In the courtyard beside Barak stood Fel, the ruler of Tubosana, and Cousinsus, the ruler of Lavodra, both of whom occupied the most dangerous passes and the fortified and rich castles, and were the most glorious nobles among the Armenians.

Hearing the news of Tancred's siege of Antioch, Fell and Cousins each brought five hundred cavalry to meet the Normans here, and a few days earlier Bohemond sent Taplendz, also an Armenian, to Edessa with his guards (so that Taplenc was not actually involved in the battle of the Valley of Blood) to deliver the news to him.

The purpose of Ta Plunz's trip was simple, to ask for money.

According to the original negotiation between Bohemond and his nephew, in order to meet the debts of the Pisan merchant fleet, he had to borrow the equivalent of 7,000 Byzantine gold coins from the city of Edessa and pay them to the Pisan people, so that he could see the summer sun, otherwise the creditor would give him a good look.

But the 7,000 gold coins alone can only solve the urgent need, and Bohemond still needs nearly 40,000 gold coins to pay off the terrible and heavy debts he has borne since the army.

Now the Pisan demanded a debt of 40,000 gold coins, half of which was to be paid in cash, and half was to be satisfied by the shipping from Antioch to the port of San Simon and the exclusive interest of the neighborhood. To put it simply, Bohemond still needs 20,000 gold coins to turn around, but where does he get this money on hand now?

So Taprenz, as an envoy, made a condition that Fer and Cussus each bear five thousand gold coins, and the remaining ten thousand gold coins are to be drawn from the annual tribute of the city of Samosata, which is in the possession of his nephew Tancred.

So. The scene was even more awkward: the Armenians welcomed Tanfred in as leader, but did not want to pay him all the money. Fair, for example, spoke with emotion of the grain, olive oil, wool and honey he produced annually in his territory. It was only the income of four thousand Byzantit gold coins, and now that the lion opened his mouth, it was unbearable for us to have to give both men and money.

Another cousin, Cousin, felt the same way.

Taprenz, on one side, was secretly rejoicing, because he was Prince Reuben's man—to put it bluntly, Prince Reuben wanted to take advantage of the Normans. To establish relations with the Pilgrim forces, and to be dissatisfied with Tancred's occupation of Marash and Samosata, and the allegiance of many Armenian lords, I should be the one who unites the whole of Cilicia, and the real "King of the Mountains".

Therefore, Taplunz began to openly instigate and fan the flames, and the attack on the Normans was too much to take the Armenians in his eyes.

Thus there was a tendency towards centrifugation, thanks to the consul Barak of Edessa who was trying to mediate and explain. In the end, the group decided to give each other 7,000 gold coins first, and we went to Antioch City to help in the battle, and brought this gorgeous and expensive tent as a gift. Other payment requirements, and then slowly negotiate the reduction.

As a result, at this moment, scout patrol cavalry from the direction of Sucha City. The terrible news was told to them, who were preparing to set off: Khorasan and Mosul, the most powerful Turkic prince Kobha, led an army of nearly 100,000. and countless emir chieftains, already only thirty gua miles away from the city of Edessa!

Barak, the consul of Edessa, was immediately half dead of fright. Dressed in silk robes, he immediately raised his hands and knelt down to beg the lords to help him defend the city, "If Edessa is lost, not only will the gateway to Antioch be lost, but even the Turks will open the way to capture the city of Samosata." ”

Then he saw that the crowd was silent, so he made a generous offer: seven thousand Byzantian gold coins, which he was not going to give to Tanthred for the time being, but to give them separately to Fel, Cousinsus, and Taprenz, and as for the tent, he was willing to give it to Prince Ruben as a gift.

People always have to take care of their own territory and interests from being infringed upon, and all loyalty must be based on this premise.

Two days later, the battle for the city of Edessa began, and the three Armenian lords who had agreed to the consul's invitation were rewarded with a large amount of money, and their men and garrisons worked hard to resist Kobha's army on the perimeter of the moat by virtue of the fortified castle, so that they could not advance even a step.

At the same time, Barak hastily wrote an urgent letter in Greek, in which he declared, "I have been besieged by a great number of Turks like the Desert of the Stars, and the commander of the other side has come to the aid of Yagy. Kobha, the governor of Mosul in Siyan, who had an army of 200,000 men, would also contact two Turkic chieftains, Ridwan of Aleppo and Dukaq of Damascus, to join his fearsome camp. Although I have repelled many sieges by the blessing of the Lord and the bravery of my soldiers, Kobha did not stay long in my castle, and he soon crossed the Euphrates with his main force, and then came south to fight you. ”

The cavalry, who served as messengers, galloped quickly, and soon spread the news from Edessa to the siege positions of Antioch.

At that time, the unaware coalition forces of Gawain, Baldwin, and Bohemond were already densely packed in an open area only 400 feet away from the Dog Gate, and they had gathered about 1,200 well-armed foot soldiers, wearing beautiful and mighty helmets or chain turbans, wearing chain mail that could protect against arrows and axes, and holding shields of various colors, forming a dense formation in depth, clamoring and beating swords and shields, shouting and demonstrating towards the city gates and walls guarded by the Turks, preparing for a general attack.

Behind them were nearly a thousand armed servants and armed civilians armed with shovels and pickaxes, carrying planks and saddles, and in jackets, who were to take on the duty of assisting in the destruction of the coming storm.

At the head of this group of brave warriors: three Grand Dukes of the Roman Empire, Count Adana, and Duke of Apulia, stood on the high ground of the defensive rock, and in front of their eyes, a large number of siege engines, pouring countless stone bullets against the city of Antioch, the dull sound of smashing was endless, shaking everyone's eardrums, the towers on the dog gate had been completely smashed by the daily bombardment, the walls were scattered and broken, trembling and groaning, and the streets behind the walls were full of uneasy and frightened cries, Mixed with the desperate chanting of the Crescentists.

"I didn't expect that in our experience, the city that we thought could not be obtained by manpower at all, would have a day when the door was in danger of opening." Bohemond touched his red beard and looked at Gawain beside him with a smile.

Gawain weighed the other party's thoughts in his heart, but his mouth did not reveal it, "Yes, we will first occupy the city of Antiochus, and then use it as a springboard to defeat the infidels on all sides. ”

"How?" Bohemond did ask such a question, and his voice was still very clear and piercing in the whistling and colliding sound of stone bullets. (To be continued.) )