Eagle Flag of Epirus

In 1207, when the Civil War in Epirus was raging and the Latin Empire was busy coping with its enemies from the Bolgar and Nicaea, everyone allocated a part of their attention to the south, because it was happening in Moria. With a huge change, Governor Justinian of Moria and the Pizzas smashed the attempt of the Latin aristocracy to launch a rebellion in the Peloponnese. With an iron fist, Justinian executed several crusaders, including King Alexander of Thessaloniki, Maximilian, Duke of Athens, and Marquis of Thebes who had fought in the Fourth Crusade. A distinguished nobleman. And the scope of the shock that this brought about not only included the old frontiers of the Roman Empire, but even spread to the other side of the Strait, bringing a lot of shock to the Holy See.

"I heard from the sea that the Pope of Rome was very dissatisfied with your actions in Moria. He thought it was a cruel slaughter of the Brothers Christ, and publicly condemned it. Now you have been taken by the entire western world. Got it, Lord Justinian."

"Oh, if the Pope’s words are really so effective, they did not dare to sack Zara with the courage of the Crusaders. What's more, I didn’t do anything. Compared with His Majesty Manuel, I just expelled them. It’s a benevolent practice to leave Moria.” Justinian looked at the people and said indifferently. In order to completely uproot Moria’s Latin influence, he confiscated Corinth, except for agreeing to keep Achaia. All the properties of the Latin nobles were removed, and all new immigrants who refused to be converted were expelled, leaving them to fend for themselves. And this is probably the place that angers the Holy See the most.

"But he is the Pope of Rome after all. His words are enough to set up many difficult enemies for you." The man sitting opposite Justinian reminded that the Holy See is hot today, and Pope Innocent has reached At the peak of power that was unattainable by the predecessors, many monarchs in the West had to give three points to the young pope. If Justinian becomes a thorn in his eye, then Western monarchs will most likely intervene in the now divided empire and make the situation more variable.

"Of course I know this, but even if I don't do this, the Latins in the west won't be indifferent to everything that happens here." Justinian got up and stood on the edge of the city wall and looked at the rebuilt Argos in the ruins. , Said: "For many years, the Holy See still did not know that Saint Constantine had transferred the power of the empire, the Senate and all the Roman virtues to Constantinople. In addition to a gang of fishermen and traffickers in Rome, There was nothing left besides sparrow catchers, illegitimate children, common people, and slaves. What Emperor Nikiphorus said to John XII's sacred stick will be practiced to the Holy See sooner or later. Those in the middle."

Justinian’s words were deafening, revealing an extraordinary sense of eagerness and determination, and if these words were said a year ago, he would only be regarded by Biren as a whimsical lunatic. But now it's hard to say who thinks so.

"Okay, let's come here for the kind words first, Your Excellency Hendry, Prince Theodor asked you to come to me for this reason, right?" Turning to look at the other party, Justinian said at the same time. .

"It's you, indeed."

Hendry said with a wry smile, looking at the young man in front of him with complicated eyes. He came to see Justinian on the order of Prince Theodor, and when they met for the first time, the opponent in front of him was not out of date with a small lord of Droyvanburg. But now he has become a prince of Moria, and even got the favor of the original Prince Moria as his heir. This makes Hendryer also have to sigh with the impermanence of the world. And Justinian’s complete victory in Moria also made Theodor Dukas uneasy. He failed to win Justinian’s subordinate Sir Baptiste in Thessaloniki. Stinny integrated the entire Moria Military District. If he joined his brother Mikhail, his rear would be in great danger.

Therefore, not long after Justinian suppressed the rebellion, Hendryer came to Moria on behalf of Theodore to express this Dukas's goodwill towards Justinian.

"His Royal Highness hopes to work with you to deal with Mikhail, overthrow his rule in Epirus, and welcome back His Majesty Muzfius. After this is done, he is willing to recommend you to become the real Duke of Moria. . This is undoubtedly mutually beneficial and win-win for you and His Royal Highness King Qin.” Hendryer told Theodor Dukas's condition, and this condition is indeed quite generous, as long as Cha Shi Dini is willing to send troops to help him overthrow Mikhail, then he can not only officially canonize Justinian as Duke Moriah, but also give him the land of Thessaly as a fief.

This generous gift is enough to show the sincerity of Theodor Dukas, but just as Hendry expected, Justinian reacted coldly and did not comment on it.

"It is indeed generous, but it is optional, not to mention that I have no intention to intervene in the internal disputes of the Dukas family. Moreover, some unpleasant occurrences made it hard for me to believe the sincerity of His Royal Highness Prince Theodor." A hint of irony, Justinian said.

"This... the prince only just learned about it. So His Royal Highness Romanus was recalled to Rusnina and was punished." Almost at the same time as the rebellion in Moria, in Macedonia, Theodor Dukas’ His son Romanus arrogantly entangled a group of old Latin aristocrats who attempted to attack Thessaloniki, but was frustrated and left in embarrassment. All this is too coincidental, and Hendry knows that it is natural for Justinian to suspect that they were the initiators of this Moriah rebellion. Such an explanation is too pale and weak.

"For the sake of my friends, you and Miss Antonia, please trust my sincerity this time, Justinian." Hendry said helplessly.

But Justinian, who was still unmoved, said coldly: “However, I don’t believe in the sincerity of His Royal Highness Prince Theodor. As for whether Romanus is punished, I don’t care. All I can do is Neutral. My allegiance is to the Empire and not to the Dukas family. If there is nothing else, please go back, Lord Hendry."

