Almost at the same moment, in front of the gorge leading from Corquisson Fort to the distant plateau, Gawain rode his war horse high on the side of the hillside, the guards behind him held various flags and flocked to him, the white cloak of the Grand Duke had melted into the snow falling on it, and his brown hair and beard were also covered with snow foam, but he still insisted on stretching out his hand to salute the advancing troops under him. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

This was the "Northern Task Force", also known as the "Merlot Detachment", which went to seize the fortress of Meritane, and at the forefront were Merlot and the lieutenant commander Monomachus, both of whom were dressed in beautiful and sturdy armor, and their hands were leveled to their brows, and they returned salute on their horses in the direction of the Grand Duke, and behind them were six hundred red-handed horsemen trotting on horseback, and for the convenience of the march, they did not carry long-mounted spears and long-handled tribulus hammers, but each man had a sword, and the general-purpose cavalry carried a quiver on their backs; At the head of the procession were Hector and Prajit, both Armenians and familiar with the geography ahead, who had just been appointed as the forerunners, and behind them were three hundred Genat cavalrymen, with four javelins with counterweights and Turkic scimitars at their waists, and the cheers for the Grand Duke were especially enthusiastic.

They were followed by nine hundred new Armenian soldiers, all of whom were originally prisoners of war, each on horseback, but also had to take care of an additional horse for the replacement of the red-handed cavalry in front; In the last temple array, an infantry detachment specially drawn from the brigade of Branas, escorted the baggage and military servants in the middle, among which Gawain saw that the baggage vehicle was the latest design of the small sunfish, in fact, there were two regulations, one is the "Glamorgan back car", which was the Roman Empire in the tenth century AD when the Patriarch sent the Patriarch to Britain for disaster relief (at that time, the relationship between the British Kingdom and the Eastern Roman Empire was very close, and the Patriarch also brought back a lot of gifts from each other, such as black gold - coal) What he saw, The Patriarch saw with his own eyes: in the blue weather, on the verdant slopes, on the low gray walls, and in the rising sea mist, the local peasants, either on pack horses or with human pulls, carrying manure and goods on their backs, and flying up the hillsides, and of course the Patriarch accidentally saw the "unspeakable fornication" of the local farmers on the ewes. Later it was copied by Anna in a manuscript book: now in the Holy Monastery of Gallipoli, the deacon, His Excellency Desiderius, quietly sends the books and manuscripts from the library to Seleucia.

This kind of back car is very long and narrow, riveted by two logs and a row of beams, at first glance it looks like a ladder with a curve, it is not troublesome to manufacture (because it has no wheels, and the wheels are the most complicated part of the process), the protruding part of the log is polished with a tool is the wheel, which can be connected and buckled together with the yoke of the pack horse, on the beam the craftsman made four rows of ladders, three short ones in the front, and one longest vertical in the rear, so that the cargo baggage and leather bags are grouped and tied to it with ropes, so that they can remain stable in the bumps, Even if it is crooked, the ladder frame can block the luggage and prevent it from tumbling and falling. It is precisely because of this structure that this kind of Glamorgan back car always maintains an inclination (which is also conducive to the stability of the cargo) on the way to be pulled, which is very distinctive.

"It's worthy of Glamorgan's technology." Seeing this, Gawain couldn't help but sigh with Branas, who was beside him.

The other kind of cart construction is completely Byzantine's own technology, that is, the "sleigh", this kind of vehicle is no different from the current sleigh, its two ends are simple ladders, in the middle are two side plates and beams to form a heavy wagon, riveted with two slippery logs, connected to the pack beast with a rope, in this mountainous snow season is the most suitable for use - this kind of vehicle, in the past in the empire in the north and the Slavs and Varyags came in handy. Therefore, Agnes also determined the ratio of the two vehicles, seven to three.

"Very well Branas, in this case, I can go to Cappadocia to meet Anna in peace." Looking at the procession, Gawain said with relief, "Merlot carries a astrolabe on him, so he can accurately track the time. ”

"At the suggestion of Hector and Prajit, the northern detachment is to march from the upper valley of the Sanus River (now the Seyhan River in Turkey), so that it can both hide the eyes and ears of the Emirate of Danishmund, and obtain the nearest water, and then we will break through the Nurhas Pass and surprise the flank of the fortress of Meritane." Branas added the program.

Gawain nodded, "In this way, although it is a long detour, it is indeed an unexpected direction. Branas, you have to leave the main force of the brigade here, and if anything goes wrong with the detachment, use the beacon contact, ready to minimize the losses, understand? ”

"Obey the Grand Duke!"

In fact, Gawain knew very well in his heart that he was gambling again, a real gamble - the distance between the upper valley of the Sanus River and the Nurhas Pass is now the snow season, and the soldiers and horses often have to march up and down hundreds of meters or even kilometers above sea level, even with the support of two sets of cheap wagons developed by the little sunfish (after the drawings came out, Gawain gathered all the craftsmen and Armenian craftsmen around the city of Vanka to cut down wood and build cars), but this is still a dangerous and arduous journey, so he chose the most relied on Merlot to lead the army, And they were all selected to participate in the expedition, and after that, they kept reminding Branas, "In the valley north of the corquisson, build a simple beacon every twenty guli, hire some natives to accompany the soldiers to garrison it, and follow the Merlot detachment, so that they do not lose their ...... of communication."

But speaking of which, Gawain still couldn't settle down, and his current field backbone team, with only three brigades and two cavalry companies, and a total strength of about 15,000 men, was really not the time to talk about magnanimity - as a result, after much deliberation, Gawain returned to Vanka City and wrote a sincere letter of apology to Anna, "I'm very sorry Anna, whether Meritene succeeds or not, is like a piece of red-hot charcoal resting there in my heart." Unless I see the triumphant soldiers coming to my eyes with the snow and ice they have taken from there, I can extinguish the fire of fear...... So I can only sit in the city of Vanka, and I can't be with you under the snowy peaks of Cappadocia for the time being......"

When the letter was finished, in the vaulted hall of the Lion Citadel, Agnes hurried over and handed the letter to Gawain, "According to the reports we have planted in Antioch - Bohemond and Tancred have begun to move intensively in the mountains of Edessa, Samosata, and Marash, and it seems that there is a big move. ”

"Like I said to Branas earlier, no one likes someone else's sword hanging over their head." Gawain's bloodshot eyes, peeking out from between his fingers, with a little hoarseness, replied to the little sunfish. (To be continued.) )