Eagle Byzantium

The Governor of Bari shouted suddenly and violently, "Crossbowmen, shoot quickly!" With this voice, more than a hundred Benevento crossbowmen gathered and suddenly broke through their own formation, raised the crossbows that had been reloaded, and fired a wave of crossbow arrows at the Zata army, who were distracted by the Jince Brotherhood that appeared on the side of the cliff and turned their spears to point at the chaos at the foot of the Jitai Mountain.

Flying out from the crossbow chute, the black death "swarm" flew from the top of Jitai Mountain with a sound, pouring into the Zata army like boiling water, and many people lost their lives in an instant, and fell down helplessly, holding their chests or necks.

Then thunder and lightning rolled, and the "Newly Baptized Cavalry Company" originally arranged on the reverse slope behind the mountain, a total of 500 cavalrymen, more than 200 Lombard cavalrymen holding Kontos lances, rushed down from the passage separated by the two Italian veteran companies, whistling over the ridge line: Muzafiadin held the flag and rushed to the front, followed by 300 Cuman cavalrymen holding scimitars and javelins. And Gawain himself pulled out the lance stuck in the ground and rushed down with this unstoppable torrent.

Gawain's spear tip, on the back of Sabina running fast, adjusted slightly in a blink of an eye with his breathing and rhythm, using the instinctive Norman knight gene, and stabbed the forehead of a Zata military judge wearing a white cloak in front of him. The opponent's helmet exploded and fell off the horse and died. Then Gawain crossed with him and collided with the Lombard cavalry who rushed up one by one behind him, smashing the follow-up formation of the Zataslav enemy into pieces.

Then the Cuman cavalry blocked and encircled from both wings, and then Bramson led the Italian veterans and the Brotherhood to rush down from the hillside. Finally, the crossbowmen and military servants also raised their weapons and joined the general attack.

The morale of the Zata army, which had failed to charge four times before, had already been exhausted. After being hit by Gawain's decisive reserve, the front line was soon the first to collapse. Then the troops in the deep formation behind also turned around and left their posts. The scene at the foot of Mount Jutai was like a flood. The spears, axes, and swords of the cavalry company flew over and spun at high speed with the horses' hooves, and then smashed hard on the heads of the Slavic deserters. People kept falling down in the dust, **. Begging for mercy.

"Where did the enemy get so many cavalry? They were all hidden behind the mountain in advance. I know!" Boding was so angry that his voice changed. He stood up on the saddle, and Radomir next to him repeatedly asked His Highness to stay calm, "It's not time to summarize the battle situation yet. Your Highness!"

The 200 Zata Prince Guards who stayed at Fubian hurriedly shrank their formation, defended this commanding height, and protected His Highness Boding tightly. From the streets of Mount Jutai, the "Wrath" company of Greek soldiers also took the opportunity to take the initiative to kill out of the fortifications. Along the street, they joined the battle sequence of the Brotherhood. The Greeks, Lucanians, and Lombards swung their swords and slashed, and many people were so tired that their hands were shaking. But they would not stop until they heard the drumbeats.

On the left wing coastal high ground, the Archduke's Death Soldier Company also rushed down in a spear formation under the command of Giovanni. The three hundred Zata Prince Guards who came looked at each other and saw the defeat around them. They heard the horn coming from their master on the high ground behind them, so they could only turn around collectively and rush to the direction of their master.

"Bring my bow and arrow!" Bodin shouted under the flag and took the shooting equipment from the guards. Then he drew his bow and shot an arrow at Gawain who was showing off his power at the foot of the mountain. Gawain dodged on his horse, and then the Grand Duke swung his short spear and cut off the head of the single prince's guard warrior, then pointed at Bordin on the high ground and shouted, "First, to avenge your majesty in the battle of Durazzo in the past, and second, to open up a way for the pilgrims. You rat from Zata, hand over 20,000 silver coins to atone for your sins!"

"You are a barbarian talking nonsense." Bordin gritted his teeth, put on an arrow again, and pulled the bowstring to the full. The prince's guards at the foot of the mountain also took out their hunting bows and shot at Gawain. Sabina quickly carried the Grand Duke and retreated like a whirlwind, leaving Bordin, who was still trembling and trying to get the arrow, but was stopped by Minister Radomir - the enemy company had already begun to gather the attack sequence in the sound of drums. At this moment, the bodies of the Zata people were densely covered in the grass and fields in the valley between the opposite Jitai Mountain and this side.

However, Bourdin was not completely defeated, and Gawain was powerless to continue the pursuit. At dusk, both sides retreated to their original positions. Bourdin's face was like being hit hard by the tentacles of a giant squid, and he was humiliated: first, he was fooled by Gawain in the letter intelligence war, which made him feel uneasy; then he was crushed by the opponent's powerful cavalry. "All soldiers return to the team, defend our ridges and hillsides, archers face outward, and if the enemy attacks, shoot them regardless of infantry or cavalry." Bourdin issued this order in great anger.

In this battle, the vanguard of the Red Hand Company killed hundreds of enemies and captured fifty war horses of the Pechenegs, with brilliant results.

