All the Greek nobles and landowners bowed to the ground and chanted in unison to follow the instructions and inspirations of Her Royal Highness the eldest princess, and henceforth they would support the archers of Seleucia, revive the entire military district, and do their best to revive the entire empire and support the great cause of the pilgrims.

While the singing and dancing and feasting continued outside, in the small prayer room next to the military harbor of the fort, Anna sat at the reading platform, Agnes and Staulachos were separated, and Gawain sat in a high chair next to him with a cloak.

Then, Cabeamia and the two henchmen, Luchios and Philus, entered from behind the curtain in the hallway.

Seeing his holy sister with his eyes lowered, Govining suddenly felt a little embarrassed, he didn't expect that Anna would suddenly summon the female consul sent by Paul to come to the secret discussion, so he was ready to get up and find an excuse to leave, "Your Royal Highness, about tonight's barracks patrol"

"No need for Gawain, and you can't always let the personnel of the Red Hand Brigade be in charge, I've already entrusted Dorus with the affairs of the inspection, and the two young men who have just arrived will also be sent to get acquainted with the soldiers, and you will sit here. After all, the female consul is a very important pillar of our side, and your voice cannot be absent from this crucial matter. Anna issued a non-negligible disposition.

Then the little girl suddenly laughed again, and said softly to Gawain, "Actually, during my time in the city of Karon, the female archon and I have long become close friends who cannot be discussed, even if we have different beliefs, we try to avoid doctrinal discussions. You see, as a sign of respect for her, I did not hang any icons in this room, lest I offend the consuless. ”

Gawain bowed his head to Nono, while Cabeamia over there stared at him resentfully, "Yes, Your Highness the Princess, the topic of conversation between close friends is mainly focused on the aspects that the true believers deal with. ”

Gawain looked up, uh-huh. He thought to himself that this was negligence, and he still didn't consider the placement of the Pauline faction, and he couldn't blame me, after all, the confidential documents were handled by Ander Odat on weekdays, and now the other party was acting as a liaison between the two sides under Godfrey, and I was busy with military affairs. How can I have free time?

Boom, it was the sound of the parchment swinging, and Anna smiled and took out the command of the timeless handwriting from between the stands of the scripture reading platform, "Your Excellency, I have already drawn everything up, and I will take the four great market towns of Rum, Sabak, Kadil, and Coben, north of Seleucia, under the Hardy Mountains in the valley of the Mut River. All the surrounding villages are given to you and the Paulicians - the 'Iqta fiefdoms' of a group of Bey and Ghazi belonging to the Sultan of Konya, and now that their power has been completely destroyed, all the villages and fertile fields here are yours. ”

After saying that, Anna's eyes looked at Kabeamia, "There are plenty of water, fertile fields, and well-developed small lakes and canals. And very high-quality clay resources, do it well. Your faith may be free, but you are not allowed to send propagandists outside the protected areas; In return, you are required to pay taxes to Seleucia, and to provide for the military service of one hundred and fifty lightly armed soldiers, with thirty pack horses and ten war horses, among the four thousand believers who accompanied Paphragonia. ”

"Hardy Mountains, I know. Agriculture is well developed there, but the mountains are east of the river valley, and the woods on the slopes are shady, and there is no good timber."

"It doesn't matter. The previous closed farm model in this area should be changed, and the wood and iron used to make farm tools will be sold and provided to you by Seleucia. "Anna seems to be more confident.

"What about the original residents?"

"They are all tenant farmers of the Turkic Bey and Ghazi, and I will leave half of them for you, and the remaining half of them will be sent to the villages under the Seleucian city to cultivate the land where Gawain and my arcades are."

"Yes, thanks to Her Highness the Princess's magnanimous arrangement, the ranks of the True Believers will not only provide you and General Straticus with light troops, but will also do their best to defend the frontier of northern Seleucia." Cabeamia leaned over and thanked her, but when her eyes saw Gawain's boots, the sadness in her heart came back to her, could it be that way? In exchange for a territory promised in advance, temporary tranquility, and the right to cultivate comfortably, but under Anna's invisible "shackles", true believers may slowly degenerate into ordinary peasants, in addition to receiving and reading sermons, probably labor, multiply, serve and pay taxes, right?

When the consul had retreated, the small prayer room, where a gentle sea breeze blew in, Anna was still elated, clinging to the windowsills of the protruding monastic caverns flanked by colonnades, after all, this is a military fortress, privacy and security are very important, and there will be no such spacious terrace as the Brachna Palace, "Gawain came to me and enjoyed the pleasant summer breeze, blowing from the sea on the other side of Cyprus, and with the green smell of grapevines. Her braids covered her delicate back, her white calves exposed under the corners of her loose robe, and the ivory white, which looked even more dazzling in the night, dangled with the braids, and her boots were placed on the stone slab on one side, facing Gawain's gaze.

In the room, Agnes crouched on the reading table, helping to stamp Anna's many pleadings, she was now the Imperial Ink Officer and the Deputy Director of Engineering, Gawain had to pay her two Byzanti gold coins a month, Agnes felt meager, but did not dare to protest - under the flickering candle flame, Agnes's eyes looked sideways at Gawain and Anna from time to time, a little uneasy, but Gawain raised her eyebrows, and when she looked back at her, Agnes was so frightened that she hurriedly hid her little face behind the ink jug.

"Nika and his family and the castle, what do you think?" Anna turned her face sideways and looked at Gawain, who was next to her.

"It's not safe, and in Seleucia we must leave a strong garrison in case of them."

"Turbulent situation, and I'm afraid that it will be difficult to manage the whole of Seleucia and Western Cilicia in the near future, or should we start with this fortress and the surrounding lands? As soon as the wealth is accumulated," then Anna's eyes turned to the roaring and low sea, where the flotilla was rising a little flame, and the sailors and pirates were drinking merrily, and the laughter even reached the cliff under the windowsill, and Gawain saw it, Anna's eyes were very determined, no, it was a little cold, "Strengthen the army, and when the time is right, take Alalmanburg and the Mut River Valley, and you can't really put the gate and key in and out of Seleucia in the hands of the Callegos family for a long time." ”

"Hmm" Gawain really felt that Anna was his confidant (and enemy), and in the gentle sea breeze, he touched Anna's braids, "and combed them into fishbone braids," he thought to himself, and then said in a tone of annoyance, "But what about the remuneration for the land property of the soldiers of the division and regiment promised in advance?" (To be continued.) )