After returning to Antioch.

Roger asked Danny and Muttery to complete the material transaction he and Rugero agreed to.

And he found Boschmond.

Without making any excuses, Roger explained all the questions, his thoughts, and his arrangements clearly and clearly in front of Little Bosimund and Rinaldi.

Roger said solemnly: "Although I arranged all this for you, the final decision is in your own hands.

"If you decide to ascend to the prince now, then I will still support you as agreed with you before."

However, Boschmond, a little, seems more interested in being with Alice.

He said excitedly: "Is this true? Can I be with Alice every day from now on?"

Roger covered his forehead and thought, as a mixed-race boy, this brat seemed to have inherited the most essential part of the genes of the French and Italians.

Finally, Roger glanced at Rinaldi, who obviously understood the current situation, so he did not object.

So the matter was settled.

Next, Roger let the troops rest in Antioch for a few days.

In the past few days, he selected soldiers who could ride horses from the infantry brought out of Sicily.

Among them, the 20 people with the best performance in all aspects were supplemented into the heavy cavalry ranks and filled the gaps in the heavy cavalry.

Roger formed a new cavalry unit for the remaining 600 soldiers.

These men were equipped with leather armor, small round shields, Arab straight swords, and long spears that were much lighter than cavalry cavalry lances.

This is a light cavalry unit. Roger could not think of a good name for a while, so he called them "Horseman".

The "Horse Soldier" troops are far from the Norman heavy cavalry in terms of attack power and defense. The only advantage is that they can run fast.

They will serve as an affiliate of the Norman heavy cavalry.

Roger arranged for heavy cavalry veterans to guide these horsemen almost 1-on-1. He hoped that on the way to Jerusalem, these light cavalry could adapt to the change of identity and form a certain combat power.

When Roger was in Sicily before, he had never thought about establishing a light cavalry unit.

According to what he observed on the Iberian Peninsula, the light cavalry was almost completely at a disadvantage when facing heavy cavalry.

Therefore, in Sicily, which has sufficient resources, he is willing to train a heavy cavalry.

But here, due to the shortage of supplies, and most importantly, the trap caused by the Turkic archers who came and went like the wind, made Roger feel that it was necessary to establish a light cavalry unit.

Roger did not intend to arrange difficult tasks for the horse-riding sergeant troops. They will mainly use them to reconnaissance, patrol, convey information, and pursue defeated soldiers and expand their results when gaining an advantage on the battlefield.

But when facing the Turkic archers who could not catch up with the heavy cavalry, these horse-riding soldiers needed to pounce on them, entangle the enemy, and create an opportunity for attack for the heavy cavalry.

Or it may not necessarily require the help of heavy cavalry.

These horse-riding soldiers equipped with round shields and leather armor are naturally vulnerable to heavy troops, but they are more advantageous to those archers with only short swords.

In the blink of an eye, it was mid-September. After sending away Baldwin and Boschmond Jr., Roger was also preparing to take his troops to leave Antioch.

Because the previous guide, Rinaldi, followed Boschmond, left.

Therefore, before leaving, Roger humbly asked Rugero, the Prince of Regent of Antioch, about the next journey.

Rugero raised his feet on the table and said in a cynical tone:

“There are two ways.

“One is to follow the coastline and move on the rugged mountain road that stretches into the sea.

"Passing Latakia, Jabbara, Burnias, Tortosa, Alkha, Tripoli, Beirut, Sidon, Tir, Ak, Haifa, Caesarea, Alsov, and then turn to Ram Allah, and finally arrive in Jerusalem."

Roger lit a mosquito coil in his eyes. He didn't remember any of this place name except the destination Jerusalem and "Tripoli".

Rugero introduced: "The advantage of this road is that it is already under the control of us Christians along the way, and the disadvantage is that it is difficult to walk."

Then he smiled like a prank kid:

"Hehe, I personally recommend you go another one, hehehehe.

“It was a smooth road, far from the coastline and closer to the east.

"There are mountains on both sides of the east and west, which can not only block the dry and hot winds from the desert to the east, but also block the cold and cold sea breeze from the sea to the west, both lukewarm and hot, and comfortable and pleasant."

