Eagle Flag of Epirus

[Where a country disputes itself, it becomes a wasteland; a city and a family dispute each other, and it will not stand; if Satan drives out Satan, it is a dispute among itself, how can his kingdom stand? --Gospel of Matthew】

"Your Excellency Manuel, I suggest you pay more attention to your attitude. This is not Moria. Even if your father is Grand Duke Anastasius, we must also be aware that we are also the noble ministers of the court council. , Making any decision is not something you as a junior can just make your fingertips."

Under the gorgeous purple domed hall, the gloomy atmosphere is shrouded, and on the high platform, a Roman nobleman in tight long clothes sits condescendingly looking down at the center of the hall, and the young nobleman standing there alone.

At this time, Manuel looked at the stage without saying a word, with a sneer on his face.

Looking at this dazzling sneer, the nobles on the stage showed different expressions, some jealous, some sullen, some sarcasm, some contempt. They are the most powerful people in the city, but such a small country nobleman dares to laugh at them.

"It's been almost three years since I visited my father, Manuel, your appearance has changed a lot," a middle-aged nobleman on the stage said lightly, "but although people have grown up, they are still too childish. I don't know how to converge."

"I haven't seen him for three years. Master Gallias hasn't changed at all, and he's still the same old-fashioned circumspect about things he doesn't understand." Manuel twitched his mouth and smiled. "After you left, my father would often mention you, saying that it was really appropriate for you to take over the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer. Your financial management ability is comparable to that of Krasu's sergeant."

In the hall, there was a sneer from nowhere. The meeting of nobles, which should have been serious, suddenly became comical because of Manuel's wonderful metaphor.

And the ridiculed Galias couldn't help her face at this time, and just as he couldn't help but yell at the young man below on such an occasion, a majestic voice suppressed all the commotion.

"Well, at this time, don't care about decency and juniors anymore." A person sitting in the center said, and then all the nobles could not help but silence on the noble council.

And the speaker is no one else, it is John X, the Patriarch of Constantinople. As the patriarch, it is rare for him to attend this meeting this time.

"It's still exactly the same as when your father was young, Lord Manuel, say hello to your father for me." The black-robed patriarch looked down calmly, "For your father's face, then In addition, it is also recommended by the queen, so we have always been polite to you, but you must first learn to respect the rules of Constantinople and respect the elders, so that you can get kind feedback from others. To polite children We have never been stingy to guide."

"Simply speaking, I must obey your words, because the rules of Constantinople have already belonged to you, and you are the elders, who I must obey. Do you mean that, under the Patriarch's seat."

"In fact, it is true." Patriarch John nodded. "The reason why we vetoed your request naturally has our reason. I hope you cooperate. In that case, we will save a lot of trouble."

"I don't understand what you are saying." Manuel raised his head, looked at the aristocratic nobles, and asked: "I have given the evidence I found to you. I have reason to suspect that the accidental death of Secretary Vatazes was connected with the people of the inner court, so I asked for a thorough investigation. Is this unreasonable? You didn't say that when you granted me the power to investigate this matter!"

"Manuel Komunen of Moria! Pay attention to your manner of speaking. There is never right or wrong in the court, there is only a balance of interests, and the same is true for us to investigate this matter. Vatazes The friendship between Qing and Grand Duke Anastasius has been heard by everyone present. It is very...close, but I don’t want the people we sent to investigate because of these things. What’s more important is the majesty of the royal family. He and the empire’s authority must not be harmed in any way. Without absolute personal testimony, everyone here and I will never allow you to investigate the inner court without authorization. This is the bottom line, I hope you can understand.” John X raised it. The voice was silent.

And Manuel looked at the nobles in front of him, his resentment was overwhelming, but he already knew that nothing else would help. He put away the Romfaya dagger as an exhibit, saluted everyone stiffly, and then turned around, leaving only the gloomy meeting hall where the nobles talked.

...

"Everyone is silent, what are you still discussing now." Patriarch John once again suppressed the commotion of the nobles. "A junior messed up your positions, everyone. The sharpness is too clear, and the sharp blade is too strong, but it will easily break. Don't worry about him, as long as the principled things don't let him touch, Let him check it out!"

"I'm only afraid that the queen's trick is to lure wolves into the house, and Komunen of Moriah is not safe. In my opinion, the kid is a dangerous member of the empire, even though he had shown great success in the war to suppress the Bolgars before. But if he becomes the enemy of this country, the stronger people like him are, the more dangerous it is to us."

"What we are discussing today is not to figure out whether Manuel is more useful to us or more dangerous." John X interrupted the other party, "because the Duke of Serbia and Princess Odosia have retired, and now The relationship between His Majesty Alexei and Queen Ducarina is tense. Vatazes's affairs urgently need a neutral and talented person to give a reasonable explanation to many parties, so we still need him."

"Ignoring his identity for the sake of his abilities is like releasing death row prisoners, arming them, and letting them charge forward, but how do you know that he will not turn his weapon at you?" Another nobleman said with a sneer. . "Don't forget that the one who made our motherland from a republic to a head of state is also a young man who was favored by the Senate."

