king of ros

Chapter 445 Entering the Imperial Capital
When the Russ reached the Norman camp on the coast, there was a joyous atmosphere.

No wonder they were like this, because they won another victory, and the various materials seized made everyone rich, and even the Greek peasants got a lot of wealth exposed from the fingers of the Normans.

The atmosphere of joy is lost in the air, drifting away with the alcohol, women's charming smiles and men's triumphant voices are endless, and the continuous victories make everyone's wallets bulging, so these things in the barracks are more and more common.

However, the Normans still maintained their usual military standards. The camp and security were still done very well, the wooden walls were repaired, and the trenches were dug. hostile land.

This made Monomacher heave a sigh of relief, as long as the Norman remained at his level, he was really afraid that the Norman would relax completely, and he was really not far from failure.

Across groups of mercenaries who were either busy having fun, or bragging and drinking, Monomacher and his two important Ross officers—Anton and Radko— came to Russell's tent.

Anton and Radko are only more authoritative among the Ross people than the two Ruriks, and they often have their own ideas, and their relationship with the two Ruriks is more like a partner, but they often They don't speak up easily, and few people can see what they are thinking.

Entering Russell's tent, Ross found that the generals of the rebel army were all there unknowingly, and there were generals in armor everywhere.

Now everyone is talking about the battle situation in front of them in the tent. Everyone is very optimistic, thinking that the imperial capital will definitely be in their pocket. With the weak fighting power shown by the Greeks, they will surely win.

This made Monomacher quite concerned. With so many people gathered, it seemed that Russell was going to announce something.

Prince Ross didn't wait here. He chatted with a few companions around him, told them not to act without authorization, and then found a few familiar generals to talk to. Monomacher made a lot of friends, and in these During the chat, he learned a lot of things.

The Pechenegs and Bulgarians in the Northern Empire launched a rebellion, and Emperor Michael cut a lot of funds that should have been used in these places, which made the local people very dissatisfied, so there was an uprising.

Because of the war in the north, many imperial troops have also been attracted, which is good news for the rebels, but it is still secondary after all.

The next piece of news was more important. Emperor Michael of the imperial capital seemed to have ceded all the territory east of Ankara to the Turks in exchange for their attack on the Ankara rebels.

At present the Turks are advancing westward under the leadership of the leader Suleiman. The uncle of the Seljuk Khan seems to want to establish a kingdom of his own, so his advancement is very eager.

Monomakh is not very surprised by this. The imperial capitals of the military districts east of Ankara have basically lost their jurisdiction. Anyway, the population of these military districts is relatively small. It seems that the people in the imperial capital don’t care about ceding them. Trade them for an army.

After all, from the perspective of those in the imperial capital, it doesn't matter if the rest of the empire is gone except for Constantinople, since they are all places where country people live anyway.

However, he has not received any news of the Turkic people's eastward advance. With the mixed nature of the rebels, it is impossible to cover up the news. It seems that the Turkic people still plan to wait and see. These guys are really as cunning as ever.

But even so, this is still not good news for Russell's rebels. If they were not about to enter the imperial capital, there would definitely be problems within the rebel army. The imperial capital is right in front of them, and no one will leave in time, but if they cannot Take it, then you can...

While Monomacher was thinking about the situation and the prospect of the rebels, finally, Russell the Norman appeared in front of everyone.

Russell was wearing a typical Norman robe, which was in stark contrast to his previous attire. At that time, he was moving closer to the Greeks. Now, as the leader of a group of foreign mercenaries, he should not be too Greek. It's better to look down to be kinder.

"Gentlemen, I declare to you a victory. Nicaea has expressed its submission to us. The city has paid a huge tribute. According to tradition, these gold and silver will be among my subordinates, that is, among you. distribution!"

Russell's words caused cheers. For mercenaries, there is nothing more attractive than gold and silver. Nothing is more popular than this. Their support for Russell is also rising crazily.

"In addition, I want to announce an important thing. The real Roman emperor has come among us, and we will enter the imperial capital in his name! Everyone, come and let us welcome the emperor!"

This sentence made everyone a little puzzled, what kind of Roman emperor, but people with quick thinking immediately thought of what Russell was doing, such as Monomach.

"It's indeed smart to support a puppet, but is it really useful?"

Just as Monomacher was muttering, the Roman emperor that Russell was talking about appeared in front of them.

This person is none other than Dukas who was defeated and captured by them. The face of this person is now full of horror. It seems that he was held by Russell with a knife to be the emperor.

Russell took the lead and knelt down in front of the so-called emperor who wore a gorgeous purple robe and a gorgeous crown found in the tribute of Nicaea. Everyone followed after seeing this. At this moment, everyone knew that the Normans were doing it. what.

Everyone has no opinion on this, but they just keep cheering for this "emperor". Many people think that this is correct, and a Greek emperor is easier to accept than a foreign emperor.

However, Monomacher keenly noticed another meaning behind this incident. Supporting the Greeks as the emperor showed that Russell was beginning to lose confidence. Before, he thought that relying on the strength of his hands was enough. swept the empire.

This represents a very bad signal, but Monomacher feels that this is not necessarily a bad one. The situation remains to be seen, and everything still needs to be observed.

But we have to prepare, if Russell's ship is going to sink, then he must lead his subordinates to jump off the ship in time.

And after the ceremony of meeting the "emperor" at that scene, Russell issued an order to cross the sea to seize the throne for the freshly baked emperor. emperor.

But this is of no use. When a dispute over the throne occurs in Constantinople, except for those direct participants, no one in the local area will take any action, and the plan is to help whoever wins.

But at the beginning, Russell didn't expect to rely on that puppet to make the Greeks vote wildly, it was just a matter of form.

Then his army started to cross the sea using the captured boats, and the imperial capital didn't even stop the mighty river crossing operation. The whole river crossing went very smoothly, and the rebels came to the core of the Eastern Empire with ease. The most affluent area is of course.

As a result, Monomacher also saw Constantinople, a place he said he had heard about, but had never seen.

It was early in the morning when they arrived, and Constantinople appeared in front of his eyes with a grandeur beyond imagination. Monomakh had never seen such a magnificent city. The scale of this city far exceeded his imagination. It is said that With a population of 50, [-] or even more, the title of Queen of the Cities of Constantinople is indeed well-deserved.

As he saw the queen of the cities, saw the grandeur and power far beyond his imagination, and saw the huge city wall, Monomacher suddenly had an idea.

"With us alone, the city cannot be conquered."

And after such an idea came into being, combined with Russell's lack of self-confidence and the indifference of the Greek dignitaries, it was inevitable that Monomacher felt that he should prepare early. As long as the defenders were a little stronger, it was hard for him to imagine that their army could Take down such walls.

--------

(End of this chapter)