"Your Majesty, Derti Skanderbey has sent a state edict in which they will launch a campaign of conquest in the name of God against the remnants of the Ottomans in Albania."

Old Agrippa hurried into the purple palace, and at this juncture the Ottomans were in high spirits with the aftermath of the victory at the Battle of Varna, and at such a juncture, the declaration of war on the Ottomans by Gerti Skanderbeg would surely become big news that shocked the whole continent.

Although Constantine XI had received a message from the Albanian messenger earlier, and had acquiesced in John's plan to send Albania to Albania, he had apparently not expected that things would go so smoothly.

He believed that with John's ability, coupled with the assistance of Giovanni, Vasica and others, the strength of the empire would definitely not be affected, but after all, the opponent was Muhammad II, even if he was still young, he had already shown the posture of a hero.

"Your Majesty, we should make our own attitude clear, this is God's will and cannot be violated. We will eventually drive the Ottomans out of the Balkans and out of Anatolia. Constantine was still hesitating to reply to this when a soft voice sounded from outside the side door of the palace.

"Evie ......"

Constantine XI's devout beliefs are well known, though it is not clear how much of them were for the benefit of the empire.

Old Agrippa lowered his eyelids consciously. He was loyal to the Empire, loyal to Palaiologo, but he was full of distrust of Barcelissa who landed in Constantinople, like most of his courtiers who had served the royal family for many years.

Since the purple palace had an additional owner, Constantine XI's decision-making was obviously much more radical than before, and even dared to transfer the crown prince and princess away from Constantinople.

The impact of these decisions on the empire has not yet begun to be felt, but Agrippa is clearly unwilling to see Constantine make some wrong decisions because of Evie's "demagogy", thus burying the future of the empire.

Constantine was silent for a moment, and finally turned his head noncommittally to look at Publius to the side. After the expedition of John, Giovanni and Francisco to Epirus, the Imperial Council also changed its men. As the current supreme military commander of Constantinople, Publius' ability to govern the army was recognized by Constantine.

"Publius, what do you think of Gerj's chances of victory if the battle for Albania breaks out?"

"The empire is watching the fire from the other side, and the odds are forty percent; The empire has a small helping hand, and the odds of winning are sixty percent; The empire fought to the death, and half out of sixty. Publius replied in a deep voice, without the slightest hesitation.

Constantine wondered, "What do you mean?" Can an elite army of 5,000 men only add 20% of the odds to Jerj's chances of victory? ”

"First of all, His Majesty John will never fight to the death. This is to bury the future of Epirus and the entire empire. Secondly, Albania is a vast mountainous area, and Derj's army is good at mountain warfare, so that several Ottoman attacks will be fruitless. But the Phoenix Legion is different, this is a field main battle corps with heavy cavalry as the mainstay, supplemented by light cavalry, in the plains and wilderness, the Phoenix Legion can easily break the front of tens of thousands of people, under the obstruction of countless infantry, and even take off the head of the local commander, but throw them into the mountains, the war horse and armored armor will become the biggest burden! ”

"General Publius' analysis actually makes a lot of sense, Your Majesty. We can do what we can to help Gerti Skanderbeg seize Albania, but how much real help can we really have......" Old Agrippa glanced at Evie, who was sitting on the sidelines, and finally said in a deep voice, "His Majesty John should take this opportunity to expand his advantage in Epirus." ”

Evie smiled and turned to look at Constantine XI: "Your Majesty, if John wants to help my brother intervene in Albania, there are not many ways to do so. Since there was an armistice between the Empire and the Ottomans, at the very least, John would have signed mercenary terms with his brother to use the army legally. Little John is very smart, and his brother can get his help, and he must have paid a lot for this mercenary agreement...... For the sake of relations between the two countries, John should go all out. ”

At the same time, Evie flattered both sides, and also expressed her attitude to the imperial loyalists of the Imperial Council.

Now that she is the Barcelissa of the Empire, she will put the interests of the Empire at the highest level. However, she would never allow her brother to become a pawn to be slaughtered and manipulated by the empire at will.

This is the sister of Jerj Skanderbeg. The words were obscure and appropriate, and Constantine XI could not find any reason to oppose them.

"I will let the Patriarch bear witness to this treaty of alliance and the sanctity of this war." Constantine XI finally made a decision.

Pope Gregory III has always had a soft spot for such ritualistic things.

Although this offensive would tie the empire to Albania, with both glory and loss, Constantine also had his own considerations.

This is an important step in rebuilding the Orthodox Union. After the victory in the war, the prestige of the Orthodox Church will skyrocket. Contrasting Varna's defeat with Albania's victory would also interfere with other Orthodox countries in the vicinity, and even Catholic countries where Orthodox beliefs exist. As long as Hunyadi ascends to the Hungarian throne, there is room for Hungarian religious beliefs to operate.

Later, using Hungary as a springboard, taking advantage of the gradual emergence of internal contradictions and struggles between Catholics on the European continent, they waited for an opportunity to incite Catholicism to launch a religious war, and the empire took this opportunity to intervene......

"Your Majesty! The church will thank you for your wise choice. ”

"This is God's decision. God loves the world. ”

"God loves...... World! ”

……

"Giovanni, how's it going?"

"Your Majesty, the baggage is limited, we must make good use of the time of this expedition. We have a limited number of 3,000 and 500 in reserve. All of them are the core combat power of the legion. The army marched overland as mercenaries to the border from Albania to Epirus and sought opportunities to intervene in the war. Everything gets in the way...... Wipe them all out. ”

"Since it is legal employment, we don't have to worry too much about the legitimacy of the war. We are only responsible for collecting money, and it has nothing to do with who Albania fights against our legions......" John laughed, "Don't forget, try to publicize our actions as much as possible on the road, create friction with those warlords, and try to reclaim some of the places controlled by the warlords...... I won't be doing it myself this time. The village of Biyes needs people to sit down, and you take care of your safety. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."