Frederick took a sip of wine, nodded to Belisarius, and said, "Your Excellency the Marshal, please speak." ”

Belisarius cleared his throat and said in a deep voice: "In the previous battle against Byzantium, a large number of elite troops of our army were flooded and suffered very heavy losses. After the war, the remnants of the former Latin Kingdom in various places resisted one after another, and our army had to divide its troops to encircle and suppress. At the same time, in order to quickly move south to support your country's siege of Pera, a large number of new soldiers were recruited, so the combat effectiveness decreased. But now that the remnants of the Latin Kingdom have been basically wiped out, the elite of our army can rush to converge, and the recruits have grown after the battle, after this period of training, there should be no problem playing on the battlefield. If your country decides to go south to attack Hot Spring Pass, I am willing to lead the army!"

The marshal said this with great momentum, and Justinian subsided his embarrassment and laughed with satisfaction.

Frederick didn't have any special reactions, anyone could say nice things, and only performance on the battlefield was the last word. Although Belisarius swore an oath, who knows what excuse he would make after the battle really began? At that time, it was his Holy Roman soldiers who would be sacrificed, and no one would be able to bear such heavy casualties if the war continued in this way, and he was afraid that before the war was over, the ambitious princes in the country would rebel one after another and overthrow him! In any case, he could not easily agree to continue sending troops until he had received a definite guarantee from the Eastern Romes.

At this time, Wallenstein, the commander of the Holy Roman Army, couldn't help but question: "We have received information that the Seljuk barbarians in the east of your country have recently behaved abnormally. They have always had a good relationship with the Olympia League. Since we captured Pera, the Seljuk barbarians are even more worried about the strength of your Eastern Rome, and I am afraid that they will join the war at any time. If our whole army goes south to attack Hot Springs. If the Seljuks take the opportunity to sneak up from the rear, I'm afraid your country will be very difficult to deal with, right?"

Justinian and Belisarius quickly exchanged glances, they didn't expect Holy Rome to know so much about the intelligence of Dongluo, but they were afraid that the other party had ulterior ambitions, which must be guarded against!

Justinian smiled: "Regarding this, we have been prepared for a long time, and your country can rest assured!"

Belisarius also said: "The Seljuk barbarians are greedy and untrustworthy. They will not send troops until they have received sufficient benefits. We have been informed that they want to marry Cleo, the princess of Pella, but now Cleo has the power of the Olympia League. How can it be so easy to marry a barbarian? Taking a step back, even if they do go to war, there is no need to worry, because we have found new and reliable allies. ”

"Oh?"

Frederick and Wallenstein looked at each other. They hadn't heard of anything like that. The Emperor couldn't help but ask suspiciously, "Allies are not necessarily reliable. Only a nation like Holy Rome would value honor and covenants more than life! I wonder which of your country's new allies is, and is it really reliable?"

Justinian sneered in his heart, "Do you value the covenant more than your life?" Then why would you betray the Latin kingdom for the sake of profit, it is really better to say than to sing!

The young emperor smiled hypocritically, turned his head and beckoned behind him. He called in a low voice, "Your Royal Highness Peter, please come and join us in the next battle." ”

When Justinian finished speaking. Everyone saw an extremely strong and tall figure stand up and strode towards this side. Frederick fixed his eyes and couldn't help but be stunned, the other party turned out to be a Slavic bear with a brutal aura all over his body!

The Slavic Bears are a loose alliance of snowy continents in the north, consisting of the three largest bear-man tribes, including some barbarians such as ice-wolfs, wild elves, and mammoths. They are savage and warlike by nature, and after hundreds of years of continuous expansion, they have gradually dominated the Ice and Snow Continent, and there are signs of southward movement in recent years.

About eighty years ago, the Slavic Bears, led by their great man Ivan the Terrible, led a large army south to attack the then powerful Eastern Roman Empire, only to be defeated under the city of Byzantium. From that time on, envious of the power and wealth of the Eastern Romans, the Slavic bears willingly became their nominal vassals. Ivan the Terrible led his people to convert to Orthodox Christianity, and every year provided the Eastern Rome with elite Varyag guards in exchange for a large amount of treasure from the other side.

