Eagle Byzantium

Yes, Gawain certainly knew that he was put into this medieval chaos by the female devil Ajeh alone, and he did not have any brothers in the tribe. This was his advantage and disadvantage - the children of Anna, Ingrina and the little sunfish were still young, and the foundation of the country was more rooted in Cilicia. Even if the people and officials of Constantinople did not like Komnenos' rule, they did not have much feeling for his family. They recognized and respected the bloodline of Ducas Komnenos in Anna.

Therefore, if Gawain wanted his successor to rule for a long time, he had to face two choices: one was to follow Alexius and create a "family dynasty", that is, to change the traditional official titles, divide the most important positions and powers of the country to his relatives and confidants, and intermarry with other nobles, similar to the feudal system in the West; the other was to trace back to the Macedonian dynasty or even earlier, rebuild a centralized government, cultivate a bureaucratic class, and form a field army commanded and controlled by the emperor to suppress the entire country.

Now Gawain wants to do both, and he has decided to do both.

Because both options have their fatal weaknesses. Although the former can guarantee the family's rule over the country, it will inevitably lead to the centrifugal force of the country over time. Once the central authority declines, it will fall apart and it will be difficult to pick up again; while the latter can enhance the power of the emperor, but it will also create a bloated bureaucracy and low administrative efficiency, weakening the power of the local. If the central government collapses, the whole country will instantly fall into a state of brain death, and there will be no vassal to remedy it.

However, there is also room for overlap between the two options, which gives Gawain the conditions to be eclectic. He must learn from Alexius and understand more about the advantages and disadvantages of the emperor's plan to control the world.

The division of three administrative regions is his primary plan.

The special districts are to ensure that the emperor has a strong and direct source of power. The income is used to support the emperor's inner palace group, imperial attendants and guards (Gawain is ready to upgrade the earliest three-wing brigade and cavalry team to the guards), maintain deterrence and oppression of the local areas, and the officials of the special districts are directly appointed by the emperor;

The counties are to revive the original Byzantine official system. There will be a complete set of assessment systems to ensure the birth of a stable group of civil servants to govern these counties. The bureaucrats control the taxation, conscription, and judicial powers of each county (and below that, there are also centurion districts and village communities), and cooperate with the autonomous synagogues to manage the local area. The shield tax is also collected from the counties to enrich the treasury, which is used to support and train the militias in each county, and provide supplies for the garrisoned brigades.

As for autonomous regions, there are two types. One is the "fortress frontier area", such as Samosata and Pisidia. These frontier areas may not all be located on the border, but they will be set up in important places for transportation. The garrison troops are used to resist the invasion or penetration of the enemy, forming a deep defense system. Most of the frontier troops are granted land and tax-free conditions. They use chariots and cavalry with bows and arrows, muskets, and spears to fight. The commander is the "chariot general". Another type is the "maritime autonomous region", similar to Mysia, Attalia and the future Cyprus. The cities in this area enjoy autonomy and are managed by the elected curia. The central government will not interfere too much, but it will bear a fixed amount of "tribute" and need to provide port maintenance fees, escort and ship maintenance fees. If there is a sea war, for example, provide ships.

Correspondingly, Gawain also arranged and deployed the military and political teams of the three administrative districts. Gawain was going to appoint "royal attendants" to govern the special district. In addition to the imperial guards, the source of these attendants was also the young sons of nobles from all over the country (also hostages); the county district was to exchange what it had with the capital in terms of bureaucratic groups. Finally, Gawain was going to follow the example of the previous dynasty and send supervisory officials to control the behavior of the generals.

As for what Gawain had thought about before, it was to create a hub in the special district that would best allow him to "ally" with the new power group.

Gawain's original means of pacifying the army was to distribute "monetary fiefs" such as the Holy Benevolent Land, but now it is not enough to control the country by relying on the army alone. Gawain needs the support of the old nobles and old officials. After all, the trick of simply destroying them physically like in the Cilician era would not work, but he was also worried that if this group of people were allowed to share the land rights too much, it would once again give rise to a new large landowner class that would hinder the power of the country.

Therefore, we need to divert everyone's attention from the land. To this end, Gawain must adopt an inducing method. The best way is to attract them with trade and workshops. Investing money in these two aspects will be beneficial to the future of the country in the long run. Of course, the investment in land must not be abandoned, after all, it is the foundation of the country.

Therefore, Gawain's method is to prepare to transfer the workshop industry and port income in each special jurisdiction, including Constantinople, to the officials and generals under his command in the form of a shareholding system at a low price. Everyone will occupy a share, and in addition to their own salary, they will also receive dividends. In this way, a large group that is cohesive can be quickly formed.

While Gawain was still talking about his ideal plan, he found that Agnes beside him had fallen asleep again without knowing when...

After the New Year, outside the palace gate tower of Tarsus City, the citizens gathered in grief, and many cried - the beautiful little princess Helena sat in the front sedan chair, her brother Christopher followed behind, and Masood, Zengi, Muzafiadin and other fifty cavalrymen escorted on both sides with flags.

Helena quietly untied the curtain with her fingers, and looked at the people on the street with her clear and beautiful eyes. Many women were crying. She knew that people were reluctant to move the court. This reluctance was not only emotional, but also honor and interest.

But they had to go!

After all, Constantinople was about to fall, and Gawain and Anna, the only owners of this city, would definitely go there to rule the country.

It was said that the couple agreed that Tarsus would be the most important "secondary capital" of the country in the future.

At the same time, good news came from the East. Andeodate had led the army and captured Tripoli after several months of fierce siege.

It is said that when Andeodate was besieging the city, the food and wages for the army and fleet were exhausted. He had to buy them together (because he had signed a contract with the Maronites in Lebanon before, so he could not plunder). The surrounding food required a lot of money, and the reserves were not enough. It was too late to ask for it from Tarsus. Therefore, Andeodate was quick-witted. He imitated Gawain's "national debt" and asked his subordinates to split many pieces of leather, write down the number of various coins on them and stamp them with his own seal. He used them to purchase food and livestock from the surrounding caravans and farmers, and said that after the war, this "leather coin" could be used to exchange for real coins.

Read the correct version in 16-9 Book Bar!

Relying on the leather coin, Andeodate quickly captured Tripoli, which was exhausted.