"Since you are not willing to accept the emperor's favor and forgiveness, you don't need to see the light in this world." The eunuch muttered to himself.

Snow-white lightning projected in, and the warden who was held down by the Varangian warriors, his face was covered with blood, and there were two holes, "From now on I can enter the monastery and pursue the light in my heart?" ”

"That's right, I thought that His Majesty was just trying to persuade the warden to you, but after boarding the journey, I realized that His Majesty also gave Lao Yu this small box, which represents Your Majesty's attitude." The eunuch replied.

"What will happen to that person?" The warden gasped and asked bitterly, "What will happen to my army?" ”

"His Majesty the Emperor will not give up your army easily, he still has to rely on it, it should be disrupted and reorganized, and the commanding officers will be replaced. As for the old man, I can't give you a definite answer, but my emperor is merciful. As he spoke, Nikedemia held out his hand, and a warrior took out the jug and poured it on his dry fingers, and then with a rubbing of it, it fell to the ground crackling

"Kranmer has already gone to the barracks, and if he can get there in time, the situation can be reversed." Listening to the sound of the wine falling to the ground, George gasped.

The Great Eunuch sighed and stood in front of him, "What does it matter to you whether the situation is current or not?" A general who has been tortured, whose body is mutilated and has lost the legitimacy to rule the kingdom, you must thank the Lord for his kindness and mercy for such a small punishment in exchange for the safety of your life and the contery of the empire. ”

At that moment, Gawain came from the colonnade and threw Cranmer's head, Gollum, into George's parted legs.

In the darkness of the night and the constant light, George picked up the head, gasped and lamented, and slowly sat down on the dark corner floor, the portraits of the emperor and the holy apostles, pale and lifeless in the light.

"You're loyal, Stephen. Gawain, it was the right choice to ask you to come with me. How is it? I appreciate you very much, and I will now promote you to be an earl commander in the Asia Theater, and when you return to the imperial capital, you will be your Majesty's chief of guard, just like my nephew, and he will be very pleased with you. The eunuch closed the small box and said to Gawain very calmly.

"I think the most important thing now is to go to the barracks as soon as possible and maintain His Majesty's military property and golden edict unchanged, so that the morale of the army can be stabilized quickly."

"Oh, but Your Majesty wishes to cancel the rationing of military property by means of an additional punishment for the rebellion of the Warden General, for the pressure from the 'many' is too great." The eunuch did not seem to approve of Gawain's suggestion.

"Now our camp is with the Teflis heretics on the left and the gilliki on the right. Arslan's Turkic army, and your Excellency, you have blinded the warden again, I am afraid that soon the army will be disheartened, and it will lead to a two-sided face-to-face attack, so that everyone will not be able to leave, and the military property will be gone, and this army will disintegrate and flee; When the army collapses, and Little Asia will fall again, what will His Majesty's tax collectors and 'people' do at that time? Do you expect the Turks to help you collect your taxes? After Gawain spoke, the little bird Nikedemia was stunned, rubbed his hands and laughed a few times, "Okay, you say, what should I do now?" ”

"Elect Tetisius, who is also proficient in military affairs, as the commander of the army, Farov as the lieutenant general, and your Excellency the Great Eunuch, you will be responsible for pacifying the people, and quickly set up camp to defend the city of Nicaea, and then negotiate terms with the Sultan of Rom and the Tevris party, and then retreat to Nicomedia, and get the response of the emperor's fleet, which can be attacked and defended." Gawain was not confused in the slightest.

Nikdemia nodded frequently, and then he raised his finger, "In the past, in the palace, I thought you were very much like a person, no, a wolf. ”

"Now the empire needs not sheep, but wolves, my lord." Gawain was very reasonable.

"I have no problem with what you said, today's things can be done so smoothly and neatly, Gao Wengong is very great." The eunuch was also very happy, and he went to the captain of George's stable, which was lying in a dark corner, and tore off the icon pendant from his neck, and brought it to Gawain, meaning to be accepted by him as a promise and reward.

"No, this is the vice queen mother, and the chief lady of the palace gave it to the warden master, I don't shed this muddy water." Gawain vividly remembers the scene in front of the Basilica of the Holy Apostles.

"From the moment you cut the sword out, your position has already been decided, is there any reason to avoid it? From then on, I studied with the old decay, did not ask anything else, did not ask whether it was right or wrong, stood in the position of His Majesty the Emperor, and considered everything - take it, and give it to the old decay. Nick Demia's fingers lay across Gawain's face, and Malena's pendant dangled on it until Gawain's fingers pinched it.

When the rain eased, at the door of the monastery, the warden who stood on the porch to take shelter from the rain was on an iron flail, and saw the warden who had been stripped of his eyes, first led out, and then pushed by the warriors to a donkey, and tied to it with ropes, and then the eunuch himself stepped out, side by side with Gawain, and several servants carried him up to his shoulders, "Departure, I think that the real Lord Sebastoprat, the brother of His Majesty, Isaac, has taken control of the situation in the barracks with Tetisius." ”

The warriors and servants, facing the grey twilight after the rain, walked towards the barracks, and no one saw Theognes, who was left lonely on the edge of the porch, and at last he had to walk by himself, stepping on the executed corpses everywhere, untying the ropes that were attached to his mounts, and stepping lonely on horseback, following the back of the procession, and darling along.

The next day, the golden sun tore through the clouds and shone on the lake and meadows. Komnenos, dressed in heavy armor, sat on the high platform of the camp, and six thousand soldiers of George's command, in a neat formation, stood in the stagnant water, watching the miserable appearance of the warden who was tied to the donkey and standing under the high platform, with only half his life left, and listened to Isaac's explanation of the punishment.

Just as Gawain had predicted, when Isaac, on behalf of His Majesty, announced the Emperor's promise to distribute the land and pay unchanged and never cut the ranks, and presented the Golden Edict, the morale of the army was very calm.

Of course, there was also something that Gawain expected, that is, this time even the emperor's brother Isaac also came, and became the current supreme commander of the entire army with the title of "Sebastoclat", while Tetisius and Farov could only succumb to the position of deputy general.

Isaac then gave the order to move his army to the city of Nicaea.

The Byzantine army retreated extremely quickly and also by surprise to the gilliqui. Arslan, and Kabeamia, who is hiding in the shadows.

So two days later, both armies sent envoys into the city of Nicaea to find out what was going on.