Ducasse stamps on any sealed paper, whether military or civil, will remain unhindered in the land. After saying this, Anna solemnly placed the box in the hands of Agnes, who knelt down on her right.

The entire crowd, many people were shocked by these rebellious words, and some nobles directly pulled the corners of Nika's robe, which roughly meant, "Where did this little Nizi who doesn't know how thick the sky and the earth come from?" Even if she is the emperor's daughter and is responsible for recovering this land, she dares to claim that she is exercising power on behalf of the surname Ducasse, which will make us very passive and understandable! If the Emperor had known that we had come together and been mad with this girl in Seleucia, there would have been no good fruit to eat. ”

Nika, however, still had his dull eyes open, lying on the ground, her mouth under her white beard unmoving, listening to Anna's admonition.

Then Gawain held the hilt of his sword and took two steps down, so that Anna's eyes happened to be on the same line as his head, and he scanned the audience with blue eyes, "Now I will issue the first order after the recovery of Seleucia on behalf of the main patron, Her Royal Highness the Princess in Purple, from now on, all the military towns and fortresses in this land will be stationed in the ranks of my division, and all of you must pay the money to the designated place on tax day, and you must also provide military service and equipment during the war, and follow my banner to fight." ”

"Questioning warriors, stand up!" Anna stood up behind Gawain and said slowly, "Otherwise, as my lord has said, 'Arise, O people, and go to meet the messenger of the king of Samaria.'" (To be continued.) )

PS: The map will be updated in the novel post bar soon