Angelo took two more sips of tea, and finally put the cup back: "Give Mr. Pedro two pots of bar, this kind of light thing is not suitable for the current occasion." ”

"General Angelo, while your boy brings the drink, I still want to ask a question." Pedro put down the stack of manuscripts in his hand and adjusted his mood slightly.

"Mr. Pedro, I can probably guess what question you're asking."

Angelo was silent for a few more minutes, and after the waiter brought the wine to the table, he took the wine glass and drank it all before he said slowly: "As for the attitude of the royal family, Mr. Pedro, you see, our Toco family is actually no different from other nobles. We are both subjects of the Empire, and we are all believers in Orthodoxy, and we have no reason to be disloyal to Palaiologos, but ......"

"Just what?" Pedro also raised his glass with interest.

"If Valleo wants to use Toco as his right-hand man, then Angelo is willing to go to the fire. But Valleolo just wanted to put Tocco in that position as a pawn to attract other families. Then Toko can only be a pawn. Angelo smiled, still sitting calmly in his seat, "It's a pity that the only connection between the Toko family and His Majesty John was severed long before His Majesty John could remember. It can be said that the Toco family was fortunate enough to be under the care of His Majesty John, thanks to the recommendation of General Publius...... Speaking of which, can His Majesty John really have the courage to put such an important position in my hands? ”

"Whether Your Majesty has the courage to do so aside, whether His Majesty John treats us as pawns or not is something that shouldn't be our concern." Pedro shook his silver glass, but didn't drink it, and continued, "None of us are pawns, or rather, under the Empire, we are all pawns. I'm the same, even say, Her Highness Sophia. Only the only two people in the Holy See are outside the chess game. We should adapt, and we should also have the consciousness to be a pawn. ”

"This is what your new nobles call enlightenment?" Angelo picked up the stack of manuscripts that Pedro had put down, and flipped through them twice at random, "There are people who want the position of commander of the Holy See Guard, there are those who are greater than the Tocco family, and there are those who are not as good as the Tocco family. But this is not something that family honor can influence the ending. In fact, everything was only on the whim of John or His Majesty Constantine. So, I'm not going to fight. The fight is broken and bleeding, and it can't be cheapened, and now it looks like something will fall into the hands of the Toko family on its own. ”

"At least for now, you seem to be more than just a good commander. Your sense of politics is actually much sharper than that of Her Royal Highness the Princess and Her Majesty John. ”

"Mr. Pedro has won the prize. The knight Toko family doesn't need much of a keen sense of smell. That's how it is. Within the empire, the so-called aristocratic internal friction, compared to the rights that the aristocracy now holds, as long as the royal family still needs a certain chess piece, that chess piece will never fall. No matter how much we fight or resist, there is no point...... All this was lost by the nobles who proclaimed themselves to be in power, when they betrayed the Empire, when they fought for their own selfish interests regardless of the safety of the Empire......" Angelo put down the manuscript and sighed, "Mr. Pedro, I don't have a keen sense of politics, the only thing I smell is...... As long as they can get into the eyes of the royal family, the Toco family will not fall, that's all. So His Majesty John needs this chess piece, and of course the Toko family is willing to take the lead, which has nothing to do with the so-called dignity backbone. ”

"It's a lot easier to talk to you. It's just that, according to the meaning of His Royal Highness Sophia, you and your family should not only be pawns of the royal family, but should be used as ...... The sword of the royal family. Pedro's smile narrowed a little, "You should know, even if the royal family is covering ...... now Ahem, the royal family cannot directly interfere with the decision of the new Roman senate, that is, the new nobles who huddle together to keep warm. However, if they keep holding it like this, it will cause some trouble for His Majesty. ”

"Oh?"

"There are some things that can be said directly to you. The trade unions of the lower ranks had just been formed. It's not a good thing to keep the upper echelons united. ”

"Meaning...... Before the Toco family even had time to ascend to this position, was they about to be summoned? Angelo sighed, "Tsk...... To be honest, it's not a good feeling. ”

"It's understandable. In other words, according to the current situation, only before the dust really settles in this position, can this new nobleman really settle down. ”

……

"So, Angelo has been pretending to be a fool in front of Publius for two whole years?" Listening to Sophia's reaction to the Tocto family only sparked John's interest in the Tocco family.

Since John could only recuperate in the Slou Garden, Sophia simply found him some amusement. In fact, as the future emperor of the empire, John will need to understand the dark side of the sun sooner or later. It's just that Sophia doesn't want John to get bogged down in the mire of conspiracy right now.

"Brother......" Sophia put down the manuscript and glared at John, who was still thinking, "The Jewish doctor said that you should sleep well." Don't think about it so much. ”

"It's okay, I'm not too interested in this kind of thing. You've been doing it for so long, there's no point in me asking more. Relieve boredom, you see me idle in this garden all day. If I sleep any longer, even if this wound doesn't do anything to me, I'll be bored to death. ”

"It's just to deal with such a group of unfashionable nobles, don't think so much. The Tocco family is the best tool to help Valleo settle the new aristocracy that is helping to rise to the top. No matter how detached this Angelo is, as long as it is in the vision of the empire, there is no room for them to make waves. Sophia extinguished the lights for John, "Okay brother, it's time to rest." ”

"Wait...... One last question. Sophia, what are you going to do with the Ottomans? ”

Sophia's hand folding the quilt for John paused in mid-air: "Brother, you ......"

"Oh, Agrippa came to talk to me, and he was still afraid that you would do something impulsive. Without Athena's bunch of, the empire doesn't have the capital to wrestle with the Ottomans head-on. Not to mention the absolute mess in Greece now, Latius has scratched his head, and it will take at least a few years to restore the ruined economy. The Academy of Athens was also put on hold. In this case, we should not take the initiative to provoke the Ottomans. ”