At nightfall, Diognis sat there skillfully, making mountains, seaways, and fortresses out of sand, "Oh, it's amazing. Gawain, who was lying on the couch, also approving, and Tetisius next to him stared at the newly completed sand table terrain, and after a while, he pointed to the location of Kadmia, "This is a flat area surrounded by valleys, and there are passages to everywhere. ”

"What does that mean?"

"This means that although we are now superior in military strength, the Normans are more agile because they are small troops, and their spear charges are devastating, and if you go to Kademia and adopt the strategy of head-to-head combat, you will fall into their hands." Tetisius pinched his chin and said.

"But wasn't the leader of the day mortally wounded by my spear? They must be leaderless. Gawain wondered how cautious the slash-nosed general was.

"The Norman knights do not collapse by the fall of a single chieftain, unlike us Romans, each of whom professes to be the best warrior and general, and who commanded his wife Geta after Guiscart was wounded at the time of Durazo; Now you've wounded the young leader, but I think the old man with the white beard next to him is more tricky. Diognis, who had previously fought with the Normans, added, thoughtfully—and remorseful at his performance today, "but whatever the strategy of the end, I will not be afraid to go forward and fight their leader to the death." ”

Under the shaking of the firelight, the warden and Tetisius continued to discuss the plan of marching, while Gawain looked intently at the sand table, and then pressed his finger to the place where "Corinth" was, "I have an idea"

After a while, Tetisius, who had listened to Gawain's thoughts, reminded, "Are you sure the Normans will retreat?" ”

"Of course, we are stationed in Corinth City, even if they do not move, it will be difficult for the Normans to break through the defense here, they have very limited troops, and they cannot stay for long after losing the meaning of raiding, so there is no need to go to Kademia to relieve the siege." Then Gawain made a fist gesture, "And what we have to do is to wait for work, control the initiative, and pursue them fiercely." ”

"In addition to time, it is necessary to master the manpower, and more importantly, the manpower is scarce." After Tetisius expressed this doubt, he glanced at the captor, who nodded knowingly, and then they walked up to Gawain and lifted his jacket again, "Hey, what are you doing!" Kovin watched horrified, and the officer took out more cloth from the box next to the bed, and wrapped Gawain's ribs, arms, and even his head in spite of the fierce opposition of the Earl's commander.

By the time the two of them had gone out of the porch, the moonlight had already hung in the middle of the sky, and when Ingridina, who had been waiting on her shoulders and behind the curtains, saw them, she asked with great concern whether the Count's injuries were serious and whether they had healed.

Diognis and Tetisius looked solemn, sighed lightly, and shook their heads over their shoulders.

Then the widow hurriedly walked to the porch, and then sat directly on the chair next to the door of Gawain's bedroom, looking at Gawain, who was wrapped in strips of cloth, and immediately felt a little teardrop, took out a black silk handkerchief, lifted the veil and wiped it on her cheeks, "I looked very good when I first sent it back, why did I fall into this situation now?" ”

"The fate the Lord gave me is not good, the blades and spears of the Norman bandits are about quenched with venom" The strip of cloth covered Gawain's eyes and blocked his nostrils, and when he spoke, the strip of cloth fluttered with his exhalation, itching and only wanting to sneeze, and secretly hated those two bastards for their personal vendetta and deliberately wrapped me up like this.

As a result, Ingridina's grief was even greater, "I think it should be like this, this group of bandits has always done all kinds of evil, look at you, just came back and was only hit in the ribs, and now even the head is gone" The widow quickly couldn't speak, and she choked up a little.

Gawain looked at the widow and thought to himself that the three siblings of Yagfi, Yudoxia, and Inglana were very different, and the one in front of him was obviously inferior to her sister in terms of scheming and knowledge, and was a typical Varyag silly white sweet girl.

"But I can't fall yet, the responsibility given to me by His Majesty the Emperor, and the call of the Lord, inspire me all the time, to defeat this group of Norman bandits, to protect Corinth, and to protect the glory and wealth of your family." Gawain's generous statement touched the widow so much that she immediately shook Gawain's right hand, "Say, how can I repay your kindness and affection, as long as I can." ”

"I need your help, noble lady, and this is also a salvage for the Empire. I don't know if it's convenient for you to tell the contemptible people about the scale of your industry, especially in terms of animal power and manpower. Seeing that this was ripe, Gawain took the opportunity to put this request on the table, and after speaking, in order to win sympathy, he moaned loudly.

Ingrid hurriedly stood up, nodded her hands, and tried to summarize the book and account book that her steward had given her, "This year, because of the war, the income has been reduced a little, and now I can still take out five thousand gold solid coins in cash, and there are still three thousand ploughing cattle in the industry, and hundreds of mules and horses."

Hearing this, Gawain's eyes widened, he had traveled over for almost two years, and he had a deep understanding of the wealth level spoken by the widow, if nothing else, just say three thousand ploughing oxen, it is not an exaggeration to use the word "rich and rival the country" to describe her, but on the other hand, the so-called Byzantine Roman Empire has been cracked to what extent.

But now you can rest assured, and the plan can be put into action

Around the spring under Fort Kadmia, a group of Norman tents were erected, and Raul pointed out a few words to several leaders before the campfire, and then walked in, on the stretcher, Tancraed's arm was really tightly wrapped, "He must not wield a sword or a spear for half a year." This is what the medical officer who accompanied the army said.

"It's good that the opponent's spear is blunt, otherwise your bones will be pierced." Raul sat down and said to Tancred.

"Raul, you've lamented this trip before, and you may not have met any rivals worth mentioning."

Raul smiled wryly, "Now you should know that this is the end of the encounter. ”

"Damn, in another ten years, I will definitely be better than that Greek army warrior with the red feather ornament." Tancred refused to admit defeat.

"I'm getting older, I'm afraid I won't live to see that moment." Raul quipped.

"No, Raul, you want to see that moment—but I'm already hurt, and I really don't have the face to go back to my uncle."

"It doesn't matter, your uncle Bohemond was also in Larissa, not far away, and was defeated by the Greek emperor and returned to Italy, when you were only eight years old. So if you want Raul to witness the moment you said earlier, it would be better to withdraw from Kadmia to Lepanto as soon as possible. Raul finished speaking, making a cross on his chest, and then pressed a kiss to Tancred's forehead, "That's it, son." ”

"Well, I agree to withdraw." The scarred tank red was weak.