And at the same time that Egil was worried about the issue of the Papal Decree, Forster, a diplomat who had sent an envoy to Eastern Rome, also ate a third closed door outside the Grand Palace of Constantine.

"His Majesty the Emperor is not here. ”

"His Majesty the Emperor is not here. ”

"Your Majesty the Emperor...... Hmph, no. ”

That's it, because the Normans and the Eastern Rome are still in a state of war, the attitude of the Eastern Roman soldiers guarding the palace is not very friendly. He even watched Forster patrol the palace gates, and threatened to arrest him as a Norman spy and put him in the black kiln......

"Is this the so-called civilization that your country is proud of? ”

Of course, as a diplomat, Foster was intimidated. Completely unmoved, he snorted coldly, deliberately raised his head, and shouted loudly in Greek. Then, without waiting for the surrounding Greeks to gather, he snorted coldly, turned and left.

"That guy is a Norman......"

"What the hell is going on?"

"It looks like the Norman wants to go inside the palace, is he a Norman messenger?"

The Greeks looked at the backs of the Normans and talked about it.

"Barbarians, get out of Constantinople!"

Of course, there are also people who shout slogans loudly to show their patriotism and bravery, and some people even pick up stones on the ground and throw them in that direction, but they don't dare to run up and beat people. After all, Foster was surrounded by two big-shouldered, round-waisted, heavily armed Normans, and it was not easy to mess with at first glance.

At this moment, standing on the tower of the palace gatehouse, Basil II watched Forst leave, then shook his head, turned away, and asked the general Ellius, who was standing behind him, "What do you think?"

“...... What do you mean by Your Majesty?" asked Elius with a frown.

"About the Normans, of course. How we should treat them. Basil said.

"Well, didn't Your Majesty have already made a full plan before this?" said Elius, continuing to play dumb. It made Basil feel a little dissatisfied.

"I did have a plan. "But you've probably heard the saying that plans don't change as fast as they do. It's like it is now. I had expected that, after defeating the infidels, the Evil Barrier would have some troops left to control a portion of Eastern Europe. When the time comes, I will lead the army over again and crush the opponent in one go. But I didn't expect that evil obstacle to be so useless. An army of 70,000 or 80,000 was defeated in just one battle. In the end, only a few hundred people were left who escaped. If it weren't for the face of her dead mother, I'd have thought—"

The more Basil II spoke, the angrier he became, and the more he spoke, the angrier he became. But in the end, I finally held on, swallowed the second half of the sentence, and didn't say anything more ugly. Of course, even if you say it, it's nothing. Elius had planned from the beginning, his eyes wandering, and he looked like he hadn't heard.

"Cunning fellow. When Basil II saw this guy's appearance, he couldn't help but curse secretly in his heart.

Careful and wise, at least in the eyes of Basil II, the smartest of his generals, namely Aetius, was such a man. His desire for power is very weak, and he has a feeling of getting by. Never take the initiative to take power. Basil II was sometimes troubled by this guy's lack of progress. But more often, because of the character of Aetius, he will take the initiative to hand over responsibility and power to him. And in this way, Aetius gradually became Basil II's most trusted person, in charge of the intelligence system of Eastern Rome, and as Basil II's deputy, he often went with him.

"Well, then, General," Basil II decided, "I want to hear your opinion on Norman's strategy." ”

"Well, that's right, Your Majesty. "How could Aetius not understand what Basil II said? At this moment, Basil asked explicitly, and Aetius quickly replied: "Your Majesty must be troubled by whether to make war or peace with the Normans. In the war, we have just defeated the Turkic infidels, although we have gained a part of the territory, as well as an indemnity from the Turks. But in fact, the empire's national power is still a lot of loss. If you fight the Normans again, then it will not be a good thing to win or lose. ”,

"Well, indeed. Basil II nodded, motioning for Aetius to continue.

