John Comneno, the prince of the Byzantine Empire, accompanied by Yue Zhuoqun, hurriedly walked towards the main hall of the palace.
The two of them were studying Yue Zhuoqun's notes when the imperial aide hurried over and said that His Majesty Emperor Alexei I had summoned them urgently.
"What happened? The Christian scoundrels and thugs from the west are going to land in Greece again, and then pass through us and go to Asia?" John Komnenos asked curiously.
Before Yue Zhuoqun could answer, he denied it himself.
"They established a foothold on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, Antioch and Tripoli. They transferred from France, Germany, and Italy to Sicily, and then boarded the ship from the ports of Palermo and Messina, passing through Malta and Crete.
Special Island, you can transfer directly to these east coast ports. There is no need to go around our Byzantium. Unless..."
John turned to Yue Zhuoqun and said angrily: "Unless they want to come to Byzantium to plunder again."
"His Majesty the Emperor will never allow such a thing to happen again." Yue Zhuoqun replied.
"Since there is nothing going on in the west, what else could have happened?" John murmured to himself.
Yue Zhuoqun couldn't help but feel excited. He vaguely felt that his long-awaited hope might be about to come true - the Song people were coming from the east.
But the two countries were too far apart, and so much time had passed, and there had been no movement in the east. At this time, he did not dare to show excitement or surprise.
What if the news is not unexpected?
Arriving at the main hall, John Comnenus discovered that his father had made a rare gaffe.
He did not sit in his seat as usual, but walked up and down the hall. Several ministers and generals stood respectfully aside, their eyes following his figure constantly.
Seeing his eldest son and his closest companions arriving, Alexios I took a step forward. Because the steps were too big and too fast, it seemed like he was rushing forward.
"John Aksuhe," Alexei I walked past John Komnenos and found Yue Zhuoqun. "Look, look quickly, is it the Song Dynasty you mentioned is coming?"
After Alexios I finished speaking, he motioned to a general to hand over a stack of information.
"This is the intelligence we have just received. This army is moving too fast. Our spies who collected intelligence can only follow behind them when passing back the news."
Yue Zhuoqun listened to His Majesty the Emperor's rumblings in surprise and joy while receiving the information. After a glance, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Your Majesty, yes, this should be the cavalry of the Song people. Their main flag is red, and the flags on the lower branches are white and black. They are edged with red and depict tigers, wolves, and birds. They like to wear red outerwear.
Robe. Their wars are always so... unexpected."
John Comnenus, who didn't know what was going on, quickly took the information from Yue Zhuoqun and read it carefully.
God, this cavalry turned Persia upside down and captured the Seljuk capital of Persia, Insfahan, in just a few days.
It's amazing.
Then they drove all the way and miraculously defeated the 80,000 cavalry of Seljuk Sultan Muhammad I on the banks of the Tigris River.
It’s incredible. John Komneno knew the Seljuk people’s fighting power. Although they were no longer at their peak, they were still good at fighting and very difficult to deal with. Byzantium could take a breather in these years mainly because they were busy with civil strife and had been fighting.
Fighting in the nest.
Now I see the Song people's cavalry, just like driving cattle and sheep, chopping melons and vegetables, defeating the Seljuks. It seems that these powerful pagan cavalry are like a handful of floating dust in front of the Song people, and they disappear into thin air after blowing a breath.
Then I saw that the army of the Mosul Sultanate was beaten to a pulp. The city of Mosul, which was once the advanced base camp for the Seljuks occupying Asia Minor, was easily broken by the Song cavalry just like Zhihu.
The army of the County of Edessa, who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, was beaten to pieces, which did not surprise John Comnenus. These damn Christian heretics have nothing but poverty, greed and fanaticism. The so-called combat effectiveness,
It all depends on the endless stream of poor people who have been brainwashed and fooled into gambling with their lives.
As for the Temple and the Knights Hospitaller, they are nothing more than some nobles who have settled down or are not the eldest son of the knights. They sound high and mighty, but that is because their ability to brag and show off exceeds their combat capabilities by dozens of times.
Finally, I saw that the Song cavalry seemed to have effortlessly defeated the coalition forces of the Sultanate of Roma and the Sultanate of Cappadocia in one fell swoop. John Komneno was already numb.
As the two Turkic sultanates closest to Byzantium, the empire had fought against them countless times, with each having its own victories and defeats. It also knew their combat effectiveness and tenacity. However, intelligence showed that they were like a group of immature people in front of the Song people.
The child was defeated in an instant.
"They come from the east, dressed in red and carrying red flags, like fire in the wilderness, boundless. Do not block their way, for everything will be burned to ashes."
John Comnenus softly recited this song, which has been sung in Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Persia and the east coast of the Mediterranean, his face kept changing.
"My Vice-Emperor, what do you hear from this song?" Alexios I called his son's official title - Vice-Emperor, or perhaps Co-Ruling Emperor.
"Fear, fear of death." John Comnenus said without hesitation.
"That's right. These Song people captured Yinsfahan, Mosul, Edessa, Sisi, Diyarbakir, Konya, and Cappadocia, and then destroyed these famous cities in history.
They burned the fire to ashes. They defeated one enemy after another, and then cut off the heads of thousands of enemies who dared to resist and piled them into hills on the roadside."
Alexei I recounted the achievements of the Song Dynasty's Western Expeditionary Army with a complicated expression.
John Comnenus's face turned pale. He covered his chest and his body was swaying gently, as if he would collapse in the next moment.
It's terrible, these people's methods are so cruel and ruthless!
John Comnenus groaned in his heart. He looked at Yue Zhuoqun and asked unhappily: "John, you have been talking about how elegant the Song people are. Thousands of years of history and civilization have made them the most elegant people in the world.
An elegant country and people. They sang poems and songs, and created countless works of art that made God pay attention. But... what my father said, is this their elegance?"
Yue Zhuoqun didn't find it strange at all, but he didn't know how to explain it for a while. He opened his mouth, but he hadn't thought of the words to respond yet.
