Gyerj's actions were unexpectedly swift, and he was able to find time to abandon the vast mountains of Albania and come to the village of Bijes to discuss military affairs with the Empire.

This was the second time John had seen Jerdi Skanderbeg. The continuous fighting made him look a little tired, and even on his body that was not covered by clothing, he could see the traces of wounds being bandaged.

"Your Majesty John. Congratulations to the co-ruler of the Roman Empire, and the Roman Empire will surely grow stronger under your leadership. ”

"It is a gift from God for the Albanian people to have such a good leader as you."

"By the grace of the Lord."

"By the grace of the Lord."

Very polite remarks. In fact, there is not much in-depth understanding between Jerj and John, but from the handling of some events, the other party's behavior is speculated.

It was a meeting about the future of the Southwest Balkans, but even if the two had established a blood bond because of Evie Skanderbeg, they had to test each other first.

That's diplomacy.

It takes a long time to reach the most consistent consensus.

"Your Majesty. For the mountainous regions of Albania, I and my army have basically taken control. Although the Ottomans stormed our fortress many times, they were all in vain. ”

"I've heard that your military prowess has long been famous. The people of the Balkans are there for all to see. ”

"But unfortunately, after many defensive wars, Albania's military resources have been close to exhaustion. But now that the Ottoman offensive has weakened considerably, we have the best chance of reclaiming the rich parts of Albania, so we need practical and rapid assistance from the Empire. Jerjerj stared into John's eyes, and he was sincere in every word, and of course he didn't want to hear John's lies or negative answers.

"We're more than happy to reach out to our allies. But you should know that less than a fifth of the armistice between the empire and the Ottomans has been fulfilled. In addition to affecting the diplomatic prestige of the Empire, the initiative to break the agreement will not only affect the Empire's diplomatic prestige, but more importantly, the Empire is not able to withstand the wrath of the Ottomans at the moment. John also stated the real situation, and with the current defensive strength of Constantinople, no one would be weak, "It is impossible for us to charge directly and actively against the Ottoman army." It is even more unlikely that there will be an official declaration of war on the Ottomans. Gyerdi, we need a suitable excuse to intervene in the war, otherwise, at best, we will have to do the work of countermeasures. Moreover, there were quite a few local self-respecting warlords on the overland route to Albania, which would cause a lot of trouble for the march of the Imperial Legions. ”

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, these little warlords are probably not enough to be called an obstacle. And, I suppose, they were equally subject to the Ottomans. ”

As soon as Jerj finished speaking, John suddenly became alert.

It was a topic he was reluctant to mention. They have yet to find any tangible evidence that the Ottomans were manipulating local warlords to rebel against the Empire. But even if the Ottomans were the ones who started it, he absolutely did not want any other outside powers to get their hands on Epirus.

The reason why Constantine XI crowned John as co-emperor in advance was because the control of Epirus was the last weight of the empire in the Balkans to confront the Ottomans.

After the economic production and human resources of Epirus were restored, the empire was fully capable of fighting the Ottomans to the death in the Balkans by using the naval power of Venice to block the Bosphorus and other important landing sites of the Ottomans.

It's just a beautiful assumption at the moment, and it's the goal of all John's actions.

Jerj quickly noticed several changes in John's expression, and immediately thought of the key point.

"Your Majesty, you have misunderstood, and you can rest assured that I have promised in my letter that Albania will not touch any small piece of land in Epirus."

After Jerj spoke, John quickly noticed his gaffe. In terms of his ability to deal with such diplomatic situations, he is not as good as Gyrdi for the time being.

At this point, Sophia, who was sitting next to John, finally straightened her demeanor and responded to Jerdi Skanderbeg with a side that John had never seen before: "Mr. Jerj, of course my brother and I will believe your statement. The Empire is only worried that the warlords will inflict even greater losses on our already stretched forces. ”

Withdrawn, confident and elegant. This is what John had imagined in his previous life, the demeanor of an imperial princess. It's just that the last diplomatic occasion that Sofia officially attended was peace talks with the Ottomans...... That informal style of doing things once discouraged John from thinking about this illusion.

Unexpectedly, Sophia really has serious times.

Jerj smiled naturally: "Your Royal Highness Princess, although we are allies, I know that the alliance relationship also needs to be maintained by reciprocal interests. ”

He took a chart from the attendant beside him that looked like it was about sixty or seventy percent new. Some of the handwriting that had been blurred looked like someone had rewritten it.

"What is this?"

John asked casually as he took the chart.

"The distribution of power among the local warlords of Epirus. It should still be seven or eight percent accurate by now. ”

……

"You...... How could there be such a thing? John Fox wondered.

This was a very important tool for the Empire to conquer Epirus. As long as you have this kind of intelligence, you can easily arrange the direction and order of attack, just like opening the eye of the sky, and the relative risk will be much smaller.

All of John's emotional ups and downs are in full view of Jerjerky: "Hmm...... Your Highness, do not forget that I was the commander of the Ottoman cavalry while the Ottomans were still in control of Epirus. The phenomenon of warlord secession has existed for a long time. It didn't come into existence after the Empire regained Epirus. The Ottomans' grip on Epirus was similarly weak, and the situation was only marginally better than it was now. The Ottomans have been plotting to put Epirus in order, and I certainly have a copy of the investigation into the local warlords. It's just that I didn't expect that Epirus was taken back by Prince Thomas's tens of thousands of troops. ”

"I have to say, this thing is of supreme value to me. Our offensive, we can let our hands and feet go......" John handed the precious material to Sophia. This also means that the empire has chosen to accept the deal.

Jerj smiled: "Your Majesty, next, can we discuss the specific attack plan?" ”

"We are very happy to have this collaboration." John motioned for his attendants to pour a full glass of wine for Jerj.