king of ros

"Master Vasiliko, please wait for a while, His Majesty the Emperor is receiving the Crusaders lords."

The servant in a purple blouse with exquisite silver ornaments on his chest said respectfully to Vasilico in chain mail. Behind him, the somewhat old mahogany gate was closed tightly.

The servant was well aware of the important position of the man in front of the imperial army. Even if the emperor was clearly alienating the Rus people, a man like him would not dare to show any disrespect to Vasiliko.

Vasiliko just waved his hand to signal the person to leave, then continued to look at the empire-style decoration in the corridor boredly, and continued to regret why he didn't bring a book to pass the time.

They are now in the Sultan's Palace in Konya, but since this place has only been the capital of the Roma Sultanate for a few years, the entire palace is actually still in the imperial style.

And to pass the time, Vasilko recalled what had happened in the past few months. Now that he thinks about it, this is really a drastic change.

After the devastating victory over the Turks outside Konya, the city quickly surrendered to the Crusaders. Most of the local Turks were destroyed on the day when the Sultan of Roma was destroyed by the Crusaders. They also fled together, and the remaining locals surrendered straightforwardly after a brief discussion.

Since it was a direct surrender, subject to the oath to the imperial monarch, and the Crusaders did not suffer much, Konya did not encounter the usual looting and killing.

But some people are very dissatisfied, that is in Konya, no, it should be said that Ikonian - the Crusaders restored the Greek name here - the civilian Crusaders who have fought bloody battles for so long, they are still full of resentment .

However, the crusader lords also considered their interests. The current civilian crusaders have become an important force in the jihad at the cost of reducing their staff by four-fifths, so they took two-thirds of the wealth of the Konyarom court It was all given to them, which appeased these crusaders who had gone through hard battles.

Now Peter is the only lord of the Civilian Crusade, and this team has also been sublimated in the bloody battle during that time, especially the 1 people who persisted until the arrival of reinforcements. Become a real warrior.

Peter also has the Sentence Army in his hands. Due to the elimination of the Turks, this team is actually only middle-aged men and women. They will only join Peter's team, because only this place is familiar to them.

The civilian crusaders have become a considerable force. Vasilico built an effective military system for the civilian crusaders in the long bloody battle. Now this military system automatically supports Peter as their leader.

Coupled with Peter's reputation among the people and ordinary soldiers, the hermit's prestige among the Crusaders now far exceeds that of the Pope's special envoy, Bishop Admalik.

The result of Vasilko's own fighting needs was unexpected, but it was also expected. After such a bloody battle, no matter how loose the team was, it became an elite in all battles.

After the Crusaders took Iconian, the surrounding cities could be said to have surrendered. The local Greeks and Hellenized residents welcomed the arrival of the Crusaders very much, while the Turks continued to flee to the east to find their sultan.

When the army of Emperor Alexios arrived, this wave of surrender became even more frenzied. Emperor Alexios has now recovered the entire southwestern region of Asia Minor. Mentioned enemies, the emperor regained the land, welcomed by the locals.

At the same time, the emperor brought a large amount of supplies and gifts to the Crusaders. With these supplies, the relationship between the Empire and the Crusaders became closer. The Crusaders lords were all satisfied with the results in front of them. The future of jihad is full of hope.

Now the emperor and the Crusaders decided to repair the city of Ikonian for a period of time. There are now 12 people crowded outside the city of Ikonian. resources on the land.

If it weren't for the emperor's constant flow of resources from all over the world, plus the huge herds of livestock they seized after the victory, there would have been a major famine here.

The Crusaders were mainly to save supplies for the next expedition. The previous trip to the interior of Anatolia let many people know the horror of this land. They all wanted to save as much resources as possible to reach Cilicia smoothly. Once there, they can immediately enter the Syrian region.

Alexios is here for repairing, commanding the recovery and consolidation of the nearby empire land here, and waiting for more reinforcements to arrive. Alexios plans to follow the Crusades to march south.

And with so many people crowded in this city, which is not big compared to that huge army, there are more shits every day. If nothing else, the crusader lords began to fight for power. The commanders of the Crusaders disputed.

Thinking of this, Vasilko rubbed his eyes subconsciously, thinking of those crusader lords who had a relationship with him and the bribes they implied, he couldn't help laughing.

The least thing Econion has now is bribery and conspiracy. The crusader lords are constantly chattering about who is dominant in their war council, and the emperor has become the key target. The lords have all been loyal to the emperor. The emperor The right to speak is very important in the Crusades.

It's just that Alexios was very smart when dealing with this topic and would only be ambiguous, so that he could easily mobilize the crusader's bargaining chips, so he wouldn't fight it out immediately.

As for Vasilko, he was an important figure in the victory of Konya, holding a powerful Varangian guard in his hands, not to mention that the Russ also had a great influence on the monk who held 2 people.

Peter did not participate in these matters. Most of the time he walked among the soldiers, listening to what they were thinking, and thinking about how to make improvements. In the end, the rest of the time would be spent in prayer.

The bloody battle in Konya changed Peter. Compared with the preacher in the past, people now call him "War Brother". Vasilko felt that if the Crusaders successfully captured Jerusalem, Peter would definitely become the patron saint of the Crusaders in the future. .

Just as Vasilko continued to think wildly, the somewhat old mahogany door finally opened, and the crusader lords came out, and Vasilko noticed the expressions of these people.

