The vast Gobi, the vast wilderness.

A team of more than a dozen hussars and Varangian guards marched slowly.

They are all "recruits" who have recently been transferred to the port of Ella.

A hussar with a beard took a handful of dates from his saddle bag, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it, and said indistinctly: "A fierce battle is about to be fought, and the Saracens cannot sit idly by and watch the port of Ayla be retaken by us, they will surely fight back against us." ”

"What, you're scared?"

"How is that possible! We are hussars, hussars who have won a hundred battles. ”

The Varangian guard, who was leading the pack horse, showed a contemptuous look on his face: "Heh, it's like who is not victorious in a hundred battles, and besides, all our axe guards have been incorporated into the Earl's Praetorian Guard, you have this honor?" ”

There was a look of pride on their faces.

That's the Praetorian Guard, which means that the Earl's most trusted ones are always these axe-wielding heavy-footers!

The beard retorted: "Heh, what can it represent? At best, you're just a foot janissary for adults. If you really want to fight, will you use those legs to charge with the adults? ”

The Varangian Guard was about to say something.

"What sound?"

Ahead, there was a roar.

A pathfinder hussar, standing on the high ground, looked out into the distance, a blazing pillar of flame, like a plough across the surface.

He opened his mouth slightly.

"Heavenly Father is above, what is that?"

…

Lothar let out a soft cough, and two black smoke with a faint sulfur smell erupted from his nostrils.

He's testing out his newfound ability of Dragon's Breath.

The dragon rested on the ground, ploughing out a semicircular wall of fire, the air twisted in the scorching heat, and the mounts not far away paced restlessly back and forth.

If it had been an ordinary pack horse, I am afraid that it would have been scattered in a panic by now.

The flame, without fuel, was quickly extinguished.

Lothar came closer and found that the sand and gravel on the ground had crystallized to a certain extent due to the high temperature.

It can be seen that the temperature of this dragon's breath is very high.

"Hans, I heard you say that the fusion monster only needs to pause for a moment before it spews dragon breath again?"

Seeing the power of the dragon's breath up close, Hans was a little apprehensive: "That's right, my lord, if it weren't for the presence of Curles, I'm afraid I would have been burned to ashes." ”

Lothar rubbed his somewhat red and swollen mouth, and after only spitting dragon breath once, he felt like he was almost at the limit.

Not only did the Dragon's Breath give him the ability to breathe out the Dragon's Breath, but it also seemed to transform his body to make it more resistant to the heat, and at the very least, not to produce the ridiculous death of being burned to death.

Jeanne speculated: "Most likely, it is because of the giant material on the fused monster, the troll material gives it a strong vitality, and the giant gives it almost inexhaustible physical strength - a perfect match." ”

Her tone paused slightly, and she teased: "The adults are going to go farther and farther on the road of the little dragons, and when the adults can turn into dragons, they must give me a ride." ”

You want to be a dragon knight, and I want to be.

Lothar didn't bother to talk to her, and asked Prajna, "What do you think of the power?" ”

"It's okay, but it doesn't have enough penetration, and it doesn't have the trait of the Holy Lance locking onto enemies and dealing more damage to dark creatures."

Pranya's tone paused slightly, and he said: "The advantage is that the attack range is relatively wide, if it is when the two armies are fighting, plough the ground again, and there will be unjust souls everywhere." ”

Lothar sighed lightly: "In Oriental terms, this is called hurting the heavens and harmony?" ”

"Hmm."

Fringilla chewed on a chocolate bar, the corners of her mouth bulging, "Eh, my lord, you won't put this kind of sharp weapon in use, will you?" ”

"Of course not."

Lothar looked at her with a foolish look on her face and touched her head: "Either the enemy dies, or my soldiers die—I'm sure they'll die." ”

…

"Your Excellency!"

In the distance, the sound of horses' hooves was getting closer, and the hussars were speeding towards the group.

They shouted excitedly, "My lord, I didn't expect to meet you here." ”

"Was it you and your advisors testing a new spell?"

"Please let us escort you back."

Lothar looked at the young faces, most of them acquaintances, some of them soldiers who had made meritorious deeds, and some of them were the defenders of Jogrusburg.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, my most loyal hussars, and I will gladly return to Ira Harbor under your escort."

One of the hussars reminded, "Your Excellency, there are your infantry guards behind. ”

As a result, the number of people in the group increased several times.

Jeanne urged the grapes, ran to the front of the group, followed Lothar and said, "My lord, everyone is very supportive of you." ”

Lothar shook her head and said, "It's not my credit. ”

The loyalty of a soldier who has been transferred through the system is constant, and it has nothing to do with him.

"Don't be presumptuous, my lord, loyalty doesn't mean support, I can feel that they love you from the bottom of their hearts."

Jeanne reached out and tapped Lothar on the shoulder: "Regardless of the era, you can be considered a wise ruler. ”

Lothar couldn't help but laugh and said, "Jeanne, you can also say compliments, but I do stand on the shoulders of giants, better than some feudal monarchs." ”

Others didn't dare to say it, he felt that he was always much stronger than the second sect of Huiqin who had probably hung up at this time.

Lothar glanced back at the hussars and Varangian guards who followed behind, with their heads held high: "They love me, I love them, I always believe that they are my greatest treasure, even if I lose all my territory, with them, I still have a chance to make a comeback." ”

Jeanne raised an eyebrow: "Just them?" ”

Lothar said helplessly: "Of course, you are more important. ”

For a ruler, loyalty is, of course, crucial.

