The Emperor was skeptical, he paced to the silver plate map table, and gazed at the area where the Holy Sea was located, "Meles, convey my will I agree to Gawain's request, but no more than four ships are to carry Bohemond's coffin, and they must sail through Smyrna Bay, all under the watchful eye of my ships and islands. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info In addition, I promised that my Grand Earl of the Navy would not open the coffin for an autopsy, but I would order the horse to inform John to arrive in Eupia from Corinth, so that he could examine Bohemond's body, and if it was true, I could let his body go in the emperor's mercy, instead of sending it to the racecourse and letting it be insulted by the citizens of the imperial capital. ”

"Obey, so that your Majesty's generosity and compassion will not provoke the Normans of Apulia and Antioch. And Prince John came to examine the body, and there was no flaw in his identity. ”

After arranging, the emperor frowned, silently touched the edge texture of the map table woven with precious wood, and still couldn't believe it in his heart, "I have encountered many old enemies in my life, both outside and inside, and the two people I have feared and hated the most in the past few years, Bohemond and Gawain. I really didn't expect that it didn't take long for Bohemond and Gawain to join forces to endanger the empire, so they lost the power of Antioch in a daze, and were shot dead by my fleet at this time, so it was a big trouble? No, I can't take this kind of true or false news lightly, absolutely not. ”

While the Emperor pondered, there was a mourning in the port of Seleucia, and many of the Norman knights who followed Bohemond in front of the dock took off their helmets and armor, and knelt around a coffin, holding the hilt of their swords with tears in their eyes, praying for the Duke of Apulia to ascend to heaven.

Even the hermit Peter had come from the Abbey of Arahan, and with many priests he was carrying ritual of penance for the Duke who had died suddenly, and the coffin was pushed open and Bohemond's body covered with embroidered robes, revealing his lifeless blue-white wrists.

On the battlement of Haiphong, the black-robed patron of the Great Lord, Caesar of Tarsus, and many other members of the court gathered there, each of them holding elegant white flowers, both for the coffin of Bohemond and to express sincere condolences.

The soldiers and onlookers all saw or heard that although legend has it that the Duke of Apulia and the Grand Lord's guarantor had always been at odds and fought with each other, the real situation was that the heroic Gawain held on to the battlement, wept bitterly over the death of the duke, and could hardly stand upright, and the female Caesar's eyes were so red that she repeatedly persuaded her husband not to grieve excessively.

The sailors on the pier trestle tied the coffin with four ropes, and then hoisted it high with a disc noose crane, turned over the spiky reef, and slowly placed it on the deck of a hot duck merchant ship, and then in the mournful and long trumpet, the Norman knights lined up in two columns, holding a large white and gold-edged flag redeemed from Mardash Armenia, and stepped on the planks to the merchant ship, and solemnly covered the coffin, and then the ship raised its sails, along with three other small ships, Paddled slowly away from the Seleucian military port.

"Farewell, farewell! My friend Bohemond. Gao Wen, behind the Haiphong fortification, clutched his chest, looking at the ship full of grief, tears flowing, and his voice was almost suffocating.

And Anna also shed tears, grabbed Gawain's arm, and also lamented the death of a hero.

About half a day later, the small fleet passed through the port of Atalia, and Brenus and Assasidus watched from the castle tower with incredulous expressions.

"Is this true?" The Grand Earl of the Navy was the first to ask.

Brenus pointed to the coffin covered with a conspicuous flag on the deck of the ship at the head of the ship, and replied cautiously, "Your Majesty is wise in considering the matter, which you and I can never reach. He had already taken into account the future situation in the whole of Apulia and the Two Sicilies, which was truly amazing and admirable. It is said that His Majesty must have conquered Antioch after stepping on Tarsus, so the proper giving of Bohemond a dignified funeral was also to appease the Norman forces in Italy, so that when attacking Antioch, the Normans there would also stop a little, and even sign a no-war treaty with His Majesty. As for the opening of the coffin and the autopsy, His Majesty also wisely entrusted it to the prince of Corinth (after John had completed this task, he could go straight to the imperial capital to report and assume the post of chief executive), because only the prince's preeminent status could be convincing even to the Normans who did not know the king. ”

"I see, I see!" Assasidus also immediately made a very, very surprised expression, indicating that His Majesty the Emperor's strategy was beyond the scope of ordinary people's imagination.

The court officials behind the two also lowered their heads and did not utter half a superfluous word.

Horses' buttresses were soon out of the port of Atalya, with twelve light row-rows of warships, following the fleet carrying Bohemond's coffin, to escort and monitor the bay of Smyrna.

Under the continuous clouds, the waves are always glowing gray and black, losing the liveliness and blue of the original holy sea, "I feel like there will be wind and rain!" On the Atalya warship, the commander in charge looked at the churning and tightening waves, touched the slightly wet armor, and said to the sailors around him, and was unanimously approved.

In the afternoon, at the end of the Gulf of Atalia, the commander looked up, and the dark clouds seemed to be getting thicker and more oppressive, as if they were pressing directly on the bridge of a man's nose, and in the distance he could see the flickering of white with his eyes, and the sailor stared at the turning of the sails, and reported in a loud voice, "The storm in the direction of Cilicia is coming." ”

"Damn, we didn't have this kind of weather when we were looking at the stars. Everybody, keep an eye on the ship ahead! The commander jumped onto the wooden tower at the bow of the ship, waved his arms, and pointed to the faint ahead in the howling wind.

"Your Excellency, you see, you see." A lookout pointed to the third sailboat in the small fleet ahead and suddenly shouted.

Commander Atalia looked in his direction, but saw that the sailors were running in a hurry, constantly taking barrels and boxes from the cabins below deck, plopping and throwing them into the rolling waves on both sides of the ship, "Raise the fireworks, speed up the rowing of the oars, and ask what the ship is going to do?" ”

"The purpose of throwing away all the cargo in the cabin is very simple, in order to lose weight, they have to follow the wind and speed up." Before the lookout could finish speaking, the ship raised all its sails, swelled back and forth like a full moon, and under the impetus of the strong wind, quickly broke away from its fleet, split the waves on both sides, and went in a southwesterly direction. (To be continued)). If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point to vote, your support is my biggest motivation. For mobile phone users, please go to read. )