Faced with Guo Kang and Tuhuan's explanations, Joanna didn't know what to say for a while.

"Won't you give it a try?" She was so surprised that she couldn't hide it, and stammered and pleaded.

"I, I can do it myself. Let a young nobleman of prestige marry me, and then you can make a strong enough claim. After she finished speaking, she was afraid that the two would misunderstand, so she pointed at Guo Kang and said, "Just do it." ”

Who knows, when Tuohuan heard this, he and Guo Kang glanced at each other, and the two immediately laughed.

"You girl, you still dream of being a princess!" Guo Kang said with a smile.

"Do you know why my grandfather didn't take care of my mother at that time, and let her choose her own husband?" Tuhuan also asked with a smile.

"Huh?" Joanna obviously didn't expect it either.

"The territories that your mother can claim are Hungary and Naples. In our grand strategy, we want to set up places where counties are directly administered, and these are no longer needed. Tuhuan explained: "That's why my grandfather feels that she has no effect." Mr. Guo also suggested that it should be okay and let her live on her own. ”

"When fighting for territory, you put forward your own claims in order to gain enough legitimacy. But think about it, starting from Clovis, what were the origins of the earliest nobles? Where do their titles come from? He spread his hands: "Is there a higher legitimacy than Rome itself?" ”

Joanna was momentarily speechless.

"Don't be nervous, it's nothing. After all, you've helped me so much. Tuohuan teased: "Besides, you have asked him for marriage, do you still treat yourself as an outsider?" I don't need to. ”

Guo Kang blushed when he said it, but he only smiled, and he didn't seem to take it seriously at all.

He had to sigh, fortunately Theodora was not there. Otherwise, Brother Tian probably didn't know if they would fight on the spot......

"Since this matter has been mentioned, I will tell you about it seriously." Seeing that he didn't speak, Tuhuan took the initiative to explain: "If you understand, you can tell others and let everyone understand our attitude." ”

"Of course, I don't read much, and if you really make a big sense, you have to ask him." He pointed at Guo Kang: "However, Italy is very important to us, so my mother has forced me to read related books since I was a child. I still remember a lot of those examples. ”

"At the beginning, the Ostrogothic kingdom occupied much of Italy, so Emperor Justinian sent Belisarius to attack the barbarians and regain his homeland. Belisarius fought a number of victories, repelling the Goths and forcing them to submit. ”

But then, Roman officials went on a rampage in Italy in an attempt to recoup the costs of the war. The generals and governors also filled their own pockets, taking advantage of the opportunity to receive the lost land to make a fortune, and even greedy for the heads of the legions. There were also many aristocrats and senators, claiming that large tracts of local land still belonged to them, and took the opportunity to forcibly occupy the property. ”

Under the repeated bullying of these tax collectors, receiving officials, and returning senators, the Italians, who had once welcomed the Roman army, soon became dissatisfied and preferred to let the barbarians continue to rule. Later, Belisarius was transferred out because he could not be trusted, and the Ostrogothic army took the opportunity to fight back. This time, most of the people sided with the barbarians, and the garrisons everywhere were also in chaos due to the incompetence and selfishness of the generals, resulting in the loss of the territory they had gained. ”

Later, Justinian sent the more trusted Narciss, who led the army back to Italy. Narcissus managed to defeat the Ostrogoths. However, when the news of the death of the Ostrogothic king Totila broke, the Italians were saddened rather than rejoiced. ”

"This kind of thing happens over and over again in different places. When the Roman army returned to North Africa and defeated the Vandals, the Moors came to welcome them. But after some time, they also began to rebel continuously. ”

"According to the records, many local specialties, such as terracotta and olives from North Africa, and Italian wine, even in the process of barbarian invasion, many industries survived, but they were hit harder in this era, and even disappeared outright."

"These people have caused more damage to the people's livelihood in the province than the barbarians. The Italians and Moors, who were the most supportive of the inhabitants of the empire, began to rebel in a few years. How is it possible to achieve the goal with this way of domination? ”

Joanna nodded, admitting that he had a point.

"Successive rulers have often made this mistake." "The Anjou family tried to control the Kingdom of Sicily, but they couldn't even control their own soldiers, and they were finally driven out of the island. ”

"It stands to reason that at least the emerging dynasties can do a lot better in this regard. But in Europe, I haven't seen anything like that. He shook his head: "There are too many such lessons, but no one seems to have thought about them seriously." ”

When my grandfather arrived in Naples with his army, the locals told him that it was enough for someone to get rid of the current king, even if the Hungarians were to do it. If it weren't for us, Rajosh might not have left. My hometown is running like this, and I don't know what to think. ”

"You see, the locals don't care about such empty names, but about real life. The name of the king is not necessarily useful. That's why we don't think it's much necessary to support a puppet king with the right to claim. We don't need this name to add legitimacy to ourselves. ”

"I don't look down on your bloodline and family." Tuhuan scratched his head, comforted him again, and then said: "But if you think about it carefully, no matter how strong your family's bloodline and legitimacy are, can you be as strong as Emperor Justinian?" ”

Joanna shook her head stunned.

