"We must keep the Empire's stronghold in Bari, as well as other port cities, and we need to get more, and the Imperial Navy must have supply ports on the Adriatic coast, which will be very important for His Majesty the Emperor to completely deal with the Bulgars in the Balkans."

Vibius's two curved eyebrows are comical against the bald backdrop, like chubby wriggling caterpillars:

"Termoli, Pescara, Ancona, Pesaro......"

He abruptly stopped and swallowed to hide what he was about to say: "And Ravenna." ”

"Ravenna?" I shook my head in realization.

"That's why you're here! Your Excellency, there is a famous Roman proverb that I don't know if you have heard: although the python can swallow the buffalo, it will eventually survive the day, and you will challenge my bottom line again, my friend. ”

The quality of Nijmegen's jerky, which was intimidating to the discerning Romans, quietly pushed the spoiled mead and stone-hard jerky, and explained to my roar: "Please do not be in a hurry, Lord Duke, and listen to what can be brought to you. ”

The cunning fox and the clever hunter, you are playing two diametrically opposed roles, the self-righteous Roman, I pretend to be contemplative and chew the jerky fiercely, its rough fibers taste not much better than firewood, but I love the bitter texture of the slight sand, as if chewing a rusty broken knife, it can make me instantly return to sobriety from a state of confusion, life is full of open guns and arrows, either fall with a thousand holes, or live tenaciously.

I sniffed and tossed the last bit of beef in my hand into my mouth.

"And what do I get?"

Vibius had a serious expression, and his hooked nose shook twice in disgust, no different from a ripe pepper.

"Do you know how dangerous the journey to Rome can be? Do you know how many scheming villains there are in the city of Rome? Your weary army simply can't control the situation. ”

He pressed his finger back to his nose again, "So you need my help." ”

"Oh?"

I twisted my eyebrows in disbelief, which he saw as another signal that the lobbying was working: "Is that all?" ”

"You will also gain the friendship of the Emperor of Constantinople and the commander of the legions."

His eyes were full of temptation and leaned forward slightly: "There is no one in the world who can refuse such a generous overture. ”

He nodded firmly to strengthen his tone, "No one, my friend. ”

He laughed like the old liar Isaac, who was perhaps more pure than his purpose.

"Promises are like castles built in the clouds, Commander, when the wind blows them all down, and any nonsense that can be spit out when two lips touch cannot be believed, even if this man swears with a Bible in his hand and wears a cross."

I leaned close to his ear, and the two were only separated by a veil: "Friendship and interests are always a little bit worse." ”

Vibius squinted his eyes and retracted, he understood that big fish were not so easy to catch, and that not only did they need strong fishing gear, but also bait and a hook large enough.

I was in no mood to look at him and continued to eat with my head down.

At the end of the first round of warm-ups, we all know each other's hands, the only thing to guess is the trump card of the opponent's bet, and now it's the turn of the next house to make a move.

I chewed on the jerky in my mouth and muttered my mouth, dropping drom as I spoke.

"The cities you want, to be honest, have crossed the line, even if I agree...... In fact, it is useless for me to agree, and His Majesty the Emperor will definitely not agree, I don't want to make trouble for myself. ”

These are the smallest cards, and they are played to pave the way first.

"And very important, my friend, they are not my vassals, my words cannot decide the fate of these cities, and their lords have not even pledged allegiance to me!"

Vibius's baldness reflected the oil, and he narrowed the corners of his mouth, and said meaningfully: "I am looking for a collaborator rather than a negotiator, Lord Duke, we both know what we want and what we have, do you really think that His Majesty Henry has the strength to return to Rome?" ”

Sharp!

My pupils constricted, and my view of the enigmatic Roman changed again, and he was like a master of many face-changers, always changing his face to the beat of the drums, but I had to be more careful.

"Are you commenting on my emperor?"

I deliberately used honorifics to express my subtle dissatisfaction: "The rebellion of the Count of Luxembourg will be put down in an instant, and when the German army will return, there will be no rivalry on the peninsula, not Normandy, not the Saracens, not you Romans!" ”

"It's never going to happen, or someone wouldn't allow it to happen."

