The reflection of the setting sun at dusk reflected the Bulgarians who had returned to the prisoner of war camps, and the Roman legionnaires carried in baskets of food and finally countless swords, guns and shields.

The weapons that belonged to the Bulgarians were all back in their hands, and their weakened bodies could not support them to put on heavy armor again, but even then the army was rejuvenated.

Emperor Alexei pinched his nose and walked among the Bulgarians, watching as these former warriors of a hundred battles now grabbed a piece of bread with their own compatriots.

Hunger had almost broken the will of most of them, and his small favor really thrilled the Bulgarians, who had just been terrified.

"Riddleqing, do you see! Now these Bulgarians are as obedient to their owners as shepherd dogs! Alexei, who was smug, had a proud expression on his face, and he was very satisfied with the performance he had just performed.

Riddle was actually worried about Alexei's performance, and instead of adopting a gentle strategy towards the unruly Bulgarians, he harshly suppressed dissidents.

Killing their comrades in front of all the prisoners of war undoubtedly planted a nail in the hearts of the Bulgarians, and it was hard to guarantee that they would not break out in the future.

"Your Majesty, we have just taken control of the Empire's army of thirty thousand by violent means, but in reality these people cannot be relied upon, and I had hoped to persuade the Bulgarians to ally with us for the sake of hatred and freedom.

But Your Majesty is also disgruntled now, and we must be careful! Inspired by loyalty, Riddle thought that he should still seriously advise the emperor.

Alexei turned his head to look at his general: "No one can guarantee absolute loyalty, but I gave them freedom, didn't I, and there are more than 30,000 hostages left in Bulgaria, what are we worried about?" ”

Seeing Alexei's confident smile, Riddle knew that he could not convince this proud master, and could only convince his emperor in a different way.

"Your Majesty, the puppet emperor Alexios still controls the Second Legion, and he also has considerable authority among the old tribes of Lalisha, according to our current strength, I am afraid that it is not enough to compete with the puppet emperor, is it to develop to the west, and liaise with the Venetians and the Roman Church?"

Alexei lowered his voice: "This matter is left to you to arrange someone to do, it is really not suitable to confront Alexios head-on now, our army also needs to replenish military rations!" ”

Riddle said: "Your Majesty, now is the time to compete for hegemony with the puppet emperor, and it is still quite important to win the support of Roman citizens!" I hope Your Majesty will restrain military discipline! ”

"Wait until I get the support of the Venetians!" Alexei was already impatient with this subordinate with some Western chivalry.

Once again, Riddle, who was perfunctory, could only lament in his heart.

……

……

……

A distinguished guest came to Lalisha's town hall, lined with guards standing neatly, spears in their hands reflecting golden light in the sun, and precious carpets spread on the steps, making it very comfortable to step on.

Today Alexei greeted the Venetian councillor Dandolo, who had come specially to meet him, and the old man was highly respected in northern Italy, and when he heard that he had come in person, Alexei was overjoyed and hurriedly came out to greet him.

"My Majesty, it is a great honor for you to come out to greet me in person!"

Dandolo did not leave the Aegean Sea after investing in Andronika's failed coup d'état, but quietly snuggled on the nearby islands and waited for the opportunity, and he expected that the Bulgarians would not miss this opportunity when a new emperor came to the throne.

However, to his surprise, the Bulgarians were vulnerable and suffered successive defeats under the ingenious tricks of the little emperor Alexios. Finally, when he was about to despair, the news came from the hidden inside that Alexei Komnenos had launched a mutiny to seize military power.

Dandolo was overjoyed, he had planned to contact Alexei directly, but the emperor's almost brilliant record made him hesitate, until Alexid's envoy came, and he finally made up his mind to come and conclude an alliance with Alexei in person, adding fuel to the fire of the civil strife in the Eastern Roman Empire.

Alexei saw the old man staggering over, and rushed forward to hug Dandolo tightly: "Hahahahahaha, my lord, I have been looking forward to you coming over for a long time, please come and sit inside!" ”

Alexei cordially invited Dandolo to the city hall, and before taking his seat, Dandolo grabbed the emperor's hand, Alexei was a little surprised, this old man's seemingly weak and thin body had indescribable strength, and he couldn't break free as a young man.

"What do you mean, my lord?" Alexei was puzzled, he didn't believe that Dandolo would do such a faux pas for no reason.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to be slightly offended before negotiating, I would like to know how many troops Your Majesty has in Lalisha now?" The old man gave an intriguing smile.

Alexei turned his head to look at Riddle, the chief of the guard, who shook his head at him as well.

"The current strength of our army is so strong that there are as many as 80,000 armored warriors alone, and it is effortless to destroy Alexios, the puppet emperor!" Alexei got the signal and told a big lie.

"Your Majesty, it would be meaningless if you said that, it seems that you don't need the support of the Republic anymore?" Dandolo sneered slightly.

Alex paused, and then said with a wry smile: "My lord, it's not that I deliberately want to deceive you, our army can actually only rely on 30,000 imperial troops, and 50,000 are just released Bulgarian prisoners of war!" ”

Dandolo said: "If His Majesty's sincerity is like this, then there is no need for us to negotiate.

You must know that your brother can only gather two legions at most, but more than 20,000 troops, if you have such a strong army, what do you want to do with us Venetians? ”

Alex Sebe couldn't ask, and was slightly annoyed by Riddle in his heart, which was Riddle's voice next to him.

"Don't hide it, my army is actually 30,000 imperial troops just came from the puppet emperor anyway, some people are really loyal or not, and the Bulgarians are simply rebels defeated by the imperial army, and now we are in command of a group of rabble!"

As soon as he said this, Alexei blushed, but Dandolo let go of the emperor's hand, and he looked at the guard standing aside with interest, it seems that this person is the pillar of Alexei's army.

"Ahem, ahem, ahem! Your Majesty, I'm really sorry to offend you just now, but this is also to better understand the strength of your allies! Dandolo smiled in the corner of his eye.

"Your Majesty, your current situation is indeed very delicate, you have a huge army but you can't unite people's hearts, I make a suggestion that you lead the army to the west, until you reach Corfu, where we arrange a fleet to transport supplies to support Your Majesty in the war against the puppet emperor?"

Dandolo's proposal coincided with the wishes of Alexei and the others, and he wanted to leave here now, and only with the support of the Venetians and the arming of his army could he compete with Alexios.

Alexei narrowed his eyes, the Venetian was so kind that he almost jumped in ecstasy, but suppressed the impulse.

"My lord, the Republic of Venice shouldn't have sent me supplies and ordnance in vain, right? What does Venice want to get or what do you want to get? ”

Dandolo closed his eyes, his mind was full of when he was driven away by Manuel, he stood on the bow of the ship with thousands of expatriates and looked back at the situation in Constantinople, it was a shame that he could not forget for the rest of his life, he was powerless to save the situation as the ambassador of Venice and was driven away like a lost dog, a great shame!

Dandolo, who opened his eyes, looked at the young man in front of him, the son of Alexeikomunen's own enemy, and now he was his tool for revenge on the Roman Empire, and the circumstances of life were always so strange!

Shaking off the miserable memories in his mind, he looked Alexid into the eyes and said word by word: "I want to go back to Constantinople, I want all the rights that your father has taken from the Venetians, can you give me?" ”

"Why not?" Alexei's ambition for the throne is burning brightly, and everything will be burned out.

"Hahahaha Dandolo burst into tears with laughter, Manuel, your good son!