Eagle Byzantium

Then came the second punch, the third punch... Titicius was beaten around, and finally he knelt on the floor. John rushed up and kicked him twice, hitting the ribs of the general. He was almost kicked to pieces and fell to the ground groaning.

"Despicable slave, dog-like Scythian bastard, you just come up with this idea for me, just this idea!" The emperor punched him and scolded him angrily.

Until everyone came forward and pulled John away.

John immediately felt that he was impulsive, but what could he do?

Titicius, whose face was beaten with blood, was still panting and did not stop admonishing, "Prepare a big ship at Gallipoli. If anything goes wrong in the future, you can go to Thessaloniki or For the city of Mystra, you can also go south across the Holy Sea to Crete, and continue to use the power of the west to fight against Gawain and consume it. As long as your majesty and I are alive, Gawain's new country will not be stable even if it is established. Opportunity for counterattack to survive.”

"I have left the palace of Emperor Constantine. What do you think I have left to fight against Gawain? If I don't leave, I will die heroically in Brachna Palace."

"If you die here, there will be nothing. This capital is the most dangerous. It is more dangerous than Gawain because it is full of people with ulterior motives." Taticius wiped the blood and continued speaking calmly.

"The person with the most ulterior motives is you." John pointed angrily at General Nose.

"No!" Taticius replied in a rare and forceful manner. Then he glanced at John and continued stubbornly in an annoying but meaningful tone, "I advise your majesty to leave as soon as possible. If Gawain stays here for one more day, His Majesty's prestige will be reduced, and even if he can escape in the future, he will not be able to establish himself in the place I mentioned. "

John almost went crazy. He waved several guards wearing armor and iron helmets to come in. He excitedly wanted to lock Titicius into the dark dungeon under Brachna Palace, but he was strongly discouraged by everyone. Lived.

But Taticius was also very unusual today, and asked John to get a clear idea of ​​where he was going before his image collapsed - the general was soon dragged out by the guards.

The entire meeting hall was awkwardly silent.

After John announced the adjournment of the meeting, he left unhappy.

Soon, heavy and cold rain fell from the clouds drifting from the Youkexing Sea, and fell into the royal palace. The walls of the terrace were dyed a lifeless lead gray, and the fallen leaves of various trees trembled until they withered. , John looked through the window sill at everything misty outside.

His foster mother's hand gently rested on his back shoulder.

"I will not abandon this great capital. I am the emperor here." John made up his mind.

Marlena expressed unconditional understanding and support for her adopted son, but at the same time she was also sad: her sister Marianne had become a prisoner of Gawain, and the external forces she relied on, such as Trabizond and Georgia, had collapsed.

Now all kinds of people in the palace seem to be less respectful when they see her than before. The Ducas family where the queen belongs seems to be constantly sending new people to infiltrate the palace. The stable chief Mikhail and his soldiers firmly Controlling various towers and gates, the situation on the front line became critical. Gawain's army could cross the sea and attack at any time. Marlena felt that the situation inside and outside had reached an unmanageable point. Even the residents in the imperial capital were in constant commotion, with all kinds of strange words and complaints rampant. Her cronies in the government office would also report in horror from time to time, "Everyone is in trouble." Dissatisfied with food shortages and local unrest, they were especially offended by the emperor's new construction The towering granary only supplies the army, but where are the local Roman troops now? They are all Hungarians, Italians, and a group of Vadaritai cavalry. This situation will make the residents of the capital feel uncomfortable. Qingqi's thinking is crazy, that is, they will think that His Majesty sold the country to foreigners. "

At night, Malena saw the black ominous thing more often. Sometimes it squatted on the patio, and sometimes it was hidden in the fireplace. This made her very painful and frightened. She often couldn't sleep and had a cold chill all over her body. Before raising a child, I had to force myself to smile.

Because she understood that John didn't have much spiritual support left, and she was the only one.

At this moment, two messengers hurried over in the rain and delivered the news.

Sure enough, after Gawain arrived in Prusa, the first thing he did was to "comply with the good wishes of the Patriarch of Rome and negotiate peace with John, the actual tyrant of Constantinople. The two parties could meet on a small island somewhere in the Marimara Sea." They brought this matter with them, each with a ship, without any armed retinue, and in line with the oath not to suspect each other of conspiracy, and to do so openly and honestly."

To express his true intention, Gao Wen also took the initiative to list the list of negotiators:

The Tarsus side is Gawain and Anna;

Constantinople is for John, and in addition try to come with one of John Macaulinus or Isaac Comnenus;

In the middle are Brenus, Dido and his wife, plus Masdas, the Patriarch of Constantinople, to show fairness.

If successful, the two sides will sign a strike peace treaty for at least ten years. In addition, Gawain promises to abolish the original "Public Enemy Notice List" and each will maintain their existing territories and respect each other.

John held the letter, and he was the first to ask Marlena: "In your opinion, should I go?"

"Of course, isn't this the positive result you have achieved in Western diplomacy? The Patriarch of Rome, the Count of Sicily and the Consul of Venice are all willing to stand for you, and it is said that Salian Caesar and the Hungarian chief will also support you soon." Lina didn't hesitate.

But at this time, John felt what Titicius had just said in the sound of rain, "What will happen to Brachna Palace if I go to negotiate?"

Malena is also stunned.

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Now in the entire imperial capital, there are mainly two remaining garrisons, one is the Hungarian team, and the other is Mikhail's outer palace guard. In addition, there are a small number of Vadaritai cavalry to protect John's safety.

Now if John takes the former to negotiate, Mikhail may take the opportunity to rebel in the backyard;

On the contrary, if John went with the outer palace guards, Mikhail might have ordered his men to tie him up and give him to Gawain during the negotiation;

If they are all taken away, then the imperial capital will be left unguarded;

If he doesn't take them with him, is it equivalent to giving meat to Gawain if John goes to negotiate alone?

By the way, there are also Venetians!

"But if the defense of the imperial capital is handed over to the Venetians, the dissatisfaction of the subjects will boil over." Of course, John anticipated the seriousness of the problem and hurriedly rejected the idea. It would be reasonable for Gawain to attack him and mobilize the Venetians, but Now......

"Each select a few teams and escort you to the negotiation location." Marlena reminded.

This is the best way, but...

John hesitated, then turned back to look at his adoptive mother painfully and said something.