At the end of the night after the feast, when the lonely morning star had disappeared from the eastern sky, the Counts of Blois, the Counts of Normandy, with several of their most loyal knights, and thirty Seleucian cavalry sent by Anna, went out from the western gate along Akum and received news that the Emperor's 20,000 horses had been camped in the mountains of Milio Sephalon, and that this was the only chance Stephen had left, whether to return to the purgatory of Antioch. Whether she can return to Adella's side without being stabbed to death by her spear depends on this.

At least the Count of Blois, who had put on his helmet and straddled his horse without delay, thought so, and he wanted the perfect solution for both worlds.

On the terrace of the Acropolis, which overlooked the entire Sallev countryside and the city, the morning wind was still cold, and the black hair on Anna's forehead, which was dressed in a light coat, reflected the purple light in the starry night, and the little sunfish stood behind her, "It seems that the Count of Blois is going to flee." ”

"Of course, his role should be to strengthen my father's 'confidence' to retreat from the Anatolian plateau." Anna's little face was a little red and whispered.

"The focus should be on the three hundred knights or sergeants he left in the camp, and the Count of Blois himself should have lost his value." Agnes then bowed, "Please forgive my Highness Tang Tu, I have already sent an emissary. ”

"Ryan Stein?" Anna turned her face sideways and whispered behind her.

"That's right, although this earl's writing level is very poor, he still has a set of speech skills."

Then both of them let out a knowing chuckle, "That's all for the widow?" ”

A bird nesting on the top of the fort flew before Anna's eyes, "What can it be?" Agnes I must tell you that I am not afraid of her axe, but from the whole situation in Seleucia, and that the widow may not know that the bear is pregnant, or may have just known, and if the widow and her child do not get into the name of Ducasse, then she should be born. Anna lowered her eyes, then turned and walked towards the palace.

Anna's information was not wrong, when the Count of Blois spent a day out of the pass fortress of the Mut Valley, he entered a very delicate realm - Constantinople claimed to have jurisdiction over Milio Sephalong and Konya, but after the Count of Blois left the jurisdiction of Gawain and Anna, he did not see the slightest life around him, and the bustling Seleucia was almost two worlds, full of ruined villages and ditches, it is difficult to imagine that Emperor Comunens was the ruler of this mountainous area, as if it were his own territory.

After another day's journey, they came to the Emperor's camp, and saw each other's majestic and remarkable military appearance, but according to the private words of his host, the Emperor had been lingering here for several days, just waiting for his arrival, hoping to get the true situation of the East from his mouth.

In the tent under the purple royal flag, when Count Stephen saw Alexios sitting on the high seat with a sad face, he immediately bowed down, "My friend, I have finally waited for you, please swear by the most sincere friendship between the two, how is Antiochus now?" Alexios asked.

Robert. Curtis's expression was full of what to do, Stephen pressed his hand in time, and signaled with his eyes that he did not need to beak in this matter, and then the Count of Blois said to the emperor, who was surrounded by the banner guards and guards, "We were originally responsible for guarding the Syrian gate, waiting for reinforcements from His Majesty, but Kobha's command is too large to calculate the exact number. ”

"What about the approximate number?" The emperor was concerned about this issue.

"One hundred thousand, probably more." At last, the Count of Blois reported the number, and he soon saw the Emperor's face change, and began to talk privately with the eunuchs and generals close to him.

After a long time, the Emperor raised his hand and waved it back and forth, and his servants understood what they meant, so they stopped talking, and quietly retreated to one side, and then the Emperor said to the Count of Blois in a very difficult tone, "My dearest friend, as you can see, is there any chance of victory for this army of mine to go to Antioch to rescue the trapped pilgrims?" After all, there are friends there that I can't let go of, such as Lord Raymond. ”

The Count of Blois also seemed to have a hard time, and at last he came to this conclusion, "I can only say, unless a miracle of God happens"

The Emperor exhaled bitterly, "In that case, I will leave a seat for the two of you in the Imperial Palace, and then your army will find a way to find a place for them." You know, noble Count of Blois, that the Danishmunds and the remnants of the Konya Turks have entered into an alliance, and the former stormed our borders at Bithynia, where Mikhail, the chief of our guard, is fighting hard; And the latter is said to be about to launch a huge attack on this plateau, and my camp is very dangerous. ”

"I can understand Your Majesty's embarrassment." The Count of Blois replied pleadingly.

At this moment, the guards and eunuchs closed their eyes: it seemed that His Majesty the Emperor had decided to retreat, and the battlefield of Antioch had been completely abandoned.

"Your Majesty." At this time, the head of the royal wardrobe, Nick Demia. Vattarsky hurried in, "Prince John and General Tetisius, with a procession from the city of Atalya, have joined you, and the prince is anxious to see you. ”

"Tell them both to come to me."

At the first moment when the dark-skinned prince ran to the camp, he said to his father in a loud voice, "You must not retreat, and you should rescue Antioch." ”

The Emperor was a little annoyed, and replied angrily, "You should think about the plans and difficulties in realizing an idea before you say it. ”

"Without any difficulty, my father, your 20,000 men, immediately go south from Atalia and leave the port of Cyprus to provide transportation, as long as they are combined with the soldiers and horses of General Tetisius, and 25,000 men can land from Latakia, and they can completely rescue Antioch!" John generously stated, "In this way, the prestige of the empire will reach its zenith." ”

"Nonsense, how to deal with Danishmond and the Giliki remnants?"

"General Harold will hold on to the city of Konya, Mikhail will hold on to Bithynia, and the Turks on the plateau will do nothing." John's words were urgent, but as a young man, he revealed a tendency to ignore the opinions of others.

"I have decided to abandon the plateau for the time being, and naturally I will not and will not have the ability to go to Antioch, I only need to keep the two plains of Lydia and Bithynia!" Alexios lost patience and stood up with a handrail to end his argument with his son.

"It would be the most stupid thing to abandon the plateau, and in three years' time, all of Anatolia will no longer be owned by the Empire, and it will only be a matter of time before your two plains are lost again!" John was so straight that he threw his words out without any turns. (To be continued.) )