"Your Highness the Princess?" Agrippa was quite surprised when he saw Sophia. After all, after John was placed in the Slowe Garden, Sophia never left John half a step, even Constantine XI, and could only occasionally go to the Slou Garden to see John, and occasionally saw Sophia.

Of course, it must be a good rest to see Sophia again in Constantine and Huang Ougong.

"You seem to be having a good day, there should be some good news, right?" Agrippa put down the pen and paper. At this time, the side hall was empty, and Constantine XI was still resting. There is no other economic situation either. Only occasionally a passing attendant would bring Agrippa some water and dessert.

"My brother is awake." Sophia's face was completely calm, at least far from what Agrippa said was "very happy", "Mr. Agrippa, I have some questions for you. ”

Sophia's seriousness alerted Agrippa. In my impression, in the court, Sophia would never show this appearance.

"Your Royal Highness, do you have any orders?"

"Well...... A few days ago, I was distracted by the manuscript of my brother and Her Royal Highness the eldest princess. But there are two things I want to know now. Sophia casually found a chair and sat down. After pondering for a moment, she finally spoke slowly, "First of all, about the Holy See. I know that this matter must have been fought over among the upper nobles. I think Your Majesty has received the most recent letters of recommendation and referral in relation to this position. ”

"It's ......," Agrippa didn't say right away.

Not only him, but all the members of the Imperial Council were reminded by Constantine XI...... Or a warning. As for the matter of the commander of the Holy See, the Imperial Council must not be silent. Regardless of the Imperial Council itself, it was the emperor's most central advisory organization, and a large number of complex interests were involved. Moreover, the commander of the Holy See Guard will inevitably be a member of the Council in the future.

Let's take the simplest example.

If these nobles, accustomed to the old methods, could not have the direct support of Constantine XI, or could not guarantee the attribution of the position, they would have approached their target from the side. The best place to start is undoubtedly the members of the Imperial Council. Whether it's bribery or other more direct means. As long as they can get close to the goal, there is nothing they are not willing to give.

In order not to allow the Council to interfere with the ownership of this position, or to prevent the Council from interfering in such matters, Emperor Constantine XI issued a ban against the members of the Council from talking to anyone about the matter.

It's just that Constantine XI probably didn't expect that when he hadn't fully considered the ownership of the commander's position, John had already secretly circled the candidate.

"Your Majesty has explained ......"

"I didn't ask you who you support, or who you intend to support. I just wanted to talk about what the other new aristocrats think about this......"

Agrippa shook his robe in embarrassment, but in the end, considering that Sophia was also a member of the royal family, he convinced himself: "Several traditional old nobles have their own candidates. So most of the old aristocrats are doing their own thing...... Including the Imperial Council. Even though His Majesty issued a ban, the old nobles still tried. It also includes several branches of the Kömneens themselves, the Dukas-Komnenos, and the Gregor family...... The battle in the shadows, they never stopped. ”

"What about the new aristocrats?"

"New Aristocracy...... They shouldn't be called that. Or rather, after the last time the empire dealt with the affairs of the new senate, the new aristocracy is now more united than we think. Agrippa smiled bitterly, "Or rather, the upper echelons of the entire Senate, in order to suppress the professional unions, have instead introduced a common candidate to increase the influence of the new nobles in the Imperial Council." ”

"Who is it?" There were some things that Publius didn't have time to talk to Sophia about, but in order to help John gather more information, Sophia didn't mind making two more trips to Constantine's palace.

"Tarianos Tadivi." Agrippa thought about the name for a long time, "It must have been a commander under General Publius." ”

"Tadivi?" Sophia repeated the last name, "Tadivi...... Haven't heard of it. ”

Agrippa shook his head slightly: "Your Royal Highness Princess, I just met him by chance. He was not the most brilliant of the Holy See Guard. As for the age of this Tarianos...... It's about the same as Publius. ”

"Pretty much the same as General Publius?"

Sophia's first reaction was to think that this Tarianos was a shield for the new aristocracy. Probably a fairly capable commander. But with Publius an age...... Sophia couldn't believe that in the maelstrom of the Eastern Empire, any young politician could survive.

Of course, to be cautious, Sofia will still let Pedro launch a full investigation. No matter how the new aristocracy, the old aristocracy and other classes may be intrigued, the members of the royal family must control the overall situation.

"Oh, yes. Your Royal Highness, what is your second question? ”

"I want to know...... How have the Ottomans been doing lately? Sophia looked up. He seemed to be smiling, but to Agrippa's eyes, the expression seemed rather terrifying.

"In any case, the blow to Athens this time is something we cannot ignore. No matter how great the empire was in the Balkans, it did not have the strength to go to war with the Ottomans head-on. The Aegean Sea, in fact, was the barrier of the empire. After we cross the Aegean Sea, not many people know what the odds will be. Agrippa seemed to think of something again, and immediately added, "Your Highness the Princess, I know Your Majesty John...... His Majesty Constantine was equally furious, but the empire was not strong enough to take revenge if it wanted to. When His Majesty John beheaded Murad II, Muhammad also held back for a long time. This sneak attack was a wake-up call for the Empire. At all times, we must control the defense of the coastline. In the future, the expansion of the navy will still be on the agenda......"

"That's not what I'm going to hear, Agrippa......" Sofia got up from her position.

"Your Highness the Princess. Now is definitely not the time to get your hands dirty. You want to stay calm. His Majesty John himself would not be happy to see ......"

"Nope. Even if the Ottomans cannot be defeated in the frontal battlefield for the time being...... Muhammad, there must be a price. ”