Eagle Byzantium

In the palace of the Acropolis of Antioch, Yaghi Siyan also gathered his sons and four emirs. The white stone pillars were engraved with golden geometric patterns. Behind the exquisite bird feather screen, the incense of the copper stove lingered, but The tone and attitude of the Lord of Antioch were as awe-inspiring as the cold wind outside, "I am in Antioch After staying here for so many years, I know exactly how many city gates there are. Now, there are still three city gates and one functioning bridge in Antioch, namely the Wavali Gate (Dog Gate) in the northwest and The Gate of Wise Paul, and the iron gate on the back of the ridge." Then Achish walked to the weapons rail behind the screen. He raised the diamond-encrusted Damascus curved sword, and then with a sound, the blade was unsheathed, and the cold light reflected in his aging but shrewd eyes, "The first two gates are the place of confrontation, and the last gate is the road to victory. Now The situation is not up to us. Previously we could just sit in the fortified city and resist, but now the pagans The bandits received huge and powerful reinforcements from the Romanians, and began to seal all other city gates and bridges, and built stone castles and defenses on the left and right of the Wise Paul Gate. They could concentrate their forces to attack us. Once there was any retreat and If something goes wrong, the morale of the people and the army in the city will completely collapse..."

"Father, maybe we should continue to strengthen the city wall and wait for the reinforcements from His Highness the Prince of Mosul, Kobuha. They will arrive by the end of spring at the latest."

"It's too late! On the other side of the Gate of Saint Paul, the city walls all extend in straight lines and the streets are vast. If the enemy breaks through, even if we want to build another defensive wall, there is no way to do it. We cannot simply place our hopes on Kobuha. The decisive battle now It's time to start, war is like this, it is not entirely based on our will, the only thing we can do is not to escape..." After saying that, Yaqi turned his scimitar upside down and made The starting position of the standard Saracen sword technique. Across the left chest.

"At your master's command!" Sansadonias and the four emirs knelt down at the same time.

"Sansadonias, I entrust you with four thousand elite dead soldiers. After receiving the black flag I hoisted on the tower of the Acropolis as a signal, they will immediately stand out from the Gate of Paul the Wise and the Gate of Wavali, carrying instruments of fire. , destroying the enemy's fortifications and siege equipment, where most of the enemy's craftsmen and civilians are not to be feared - Kupa Suixin and Rosellon, with a small number of soldiers and a large number of banners, are stationed in the west of the city. and In the south of the city, monitor and confuse the enemies in other siege camps. Kaziknuz, with 800 lightly-armed soldiers, follows the mountain wall fortress and raids the enemy's stone fortress at the Spring Water Altar after receiving the signal from my little black flag. Desonius, I rely on my most loyal arms, and I will deliver all the 10,000 cavalry in the camps outside the city into your hands. After you leave the iron gate, there is no need to attack the south of the city."

"Is it the north of the city?" Chief Emir Adesonius, whose face was covered with scars, understood.

"That's right, around the mountains leading to the Persian region. After joining up with Ridvan's reinforcements, they rushed to the right bank of the Orontes River, violently sweeping the enemy's camp from the side and rear, and trying to restore the 'Iron Bridge' fortress at the mouth of the river. As for the south of the city, I will let Kupasiksin and Rosellen frequently use small teams to attack and interfere with the enemy's decision-making. Don't worry, I have seen the Romanian army before, and they are all ragtag. The crowd is the weak link in the enemy's line, and it is also your first choice for a breakthrough. Look at my scarlet flag as a signal, as long as we act secretly and decisively to burn down the enemy's fortifications and drive back some of the enemies. On the Iron Bridge side, they have suffered heavy losses. It will take at least two to three months to recover, and by then reinforcements will arrive in time to save the city of Antioch!"

"Let's get it working!" Under the gray sky, in the camp where the flames and smoke of the earthen furnaces were burning everywhere, Marquis Raymond waved his hands hard to encourage him. In the pilgrim camp and the small camps in the siege, he and Gawain and Tai In the middle of Theseus's camp, on the flat wilderness adjacent to the bridgehead of the Dog Bridge (a very narrow stone bridge spanning the Falfa River), this became the gathering place for all the equipment. In the manufacturing site, all the craftsmen of the lords and generals gathered here. Various dialects and dialects were audible. The sound of hammering, planing and sawing completely drowned the conversation. The skeletons of several wheeled battering rams had been set up. , many craftsmen are climbing on it, some use small hammers to hit the iron fasteners to test the firmness, and some are sewing animal skins nailed with fireproof and arrowproof-horsehide, cowhide, camelhide, etc.

Recently, with the blessing of the Lord, the Turkic ambush and invasion in this area have disappeared. Of course, this is also related to the previous bloody battle and the sealing of most of the city gates.

The ships of various Italian city-states in San Simon Port also issued orders not to attack each other because of Gawain's forced berthing in separate zones. The efficiency of transporting supplies was actually much higher, the price of supplies also stabilized, and the fighting spirit and spirit of the pilgrims increased again. , so They gathered together to build equipment - and in the camp facing the dog gate, Admar and Baldwin were recruiting civilian pilgrims in large numbers at the expense of food, frantically building defenses facing the city walls and towers to protect the imminent arrival. Completed battering ram and trebuchet.

"Although the bridge for the Turks to leave the city is sealed, it also blocks the way for our camp to transport wood and grain to the small camp that besieged the city. The Dog Bridge is not only easy to be attacked, but it is also too narrow." Ademar Thinking, "So we must build a floating bridge along the dog bridge."

The entire pilgrim team did what they said. Several lords quickly selected and gathered 300 infantrymen with complete armor and shields. They took small boats, pulled other boats with iron chains, and laid wooden boards. After three days of hard work, they finally built a pontoon bridge on the wide Farfa River. The defenders on the city wall were terrified when they saw such a miracle. They felt that Allah had abandoned them and this magnificent city, while the Lord of Christ stepped on the boundless ocean in the west and came to the Levant under the transportation of thousands of pagan warriors and ships.

But this was just an ordinary miracle. Soon, the guards on the Acropolis tower, including the wise and resourceful Agi Siyan, who had a long beard all his life, saw how the Grand Duke of the Empire, Gawain, built a completely wooden bridge at the confluence of the turbulent river in the Romanian camp!

However, the first thing that impressed people was the cavalry of the Grand Duke. They wore strict armor, carried shields, and held lances. Their flags and feathers were majestic in the morning breeze. They stretched along the protective earth embankment along the river bank, monitoring the entire field in front and on the flanks. The sound of their orders was earth-shaking and terrifying.

Then, Gawain on the watchtower of the camp waved his hand, and Samuelfa and several engineers took a small boat tied with a rope, holding a wooden pole with a scale for sounding, and began to measure the depth of water in each area. (To be continued ~^~)