More than a week after the end of the bloodshed in Bies, a fleet from Constantinople arrived in the port of Javill with a reply from Giovanni Giustiniani.

Because John personally promised the benefit to the inhabitants of the village of Bies, the restoration of Port Aville was soon undertaken. Although the docks were littered with timber and stone, it was clear that there had been a huge change from when John first landed.

At least not as desolate as it once were.

"You are ......"

When an old man on crutches, dangling his empty left trouser leg, stepped down from the first shift with the help of two sailors, John thought he had mistaken the ship.

But the old man seemed to be a little surprised by John's reaction, and in Constantinople, when others saw him for the first time, they could not have given him more than two such looks.

"Your Royal Highness the Co-Emperor, I am His Majesty the Emperor's personal legal adviser and the then Chief Home Secretary of His Majesty John VIII, Jeffrey Barnes."

"Private counsel? I've never seen you before the Imperial Council. ”

Jeffrey smiled as if self-deprecatingly, "I just did a lot of things that weren't so glamorous, and I didn't get on the stage...... Your Majesty asked me to come to Epirus, which should be the final destination for me to choose. ”

Jeffrey's battered appearance did pique John and Sophia's curiosity, and Constantine XI's handwritten letter did confirm his identity, which led to more speculation about Jeffrey's past.

But Jeffrey doesn't seem to be very willing to talk about his time in the service of the previous emperor.

"Giovanni, Francisco, and that visitor from the Far East...... These people are all new bloodlines to the Imperial Council, which is good news for the future of the Empire. I hope that under your leadership, Your Highness, the Empire will not repeat the mistakes of its predecessors. ”

If this comes from the mouth of any vassal, it is a great disrespect to the ruler. Jeffrey, however, doesn't seem to have that concern at all. As a core consultant, most of his life was spent dancing on the tip of a knife, and it was probably common for him to anger John VIII.

"What do you mean?"

"Empires come and go, and countless rulers hope for gentle changes in the internal affairs of the empire that seem to be stable, but in fact have long been riddled with holes." Seemingly a little tired from standing, Jeffrey randomly found a lumber pile and sat down in front of John, without mind, "When the empire is strong, they think that change will bring decline, and they choose to give up. When the empire was weakened by infidels and internal wars, they thought that change would consume their already small national strength, and they also chose to flee. And now, the empire is almost forced to the point of being left with only one city, and they are still talking about change, believing that change will destroy the last foundation of the empire...... Your Highness, at least you can personally put an end to that officer under the pressure of thousands of people, the Inquisition and the Senate, as well as the royal family and the nobles of all stripes, and I believe that the Empire has come to a turning point. ”

John understood.

This Geoffrey Barnes, who was appointed by His Majesty the Emperor from Constantinople, was an out-and-out reformist.

Although he was well versed in legal and domestic issues, the "they" he referred to, the rulers of previous empires, usually did not adopt Jeffrey's perhaps overly aggressive strategy. Coupled with the fact that Jeffrey seems to be indifferent and open-mouthed about the etiquette between kings and ministers, his empty trousers may not have anything to do with his personality.

"Do you know, then, what Epirus needs now?"

"It's nothing more than rebuilding people's trust in the government...... Looking at the people here, they seem to be quite happy, His Highness should have given them some benefits, right? ”

“……”

John didn't speak, he wanted to see how this newcomer Jeffrey could become a minister of several dynasties.

"There is no need for Your Highness not to speak, it will take a lot of time to re-establish a new order, whether it is to re-select and promote new nobles, or to choose among the nobles who are still in Constantinople and have no fiefdoms, it is impossible for people to submit willingly without a few months."

"Impossible? Didn't the people who now work on the port already trust the rule of Valleologo? ”

"Trust the Valleologous dynasty?" Jeffrey smiled, "I'm afraid Your Highness promised them some benefits, right?" They are only serving for the benefit they are about to reap, and who the ruler who is pressing on their heads is not a matter of special concern to them. When the Ottomans ruled them, would they have rebelled and cried out for a return to the arms of the Empire? If His Highness does not fulfill his promise, will they continue to trust the rule of the Palaiologos? When they really see that taxes are decreasing, military service is decreasing, and their own interests are changing dramatically, they will truly trust their rulers. It's not something you can do by executing one or two people, Your Highness. ”

If John and Sophia had some doubts about Jeffrey's ability before, after listening to this series of explanations, this doubt has weakened a lot.

"So, Mr. Jeffrey, what do you think of the current situation in Epirus?"

"Your Highness, you should know that behind all victories, there are countless invisible sacrifices."

……

At the behest of John and Constantine XI, Geoffrey temporarily became the supreme consul of the Biyes region. Previously, John was still wondering why he didn't just grant Jeffrey the title of Baron and make Biyes his fief directly. Now it seems that this is a bit overkill.

For Jeffrey, it was not so difficult to control all of Epirus.

According to Jeffrey's plan, all the assets seized from Dariani's estate would be distributed to the citizens of the empire in Biyes in multiple batches.

Its purpose is to restore food and economic production in the village of Bijes in the shortest possible time. Because the village of Biyes has relatively excellent conditions for the development of fruit wine brewing and boat gear production industry, Jeffrey has invested heavily in these two industries.

In the end, because of the natural advantages of Port Yavel, Jeffrey decided to replan the layout of Biers. The original village of Bies, Port Yavel and the surrounding villages were reorganized into a higher administrative division. In this way, the economy of the surrounding areas can also be developed more rapidly, and the population problem will be alleviated.

"If you build a wall around the center of the village of Bies, it will be about the same as Thebes."