Roger returned to the camp and immediately called Linardi.

"What's going on with this Thessalonika? I've got him to provoke him? The people I sent were with money, not rob him. The people who killed me did not count, but also insulted the corpse! Do they have any new and old hatreds with us? Linardi, answer me!"

Linardi seemed to be shocked by Roger's continuous guns and lost direction.

Roger saw his mouth open and close, and he seemed to have no idea which question to answer, but he seemed to have no idea where to start.

Roger took a glass of wine and poured it down, trying to calm his emotions.

He repeatedly warned himself not to cause trouble because of anger, and not to cause trouble because of anger.

After a while, Roger finally felt that he could think calmly.

He forced himself and asked in a more gentle tone:

"Rinardi, tell me about Thessalonika."

Linardi seemed to have finally straightened out his mind, he said:

"Thessalonika was originally established 1,400 years ago. It was built by Alexander, the king of Macedonia."

Roger interrupted and asked, "Is it that awesome gay guy?"

Linardi was stunned and didn't know how to answer. Obviously he didn't understand Roger's words.

Roger waved his hand and let him continue.

"Thessalonika is located on the Imperial Avenue of Egnatia, connecting Constantinople and Duras," said Rinaldi.

“It also has a wide port, Port Bro, built by the ancient Romans.

"Its trade was very prosperous and it has been an important trading city since ancient Roman times."

Roger asked impatiently: “So does Thessalonika have any hatred with us Normans?

"Has my cousin Boschmond, or my uncle Robert ever raided them?"

Linardi replied with certainty: "I passed by during the Eastern Expedition, but the prince strictly ordered that robbery be prohibited, and at that time they also sold our supplies fairly."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, the old duke and prince conquered Eastern Rome as far as the farthest, and they had never conquered Thessalonika. We Normans had no feud with them."

Roger calmed down and recalled the insult he suffered under the city of Thessalonika.

He suddenly realized that he had overlooked a detail:

The guard once shouted the phrase "The Sarasenian lackey."

Roger asked: "Did the Thessalonika and the Sarasenites have a holiday?"

Rinaldi spread her arms and said:

"Yes, this hatred is so great that it can't even fit the Bay of Thessalonika."

Roger felt that his direction was right and he was close to the truth.

He asked Rinaldi to continue.

"About 200 years ago, the Saracens, based on Crete, seized the city.

"They robbed ten days later and left with 22,000 slaves, mostly young men, and many trophys.

"Now, almost every household in the city has ancestors who have been insulted and robbed by.

"Some families still have the Saracen bloodline in their bodies, but they are unwilling to admit it."

Roger closed his eyes, and his mind was like a puzzle, connecting the clues.

The other party said, "The living Sicilians are not welcome" and killed the people he sent.

Obviously, the person I sent should have inadvertently revealed the identity of the Sicilian.

What the other party said was "the lackey of the Sarasen people."

This sentence should be directed at the only Sicily in the Christian world that is still openly engaged in trade with the Saracens.

But if the 200-year feud between the Thessalonians and the Saracens was imposed on the Sicilians, it would be too far-fetched if the Sicilians were just because the Sicilians and the Saracens were still doing business.

He thought that this was just a cause at most, and it was definitely not the main reason.

Roger thought of the geographical location of Thessalonika again - the port city by the Mediterranean Sea.

He thought of this city mainly trade.

He thought, so, the most fundamental thing should be interests.

Sicily's monopoly trade has made many enemies for itself while making huge profits.

Thessalonika may not directly do business with the Saracenites it hates, but it must have close contacts with other trading city-states on the Mediterranean such as Venice and Genoa.

Influenced by those city-states and hatred for the Saracens, Thessalonika became hated by Sicily.

Roger understands it.

He thought, it seems that an anti-Sicily alliance was gradually taking shape along the Mediterranean coast.

Roger opened his eyes and thought that this was a major issue concerning Sicily's future.

But he knew that now was not the right time to solve this problem.

At present, he must take the throne of Jerusalem as his main task.

If you encounter some small problems that can be solved easily on the road, it doesn’t matter if you do it casually.

However, such a big problem that cannot be dealt with in a short while must be put aside first.

Roger thought, so the conflict with the Thessalonika cannot be intensified now and should be dealt with in a cold manner.

He silently recited "The Art of War" in his heart: The Lord should not provoke troops because of anger, and the general should not cause anger to fight.

Roger recited it silently three times.

Then he sighed, thinking, he could only swallow this loss now.

But he said in his heart: It will be no longer ten years for a gentleman to take revenge.

He thought, one day, Thessalonika, I want you to know the power of the Normans in Sicily.

Roger, who had figured it out, no longer hesitated, and he ordered the camp to set off.

So the troops bypassed Thessalonika and continued eastward along the Roman Avenue toward the Castle of Adrian.

After a few days of rapid march on the Thrace Plain, a rushing river crisscrossed before Roger.

The river water is very turbid and looks black.

The river surface is very wide, and Roger is looking at nearly 250 meters.

Roger knew that this was the Maricha River.

He saw a typical Roman stone bridge crossing the river surface, and ten piers were like comb teeth, pulling strings of gray-white foam on the black river surface.

The Roman stone brick road at Roger's feet leads to this stone bridge with a flat surface.

This side of the bridge is flat fields, and the green spring wheat is growing well.

The ground has no ups and downs, only a dozen centimeters higher than the river.

The other side of the bridge is like a narrow delta and a low land.

The Roman Avenue extends from the other end of the bridge, passes about 300 meters, and then connects to another stone bridge.

Roger saw that the bridge was slightly shorter, with seven piers, crossing the river surface about 120 meters wide.

The traces of artificial widening can be seen on that section of the river, which is obviously much wider than the river surface about 50 meters on both sides.

The turbulent river water entered the spacious area from the narrow channel and immediately became well-behaved.

They quietly pass through the arched bridge holes on the edges of the seven piers.
Chapter completed!