Volume 1: Chengguan's Strategy for the Americas Chapter 34, each with its own interests

Since a long time ago, the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire has been a very difficult position.

First of all, the Eastern Roman Empire was plagued by civil strife and conspiracy, and countless emperors died at the hands of their own families, at least far more dangerous than the Chinese emperors. Secondly, the history of the Eastern Roman Empire is basically a history of passive humiliation, and since the rise of Islam, every emperor of Constantinople had to face the Slavs of the North, the Bolgars, and the Muslims of the East at the same time, these fierce alien races, who traveled to Constantinople year after year, without bringing a penny of profit to the Eastern Roman Empire, all of which were extremely heavy losses......

For the Eastern Roman Empire, which lacked a stable hinterland, these vicious neighbors alone were almost overwhelmed, and almost every region of the country was lost several times, not to mention the occasional visit of the Norman pirates and crusaders from the West...... Now that there are Venice and Genoa, two big creditors who seem to be too emperors, this day is really unbearable.

Truth be told, since the rise of the Arabs, the Eastern Roman Empire has always been on the front line of the Christian shijie against the Eastern Muslims, constantly withstanding the spearhead of the main offensive of this vigorous new shili. So that the countries of Western Europe can play a happy knightly game under the protection of this Aegis of Christ...... With the exception of the distant time of Justinian the Great, the Eastern Roman Empire almost never posed a threat to Western Europe. However, the attitude of the Catholic camp in Western Europe towards the Eastern Roman Empire was one of one betrayal after anotherβ€”the treachery and incompetence of the Crusaders, and the stabbing of the Venetians and Genoese in the back...... It was not until the fall of Constantinople and the planting of the crescent flag of the Turkish Empire until Vienna that the short-sighted Western Europeans truly realized the power of Islam and regretted that they did not vigorously help Constantinople to support themselves and shield themselves from the terrible Islamic storm. The resulting "greening" of ethnic groups and religious contradictions in Eastern Europe have been left behind until the 21 st century.

Therefore, recalling the new hatred and old hatred, in the face of the Venetians' throat-slitting and bloodletting forced debts, Constantine XI really wanted to turn his face and settle the debt.

But the problem is that the Eastern Roman Empire, which was already in the twilight of its life at this time, really did not have the capital to turn against the Venetians.

First of all, the current Eastern Roman Empire, which claims to be an "empire", has actually degenerated into a city-state, a semi-colonial city-state that is subject to control everywhere and cannot be independent. The number of truly reliable standing troops under the emperor was only a few hundred, which was far less than the Venetians who came to the aid this time, and in addition, the Eastern Roman Empire itself was also heavily infiltrated.

Moreover, in an era when Italian merchants dominated the financial scene in Europe, the Eastern Roman Empire could not do without the banking and logistics channels of Genoa and Venice if it wanted to monetize the spoils of war - in fact, the emperor could also use the spoils to trade across time and space and sell them to modern Shijie. But the problem is that on the other side of this wormhole is Tokyo, Japan, and unless it is a small amount of high-value gold and silver jewelry, the Japanese will never agree to put these gas-contaminated gadgets on the Japanese market...... It doesn't matter if it's eaten or used.

Even if the Venetians had not chosen to fight by force, but had simply stopped trading and imposed an economic blockade on the Eastern Roman Empire, it would have led to an immediate famine in Constantinople, and the grieving citizens would have to eat the wheat and beans contaminated with Soman's gas......

Even more tragic is that if the Venetians had really made up their minds to take a "final measure" and carry out a mutiny to overthrow the small court of Constantine XI, it would have been as easy as the Americans had to overthrow the regimes in South Korea and South Vietnam. They didn't do so simply because they weren't sure they would be able to clean up the situation after the coup, and most likely it would be worth the loss.

Therefore, Constantine XI does not have to worry about his throne being usurped by the Venetians for the time being, but don't expect to be able to straighten the waist of these arrogant profiteers - although Constantine XI has the super plug-in provided by the travelers of later generations, he cannot be put on the surface, so in the eyes of the Venetians, the Eastern Roman emperor is still just a big fat sheep who has picked up a cheap one.

Since it is a big fat sheep, as a Venetian merchant who can squeeze oil out of stones, how can he not slaughter it ruthlessly?

As a result, Emperor Constantine XI had no choice but to take the shocking bill and go to the fellow travelers to complain sadly.

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However, in response to the complaint of Emperor Constantine XI, Kotori Yumashiro, who is the leader of the crossing team, has no intention of responding at all.

