There are 319 minutes left before the fall of the Great Song Dynasty

***

The match in the arena is over, but the crowd is enthusiastic and still hasn't dispersed, as if they are expecting something.

It's customary to hold racing races on important days, and this time is no exception. Quite a few wealthy citizens would come and place bets on the game.

Many idle citizens also like to come here to watch the races, support their teams, and try to have fun from the fierce racing competition, and vent their excess energy and emotions - or, directly in the routine brawl after the race, more directly have fun and vent their excess energy and emotions.

However, this time, although the game had just ended, some spectators had already begun to provoke each other and prepare for a fight, but more people still held back their restlessness and waited for more important things. Even, some fans spontaneously maintained order and prevented their spectators from fighting with each other.

"The arena is so quiet today." In the stands, Frahos tightened his cloak: "There wasn't even a fight, it's really different from yesterday's situation." ”

"Maybe I was beaten too hard yesterday, and I was all caught by the night watchman." One of the attendants looked left and right and replied.

Frajos turned his head and looked behind the audience. He turned back and looked at the people who were chatting and persuading at the edge of the venue, showing a slightly puzzled expression.

"Really." He said with some surprise: "But didn't we make a plan a long time ago to protect those backbones?" Was it George who swallowed the money? Such a bold man—"

"No, it won't." Another attendant was surprised: "Then it is not only against your will, but also directly offending the ruthless people of those gangs." And this matter can't be hidden for long, and people will definitely trouble them when they come out. ”

"That's right. Those few of them looked fierce and vicious, but in fact, they only dared to do this to the honest people. It's really annoying other people - how dare they do that. The previous attendant agreed.

"But I really didn't see them. Just now I only saw Nikolai maintaining order below. Frajos questioned, "Where did everyone else die?" ”

As one of the richest people in the city, he is certainly very familiar with the gangsters in the city. Many of them have worked for him, either explicitly or covertly. Dealing with these people can even be said to be his "professional skills".

Like the triumphal ceremony, and the various activities that followed, it was the best occasion for those of them who were powerful to show their heads in front of the public and gain prestige. Therefore, they are also willing to invest a lot of money to buy off the relevant people and build momentum for themselves.

In the past, it was also a way to gain power. Like the name "New Rome", the way Constantinople's power operates is quite a legacy of Rome.

In the politics of the Empire, the citizens of the city had the same transcendent status as the citizens of Rome in those days, and could even influence the political situation and interfere with the leadership of the entire empire. Gaining prestige and support among the citizens of Constantinople was tantamount to seeking a greater political future for oneself. So, of course, people are willing to invest and even compete in this area.

However, after the establishment of the Purple Horde, this approach practically became meaningless. Unlike previous dynasties, the Purple Horde can be seen as an independent empire with much less succession from its predecessors. They established a system that was largely unheard of before the Romans, and trained and selected talents on their own.

The generals and civil officials who were most trusted by the imperial court were all "their own people" from their system. And the local aristocracy, no matter how prominent their background, is still "outsiders". The promotion methods they were familiar with were regarded as crooked ways by the Khan's court, and the status they obtained, and even their fame and wealth would naturally not be recognized. Although the Purple Horde court maintained some basic courtesies to them, it was nothing more.

Over time, the local aristocracy became more and more marginalized. Many people who were able to do so also welcomed the new dynasty and began to strive to compete with others in the new order. And those who are unwilling or unable to join for various reasons can naturally only slowly withdraw from the political situation.

Of course, Frajos and others were very dissatisfied with this. However, they also did not have the ability to defeat the Purple Horde and restore the rules in their favor, so they could only complain that the Purple Horde was too barbaric, did not accept Roman traditions, and was not an orthodox dynasty.

Privately, they often complained about the injustices they had received, nostalgic for the days when their families were still in power, and occasionally wrote satirical works accusing the court of being the sinners who destroyed Roman civilization. But beyond that, there's not really much they can do.

Although the benefits of currying favor and bribing the citizens are very limited, there is nothing else they can do. At the very least, having the support of the gangsters and many idlers in the city will still be of great help to their various underworld and white businesses.

And tonight, these gang members behaved unusually. Many of the backbones were gone, which was naturally quite strange for Frajos, who was familiar with their organization.

Seeing the gold owner's questioning, several of his subordinates did not dare to slack off. But they didn't know what was going on, so they could only comfort: "Didn't Master Caspilos bring a lot of people away before?" Maybe he doesn't feel at ease, there are too many people pulling. ”

"The old man is a ghost, this timid and scared fellow. Isn't it important on our side? If he gets out of control here, even if he solves it on his side, what use will it be. Flahos said dissatisfiedly, "Will these citizens be quiet and wait for him to speak?" ”

The previous subordinate was speechless for a while, and the other person next to him immediately gave him a look, and then said: "That's it, this guy Kaspilos can only brag in vain, but in fact, it is not the material for success at all." ”

"I think those Ross gang leaders are more reliable than him - at least people know how to raise a group of hardcore thugs, not like him. When doing things, I also know that I will leave some benefits for my fellow people and lay a foundation for future cooperation. He followed Frajos's words and flattered: "You are still wise, sir, otherwise the situation here would have been unpredictable." ”

"You put respect on your lips, what do you mean by 'this guy'? Is this what you called? Flahos was not happy.

"I said that he was short, that is our contradiction, not for you to scold him. If you scold him, his subordinates will also scold me, and after a long time, who will respect the nobles? In the future, even if you fight with him, you have to call your lord, and you can't cross the rules. Remember? He reprimanded.

The subordinates couldn't say anything good, they couldn't say anything unpleasant, and they didn't know what to do for a while. However, after all, everyone received Frajos's money, so they could only hold it for the time being, and nodded a few more times.

