They followed the seaside avenue, day by day, and as the journey went on, Gawain found that the number of extravagant buildings began to increase, and he vaguely felt that the capital of the empire was at hand, until Diognis told them to stay in a free dormitory provided by a monastery at dusk, and the warden told them, "Tomorrow we will walk twenty more giurgies, and we will reach the 'town of seven miles,' where we can no longer go any further, and we will have to stop for inspection, and then make a detour to the bridge gate and enter again." ”

Gawain was puzzled by the words of the captor, and according to the geographical features he observed along the way, he roughly felt that what the warden was talking about was the bustling commercial area called Bak?rk?y on the outskirts of Istanbul, but he did not question anything, after all, there is a history of nearly a thousand years, and there is nothing to compare.

As the veil faded over the earth and the sea, Gawain stood under the blue-gray and smoky corridors of the convent's common apartments, praying with Peter toward the western sky and the stars—not because Gawain had been a devout before the crossing, but because he had deceived the monks before, and that he himself was a baptized northern barbarian and had participated in pilgrimages, so he had to make an appearance not to be overly suspicious.

Then the deacon of the monastery came to "drive away" them, and the deacon was very unhappy last night, and the appearance of Peter and Gawain, who were of different races, did not make the deacon unduly disturbed, but the guard Diognes, because he was a warrior, and according to the old instruction of the former Byzantine Roman emperors, "a man who has engaged in a war life, and whose hands are stained with blood, must be separated from the believers and the monastery for three years." Although this instruction had long since been abolished on paper, the monastery did not welcome rude samurai inside, as Gawain had learned.

When Gawain took out the sundial that Jiehe had gifted, he could clearly deduce that it was spring.

They hurried on the road, and gradually Gao Wen could see that on the hills and woods on the side of the avenue, and even on the islands of the sea on the other side, there were rich villas made of marble, which were far more luxurious than they had seen before, and the huge "bodies" were cleverly hidden between the shade of the trees and the rocks, "Although there are no roadblocks, don't interfere with the boundaries of those estates, and we will honestly follow the avenue, because most of these estates are imperial estates, and some of them are important ministers." Seeing Gao Wen looking around, the guard reminded him sternly.

At this time, more and more people came from the various forks in the road, and Gawain saw that the commoners in short clothes consciously walked on both sides of the road, leading dirty livestock, or holding pottery urns and baskets, which contained all kinds of things, fruits, cheeses, eggs, wheat flour, and so on; The officials, dressed in silk embroidered clothes, rode on tall horses, supported by their attendants in front and behind, with their chins raised and walked in the center with no one in their eyes; There were also those dressed in Crescent robes and Frankish attire, about the envoys of various countries, and they were all in a grand show, waving all kinds of scepters and flags, and with the bustling flow of people, they walked very easily towards their goal in the same direction as them.

"Whew!" Gawain heard the sound of wind and fire, he looked up, and looked at the dazzling spring sun, and in an open field of people, three high poles of varying heights were erected, and on them several naked half-swarthy juggling teenagers who looked like Tianzhu people, as agile as apes, climbed up and down, and constantly swallowed flames from their mouths, attracting the continuous applause of the audience below.

"Take care of your luggage and money, the most three-rate 'Varangian Camp City' has arrived!" The catcher turned back and reminded him that no matter how loud his voice was, it seemed extremely weak in such a noisy and chaotic place. As a result, a woman wearing a veil and ochre-red tight dancer's leather pants threw a wink at Gawain, and Gawain returned the favor with a gentlemanly smile, and after a while, Theognes, who was riding on horseback, took Gawain's stolen money bag and threw it back to him, "Tell you to pay attention!" ”

On the left side of the street was a ditch dug in front of a low masonry barracks to cut off the townspeople, and a fence was erected, where many men of Gawain's stature and hair were clamoring and shouting, throwing coins from the vendors on the other side of the fence, and taking large meats, wines, and gins, and some of them bargaining fiercely with the women in makeup.

"This is the camp of the Emperor's Varangian Guard, and this group of people will go down to the battlefield to ask for nothing but rewards, cattle and water, and prostitution." The captor enthusiastically introduced him, and then smiled meaningfully at Gawain, presumably treating him as a Varyag, implying that he was required to stop at the emperor's heels in the capital.

Obviously, according to Diognis, this Varangian camp has been transformed into a gathering square for traders in the town of Seven Miles, where everything is sold, linen from Egypt, silk from the East, amber from Livonia, honey from Kiev, cattle and horses from Asia Minor, utensils from Antioch, glass from Kairouan, merchants in all kinds of clothes, like a hodgepodge of human races.

"Why is the Emperor's palace located in the middle of the city?" Gawain asked curiously, his gaze falling as far as his eye could see, where behind the bustling crowds and beehive-like shops stood a large cyan palace-like building, on which birds hovered.

"It's not a palace, or rather, it's just a palace of yesteryear." The catcher replied, "The former Emperor Justinian built it as the Palazzo Juquintina, but now it is a fortress to guard the capital, and it is full of garrisons and postmen appointed by the Emperor, and we will hand over the guide there at once, and then wait for the date of His Majesty's reception of the hermits. ”

When they entered, they found that what the guards said was true--there was no longer an imperial garden, a hunting ground, and no palace people and concubines in the palace of Zhu Kuntina, but instead there were two-person high walls, and towers at the four corners, and soldiers with bows and arrows on their backs were solemnly lined up at the entrance of the palace gate, where the commoners and merchants were avoided, and no one dared to step forward, only the foreign envoys were put in after being inspected, arranged to stay in the palace, and waited for the emperor's reception.

"A mere monk deserves to be received by the emperor? Catcher, are you sure you're not getting anything wrong? A military judge, dressed in a white shawl, standing in front of the palace gate, replied in astonishment and disdain, after examining Theognes' directions and inquiring about his intentions.

"But he carries extremely confidential letters, which are important matters concerning the fate of the empire."

The military judge snorted, and then dropped a ceremonial reply, "I will arrange it, but this monk is not qualified to stay in the Jukuntina Palace, which will cause the other envoys to be dissatisfied." ”