Eagle Byzantium

Then in the Acropolis Hall in Antioch, Bohemond and the lords were toasting and laughing. The Norman leader was drunk. "Finally, I have waited for this day. Our ancestors once said that as long as the ship can reach, the country can be established. Now I am no longer a Duke of Apulia with an empty title, but a real Lord of Antioch." Amid the endless compliments and congratulations from the crowd, Bohemond was so excited that tears were about to burst out. He looked up at the ceiling and felt that the whole ceiling was happily spinning and tilting.

"I have no intention of interrupting your joy, and I sincerely believe that this is what you deserve for your effective command and wisdom. But what I want to ask is whether the measures you just mentioned against the Greek emperor can be fulfilled? After all, the previous actions of the Greek emperor have made the entire pilgrim team angry and uneasy." At this moment, Duke Godfrey, holding a glass of water, approached the joyful new owner of Antioch with Robert of Flanders and asked.

"Of course! I have reached an offensive and defensive alliance with Gawain, and I will abide by all the contents of the secret room agreement and the Antioch Five Resolutions - that is, if the Greek emperor dares to use troops against Seleucia, then we will give him a taste of color and let this guy tremble on the throne that is only for show! In the eyes of the pilgrims who defeated Cobha, he is actually nothing, just a weak and despicable Greek." Bohemond gave the answer very straightforwardly, although his tongue was a little curled.

"Gawain is ready to arrive at Miliocephalon, and Prince John, who will arrive there at the same time, is ready to publicly refute Hugh's death, hoping to clarify the truth of the matter."

"Yes, Gawain now sends fast horses almost every day, and sends letters of inquiry one after another, asking for your opinion on how to deal with this matter." Bohemond was proud, "My opinion is that this may officially represent the separation between the Greek Empire and the Pilgrims. After that, we can certainly act according to Antiochus's five resolutions without considering the emperor's meddling. In addition, from Seleucia in the west to Antioch in the east, it will all fall within our scope of self-defense, and no one can get involved in everything the alliance owns."

When the others heard this, they all put their glasses to their beards and lips with their own thoughts, and said nothing more.

However, Bohemond's words and deeds before and after the reception were quickly spread by word of mouth among spies and secret agents, and reached the "postal agency" (also an intelligence agency) under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister of the Empire in Constantinople. Beryl's letter arrived at the emperor on the same day.

"Meles, it seems that it is just as I expected. The stinking water monster has already floated up from the swamp puddle with dirty blood with an arrogant attitude." After reading the intelligence, Alexios was full of hatred, "Sure enough, although the resolution was sent on the surface, the plan to occupy Antioch and establish itself was already made and implemented behind the scenes, and in order to find an excuse, a despicable attack was planned to frame the Brahena Palace."

"Yes, Your Majesty, there is still a big doubt about this case that deserves attention." After saying this, the imperial ink official Meles looked serious and sent another document to ask the emperor to review it.

"This was sent by John and his officials. It means that the body of William Granmenil was not found in the grave where Hugh was buried. Where is this guy, dead or alive... But..." The emperor suddenly realized that the situation was just as he expected.

However, the imperial edict officer was still very cautious, "Your Majesty, William Granmenil had a very close secret connection with our court before, so now please tell your servant the truth, that is, did William get in touch with us after his disappearance? If he is still alive and says something, it will be very disadvantageous to us."

"No!" The emperor waved his hand and said decisively, "I think William may have been killed. In addition, Meles, you must not forget that William Granmenil is still a Bohemond's brother-in-law is the count of Apulia. As long as we kill him completely, who would still think he was from the Palace of Blachna? According to my accusation, Bohemond wanted to occupy Antioch and did not return it to me as promised. He was afraid that the justice and morality of the Lord were not on his side, so he excluded and expelled Hugh, allowing this pathetic man to enter the mountains of Anatolia with William Granmenile, and then instigated William to kill Hugh and silenced William, leaving me to take the responsibility. That's all!"

At this time, as time passed quickly, the matter of Xio's murder became more and more complicated. Most of the lords in Antioch City unanimously accused the murderer of Alexios Komnenos, and refused to hand over Syria and Xiao The territory occupied by Ya; and the Dharma King With tears in his eyes, he appealed the matter to the city of Rome, hoping to canonize Hugh and several knights who were killed at the same time. He also took the opportunity to request that the previous gap and estrangement between France and Rome be eliminated, and that Constantinople give Come up with a reasonable explanation; thunder trembles under the Holy See's crown Angry, he immediately issued an ultimatum, saying that the pilgrims are now a mixed bag of different forces, as evidenced by the tragedy of the Pisa Chamber of Commerce and the unprovoked murder of Hugh, and that they must hold the priests to account, Admiral, and demand revenge on Seleucia, Antioch, and possibly in the future. The recovered holy cities each sent their patriarchs , to increase the Catholic Church's supervision of the virtues and behavior of pilgrims; Alexios was equally angry. While he called for this matter to have nothing to do with Constantinople, he continued to issue notes in order to cut off the passage of pilgrims. threaten and put pressure on all parties.

"It seems that we, Seleucia, are the only ones who are really painstakingly mediating." In the palace, Anna listened to the sound of rolling waves outside, lying lazily on her bare feet and wearing a hazy summer gauze robe. On the couch, there were two cats. One was on the armrest of the couch, looking down at the correspondence all over the floor. The other was lying on Anna's belly, purring and dozing with his eyes narrowed.

"Is the little sunfish back?" Gawain carefully avoided the paper rolls scattered under it, walked to the couch, and touched Anna's cool forehead, "Back...but still right You were resentful, so you were not in the palace. Instead, you went to the official hall of the Ordnance Department in the city to find you. By the way, Hertomia has also returned to Babalenburg to reunite with her husband, and Andodat will once again follow you in your camp to handle the secrets and put the little sunfish back. Oh my God? Look at how messy our study is," Anna said with pleading and complaint.

Gawain laughed, touched Anna's braid fondly, and said, of course, but "I didn't drive Agnes away, but I don't have time to persuade her personally, so I leave it to you - and don't forget the little one." Sunfish came back to Seleucia with a truly crucial mission.”

"I understand, you can go with peace of mind. I will be responsible for all the mobilization and deployment." Anna squinted her eyes and smiled, raised her head and rubbed the tip of her nose against Gawain's, and then her forehead, "About the consequences of this matter , does Seleucia already have the strength to bear it? "

"Of course." Gawain held up Anna's hands, his eyes blazing, "Don't forget, I promised you, so our main battlefield will always be on Anatolia's side." (To be continued~ ^~)