But Frajos himself, after all, was still a little worried, looked around, and then ordered: "No, if it goes on in such a cold field, either someone will start to make trouble, or everyone will break up." Gotta find something for them. John, you tell the team, let them find a reason to play an extra game, and I'll pay for the prize money first. ”

"You've already told us about it once." The attendant named John reminded: "If it were any other competition, we would have experience, just ask a player to question the unfairness of the game, arouse the emotions of the supporters, and then ask for a rematch." But racing is not your average sport. Mr. Zhao just replied that the previous race was very intense, and the horsepower consumption was too great, and it was impossible to run again anyway. If I have to do it again, I'm afraid I'll have to use a donkey to pull the cart to compete. ”

"Why are these people so much going on?" Flahos said dissatisfiedly: "When I invested in them before, why didn't they talk so much? ”

"You're just one of the patrons, and if they don't listen, you can only threaten them with divestment." John told him, "And if they did, they would indeed suffer great losses." Those horses are the rice bowls they use to earn a living. Unless you can convince them with a much higher price tag, they won't listen – or why don't you listen to them once and pay more? ”

"Hmph—" Flahos was very upset, but the offer of more money seemed to be more difficult for him to accept, so he could only keep silent.

"There's something more excessive." Another attendant glanced at John and deliberately added, "They also say...... Uh......"

"Say what?" Frajos hurriedly asked.

"They said, 'That bald man is so picky, we have to find a way to get the money back, and we don't bother to bother with him.' If he really wants to show everyone the excitement, he might as well go on the field and pull the cart himself and race with other horses. The audience was definitely more interested than watching the cars. The attendant repeated.

"These dogs!" Frajos was furious, swung his fist sharply, and stood up: "I think they got carried away!" ”

"Hey, don't go, sir, there are a lot of them." The entourage hurriedly stopped: "We didn't bring many people today, and we have to maintain order, so we really don't have many people." I'll teach them a lesson later. ”

"Okay, I'll listen to you!" Flahos rolled his eyes, thinking that he might not be able to beat it. The attendant was given a step, so he agreed and sat back down.

"Hey, people nowadays don't know how to respect others." He muttered, "When my ancestors were working for Rome, they didn't know where they were. As a result, even these racing stars, these people who make a living by pleasing the foolish people in the city, have ridden on the heads of our families. ”

"Don't worry, sir." An entourage hurriedly said: "Back then, your ancestors also had to please the foolish people in the city." Compared with the old man of the past, you are now noble, and you don't have to be forced to please them by livelihood like them. That's a good thing! ”

"Huh?" Frajos didn't react for a moment, whether it was hurting him or comforting him, hesitated, and continued: "I'm not just talking about these people. Other aristocratic lords are also not good at learning. You see an upstart like Caspillos, who doesn't know what to do at a critical time, and goes crazy when he sees some immediate benefits......"

"Master, master, pay attention to decency!" The entourage reminded one after another: "Didn't you say last time that the Caspilos family is also a long-established nobleman, and like your family, it rose during the Macedonian Dynasty?" ”

"Pull it down. Eight of the ten professing nobles said they belonged to the Macedonian family. How can so many families have been handed down? It's nothing more than that in the current court, force is admired, and there happened to be some famous wars in that era, which can give them qualifications. ”

"Later, on the one hand, the time is too close to reflect their superiority; Rome, on the other hand, was not so strong. And further along, to find a famous one, it will be too long, and they themselves will not be able to complete it. Therefore, there are more talents attached, and with these 'successful people' as demonstrations, more and more people will naturally follow suit. Therefore, it seems that the remnants of the Macedonian dynasty are everywhere, as if Basil II specially arranged a bunch of people to support the current Rome......"

"That's outrageous. It does seem to be fake. ”

"yes, otherwise how could their combat strength be like this." The entourage agreed.

"That's right." Frajos also sighed. After a moment, he quickly added, "Oh, I mean those fake people. ”

"Like Caspilos, whose family is in the late Komnenos period, is only well documented, and probably from the Caucasus—I suspect he was an Armenian nouveau riche who came to pretend to be our proper Romans!"

He earnestly introduced the results of his research to the crowd, and commented in a firm tone: "So this man has always been good at seeing the wind and steering the rudder, and bragging and not making drafts, just as his ancestors had a despicable character. From this point of view, his family's bloodline has not been broken. ”

"So that's ......" Seeing that Master Flahos was talkative, everyone hurriedly responded and cheered.

"Hey, wait a little longer, I hope these guys don't get into more trouble." Frajos himself replied with some reluctance.

He took off his hat and scratched his head with a sad face, not knowing what to do for a while.

"Why don't I let Louie take a look? He is also French, and whether the princess wins or Caspillos wins, he can go and find out the situation. "It was suggested.

"Louis is also helping down there, how can there be idlers now." It was also pointed out.

Everyone discussed, but in the end there was still no agreement. At this time, on the edge of the field, a person suddenly jumped onto the runway and shouted.

"Citizens!" He seemed to have drunk a little too much, and said happily: "I heard that the reason why everyone is still waiting here today is because several lords said that they would bring a French princess to meet us and call on us to support her cause." ”

The people around him gradually quieted down, and it seemed that they also knew about it and wanted to hear what he had to say. And when the man saw that he had succeeded in attracting attention, he shouted even more vigorously: "But I don't think France is a good choice!" ”

"Speak quickly!"

"See what you have in mind!" The crowd was idle, and they responded.

"Of course I came here with a great idea." The speaker excitedly told everyone: "We can support the emperors of the East and establish the third Great Song Empire!" ”

Happy New Year! I've saved enough manuscripts, and I'm ready to work hard this month.

I hope you will give me a monthly pass, thank you

(End of chapter)