But there are also many people who are pessimistic and angry, "I heard that two days ago, the stone statue of Constantine the Great in the Grand Palace had bleeding eyes, this is a bad omen, our capital, faith and princess in purple are afraid that they will all fall into the hands of the enemy, and the last one has already fallen." Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ”

It is also said that the Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom once held a divination of victory or defeat in war, but the horse used for divination actually fell directly to the floor and foamed at the mouth, which frightened the Patriarch to block the news, but some monks privately said to others, "This is the emperor's retribution for his impiety, and the gods want to punish his city with the help of the hand of the barbarian Gawain." ”

There were also nobles who resented the emperor's heavy use of foreign people and armies, and some bureaucrats were also hostile to the emperor who had confiscated their private wealth, so they also slandered themselves: now Thrace is full of war, and the next year's grain harvest will fail, and once the enemy surrounds it, the supply of the capital will be in short supply, because Constantinople itself is located on a very barren headland, and must suck the blood of all sides of the empire to survive, but the emperor gathers everywhere, and stores all the good things in that big warehouse to reward the people of other countries, There is no willingness to sympathize with his true people.

Fierce quarrels and debates grew louder and louder, and groups of Athletic Party hooligans and homeless people mixed in, fanning the flames everywhere and making the noise even more cheerful.

John motioned with his eyes to the demonstrator and told him to go and keep the ceremony in order.

The sound of shackles sounded, and a group of chamberlains of the palace arrived with more than a dozen captives, most of whom were Gawain's sailors, who had been killed by ships from the ports of Kartarimon, Scutari, and Nicomode, hoping to seize control of the Maramaran Sea in Mari and gain a foothold on the coast directly east of Constantinople, transporting the "Bithynian Frontier People's Army" and the Nika Brigade from here.

As a result, these captives were deliberately taken to parade in front of the Church of the Holy Apostles as a sign that the imperial capital was "safe and sound".

John raised his hand slightly, and with the emperor's gesture as a signal, many of the attendants shouted slogans, which were the regular routine of the emperor's procession, and all kinds of enthusiastic and loyal people followed the attendants, shouting an ode: "Your Supreme Majesty is our morning star, the god of death that the enemy fears." Hooray, hooray, let us praise Him, and make Him the Holy Apostle of this world, and our nation will revere Him and bow down to Him......"

In fact, he did not care about such flattery, but he knew in his heart that even if he hated it, this pattern could not be abandoned: the foolish people and the army wanted to see their leaders gain the upper hand, so that they would willingly submit to their vassals; When a leader is too merciful or fails on the surface, the first to bite him are the meek servants.

On John's shoulder, Pilosca sat on a cushion and looked at the Patriarch as he approached the Veil of the Virgin, as if he were terribly frightened and uneasy.

This sentiment has been haunting since she walked out of the Brachna Palace today.

Strange, John asked his wife, who was about to convert to Orthodoxy in two days, why she was in such a mood.

Piloska's lips trembled, and then she closed her eyes with heavy breathing and opened them again, her tone a little flustered, "Maybe it's my body that's not feeling well, right?" Really, I didn't feel that way the other day. ”

"Are you pregnant?"

"No, no." Piloska didn't seem to lie at all, and she finally said something to John that made him feel the chills, "Please, please go back quickly My husband, though you are not faithful to me, ...... But I am a devout believer, and the Lord and St. Paul do not allow wives to deceive their husbands...... Get out of here! Because soon someone will accuse you, and someone will start a rebellion against you, take advantage of such a day. ”

Who would have thought that this little wife would suddenly say such a thing, John was astonished, he looked around the whole square of the Holy Apostles, the swirling heads of the people were open mouths, as if they were singing a song of praise to him, but there seemed to be people in it whose teeth were bitten, full of hostility and hatred, and there were people walking around with gloomy eyes, discussing something, and there were people staring at themselves with indifferent sneering faces, which made people feel furious.

His wife's words exploded in his heart, and it was clear that Piloska was aware of his "infidelity", that is, someone had told him about his infidelity with Marlena.

It's the mother, it's the mother......

"Run, run!" In the midst of the chaos of hymns, Piloska sat on her shoulder, her cries so faint that she was crushed in the midst of all kinds of pitches and noises.

John spun his mount in fright, and looked in the direction from which it came, and there was a violent confusion in the honor guard—several bearded senators, guards, and officials were pulling out the engraved nameplates, and were shouting accusations against the Patriarch who was standing in spite of the obstructions.

He saw that the Patriarch's face was visibly changing, and he quickly cast a strange look at him.

The corners of John's hands and mouth twitched, and he didn't dare to look at the Patriarch's fierce gaze, he only felt that everything was over.

Soon, the palace guards and people in front of the Church of the Holy Apostles saw that the emperor suddenly ran with a group of attendants and garrison cavalry, and headed in the direction of the Brachna Palace, but he did not complete the ceremony at all!

At the same time, the Patriarch turned around and hurried back to the Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom.

This unusual behavior immediately caused great panic and speculation, and many people who stood in the Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom and the hill of Sfendorn (a high ground on the south side of the racecourse with a view of the sea) after noon realized that the "prisoner parade" arranged by the emperor was nothing more than a narcotic deception—many light ships from the Tarsus side had successfully crossed the sea, and the soldiers on them had occupied many villages and clearings between the coastal defense wall and the cliffs of the strait.

A few moments later, several large warships coming from the direction of Gallipoli engaged in a fierce battle with the light ships of Tarsus, but the former did not dare to fight, they seemed to be hurrying, and soon marched through the Bosphorus, where the Serpentine Pillar was.

The crews of Amalfi and Pisa, who had mixed in with the crowd, began to spread the word that the ships were Sicilian and Venetian, and that now the Emperor had reversed his father's policy and allowed them to cross the strait into the Yukxing Sea, and that these foreign ships would henceforth have unlimited shipping rights in the Yukxing Sea and the inland rivers of the Empire.

The people of the imperial capital went berserk.

They hated the Venetians for more than a day.

Although Alexios had granted privileges to the Venetians in the first place, the populace believed that John had betrayed the previous emperor and betrayed the country.

Soon in the evening, rumors of truth and falsehood were rampant.

It is well known that the Queen Mother Irene has occupied the palace to protect herself, and announced several ulterior crimes and secrets of John in public!