The entire Council of Cardinals fell silent, and Admar said this in response.

The ocean is now in the autumn storm phase, but for the people who have trekked from Hungary and Bulgaria on foot, the sea cannot stop them. There were 40,000 pilgrims, and even if there were not many capable soldiers, even if most of them were civilians, as far west as the city of Rome and as far east as Constantinople, no one could ignore them at will. Acting as their escort will inevitably become the key that cannot be ignored. What's more, after all, there is a Danish prince who is in the ranks.

The question that follows is, as the Siege of Antioch is just beginning to begin, and all the lords are gearing up to make a mark, who is going to return to Anatolia to meet the group of pilgrims? What's more, soon on the continent, more pilgrims will flock to the continent.

In an instant, Lord Raymond suddenly pointed his hand at Gawain, "Now, now, it's time for you to fulfill your original promise." ”

On the other hand, Baldwin immediately understood what the other party meant: Gawain had claimed in his letter that he had seized and occupied Seleucia in order to control the corridor from Anatolia to Cilicia and protect the safety of the pilgrims who followed. And now, Surelman (Gilliki. With thousands of remnants of troops lurking in the mountains of Phrygia, and the more powerful Danishmund Turks, ready to rob the pilgrims of the past, Sven and Reinstein's path is not easy.

What's more, Emperor Komnenos's posture is also ambiguous, where he is hidden behind the curtain. At any time, deadly poisoned arrows may be fired to mediate among the pilgrims. Sending a team to take over Tarsus was only the first step in the Emperor's plan. Next is the city of Antioch and the Holy City, and the pilgrims are nothing more than pawns and tools in his hands.

"The primary goal now is to capture the city of Antioch!" Baldwin retorted, "Gawain's elite team is where we rely on it. ”

But Raymond did not give up, insisting that Gawain fulfill his promise, "This, this is good - Gawain's army, it must." It must be returned, and the Lords of Godfrey, the horses, the horses, are exchanged and filled, and the Marquis of Provence means that the army of Godfrey, which is still west of the Amonos Mountains, will swap roles and positions with Gawain, so that the siege of Antioch will not be delayed.

This remark has just ended. Bohemond stepped forward, cocked his trademark red beard, and looked at Raymond triumphantly (the other man also squeezed one-eyed and smiled at himself). "I think it makes sense, Gawain has only fulfilled his duty, as long as he has taken over His Excellency Sven's men. Then in the coming year the strength of our army will be multiplied, even if other Turkic princes come to the rescue. We are not afraid to take the city of Antioch. The believers will gain an advantage on both land and sea, and take advantage of the situation to take the Holy City, which is to be captured. ”

The Duke of Apulia's words killed two birds with one stone: it would prevent Gawain from making a meritorious contribution to Antioch and seize his territory, and it would also allow Gawain to return to Asia Minor, where he would be overwhelmed by the Turkic and Byzantine Empires.

The meeting was noisy again, and Gawain resisted Raymond and Bohemond's joint proposal, but more and more lords, out of jealousy, joined the siege of him, and finally even Ademar said in a semi-threatening tone, hoping that Gawain would accept the majority proposal of the Council of Cardinals, "If you have any difficulties, please raise them, but you can't not accept the resolution, then it will be extremely embarrassing for the Holy See." ”

Eventually, Gawain held his sword, his head bowed, and with great resentment, it looked like he had to succumb to it.

Bohemond, Tanfred, Raymond and others all smiled proudly, and the other priesthood was a little distracted, so he relieved and encouraged Gawain and said, "Rest assured, I will write a written report on your deeds of preparing for the hospital and guarding the pilgrimage path to the city of Rome, and proclaim it to the world and show your virtues." In addition, all the way to Cilicia and Seleucia is entrusted to you, and you can do everything yourself. ”

"Fuck off, Gawain, don't even think about this huge and rich city, go back to your haystack, and be in the company of the Greek emperor and the Turkic flock, and don't try to touch the Levant, which is flowing with honey and sugar." Bohemond was very proud in his heart, and he scolded bitterly, and his heart was very happy.

The next day, the "frustrated" Grand Duke of the Roman Empire, Stephen. Gawain. Lusail, with the Red Hand Brigade and two cavalry companies, and with all the Greek soldiers and nearly 10,000 Paulinees, marched in the opposite direction of the city of Antioch, along the road from Port Saint-Simeon to the Syrian Pass.

Gawain looked back and saw that the towers of Antioch were like a forest: under the city, all the pilgrims had begun the siege of the city with great vigour—the "St. Paul's Gate" in the north of Antioch was handed over to Bohemond and Tancred for siege; On both sides of the "Dog's Gate" (the Saracens call it the Wafali Gate) north-northwest of the city, surrounded by the priesthood of Ademar and Baldwin's department, on the left and on the right, on both sides of the formation. Then, from the Dog Gate all the way down the city wall, to the "Grand Duke's Gate" is where the camp of the powerful one-eyed Marquis de Provence Raymond is located; The long line from the Grand Duke Gate to the St. George's Gate was guarded by two lords, Robert and Stephen, but they could not be united—a stone bridge jutting out from between the towers of the city walls, across the Falfa River, severed the connection between the positions; And along this stone bridge, you can go straight to the pilgrim camp on the wasteland of the outer fort; The southerly side of St. George's Gate, at the very edge, was given to the honorable detachment to guard.

In addition, farther afield, on the hills of Antioch, south and north, the pilgrims also built their own forts, and the south was guarded by Vallo, the general counsel of the French royal palace under Hugh; The northern one was guarded by the Armenian lord Fel, who was under Tanfred. These two outposts were the eyes of the besieging pilgrim army, monitoring the area leading to the heart of Syria and distant Persia, guarding against the arrival of Turkic reinforcements from other directions, and acting as an early warning of the entire army.

The entire city of Antioch was covered with flags of various colors, and the pilgrim soldiers carried shields of gold, red, green and other colors, shining brightly and showing off their might. On the towers of the city walls, the Turkic warriors of Yaji also wore fine and light armor, armed with sharp and powerful bows and arrows, and stared at them. The battle between heroes is about to open in this great city.

But Gawain was not able to participate in this battle, the soldiers of the brigade, while carrying spears, whispered, felt extremely worthless for the Grand Duke, and Gawain's side of the horseback Cabeamia also said, "Gawain, you feel lonely? You came to Antioch City to meet heroes, right? ”

Gawain looked on his back, watching a falcon fly down from the high Acropolis of Antioch to the side of the rough Gulf of Issus, swept over his military flag, and breathed a long sigh of relief, "It's okay, my career is not defined by a corner of the Levant. (To be continued.) )