"Bishop, you have worked hard and made great achievements, I know very well in my heart, I can share the weal and woe with you, and naturally we can share prosperity and prosperity, if it really comes to that day, please don't postpone it."

"Don't shirk? The papal throne? Peter quickly understood what Randy meant by wealth and postponement, and Peter opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything, but he seemed to be clearly moved.

At the same time......

Constantinople!

After reading these two articles, Basil II was shocked by Randy's generosity, and he didn't speak for a long time, and he and Ellius stared at each other, and wanted to call the Norman messenger over, but they couldn't pull their faces.

Basil II continued to look down on the Letters of State, and finally saw Randy write at the end:

The whole world was so big, the Normans were not limited to the Greek peninsula, the Balkans, Asia Minor, and the glory that the Eastern Roman Empire wanted to restore, and also in the Mediterranean Rim, there was no actual conflict between the two sides, on the contrary, there was a lot of cooperation.

If you look at the southern part of the Eastern Roman Empire, across the sea were a large number of pagans.

If you look at the East of the Eastern Roman Empire, there were also large numbers of pagans.

You look at the western part of the Eastern Roman Empire, across the Adriatic Sea is the hub of the Catholic world, the Holy See, these people will never compromise with you.

But unlike the Norman Empire, Randy had no desire for Roman land.

Basil II had no reservations about the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire, but Randy did touch his heart to a certain extent.

No matter how strong a tiger is, it is no match for the attack of a pack of wolves, and in a great empire, it is impossible to fight multiple enemies in a row, and everyone needs friends, and this is true of the Normans, and the same is true of the Romans.

"Allies ......"

If you get a solid fortress in the north of the empire, it is indeed very fortunate that after all, the land in northern Europe is too cold, the empire is not interested, this was the case in the heyday of the Roman Empire, compared to which the empire prefers the mild climate around the Mediterranean, the Apennine Peninsula, the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, the Middle East, these places are the first choice of the empire, and the reason why I am so wary of the expansion of the Norman Empire in Eastern Europe is actually afraid that the other party will continue to go south, Attack and plunder the Empire.

But it seems that the other side seems to be more interested in trading with the Empire.

In fact, even when the two sides were at war, the trade between the Normans and the Eastern Romans never stopped, and the officials and governments on both sides turned a blind eye to it, and the Eastern Romans monopolized the spices and silk from the East.

The Normans in the north had an advantage in glasswork, metallurgy, pottery, furs, and grain, and the private smuggling gangs on both sides were very rampant, and they were often figures with official backgrounds, so if the two sides could calm down and talk, it would be a great improvement for the economy of both sides, and the government would have a new source of tax revenue, which would also play a great role in promoting the recovery and revitalization of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Of course, all this must be based on the premise that this thing is true.

Basil II was unclear whether the Normans really wanted to live peacefully with the Empire, or were they ...... Send a poisonous rose with thorns.

But whatever the outcome, he already had enough reason to summon the Norman envoy again and start negotiations with him.

Foster, who walked dashing that day, was not hypocritical at this time, and did not deliberately put on a shelf and not come, as Basil II thought, of course, at the negotiating table, Foster still did not give an inch, and did not have the slightest intention of making concessions.

In a side room in the Senate of Constantinople, negotiations were raging.

Norman Foreign Minister Foster said: "The demands of the Norman Empire must be met in full, and if only some of them are satisfied, it is better not to talk about it, and the so-called compromise is the most shameful." ”

Foster said something that he didn't even believe, but let the diplomats of the Eastern Roman Republic see what it means to be mighty and unyielding, and in fact, the conditions of the Eastern Roman Empire were not bad, and even better than the final bottom line that Randy handed over to Foster.

The Eastern Romans accepted the Normans' offer to occupy Eastern Europe and the title of Tsar.

And the opening of the Dardanelles, the Eastern Romans also agreed, but in terms of details, there was a slight difference between the two sides.

The Eastern Romans proposed that any Norman merchant ship entering and leaving the Dardanelles would need to pay additional tolling taxes, and at the same time, the Eastern Roman Navy would need to board and search, and that the Dardanelles Strait was only allowed for civilian use, and commercial ships could not pass through, and the Norman Navy would never be able to navigate through the Dardanelles.

