The ideal is beautiful, but the reality is cruel.

Basil II was eloquent and majestic, and the Eastern Roman Empire was majestic!

In Iberia, because it was too far from the core of the empire, the Iberian legions were struggling, and His Excellency Sid was born, so he was able to gain the upper hand, and all other aspects were defeated.

On the side of Asia Minor, the Eastern Roman Empire almost knocked the Ottomans out of the.

In the battle on the sea, the Greek fire warships directly burned Venice, more than half of Genoa's navy, and the Eastern Roman Empire's legions in Sicily came to Rome three times, and the papal country was shocked three times a day.

The envoy's statement also made Randy feel a little regretful, he knew that this was the case, and the treaty with France should be more harsh.

The original Anti-Norman Army did have it, but it was not against the Norman Kingdom, Randy was completely self-inflicted during that time, and Randy felt depressed to death for a while, almost like the Orleans girl under Paris a few days ago, a mouthful of old blood spurted high.

In addition to mediating the conflict between France and Normans, the envoys of the Papal States came this time to hope that they would come forward and join this alliance and teach the Eastern Roman heretics a profound and unforgettable lesson!

Philip II and Randy glanced at each other, their eyes quickly looked away, and then they scrambled to agree, and before the waiter could be moved and praise the two Majesties as believers in God, pious models or something, Philip II began to complain, saying that the French people's livelihood was withering, and the soldiers were tired, and they were really powerless.

Before the messenger could be depressed, Philip II changed his tune again.

But as a Catholic country, how can the Pope not save him when he is in trouble now?

It's just that the only difficult thing is that the road south to Italy needs to pass through Genoa, and Genoa occupies the French port city of Marseille, France and Genoa are still at war, and I don't know what the Papal States will do?

The messenger was stumped! Where does he have the right to guarantee such a thing?

At this time, Randy also began to say that the Norman kingdom really wanted to help, but the Normans had been in northern Europe, south to Italy, or south to Iberia, or south to the Balkans, the road was too far away, and the food burden was an extremely difficult problem to solve, I wonder if the Pope could carve out a piece of territory in the three peninsulas for the Norman warriors to rest?

I think Sicily is very good, I wonder if I can discuss it?

This kind of thing is even more difficult, the whole Papal State treats Sicily as their own backyard, how can it be so easy?

But Randy also had a point, it was impossible to get someone else to do the day job, so the Vatican envoy had no choice but to go back in disgrace.

——————————

Perhaps it was because there had been no more fighting in the recent past, and after staying in the Scottish Highlands for a long time, Randy slowly disbanded his army and headed south.

In view of the conquest of Scotland and the absence of an empire in the British Isles, Randy began to make some adjustments to the defense of the British Isles.

John was officially laid off and transferred to the newly formed Breton garrison corps as general.

In this way, the Norman kingdom had two integrated legions in the northwestern part of France.

Eleven thousand regular troops such a terrifying force!

In the British Isles, Randy reorganizes a secondary garrison.

The so-called secondary corps is a garrison unit that is lightly armed, semi-professional, and has lower equipment and military pay than the regular army, mainly composed of Norman tomahawk militia, Norman militia archers, Norman pikeman militia, and horse militia.

Three thousand five hundred!

Recruited from the Normans, English, Celtic, Scots.

At the same time, Randy also thinks about disbanding the Scandinavian garrison after he returns, or moving to another place, and then forming a secondary garrison corps.

This was mainly to reduce the pressure caused by military spending, and to maintain a large number of standing armies all year round, which was an extremely heavy burden for the Norman kingdom.

That's why Randy wants to replace the regular garrison with a secondary garrison in a basically safe place, because the maintenance cost of the secondary garrison is only 1/3 of the regular garrison.

Speaking of which, Randy has been busy in the recent past, fighting life and death, but in the end he didn't even fight a city, but Artoria was very lucky during this time, and he got two pieces of territory and three cities at once.

Among the three cities, Brittany is more special, and the garrison and political rights belong to the Norman kingdom, but in fact it is indeed a city of the Northwest Kingdom of Britain, and the tax revenue is half of that of Northwest Britain.