Qulam rebelled against his master and destroyed the Samanid dynasty (presumably in northern Persia), the overlord of Central Asia that had suppressed Sassanid Persia.

The Janissaries of the empire even derived the so-called "Praetorian Guard Succession Law", in which the Praetorian Guards controlled the emperor's succession and even abolished the monarch at will.

A large part of the reason why the Varangian Guard chose the Rus and Normans from Northern Europe was to prevent the former Praetorian Guard from colluding with the internal authorities.

People's hearts are unpredictable, and the so-called loyalty is often difficult to withstand the test.

So, the hussars, the Varangian guards, and the remaining veterans, the knights of the edict, such an army that could be unreservedly loyal to the monarch.

Lothar believed that any monarch in this world would be coveted.

Because it not only means that they are unreservedly loyal to Lothar, but Lothar also knows their loyalty and can trust them without reservation.

The first time to return to Port Ella.

Moder, who remained here, summoned Lothar: "My lord, there is a chief of the Armenian hill people of Cilicia, who wishes to be hired by you, and he has a hundred light cavalry and three hundred unarmored light infantry, which I think will be a very good addition to our army. ”

"Isn't Silesia a vassal of Bohemia and Poland?"

Lothar felt a little inexplicable, what it had to do with the Armenian mountain people.

"Your Excellency, it's Cilicia."

Modell accentuated.

Lothar couldn't help but be stunned.

Cilicia was a coastal region of Cyprus and Antioch to the north, Asia Minor, and was once part of the Eastern Empire.

Now it is under the control of Armenians and Turks.

In this era, there are too many places where the pronunciation is too similar, or even simply the same name.

For example, there is a Tripoli in the Holy Land, and there is a Tripoli in North Africa.

After Lothar, you can build a Lothar Fort, and the rest of the continent called Lothar can also build a Lothar Fort.

To make matters worse, the same place name is called differently in different languages, and the Franks call Dahab Fiorn.

In the future, the Turks will call Constantinople Constantinoje, or Istanbul.

"This Armenian leader is the leader of their group of mercenaries? How much commission do they need? ”

"Five hundred gold coins of Souledus, if you can eat and shelter, they will serve you for a month," said Moder. ”

"No, it's too expensive, tell their leader that as a light infantry with a low rate of loss, their asking price is too high, Curs, this kind of thing should be what you are best at, just leave it to you."

Lothar was a little uneasy and said: "Don't keep the price too low, I'm afraid they won't be able to work at that time." ”

Coors bowed politely and said, "Leave this matter to me, don't worry." ”

In the afternoon.

in the harbor.

On the overhauled training ship, the sailors are busy handling the sails, cleaning the deck, and practicing gang jumping under the command of the captain.

Lothar's first merchant fleet had already been formed with the support of Müller.

To be exact, it was Muller's original fleet, which was annexed by Lothar at his expense.

They will follow the original trade route of Muller, from the port of Ayla to Gojam of the Abyssinians, and then through the Gulf of Aden to Gujarat in Tianzhu.

Along the way, trade was carried out in goods such as wine, gold, ivory, slaves, precious metals, fabrics, porcelain, etc.

It can be called the triangular route of the Middle Ages, which is extremely profitable.

The sailors on the training ships were specially designed to deal with pirates.

Captain Hogg and his ghost ship need to cruise around the Gulf of Aden to clear out pirates.

It is impossible to take on the task of escorting, on the contrary, if Captain Hogg eats black and robs a pirate ship that has just been robbed, he can withstand a cycle of triangular trade.

Müller said with some emotion: "Your Excellency, you don't know how rich the Abyssinians really are, their royal tent is moving to Gojam, and it is said that there are fifty thousand donkeys pulling the cart for him, and the craftsmen, officials, clergy, royal guards, lions, and so on. ”

Lothar laughed, "It's a big show. ”

Baldwin IV and Saladin of Ayyubid were both frugal monarchs, and the pomp and circumstance of their travels was already big enough in Lothar's opinion.

The result is nothing compared to the king of Abyssinia.

"My lord, the Abyssinians do not have a capital, and they only move to the king's tent once every ten years, or more, and such a grand occasion is difficult to see in ordinary times."

Mueller's tone paused slightly, and he spoke: "My lord, I take the liberty of making a plea to you. ”

"The Eastern trade belongs to the Saracens, and there are fleets flying the flame flag everywhere, so I'm afraid I won't be able to hoist your double-headed eagle flag."

"It's okay, none of that matters."

Lothar understood.

The Crusaders' ports in the East were only the port of Ella in his hands, and the sea here was extremely foreign to Christians except the Coptics.

The land trade routes were better, and it is said that Venetian and Genoese caravans often visited Ctesiphon in Sassanid Persia.

Thinking of this, Lothar couldn't help but recall the Song caravan he saw when he first arrived at the Holy Land, and it was said that they had already gone to Constantinople.

"Mueller, have you heard of the Song people?"

"Of course, a few years ago, there were Song people who took a special kind of big ship to cross the sea of storms to the shore of Ella Harbor, but unfortunately, since then, no Song people have come by boat, they would rather choose to take the land route."

Lothar looked out at the calm sea in the distance: "Storms, pirates, sea beasts, are all obstacles to ocean trade. ”

Even Captain Hogg, a "strange man at sea", said that he had encountered several times in the sea that he did not dare to provoke, and the sea in this world was more dangerous than the land.

"Muller, this world is big, bigger than you think, in the westernmost part of the continent, there are two continents, do you know?"