Vibius watched my expression closely: "Of course, you can think that I am speculating, or that I have received hints from someone, so whatever!" But you should understand every word I say. ”

The old trick of trying to get away with it still worked, and I put my hand in my mouth very indecently, picking at the gap between my teeth that were stuffed with shredded flesh, so as to buy myself more time to think.

"Ravenna can't, it's too important there."

I put the final answer in no uncertain terms: "It means something else to me at the same time." ”

The bald Roman didn't expect me to give the result so quickly, rather unexpectedly squeezing his shaved chin, Ravenna is the second card, and its role is to lure the opponent into playing a big card in advance, so that the situation is more and more clearly under my control.

"Ravenna is a priority, as you said, it's too important there."

He drew the ivory-handled dagger from his waist, cut the soft dried meat soaked in a wine glass into small pieces the size of diced beans, and gracefully pinched one of them to his lips.

"After the loss of Venice, the Imperial Navy urgently needed to find a spare port, which could not sail directly to Ragusa for more than a day, otherwise our fleet would not be able to massively replenish the armies fighting in the Balkans."

His clean chin moved, neutralizing the rancid taste of mead and the astringent jerky of the marinated meat, which was probably quite useful.

"I can always show my sincerity as a friend if I even reveal such confidential information to you?"

It's just crocodile tears, I snorted coldly in my heart, feeling a little annoyed that I couldn't hang the other party's big name, the prostitutes in the alley are more sincere than you, at least that's to make the guests' money spend as they wish.

"In my country, the old people often taught us: There are two things in this world that must not be done! One was to trade with Jewish dealers, and the other was to believe in the hypocrisy of the Romans. ”

I stared with interest at Vibius's increasingly cloudy face: "It's a pity that I've done both......"

The Romans alternated their uncertain expressions, and at the end they only said lightly: "You are off topic again, Lord Duke." ”

"We can deal with the affairs of the Vatican ourselves, people, there are many people, it is always difficult to reconcile, just find a general consensus.

I suddenly exerted my strength and directly tore off the hard jerky: "If they can't reach a unified opinion, I have a way to help them recognize the reality." ”

"Tough hand, this is one of the basic qualities of an authoritarian."

Vibius smiled and soaked the half of the jerky I handed over in wine: "But there is a valid range, even Caesar cannot guarantee that every tribal leader in Gaul will always be loyal to him, once the Nijmegen army leaves Rome, temporarily withholding the minions and harboring evil intentions, they will jump out and make trouble, this is a cycle of death, and most of the time and energy of your majesty are wasted on exhaustion, year after year, day after day, until they are exhausted." ”

"So you can?" I'm interested in asking.

"So we have to cooperate."

"I have to remind you, friend, that cooperation is also a kind of exploitative relationship, but it is just more open." Say, you want to take advantage of me, don't pretend to be shocked and incomprehensible.

"Let's put it this way, the reason why you are willing to cooperate is because we can do things together, and whoever we leave, the road to make up for the thorns will not work, you are right, the conquest that comes and goes is a never-ending exhaustion, Rome must be in the hands of Nijmegen, otherwise my march with great losses will be meaningless, but how can I guarantee that you will be sincere to me? Didn't you leave anything behind? ”

"Worried that I'll take advantage of your departure to make a small move? Then why don't I just take Rome and waste my time here with the sun on it? Vibius's voice was raised twice, and he looked like a bald rooster with a crow, which did not mean that he was reasonable, but only that he was weak-hearted.

"A valid reason."

Speaking of your heart, right? I stared at his silence, as if admiring the prey that was about to be killed.

"I can fully agree to your request, even if these ports declare allegiance, I don't have the strength to completely control them, you are right, His Majesty the Emperor will never have a chance to go south to Rome, everything will soon have a result, the future will be in the country, not here."

