"The relics of the eldest princess Anna, looking at it now, should be related to Greek fire."

The Greek fire, which had been the core of the Eastern Empire and had been kept in the highest secrecy, gradually disappeared after the Fourth Crusade, when the Crusaders established the Latin Empire in Constantinople.

Since the conquest of the Eastern Empire by the Great Caliph Murawia I in the seventh century, Greece has more than once achieved a considerable superiority in naval warfare for the Empire. Legend has it that Emperor Leo III, while defending himself against the Arabs on the grain ships of the Eastern Empire, sank more than 2,000 ships of the pagan navy in a great naval battle, and by the time they returned to Alexandria, only five remained.

"Sophia, Greek fire is indeed one of the most important magic weapons for winning naval battles, but you have also seen that in the future, artillery will gradually replace this traditional maritime weapon, and the frequency of broadside battles will also decrease, even if we use Greek fire, its embarrassing range may give the Ottomans a lot of opportunities to be prepared." John laboriously returned the manuscript to Sophia. The wound in the chest had not healed at all, and even if the Jewish doctor had been able to revive himself, according to John's estimate, he had probably only stopped the bleeding for himself. According to his own perspective, it is unpredictable whether the wound will burst out in the future, whether the wound will become infected, and whether the internal organs will be affected. These are all areas that cannot be reached by medicine in this era. It seems that he has woken up from a deep sleep, but whether he can survive in the end is still a matter of taking one step at a time.

"Brother, the recipe for Greek fire is just a not so crucial part of the manuscript left by Her Royal Highness the eldest princess. Most importantly, there is a possible idea recorded by Her Royal Highness Anna in the manuscript - that is, to use more advanced means to seal the Greek fire in a certain vessel, and then use other impetus to increase the range of the Greek fire. Sophia puffed out her chest proudly. For her, deciphering the manuscript was undoubtedly a worthy achievement. After all, the Komnenos dynasty has a history of several hundred years, and there are very few documents that can be used as references, "It's just that I don't know much about this aspect." Thankfully, the Ottomans didn't have time to destroy some of the most important buildings in Athens, and the arsenal survived. Half a month ago I had already given the manuscript to Urban, and if it worked—think of what it would be like for the Ottomans to burn their own ship before they even discovered us! ”

Sophia, on the other hand, was much more optimistic than John. No matter what aspect it is.

She asked Eustina to prepare a special stew for John. Stewed with all kinds of minced meat and seafood, as well as the fragrance of rich spices, this bowl of chowder made John inexplicably think of Buddha jumping over the wall. It's just that he doesn't have any appetite for this kind of thing now.

Sophia...... Do you have...... Something a little lighter? I haven't been in good health yet, and I'm afraid it will backfire if I eat so many delicacies from the mountains and seas at once. ”

"There was a ......" Sophia swallowed and slowly looked away.

"Originally?"

"It was something that Jinchi's family brought back from the Far East, and I asked Yustina to cook two servings, and the other one was still boiling...... This one...... I was so hungry just now......"

The only drawback of Greek fire is probably the distance it can radiate, so Greek fire, which is miraculous in naval warfare, is actually subject to multiple factors. For example, wind direction, climate, etc. This also made it relatively easy to evade the damage of Greek fire. And if Urban could really rely on this manuscript to produce Greek fire capable of firing over long distances, most of the constraints would no longer exist.

And if Anna's manuscript is correct, it could even be used on a large scale in land battles. At present, the research and development of muskets is still in the exploration stage, and large siege weapons similar to bronze heavy cannons also have defects such as slow rate of fire and easy damage. In contrast, Greek fire, a flame that could not be extinguished even by water, could easily destroy the defensive morale of the defenders once it burned on the enemy's walls.

Of course, all of this exists only in John's vision. Anna's manuscript provides only one possible hypothesis, and is not a 100% guarantee that long-range Greek fire can be applied to actual combat. Regardless, it's a good thing that the Greek fire is back in the hands of the Empire.

"So, apart from that, what else happened this month?"

"Well...... General Publius was temporarily dismissed, but His Majesty did not hold him accountable. The new commander, His Majesty Constantine, should be re-promoted from the army. But that's not a bad thing...... Now General Publius is a freeman. His Majesty's meaning should be that he hopes to make him his brother's descendant. The Phoenix Legion will definitely be expanded more than once, or Epirus may also form a new legion, and when the time comes, we will need people with command skills. Sophia blinked, "However, Constantinople has not been very peaceful lately, or rather, there is a lot of chaos......"

"Mess?"

The turmoil caused by the new Senate when it was first created was already quite a headache for John. However, the restructuring did not break out into large-scale mass conflicts, which is already thankful. With the new aristocracy and bureaucracy re-established, John had reason to believe that sooner or later the fabled Eastern Roman conspiracy would re-emerge here.

When the time comes, murder, coup d'état, embezzlement, planting. It's no exaggeration to say that Roman politicians are always challenging your imagination with the latest tricks.

"Speaking of which, it also has something to do with the Holy Guard, General Publius has been dismissed, and the vacant commander's seat will of course be a sweet spot. It is still important to join the ranks of the new aristocracy. Especially for the families that have just emerged in recent years, this is the best opportunity to enhance their family status and heritage, and now, for this position, it can be said that they have fought for their heads. ”

"Oh?" John endured a dull ache in his chest and sat up a little more upright. As a ruler, when he looks at his subordinates' struggle for power, his eyes are actually different from those of others.

The Holy See Guard was the barrier of Constantinople. As long as the absolute security of Constantinople could be guaranteed, what John needed to do was to create a delicate balance between the new nobles. Even if the power in their hands was not as good as before, and even if this class only played a role in the highly centralized power of the monk empire, John still did not want a scene of one family being dominant or the decline of many families.