The war on land was over for the time being, and Egil won a great victory, adding to his already great book.

Led the Catholic coalition to defeat the Eastern Roman army and destroy the Republic of Venice.

Both.

Speaking of which, Egil has slaughtered countless people since his debut, and he has also destroyed many countries. England, Scotland, Denmark, Switzerland, Poland-Lithuania, and now the Republic of Venice, Egil had destroyed a total of six continental powers—remember, states. Instead of the so-called dukedoms, countdoms, such tragic small feudal states.

With such merit. Egil would be dead now. When later generations recorded, they also had to add honorific titles such as "Emperor" after him.

That's it.

It is precisely because of this that after hearing that his intelligence director actually said all about Egil. Basil II's original anger vanished in an instant. His instincts told him that this guy was awesome - and of course, he didn't actually have to be intuitive or anything. In fact, everyone present, all the Eastern Roman noble generals, were surprised. One person, from a little bit of development in a countydom, only took more than three years to develop into such a huge power. Such a situation, even if it is described as Tianzhong talent, is a bit light.

"This person is omnipotent in domestic and foreign affairs, and he can do everything in governing the country and the country. is better at ghost tricks, and has no moral bottom line. It's a fierce rival...... "After hearing these things, Basil II was silent for a long time. After that, he looked around and slowly spoke: "It seems that this person is the biggest obstacle to our restoration of the glory of the Roman Empire." It can be seen that he is doing his best to organize a plate of scattered barbarians, so that all the heretics can form an alliance and form a large army. ”

At this point, Basil II paused again.

"If that were the case, our adversary would no longer be a single, divided kingdom of barbarians. Rather, it's the entire coalition of barbarians. I believe that everyone can understand the difference. ”

Hearing His Majesty the Emperor say this. The generals below had a lot of discussions, and they followed Basil II to fight in the north and south for so many years. None of the generals were uninformed, so they naturally understood that what Basil II said was not unreasonable.

"So, what are your plans, Your Majesty?" asked an Eastern Roman general.

Basil II nodded: "Indeed, I do have a plan now. The banner of the other side is Crusader Jihad, that is, to unite the barbarian kingdom that also believes in heresy with their heretical beliefs. Therefore -- I intend to uproot the roots of the other person's faith. Let them lose the final, united sign. In order to crush their alliance. ”

"That so-called Papal States...... It's still Rome......" As I said before, none of you here are stupid. I heard His Majesty the Emperor say this. Naturally, it quickly grasps the spirit. The generals nodded their heads again and again, whether they agreed with His Majesty's statement or not, at least on the surface.

"However, the other side also sent about 20,000 additional troops on the Roman front, which contained a large part of our army's offensive strength. And after the defeat of four legions on the Venetian side. The 60,000-strong army of the barbarians could also go south again. By that time, the number of our troops besieging Rome had fallen to the bottom lines. By that time...... I'm afraid ......"

The guy didn't make it clear. But the meaning of that fear, everyone understands.

A campaign with a loss of 40,000 men is already a headache. If there were another battle with a loss of 40,000 troops, even a huge empire like Eastern Rome would be a little overwhelmed.

"Narcissus is a famous general of the empire, how can he be compared with the mediocrity of Epirus? Seeing Basil II frowning, another general hurriedly stood up, and then dissuaded the guy who had spoken before. And the general who spoke before and said "I'm afraid" also woke up at this moment. If you are remembered by your own emperor because of such remarks, you will not be able to eat and walk around.

"Indeed, Narcissus is a famous general of the Empire, with countless merits and meticulous thoughts, and he can definitely do it!"

And so there was another series of echoes. Everyone spoke together and praised Narciss, the Imperial Governor Plenipotentiary in Sicily, like a flower.

"Okay!!"

In the end, Basil II was still angry. Slap the table. Suddenly, there was a silence below. His Majesty the Emperor, with a black beard and a burly body, shouted at his generals with beads in his eyes.

"I've already decided! Send three more standard legions, one Germanic legion, and the Varangian legion to Sicily! All under the command of Narcis! Tell him that if he can take the city of Rome, I will make him the marshal of the empire! If not, I will have his head !!"

