Today is still three watches

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The Lion Palace in the Grand Palazantine Palace, or rather the Lion Bull Palace, because it has a small harbor leading to the Marimara Sea, named after a stone lion and a stone ox on the left and right of the entrance, and connected to it is the dormitory of the purple porphyry pillars, Anna. Komnenos was born here.

This year's winter in Constantinople was particularly cold, and the cold winds blowing from the Black Sea and Thrace mercilessly covered the entire city in icy temperatures. Then from the cabin, a Greek nobleman with black hair and black beard, a slightly chubby build, and a medium height, walked through the long corridor with charcoal fires under the guidance of the guards and eunuchs, after saluting with the guards and eunuchs.

Emperor Alexios specially chose this place to receive him, the hereditary nobleman from the Teshoram region, Nikephoros. Brainus.

In the purple palace, Brenus met the royal brother Isaac who was teasing the birdcage, and immediately raised his hands and bowed down, and was warmly welcomed by Isaac, "Your Majesty is waiting for you." ”

Today, Alexios, wearing a Persian triple crown, kindly lifted him up after asking Brenus to kiss his boots and call out the trumpet, "I have summoned you urgently from Durazo this time, and you must have suffered a lot of fatigue on the way, haven't you?" ”

"Traveling on fast horses in Thessaly, and changing for light ships in Thessaloniki, thanks to the fact that His Majesty's general, Commander Count Gawain, had previously cleared Zahaas's pirates by land and sea. With the Norman bandits, so the servants had a safe journey. Even though there were some bumps, there was no uneasiness along the way. Brenus's words were sincere. It was full of praise for the emperor's subordinate general, Wu Xun.

But the Emperor and his brother had a somewhat rigid face, and could not see any joy after being congratulated. Komnenos quickly digressed the topic, but the content was still relevant to Gawain, "That Gawain has just been promoted by His Majesty to the rank of 'Lombard and Apulian Commander Aconis', and the governor of Bari is still vacant, or rather, the empire lacks a figure who can pacify Italy. You, the Brenus family, have lived in Dilashum for generations, and are well aware of the political situation across the sea. Therefore His Majesty wishes to grant you the title of Governor of Barry in addition. With that, Isaac placed the two golden edicts in the hands of the terrified Brenus, "Your Majesty has given you a new 'Penipastersbastos', which is the third honor after the 'Sebastoclat' and 'Caesar' of the Empire. ”

"Yes, the servants must do their best." Brenús received this honorable title and was grateful on the spot. With his hands over the top, he took the emperor's golden edict.

"Do it well, the Bari region is now a gathering place for the Empire's elite troops, and most of them are alien mercenaries. After you go, you must not take it lightly, and you must stop the rebellious veterans and generals. In all things, consult with Theognes, my captive officer, and with General Tetisius. As soon as there is a sign of uneasiness, I will immediately write to me. Thereafter. I will send Isaac to command 15,000 troops to the region of Moria to attack Zahaas, and these troops are also your backing in Bari, so don't worry. In addition, you also have an identity, which is to negotiate with the Roman patriarch about borrowing troops to the east, and the future recovery of Anatolia will also be tied to your shoulders. Promise me that you, Brenus, will live up to your trust and title. At this point, Brenus bowed down at the feet of His Majesty the Emperor again and kissed the Supreme Purple Boots, indicating that he would live up to his expectations.

"Henceforth, the light of the Brenus family will be reflected by the glory of Your Majesty's crown."

"Well, that's good. The Purple Palace is a symbol of my status as a king, and my daughter was born from it, just after the loss of her previous fiancé, Constantine, and I and the Empress have always been troubled by the question of her husband's success, but today it seems that the troubles can also be dissipated with the appointment of these two golden edicts. The Emperor's cheerful and gentle words made Brenuston feel that the road ahead was smooth and bright. In addition, this Greek nobleman with meek eyes and eyebrows and pure blood also made Alexios feel particularly relieved.

This relief is relative to Anna's, "If Anna's future husband is weaker than my father, everyone will be happy; But if it's like Stephen. How could I tolerate a character like Gawain, who would be compared to my daughter's husband! ”

Breenus, who walked out of the Purple Lion Bull Palace, with the golden edict in his hand, was comfortably preparing to pass through the porch and garden of the vestibule, and board the ships of the small port to leave.

There was a crisp ringing of bells, and Brenus followed the sound to see a petite girl with a crown of pendants, under the two handmaidens with their heads hanging down, approaching from the side of the corridor, her brown eyes squinting at her. In addition, behind her, there was a young man dressed in a rich robe, tied with an ivory and gold pendant, but with a dark face and bare feet, and a slingstone rope hung from his belt.

"Sister, this is Brenus summoned by my father today." The boy said.

Brenus was stunned, but he quickly realized who they were, and immediately fell down.

"No, my father asked me to come and see you, and besides, this is my own wish." Anna's tone was inaudible, "Raise your face." ”

Hearing this, Brenus could only tilt his face up, looking at Anna's fair face, and those brown eyes staring at him, feeling that his hair was standing on his back, and he was afraid that this girl who was less than thirteen years old would give her thirty-five-year-old self a willful and tricky evaluation.

After a while, Anna just said, "When I see you, I begin to wonder about the role of gender in people. Also, John, don't follow me, it's boring. With that, the eldest princess departed down the corridor, leaving the miserable Brenus there.

"My sister means you don't look like a man." The black-skinned prince John faced him seriously, and after mending the knife, he also jumped up, shouted the rough ballad of the Saracens, and left.

Leaving only Brenus, who was half-kneeling, in the garden of the Imperial Garden, with a twitching and trembling expression on his face, Anna's comment was even more vicious than spitting directly on her face.

"It's not time to give up yet, I'm going to Dirasime and Barry soon, be diligent and promising, and the eldest princess will definitely approve of me." Finally, Brenus encouraged himself in his heart and stood up again, and then he hunched over and walked to the docks, where a eunuch called him from behind, and said in a very low voice, "The Empress and Caesar wish to see you, Your Excellency Penipasbastos of the Third Glory." (To be continued......)