Walking in the front is Redmond, Count of Toulouse. This lord exudes the majesty of a high-ranking person, as well as his own strong self-esteem. The most powerful lord in France is already very old, and his hair and beard are already in the middle of the road. It turned white under time, but he still embarked on a crusade.

A little behind him is Prince Bohemond of Taranto. Seeing the son of this fox, Vasilico, feels uncomfortable. Bohemond is tall and well-proportioned, but his vicious nature cannot be deceived. Someone like Vasilko who has fought against him.

The few eye contact between Raymond and Bohemond was full of mutual hostility. Vasilico knew that these two people were the two who fought the most for leadership in the Crusaders, and they didn't like each other. .

After them is Godfrey of Bouillon. This crusader lord gives Vasiliko a very different feeling. He has light golden hair and beard, and the shoulders, arms and thighs of his tall body have strong shoulders and thighs that appear from time to time under the blouse. Muscular, and this person is full of righteousness, no matter his face or temperament.

Standing there, Godfrey looked rather radiant. He looked like a standard crusader. At first glance, one could feel that he possessed all the virtues of a crusader.

Then came Robert, the Earl of Flanders, and Robert the Shortsock. There was nothing special about these two people. Robert was a typical Latin knight. Robert, the Duke of Normandy, was a little short in stature. Nicknames such as short socks were invented.

The two nobles talked very closely, their territories and relations were very close, and the two were very close friends.

The last person walking was the former Pecheneg general Edgar Wessex. He had a face similar to his father's. Seeing this man Vasilko was very kind, and that face was quite touching. Familiar with people, finally met relatives, this person is much better than his brother-in-law who still has a lot to learn.

It is not surprising that Edgar distanced himself from the Duke of Normandy, and as an Anglo-Saxon king expelled from his kingdom, he had to distance himself from the descendants of his conquerors—but what most people do not know is that Edgar Degas actually had a good relationship with Robert when he was a hostage in Normandy.

Huge, the Count of Vimandois, is not here. Unfortunately, he was seriously injured in the battle of Konya, and he can only recuperate in this city for a long time.

This actually made everyone breathe a sigh of relief. The French prince is arrogant and arrogant. The key point is that he doesn't know it. He jumps up and down all day long and makes everyone numb.

It's good to be seriously injured now, and not being out of bed for a year means he won't be annoying for the next year.

There must be more than these lords in the Crusaders, but these are the most prestigious and powerful group. There should be Peter among them, but the war monks are extremely indifferent to the affairs of secular lords. So it didn't come.

The crusader lords also saw Vasilico, and they all insisted on Vasilico, and the Ross people also bowed their heads in return, and then they walked over, and then, Vasilico could finally see Emperor Alexios.

Alexios is still as majestic as ever. He sits in front of the table with a lot of documents piled up on it. The complicated and gorgeous clothes like knots make the emperor even more majestic, but the emperor's hair has a lot more inside. White hair, but it made him more majestic.

"Where's your brother-in-law? What's that young man doing?"

The emperor first said, with a rare relaxed expression on his face, Vasilko is his own man, although he is the son of Rostislav, but he also proved his loyalty in a series of fierce battles, this city is in The friendship that comes out on the battlefield is very affected by other things.

"Your Majesty, he is still rectifying the recruits. Those new boys obviously need some education."

Alexios had brought a thousand recruits to the Varangian guard, and these men had yet to be drilled.

When talking to the emperor, Vasilko's expression relaxed a little, but he didn't dare in his heart at all. Could it be that Alexios was getting more and more sophisticated, or that he was becoming more and more like a political machine?Anyway, Vasiliko, who has always been keen, will not relax in Alexius. God knows if the emperor is playing tricks.

"Vasilico, I know what you want, but it's a pity that I can't give you what you want and you can't go back to Constantinople to study." The emperor then changed the subject, rubbing the fingers of his left hand on the table , "You have to continue to follow the Crusaders, represent my interests in the east, and keep an eye on those Crusaders for me."

"What happened? Bourdin or Pauline?"

Vasiliko didn't hesitate, and asked directly. Alexios didn't express any disgust, and replied directly, "It's your relatives, that Monomakh, who invaded Pavragoni from Trabzon. Ya, I must deal with him immediately."

"Him? Is this really surprising?" Vasiliko didn't expect it to be because of this exiled Rurik. This is really unexpected, but he also thought of the reason, "It's for the sake of geography, if the empire recovers too quickly , it is too bad for that 'Emperor'."

Monomakh has already called himself emperor, not Caesar, but Baselius, and he also called himself "king of kings" and "king of East and West". From these titles, we can see his ambition. After pacifying the country, his ambitions rose. This person really wanted to be another Alexander.

The expression on Alexios' face remained the same, but he echoed in his mouth, but there was some disgust in his heart. This Rurik always guessed the situation from a few words before he said something. As a subordinate of the monarch, this ability It was very dangerous to show it... That's why he always sent Vasiliko to various battles instead of hanging around Constantinople.

But Vasilko's status was special, and it didn't matter to him. After all, he was the son of Rostislav, and he obeyed his father after all.

So the Varangian Guard needs to be limited. Now the Varangian Guard is [-]. In Alexius' view, this team has to be reduced to [-] to be considered controllable.

The Varangian Guards will have no manpower support in the future. He has already canceled the mercenary agreement with Rostislav. When the goal is achieved, with Vasiliko's cleverness, he will leave consciously, and the empire can Get back this mercenary smoothly.

After that, the emperor and the captain briefly talked about some work and settled some details, and then they went to carry out their respective affairs, but in their hearts, these two old foxes were hiding things from each other...

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