β€œβ€¦β€¦ Mr. Emperor, the debt dispute between you and the Republic of Venice is your own business. We are not angels or saviors, and we are not obligated to help you out of all your troubles! At the moment, we have only one main concern: now that the siege of Constantinople has been lifted, where is the Haode nuclear waste dump? ”

Mashiro Toi tapped his fingers on the table unhurriedly, "...... Earlier, you said that you were surrounded by Turkish troops in a lonely city and could not leave, and you hoped that we would help you out of the siege - and we have done this for you, not only destroying 140,000 Turkish troops in one go, but also making you a windfall. Then, you say that you don't want Constantinople to become a radioactive wasteland, and you want to dump the nuclear waste a little further away so that it doesn't interfere with your daily life...... We can also agree to this. But then, it's up to you to act -- where exactly do you plan to dump our nuclear waste? This is the biggest goal we have come to this time and space! I can't afford you to continue to perfunctory! ”

――In fact, due to the difference in time flow speed between the two sides of the space-time gate by a full fifty times, since the early morning of January 1, 1453, when the space-time wormhole was first opened, more than a month has passed on the Eastern Roman Empire's side, and less than a day has passed on the other side of Tokyo, Japan. It stands to reason that there seems to be no need to rush so hard. But what Kotori Yu values more is the attitude of the other party - if this uninteresting traverser is the kind of dragon Aotian-style character who thinks Shijie should revolve around him, and actually treats these people as Doraemon, a robot cat who comes with a universal pocket, and just blindly asks for it and refuses to give anything in return, then there is no need for this cooperation to continue. Instead of being deceived by him again and again, it is better to simply find a stick to knock this guy unconscious, and then directly throw the nuclear waste into the city of Constantinople - before he dies of acute radiation sickness and causes the wormhole to disappear, at least dozens of tons should be able to be teleported!

Fortunately, this time-traveler emperor is not so undisciplined, or not so ignorant. Although he was interested in using Kotori Yu and the others, he did think carefully about where to use as a nuclear waste dump.

Zuihou, in line with the selfish element of human nature, naturally chose the capital of the enemy.

β€œβ€¦β€¦ How about putting your nuclear waste in Adrianople? Emperor Constantine XI pointed to the rough medieval parchment map on the table and said to the crowd: "...... I think it's the best place to be a Fallout Wasteland. ”

β€œβ€¦β€¦ Adrianople? Isn't this the capital of the Turks today? Wang Qiu, who is a nuclear waste porter, blinked, leaned over to look at the map and interjected, "...... This place is neither by the sea nor part of the Eastern Roman Empire, so how are you going to let us dump the nuclear waste there? You know, the wormhole can't be too far away from the source, and this source is you...... I can take the wormhole to a distance of twenty kilometers at most, but the distance between Adrianople and Constantinople is more than one hundred and fifty kilometers! ”

β€œβ€¦β€¦ That's true, that's right, so I'm going to launch an expedition against Adrianople in the next few days. ”

Emperor Constantine XI smiled and replied, "...... With the wealth we have seized from the Turkish barracks, we should be able to make up about 5,000 men by recruiting the whole of Constantinople and employing volunteers from Venice, Genoa, Catalonia, France, and Rus'. At the moment, the Turks are in a state of panic, and our army is demoralized by the 'miracle of God'. If you pour out of the city with these troops, it is still very likely to break through Adrianople in one fell swoop and completely wipe out the Ottoman Turkish Empire from this shijie! ”

For the hasty and hasty battle, Wang Qiu felt very unreliable"...... Just a rabble of 5,000 makeshift gatherings? Can you really win? ”

The emperor returned with a wry smile: "...... I know that this counterattack will be very risky, but the problem is that I have no more choice - if I don't seize this moment and crush the Turks in one fell swoop, but drag it out for a few more months, then there will be no chance at all! ”

-- At this moment, 140,000 Turkish troops died violently in one night, the young Sultan was suddenly killed, and the top Turkish magnates died almost all at once...... From the moment of victory to the annihilation of the entire army, such a huge psychological gap made the entire Ottoman Turkish Empire in extreme panic and chaos, like a person who had been beaten with a stick, collapsed to the ground and unable to move. At this time, it was the easiest time to attack Adrianople, the capital of Turkey, which was extremely empty, and even the thin Liliang of the Eastern Roman Empire had a glimmer of hope for success.

On the contrary, if they had been preparing for a few more months, the Turks had been able to overcome the initial panic, complete the internal reorganization, form a new leadership core, and bring back the rest of the border guards from Greece and Albania...... Then there really was no hope for the Eastern Roman Empire - any of the Turks in these two theaters of war was far stronger than this old and weak army in Constantinople!

After listening to the emperor's explanation, everyone basically agreed with him in principle...... But the original problem was still not solved.

β€œβ€¦β€¦ So, how do you plan to deal with the Venetians' debt collection before you set out on the expedition? Leave it alone? Wang Qiu asked.

β€œβ€¦β€¦ This one...... I will ask my Secretary of State, Franz, to continue to bargain with the Venetian to postpone the repayment of the debt...... However, although it is impossible for me to really hand over all the loot, let alone the two key fortresses holding the Bosphorus, I must give them a little sweetness, so as not to fall out with these profiteers completely. So......" Emperor Constantine XI said with a shy face, rubbing his fingers and talking to the little bird Yumabai...... Can you give me another batch of pepper? Or nutmeg, cloves and tea will do......"

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