Alexios was a little desperate because of this. He didn't want to be a usurper who could only leave a name in the history of the empire. He wanted to establish meritorious services, become an emperor, and create a glory that only belonged to him.
As early as when he was growing up in his hometown of Paphlagonia, he had made such expectations for his future. This supported him to keep moving forward, from an ordinary nobleman to a famous man in the empire.
The famous general was then carried on a shield and became the emperor, trying to attack the throne of Constantinople.
But all he can do now is wait, wait for the completion of those siege equipment, and then start the attack on Constantinople. He has this only option now.
But this is very fatal to him. As time goes by, his army becomes more and more restless. Although it is not obvious now, it will be obvious long ago.
Although his relatives and friends continued to give him encouragement, these encouragements could not change the overall situation. He was still at a loss under the city of Constantinople. It was said that the Dukas family was in close contact with their friends in the city, but they did not know
When will there be a response?
"Alexios! Alexios!"
A familiar voice called his name urgently, bringing Alexios's mind back to the present, and then a familiar figure broke in. It was none other than Alexios's brother, Isaac Komu.
rather.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing the panic expression on Isaac's face, Alexios stood up subconsciously. Could it be that Nikephoros' supporters had arrived? Impossible. In this situation, could the emperor still have supporters?
"You'd better come over and take a look. You won't believe it if I tell you now."
Isaac's words made Alexios even more uneasy. He went out, mounted his horse with the help of his attendants, and rode through the camp with his brother Isaac.
Alexios's camp was laid out strictly in accordance with Emperor Leo's "Tactics", whether it was the tents in the camp or the wooden walls and trenches, which showed the quality brought about by his strict upbringing as a military aristocrat.
The soldiers waved to the young emperor, and some bowed respectfully. Alexios was also a general who had enjoyed many victories and had high prestige among the soldiers.
This made the emperor feel relaxed. As a classic monarch who was carried on a shield (proclaimed emperor by soldiers), the state of the soldiers was the most important to him. Now, no matter what happened, the soldiers
Their morale was not greatly affected, which made him very happy.
"Isaac, what is going on?"
Before riding out of the military camp, Alexios asked eagerly that his brother would not call him out just for fun, but why?
Alexios's guards were moving forward with their monarch, and the horses' hooves fell heavily on the ground. The heavy sound brought by this made Alexios feel at ease countless times during his campaign years, but now he doesn't know why.
He was in a state of confusion.
"Look, it's down there."
Isaac did not speak, but just led them forward. The Sea of Marmara soon appeared in their eyes, and the member of the Komnenos family climbed to a high ground, looked down and said.
Alexios heard a noisy sound at this moment, as if countless voices were shouting, and trumpets sounded one after another, which gave him a bad feeling.
The young emperor looked as his brother said, and then saw a scene that shocked him. He had seen this beach before, it was just an ordinary beach, so common that Alexios couldn't help but
You can buy the same scenes in your mind just by thinking.
But now, the sea is filled with hundreds of warships, the masts are densely packed like a forest, and there are ships on the coast dropping off soldiers and supplies.
The landing of this army did not look good, because soldiers and ships were all scattered on the beach in a mess. There were officers looking for soldiers and soldiers looking for officers everywhere. There were also sailors on some ships throwing supplies directly on the beach.
They landed on the beach and then left on their own to make room for the next ship to dock. The whole scene looked very chaotic.
There are still capsized ships in some places on the beach, and some cargo is floating on the sea. The landing soldiers are busy dragging these ships ashore. They seem to have other arrangements for these ships.
Although it looks messy, many soldiers have already completed their assembly. They are arranged in neat formations, making gestures to welcome the battle, and the number of such troops is not small.
The ubiquitous Rurik trident undoubtedly illustrates their identity, and next to the trident flag there are two flags, one is the Virgin and the other is St. George slaying the dragon.
"Rostislav...how is it possible? How could he come here in person and bring a large army with him!"
Alexios's tone was full of disbelief. He couldn't imagine what he was seeing, and Isaac sighed and said, "This is why I let you come to see it. If I just said it, you are
I definitely won’t believe it.”
Alexios could not believe that the reason for Rostislav's arrival was simple. Although he had already known about Rostislav's intention to send troops, he always thought that it would be half a year or even a year later. The barbarian expedition was necessary.
It took a long time, but only three months have passed, and Rostislav’s army has actually arrived here!
And the most important thing is, looking at the size of the ship and the scene of the landing on the beach, it is definitely not just a few thousand people, there are at least tens of thousands of people!
Alexios thought of many things at once, most of them tended to be pessimistic. This is also normal. Anyone who suddenly sees such an army coming will be very uneasy. For Alexios
That's especially true.
Subconsciously, he thought that the Russians were here to plunder Constantinople, just like they had done before. Then he thought that these people were invited by Nikephorus. Once the brainstorming started, the development would be complicated.
Hard to contain.
But as a battle-tested general, he quickly calmed down and observed the situation on the beach. He noticed that the Russians had actually noticed their existence for a long time, but what about these seafarers from afar?
None were done.
Nomadic cavalry have appeared nearby. Alexios has seen how they are dressed. The Pechenegs on the northern border are dressed like this, but Alexios knows that they are the Polovets, the current overlords of the grasslands.
, but now these people are divided, and it is normal for some people to be loyal to the Russian monarch.
"They didn't do anything when they discovered our scouts before. It was like..."
"It's like waiting for us to come."
Alexios filled in half of what his brother said. The emperor came back to his senses. The behavior of the Russians was very interesting. If they came here for plunder or were hired by Nikephoros, then they would definitely not
With such a posture, they should directly clear out all the scouts who discovered them, instead of letting the Greeks just watch with arrogance.
"I'm going to meet the leaders of the army below, have a good talk with them, and understand their intentions. No matter what, this is something that must be clarified."
Alexios made a decision. He was going to meet directly with the leaders of the army below and ask them face to face what their purpose was.
"But Alexios, isn't this a bit dangerous?"
Isaac was stunned for a moment when he heard his younger brother's decision, and then said, while Alexius's answer was simple and his tone was monotonous.
"We only have this choice. If the Russians become enemies of us, then our career will be over. At that time, we may be able to flee abroad, but is that meaningful? Is that why we rebel? So we still fight with the Russians.
Let’s talk.”
Hearing what Alexios said, Isaac naturally couldn't say anything to refuse, and then the Greek team headed south to the landing site.