The two sides also made an alliance that in the event of war between one of them, the other must immediately come to the aid of the other. Of course, this is just a treaty on paper, the Slavic Bears are a greedy race, as long as they have money, they will work for you, but if they are not paid enough, they will not pay attention to even the most powerful alliances.

Just 30 years later, the national strength of Eastern Rome fell sharply due to various reasons, and the last capital Byzantium was attacked and fell by the Latin king. The Slavic bears failed to send reinforcements, and the Eastern Romans were already destroyed, and without the other party's money as a reward, they had little interest in sending troops to restore the Eastern Romans. Since then, the Slavic Bears have severed their ties with the prosperous lands of the South, and continue to live a savage and backward life in the Ice and Snow Continent.

Now that the Nicaean people, who are descendants of the Eastern Romans, have recovered Byzantium and rebuilt the ancient empire, Grand Duke Peter of Moscow, one of the three powerful forces of the Slavic Bear Clan, received the news and recalled the splendid culture, advanced technology, magnificent architecture and rich rewards of the Slavic Bear Clan in the mouth of his ancestors. Looking back at the barbaric life of his own tribe, Archduke Peter longed for that prosperous country, so he personally led a group of envoys to visit.

When they met with the new Emperor Justinian, the Eastern Romans and Holy Romans had captured Pera. Excited by the news of this victory, Peter felt that he had come at the right time and was more determined to renew his alliance with the Eastern Romans.

At the same time, Justinian was distressed by the decline in the fighting power of his army, and was overjoyed to hear that the Slavic barbarians had asked for an alliance! Peter was fascinated by the grandeur of the city of Pera, and he thought that the spoils of such a city must be piled up, and the two sides hit it off and soon signed a covenant, driven by greed

Hearing Justinian's invitation, Peter came over with a big grin, nodded to Frederick, and sat down beside the crowd, his heavy body crushing the precious sofa with a thud.

Frederick smiled reluctantly, he also knew something about the Slavic bears, and knew that these barbarians were greedy and could not even take their lives for money, and from a certain point of view, this might be used...... So the Emperor raised his glass and motioned to Peter: "Your Excellency the Grand Duke has come from a distant place, and I am ashamed that I have failed to meet the good way of the landlord." ”

The leader of the bear people waved his hand happily: "It's okay! We Slavic bears have never paid attention to these false courtesies!"

Frederick glanced at him, and Marshal Wallenstein beside him asked, "I wonder how many capable men there are under the Grand Duke?"

Peter patted his furry chest and said proudly: "Our three major tribes of the Slavic Bear Clan combined, there are a total of 300,000 hoplite bear infantry, as well as tens of thousands of Cossack Icewolf Cavalry, Katyusha Elven archers, and thousands of Mammoth Super Heavy Cavalry!

Justinian and Frederick both laughed when they heard this, and the Grand Duke was telling the truth. The Slavic bears are characterized by brute force and extreme bravery, and if they fight alone, there is no other country in the world whose armies can compare with the bears. But on the other hand, the bears fight all by brute courage, often do not obey the order to charge privately, there is no discipline at all, there is no organization, formation, tactics to speak of, every time the battle is a swarm of swarms surging up and slashing and killing, when encountering a well-disciplined professional army, often defeated.

Despite this, the bears are still worthy warriors. Just like the elite Varyag troops in the Eastern Roman army, as long as they are used well, they can often have unexpected effects.

At this time, the bear man suddenly asked, "This time you defeated Pera, I don't know how much loot you have seized in the road?"

Frederick was stunned, unaware of the agreement between Peter and Justinian, and replied suspiciously: "The city was destroyed by Pella's army before retreating, and most of the valuable items were burned, and the rest were in tatters. And there are indications that they had concentrated the city's wealth on a large scale before retreating, so that we could not get much out of it. ”

"You say they retreated with their treasures?" Peter asked, "Is this impossible, who can fight hard to break through the siege and carry a big bag of treasure on their backs?!"

After saying that, he stared at the other party in disbelief, thinking that you kid shouldn't want to swallow the spoils of war alone!

The emperor spread his hands helplessly: "I don't know what's going on with Lu Dao, anyway, there aren't many loot, if you like it, take it all!"

(To be continued......)