Of course, Basil II had reservations about the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire, but what Egir said touched his heart to a certain extent.

"No matter how strong a tiger is, it can't resist the attack of a pack of wolves, and no empire can fight multiple enemies in a row. Everyone needs friends, and this was true of the Normans, and the same was true of the Romans. ”

"Allies...... What?"

It would be a good fortune to have a solid and strong ally in the northern part of the empire, which was not very interested in northern Europe, which was too cold - since the heyday of the Roman Empire. In contrast, the empire preferred the mild climate around the Mediterranean, the Apennines, the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, the Middle East...... These are the first lands that the Empire wants to acquire. The reason why the Norman Empire was so wary of its expansion in Eastern Europe was actually the fear that the other side would go south and attack and plunder the empire.

"But the other side seems to be more interested in peaceful trade with the Empire. ”

In fact, even at war between the two sides, 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 - the Eastern Romans monopolized the trade in spices and silk from the East, while the Normans in the north had an advantage in glasswork, metallurgy, pottery, furs, and grain. Smuggling between the two sides is rampant, often with an official background. Therefore, if the two sides can sit down and talk, then the economy of both sides will be much better, and the government will have a new source of tax revenue, which will also play a great role in promoting the recovery and revitalization of the Eastern Roman Empire.

"Of course, everything is standing on: it's true. under the prerequisites. Basil II said to himself. He didn't know if the Normans really wanted peace with the Empire or if they had sent a rose with a stinger. In any case, he had enough reason to receive the Norman emissaries once again. and negotiate with it.

And the dashing Foster, who walked that day, was not hypocritical at this moment. It wasn't as Basil imagined that he deliberately couldn't take the shelf. Of course, at the negotiating table, Foster still did not budge. There is no hint of compromise at all.

In a side room of the Senate in Constantinople, negotiations raged, and the Norman Foreign Minister Foster was wary. Shouting and shouting on the slap table:

"The demands of the empire must be met in full, if only partially, then it is better not to talk about it. The so-called compromise is the most shameful thing!"

Foster said something he didn't believe, but it was for the diplomats of Eastern Rome to see what it meant to be mighty and unyielding. In fact, the conditions of the Eastern Roman Empire were not very bad. It's even better than the final bottom line that Egil handed over to Foster.

The Eastern Romans accepted the Normans' offer to occupy Eastern Europe and be called Tsar. The opening of the Dardanelles was also agreed to by the Eastern Romans. It's just that in terms of details, there are still a little differences between the two sides:

The Eastern Romans proposed that any Norman merchant ship entering or leaving the Dardanelles would have to pay an additional toll tax, and that the Eastern Roman army would need to board the ship and search it. At the same time, the Dardanelles Strait was only accessible to civilian, commercial ships, and the Norman Navy could not navigate through the Dardanelles.

"If your country does not heed the advice and force the passage of your naval ships, then we will have to sink your warships!" shouted the Admiral of the Black Sea Fleet, who represented the Eastern Roman Navy, and the most happy thing to redeem this guy is to redeem this fellow in this regard, because the ships are mountains of gold, and if they have the right to search, they can extort a lot of money with a little manipulation. This is a great way to make money, although in the end it will be distributed to the Sea of Marmara Fleet, that is, the fleet directly under the Crown. But that small fleet was small in numbers and small in ships. What's the matter, he, the Admiral of the Black Sea Fleet, takes the lion's head......

"Then, after our fleet enters the Mediterranean, will your navy be able to provide escort throughout the whole process?" asked Foster nonchalantly. ...,

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

"Then, the trade between the two sides, the merchant ships sailing, not more than a hundred ships a day and a night, carrying tens of thousands of goods. Your country will search them one by one, and delay time. Whose responsibility is it in the end?" Foster then asked.

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

"My country is so sincere in consulting with your country. Is this how your country reciprocated our sincerity? Perfunctory prevarication, nonsense, and 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 the tip of his nose and scolded.