"But you and I are not Cicero, and he is not Octavian Caesar. Pay attention to your words, Ching Conil."

At this time, a nobleman who had been silent just now said: "But under the Patriarch's seat, we are worried. What Manuel said just now has actually been raging among the people a few months ago."

The Patriarch shook his head slightly, "It doesn't matter what those people believe or say. The important thing is that everyone here, we manage this country on behalf of your Majesty. If our actions intentionally or unintentionally damage the emperor's dignity, it will be of no benefit to national affairs. Now, a stable political situation is the most important thing."

"Yes! The Patriarch's words are not bad." As soon as the voice fell, another nobleman immediately echoed, "In this situation, the stability of Constantinople is more than everything."

"But the death of Vatazes has made Epirus and Moria's nobles very unhappy, especially now we can't give them an explanation." The slightly worried nobles still hesitated.

But the nobleman in the front seat sneered: "Is there anything we can explain, do we still need us to please them? A group of Dukas and Komuning's family broke down and they really thought they had the energy that they used to be. Now it's true. His confidant is the Latins in the north, as well as the dirty Georgians."

"According to the intelligence of Cilicia ahead, the brothers Ariksai and David Komunen are moving in the east with the support of the Queen of Georgia. In addition, intelligence shows that the two military regions of Chardia and Kherson have already Many nobles are secretly communicating with them." said a noble in charge of military affairs.

"It's impossible! How dare they do this? Rebellion at this time! They dare to collude with the descendants of tyrant Andronika." A certain nobleman was obviously shocked by the news.

"With all due respect, you think so because you are in Constantinople. After all, from the walls of Theodosius to the outside of the Holy Palace, no one has torn off the flesh and blood of the tyrant, but Komunin's house is in the east. The prestige of several military districts is still very high. Especially after the defeat of Emperor Isaac in Bulgaria, the centrifugal force of those Anatolians has greatly accelerated." The military aristocrat looked at a pair of incredible eyes and replied, "Even if it is. Turkic people can take advantage of the vacancy to enter. With the support of the Georgians, what is the difficulty for Liangkomunin to make waves?"

"Nonsense! Eastern food has always been supplied by Thrace. How dare they do this! Is this an exaggeration?" There are still nobles who are unwilling to believe in such a thing.

However, the nobleman who was scolded was not angry, but stood up and revealed his extremely burly figure. There is no doubt that this nobleman is a soldier who has been fighting for a long time and is a true general. Even if his status is not high, he still cannot be underestimated by other nobles. "I'm not exaggerating. Chiriqia is still a military district that is relatively loyal to the empire. If their intelligence is not credible, then I don't know what to believe. Queen Tamar of Georgia has already treated the empire because of previous events. With a grudge, there is no suspense about the invasion. If someone said that when we talked, Trabizon had ushered in a new owner, I would believe it." The general said coldly, "This information has already been written separately. I’m submitting the report to you, but I guess you don’t have time to read it. As for the Thrace food you mentioned just now, unfortunately, with the development of Kherson, the food there is almost self-sufficient. In Erdia, smugglers trafficking food from Egypt and Sicily through the Black Sea every year are enough to make a group of people rich. The Latin merchants that your majesty condones have actually made it difficult for us to have any economic control over the Eastern Military District."

Upon hearing such news, all the nobles looked ugly. They didn't expect the situation in the East to be so corrupt.

"Then how should we deal with it, we can't just watch the military area fall, this will cause an uproar." Galiasqing is worried, and he is not willing to encounter the turmoil that he experienced more than ten years ago for the second time.

But the general shook his head, "I'm afraid it won't work. Your Majesty has ordered all border guards to be assembled in Fort Adriatic without any mobilization, and to guard against the coming crusaders."

The noble hall suddenly became quiet, and the aristocrats who had been aloof looked at each other.

The news is too creepy. Ever since Emperor Alexei I wrote to Pope Urban, the disaster that lasted for a hundred years has not stopped, and the Latins who dove in the magpie's nest are simply a nightmare. There was Bohemond the first time, Renault the second time, and Frederick the red beard the third time. No one dared to imagine what the fourth time would be. More importantly, there are rumors claiming that this campaign was an outright conspiracy. The Latins had colluded with the escaped prince Alexei Angeles. In this way, the war in the East is not so important in comparison.

"This is an unprecedented crisis!" At the center of the high platform, Patriarch John murmured, but there was no alternative in his heart. Obviously now it has reached the point of danger, but the battle between the royal party and the rear party is still full of storms. Although they are aristocrats of Constantinople strictly adhere to neutrality, it also means that they cannot control the current situation. Looking up at the vaulted hall where the Roman sages were painted, the tired-faced Patriarch let out a sigh.

...

...

...

A secluded place with no one--

"Your Excellency Manuel, Your Excellency Manuel, please stay."