"But what if they didn't go to war with the Normans, let them go south, occupy the Crimea, and then attack the empire itself through the Black Sea? When the time comes, all the Romans will complain about our policy. The Normans themselves had a very strong fleet. This would hold back a large part of our maritime power. At that time, we will not have the energy to fight the Catholic heresy in the Mediterranean, and against the pagan pirates of Epon and Barbary. This is a devastating disaster for the Empire. ”

"Indeed," said Basil II, a little excited, "it's all the fault of that evil obstacle - I shouldn't have believed her in the first place! Everything was messed up by her - then Aetius, what exactly is your proposal? Is it war? Indeed, the Normans are the main henchmen of the Empire today compared to other potential threats. ”

"No, no, no, Your Majesty, it's not like that. Aetius shook his head, and then said: "And the situation in the empire is not very good now, in Iberia, our army has been defeated many times in a row to the descendants of those Spaniards. Perhaps after General Belisarius went to that place, the situation would change. But in this way, we will not have a strong general in Asia Minor to suppress it. ”

"The Turks have been defeated by me!" said Basil II.

"Definitely. Aetius nodded, "But they still have great power." Especially in recent times, there has been intelligence that they have found very good foreign aid. ”

"Is it a Cuman? Isn't this information a little outdated?"

"No, not the Cumans. It's about the people. Aetius said: "The heretics of Etius, under the command of their leader Saladin, have taken Jerusalem. ”

After hearing the news, Basil II was slightly annoyed: "Those useless Franks. Ever since the leper died, it was as if he couldn't fight. ”

"That's right. Your Majesty. We must consider what we should do if the Turks and the Ethiopians joined forces to attack Asia Minor. Should we send another better general to replace the incompetent ones in that military district - sorry, please forgive me for using such rude rhetoric. But this is the case, and according to the intelligence, your newly appointed governor of Asia Minor has no merits worth mentioning during his tenure other than the looting of the people's wealth and the abduction of the people's daughters. ”

"I know, of course I do. Speaking of this, Basil II looked a little irritated: "But there are only a few useful generals in the empire, and there are so many territories in the empire, and there are not enough manpower at all." — or Aetius, you want to get the position of governor, but if there is a war with the Normans, I feel that I need you more here. ”

"Not really, Your Majesty. Aetius shook his head: "I just want to remind Your Majesty of this problem." And the problem of the lack of generals in the empire is indeed difficult to handle, but in fact, His Majesty should have a few candidates in mind. ”

"Do you mean that evil obstacle? Absolutely not!" Basil II was the first to think of his own daughter, and then the first to deny it was his own daughter, who had been locked up by Basil II for "closed thought" after suffering defeat at the hands of the Normans and running back in disgrace. Opening and closing one's mouth is an obstacle to iniquity. It's as if it was not a daughter who gave birth but a scourge.

"No, no, no, the subordinate is talking about General Narciss. Aetius hurriedly said.

"Narciss......" Basil II frowned, thinking about the [Shina God Slaughter Edition] in his heart, but he felt that what Aetius said was not unreasonable. The famous generals of the Eastern Roman Empire broke their fingers and counted only a few. It's either him or he......

"But Narsis had a terrible failure. Let the empire lose a lot. Basil II frowned. Then he said.

"But you should also know that the Normans were not that easy to deal with. And Egil, the leader of the Normans, was a formidable enemy. Narcisse has done his best. ”

"Well......" Hearing Aetius say this, Basil II pondered for a moment, "well, then I will give him another chance." Wait a minute, you will make a will. Let him be the general of the garrison of Trebizond. ”

Aetius breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this—although the position of the garrison general was pitiful compared to the power of the governor of a place. But this means that Narsis is officially back in politics. I am worthy of the heavy gift he gave.

"Still. At this time, Basil II then asked: "After talking for a long time, you have not yet said the question I want you to answer—is it war or peace with the Normans?"

Aetius chuckled: "Why didn't your majesty see the messenger of the Normans, and then think about it later?"

Basil II was stunned for a moment, and then snorted coldly: "If you say it, you don't say it." Then he turned and left. Leaving Aetius alone, he chuckled at the back of his lord and followed.

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