Eagle Byzantium

Peter frowned and looked up. It was Alexius standing behind the iron fence, looking down at him.

"The moment of decisive battle has come." The emperor said, "I will not give in, not to anyone."

"The Lord is not interested in selfish disputes between imperial families." Peter replied.

"Then I will not give in to the Lord. Since more than ten years ago, I have been fighting for this empire, defeating the Normans, Zatars, Bulgars, Pechenegs, and Cumans. , Pauline heresy, now Only Konya's Turks are still standing in front of me and resisting. Maybe I really need to use your strength for the pilgrim team, but make no mistake, this does not mean that you can fight against my country. Do whatever you want, all Frankish and Norman princes must be used by me, otherwise I will never be soft when I destroy you. The same goes for you, monk. Once I solve the internal and external troubles, I will. It will be me who comes to restore the Holy Sepulchre, and I will be the patron, as glorious as the emperors Heraclius and Saint Basil of the past, not the mob in your hands and the lowly knights from the rough countryside.”

"So your Majesty wants to regard my brother Gawain as an enemy?" Although Alexius never mentioned it, Peter could hear the implication of the emperor's words at a glance.

"He is not qualified yet." The emperor's voice changed slightly, but he would not be willing to admit that he would put the mere commander Akonis in his eyes.

"But in my humble opinion, in the future it would be better for Your Majesty to become an ally with Gawain and let him serve your empire wholeheartedly, rather than break up with each other."

Alexios sneered, "Why should he? The current Gawain may have been buried in the wilderness on the banks of the Danube, and was torn apart by the barbarians like a pack of wolves, leaving no bones left; or he is being stuffed. Bastocrat blocked Outside Sofia, wandering between Bulgaria and Macedonia, his large company had no place to stand, and eventually became a bandit and a bandit. Sooner or later, he would be wiped out by me - let me tell you, my company tied him with a dog leash and paraded him through the streets of the capital. Lack of interest.”

Then Peter sighed and did not argue. He closed his eyes and sat quietly in the emperor's shadow.

"Since everyone has ambitions, let the Roman subjects and senators freely decide whether I, Comnenos, should have the throne of this empire." After saying that, Alexios held the "Holy Sea" and " The hilts of the two swords of Athos. Turned and left.

When he walked to the gate with his loyal guards and attendants, he saw the hostess Eudoxia lying next to her with a complicated expression, and whispered, "The secret message between the eldest princess and that barbarian Does the transaction go through your hands?"

The tip of Eudoxia's nose was filled with panic. He began to shake violently, his eyelashes drooped, and he didn't dare to breathe out. He could only keep whispering and begging for His Majesty's forgiveness. Because after all, she didn’t know that Gawain had offended His Majesty, nor did he do any disrespectful behavior towards Alexios’ throne. “My husband Mikhail and I have the same loyalty, and we have the same loyalty to Alexios. His Majesty’s service will last until death.”

"Okay, there's no need." Alexios put on his cloak and said calmly. It seemed that he had no interest in punishing Eudoxia. "Lovely and beautiful Eudocia, your brother and husband are my closest relatives, so I also believe in you. But after all, you are a humble Varangian woman. Not only do you carry the inherent qualities of a woman, His original sin and stain also possess the unique cunning and cleverness of the barbarians. There is something like this between my daughter and that barbarian Gawain. But... burn all of Anna's letters, otherwise it will tarnish the reputation of the entire Comnenus family and the palace. That's it, just take care of yourself, Eudocia Nystas."

Upon hearing this, Eudocia immediately buried her head and kissed the emperor's purple boots a few times, while her husband Mikhail and Yagfi stood nearby, looking at her like this, Mikhail's face You can't see his expression, but his mood is clear. He knows what to do Therefore, Alexios is shrewd and cruel, so it stands to reason that he will not forgive Eudocia. At the worst, he will divorce them and send Eudocia to a monastery for claustrophobic confinement. But what your Majesty is doing now should be especially serious. Doshia still has her own value!

Then, the bells of the Holy Wisdom Cathedral floated from a distance, resounding through the sky, and other churches and monasteries also echoed, reaching everyone's ears far and near. Alexios laughed, "It seems , my wife Eileen finally couldn't bear it anymore, and he That brother who is as greedy and stupid as a jackal is a bell that calls out to all the senators and citizens, and is also a signal to declare war on me. My daughter Anna, how pitiful you are, but you are still like a beautiful and well-behaved bird. , come and nestle in your father’s arms again!”

"Your Majesty, do you need to go directly to the Grand Palace?" Yagfi asked, holding his helmet.

"No need, let Irene and Mycolinus, the Dukas jackals, put on a show first. I have my own characters to deal with them. What I have to do is to go to the military camps on the outskirts of the city and inside the city to completely seal them off. The retreat of the Dukas jackals will be wiped out completely." After that, Alexios came out, mounted his horse, and then looked at the birds that were frightened from the spire of the cathedral, and silently prayed in his heart, "Ancestor of Komnenos, now my sword is only I pray for your help so that it can fulfill my wish!”

At this moment, Patriarch Masdas, in surprise, stood in front of the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom with a group of high-ranking monks. The white and red brick walls stood majestically in front of all the people in the capital. All the nobles of the parliamentary class with medals and ornaments, as well as the representatives of the guild, heard the bell just now and gathered here.

The queen, the eldest princess, Caesar, and the prime minister Buril, as well as many high-ranking bureaucrats of all kinds, the general's sedan chair and servants, and countless flags and tassels fluttered, all gathered and stayed in the square in front of the church in almost an hour.

Almost one-third of them came to support the Ducas family. Most of them were honorable bureaucrats in the capital, and there were many old nobles with glorious titles, and many technical middle-class nobles who hoped to climb up with law and rhetoric diplomas.

They were all dissatisfied with Emperor Komnenos' policies over the past decade: the bureaucracy of the empire had collapsed, and the tax system existed in name only, but Alexios had no intention of restoring it. The previous emperors treated the high-ranking bureaucrats who were proficient in the law as if they were saints, but now Alexios only cared about his mercenaries, his money bag, and his plan for a "family empire".

To put it bluntly, the current emperor blocked all the promotion paths of their group. Is there any better reason to rise up than this? (To be continued ~^~)