When all the generals heard this order, they all sweated for Narsis. His Majesty the Emperor has made another heavy bet this time. He gave Narcisse an army of 50,000 troops, making this guy a warlord with 80,000 troops at once. The weight of military power is probably higher than that of all the governors of the empire. Of course, this guy's task is not light. The Norman King was no easy opponent to mess with. And the number of troops on the other side is not less than his. This battle, I'm afraid it's still a bit mysterious...... "This...... Your Majesty, it takes a certain amount of time to transport troops from the empire mainland to Sicily. A total of five corps, so many troops, I am afraid that it is beyond the capacity of the Adriatic Fleet. ”

Another general said.

"Then send the Aegean Fleet, and the Mediterranean Fleet, and don't worry too much about such trivial matters!" ordered Basil II with a wave of his hand.

"Yes! I see!!" said the Eastern Roman general, who was smart, and then stood more straight than a javelin...... In this way, the decision to increase the number of troops in Sicily and to order Narcis to attack Rome was thus decided. Basil II's wishful thinking was played loudly. If before he wanted to kill the Pope and bloodied Rome, now he has changed his mind.

Let that heresy serve itself. He was forced to convert to Orthodoxy and merge the two major sects of the East and the West. He was given the title of Archbishop of the Imperial Roman Diocese. Ranked under the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. In this way, it can deal a serious blow to the morale of the Catholic coalition forces. Even let those soldiers who believe in Catholicism directly collapse their faith. Achieve the effect of surrendering without a fight.

It can be said that once this plan of Basil II was realized. Then it would be almost impossible for Egil to pull up the Catholic coalition again. It would be more reliable for him to return to Scandinavia with his army as soon as possible, and then submit the surrender table to Basil II, considering the bitter cold of Scandinavia, people may not be too interested. If Egil kowtows loudly, he may be canonized as a Caesar or something...... Incidentally, Basil II convened this battle meeting in Budapest, the palace of the Hungarian king. The city of Budapest has fallen.

Despite the fierceness of the resistance, the stubbornness of the Hungarians, the Ottila of Hungary himself, who did everything in his power to boost morale and morale, and to see that the tactics of the Eastern Roman attack were sabotaged - the disparity in strength could not be bridged.

Basil II sent two more regular legions, two Germanic mercenary legions, one Latin legion, and five temporary conscription legions, totaling 100,000 troops, and expanded his siege army to 200,000. The Hungarian king Attila finally vomited three liters of blood. The will to resist was completely lost. Finally, on a dark and windy night, he broke through with all the Hungarian cavalry.

It was a terrible battle, and the Hungarians fought their way through a completely life-threatening approach. The Hungarian army that managed to break through with Attila was estimated to be no more than 2,000 men. In this way, the Kingdom of Hungary, which was originally extremely powerful in Eastern Europe, became history.

That's why I had the strength to continue looking west.

"Then the army rested for fifteen days, and then continued its march towards Italy. This time we must solve the problem of the whole of Italy once and for all. Basil II declared.

"So...... What should be done against the Hungarians who have broken through?" another general asked.

"Hmm...... Leave them to the Slavs to be dealt with. Didn't that woman want the northern Polish region? If you want such a big benefit, you can't do it without making an effort. ”

So the generals stopped talking again.

In contrast to Egil's perception that "Eastern Europe is where kings have made great achievements", Basil II, no, it should be said that most Greeks understood Eastern Europe to be a very vast, sparsely populated, barbaric, and unexplored wilderness. Its value is far less than the original territory of the empire. That is, the legendary Mediterranean circle, as well as Gaul, and the South German region. The original territory of these empires was important.

So, for the time being, give these wild lands to your allies, the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which also believes in Orthodox Christianity. There's nothing wrong with this approach. And one that is out of breath. The Hungarian king, with less than two thousand men remaining, against an insignificant Slavic archduchess. It's just right, just right.

Thus, this military council of the Eastern Romans came to an end. The generals began to return to the army, and they were in full swing preparing to go out again......

(To be continued)