Eagle Byzantium

In the Brachna Palace, which was half destroyed in the previous chaos, Irene sat upright on the small throne in her palace, with Adyoan, the youngest son of the former emperor, standing beside her. She met with a group of representatives from the imperial capital. These representatives were quick-thinking people, including representatives from the Blue Party of the Athletic Party and members of the Senate. The members of the Communist Party of China and the old bureaucrats in the capital believed that it was no longer necessary to maintain resistance to the Tarsus side. "Generations have changed. Great Empress Dowager, you once enjoyed glory, and your blessings will continue forever. Grant the throne to your daughter and son-in-law! The transfer and operation of this empire require your approval."

Eileen's still young face was hidden behind a veil. She gently took her youngest son's hand and said to the representatives, "What did the former chief minister of the empire, Burrill, say?"

"The father of the imperial capital (referring to Burrill) has the same view as us. Now that the defense of the capital has been completely collapsed, the patriarch abandoned the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom and fled to the Holy Mountain. The father of the imperial capital believes that if order and peace are not restored, , greater riots and famine will soon break out,” the representatives said.

"This will put my mind at ease. As long as Gawain can promise to give Adyoan a suitable honorable status, of course I am willing to agree to such an order." Irene said, and then she paused and said openly to the representatives, "Which of you The relevant personnel can ask the royal family’s jewelry workshop to make the real crowns for Gawain and Anna.”

The Empress Dowager's attitude was obvious, so the representatives happily left.

Soon, Gawain sent an envoy to the city to give a clear reply to his mother-in-law's own thoughts. Of course, this was also Anna's full agreement. "Your Highness the Queen Mother, the great Empress Anna, Gawain's biological mother, you will continue to have the right to Ownership of the Brachna Palace and its affiliated monasteries, enjoying the privileges of the entire empire Revered, guarding the grave of Alexios Komnenos, the former Holy Apostle Emperor and the victim of the empire, and Adyoan will inherit the supreme title of 'Prince Kastamonu' and the blood of the Komnenos patriarch. , he and his descendants will always enjoy one-fifth of the taxes in the Kastamonu area as a hereditary pension."

Soon, the Holy Monastery of Brachna Palace rang the bell of the Annunciation, which meant that the Empress Dowager and the besiegers had reached an agreement.

The hungry people in the capital were happy, and then at Burrill's call, the senators and bureaucrats who were still here gathered together in the Senate in the circular double-layer arcade of the capital. Many of them were He had already corresponded frequently with Macaulinus or Maglendius before, and now he naturally said to the empress dowager's decision, "This is "The best", "Of course I support it", because if we move to this point, there is no need to let the people in the city suffer anymore. Everyone urgently needs food from outside until the ice in the Yuxing Sea melts after the winter. , fish caught from the ports of Trabzon, Bulgaria and Georgia have to be transported to the capital to fill everyone's stomach.

As for Darasena in the monastery, this shrewd and decisive lifelong heroine, she remained silent. She stayed quietly in her residence, as if waiting for Gawain to see her.

The only open and fierce resistance came from the Church of Constantinople. Although Masdas retreated, the liaison officer he left behind (the role of this official position was to be responsible for the communication between the emperor and the patriarch) Li Du Si is in charge of the keys to the cathedral. He publicly stated to the representatives who came to persuade him: "The Patriarch can definitely come back and On behalf of the Roman citizens of the entire city, a crown was placed on the head of Stephen Gawain, but Gawain had to sign an oath document promising that he would never introduce innovation into the church in this country, and that he would become the defender of the Orthodox faith. He must renounce his Latin Catholic identity and remain of the same faith as his wife Anna.”

This request is a naked request for Gawain to compromise with the Imperial Orthodox Church. In addition, Reedus also threatened Gawain, saying that he should maintain respect for the Patriarch, and both parties could exchange the title of "Proskynesis" to strengthen such a covenant relationship. That is to say, it was recognized that both the emperor and the patriarch were the "supreme leaders" of the empire (Proskynesis means leader).

Archbishop Masdas has also realized that the hostility between him and Gawain is not just a simple battle for the throne. He understands that Gawain will soon bring about the terrible "Saracens and Manichaeans" from Asia Minor. The metamorphic religious theory of "evil influence" was introduced to the imperial capital and the western part of the empire. If the Orthodox Church did not resist, it would soon be annihilated in this battle in the spiritual world.

After receiving a reply from the church, Gawain sneered. He asked his patriarch Gottschalk and Archbishop Roland to write a rebuttal document and send it to the city. It said, "According to legal principles, the supreme emperor of Rome was also the high priest." Archiereus' office, except to obey Apart from God and the law, he is not responsible to any church leader. He represents all Roman citizens to take over the power given by God. On the contrary, any measures and legal rules of the church require his approval. Any view that the emperor can only enjoy secular power. They are all extreme errors and outright fallacies.

Because before Jesus came into the world, the Roman Empire and the emperor had received the right to rule the world from God. It can be said that the descendants of Augustus shared such lofty dignity with Jesus. Just as there is only one God, there will only be one emperor in the world, and you dare to resist and make things difficult. Will Masdas's mistakes continue? Will he continue to disobey God, citizens and soldiers and continue to follow the deposed false emperor? Then, once my anger is aroused, what I will do is not to let you hear or see, but to let you bear it.

I will enter the capital built by Constantine with my wife before the day when God created the world (March 21st in the Byzantine calendar), and you still have three months to think. "

The day after Gawain sent his reply, two huge siege cannons began to fire heavy stone balls at the walls of the Golden Gate from the camp of the Juquintina Palace.

Amid the rumbling of the cannons, the church in the imperial capital still stubbornly resisted, refusing to hand over the keys of the cathedral and refusing to anoint Gawain with the consecration oil.

But the people, officials and guards in the imperial capital could not stand it.

Especially in the Venetian expatriate community that was still under siege, the Consul General Molitor who was with them spent almost all his money to bribe the guards of all the walls and sentries along the way, so that he could conceal his identity, walk out of the siege of the mob and competitors, come to the Juquintina Palace, and then arrive at the Gallipoli Palace in a dusty manner to request an audience with Gawain.