Chapter 353 - 252: Cheap Silver Coin

"I like that fellow," Belem said with a laugh. He looked at Eric, then gestured toward Brinyos. "Not only does he know how to pay a compliment, he knows how to display his intelligence tactfully."

Eric shrugged, then mounted his horse. He looked at Brinyos and said, "Before tonight, send over everything we’re owed. Don’t try to set any conditions, because we deserve even more than that. Don’t test our limits."

Brinyos said nothing, merely offering a slight bow in response.

Only after Eric and his men had turned and walked some distance away did Brinyos straighten up, crossing his arms and gazing down the street after them.

Just then, Tatikios walked up to Brinyos’s side and said worriedly, "Do you think our provocations went a little too far?"

"No, it was well worth it. We’ve confirmed that this band of Normans from England harbors no enmity toward the Empire."

"That Norman they call Eric must be the one from the rumors—Giscard’s illegitimate son, Eric Outville, the Earl of Gloucester from England, a favorite of the new King of England. He’s remarkably perceptive. He has a deep understanding of the situation with the Greeks, and indeed the Empire as a whole. His eloquence is intimidating.

I’d wager the mobs in Constantinople would love him. He’s a menace," Tatikios said.

"Yes, I agree. He could potentially cause us more trouble than Bohemond." Brinyos stroked his chin. "However, he doesn’t have Bohemond’s desperate hunger for land. After all, his King is quite generous—something that can’t be said for the stingy Giscard. Therefore, this Earl of Gloucester has no reason to come all this way just to encroach upon the Empire’s territory.

Besides, I hear he married that Marchioness from Northern Italy, and her fiefdom, Tuscany, is exceptionally wealthy.

Furthermore, if he had designs on the Empire, he would be doing everything in his power to provoke conflict between his King and our Empire. But he hasn’t. His words just now may have been pointed, but they were still restrained.

What he wants from the Empire is most likely just wealth. If it’s only a matter of money, then we should just give him what he wants."

"Let’s hope so," Tatikios sighed.

"What are you just standing there for? Go get the grain shipments moving."

"That’s not it. The Armenian soldier from earlier wants you to settle his medical expenses as soon as possible. He says because his face was injured, it will affect his marriage prospects, so he hopes you’ll also cover the costs for his future of growing old alone."

"A ’growing old alone’ fee? Tell him he should be paying *me* for having to listen to that joke!"

...

Eric returned to the camp and went to Robert’s tent to tell him what had just happened.

Robert was lying on a cot, a serving girl beside him, comforting him.

Eric knocked on the Shield by the entrance to the tent, POUND POUND, startling both Robert and the serving girl on the cot. Robert shot upright, then let out a sigh of relief when he saw it was Eric.

"Eric, you startled me."

"Who were you expecting?" Eric asked with a smile.

"Haha, I didn’t say a thing. I was just remarking that this isn’t England." Robert laughed and shrugged, draping a wool blanket over the serving girl’s naked body. Then he got off the cot and pulled on his trousers.

The dark circles under his eyes were prominent, and he had lost a considerable amount of weight from a recent bout of illness called quartan malaria.

It was a milder form of malaria, not as terrifying as other strains, but still enough to make a man miserable. It was characterized by a flare-up every three days, bringing high fever, muscle aches, and in severe cases, vomiting and diarrhea.

Now, however, Robert was doing much better. The color had returned to his cheeks, and his eyes once again shone with their former light.

Though it was uncertain whether he would relapse again in three days.

"What happened? There was a huge commotion outside just now," Robert asked.

"A mob of Greeks attacked our men, but we’ve already taught them a lesson." Belem, who had just walked in as well, answered for Eric.

"The Emperor’s envoys have also arrived. They will provide us with the proper courtesies for the next few days," Eric said.

"Eric forced them to take responsibility for our suffering these past two weeks. Once we get to Constantinople, we’re going to squeeze them for all they’re worth. They have to pay us more than two hundred thousand Gold Coins—no, at least three hundred thousand!" Belem said excitedly.

Eric ignored him, pulling a map from his tunic. He pointed to Cyprus Island and said, "Besides money, perhaps we can ask for something else. Like Cyprus. We’re the only Crusader army with its own fleet. Our ships can sail directly to Cyprus without having to pass through Constantinople.

We can use Cyprus as our base, coordinating with the Crusaders to the north and forcing the Seljuk Turks to fight on two fronts."

Eric had repeated this plan for the Holy War to Belem and Robert many times on their journey, and now he repeated it once more.

Eric continued, "Most of the towns and villages in Anatolia have been destroyed by the Turkic People. For seven years, they have been trying to turn all of Anatolia into their personal pastureland; farmland, cities, and even people are worthless to them.

If we go to Constantinople, cross the Bosphorus Strait into Anatolia, and march deep into the interior, we will have almost no stable source of food—neither through plunder nor by purchasing grain from the local Christians.