So in the end, the Eastern Roman Empire had to give in and agree to the Normans' conditions, and for every hundred Norman merchant ships that passed, they would randomly inspect one. As for the convoy, the Eastern Roman Empire required the Normans not to use large ships with more than 200 men (i.e., large ballistae with three decks), and the number of convoys was strictly regulated, with one warship for every five, or less than five Norman merchant ships.

And about things like the cession of Mediterranean islands, the two sides have a very tacit understanding and automatically ignore them. Quan Dang Egil made a joke that was not too big or too small.

As for religion, the Norman Empire hoped that the Eastern Roman Empire would send a group of more than 100 Orthodox priests to Eastern Europe to serve as missionaries and communicate with the native Norman churches, and the Norman Empire would also send more than 100 priests to Constantinople.

"This matter can't be rushed, the two sides must communicate well, fully understand, and then come slowly, step by step. If we work together, there will always be a successful day. Foster commented on the matter. And the Eastern Roman Empire did not have much dissent. After all, this matter is really a bit unreliable. But it's good to have a beginning. The next step is to rely on the efforts of the clergy on both sides.

Regarding the reparations of the Eastern Roman Empire, Basil II hoped that the Normans would be able to suppress the price a little, although the Eastern Roman Empire had always had a lot of money and a strong atmosphere of the rich second generation. There is a feeling that "if you can solve a problem with money, then it is not a problem".

But in recent times, it has attacked the continent, then it has fought with the Crusaders, then it has fought with the Ottoman Turks, and then it has sent troops to fight with the Normans. The wars, which lasted for several years, put a severe financial burden on the Eastern Roman Empire. Now Basil II was already thinking about reducing his financial expenditures. Therefore, the 500,000 florin gold coins that could be obtained by a casual search are also an unknown amount of money in the eyes of today's Eastern Rome.

"What is this ......?" Foster was puzzled - in fact, the Norman Empire was now on the right track. Except for the fact that the reform of the new army could not be carried out halfway through, the development in other areas was quite good. 500,000 florin gold coins are not too much, but they are only a month's revenue of the Norman Empire. In Foster's view, it was a mere piece of chicken -- if it were used for military reform, the 500,000 gold coins would be a waste of money, and not even a single sound could be heard. And elsewhere - the Norman Imperial Council is now functioning well, with a monthly budget plan.

Income and expenditure are all planned. Although 500,000 gold coins are good, there is no place to use them. According to Foster's estimates, the money must have been cheaper for Egil in the end, allowing the faint man to continue to be poor and extravagant.

But the problem is that this condition was set by Egil, and Foster, although he did not think so, did not have the right to change it - who knows if he would give you small shoes to wear after he had lost His Majesty's money without authorization......

"I'm going to ask the country for advice on this matter first. Foster finally decided to postpone for two days and write to ask what his lord meant.

"Will this delay the negotiations?" asked Foster, a senator wearing a white Greek robe and a laurel wreath on the Eastern Roman Empire's side.

"Of course not, I'm sure there will be a reply soon. And in the meantime, we can talk about other issues first. Foster said with ease. Unexpectedly, his words made the people in Eastern Rome push into their hearts.

"It's a thousand miles away from Kyiv, and you have to take the Black Sea Road in a straight line, but the curve has to go around in a big circle. Even if you speed up, it will take a month or two to do it. How can this guy say it so easily? Could it be that the Normans had some means of communication that the empire didn't know?"

General Elius, who was in charge of the intelligence system, was also involved in the negotiations, but he didn't say anything at the negotiating table, as if he was joining in the fun. But I didn't expect to listen to Foster's unintentional words......

In this way, it is not too early for both sides to look at the sky. He declared that this was the end of today's negotiations. Nafoster had now become a guest of honor in the Roman Empire, and naturally someone led him to spend time drinking, and everyone dispersed, leaving only Ellius to think there for a while, but after all, he still couldn't think of the key point, so he couldn't help but shake his head, and went home.

============================= [provided by Shining God Bra] ============================