"Asshole! How dare that Dalmatian governor do such a thing!"
In the emperor's camp, such an angry roar was heard, causing the nearby soldiers to be stunned. Then they quickly lowered their heads and hurriedly left, away from the emperor's anger.
The imperial army camp was now filled with joy because they finally defeated the Cumans.
It is now May 1092. In the past nearly a year of fighting, Alexios has gradually restricted the scope of activities of the Cumans through troop mobilization and small-scale battles, forcing them to the north, and finally they also obtained
Successfully, the Cumans were finally driven out of the vast Thracian plain.
But this does not mean that the war is over, because shortly after the Cumans were expelled, they did not know where they got a fake who claimed to be Constantine, the son of Romanus IV.
Constantine had died in the battle long ago, and the Cumans came to the imperial capital in his name.
This pseudo-emperor once caused a lot of trouble to Alexios. There were always some people who believed those lies and went to seek refuge with this pseudo-emperor, either out of obsession or out of speculation.
But soon Alexios found a way to deal with this guy once and for all. This pseudo-emperor seemed to be pretending to be an emperor and pretending to think that he was the real emperor, so Alexios used his trick. He found Constantine and now he is still there.
An acquaintance who served in the imperial army played a trick to lure the enemy deeper.
As expected, the false emperor fell into the trap. While his head was chopped off, Alexios' army also defeated the Cuman army that came to support him.
Although this defeat was not very fatal to the Cumans, they still had great strength, but after Alexios used the solar eclipse to play "Wrath of the Empire", the superstitious Cumans
People collapsed.
Alexios's operation was very simple. His scholars had noticed the signs of the solar eclipse very early. When calculating that the solar eclipse was about to begin, the emperor sent a group of dead soldiers as envoys to the Cumans' camp.
camp.
These dead warriors have only one mission, which is to stab the Cuman chiefs to death when the solar eclipse occurs. While they are doing this, the spies in the Cuman camp will spread messages such as "The chief is dead!", "God is dead!"
Side with the Greeks!" and "We're screwed."
The operation was very successful. Just as the Cumans stared blankly at the sky turning into darkness, the dead soldiers stabbed the unsuspecting chiefs to death, although they were then killed by the chiefs' guards.
But their goal has been achieved.
As rumors spread, the Cumans really thought that the gods were on the side of the Greeks, so they ran away without looking back. The Cuman cluster, which totaled more than 200,000 people, collapsed.
They fled north like crazy and crossed the Danube back to Wallachia. On the way, they encountered an attack from the Pecheneg general Edgar. Edgar's men who had been suppressed by the Cumans
It can be said that the Pechenegs are seeking revenge this time.
After the battle, Edgar was able to recruit more than 10,000 Cumans as his subordinates.
It can be said that the Empire won a resounding victory against the Cumans, and the threat from the north was finally resolved. Next, it only needed to deal with the Paulist rebels, and the situation stabilized.
But it was also at this time that Alexios received news about the invasion of Dalmatia by the Governor of Dalmatia, or Archduke Duriac of Zeta (can be understood as the King of Serbia).
Although the Principality of Zeta has always been a vassal of the empire, and its ruler was awarded the title of Governor of Dalmatia by the empire, this vassal has never been peaceful. The Serbs have challenged the empire's dominance several times.
Even if I get defeated every time, I still enjoy it.
Bertin's invasion can be said to have added a lot of firewood to the imperial situation that was finally stabilizing, making the fire of chaos burn even more vigorously. He directly formed an alliance with the Paulists, and now the Serbs have appeared in
Thessaloniki has descended.
General Duracion once stopped Bertin's invasion. There was the last field army of the Western Empire there. This army was mainly used to defend against the Normans, but it could also defend against the Serbs, but in the end it was completely annihilated.
.
The destruction of Durachion's army had a very bad impact. Bertin's army frantically attacked cities and territories in Macedonia. Many towns could be said to have surrendered. Taking advantage of the cooperation of the Paulists, this land was quickly occupied by his army.
Occupied.
Bourdin had achieved something that his ancestors had never achieved, and now as long as he captured Thessaloniki, his career would be perfect.
His ambitions continued to expand as a result. Originally, his original plan was just to seize some border fortresses, but now the hinterland of the Roman Empire spread out in front of him. This was a scene that his ancestors had never even dared to imagine.
.
Now he wants to make Thessaloniki his new capital. If he cannot take Constantinople at once - maybe taking Thessaloniki has exceeded his best expectations - then
He used this as a center to strengthen his control over nearby areas, first digesting the land he already controlled, and taking control of the Greek Peninsula.
Bertin has spent all his resources on this, and also borrowed an army from the King of Croatia, bringing his total number of troops to 20,000. Plus the tens of thousands sent by Paul, it is really possible for him to
implement your own strategy.
This is why Alexios is so disgusted and angry. He knows Bodin. As a troublesome figure on the border of the empire, Alexios can easily tell what he is thinking from his actions.
If Bertin is really allowed to capture Thessaloniki, given the political significance and strategic value of that city, he might really be able to control half of the empire at once. Then this war will obviously not be resolved in one or two years.
Understand.
"Let the troops take action tomorrow. We must get to Thessaloniki as soon as possible and send a message to Vasiliko, asking him to defend the city."
There is no doubt that Alexios has grasped the key to the problem. As long as Thessaloniki is still in the hands of the empire, the problem can be controlled. If Thessaloniki falls, the situation will definitely become serious.
Already.
"Yes, but Your Majesty, many troops are still scattered in various places. If these troops in our hands rush over..."
Facing the order, the emperor's generals hesitated. They currently only had about 10,000 troops. They were really short of troops to challenge Bertin's 20,000 troops and the Pauline army.
"Then let the armies assemble on the road to Thessaloniki. Besides, there are no mercenaries in Constantinople yet? Have the Russians sent a new batch of soldiers?"
Alexios also realized that he had not thought carefully before, so he said remedially. Finally, he asked about the mercenaries. He thought that after the Cumans were defeated, the empire's need for soldiers would be less tense.
The result is still fatal.
"No, Grand Duke Ross said that the next batch of soldiers will not arrive until three months later. As for the scattered mercenaries, we have already bought them." The generals shook their heads, saying that they really didn't have any.
"When it comes time to use it, there will always be too little... I have to find a source of new mercenaries. Relying solely on the Russians is too restrictive." Alexios was thinking about something while sitting in the tent.
Walking around, his generals kept looking at the emperor, "Prepare paper and pen. I want to give a letter to the Pope in Rome, asking him to recruit some mercenaries in the Western Empire. I want to sign an agreement with the Pope."
A contract, just like the one between Rostislav and I, everything about money is easy to discuss, the key is that the person must arrive."
The emperor immediately began to work and wrote a letter to the Pope, hoping to obtain another source of mercenaries. Alexius did not expect what kind of ripples his simple request for mercenaries would cause in the future.
What a huge impact it had on the situation in the empire and the entire East.