The influence of the upheaval in the Eastern world would not have spread only within the sphere of influence of the Lu Qi Empire, and the fame of Lu Qi and the Lu Emperor had long since spread across the ocean to Byzantium.

And the Heavenly World, which had undergone a self-drastic change due to strong pressure from the East, completely disrupted the history of the One God World.

For example, the Zangi Dynasty.

The latter was one of many small kingdoms that split off from within the Seljuk Empire. The founder was the Turkic slave-turned-military general Imadddin Zanji, hence the name. Originally a Turkic slave of the Seljuk Sultan Malikshah [Sanjar's grandfather], Zangi later served as the concubine of the Seljuk prince, and when he was the governor of Basra, he suppressed a rebellion that attempted to overthrow the Sultan.

Sanjar conferred on him the title of Atabeg (Taifu and Patron) of Mosul (Mausil), and he possessed the three major cities of Aleppo, Haran, and Mosul. From then on, he took Mosul as his capital and established the Zangi Dynasty.

Historically, Imad al-Din Zangi ruled independently as the sultan's dowager and protector, constantly expanding his sphere of influence. Frequently attacked Jerusalem, captured Hama, attacked Antioch, entered Tripoli, and entered Damascus. The final recapture of the city of Edessa was a sign of the Second Crusade of the Cross.

But now, Sanjar has integrated the entire Seljuk system, and Imad-uddin Zangi's forces are also in it. Or rather, the threat from the east woke up Imadddin Zanji. The latter knew exactly what he should do at this time, such as he had made a contract with the Crusader Kingdom.

Not only that, but the Seljuks' trade with the Byzantine Empire became more numerous in an instant. Whether it was the Byzantines or the kingdoms founded by the Crusaders such as Jerusalem, they paid close attention to the Seljuk Empire. The Great Seljuk Empire, which has integrated many small Seljuk countries, would be an unstoppable disaster if it attacked them!

John II, then Emperor of Byzantium, was also happy to ease tensions with the Seljuks, and took advantage of Sanjar's eagerness to conclude an armistice with the gods to regain some territory in Asia Minor from the Seljuks, and recaptured a large number of Byzantine towns, cities and fortresses in Asia Minor that had been invaded by the Turks. At the same time, it also gave him the energy to concentrate on defeating the Pechenegs, Hungarians and Serbs in the Balkans.

Why the Pechenegs, Hungarians, and Serbs went to war with the Byzantine Empire does not need to be described in detail. You just need to know that John II is now at a standoff with Hungary, and then Hungary, which has little influence in the world, is now the most powerful country in Eastern Europe.

John II, with his good military skills and flexible diplomatic and political skills, managed the revived Byzantine Empire very prosperously, and the number of people under his rule was restored to the size of 10 million, and the overall strength was already very good.

The Byzantine Empire, which was on the rise, and the Obaros states further west, none of them were wary of Lu Qi's power.

In their eyes, Lu Qi's confrontation with the Heavenly World was a battle of justice, God's punishment for the infidels. Compared with the power of the distant Lu Qi Empire, they were more concerned about the increasing number of silks, porcelain, tea, rhubarb, and glass mirrors on the market in recent years, and these treasures of the past were now not only more abundant, but also of better quality.

So, when Sanjar sent a sizable mission to Byzantium, he sent his close friend Aksukh, a Turkic who was still a child after the fall of Nicaea, to be captured and presented as a gift to John's father, Alexei I, the founder of the Komnenian dynasty. Alexei I believed that Aksukh would be a good companion to his son, so Aksukh was able to grow up with the prince in the imperial court. Immediately after John II's accession to the throne, Aksukh was appointed Grand Commander-in-Chief, the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army. He was also an advisor to the court of John II.

The two sides held a perfect trade negotiation, and the two countries signed a total of 363,000 nomismata purchase contracts, and 72 nomismata [gold coins] were equivalent to the same pound of gold. Pure exchange, that is, one Byzantine gold coin is roughly equivalent to two or seven silver coins, which is equivalent to 2.55 Luqi silver coins. However, in actual transactions, one Byzantine Nomismata was only worth two Luqi silver dollars.

This not only involves the exquisiteness of Lu Qi's silver dollars and the almost indistinguishable purity of each silver dollar, but also involves the coinage process of the Eastern and Western civilizations at this time. But even so, this is a large amount, directly generating profits of nearly 100,000 gold coins, which makes the Byzantine officials laugh from ear to ear.

Of the 363,000 gold coins sold, the largest number was not textiles, but copper ingots, iron ingots, and a complete set of armor; The second largest sales volume is also leather goods, crude leather and large quantities of grain.

John II was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the Seljuks had unabashedly shown themselves to be preparing for war in front of the Byzantines, because the head of the Seljuk mission said that they would continue to use the lands of Asia Minor in exchange for financial and material support from the Byzantine Empire if necessary.

