It's been five days since I left Rome. The mentality of the sailors and soldiers of the Norman fleet also gradually began to recover. Although Constantinople, the new Rome built beautifully, can be called the largest city in Europe. However, Krakow in the Norman Empire, in fact, was not much worse. And except for Krakow. The Norman Empire's capital and the emerging port city of Kherson were no less prosperous than Constantinople. If we talk about defense capabilities, then the "Moscow Absolute Defense Circle" that the Norman Empire is now building with all its strength is definitely much stronger than Constantinople. And Smolensk, which was ceded from Moscow, was sworn by Egil to become the world's largest fortress. In addition, Oslo, the largest military city in the empire, known as the Norman barracks, is another atmosphere.

So, the soldiers and sailors also looked fresh at first. After that, I didn't feel anything. It's not like the turtles of several other countries, who were directly blinded by the glory and wealth of Constantine. As a result, in a few days, hundreds of soldiers were arrested for violating laws and disciplines. There were also a few who "beeped" Greek women because they were forced, and as a result, they were beaten to death by the citizens of Constantine. Almost caused a war between the Crusaders and the Greeks.

In the end, nearly 1,000 people in the other five countries deserted. I don't know where to go. The most run was the Bavarian provisional conscripts, who accounted for more than half of the total. Henry, Duke of Bavaria, felt disgraced. At the same time, it strengthened his idea of reforming the political and military forces.

Recently, however, Emperor Egil has been a little emotional. Always and constantly, constantly remembering the scene when Lilianu stood on tiptoe and kissed him lightly on the left cheek. And after that, Lilianu's cute blushing face, and the smile that suddenly stopped after running away and turned to herself......

"I seem to like I'm kind of fond of her. Gently stroking Lilianu's place a few days ago, Egil looked at the sea for a moment. Said to himself.

"It's just that in terms of identity, it's a little bit of a mismatch. Egil then thought again. At the same time, he furrowed his eyebrows. The emperor and the princess seem to be a good match at first glance. But here's a catch. It's that Egil already has a satisfactory wife, and he doesn't want to change one. And Lilianu's identity is also destined to make her absolutely impossible to be like Joan of Arc and Maria as an underground lover who is attached to Egil. The relationship between the two parties may be able to go one step further and become a couple. But it was difficult for Egil to have complete monopoly on Lilianu. Unless......

"Unless I destroy Rome. Then after that, it's like Cleopatra and Caesar...... Hehe, hehe......" Thinking of this, Egil's mood became happy again. After that, there was a small hehehehe. Looking at the blue sea. I also feel relaxed and happy.

"No one can escape—huh?" was just as Egil was about to shout out a line of middle two when he heard the sound of military boots stomping across the deck behind him. So he swallowed the second half of the sentence back.

After that, Egil turned around and saw that it was Admiral Apraksin who was the commander of Bōra's Sea Fleet. It's different from the pirate riffraff who first generation veteran Carter just appeared. The admiral was dressed in a rather formal manner. Boat-shaped cap, military badge, epaulettes, ribbons. Command knife, navy half-phoenix uniform, waterproof military boots. Meticulously dressed - although the defense is close to zero. However, in these years, no commander-in-chief of the Navy went to the front line to fight with bayonets...... So it's nothing for him to dress up for this virtue.

The admiral, now in his Chinese New Year's Eve. Unlike Carter, a pirate-turned-carter, Eric in the system setting. He was the same as the commander of the North Sea Fleet, Nelson. All of them were born in military schools. It is more regularized, more courageous in combat, and extremely effective in combat. But correspondingly, it is also more dogmatic. I don't know how to be flexible. And it's quite resistant to coastal raids and stuff like that. This made Egil quite unhappy. So. Although it has a naval command ability of up to six stars. Egil, however, only gave him the task of commander of the Bō Luo Sea Fleet.

Apraksin also knew that His Majesty the Emperor was not very satisfied with his actions. However, he still stubbornly adheres to his own philosophy. And firmly believe that gold will always shine. That's the truth. The Crusades. Egil had to send troops and arrange a large number of naval ships. And at this moment, the Black Sea Fleet is not yet very useful. The commander was not well chosen. He had no choice but to let Apraksin go south with his fleet. Served as the commander of the combined fleet. ...,

Therefore, this admiral was very jī moved. I want to fight a few good battles. Let Emperor Ai have a good look at his ability. From then on, he looked at him differently.

