Then, the mighty old general walked up to his armored attendant, "Child, I didn't expect to continue to use this thing in my lifetime, it shouldn't be rusty, right?" ”

"I have been trying to maintain its general at all times, and yesterday the black statue of Our Lady told me in a dream that two lions would fight in the mountains of Trabzon, and the sound would stir the sea and the land, and that the one named Gabrias would be victorious, and it would take its own crown in the city of the Golden Nightingale." The squire dressed the general in armor and handed him a helmet with emerald peacock feathers, and excitedly told Theodoro about the legendary dream.

The old general raised his gray-white eyebrows and looked at the beautiful sea rolling in front of the colonnaded terrace, "Oh? Yes, it's a good dream, isn't it? Then he turned and kissed Mrs. Marianne affectionately goodbye, "Go back to the court, and tell my son Dmitry that his father is going out and winning a battle that is not too small." ”

"Yes, Dmitry will surely rejoice in your imminent epic victory." Watching the old general walk down the high steps of the monastery with great triumph, Marianne said in an excited tone, because before she got married, she had complained about her brother, George III, the king of the current Kingdom of Georgia, why did she marry herself to an old man, and the brother replied, "There is no difference between old men and young men in this world, only a man who can hold a sword, and a man who cannot hold a sword." ”

As a result, Marianne came to the place of Trabzon, and was immediately impressed by its richness and might, and was conquered by the old general like a lion - the year after her marriage. She gave birth to Dmitry. Gabuyas, and is also preparing to give birth to a daughter for him as soon as possible. The matter is on the agenda, just waiting for Theodoro's triumph.

In the barracks in front of the ancient city walls of Trabzon. Columns of antique soldiers: the infantrymen mostly carried oblong shields called "skuta", armed with spears or bows and arrows on their backs, wearing sleeveless half-body armor and inlaid leather armor, covered with thick armor and hats and cloaks against arrows; The horsemen were draped all over, with small shields and sharp spears, while others carried bows and quivers and swords like nomads.

The moment they saw the gray-white bearded general appear in front of them, everyone raised their weapons and shouted in unison in salute. This army, which was completely loyal to Theodoro personally, still bears the title of "Military Region Sam Division", and its establishment, armament and tactics are also in the same vein as the previous Macedonian and Ducasse dynasties, among which Theodoro relies on the most is naturally three elite cavalry regiments, about 600 people, including a "friendly cavalry regiment" that he "raised" like a parent.

In addition, in order to strengthen his light projection power, Theodoro also hired 2,000 Alania warriors from Georgia, which was close to him. Half of them were archers on foot, and half were horse archers.

"Children, I have received the emperor's will, and there is a battle to fight!" Theodoro held the reins. In the midst of cheers, he said, "We don't care where the enemy comes from or who they are. Just take charge of defeating them and cut everyone's throats. His Majesty the Emperor then promised us to land the land around the city of Amesus. Distribute it to you, my children! To follow Theodoro is to move forward with victory! ”

"With our victory, you are canonized by the general!" All the foot riders followed behind the priests and monks who carried the banner of the "Black Madonna", marching in a mighty and orderly manner from the road of the castle and the river valley, they were all the last proud elites of ancient Rome in this world, the lost legions, they fought not only for their salaries and land, but also for glory and masters.

At this moment, under a certain mountain at a distance from Amesus, the Dalian army and the armed regiment set up a dense camp by the mountain and the stream, and Gawain stood on a high place, taking the report from Bramson in front and carrying the report sent by the followers sent by Paul, "The army of Trabzon in front is advancing very fast, and it is almost approaching the Harris River. ”

"There is a legion that marches faster than my Red Hand Brigade, and it seems that Anna is right to warn against this old fellow named Theodoro." Gawain then stuffed the text message of the report into a leather cylinder, and he had just received another piece of information: Baldwin and Godhild's army was heading down the Sakarya River and had reached the southern edge of Paphragonia - Baldwin's operation was intended to coordinate with Tanfred's army to secure the flank of the pilgrim expedition and to sweep away the Turkic forces around Cappadocia.

In fact, Gao Wenbai said that Baldwin was here to answer him.

It's time to make a decision.

"Pass it down, and all the infantry and sailor companies speed up and rush to the Harris River, followed by the armed regiment to guard the battalion!"