Soon, seven Savoyard bandits, seven Pechenegs, and seven Lasnian soldiers were brought to Gawain as wounded prisoners. He was taking off Sabina's gold-studded saddle and sitting on it to rest. "Execute all those who wantonly attack the pilgrims!" Giovanni shouted, holding his lance tightly.

Bramson on the other side asked Bourdin to pay the ransom for these captured men.

Gawain shook his hand, "Bodin regards this group of people as the lowest dust. He has to wipe it off even if it sticks to his boots. How can he pay a ransom like Bohemond did?" Then the Grand Duke coughed twice. , and pressed down the tip of Giovanni's angry spear, "There's no need to kill him, Andodate!"

"Still behind, not coming." The military servant Muzafi Adin lowered his head and said.

The Grand Duke said that he was ashamed that I had forgotten, and then he found an Amalfi bookkeeper who accompanied the army, because the other person could write Latin and Greek, "Draft three letters, and send one to His Majesty the Holy See, who should be at this moment West Francia; one letter was sent to the city of St. Mark's by fast ship and handed over to His Excellency the Consul Ferreille for his reading; the last letter was sent to His Majesty Your Majesty, Comnenus, said that Prince Bodin of Zata encouraged the unbelieving barbarians of the Sava River to brazenly attack our pilgrim team, and because he failed the Roman Emperor fourteen years ago and instigated pirates to plunder. The Venetian trade fleet, committing three crimes at the same time, requested all parties to sweep and destroy the city of Za'tar to clear the way for the remaining pilgrims. "

After finishing the dictation, Gawain stood up from the saddle, and then he stood on the high hill, looking at the setting sun like blood. The torches on the south road of Suzhou Mountain were lit up, and people were shouting, "Very good, Wesart Merlot is bringing his successors. The company and the baggage all came over successfully." Gawain smiled with satisfaction, "Handcuff these prisoners, do not harm them, and send them to Italy to serve as evidence against Zatar."

In the city of Clermont in West Francia, the inciting speeches for the Eastern Expedition had just been silent for a moment when the air was stirred up again by the furious voices of the people, knights and monks. The sound waves shattered the bricks on the eaves, and everyone shouted With the slogan "Go to the Holy Land, Go to the Holy Land", Pope Urban sat under the high throne, a little tired but contentedly turning the ring, looking at the countless voluntary pilgrims below, printing crosses on their smocks.

At his feet, the brothers of the King of France, the Duke of Toulouse, the Duke of Normandy and all the most distinguished people in West Francia bowed down and knelt down, kissed his toes, and shouted in unison that they were willing to fight for the most glorious thing that was about to come. The expedition was ruined.

In the port of Taranto, Bohemond, standing on the deck, pointed at the thousands of pilgrims rushing to the seaside with their hands and crosses raised, and hurriedly shouted to the lookout on the mast, "Weigh the anchor quickly. , it’s all the treacherous tricks of the damn bastard Gawain who sent these people to our territory, we can’t take these people on the road!”

Under the raised sail, Norman soldiers filled the deck, some were praying, and some were preparing luggage and weapons. Tancred sat silently on the side of the ship, and the splashing waves wet him. With his eyes, he looked towards the destination direction designated by his uncle - the city of Durazzo, but what he could see was full of dark waves and gray sky, and nothing else could be seen.

Brenus in the city of Durazzo stood by the window of the tower, looking at the overwhelming number of Norman ships coming from the sea. His slightly trembling hands held up the letters between His Majesty and the Holy See, and Bohemond. He sent a threatening ultimatum in advance, his voice was a little rough, and he pointed it at him. Titicius and Diogenes, who were standing behind, said, "Hey, if I will clear the way from Durazzo to the interior, I will allow Bohemond de Teville, the leader of the Normans, to lead his group. A thousand so-called knights and five thousand infantrymen coming ashore shouldn't offend the palace, right?"

As a result, neither of them responded. Diogenes clenched his fists fiercely, feeling as if a sharp blade was stirring in his heart, and he felt a dull suffocation.

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In front of the military gate of Constantinople, the moat leading to Salabria was covered with eight equidistant stone bridges. Alexios Komnenos's cavalry was the first to detach. , followed by Mikhail's Archery Guards and Tekobo mercenaries, a powerful team with armor as large as The stars in the night sky and the flags were like the forest on the Olympian peak. The leading team had already arrived in Sarabria, and the emperor, escorted by the shield guard of Agfi Eustace, had just left Brachna Palace. In the arrow path, this army of nearly ten thousand people was rushing to Adrianople. Walking under the tall military gate, among the long-handled battle axes, the emperor was wearing holy armor and riding on a black horse, a splendid cloak, and a huge golden scabbard hung on his belt, with two male and female swords standing side by side. Both handles can be pulled out from the sheath for combat. One is called "Holy Sea" and the other is called "Athos".

On the top of the city, Anna was waving her little hand to him. Alexios laughed, and his determination became stronger. "In short, everything is for my daughter and John, and everything is for the empire." When he walked out, Outside the military gate of Theodosius' city wall, Alexios was still looking back and saying goodbye to his daughter.

Then, a messenger cavalry holding a fish-dragon flag and carrying a dust came from the opposite direction. After saluting on horseback, the letter was handed into the hands of the emperor. (To be continued ~^~)