Eagle Byzantium

After listening to his mother's words, Alexios was moved. He half-knelt in front of Dalasena's knees, grabbed his mother's hand and kissed it like a child, "Mother, mother, second only to the Virgin Mary, there is no one in the world." A role model, you must still be thinking about my dead brother Manuel.”

Empress Dowager Dalasena smiled a little sadly, touching the gray hair of her son who was no longer young, and her thoughts returned to the past, when Alexios was less than fifteen years old. This child was full of desire to make great achievements and joined Mikhail The Emperor (Mikhail VII)'s Eastern Expeditionary Force became a bodyguard, but at this time Darasena's eldest son Manuel died, so her mother begged the commander of the expeditionary force and the emperor of the capital. , calling young Alexius back to himself and protecting him.

"Mother, now the Komnenos family is different from the past. It wants to take charge of the ship of this empire. All members have to withstand various tests from the moment they are born. John who enjoys meticulous care in my camp is He cannot really convince the public. What this child really needs is military and political experience in providing logistics for an army of 50,000 people, which will be of great benefit to his future growth." After her son finished explaining, Darasena nodded with a smile. Express approval.

Then Alexios stood up. He looked at the quiet and towering top of the monastery and listened to the long and ethereal hymn. He felt heroic and ambitious in his heart. "I will let John enter the imperial capital immediately, and his Thessaly new The army was also given to Titicius to take charge of and go on the expedition with me. I believe that with the huge financial support of the empire and the vassalage of the fleets of various Italian city-states, Gawain and Bochy will be eliminated. Mondstadt is a traitor, for this battle, I did not hesitate to spend a lot of money and promise to cede the port, so that the team of one of my old enemies can severely attack the country of Tarsus... After everything is over , Mother, the empire can be restored, and I can prove that I am the true emperor of the Romans, and John can truly take over the country and continue the prosperous rule from the imperial capital."

"Do it well, my son." The mother also expressed her full support at this time.

The emperor, who had visited his mother, was in such a good mood that he came to the annex of the palace and took a look at his wife Irene and his youngest son Adyoan. However, it was only when he arrived at the annex that he learned that the queen He had already gone to the small prayer room to pray silently, while Adyoan was playing in the forest garden in the front hall, teased by several maids and eunuchs.

Alexios didn't alert anyone. He stood on the small courtyard steps and watched everything.

At this moment, the ink officer Meles hurriedly came over. It seemed that he had been looking for the emperor everywhere. "Information from Kherson and Trabzon, Theodoro promised to join the army in the coming spring." The request to besiege Gawain, so he is spending the entire territory's money to recruit troops. "

"Oh, tell me?"

"If it were normal, I would not alarm you, Your Majesty - Theodoro, Alanya and Georgia have all signed mercenary contracts. It is said that the number of hired soldiers is astonishing, as many as 10,000 soldiers, to support him in the coming year. Six months of fighting.”

"What, ridiculous!" The emperor was indeed shocked and angry.

"Not only that, it is said that Theodoro is also secretly discussing with the Rus Grand Duke in the Scythian steppe in the north and the Kipchaks. He said that he is going to work for the cause of King Qin, but in fact he is also using ships to recruit Rus sailors and sailors. Soldiers, and the Kipchak light cavalry."

"Where did he get so much money?"

Hearing the emperor's question, the imperial ink officer remembered that the emperor had never been sensitive enough to economics and finance, so he smiled bitterly and took out a manuscript, "Your Majesty, the amount of tribute you have set for Trabzon is far lower than Theo's. Doro's income. This is why his money has grown rapidly."

This manuscript is a simple account book compiled for Meles so that the emperor can see it at a glance. Here the emperor was surprised to see that the estimated tax revenue of Trabzon in the past year was much higher than his previous estimate. Two thirds!

Previously, the emperor asked Theodoro to surrender, granting him the power of governor of Chardia, and paying an annual tribute and irregular military service to the imperial capital. In addition, the emperor also had a source of wealth there, which was the mint: Originally, the emperor wanted Theodoro to send part of the minted currency to the imperial capital on a regular basis, but later he felt that the shipping cost was too high and the loss back and forth was too great. So they simply collected the "coin surcharge" (five percent) and combined it with the tribute.

During the Second Pilgrim Expedition, Theodoro, who took the opportunity to capture Amasya and Chardia, acted cunningly. He swallowed all the taxes and coins in the newly occupied areas and did not record them in the additional tax books. , coupled with the business profits he shared in the trade route opened in Gaowen, it is no wonder that he is now rich and can hire a lot of foreign soldiers.

"Obviously Theodoro has selfish desires and ambitions. Now it seems that if I want to deal with Gawain, Theodorou will probably take the opportunity to attack Paphlagonia and Bithynia, so I will be passive. It will be a repeat of the previous situation!" The emperor picked up the manuscript angrily and looked at the Sasanian-style palm leaf decorations and eagle carvings on the roof. "How should I deal with it? Should Gawain and Theodoro be dealt with separately?"

"This is inappropriate, especially under the current circumstances. Because if we deal with them separately, it will not only force the two thieves to join forces in advance, but also make your majesty's expedition plan scramble and lose its target. According to my servant's opinion, it is better to combine Gawain and Theodoro was trapped separately, and his Majesty Next, concentrate all your forces and contact generals Diognis, Stephen, Raymond, and Breanus to capture Iconium in the center of the plateau first. As long as you capture this place, you will be able to occupy the center of the battle, and then force the west. Odoro attacked Gawain, but he couldn't help but refuse to agree. "

Hearing the suggestion of the Imperial Ink Officer, the emperor pondered for a moment, then turned around and said, "How about this? I order the palace workshop to make a noble and gorgeous crown, and then send an emissary to the land of Kipchak to give it to their leader Bonillac. Designated him as the 'king' of all Russia and instigated them to attack Svyatopolk (Kiev at the time Prince) and Monomakh (Prince of Rostov, full name Vladimir Monomakh, his name 'Monomakh' comes from the maternal line, his great-grandfather is Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomakh Nomach, Monomach is Svyatopolk’s nephew), so that Theodoro can be successfully involved.”

Of course, the enmity between the emperor and the two Russian princes went far beyond the close relationship between them and Theodoro.

The biggest grudge is that this group of people supported a figure named Leo Jeffrevich about six years ago and threatened the emperor's throne. (To be continued ~^~)