The two cities of Edinburgh and Inverness, the political power and garrison power also belong to the Norman kingdom, but because of the rich Scottish culture here, the local nobles still have some privileges, and these local nobles all swear allegiance to Artoria, so the Northwest British Kingdom has certain political rights in these two territories.

The Norman militia sequence was as follows......

Norman Tomahawk militia

The number is two thousand

miscegenation

Equipped with hand axes, round shields, and leather armor

Morale is average

Low level of training

Discipline is average

——————————

Norman militia archers

The number is five hundred

A weakened version of the Nordic archers of the year

Equipped with a hand axe, a single bow, a round shield, no armor,

Low morale

Low level of training

Low discipline

——————————

Norman pikemen

Most of the militia recruited from the Scottish Highlands mountain people, armed with extra-long spears, had good lethality against the light cavalry, but they were a little weak in the face of heavy cavalry charges, and the number was five hundred.

——————————

Horse Riding Militia

The number is five hundred

Cannon fodder does not explain

——————————

A sub-garrison of 3,500 semi-professional troops took over the task of the British garrison, which was recruited from the city of Newcastle, England, and headed north, mostly in Edinburgh, and a small in Inverness to intimidate the newly annexed Scots.

After communicating through the flying pigeon, assigning tasks, and recruiting troops, Artoria also relieved herself, and returned to Wales with a full load of Celtic troops who had made a fortune from France and Scotland, and then returned to Ireland by ship, and after a period of inspection in Ireland, she sailed back to Normandy from Dublin to meet Randy.

The whole process took more than a month, and by the time Artoria arrived in Normandy, it was already early December, and Christmas would be spent on a ship when she returned to Scandinavia, so Randy decided to spend the New Year in Normandy first.

Is it back to Gothenburg? Or should they go south and join the battle against the Eastern Romans?

Although his territory is not the same as that of the Eastern Roman Empire, what is Randy going to fight against the Eastern Romans?

In fact, the reason is very simple, Randy's thinking is similar to that of other kings!

The second Alexander can have, but it must be himself.

A united Europe can also have, but it must be its own.

So what is the most hated thing about a careerist?

Another careerist, of course!

Some time ago, Randy was scared half to death by his YY European Alliance, and he didn't care too much about other aspects of the information, but now that he looks, the Eastern Roman Empire is more suitable for being a boss than the Norman Kingdom, and Randy only imagines fighting against the European Alliance in his mind, but the Eastern Roman Empire has done so now.

The most important point is that the Eastern Roman Empire seems to still have the upper hand!

Randy quickly jumped from positive to negative thinking, thinking about how the European continent was divided and how it was so contradictory, but now he wished that the European continent was born to the same mother.

If this situation is not done well, it is really possible that the glory of the Roman Empire will be present, and Randy's situation will be like the Germanic tribes back then, which is not what Randy wants to see.

But busy sending troops to confront the Eastern Roman Empire with money, this kind of thing can only be done by idiots.

Randy wants to get enough benefits, and only when he gets enough benefits will Randy contribute, otherwise Randy will only go to the front line to fight soy sauce at most.

So the crux of the matter is the benefits, as for the so-called benefits......

Land suitable for cultivation is good, but it is even better when it comes to land with better commercial value and strategic value.

After this, Randy receives a large assignment from Enides for the first time in a long time.

Suppression of Eastern Rome

With the terrifying Falcon banner hanging over the continent, it's up to you to save the world.

Objective: Reduced the overall national strength of the Eastern Roman Empire by 50%.

Rewards: +10 for shipbuilding skills, +10 for sailing skills, +30% friendship for Catholics, and a new route to be found at random.

Mission Time Limit: None

As soon as this mission came out, Randy instantly understood!

Navigation......

Route......

Eastern Roman ......

In other words, Randy's long-awaited trade in the East is about to be feasible.

This is a very lucrative industry, looking at Genoa and Venice, just the two dealers make a lot of money, and Randy is very greedy, so he will let the Norman merchants go south, hoping to get a piece of the pie.

However, if you want to open up trade on a large scale, you must occupy a territory there as a transit point, otherwise the road is far away, and it will not be a long-term thing to fight away.