"I also think that our current generals are capable people. But now, has anyone played at the level of Belisarius and Narciss? He asked again.

Joanna was at a loss, and Guo Kang next to her shook his head.

"You see, even they failed in that situation. What conditions do we have to ignore the most critical factors? Tuohuan finally said.

"You mean that the legitimacy of the rule of the aristocracy does not matter, and the most important thing is the attitude of ordinary people?" Joanna tried to confirm.

"Of course." Guo Kang agreed: "Back then, the first lord of Ji Han and Liu was pursued in Jingzhou, but he still insisted on protecting the people and fleeing. His men reminded him that the pursuers were likely to arrive soon, and that there was no way to resist in his current situation. Liu Xianzhu replied that to do great things, we must take people as the foundation. Now that the people are attached to him, how can they bear to abandon them and leave. ”

"When the pursuers come, will they kill and rob these ordinary people? There is a big difference between the Seris army. Joanna thought for a moment and commented.

"Hmm. The army that pursued him was quite European civilization. Guo Kang said euphemistically: "So when the locals heard the news, they immediately wanted to flee." ”

"Uh......"

Although he was still defeated after that, these actions also made him popular with many people. As a result, although he often fails, he is able to rise again. This matter has been passed down forever. ”

"If we can have this spirit, I don't think we need to think about those complicated bloodlines and legitimacy." Guo Kang concluded: "Appeasing the suffering people and crusading against the guilty rulers is a kind of legitimacy in itself. When we started our own business, we didn't rely on the aristocracy. ”

"I see what you mean." Joanna looked surprised.

"However, it has been a long time since you have directly ruled Naples. Propaganda and appeal to the locals to prevent the local lords from tricking them into fighting against you, these things still need to be done, right? She is keenly aware of other spaces: "It's a trivial job, but it's valuable. We still have some connections there, and we can still help. ”

"This ...... Yes. Guo Kang hesitated and said.

"It seems that there are a lot of Italians in the capital." Tuhuan thought for a while and said, "We can select clever people from among them and go back to publicize." If you're good at it, you can really help organize them. ”

"They've got quite a few organizations." Joanna told him, "My mother and I do have dealings with some organizations, and we can go and help out if we need to." ”

"That's right." I really didn't know before I took off: "Then can we try?" If their network also has influence in their hometown, then at least, it is okay to do propaganda and obtain information. ”

"These should be fine." Joanna nodded: "Neapolitans, Sicilians, are very fond of huddles. The organizations they formed spontaneously also often had dealings with the upper echelons and sought refuge from them. ”

"Some nobles will take advantage of them and do unshady things. They would sometimes blackmail the nobles in order to get better conditions for themselves. Anyway, these people should already be used to this kind of work. ”

"Isn't this the underworld?" Guo Kang frowned: "To be honest, I'm a little uneasy about these people. ”

"If we really get involved in Naples, we will definitely have to re-establish the grassroots. Will these members of the underworld take the opportunity to get involved and usurp our control over the local area? ”

"Are you going to use the method of building a legion manor and redividing the territory?" Joanna replied, "Then don't worry. When it comes time to rebuild, just put them aside. ”

"I still know about it. They were active because in most European countries, there were no people other than clergy to organize in the villages. You've all directly established an organization, what are you afraid of? ”

"She's right." Tuhuan said: "We are the most chaotic here in Dadu. I guess it's also because of your grandfather, no one has to rectify it anymore. Elsewhere, it's not such a big problem. ”

"Do you have a way to do this?" He asked Joanna, "Can you help us and restrain these people?" ”

"That's a lot of trouble." Joanna admits: "These people are not a gang, they only have a loose alliance with each other. Not only my family, but also some other Italian businessmen often interacted with them. This was true even for some influential foreign aristocrats. ”

"By the way, do you remember the French princess who came to take refuge before?" She mentioned: "She came here to get some support from the city. I'm sure I can't control these people. ”

"This is really troublesome...... Guo Kang sighed helplessly: "Forget it, this matter is not in a hurry." Let's talk about it in the future. ”

"If I can help, I'll do my best." Joanna assured.

She walked to the door and said goodbye to the two. In the car, the "Khitan" Damiano seemed to be in a hurry. At his urging, Joanna had no choice but to tell Guo Kang that she would come to him again if she had something recently. Guo Kang felt that there was no problem, nodded in agreement, and she left in a hurry.

