"What do you think, Mr. Knight?"

"This is a matter of the Order's core interests...... I must ask the Grand Master for instructions. "The knights who came to negotiate were obviously a little cramped. The conditions put forward by the Empire were clearly not harsh, and a makeshift military fortress had practically no decisive effect on the possible rule of the Knights in Cyprus.

However, certain conditions of negotiation that are contrary to the Order's doctrine and the Order's usual code of conduct will of course not be decided by an ordinary knight. It is better to let this matter drag on, and after formal negotiations again, you may be able to get a reasonable offer.

"The Palace of Raopalsia is always open and you are always welcome to discuss cooperation with the Empire again. Before that, you can stay in Constantinople for a while. Old Agrippa slowly rose and saluted the noble knight.

Although the beliefs are different, the current relationship between Orthodoxy and Catholicism has not reached a freezing point. The Battle of Varna, the pagan as the number one enemy of the Western world, had already served the papacy a reminder that it would do no good to destroy relations with the empire and to stir up their heated internal struggles.

"My father and Agrippa will be here waiting for a reply from the Grand Master. But this knight, my sister and I are ready to return to Epirus. Of course, the Château de Combrigné also welcomes you. ”

The fleet docked at the Golden Horn hoisted its sails the next day. Epirus' affairs were not something that Jeffrey could decide alone, and now back at Fort Combrigne, the problems that needed to be solved were probably piled up in the days of his stay in the Slou Gardens.

"Brother, you don't seem to be that concerned about the affairs of the Knights?"

In the cabin, Sophia browsed the historian's newly drawn map of the territory, and said in a hitch.

"There's no need for that, it's a waste of effort." John crossed his legs on the table and said a little boredly, "As long as the Grand Master named Rastik has a little effort in the expansion of the Knights, he will not refuse the Empire's conditions." ”

Sophia looked up curiously: "Why?" The military strength of the Order was actually not as weak as we thought, and without the presence of the Mamluks, Cyprus would not have changed hands long ago? ”

"Lusignan's bones are a little softer, but that doesn't mean they're stupid. The fortress of Rhode Island is indeed very strong, but there is a question mark over how much combat strength the knights will have after leaving the fortress. John said with a little sarcasm, "You just mentioned the Mamluks...... In fact, the defeat of the infidels, or the defeat of both the Ottomans and the Mamluks, made the knights of Rhode Island see the possibility of expansion. But they still have a taboo thing to fear. ”

"Huh?"

"The defeat of the Ottomans, the weakening of the Mamluks, was to give the empire the opportunity to control the Aegean Sea, and indeed the entire Eastern Mediterranean. The fleet of the knights was not weak, but it was also no match for the Empire. At this time, the Empire became one of the greatest threats to the Order. John explained, "Although there is a fig leaf of common belief in God, even the Venetians know that sooner or later some conflict will break out between the Empire and Venice over Crete in order to have complete control of the Aegean Sea." Therefore, the Venetians tried to ease relations with the empire and buy time to sit in the position of maritime supremacy in the Mediterranean. For the Knights of St. John, Rhodes was like Crete, the fuse of the conflict with the Empire. Unless the knights re-landed in the Near East, they could not have held on to Rhodes for long in the shadow of a growing empire. In other words, the existence of the empire has already made some people feel threatened. ”

"What's the matter, brother, are you worried that the Pope will once again issue the Roman threat theory, and then storm Constantinople with a group of hot-blooded young knights?" Sophia half-jokingly, "Judging by the performance of those sub-knights in the previous crusades against the infidels, I'm afraid that if the Pope wants to sit firmly on his throne, he will have to rely on the Empire, right?" ”

"If he dared to organize a crusading empire, he dared to form a blasphemous alliance with the pagans and sack Rome. The Holy See is no longer what it used to be, and the West is now in chaos, and when they have no time to look east, the empire should develop into something they cannot afford to provoke. ”

"For example?"

"For example, the recovery of Asia Minor, Pontus, and Armenia, all the way to conquer North Africa, establish the kingdom of the Near East and Egypt, and then directly point to the recovery of the five patriarchates, directly threatening the Holy See." John casually picked up a glass of rum and took a sip, "In this way, the Pope can't afford to mess with it." ”

"Brother, are you drunk?" Sophia covered her mouth and smiled, "Reshape most of the territory of the ancient empire? Now His Majesty can be compared to Justinian the Great. ”

"Why not?" John got up and took the map from Sophia's hand, "The whole land around the Mediterranean is actually that big, isn't it?" ”

……

"Your Majesty, you can come back!"

After a few days of not coming to Fort Combrigna, it seemed to become particularly lively, the number of attendants and maids had nearly doubled, and the number of palace honor guards had also increased considerably, but Geoffrey was still busy alone.

"What's wrong? Jeffery? Look at you like this...... Why is it like I haven't closed my eyes in a few days? ”

"Your Majesty, Kastoria is a hot potato...... Under our rule, it is very troublesome to deal with. Jeffrey wiped the sweat from his forehead, "In Kastoria, the religious conflict is not as violent as Hadrianpolis, but the change of administrative bureaucracy is a big problem. This place is different from Epirus. During the reign of the Ottomans, Epirus was no different from the warlord autonomy, but Kastoria was different. Some parts of the area have left a strong pagan style of rule, including the habits of the local people who are completely different from us Romans, and for the local officials we have sent, this group of ...... The attitude of this group of citizens is very dissatisfied, and there is a faint tendency to riot. ”

"Can't we soften them by satisfying some reasonable conditions?" John wondered. This method is a regular means of establishing the initial rule, and it is also relatively mild, and the style of rule changes slowly, and it is okay

"The local aristocracy they spearheaded demanded absolute autonomy......"

"Absolutely what?"

"It means to restore similar city-states and ...... in Old Greece"

"That's!" John suddenly slapped the table and became angry, "Jeffrey, you don't see that? That is, the local aristocracy took the lead in rebelling against the rule of the empire, what does it have to do with the demands of the people? Call Giovanni for me! ”