The so-called stronghold, Randy has also thought it through.

Rhodes, Herakrion, Cyprus, these lovely islands are, in Randy's view, the key to controlling the entire eastern Mediterranean.

Now, with the exception of Cyprus, which is controlled by the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Heraklion are both Eastern Roman territories, if they can pull their teeth out and grab these two territories from the other side......

In addition, it is a goal that Randy has been looking forward to, Eastern Europe!

If the legacy of the United Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania could be inherited, then trade with the East through another route, the legendary Silk Road.

However, both option 1 and option 2 are very difficult at present.

Randy can only think about it, Eastern Rome is in full swing, and it is still a question whether the tiger's mouth can be successfully extracted.

Randy decided to wait and see, at least until the Holy See plenipotentiary brought him enough benefits, Randy would not make a move, let them go in a hurry, even if the Papal States were occupied, it would not be a big deal, the big deal was to let the Pope escape, if he could trick the Pope into Gothenburg, then Randy would be developed.

If you think about it, it's a really good idea.

Hold the pope hostage to order the princes of Europe!!!

Randy fantasized that by virtue of his position as pope, whoever disobeyed him would be expelled from the church, and the nations of Europe trembled under their own royal power, and couldn't help but laugh.

"What is Your Majesty laughing at? Speak it up and listen to it! Opposite Randy, Joan of Arc, who was studying, asked curiously.

In recent times, Randy has added a new entertainment activity in addition to his usual daily activities.

After talking to Joan of Arc, the more Randy thought about it, the more he felt that it was a pity to kill such a girl, but standing in the position of the Norman king, Randy had to say something, because before that, the other party was still the nominal worst enemy of the Norman kingdom, and if he suddenly became his own person in such a short period of time, Randy's authority would definitely be questioned.

After Randy tried to recruit Joan of Arc but was rejected, Randy would spend a while in prison every day, hoping to move Joan of Arc with his sincerity.

It was like this at first......

The next day, Randy remembers Joan of Arc's request to take a book to her to relieve her boredom.

"Thank you very much, but for such a trivial matter, Your Majesty doesn't have to come in person!"

"Because I want to see you!" Randy is very simple and straightforward, and has no idea what shame is.

"I'm a little scared! I'll have a headache if you run away, or I'll read it to you?" ”

"This ...... I'm sorry for you, Your Majesty! ”

"Have you heard the story of Snow White and the Seven Little Loli?" Randy asked.

"No, what's that?" Joan of Arc shook her head.

"Aren't you looking for something to relieve your boredom from the content of this conversation?"

"Your Majesty knows French?"

"I don't understand!"

Randy regretted saying this, Joan of Arc had said that she only knew French, and if Randy didn't want Joan of Arc to read it for the time being, but read it to her herself, he should have taken a French book, but ......

"Nothing!" Joan of Arc doesn't pierce Randy, but the smile on her lips makes Randy feel a lot of pressure.

Randy lowered his head and pretended to read, but in fact it was not a book, because there was no story of Snow White and the Seven Little Lolis in this world.

"In another world, something like this has happened."

"There was a country at that time, and the king of the country died very young. Only the young queen and the prince who had just learned to walk remained, but that queen was actually a shrine maiden who had a mirror that allowed her to know all the secrets of the world, and the queen kept asking a question about the mirror. Who is the most handsome guy in the world? ”

"The magic mirror has always replied that the most handsome is His Majesty the King who has died, but when your son grows to 16 years old, he will surpass his father and become the most handsome guy."

In this way, the prince grew up day by day, and became more and more handsome, and finally, on the day of the prince's 16th birthday, when the queen asked the magic mirror, the magic mirror finally changed her mind! The most handsome man in the world is your son. ”

"In the end, the queen fell madly in love with the prince when she saw him once, but how could this be, the prince thought that there could be no result between him and his mother, so he left with tears and fled to the forest, where he met seven cute little Lori, orange, yellow, green, blue, blue and purple, so the prince lived with the Lori, living 21 times a day, occasionally 30 times without shame and impatience."

(End of chapter)