"If your country does not heed the advice and forcibly uses naval warships to pass, we will have no choice but to sink your warships."

The Admiral of the Black Sea Fleet, representing the Navy of the Eastern Roman Empire, shouted about this matter like this, and only this guy made the most trouble, because this ship is a mountain of gold, if he has the right to search, as long as he does a little tricking, he can extort a lot of money, which is a great way to make money, although in the end it will be distributed to the royal fleet, but the small fleet has few people and ships, so it will be him, the Admiral of the Black Sea Fleet, who will take the lion's share.

"Then after our fleet enters the Mediterranean, can your navy provide full escort?" Foster asked nonchalantly.

"This ...... Our navy also has its own mission, of course, if your country is willing to pay an additional escort fee......"

"The two sides trade and trade, and the merchant ships sail, how much more than a hundred ships a day and a night? Thousands of goods are carried, if your country has to search them one by one, delaying time, who will bear the responsibility in the end? Foster then asked.

"This ......" This time, the other party couldn't even answer.

"If my country consults with you so sincerely, is this how your country reciprocates my country? Perfunctory, prevaricating, nonsense, I don't know what to do, do you still want to make an alliance with our country? Foster slapped the table and pointed at someone's nose and cursed.

In the end, the Eastern Roman Empire had to back down and agree to the Normans' terms.

For every 100 Norman merchant ships that passed, one was randomly inspected, and as for the issue of conscription fleets, the Eastern Roman Empire required the Normans not to use large ships carrying more than 200 people, that is, the so-called large ballista warships with three decks, and at the same time, the number of escorts was also strictly regulated, and every five Norman merchant ships could only be equipped with one warship.

As for the cession of the Mediterranean islands, both sides tacitly ignored it automatically, and Randy made a joke that was not too big or small.

As for religious matters, the Norman Empire hoped that the Eastern Roman Empire would send an Orthodox clergy corps of more than 100 members to Eastern Europe to be responsible for missionary work and exchange with the Norman native church, and the Norman Empire would also send more than 100 priests to Constantinople.

"This matter is not urgent, we need to communicate well with both sides, fully understand, and then slowly step by step, everyone cooperates well, and there will always be a successful day." Foster commented on this matter, and the Eastern Roman Empire did not have much objection, after all, this matter is a bit unreliable, but it is a good phenomenon to start with it, and then it depends on the ability of the priests on both sides to fool.

Regarding the reparations of the Eastern Roman Empire, Basil II hoped that the Normans could press a little price, although the Eastern Roman Empire has always been wealthy, rich and second-generation atmosphere, quite a problem that can be solved with money, it is not a problem, but in recent times, it first attacked the European continent, then fought with the Crusader coalition, and then fought with the Ottoman Turks, and then sent troops to fight with the Normans, and the war that lasted for several years brought a serious financial burden to the Eastern Roman Empire, Now Basil II was already thinking about reducing his fiscal spending.

Therefore, the 500,000 florin gold coins that could be obtained by a casual search are now a lot of money in the eyes of Eastern Rome.

"This thing ......"

Foster felt a little embarrassed, in fact, all walks of life in the Norman Empire are now on the right track, except for the reform of the new army can not be done halfway, the development of other aspects is quite good, 500,000 florin gold coins are not much, say a lot less, but it is only a month's financial income of the Norman Empire, in Foster's view, it is like chicken ribs, if it is used in military reform, these 500,000 gold coins are like a splash, and even a sound can not be heard.

If it's used somewhere else......

Now the royal consulship of the Norman Empire is functioning well, with a budget plan every month, and the income and expenses are calculated according to the plan, according to Foster's estimate, this money must have been cheaper in the end, so that the faint king will continue to be poor and luxurious.

But the problem is that this condition was set by Randy, although Foster disagreed, but he did not have the right to change it, who knows if he confiscated His Majesty's money without authorization, I don't know if he will wear small shoes.

"I need to ask your lord for advice on this matter first!" Foster finally decided to hold off for two days and write to ask what Randy meant.

"Will this delay the negotiation process?" Listening to Foster's words, on the side of the Eastern Roman Empire, an elder wearing a Greek-style white robe and wearing a crown said this.

