Eagle Byzantium

"Really? Maybe you think it doesn't matter, but to me, this is also a major matter that determines morality for a thousand years. I would rather argue with them or bravely speak out the orthodox doctrines than settle the matter and violate my own conscience." Well, this hermit Peter has also decided to fight to the end.

There was a rush of footsteps - it was the owner of the hotel who climbed up the stairs and stood face to face in front of them. First he asked the guard for your honor, and then he shrugged his shoulders very excitedly, like a recruit standing on the battlefield. As if, holding on to the handrail of the stairs, looking very Horror, facing Peter, "Okay, monk! I was down there and heard the children telling you your answer to the doctrine just now. I felt that the whole world was about to collapse, so I begged you, okay! Don't you Also, does purgatory still exist in this world?”

"Tell him, no! People can enter heaven with the forgiveness of the Holy Father!" the officer reminded, sweating profusely.

"There is purgatory. Everyone has original sin. Even if the Holy Father grants forgiveness, sins still have to be purified in fire before they can finally ascend to heaven." Peter gave this answer without any hesitation.

When the boss heard this answer, he swayed around violently. Gawain suspected that he had high blood pressure. Then he raised the icon pendant hanging on his chest, cried and kissed it, and then made a trombone sound. , rushed downstairs again...

"If you swear to argue with these theologians to the end, please do it after I take a shower." In the stables and street below the hotel, Gawain hugged a blanket and a luggage roll, full of complaints, and sat next to him. complained Peter.

"The true doctrine is like the stars in the night sky. It is eternal and unchanging, and God's will can be understood from temporary changes. Therefore, even if you sacrifice your life, you must defend it to the death." Peter said, pointing to the vast starry sky, his will was so unwavering that Gawain couldn't laugh or cry. The two people who were expelled could only lean on the post where the horses were tied, and wrap blankets around themselves to resist the cold.

At this time, Gawain's black mare stretched out her head and licked her master affectionately with her tongue.

"Welcome to the Queen of Ten Thousand Cities—the new Golden Gate beside the Theodosian wall of Constantinople!" The next morning, amid a chorus of admiration, the guard said excitedly on horseback. Opening his arms and looking up at what he called the "Golden Gate", he emotionally introduced Peter and Gawain that he had promised the two of them to visit this magnificent city as tourists first, the only recognized city in the world. New Roman city-state.

At this time, all the envoys and tourists around them had the same expressions of amazement, looking up at the huge city wall built with colorful rocks and bricks as majestic as a mountain. The height of the tower above was enough to make the visitors feel amazing. Dizzy, on the top floor of the tower, falcons nested there. The emperor liked these birds, so Because it is difficult for other birds to fly up, colorful flags are hung on each tower. "Those are the emblems of different guilds in the city. This marks that when the city wall is destroyed by earthquakes and tsunamis, this guild must pay Repair costs, in addition, when the enemy attacks, the guild must also send armed craftsmen to guard and monitor."

The arch is covered with golden tiles and is dazzling in the sun. This is the origin of the "Golden Gate". "But this is not accessible to civilians. It can only be opened when the emperor returns in triumph or receives particularly important envoys." !”

So they could only go around the Theodosian wall and walk in the northwest direction. Along the way, Gawain rode on a mare and saw the residents walking around on the outskirts of the city. Few of them looked like Greeks. They are all Turks, Varangians, Persians, Arabs, Copts, etc., and their language and clothing are like a boiling boiler. Generally speaking, all the shops are open close to the city wall. "This is the area where the emperor's mercenaries and their families live. This group of people lives on the edge of the imperial capital. They may have never entered the emperor's territory from birth to death." The area behind the walls of Constantine." The implication of Diognis's words seemed to be that he was expressing his regret.

After about ten miles, they came to the so-called "Bridge Gate" where civilians can enter and exit. Compared with the Golden Gate, this place is much simpler, but it is extremely popular, and all kinds of people come and go here. , the stone lion sculptures on the city wall have different shapes, overlooking these busy and humble creatures.

After entering the bridge gate, "tour guide" Diognis pointed to the hills to their right, "Look, it's Mount Eikekinon, and all above it is the Great Monastery of St. Lycoos." With a burst of excitement, The sound of bells sounded in the distance. Gawain looked up the mountains. The mountains were full of large and small churches, forming a cluster. The bells came in waves, just like the sky. As if from the air, there are more dense cemeteries on the ground around the church. On both sides of the streets and ditches separated by the mountains, there are areas where civilians live. They all live in the walls of Theodosius and the monarchs. In the huge area between the walls of Tandine, according to Diogenes, "the imperial capital is well-ordered, and different groups of people stay in different areas."

Gawain understood that the civilization of the city had not changed much over the past thousands of years. Take Constantinople for example. The most humble military families could only make a living in the suburbs outside the city. The ordinary urban poor stayed between the two city walls, nestling in small houses like whirlpools, enduring the invasion of fire, plague and poor public security. Behind the inner Constantine wall, stretching out towards the Sea of ​​Marimara, there was a cape like a bull's horn, where huge high bridges and canals were built high up, drawing spring water from the mountains and transporting it to the world within the city walls: there were all new and old noble residences and residences, competing for luxury and sophistication. When the architectural style of the Justinian era became outdated, new mansions with the style of the Crescent Moon School immediately sprang up like mushrooms after rain. However, there is a strict class gap. The middle class can only stay in the city between the Serpent Column of Massina and the Great Forum of Constantine, while the more prominent nobles have the qualifications and financial resources to buy their own mansions at the end of the cape, along the seaside avenue outside the walls of the "Grand Palace" representing the highest authority of the empire, and the Hippodrome, the Grand Theater, the Augustan House, the Cathedral of St. Sergius, the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom (Sophia Cathedral) and the Baths of Scyps, overlooking the golden and wavy Julian Bay, until the top of the cape "Bull Horn", the junction of the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, "St. Barbara Gate", there is a huge chain that spans the entire strait, where the blue and black ocean currents meet, representing the emperor in the Grand Palace, who controls the supreme power of two oceans and two lands.

If you look at the map, the fallen Constantinople is an absolute pyramid, which is what Diogenes called "order".