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The grand party lasted for many days, and the bells of the church in the imperial capital were "more than the days of the year" to pray for thanksgiving from morning to night, and almost all the envoys and foreigners in Constantinople knew about it: the emperor had won a great victory against the steppe barbarians, brought back 10,000 prisoners of war, and the borders of the empire were at peace!

The speed of the spread of news was very fast by means of this incomparably focused method, and the sailors on the decks of the sailing ships, the merchants with mule teams selling goods, and the spies who wrote the information were all living media.

The whole celebration culminated in the dedication ceremony in front of the cathedral and the Grand Palace, when the Emperor, in the presence of all his courtiers and noblewomen, put his purple booted foot on the neck of a barbarian captive, "By the Lord's blessing, I will always trample you enemies under my feet." Then the captive cried for mercy in a barbarian dialect that no one could understand, which added to the supreme glory and courage of those present, who once again firmly believed that the empire of the emperor would be safe and invincible, and that Alexios would lead the ship and repeat the glory of ancient Rome.

In the Brachna Palace, a small palace on the hill, the bells echoed, Anna sat happily at the desk, bathed in the sunlight cast by the window, and spread out a beautifully bound book in front of her, her little slender fingers quickly flipping through it.

Empress Irene sat next to her daughter and looked at her daughter, not only because she liked to watch Anna read, but also because the emperor did not carry her at all at the major ceremony that had just passed, but was with Marlena everywhere, as if Marlena was not the deputy queen mother and the chief lady of the court, but the real queen.

Now, it was only when she watched her daughter's eyes down and immersed in the book that Irene's pain was slightly lessened.

When the maid at the door knelt down, Anna looked up slightly and saw her father walking in.

This caught Queen Irene off guard, so she first stood up and asked her husband, "What kind of work are you reading?" As if he hadn't seen his wife, Alexios walked straight to the desk, looked at his daughter, and asked kindly.

"Father, I was reading a work by the Franks, and to my surprise was that I thought that all the good works could only appear because they were impregnated with Roman antiquity, but this work was written entirely in the language of the barbarians, and there was a very special feeling." Anna touched the corner of the scroll and sighed.

"Oh, I think this work was circulated not long ago, can you share your critique with everyone present?" Alexios sat in the chair on the other side, looking in a pretty good mood.

"It's called Roland's Song, which is about a barbarian knight named Roland, although he has no cultural accomplishment, but he has a noble heart and a brave spirit." Anna then entered into a vision, as if a tall template with short brown hair and pale blue eyes stood in front of her, "He is a subordinate and servant of the barbarian usurped Emperor Charlemagne, and has vowed to exterminate all the infidels in the conquest. I'm sorry father, I just used contradictory words, the barbarians go to fight the barbarians, we should be happy. ”

"So, this Roland must have died in battle." Alexios laughed, "Because the Frankish troubadours always like to sing the praises of tragic figures." ”

This joke also made Queen Irene laugh, and the atmosphere in the room immediately eased a lot, Anna nodded and continued, "Roland fought to the death in the face of the 400,000 army of the alien king because of the betrayal of the traitor. Then, the eldest princess read aloud the verses in a subdued rhyme:

"As long as I live, the king will be fearless of any enemy."

After hearing this, Alexios fell silent, "I also wish to have my own Roland knights, no, not Frankish knights, but real Roman warriors. ”

"Your Majesty, you have Mikhail . Vattarsky. Erin reminded at the right time.

But Alexios shook his head, saying that Mikhail had martial prowess and loyalty, but lacked nobility and determination.

"Could it be George. The Captain of the Palarogus Stable? Empress Irene then cautiously tried to say this, and to be honest she was afraid that the Emperor would be positive about it, for she understood that the Warden was from the Marlena party, from the military aristocracy of the region of Tirasium, and had always been at odds with the military aristocracy of Asia Minor.

At this time, Anna then recites the verses that Charlemagne's traitor Garnaron said to King Marsile of Spain:

"If Roland can be killed in this battle,

It was tantamount to chopping off Charlemagne's right arm.

The elite troops have since collapsed,

There is no way to recruit such a strong team in the whole world,

From now on, there will be peace. ”

At this time, Alexios's face changed slightly when he heard this, and he suddenly said that my body was not in harmony, and he hurriedly said goodbye to the queen and the eldest princess.

As he walked briskly into his chamber, the Imperial Ink Officer Myles hurriedly handed over a scroll of papers, "The three hundred and seven land contractors of Prona in Asia Minor have collectively impeached the Warden George Warden, saying that many of the military properties that were granted to the soldiers were originally contracted by their predecessors or predecessors, or by the Emperors of the former Emperors with golden edicts, and now they were given to the soldiers by the Warden General's discretion. ”

"Now sitting on this throne is me!" Alexios, as if he had anticipated this, angrily scattered all the paperwork on the ground, then sat down in his seat, and slapped the armrest, "It must have been Caesar Macaulinus who was so jealous of George's exploits?" It's not like I haven't given him a chance, but I'm disappointed by his behavior. ”

"Speaking of His Excellency Caesar, this is his joint pleadings with Briel Zaiske, which are also presented today." Myles hurriedly handed it in again.

Alexios took it, and then with a puzzled tone, even his body straightened up slightly on the throne, "What, George is recruiting the remnants of the Tevris heresy in Paphragonia?" ”

"At least that's what the two Empire elders say, and promise to have hard evidence that the Tevris remnants not only served as peasants working on the Empire's lands, but some were supposedly conscripted into George's army." After Meles finished speaking, he handed over another paperwork, "This is a sent, and it seems to confirm that the Warden George has not only recruited the remnants of the Teflis, but also a group of Neo-Manichaeans of several thousand people, who are said to have come out of the mountains of Cappadocia to join the Warden's army. ”

"It's normal to recruit troops, but this kind of behavior is a bit too arbitrary." Alexios' hand holding the letter trembled a little, and he couldn't help but think of the verses that his daughter Anna had read aloud unintentionally.