Ruben had a dream of either being crowned in the city of Tarsus, or in some great city in the east, and becoming the king of all Armenians, reviving the grandeur of the ancient dynasties, and now that Tarsus was out of reach for the time being, Edessa might be a pretty good choice. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

So although his previous lion crown and crown of the seven ridges had been captured and plundered by Baldwin and Gawain, Ruben was not discouraged: it would be better to ask the goldsmith to make one.

As long as you have a dream, there is nothing you can't do!

This is Reuben's aphorism.

The vanguard cavalry of the Petty Armenians was responsible for opening the way fifteen curls in front of the main camp, "and the front soon reached the city of Thubesena." "Once we arrive in the city of Tubacena, we don't need to go any further, take up this fortified fortress, send out a letter of uprising, and wait for the military towns in Edessa and Maras to be in large numbers." Prince Reuben smiled and said to the heralds.

What he didn't know was that two nights earlier, the fort had been captured by the surprise forces of the Pak Ade father and son, who had come all the way from the city of Samosata, pretending to be a mercenary of the commander Fell, took out a stamped pass, claimed that he had come to meet Prince Reuben, entered the city gate without difficulty, and then occupied the fort.

Later, Pak Aad ambushed his elite soldiers in the valley outside the fortress and captured "True Fer": after the fall of Edessa City, the other party was lucky enough to survive, and prepared to return to Tubersena all the way, only to realize that his castle had already changed hands after he was captured.

Brought before the father and son of Parkade, Fell sometimes pleaded, sometimes generously, saying that now it is obvious that the Norman bandits want to occupy the magpie's nest and completely destroy the Armenian territory, "And Parkade, you also have the blood of the royal family in your body, how can you be willing to bow down to the people?" ”

"I was not willing to bow down to the people, I served as a mercenary for the Sultan of Konya, and later allegiance to the Normans, and I always wanted to revive the Great Armenian Empire, but Ruben is a fool who can't make it to the climate, and that's why I don't need to die for him. If nothing else, Bohemond, Gawain, and Baldwin will immediately launch a joint siege offensive, and the end is clear - either Ruben will die, or he will lose his strength and return to Greater Armenia, and I will not be willing to follow him there to herd sheep. "It seems that the father and son of Park'ard do not look down on His Royal Highness the Prince at all.

So Fell said that he was willing to accept the father and son, and that they would occupy Tubersena, reject the Normans in the east, and rebel against Ruben in the west, and set themselves up as kings.

"The castle is mine now, so good - I will let you live out of my mercy, but the castle is mine. But I advise you not to go to Reuben's barracks, for Tsussus is dead, and you take over his castle Laverdra, and we will work together to fight each other's horns. After saying that, Pak Aard asked his own soldiers to return the precious armor, cloak, and war horse of the commander-in-chief, Lord Fell, and treat him well.

When Fell had departed in a hurry, his son Hercules asked his father, "Will this commander go to Laverdra?" ”

"Where else can he go if he doesn't go there?" Parkade sneered, "If you go to Reuben's barracks, you will lose everything you have, and you will not die well, and there is still room for life and looping when you run to occupy Ravodla." ”

"Then we ......"

"You're right, son, we don't want to go to Syria, and if we get there, whether we belong to Gawain or Bohemond, we will inevitably become puppets in the palm of their hands, and we will do nothing. So we immediately took advantage of the war between Ruben and the Pilgrim group to strengthen ourselves and occupy this place to act as an opportunity. ”

"Father, in your judgment, how long will this war last?"

Facing his son's question, Parkuade scratched his bald head, squeezed his eyes again, and held his chin and thought for a while, "Although the army of the pilgrims is very strong, the military strength of the Ruben Kingdom is not weak, if the two sides fight, coupled with the intervention of Constantinople and other forces, it is estimated that it will not end in a few years or even ten years." ”

Hercules also admired his father's insights.

So the father and son agreed to stick to the castle and not let the Normans who came in for the time being, but they also resisted Prince Reuben.

On the other hand, Fell, who had been "gifted" out of Tubersena, with some loyal retinues, galloped wildly, and as Pacaard had expected, arrived at Laverdra in the middle of the night.

The guards on the castle tower held torches and inquired about his identity, and Fell cried out miserably, "Your lord and commander have been slain by the Normans on suspicion of treason—and now that many of their horses are about to arrive here, I have a plan to save this castle, let me in, and swear in the name of the Armenian ancestors and lords!" ”

At the entrance to the dormitory, he saw the widow of Cousins, who had just dressed and panicked, and then half knelt down and took her hand and wept, saying, "Honorable lady, you have become a widow, and your territory is about to be destroyed." ”

The widow of Cousins wept aloud and asked, "You were my husband's best friend during your lifetime, and you were almost as close as brothers, so please fulfill the promise you made before entering the city, and teach me how this unwise woman can save this place?" ”

Fair soon gave the widow a "way to save her": he took her to the bedchamber, kissed her, semi-forcibly coped with her, and coaxed her "Now I am one with this castle, and your safety is mine". By dawn, the sound of horses' hooves and trumpets of the army outside Laverdra shook the earth: the vanguard of the Normans, led by Count Richard, had rapidly advanced here.

Fell's method was restored, he had the Armenian flag removed from the tower and replaced it with the flag of St. George, and sent people out of the city, giving Richard's troops a lot of food and supplies, and showing his willingness to submit to the Normans. Richard was so pleased that he ordered the whole army to rest in the wilderness outside the city, and to join Parkade's army and invite Prince Reuben's men and horses.

But at this moment, a small group of Armenian scouts had already ridden to the city of Tubesena, and the defenders at the head of the city could not hold back, and fired arrows and stones at them, so frightened that the group of scouts hurried back and reported the terrible news to the commander of the cavalry, Saliki, that "there is already a large Norman army in the Marash mountains ahead. ”

"Damn, it should have been a leak." Saliki hurriedly reported the general's love to His Royal Highness the prince after fifteen guri.

Prince Ruben was so frightened that he got up from his chair, his hands were shaking, and the golden crown above his head was about to fall crookedly, and the nobles around him asked him what to do. While Ruben was still trembling, scouts from another side also came running, "To the southeast and southwest of Castabara, a large number of troops with red hands and battle flags suddenly appeared, rushing towards them!" (To be continued.) )