"Is it necessary for me to stay here? I think it might be better for me to take my troops back to Moria." Manuel Komunen said grimly, directly rejecting the eunuchs behind him. Retention. He is a descendant of Emperor Isaac Komunin, and the purpose of this trip is to have great ambitions, but not to come here to be angry.

Behind him, the **** said patiently: "Then what do you think the queen should do? The order given by the court has already granted you enough power that night. Forgive me, I will be blunt, with a large number of cavalry in the city at night. You are the first one who is not a rebellion. Even with such support, are you still not satisfied?

"If I take one step faster, I can definitely prevent those people from being killed and silenced. Otherwise, if the evidence was there just now, those guys have absolutely nothing to say. But it's too late to say anything. This period of time is enough. The people behind the scenes have cleaned up the evidence." Manuel said coldly, "This is already the result. I can only say that I have failed the queen's expectations."

"No, no, no, sir, do you really think that the two corpses prove that the killer was wiped out and destroyed? It's too simple." The **** saw Manuel's tone slightly eased and said with a smile .

"What are you talking about?" Upon hearing the news, the young little duke immediately lifted his spirits.

"The queen asked the old slave to tell you that, in fact, the assassins had moved their residences as early as last night, so that all of them rushed out, and suffered a big loss. They separated a battleship in the early morning and pretended to be The imperial navy left Constantinople and headed north for the Black Sea." said the eunuch.

Such detailed information made Manuel a little skeptical, "How do you know such detailed information?"

And the **** in front of him calmly explained: "Isn't the previous information provided to you? The reason is very simple. The queen has already put her eyeliner there, but she has not found the right person to clean up this matter. What if. If you don’t believe me, your Excellency Manuel, you can go to the Varangian Guard to investigate whether a soldier named Igor is missing, and the soldiers at the Plesia Gate can also testify that they saw him appearing in one place this morning. Aboard a suspicious battleship Dromont. We speculate that this soldier was held captive in all likelihood and was used to conceal the sight and avoid the checkpoint in Constantinople."

"Why didn't you talk about such an important thing earlier, or else there wouldn't be so much trouble at all." After listening, Manuel was shocked and angry. It was clear that he was manipulated by these people in front of him. The puppet is average.

"Please calm down your anger." The **** bowed slightly and apologized, "This is also something that can't be helped. The people over there were obviously first spotted by these assassins. We also found our place by the pier this morning. The intelligence hints left by the eyeliner led to this possibility. I'm really sorry."

Seeing the other side's attitude, the arrogant Manuel only faded a little at this time, and said frustrated: "This is the end of the matter. I have tried my best. I am afraid that I will not be able to do anything to help you. ."

"Please don't be discouraged. The queen sent the old slave to talk about this matter. The purpose is to discuss something with your Excellency."

"What's the matter?" Manuel frowned, already guessing half of it.

The **** did not cover up anymore, and then he said in a showdown: "The queen still hopes that you can continue to take over this matter and thoroughly investigate it to the end. For this reason, she has mobilized a naval squadron for you to dispatch."

"But..." Manuel hesitated slightly. He came on this trip at the order of Emperor Alexei III to revive the family glory, and also to investigate his father's friend Wa. The cause of the death of Minister Tazes is true, but for this reason he left Constantinople for the wild north, which had to make him hesitate.

But the next words of the **** made the ambitious young noble completely tempted, "Ah, you should have such concerns. It's a pity that the queen is considering marrying Princess Odosia to you, but If you can't rely on this to pressure His Majesty, I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve."

"You said that the queen wants to betroth Princess Odosia to me?" Manuel Komunen couldn't help being excited when he heard the news. As a descendant of Emperor Isaac Komunen for a long time, Their identities are very embarrassing. During the period of Manuel I, his father was named the dictatorship of Moriah. Although his position was lofty, he was completely far away from the power center of Constantinople~www.ltnovel.com~ watched the empire for decades. Ups and downs of power. The young duke has always been unwilling to do this. His bravery in the Bulgarian War has not been reused, and this time if he can really become the imperial cohort, then he will walk into the power center of the empire in the future. It will no longer be a luxury! And the ambition he has always been in his heart can finally be unfolded, as if everything is already in front of his eyes.

Thinking of this, Manuel couldn't help feeling agitated. He immediately cleared up his hesitation, and decisively said to the **** in front of him: "I am willing to go, please turn to Her Royal Highness, Manuel, who is loyal to her. Komunen will certainly not disappoint him."

Looking at Manuel's firm expression, the old white-haired **** nodded in satisfaction. He knew that facing such conditions, the young man in front of him would never refuse.

"Oh? If this is the case, Your Excellency Manuel can share the worries for the queen in this way. After this, the old slave will do my best to share your worries for your affairs. I will return to the palace. Before that, let me arrogantly arrogate. You screamed."

The eunuch, like an old fox, obediently sent the young nobleman away in front of him, but the cold light that appeared in his eyes was like a poisonous snake.

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