This could not have been better news for John II.

The Sultanate of Rûm, which occupied Asia Minor, was a feudal state established in Asia Minor by a side branch of the Seljuk dynasty. It was named because the Celestial people called Asia Minor under the rule of the Byzantine Empire Roma (meaning Roman).

As a branch of the Seljuk dynasty, the Sultanate of Rûm will not forget Sanjar at this critical juncture. Although the sultanate had been in power for several generations, it effectively gained independence during the internal turmoil of the Seljuks. But when Sanjar wanted to bring Roma back into his sphere of influence, his current Messud Shah had no choice but to comply.

The Sultanate of Rûm was John II's most immediate threat in the East. The retreat of its power was a good thing that John II dreamed of.

As such, when the Seljuks turned to him for 'military' support, John II was in a dilemma.

It's not that he was worried about this that angered Lu Qi, but because this shipbuilder is different from other kinds of technicians and craftsmen, it is really sensitive.

Byzantium under his rule was not a naval power in the first place, and in the face of the Seljuk and Fatimid maritime threats, Byzantium relied more on the support of the Venetians. At the beginning of his reign, John II refused to recognize his father's 1082 treaty with the Republic of Venice, which generously granted the Italian city-state unique trading privileges within the Byzantine Empire. However, the policy shift was not due to economic considerations, and at a time when Byzantium was particularly dependent on Venetian naval aid, an incident involving Venetians insulting members of the imperial family led to a conflict between the two sides. After the Byzantine retaliatory attack on Corfu, John exiled the Venetian merchants in Constantinople. But this was further counterattacked by the Venetians, who sacked the islands of Rhodes, Chios, Samus,, and captured Kefalonia in the Ionian Sea. Eventually, John was forced to compromise!

There were many shipbuilders in Byzantium, who had a long coastline, but they were always in a 'free-range' posture, because John II feared that news of his contact with shipbuilders would threaten the Germans.

On the contrary, the Seljuks could send a military request to Byzantium in the 'critical moment of war', and it was a trivial matter that Byzantium had to send an army of 5,000 men to rescue the Seljuks.

Don't look at the fact that it is the time of the Crusades, monotheism is being coaxed, and the burning of faith is the strongest. In fact, in history, John II was allied with the Seljuks. On the eastern front of the empire, his foreign policy was in the same vein as his father's, that is, to provoke contradictions between the Sultan of Rum and the Danishmander dynasty, which controlled the northeastern part of inland Asia Minor. The Sultan of Rûm also provided troops to support John II's assault on the Danishmandel city of Kastamuni.

So, don't think of your opponent as mentally retarded.

"Your Majesty, the Empire is gradually regaining its former strength, but the Venetians are still showing off their might on our shores, encroaching on our islands in the Aegean Sea little by little, and those greedy merchants will never take the initiative to give up the slightest profit." Aksukh spoke at this moment.

"My dear Aksukh, you mean ......"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Now we have enough strength to rebuild the Byzantine navy, renting craftsmen and shipbuilders to the Seljuks, which both helps our friends and trains our craftsmen. When they returned to Byzantium, they would be more skilled and organized, and they would be able to build a large and strong fleet for Byzantium in the shortest possible time. ”

Numerous pieces of intelligence suggest that the navy would play a role in the war between Lu Qi and the Seljuks. Although Sanjar firmly believes that the Luqi army is the main force in the war, his naval army cannot be underestimated.

Due to technical reasons, the artillery made by the Seljuks was not capable of combat effectiveness at all, and the land and naval forces with absolute combat superiority could land on the Seljuk coastline at will, which was a serious threat. Therefore, even though the Seljuk Navy is not the opponent of the Lu Qi Naval Division, it still has to go all out to prepare for the battle!

"In that case, then I grant your request. These conditions, while harsh, were acceptable to Byzantium. John II stood up and said to the Seljuk representatives: "Finally, good luck to your sultans, and I hope to see the Seljuks defeat the robbers from the east." Let God and the true God testify to the friendship between Byzantium and the Seljuks. ”

"Thank you for the support of His Majesty the Emperor, and may the friendship between the Seljuks and Byzantium live forever. The great Seljuk will be blessed by the true God, and those who defend their dignity with their blood in the face of the enemy will be blessed by the gods. You may not know that on the other side of the strait, countless warriors are already sharpening their blades, fearless of death. The Chinese want to step on our corpses to blaspheme the true God, that is wishful thinking. And in the same way, those who want to take advantage of the fire to rob and reap the benefits of the empire are also delusional! ”

"God bless those who save themselves." John II concluded by saying to the envoy: "I cherish my friendship with your country, and please bring back my sincere greetings and blessings to your Sultan." ”

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