"What's the matter?" asked Egil calmly.

"Your Majesty, the enemy has been discovered...... It looks like it's a pirate. As he said this, Apraksin handed over a telescope.

Egil stretched out his hand to stop him, then pulled out the one on his waist and put it in front of him to adjust it, and then saw several more galleys flying the black skull flag in front of him. Slowly approaching the Imperial fleet.

"Are those guys going to die?" said Egil, frowning. In fact, the Norman Navy was not without encountering small groups of pirates before. However, the average pirate is no more than one or two ships. The larger pirate regiments were only about five ships. A pirate gang of more than a dozen ships, that's already a level of the pirate king.

And how many warships were there in the fleet under Egil's command? Excluding the Norman warships that were transporting supplies to Cyprus and were blocking the ports off the coast of Syria and Egypt at this moment. At this moment, there were two hundred ships following Egil. Of course, only fifty of them were battleships. The remaining 150 are trough carriers. But it's already pretty remarkable. When Xerxes attacked Greece. The army of five million bōs was equipped with 800 ships. Besides, naval warfare in this era was not as brutal as in the age of firearms. The absence of artillery is a tragedy. In these years, white-knuckle warfare is still the mainstream. Although, ordinary soldiers are not as well adapted to sea operations as professionally trained sailors. But if you are really mō by the other party, you are not without the power to resist.

That's it, a ship in naval warfare of this era counts as one. In the Norman Empire. In Egil's calculations, he had at his command fifty improved ballista ships. Early artillery battleships and a heavy, three-thousand-ton HMS Victory (Egil). But in the eyes of the other side, it was calculated like this: the Normans had two hundred large ships.

And after seeing such a terrifying lineup, those large and small pirate gangs are basically scared to death. How far and how far to run - of course, they did not dare to attack the Norman ships. The Norman navy, which was already idle, didn't mind using them as targets for good training. The ships were equipped with ballistas, ranged Celestial Flame Jars and Iron Cannon Crossbows, and the Celestial Flamethrower, modeled after the Greek Firethrower, for melee combat, as well as the short-range, but surprisingly powerful early cannon. So that the Norman warships can sink the opponent from a distance without any risk without resorting to broadside combat.

And in terms of power, whether it is a newly-built, physics-based, streamlined fast sailing ship, or an improved ballista battleship with dual power of sails and paddle wheels, it is faster than the old galleys. At this point, Egil has lost count of how many pathetic pirate ships he has sunk. Normally, after the pirate ship saw the Norman fleet, it was too late to escape. However, this fleet had to take the initiative to come over. It's no wonder that Egil asked.

The subordinates felt that this might be a trap for the other party. Hearing Egil say this, Apraksin replied, "Your Majesty, you can see that these ships on the other side are all faster types. However, as a pirate, speed is indeed an important element. However, very few pirate regiments will adopt all small fast ships as their own ships. Because of this kind of fast warship, the carrying capacity is insufficient, and it cannot fight a tough battle. The right thing to do is to mix formations. Several fast ships entangled the prey. And the big warships will follow-"

Therefore, these warships should be yòu bait, trying to lure yòu into pursuit. Then enter the encirclement of the other side...... Is that so?" looked around, but couldn't see where the other boat's speed was. I know in my heart that I am not an expert. He stopped looking, turned to Apraksin and asked.

"The Lord is a clear guide. Apraksin nodded yes: "That's what his subordinates think." ”

At this moment, several small boats have come closer a lot, gradually approaching the point of being visible to the naked eye. On the deck, a few idle sailors also saw the pirate flags flying high. They began to cheer - sink the poor boats, and watch them spin and sink. Watch the pirates howl in the water. It's arguably the best pastime during a boring voyage.

At this moment, there were already sailors who were ready to attack.

"So, what do you think?" said Egil, who was proud, but at the same time self-aware. For unfamiliar things, leaving it to a professional is the best way. Egil though excellent in land combat. But naval warfare has never been experienced. So he began to ask what Apraksin meant.

Originally, Egil felt that Apraksin was eager to fight, and most of them would say that he would plan and pay attention to everything. However, what the admiral said was unexpected by Egil: "My subordinates feel that for the sake of your safety, Your Majesty. We should ignore those ships. Shoot a ballista to drive it away. There is no need to pursue them. ”！。