Roger thought, it sounded good, but what does this guy's expression mean?

Rugero said in a tone similar to bewitching: "There is a spacious valley in the middle of the mountain, and it is full of crops that you can easily get supplies.

"The calm river of Orontes along the way makes you not need to worry about drinking water."

Roger lifted his arms vigilantly, thinking that although it sounds good, it sounds like an advertisement and is not like this venomous mouth's usual behavior.

Rugero said in one breath: "Along the way, you will pass by Marat, Kafaldab, Shayzar, Hama, Maschaf, Lafania, Housny, Homs."

Mosquito coils appeared in Roger's eyes again, and they were spinning faster.

This time he didn't remember a single place name.

Rugero said: "Although these places are controlled by the Turks, they are all vassals in Damascus.

"And Damascus King Tugertikin had established a covenant with King Baldwin of Jerusalem the previous year.

"So he will treat you kindly like Maudu, who is the same fellow who entertains his family."

Roger thought, who would be with whom?

He asked: "Are the Turks in the south very hospitable?"

Rugero laughed "haha" and clapped his hands and said:

"Of course, of course, they are very hospitable.

"Tugetichin will definitely invite you to visit the chapel in Damascus and send four Ethiopians to serve you."

Roger didn't know what the "Four Ethiopians" mean, but his intuition told him that it was definitely not a good thing.

But he didn't ask, so that Rugero would not take advantage of the situation and continue to talk nonsense.

He said, "Then, how do you go to Jerusalem after you arrive in Damascus?"

Rugero blinked mischievously and said, "Then you don't need to think about the road, hehe."

Roger glared at Rugero fiercely. He hated others making jokes when discussing important things.

He turned to Gillard: "What will you do next after you arrive in Damascus?"

Gillard chewed the jerky and said, "Don't listen to that stinky mouth, he is cheating you, that road cannot be taken."

Roger said with a cold face: "So this bastard is just lying to me, right?

"What a pleasant road, all the way, there are supplies and water, and the alliance between King Tugertikin of Damascus and King Baldwin of Jerusalem.

"These things are lying to me, right?"

Rugero looked like he was wronged and shouted injustice:

"Jesus, Christ, every word I say is true, why don't you believe me?"

Roger ignored him.

Rugero cried out to Gillard again: "Heaven can see pity, please make a certificate for me, I didn't lie."

Gillard chewed the jerky slowly and said, "It's not a lie, but you are still cheating him."

Roger asked in confusion: "If this road is really as easy as he said, why do you say you can't?"

Rugero laughed and sobbed: "Gillard, have you heard that, he is doubting you!"

Gillard ignored this insignificant provocation, spit out the jerky that he couldn't chew and said:

"Maudud was a Turkic powerful man who once led troops to defeat Baldwin, the king of Jerusalem.

“After a massive killing of Christians, Maudud returned to Damascus.

“His reputation was praised among the Turks and among all the pagans, and the Damascus king Tugticin was very jealous and angry.

"So Tugtikin relied on gifts and good promises to lure four Ethiopian soldiers and let them assassinate Maudud.

“He arranged for the four Ethiopian soldiers to secretly enter the chapel.

"So when Maudud came in and began the pagan ritual without warning, four assassins suddenly rushed over and attacked him, pierced his chest with an extremely sharp sword, killing the entirely unaware of it.

"And Tugticin, who presided over the murder, pretended not to know.

“He mourned Maududd’s death without integrity with false tears and great wail.

"And Tugtikin also ordered to find out and pursue the people who murdered Maudu.

“He tried to catch the four Ethiopians and silence them.

"However, Tugtikin failed this time, so not long after, his trick was known to all the Turks.

“From that day, Tugticin suffered numerous conspiracies to rebellion as the price of his completely unforgivable betrayal.

"At the same time, there were many powerful people in the Seljuk Empire who expressed dissatisfaction with him and tried to impose a penalty on him.

"So, Tugtikin had to rebel from the Seljuk Empire, declare independence, and form an alliance with Baldwin, the king of Jerusalem."
To be continued...