"Even if the daughter of His Royal Highness Prince Theodor is at a very young age, do you still insist on this attitude?" Suddenly, Hendryer looked at Justinian deeply, but made Justinian somewhat At a loss, he looked at the opponent in front of him without speaking.

"You mean Irina Dukas?" Justinian looked at the subtle eyes of the other party, hesitated for a moment, and he still had a vague impression of the sixteen-year-old girl.

"Yes."

"I don't think Prince Theodor will use her marriage as a condition of trading with me." Justinian's face returned to calm.

And Hendryer shrugged and said: "It is true, this is just a little bit of advice to you. You know, your Excellency Justinian, in this empire, ability alone is not enough. Yes, even if it is appreciated by someone, but without a truly noble identity and background, everything you have now may be lost at any time. But if you can choose a noble woman to hire, then the door of nobility will naturally open to you. This makes sense, I hope you can think about it, Your Royal Highness Justinian." His face became colder and colder, and Justinian did not respond after listening to Neusky's report.

Looking at Justin Ninevski, he didn't say anything. After all, at this time, they did have a navy that asked for the Pizzas. If they didn't have the support of the other side to connect to Thessaloniki, they would not be able to gain a foothold. In that case, they will eventually have to turn to the Dukas family for help, and without the warship, they can only be trapped in Moria and unable to show their talents. In the current situation, they still need to rely on the help of the Pizzas.

Speaking meaningfully, Hendry looked at Justinian's silence and didn't say anything, but chose to take the initiative to say goodbye, expressing his willingness to wait for good news.

Seeing the back of the other party leaving, Justinian, who hadn't spoken for a long time, turned his gaze to the newly built wall and the soldiers who were training in front of him. For some reason, there was a strange feeling in his heart. What's swelling, I'm trying to make him do something that he didn't want to do...

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from behind Justinian.

"You won't really believe their nonsense, right?"

Justinian turned and looked behind him. It turned out that Neusky was looking at him. The conversation between him and Hendryer had obviously been heard by all the Varangians.

"Why do you think so?" Justinian asked rhetorically.

"Because the look in your eyes was terrible, I have seen it in the eyes of many people, and in the end they all lost themselves. You know, none of the words of the Dukas family are credible. They just want to use you. Only, in the eyes of those nobles, it is more uncomfortable for someone like you to sit on an equal footing with them than to be ruled by the Latins." Neuski vowed to say, once a member of the Varangian Guard, he had already seen it. How outrageous the decay of the imperial aristocracy is. The representative among them is Dukas. The blood of this family can be said to be the essence of betrayers and conspirators. But for two hundred years, after several dynasties, Dukas still has the same glory, relying on cunning conspiracy and despicable clinging. The legacy of the Macedonian dynasty was defeated by them, and Komunin's glory was forgotten by them. Nieowski would never want Justinian to embark on a path of no return.

"So you are worried about this..." Justinian spread out his hands with a faint smile, and said: "Don't worry, I am not so stupid that I will be played by them. It's just that what Hendryer said just now is right. Ability alone is definitely not enough in this empire. But it is not the so-called noble identity and background."

"What's that?" Nevsky asked, looking at Justinian subconsciously, looking at the young man's back, looking forward to his answer.

At this moment, the bleak cold wind blows over the tower and Justinian's calm and magnanimous voice is also scattered in the wind at this moment.

"There have been too many careerists and conspirators in Rome. What she needs now is only sincere saviors and defenders. This is precisely why you are standing next to me. Otherwise, how can you follow me and follow other people? Difference. May our way be kept, and that day, the crown of righteousness will be preserved for us."

The last sentence is the content of the book of Timothy, but in Justinian’s sorrowful voice, it is even more exciting. And this is exactly the answer Neusky hoped to get.

"You come to see me at this time, there must be something important to tell me, right?"

"Yes, it's about the pizzas." Justinian's words reminded Neusky all of a sudden, he almost forgot important things, his expression was slightly solemn, and he only heard him say:

"The city of Athens is still in their hands, but the Baron Pierre doesn't seem to have any plans to leave. Even the people we sent to take over Nafplio were prevaricated by him with various excuses. Justin Mr. Ni, look?" The Varangian man is actually very dissatisfied in his heart. In his opinion, the cunning Pizzaman is the same as the Venetian and Genoese~www.ltnovel.com~ They all love to take advantage of the fire, but Because Justinian’s relationship is now allies, he can't bear it, but if this continues, Nevsky thinks that the Pizzas will sooner or later stray from them.

In this regard, Justinian was not surprised, he had guessed that it would be so. If you say that you don't want to give up Nafplio now, you can still be regarded as some worries about the previous agreement, then the ambition of the Pisas is clear if the city of Athens is occupied and refused to leave. As a seaport, Athens is far stronger than Thessaloniki, which is surrounded by enemies on all sides, and has more resources than Nafplio. Therefore, taking advantage of the Latin emptiness, Pierre, who successfully attacked behind him, naturally broke his promise and was unwilling to hand it over. Undoubtedly, the huge results intensified the expansion of the Pisans' ambitions, but they didn't know that they were touching Justinian's scales step by step at the moment.

His face grew colder, and Justinian did not respond after listening to Neusky's report.

Looking at Justin Ninevski, he didn't say anything. After all, at this time, they did have a navy that asked for the Pizzas. If they didn't have the support of the other side to connect to Thessaloniki, they would not be able to gain a foothold. In that case, they will eventually have to turn to the Dukas family for help, and without the warship, they can only be trapped in Moria and unable to show their talents. In the current situation, they still need to rely on the help of the Pizzas.