I swallowed the unchewed jerky, and the swallowing of the Adam's apple made a loud noise.

"The Vatican is the key to the future, the first cornerstone of the city, and whether it is placed correctly or not directly determines the direction of the castle."

"From Florence to Rome, it's already ours."

Vibius sat up solemnly: "It's yours now." ”

"Listen to this important quid pro quo."

I put my hand into a loudspeaker and put it in his ear, and said clearly and firmly: "It is not enough for the newly elected pope to win over those in power within the Vatican, I need a weighty voice to deter dissidents and make them obediently cooperate." ”

"Archbishop of Constantinople?"

It seems that his brain is not bald, and he immediately understands the crux of the problem.

"The stakes are high, and I must report to His Majesty the Emperor and await instructions from Constantinople."

He shook his head apologetically: "I'm just a garrison commander......"

"Maybe not from now on, think about what this decision can bring to your emperor, facing almost all the important ports of the Adriatic! Do you still care about the Bolgars in Ragusa? Even the ungrateful Venice had to think about its own way back, Legion Commander? Hehe, this will be the last time you will be addressed as Lord Commander. ”

I bowed slightly: "Your Excellency, Commander? ”

He looked back at the cavalry guarding not far away, and his flexible tongue kept licking his dry lips: "This is too risky! ”

I knew I had succeeded: "I will be dismissed from my post by the eunuch in charge of the herald, and thrown into the dark dungeons of Constantinople to be in the company of cockroaches, and I will be bitten to death by rats accustomed to human flesh!" ”

His fierce reaction just shows that the ** in his heart is irrepressible, and he is helping me to destroy the only remaining sane defense line of this poor Roman, give up friends, you can't hold on for long.

"It's too risky......"

Years of experience have taught us that people are not really hesitant when they are uncertain, just like friends who always like to call for advice, they actually have the answer in their hearts, but they are just looking for the voice that helps them make a firm choice, even if there are 99 people in front of them, the approval of the 100th person will also play a decisive role.

What they are waiting for is not an opinion, but to make the choice feel at ease and give themselves a way out that they can regret.

"You can!"

I shoved the filled glass into his hand and stared intently at the eyes that couldn't find the focus.

Rome, I once again stood under the ancient city walls full of the vicissitudes of history, the moss and grass growing in every crevice, it seemed that they had never withered, these small but eternal green plants, constantly changing their colors, with a long murmur to tell the story of the rise and fall of the dynasty.

It is a pity that I was not able to enjoy the tsunami of welcome from the citizens of the city as a victor, not even a single person who applauded, but instead the closed gates and countless bows and arrows pointed at my head, and Rome did not welcome me, at least not uninvited visitors.

I sat restlessly on horseback, my eyes drifting to one of the carriages in the procession from time to time, and my expression became more and more impatient.

Sitting there is the bishop of the diocese of Calabria, who, although he is from Constantinople, has also been recognized and recognized by the Vatican as the two supreme beings of the Pope and the Archbishop of Constantinople in this pious land.

Of course, his authority was limited to a few cities controlled by the Romans and their nearby farmsteads, and the rest of the land was either infested by the Saracens or filled with semi-independent lords, large and small, who would fall like grass on the walls of the Romans, the Franks, and the Normans, and these soft bones would kowtow in obedience in either direction as long as the limelight prevailed.

Bundenik Hatsivitas is a dark-haired Greek with a slightly darker complexion, but if you call him a Greek to your face, this bishop from a well-to-do aristocratic family in Ionia would have turned his face on the spot.

"I'm a Roman." That's how he corrects your mistakes.

Bendenik comes from his name day, which is the patron day of St. Bendenik, and according to Greek custom, it became the name that will accompany him for a lifetime.

He was sent to the local church by his pious father from an early age, and gradually distinguished himself with his intelligence and proper conversation, and became the confidant of the Bishop of Nicaea at that time, and with the promotion of Bishop of Nicaea to Archbishop Sergius II of Constantinople, he was also able to enter the highest center of power in the empire, ://bqg3