John had imagined countless possibilities for his dear Duke Latius of Athens to descend from heaven like a hero.

In the absence of coastal pressure in Athens, Latius would support the front line on the orders of Constantine, which is a very understandable thing in itself, but this reinforcement made John's eyelids jump.

It is true that John had a time when he was obsessed with gunpowder, but after witnessing the manufacturing process of light firearms, especially individual firearms, John gave up the idea of leading the tide of the times and making gunpowder the main force on the battlefield in advance. The hit rate and combat effectiveness of the old-fashioned musket without rifling are really staggering, and the little hundred soldiers brought by Latius are holding a "burning stick" that seems to be quite standard.

"Your Majesty, may you live a long life!" Latius's shouts were full of anger, and he looked old and strong. However, after greeting him, John couldn't help but take another look at the assembled "musketeers".

The so-called armor on their bodies is a leather coat made of two or three layers of tanned fur, which may only be of protective value against the scratches of the skin by falling stones. The bulging pouches around their waists contained gunpowder and projectiles, and the red half-capes tied around their necks stood out in the crowd.

Of course, they also had other melee weapons wrapped around their waists, such as the seemingly handy dagger or the short-handled halberd from Italy, which were quite handy and practical, and could do anything, but there was a question mark over whether the soldiers, who looked like new farmers, would be able to master them.

"We ...... Got rich? John looked at the flamboyant-looking soldiers and whispered in Latius' ear, "How quickly Athens has been rebuilt!" ”

Obviously, this is what the Munitions Factory in Urban has done after it stopped casting the cannon due to financial problems. Compared to the previous batch of works, which were even somewhat damp, these hundred or so guns can at least barely be called superior in terms of specifications and quality.

At this time, the Venetian bankers were quite ambiguous about the issue of lending, knowing that the empire had a big battle to fight, but withheld the money, most likely because of the raisings or bribes of their governors. After all, the Mediterranean-Aegean trade was still an important source of income for maritime trading nations, and allowing the Roman Empire to expand would also constrain its maritime development. Because of this, in a state of high shortage of funds, Latius was able to find such an army from his pocket, which also made John quite curious.

"John, you should know about the new tax law that His Majesty the Great Emperor promulgated two months ago, right?" With a smile on his face, Latius waved his hand and asked a formally dressed soldier to carry the group to the city walls. Although the awkward range and strange angle of fire could only kill some of the Ottomans in the charging path, it was better than nothing for the current Cut Throat Fort.

"Yes." John nodded.

When John had just left the Golden Horn with his army, His Majesty the Emperor had organized people to listen to the preaching of Patriarch Atanatius in Constantine's Square. Its solemn and sacred atmosphere made the faithful of the Holy See impassioned. The inhabitants of Constantinople, in particular, can without exaggeration call it a miracle what they have witnessed during these years. Today, the empire's armies have crossed the straits to regain Anatolia, the unfinished business of the Komnenian dynasty, and the fire of the revival of Roman Nirvana seem to reverberate in front of everyone's eyes once again.

"The Lord is clearly on our side this time." Latius exclaimed, "My Majesty, it seems as if it was yesterday when you left Athens with a serious wound, but as far as I know, Karacha, the commander of the Ottomans outside the city, is your old enemy. The Lord has given you a great opportunity......"

John did not know when Latius had become so reverent, or perhaps it was simply the admiration he felt for the religion's unique and rapid means of accumulating money. At least in his memory, Latius, who dared to blaspheme, and the priest who held the cross all day long, never bore anything else.

"Getting to the point. Duke of Latius. ”

"My Majesty, the new tax law was enacted in conjunction with the general pagan tax. Oh! Oh, my God! This can't be called a tax, it's a money grab! Lathius immediately tore off the disguise of holiness and laughed heartily, "Your Majesty Constantine has raised the taxes on the inhabitants of non-Orthodox believers to an unprecedented degree. Nationwide. And especially in the Southern Balkans, around Athens, in Thessaloniki, oh, the pagans everywhere are gold everywhere! ”

When John built the Universal Gate to ritually increase the population of the empire, it seems that he never thought of forcibly changing the religion of the pagans in the Balkans. In the final analysis, he is not a pure-blooded Orthodox Christian, and now he believes in name only, just for the crown. Thus, even with the construction of the Chapel of God's Wish and the Cathedral of San Canito, the problem of paganism in the Southern Balkans was still relatively serious. What was once a symbolic tax did nothing to prevent the religious orders of other religions, especially the Crescents, from operating around the empire, and the new decree of Constantine XI finally put a lid on their coffins.

At the Imperial Council, a small number of people on more than one occasion took advantage of the hints of His Majesty the Emperor to send additional troops and horses to the important fortresses and strongholds of the empire and train the militia, perhaps in order to completely empty the pagan family base on this day, and cut off their thoughts of making waves at the critical juncture of the empire.

"The tax has only been collected for seven weeks, and a great number of infidels have already given up their childish ideas, my majesty. Although the quick money only made a small amount of time...... For the pagans who were not firm in their faith, they had already been baptized by archbishops everywhere, repented, bought tickets to heaven. There are still some stubborn ones, and I am afraid that a bloody conflict will inevitably be inevitable. ”

John knew very well in his heart what the decree issued by Constantine XI at this time was hidden from himself and Sophia, and perhaps how pleasantly the followers of the crescent moon had been when they first walked through the universal gate more than ten feet high, and how tormented their days were now. The whips of the guards and tax collectors always follow the smell of the money bags.

It's no wonder that even if these Crescent Cult homeless children go further west, there will be no place for them, and the guards on the border alone may immediately burn them as human flesh when they see the hateful infidels. There is no one more tolerant, more tolerant than Rome.

"Also, Your Majesty, we have brought some heavy crossbows and stone-throwing tools...... Hopefully, there are some flat places on the walls where they can be erected. ”