"Your top priority, Sultan, is to make good use of your fiscal taxes and reorganize your army. Pen %Fun %Pavilion www.biquge.info "Esdu was sincerely frightened, and bowed his head and admonished.

Hearing this, even the Vizierdala behind the arch began to mutter—Ostu's words were true, and the traditional Seljuk lightly armed nomadic army was no longer able to keep up with the formidable Normans and Franks, or the newly rising Gawain army. The successive defeats of Siyan, Kobha and Merrick clearly prove this. Since Ridwan is now only subservient to the situation and has formed an alliance with the pilgrims, the first consideration in the future when breaking up is to be able to compete with each other militarily.

"Tell me about your views on military reform." Ridwan's voice was more serious.

"Aleppo has well-organized farmland, but it is by no means a suitable place for the traditional Iqta fiefdom, because your territory is too limited to support too many Gazi cavalry, the conscripted tribesmen are shoddy and undisciplined, and it is unlikely that all the Gazi warriors will be encouraged to go to Anatolia for military colonization as they have done before - both Gawain and Merrick are strong competitors, and the door to the expansion of the plateau is closed. So, Your Majesty the Sultan, you should not rely solely on the traditional Beys and Ghazis. ”

"So who should I rely on?"

"Aleppo happened to be located at the crossroads of the Levant and Anatolia, and the cities and workshops flourished, and many Greeks and Armenians who converted to the Crescent scriptures continued to work in the guild making trade, and the guilds of tanners, ropemen, carpenters, masonry, blacksmiths, etc., formed all kinds of cities and market towns."

"Yes, these guilds formed the Vakif." Ridwan bowed.

"This group of people is similar to the Futuis guilds in Baghdad and Antioch, the members are all well-organized and self-watching, and they have collective religious property, enough to provide their own military rations and weapons, as long as the Sultan can vigorously praise and support them, in the event of a war, Aleppo, which is not very small, will respond to all calls, and attack all around it is enough to rely on." Ostu had been a mercenary for many years, so he naturally knew the terroir well, "I have learned that the Wakov Brotherhood is capable of dispatching five thousand guild infantry at once, and it will not have a greater impact on the Sultan's finances. ”

"Abandon cavalry and opt for infantry, this is not like the tradition of our Oghuz warriors......" But Ridwan did not stop the mercenary from continuing.

"All things have to change, like the moon in the sky, Your Majesty Sultan. The Varkov Brotherhood wears light and sophisticated armor, and fights in dense formations with large spears similar to those of the High Brigade Regiment, and when combined with pyrinos and lightly armed archers, it is naturally invincible. Then, in generals, Your Majesty the Sultan may reuse the students of the 'Midrese' (the Seljuk higher madrasas) as Praetorian Guards and front-line officers, who are young men who are willing to die for the Lord and who are well versed in scriptural wisdom. Whenever you conquer a place, you only have to promise to set aside a portion of the 'righteous land' to the Brotherhood, and promise to build a new pilgrimage hall for the school students. ”

When Estus had finished speaking, Ridwan stood up with a complicated expression, and he paced to the arch behind his chair, looking at his most trusted minister—and Dora nodded and made a gesture, meaning "You can reuse this one, he is not tolerated by all sides anyway, and if the reform works well, you can naturally inherit the glory of the Sultan of the Great Seljuk Empire." ”

"Estus, I appoint you my Artaberg, and grant you glory and power to help me reorganize my army. In addition, I will give you the Castle of Muya on the border as Iqta, which is a great place with a garden and a canal, so don't let me live up to my trust. Ridwan didn't hesitate too much, and immediately proposed an appointment to the Turkic mercenary.

Edos was grateful, and then he suggested with some embarrassment that a large amount of money would be needed to initiate the reform of the army.

"There's no need to worry about that, we've already been sponsored." After Osto's stunned expression, Ridwan laughed, and then pointed to the north with his hand wearing the fire gem ring, "Now this group of people has gone to Marash, right?" I've already given them the papers. ”

In the Marlash Fort in the north of Aleppo, the father and son of Fer and Pak Ade, who had fled here around the road, sat in the hall in the hall with untidy armor and frightened, and the nobles such as Saliki next to them also beat their chests, because it was just now: Task Force Bramson, with a red hand banner, rode up and down with a total of 3,500 paces, sang war songs in a grand manner, set fire to the last remaining buildings under the city, and returned to Cilicia under the noses of the Marlash Fort guards.

All this is true, the Seleucian army has swept back and forth like a plough across the land of Marash three times.

In their eyes, this group of Ani warriors is all defeated generals and does not speak bravely.

It is now unknown whether the Normans, who had won a great victory in Samosata, would go straight into the new Armenian state and strangle it, and everyone was afraid of a sword hanging over their heads.

When the Armenian nobles met them in the hall after the arrival of the mysterious mission, Ridvan, they found that one of the leaders was dressed in Roman robes, and the other was dressed in the light attire of an Italian merchant, "I am the Emperor's secret envoy to the court, Portrufis, and by my side is His Excellency Billleoni, the consul of the city of Pisa." ”

The noble commanders covered in dust and blood, looking at the well-dressed envoys, instantly recognized that they were jointly sent by Constantinople and Pisa, "What do you see?" As you can see, our farmlands and estates have been completely destroyed by fierce enemies, and our soldiers and horses are exhausted. ”

"His Majesty the Great Emperor and the Archon of Pisa are willing to give you what you need - money." "We've been secretly connected with the Hotduck people, and we're all willing to fund the valiant Ani army, and your chamber of commerce has a lot of ties with us, so we're all supposed to be allies," said Billleoni in surprisingly fluent Armenian. ”

At this moment, Park'Ade, who was standing at the top, had his eyes shining, and he covered his arm, which was bandaged by the arrow wound, and walked down, "Money? Ally? ”

"Yes, you must know that my ancestors were the richest men in the city of Rome, we have the Teatro Marcellas as a stronghold in the city, and the contemptible has always been the money manager of the Holy See, and has registered with the Pisan Chamber of Commerce. Since the contemptible people have decided to support you, you don't have to worry about money at all from now on. Bill Leoni was very relaxed and domineering, his ancestor was his grandfather Bill, who was originally a Jew, and later received the appreciation of Pope Leo and became the agent of the Holy See in money affairs, so he changed the name of the pope to "Leoni" and hung it behind his name as a sign of respect. (To be continued.) )