Eagle Flag of Epirus

"What did you just say?" Justinian asked coldly, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.

"Isn't what I said clearly enough?" Baron Pierre couldn't help but jumped his eyelids for a moment, and he couldn't help taking two steps back. Of course, it was impossible for the young man in front of him to hear what he had just said. It's just that Pierre's conditions touched Justinian's bottom line. It is important to know that even if Alexey I was eager for Italian trade privileges in order to build the palace, he did not allow anyone to touch the Black Sea.

The reason is simple. For hundreds of years, the successive emperors of Rome have regarded the Black Sea as a forbidden and absolutely not allowed other forces to penetrate. Even in the most declining era of the empire, Italian merchants could not set foot there. But this also precisely caused the Italian business people to have a keen interest in this virgin land of the Black Sea. You know, since the Crusades, the West no longer has to undergo the exploitation of the Byzantine Empire to trade directly with the East. However, as the Crusades are struggling, the area controlled by the Crusaders along the coast of the Levant has been shrinking. This threatens Italian business activities, so it is urgent to open up new routes. Therefore, it is not just the Pizza people, many people have already set their sights on the unexplored area of ​​the Black Sea, in an attempt to obtain an infinite area from it. But this naturally cannot avoid Constantinople, which is holding the strait. Pierre naturally wants to take this opportunity to ask for a price to try to get a promise from Justinian. So this is enough to offset his lack of permission from his home country to get involved in the war between the Latins and the Greeks.

But how could Justinian agree? Although he looks very young, he is the person who knows the importance of the Black Sea best. In order to regain Constantinople, Mikhail VIII of the Paleoligue dynasty recklessly granted the Genoese the right to sail in the Black Sea, which directly led to continuous disputes in the empire for two hundred years. The Genoese obtained the Galata of Constantinople and used it as a starting point to enter the Black Sea to establish a trading stronghold in the city of Kaffa. It was like strangling the neck of the Byzantine Empire, and even in the end, they could remotely control the political situation in Constantinople, resulting in Had bad consequences. Because of this, from any angle, Justinian is absolutely impossible to agree to such conditions as the Pisa, if the other party really obtains the right to exercise the Black Sea, it will do absolutely the same as the Genoese.

"Do you think I will agree?"

However, Pierre, who knew this, still held a bit of expectation and patiently said: "At this moment and then, the Roman Empire is no longer as strong as it was when Emperor Manuel was reigning. Not to mention the king. Constantinople is not even in your hands. With your current strength, don't you really think you can deal with the Venetians to drive away these crusaders?"

The empire nowadays has already declined to the point where it can't be added. Pierre doesn't think Justinian can really turn the tide, even though he seems to be winning in Moriah, but after all, he doesn't have enough strength. Without the support of other forces, nothing can be done.

However, to Pierre's disappointment, in the end, Justinian categorically rejected him.

"Unfortunately, this is absolutely impossible. Only the emperor of the empire has the power to control the maritime power of the Black Sea. Your Excellency Pierre, do you think it really depends on me to decide?" Justinian put away the original cold The pressure on his face disappeared immediately, and he looked at the Pizzaman in front of him with a playful look and asked.

But as soon as he finished speaking, he just listened to Justinian’s talk and said, “Of course, if it’s something else, I think I still have this right. I hope your fleet can Get to the destination as soon as possible, after all, now I have no extra time to waste."

When Pierre saw this, he was already mentally prepared for it. After all, he knew Justinian would definitely use this as an excuse to shirk, but he still understood that his request was indeed a bit excessive. So Baron Pierre shrugged and said: "If this is the case, then it has to be this way. Then as compensation, I hope we can get the right to use the port of Piraeus. As for the time limit, we will talk about it. "The lion opened his mouth. At this time, Baron Pierre was not just about Nafplio but the port of Piraeus, the lifeblood of the city of Athens. Although the city of Athens has been in decline for many years, this is not the case. Hinder its value in the eyes of Italian businessmen. As an excellent seaport, the port of Piraeus is undoubtedly an excellent choice.

And he just finished receiving his words~www.ltnovel.com~ Justinian didn’t even hesitate to say: “Deal!” The only thing he cares about now is to arrive in Athens as soon as possible, so even if the other party changes this condition, it is still very good. Harsh, but he still chose to agree to the respondent.

Baron Pierre, who got Justinian's promise, immediately showed a satisfied expression. He turned his head and whispered to his subordinates to make the helmsman prepare to accelerate the voyage. The man looked at Justinian in front of him and said: "Please You can rest assured that we will arrive at our destination as soon as possible. Good night, Your Excellency Justinian, but I hope that your Excellency Justinian will not be so anxious to refuse the previous proposal. Maybe you can’t do it now, but maybe Maybe you really have that chance in the future, don't you?" After that, the man winked at Justinian meaningfully.

For a while, Justinian was slightly taken aback after listening, and there was a trace of astonishment in his eyes, but he quickly recovered. Without saying a word, he turned and walked out of the room.

Looking at this young man’s back, the other Pizza nobles on the side looked at Baron Pierre in a puzzled manner and asked, "Your Excellency, why do you need to do this? It's actually not best for us not to get involved. Choice?"

I saw Pierre cast a blank look at his men and said, "Don’t you think that we can really avoid the Venetians’ eyes and ears by doing this? It’s an unrealistic idea to say that we’re out of the way, it’s the way I was before. Doing it is just waiting for the price. But as far as it seems, even if this kid is dragged into this muddy water, it is still not a loss-making business. I have a hunch that this kid will be true this time. After avoiding the Venetian disaster, he will surely become an incredible figure in the future."

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