While the Greeks and Latins were in panic in Thessalonika, outside the city, the Bulgarian army was now completing the encirclement of the city.

It can be said that this time the Bulgarians can really be said to be in full bloom. Tsar Karoyan led a total of 40,000 noble troops in the territory, and drove through the Macedonian plains and completely ignored the towns on the northern line of the Kingdom of Thessalonika. He changed his previous harassment tactics and chose to directly attack the city of Thessalonika. He was obviously preparing to decide the outcome in one battle and completely wiped out the Latins in Macedonia, and did not give Thrace and Constantinople any time to react.

I saw the soldiers of the Hante tribe who came from the north of the mountain as cannon fodder were being driven by the Bulgarians to prepare for siege equipment. As long as the Tsar gave the order, they would be the vanguard of the attack. No matter what they encountered, they would not be allowed to take a step back, even if they died. The Bulgarian army also had many Ross and the Crusaders, but they basically joined as mercenaries. Obviously, this time, Karoyan really spent a lot of effort to eliminate Bonifas.

But for the moment, Bulgaria still seems to have some differences in the attack on Thessalonika, so that under the Tsar's tent, the aristocrats on both sides remain quarrels.

"No matter what happened, it can be concluded that the Latin people in Thrace and Constantinople are not yet reacting! And now the empty guard Thessalonika is besieged by us. Even if they immediately seek help from the sea, their reinforcements will not arrive for a while. At this time, we must take the city immediately. At that time, the entire Macedonia will belong to us. Your Majesty the Tsar, please allow us to attack!" The nobles on the left were obviously unwilling to sit and wait for the passage of time.

He was trying to persuade Tsar Karoyan to take advantage of the victory and pursue the victory and take down Thessalonika in one go, and their leader was no one else, Duke Borier, the nephew of Tsar Karoyan. He was also trying to convince his uncle to agree to their plea. After all, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Along the way, due to the Tsar's explicit prohibition, the army was unable to loot the villages along the way, which had already made many soldiers dissatisfied. Now that he had finally captured the surrounding fortress but hesitated to a city, they could not continue to endure this.

However, their sect's proposition was ridiculed by the other party.

"Silly thoughts, my dear brother, you shouldn't be as self-righteous as yours, right?"

"What did you say!" He blushed and looked at the direction of the sound coming from, and the Bulgar boy who was looking at Boriel with a hint of coldness slowly stood up from his seat, and he was the other nephew of Tsar Karoyan, Ivan Assen.

The young man standing among his cousins ​​will completely abandon his plan to attack Thessalonika City, looking at his uncle and said, "Now we cannot attack Thessalonika directly. Your Majesty, once the Latin center is destroyed, not to mention that we may suffer the major losses suffered by the siege, it is very likely that our final result will be cheaper than the Greeks of Epirus. They can accept a large amount of Macedonian territory without bloodshed. At that time, we were guarding a city and surrounded by the Greeks and Latins, and we will be in a dilemma and end up with nothing. I think my dear brother, you and the people under your command have never thought about this! We are only thinking about how to capture a city and then loot, but we ignore the subsequent events. It is precisely because of your behavior of taking care of the head and the tail that we are regarded as barbarians."

Ivan Assen said coldly, saying to his cousin without any politeness, his eyes full of contempt. Although he had been kingly ruled by the Byzantine Empire, he still retained the old customs of the nomadic peoples in the past because of his location in the wild Bulgaria - for example, the inheritance method of the Tsar's position was still brother and brother. Although both Boriel and Ivan were both dukes, in terms of inheritance, Boriel, as cousins, had a higher status than Ivan. But obviously, Ivan Assen was not convinced and secretly cultivated his strength to compete with him.

"You--" Boriel Asen was openly ridiculed and furious. He didn't expect that his cousin in front of him would dare to take him so blatantly. He was about to get angry and was about to have anger, but he suppressed the majestic voice of the Tsar directly above.

"Enough! When will you argue? I asked you to give me advice instead of letting you argue endlessly to cause trouble for him." Tsar Karoyan, who had already seen the incompatible two factions, also had helplessness in his angry words. It seemed that the country seemed to be extremely prosperous and powerful, but it was already innately hidden dangers when it became independent from the Roman Empire. The two Bulgarian nobles of Slavic and Hellenized have been fighting openly and secretly for more than ten years, and gradually there is an unstoppable trend. The battle between Borier and Ivan is a microcosm. Tsar Karoyan, who has no descendants, knows that no matter who he chooses from the two, he will inevitably offend one side, and then an internal strife will not be stopped.

Therefore, Tsar Karoyan was able to resist the opposition and set off this battle-level battle, hoping to rely on foreign wars to alleviate the internal crisis, and at the same time took this opportunity to weaken the power of domestic aristocrats. Unfortunately, things seemed contrary to their wishes at the moment, even the two nobles on the battlefield and the unwillingness to unite against the enemy. It seems that the Bulgarians who accepted Roman civilization not only learned the Roman system, but also learned the ability of internal struggle.

However, Ivan Asen's words just now did come to his heart - that is, he was indeed not going to rush to attack Thessalonika to make wedding dresses for the Greeks, but hoped to do the other way around.

...

And just then, outside the den—

The sound of the horn sounded, and the shocked Bulgarians rushed to the outside of the camp to check. They were holding weapons to prevent the enemy from coming to attack. At this time, they saw a neatly lined up army heading towards this place in the southwest of the plain outside Thessalonika. The light of the light was facing the sun, and it was cold, giving people a sense of oppression in terms of momentum.

"What is this?"

The vigilant Bulgarians looked at the army that was not inferior to their own size and combat effectiveness and quickly wanted to prepare to organize defense just in case. However, Tsar Karoyan, who walked out of the tent, was not panicked or nervous at all. He looked at the double-headed eagle flag from afar, and a smile appeared on the corner of the man's mouth.
Chapter completed!