"Of course not, I'm sure there will be a reply soon, and in the meantime, we can discuss something else." Foster said so easily, but he didn't expect his words to be listened to by people with hearts in Eastern Rome.

"It's thousands of miles away from Kyiv, you need to take the Black Sea Road in a straight line, and the curve needs to go around a circle, even if you hurry up, it will take a month or two, how can this guy say it so easily, could it be that the Normans have some means of communication that the empire doesn't know?"

General Elius, who was in charge of the intelligence system, also participated in the conversation, but he didn't speak at the negotiation table, and it seemed as if he was joining in the fun, but he didn't expect to listen to Foster's unintentional words.

The two sides saw that it was not early, and announced that today's negotiations were over, Foster has now become a guest of honor in the Eastern Roman Empire, naturally someone is willing to lead him to spend time and drink, everyone disperses, leaving only Ellius to think there alone, but after all, he still can't think of the key, and can't help but shake his head and return home.

When Foster's letter of request was handed to Randy through the Flying Pigeon, Randy said, "Don't be in such a hurry, just make up your own mind about this little thing." ”

While thinking in my heart: count you as acquaintances!

With a stroke of the pen, 500,000 florin gold coins were exempted from 100,000.

As Foster thought, Randy did treat the money as his own personal money, as if to build a giant palace, and 400,000 florin gold was enough.

Randy has recently fallen very completely, those unscrupulous monarchs, the prerequisites for the destruction of the country and the extinction of the species have all been learned, and the people who are building a lot of buildings, being poor and extravagant, being reckless in military force, and young have learned the stinky problems of these feudal lords.

But even so, under Randy's leadership, the Norman Empire is still advancing, and the speed of progress is very fast, although Aurora said that this is the credit of the Royal Consulate, but in fact, the Norman Royal Consulate, which has now taken over almost all internal affairs, has contributed to the development of the Norman Empire today, but whether you are the Consulate or the Council, all the current achievements are all counted on Randy's head, this is the origin of the saying that Wenji is comparable to Solomon, and what the moisture in it is, you can imagine.

If a person, a ruler, the ruler of a large empire like Randy, is politically shrewd and capable, military-invincible, and morally perfect, then I'm afraid everyone in the world will wonder if this guy is really human? This guy must have some purpose, we absolutely can't trust this guy.

It's because it's too perfect, so it seems too abnormal, not understood, not trusted, full of suspicion and vigilance, Randy even feels that if he takes the saint route at the beginning, the entire European countries will probably not do anything else at this time, but will only be busy beating themselves, and the people of the Norman Empire may not follow their orders like now, and more importantly, being a saint is much more difficult than being a rogue, and it is not beneficial.

So it's better to be a hooligan, Randy whispered love words while putting his arm around Artoria's shoulders, and then snuggled up to sleep with each other, while the Eastern Roman Empire Constantinople, when the dinner was going on at the end, Basil II personally took the lead and toasted to another victory of the Empire, the ten-year covenant between the Norman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire was finally signed in daylight today, and the phoenix and eagle crests, which represent the supreme power of the two empires, were vigorously covered in duplicate on the covenant.

Just a few days ago, a letter came from Kiev with the latest instructions from Emperor Randy.

Immediately, Foster returned to the negotiating table and gave the latest price.

"Four hundred thousand florins!"

After some deliberation within the Eastern Roman Empire, this condition was agreed.

In addition to the previous agreement, the warships of both sides encountered pagan pirates at sea to plunder the other side, when unconditional assistance, and Foster eventually made a concession.

The Norman Empire abandoned its intention to attack the Crimean Peninsula and only pursued suzerainty over the Zaporizhzhia Khanate, rather than domination, so that the Eastern Roman Empire could finally relax its mind.

In addition, there was the Eastern Roman Empire with which the alliance with the Grand Duchy of Moscow ended, and the entire Grand Duchy of Moscow, including a large territory of the former Novgorod region, was subject to the Norman Empire's cession.

In addition, there are additional clauses such as preferential trade conditions for merchants of the two sides in each other's countries, permanent envoys to the chieftains of the other side, borders between the two sides, personnel exchanges, and cultural exchanges.

(End of chapter)