The rolling Harris River, also known as the Red River, gets its name from the color of its waves. On the west bank of the surging river, Bramson's "Saint-Cyril Cavalry Company" and Cabeamia's eight hundred lightly armed followers preemptively occupied a dry area suitable for camping—but Cabeamia was to camp on the river's side of the river, but Bramson sternly corrected that the camp must be dry and shrub-free, with clear roads, and close to a clean water source.

"It seems that you don't understand military affairs at all, the commander of the heretics." Bramson unceremoniously accused, making Kabeamia very unhappy, but there was no reason to refute it, so he could only retreat to the side with the believers.

Almost at the same time, the banner of the Black Lady appeared on the opposite bank: three cavalry regiments of Theodoro, together with the Alania light cavalry, arrived in large groups. Then both sides blew their horns and began to confront each other and set up camp.

"Not only did I get to the Harris River on time, but I also took possession of the city of Amesus." In front of the gates of this city, Theodoro held his horsewhip and said triumphantly to the generals and confidential documents around him, and of course there were people who specifically recorded his words and deeds as the content of the future chronicle, "Ladies and gentlemen, do you know what this means? That Gawain's marching speed was child's play! He could not accurately judge the situation on the battlefield, and he was also deceived by the wise Emperor His Majesty, not knowing that His Majesty was going to eliminate him. Now, the entire battlefield from Bithynia to Trabzon is a long and narrow corridor, and there is no room for maneuver at all. Our army has the city of Amesus, which serves as a transit point for the fleet and a distribution center for supplies, but Gawain on the other side has nothing, and within a week, the emperor's army will cut off his back route, and the fleet from the imperial capital and the fleet of Trabzon will block the mouth of the Harris River, and Gawain will surely return to heaven and fall under the attack of our army and the emperor's army. ”

Then, the old general crackled the wall in front of the city gate with a horsewhip, "Immediately after the crushing defeat of Gawain, this war will be recorded as a typical example, and it will always leave some valuable experience for later generations of Roman soldiers." ”

Theodoro was right, for at this moment Branas and Mikhail had seen the vastness of Amasra Bay with a thousand horsemen, and the remnants of the camp were still visible after the Paulicians had been destroyed by Gawain. "Gawain has broken through." "It's really fast," Branas said. ”

"This is like his style, but His Majesty does not tolerate him, and he must be close to Sinop and annihilate Gawain." Mikhail sighed.

"But with just a thousand of us, what if Gao Wen notices it and comes back to break us first?"

Before Branas's question was finished, a large number of galleys appeared all over the ocean, the flagship was hoisted with the purple royal flag, and the top of the mast wrapped in silver glittered in the setting sun, and everyone was stunned, this fleet was definitely transferred by Alexios, and then on the deck, someone waved the flag on the shore where their army was.

"Light a bonfire and guide the soldiers on the ship to shore."

When five thousand of Alexios' hand-picked soldiers, including one thousand two hundred of the Varangian Guard, landed on the shore. Mikhail saw that the emperor did not send his inner palace guard commander Yagfi, who was his brother-in-law, to fight, but let the veteran Harold command the army.

"I'm here to annihilate that guy named Gawain. Lusail's war hero, he angered the emperor, then send him to hell. Harold, whose silver hair was meticulously combed behind the hairline, whose armor hung with many scythes and medals, and from which a beautiful sword was hanging, and on which the cuirass was brilliantly carved in bronze relief in the shape of a beast, said to Branas and Mikhail, "Now I ask you to obey the Emperor's command, that is, I am now the supreme commander of this army, and Mikhail you stay here, and the Emperor's order to you has changed, that is, you do not have to go out on the expedition, and here you count the land and distribute it to the Pronian tax collectors." ”

Although at this moment, the duties of the military region must also take into account the civilian affairs, and there is nothing excessively in asking Mikhail to deal with these affairs, the reason why the emperor called Harold is obviously a test of his loyalty - Alexios has been violently shaken and irritated by the trust in the couple in the previous Dukas's coup d'état and the abduction of Anna by Gawain, and even for the entire Nystas family.

"Listen, if it weren't for the fact that I had a lot of affairs to attend to in the court, this old uncle would have gone out to Paphragonia in your place, even if he died there, to prove the loyalty of 'Nistas' to 'Komunen'. No more contact with Gawain! "Before the expedition, the little bird deliberately pulled Mikhail in front of him, which was heartbroken.

"Yes, according to His Majesty's orders." Thinking of this, Mikhail did not say a word, took the emperor's golden edict, and then rode alone, slowly left the army, and headed towards the city of Amaras. (To be continued.) )