Eagle Byzantium

In fact, what Feleyer said before was right. Gawain had been fighting for such a long time, and the finances were already very strained. The battle around the western border of the empire has continued until now, and nearly seven million taso silver coins have been spent. Many coins have not been dug out from the silver mines in Trebizond and Armenia, and formed in the mints in Tarsus or the imperial capital, but have been prepaid. The remaining part is directly paid with land, leather coins, and spoils. The prime minister of the empire, Buril, wrote directly to the emperor to complain, "After the end of this war, it will take two to three years to recover, not to mention that there will be a larger sum of money to spend on the fleet soon, otherwise Your Majesty will not be able to cross the ocean at all."

Therefore, if these three parties can persist in resisting and opposing, Gawain really cannot completely defeat them in a short period of time. In addition, the border situation of the Amu Darya River in the east is changing with each passing day. Even if Gawain can spend two to three years to deal with the threat of the eastern border, and then go back to deal with the affairs of the west, I am afraid that his enemies will recover a lot. As for forming a large fleet to land in Italy at this time, it is just a foolish dream.

This peace talk was 70% a "diplomatic blackmail" using the remaining power of the victory in Durazzo.

Around the "Samuel Castle" in Ohrid, the three-winged brigade that had just ended the Durazzo War gathered here to rest, and four detachments were stationed in Durazzo alone. The other two brigades were returned to General Brumson and General Acropolites respectively. The former received an order to march directly into the Kingdom of Hum and force Zavida Nagaman to surrender; while the latter was even more impolite, "sweep Epirus, seize its entire territory, and then go south to attack Thebes, Corinth and Athens, and then cross the Isthmus to completely flatten the power of John Tyrant in the Moria region."

The Sicilian diplomatic envoy was a Greek who was proficient in culture, named Laonicus. He wore a traditional robe, hoping to win the favor of the Empire Basilius and Basilisa.

Venice sent a nobleman named Leger, who wore a wide-brimmed hat like a cup and a spacious robe, with a sad face, and was obviously not happy to accept this mission without honor and reward.

The Roman Catholic Church sent four deacons, but their experience was the most miserable - just before arriving at the port of Durazzo, they were "politely escorted out of the country" by Gawain's soldiers, on the grounds that the emperor did not want to discuss secular power with the Church at all. If the Church had anything to say, please wait patiently for the believers' meeting presided over by the emperor, "Your Majesty will inform the Lateran Palace of the meeting arrangements and schedule at an appropriate time."

The envoys of the other two countries followed the Egnandia Avenue with a worried mood and arrived at their destination in a short while.

Laonicus was amazed at the majesty of the emperor's camp. He recorded in his diary, "This was once the fortress and capital of Mosia Caesar (Bulgarian Tsar). Later, the Duklia royal family lived here, but now the new owner of Constantinople, the new holder of the Sword of the Empire, destroyed the old owner with a great and violent power and spirit. The camp here is very strict and orderly. It is a standard Roman camp. The soldiers are in good spirits. They get sufficient supplies from the wooden fence and the camp market by the river. They take a hot bath every two days. Caravans from all directions come here. No one robs or harms them. The army is also very polite to them. Many merchants say that what the new ruler brings is better than the old era, much better. The emperor The emperor's camp was not large, but it was very majestic and neat, decorated with flags and curtains. Basilisa and several confidential ladies were the only women in the camp. They all spoke to me in the most standard Greek, noble and elegant, which made me feel a little proud of being a minister of the Roman Empire... The emperor sat on a golden chair, and Basilisa sat beside him as a co-ruler. Although the emperor had the appearance of a Varangian, he looked majestic and had good conversation. His fingers were very long, which showed from the perspective of physiognomy that he was both a fair person and a person with strong desires. He would indulge in carnal desires with Basilisa. During my mission, I found more than once that the royal painters in the palace would paint some very unreserved works. One of them was Basilius's only Wrapped in a bath towel, lying on the grass under the pear tree by the lake, while Basilisa bathed in the lake nearby, in my opinion, this kind of work should be severely condemned by the church, but unfortunately the original church has been destroyed. "

"When Basilius and Basilisa traveled, they were accompanied by nearly a thousand cavalrymen. Another envoy, Ledger, and I were also fortunate to discuss diplomatic affairs with them. The guards of the two emperors were magnificent. Some of them came from the nomadic barbarians of the grassland, and some were from the Magyars and Franks. They were dressed in embroidered robes and excellent armor. They protected the emperors in the vast area from the Sava River to the Vardar River, and dealt with various difficult incidents. In most cases, Basilius and Basilisa were able to skillfully By quoting the items in the code and handling the lawsuit with a clear mind, the local people were soon appeased... I think it is difficult for foreigners to return here to establish power, including the Palermo court where I serve. "

Although Gawain was very polite to Laoniks personally and gave him many valuables, he had no mercy when it came to diplomatic affairs. "I will not recognize the legitimacy of the two regimes of Hum and Carinthia, and will destroy them immediately, especially Carinthia. I don't want to see the Palermo court shelter it or give it any military and material assistance. In addition, all forces of the Palermo court must withdraw from Epirus and compensate me with 300,000 Byzantine gold coins. "

Laonicus, who was riding on a mule and riding alongside the emperor, argued hard, saying that such compensation would not only damage the future relations between the two countries, but would also make the conference difficult. Laonicus meant, "If the compensation is cancelled, If so, King Simon can promise His Majesty that Sicily, which is located on a maritime traffic artery, will not allow any In view of His Majesty's fleet ships passing through the Strait of Messina, in addition, it is actually a good thing for Your Majesty that the Palermo Palace maintains a stable rule over the Two Sicilies, otherwise many Norman soldiers who are equivalent to pirates will break away from the reins and wild horses. To attack His Majesty's coast like this will pose a great threat to Your Majesty's long-term peace and stability."

After some debate, Emperor Gawain obviously did not want to waste too much time. He agreed to cancel the compensation. However, in the Battle of Durazzo, he captured thousands of Sicilian soldiers, including Count Duane. King Simon had to hand over 30,000 gold coins. They redeem, for which there is absolutely no possibility of any relief.

In addition, Gawain proposed the idea of ​​establishing an "Italy plus Cities League" and required diplomatic recognition from the Palermo court.