Billeoni's speech made all the Armenian nobles inexplicably excited, "You can use this money to directly hire some Sagitus cavalry and Kurds to fight for you." Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 Billleoni generously promised, and then Parkard and Fell clamored for a drink to be served to the guests.

"His Majesty the Emperor of Rome has not only recognized your legitimate kingdom in the Golden Edict, but he is also willing to support you with all his might, both politically and financially." At the feast surrounded by the sound of the piano, the emperor's secret envoy Potferus also repeatedly cheered up the originally depressed everyone.

"What do you need us to give in return?" At this point, Hercules, the son of Parkade, sobered up, knowing that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Billleoni smiled gracefully and raised his glass, "We have taken such a great risk, especially the contemptible people, to leave behind the property of Rome and Pisa for 200,000 gold coins to come here, and of course we hope to get a considerable interest. Do you know what the profit was from the Venetian merchants, who carried Dalmatian pine, iron, and slaves on ships, and the Amalfi merchants who carried Tuscan wool and salt from the Po River, sent them from Italy to Egypt to sell their goods, and then shipped back with the silk and spices there? ”

Fell shook his head dumbly with his glass in his hand—the Armenian militant aristocracy had always been indifferent to this.

"1,200 percent -- that's the amount of profit." Billleoni replied, when he saw that Fell was still at a loss at the number, "Twelve times my friend, as if you dropped a Byzant on deck when you got aboard, and twelve when you returned, glittering with gold." ”

At this point, Fer opened his mouth wide and nodded long to show that he could understand, "But what can we do in Armenia?" ”

The double consul of Pisa and Rome laughed, "You know what? In the past, we had long competed with the Duck merchants for the interests of the ports of Sicily, Córdoba, and Kairouan, but we turned a blind eye to such a rich trade in the East, which was the biggest lose-lose for the Pisas and the Duck people. Now we also aspire to possess a position in the crescent-shaped land of the Levant, Cilicia, and Egypt, as Amalfi and Venice did, but those who come later often have to exert a little more effort and sacrifice - so it must be approved and supported by your country, the Sultan of Ridwan, and His Majesty the Roman Emperor, and now the Relaya are preparing to obtain from His Majesty the Emperor the right to mine the mines of Ficaia of Thrace and Fugliana of Smyrna, which are necessary for all weaving and dyeing clothing; In addition, the Pisan Chamber of Commerce wanted to obtain the right to operate in Marassy, and we transported the blankets, honey, and grain along the trade routes of the Sivas Plateau to Dhanishmond and Trabzon for sale, and from there we obtained raw silk and shipped it along the Yukchen Sea to the Emperor's capital, from where we would send alum and frankincense back to Italy and the Franks for sale—I have calculated that this 'Sivas Trade Route', which was independent of Amalfi and Venice, would make a profit of 3,000 percent! After saying this, Bill Leoni's eyes lit up, "Once there is a huge amount of money, we will work harder to support you and Ridwan to join forces and expel Gawain, Bohemond, and the Amalfi and Venetian chambers behind them from the Levant and Egypt!" I call this plan 'two birds in the forest is better than one bird in hand', 'birds of prey first and then hunting'. ”

"But as far as I know, both Amalfi and the Venetians seem to be on the side of His Majesty the Emperor." Fell asked the Emperor's envoy a little puzzled.

"His Majesty the Supreme is already disgusted and disgusted with these two city-states, and they are openly on the side of the enemies of the empire, so that they are not far from destruction." Portrufes whispered, and everyone laughed heartily and clinked glasses to each other.

Only Hercules, a little preoccupied, paced alone to the corner of the pillar and poured himself a drink......

No one knows how much upheaval the whole situation in the East and West has befallen in the days that accompanied the fall and massacre of Samosata, with the old alliances silently destroyed and abandoned, and new interests growing like weeds in spring.

A few days later, as Estus had predicted, Bohemond was unable to penetrate deep into Marash with his previous victory: all the pilgrims, including the Normans themselves, were unwilling to fight for the lord's northern crusade, and they strongly demanded that they "go to the Holy City and die for their lives".

Bohemond, who had no choice, remembered the correctness of Gawain's advice, so he had to hand over Samosata to the management of Earl Richard, who had a hundred of the bravest knights by his side.

Bohemond and his nephew, who had been in a very unhappy quarrel before, "put aside their old suspicions" and led an expedition of about 6,000 core soldiers along Aleppo and Antioch, grumbling and preparing to follow Raymond towards Jerusalem.

At this time, Gawain had already gathered the Gemmageis Brigade and the Red Hand Brigade, as well as all the cavalry, and after making a promise that "in two months, the Gemagis Brigade would be sent to help the Holy City Raider", he began to swear in the city of Tarsus and go to the plateau to resist the invasion of the emperor's soldiers and horses.

In the center of the city square, in front of the "St. Paul's Cathedral", where the foundations were being excavated and the stones were being moved, Gawain personally lectured nearly 10,000 soldiers, "I have not the slightest rebellion or disobedience to Your Majesty, I originally only wanted to be the chief guarantor of the great hospital, withdraw from the military and political circles, and escape into the seclusion of the Lord and the pilgrims." Just two days ago, I had delivered a letter that I had written to His Excellency Patriarch Anselm (the expression on the face of the Patriarch beside me at the moment was delicate), and more than 200 priests had read it and said that it was necessary for all the Christians of Cilicia to pass my prayer unanimously, so I thought that if I were not the military leader of the pilgrims, I would be a very good guarantor of the hospital—but I think that in the course of life, it is necessary not only to rely on personal struggle, but also to take into account the course of history. Now the entire contingent of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims has to rely not only on our big hospital, but also on me, the chief patron, to serve as an escort on the plateau, so it is really difficult to retreat, let alone sit idly by and watch the loss of Seleucia. ”

"Willing to follow the battle banner of the great lord and protector to defend Seleucia until death!" All the soldiers present shouted with shields and weapons.

"From now on, discard the imperial flag given by the original emperor and change the banner!" Gawain took the opportunity to wave his hand and shout. (To be continued.) )