"Gee, I always feel like I'm going to be busy again lately." Tuhuan stretched his waist and sighed.

Guo Kang was noncommittal.

It's on a small slope, not far from the civilian area. Looking around, you can see rows of houses, narrow streets that are not very obvious, and the tall walls of Theodosius in the distance.

Looking up, a large bird is soaring in the blue winter sky.

"What time is it today?" Guo Kang suddenly remembered and asked.

"Which calendar?" "According to the Julian calendar, it's December 3rd. ”

"It's not a special day."

"yes."

***

After everyone left, only Theodora was still discussing. Cao Jian was idle and had nothing to do, so he said goodbye to his grandmother and went out for a walk.

He walked out of the monastery, walked for a while, came to the edge of the business district, found a tavern, and walked in.

"Where's your boss?" He asked the young Ross man who was looking at the shop.

"It's in the backyard. Wait a minute. The shopkeeper obviously recognized him, hurriedly greeted, put down the ledger in his hand, and trotted away behind the curtain.

After a while, a big man poked his head out.

"Young Master? Please, please, come over here. He lifted the curtain and beckoned Cao Jian in.

The two walked all the way to the backyard, and Cao Jian asked bluntly: "Has Andre made any recent moves?" ”

"We've had people keep an eye on him." The strong man said, "Since the last time you said it, he and Master Gregory have been visiting people everywhere. ”

"Are you going to Li's house again?" Cao Jian asked in detail.

"Yes." The other party nodded: "Master Li should have had something to do recently, so he hasn't been at home, so they have been going there several times." Maybe we've met two or three times. ”

"Alas......" Cao Jian sighed, but still nodded and said approvingly: "Well done, Victor." I'll give you half more next time. ”

"Thank you, young master." Victor bowed slightly, and then asked, "Now, is there anything else we need to do?" ”

"You should be able to see what is happening as well." Cao Jian tried his best to maintain a calm expression, but there was still some worry in his eyes: "Since the first two years, my grandparents wanted to make the Rus qualified to be official legionnaires, and their father and son have been moving up and down. I guess they've been preparing a lot of back-up for a long time. ”

"I don't think you need to be afraid of them, young master." Victor frowned and pointed out, "You are the heir to this family. Although Gregory was slippery and somewhat famous among the Rus', he did not fight a famous battle. Most of his current status is because he is the son-in-law of the Cao family. And Andrey, even further - he is an outsider. They can't compare to you. ”

"That's what I said...... Cao Jian's eyes wandered, obviously he didn't have much confidence: "Now it's just time to recruit the Rus as soldiers, and they won't let go of this opportunity." The Gregorian family has influence in both Ryazan and Suzdal, and if they can take advantage of this opportunity to enter the legion further, my heir will be of little practical significance. ”

"After all, Andrei's mother is the favorite daughter of her grandparents. And I, on the other hand, have no blood relationship with them at all. If he passes, then I don't think there's any need for it. ”

Victor was silent for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

"How many of them are Daoxing and Ziming?" Cao Jian didn't say anything, and asked again.

"Oh, your brothers and sisters, they didn't move." Victor replied, "I don't think they even knew about it. ”

"They and Guo Gongzi probably didn't think about it so much. They're carefree......" Cao Jian sighed again, and finally said, "Then let's follow Elder Peter's advice." Are those people ready? ”

"It's been picked before." "We also went through the black market channel and bought some weapons in advance so that they could adapt and train," Victor said. Now, at least I have some foundation and can pass the assessment. ”

"Okay." Cao Jian nodded: "Then I'll go to make an appointment with Guo Gongzi now." Without further ado, you tell him to gather the people at once. I'll take them to the barracks tomorrow to report and let him review it. ”

"So fast?" Victor was a little surprised.

"No, it won't work. Gregory must have stuffed his own men into it to actually control the army. So we have to be faster than him. Cao Jian analyzed: "We only have to create established facts on Guo Gongzi's side and determine our people before he says that he will move his grandparents and finalize the candidates." In this way, even if he started to act, he could not ask for the exclusion of this part of the people that Guo Gongzi had already absorbed. He definitely wouldn't dare to treat the Guo family like this. ”

"It could have been sooner. Let them not be lazy. He said

"Don't worry, even if we smoke them, we will assemble them on time." After Victor finished assuring, he couldn't help but ask: "It's just, then Guo Gongzi's side, are you sure that he will help?" ”

"He must have been trying to talk to me, I could tell. It's a pity that grandma doesn't seem to want him to mix too much, and he doesn't know the specifics. Cao Jian said, smiled wryly and shook his head: "It's normal for outsiders to figure out these messy things in our family." ”

"Okay, I'll go to work, you can hurry up and work." He patted Victor and urged.

"May Our Lady bless you, young master." Victor nodded and strode away.

(End of chapter)