The sea breeze stirred up the swallows, the sails rose and fell in the waves, and the cross flag had become small in the distance, until it disappeared into the distant sky, and the emperor stood at the mouth of the harbor and watched calmly as the messenger of the Kingdom of Jerusalem departed.

Alexios looked at the heavy scroll in his hand, a contract between the Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Jerusalem to defend themselves against pagan invasions and to open up maritime trade routes along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean.

Diplomatic relations between the two Christian countries were resumed after a four-year hiatus following the deaths of Emperor Manuel and King Amalek.

More importantly, the Roman Empire's policy of influencing the Crusader states, which had begun with the first emperors, began to be put back on the agenda.

"Jerusalem!"

Alexios silently recited the name, his mind full of names: Baldwin IV, Barlian of Ibeline, Reynard of Chatillon, Guy of Lusignan, Princess Sibylla, and finally the Celestial Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty Baldwin wants to send Princess Isabella to Constantinople to learn royal etiquette!"

Alexios recalled Barian's words, is this a hostage! Little Baldwin sent it over about the same, but the child was the beloved grandson of Agnes of Courtenay.

King Baldwin was good enough to send his sister over, but it was unlikely that the crown prince would be able to beat his mother.

However, this time the acquisition of Ake Port is a bonus, and the naval fleet can use the Egyptian fleet to train their hands first!

……

……

……

In a house full of decay, on a large white bed lies an old man with gray hair, and his black gown is embroidered with gilt patterns.

The crown symbolizing the supreme power of the Orthodox Church had been placed on the table beside it, and only the soft gasps could be heard in the dimly lit room.

The lying sick was none other than Theodosius I, the Patriarch of Constantinople, the Archbishop of the Second Rome.

The last time he witnessed a brutal slaughter in Hagia Sophia, the emperor's soldiers did not care at all about God's authority, which deeply irritated the aging servant of God.

Theodosius lay on the bed and recalled that a year ago, Emperor Manuel was also lying on the bed like this, and then he never got up, and he supported the current little emperor Alexios, everything is like a dream, and it is still vivid.

I don't know if it's right or wrong, but not long after the new emperor came to power, a series of turmoil began in the empire, and Alexios had little respect for the church.

The emperor did not bother to express even the most basic respect, and ruthlessly suppressed the rebellion of the nobles, all of which terrified the already dying patriarch.

"To know the pain of power, ask those in power; To understand the pleasures of power, ask those who chase power: the pain of power is real, and the pleasures of power are nothing more than imagination. ”

The Patriarch mocked the foolish man who tried to climb the highest throne and fell to the dust, and he had plenty of time to meditate instead of the affairs of the Church.

The room was quiet, terrifyingly quiet, the patriarch felt a chill for no reason, and a figure reflected in the corner illuminated by the candle slowly approached, silently.

In a trance, a dark shadow seemed to stand at the head of the bed, Theodosius I barely opened his heavy eyelids, the purple robe hung down to the ground, the hand holding the sword wore white gloves, and the scabbard was carved in gold, which reminded him of a man in the depths of his memory.

"Archimon Theodosius, I've come to see you!"

A pair of hands brushed the Patriarch's forehead, and the dark shadow bent down and whispered in Theodosius' ear.

"Your Majesty, we haven't seen each other for a long time, do you have something to do with me?"

The Patriarch closed his eyes again, as if he did not like it in his heart, and the faint voice reached the ears of the other party.

"I have come to visit your illness, after all, you are the Archbishop of Constantinople appointed by the Emperor when he was here, and the spokesman of our Lord in the hearts of millions of believers!"

The Emperor brought himself a stool and sat down in front of the Patriarch's bed, softly took Theodosius I's hand and patted it gently.

"Hello, the people of the empire can't do without you, Grand Imam!"

Theodosius turned his face to look at the blurred face, not the young man he was familiar with, but a young monarch who resembled the Emperor Basil.

"Your Majesty, you didn't come to see me just to comfort my condition!"

After a period of silence between the two sides, Da Mu couldn't help it at first, although he knew in his heart that the emperor could not kill him for no reason, but this iron-blooded monarch would not come to him easily.

"I want to change a secluded abode for His Excellency the Patriarch, I heard that this has a good effect on healing!" The Emperor chuckled slightly, but the malice implicit in his words sent a chill down the spine of Theodosius.

"Your Majesty, what do you mean by that?"

"Thirty-six estates of various sizes, seventy-two icons of gold and silver, nineteen precious crosses and relics studded with jewels, horses, mules, cows, ploughing cows, vegetable cows, dairy sheep, sheep, goats, and other innumerable riches!"

Theodosius was shocked in his heart, all the information reported in the emperor's mouth was the religious property of the diocese of Constantinople, how could the church group as the imperial capital not have a lot of wealth.

Some were donated by the aristocracy, some were taken by the Church through exorbitant taxes on the peasants, and over the centuries it had accumulated all sorts of vast wealth, and those that were just the tip of the iceberg were just a few of them.

The Emperor then raised his voice slightly: "This is only a parish, in the past the Diocese of Ravenna could provide 12,000 gold coins a year for the Church, 25,200 gold for the Diocese of Calabria, and 47,000 gold coins a year for the Diocese of Sicily.

And a governor only has an annual income of eight hundred gold coins, and an ordinary official only needs three or four gold coins a year! It's a rich country! Do you say? ”

Alexios sneered, looking at the great patriarch who was silent on the bed, he said again: "There are 100,000 monks in the empire, but how many warriors are there?" There are more people chanting the sutra than there are bloody samurai on the battlefield! ”

"Your Majesty, what do you mean by this? The church has always been a strong supporter of the Komnenos family's cause, and when the rebels came to contact me, I did not agree to join the line! ”

Theodosius couldn't help but argue, and let the emperor continue, and sooner or later those old foundations of the church would be lifted off by the emperor who was going crazy.

"Great support?" The emperor's decibel level suddenly rose a lot higher, and the Patriarch's ears hurt.

"Why resist when the Empire asks the church to pay taxes together?"

"This is blasphemy, the property belongs to God! The empire has no right to expropriate! ”

"So where are the Empire's troops? Where are the young people who are supposed to serve in the military to defend the country? ”

The Emperor looked at the old man angrily, curled up, and stubbornly continued to argue: "All who believe in God are protected by the Church, and the Church is obliged to teach them that God loves the world, and they should worship God!" ”

Alexios looked at the stubborn patriarch, who had been his supporter, and although he had expected it, he could not help but be disappointed.

But the Orthodox Church in which he belonged seriously hindered the development of Rome, to the point where it was urgent and had to be suppressed.

The emperor stood up, turned his back to the old man, and said, "You can continue to recuperate here, and have a good rest!" Church matters, the Empire will find another acting patriarch to help you deal with it! ”

"Your Majesty, what are you going to do? Theodosius had a bad premonition and put himself under house arrest, what was the emperor going to do? ”

"Render to God what is God's, and to the emperor what is emperor's!" Alexios watched faintly as the old man struggled to get up, his calm heart was surprisingly peaceful.