Ch.187Compromise (3)

The current situation in the Byzantine Empire was not good.

This was because Basileus Andronikos had killed the young co-emperor Alexios II.

Because of this, the nobles of the Anatolian peninsula who followed Manuel’s legitimacy began to resist Andronikos.

From the beginning, Andronikos’s legitimacy was far inferior to that of Alexios, so there was no reason to follow him.

For these reasons, the entire Byzantine Empire fell into chaos.

Taking advantage of this chaos, the Sultanate of Rum, which was entrenched in the Anatolian peninsula, began to encroach on territory.

To make matters worse, Isaac of Cyprus and the Armenian lineage of Cilicia also left the Byzantine Empire.

Andronikos, caught in these problems, couldn’t ask for help from his neighbors.

This was because he had led the massacre of Westerners.

As a result, European countries withdrew their friendly relations with the Byzantine Empire and distanced themselves from them.

Consequently, Andronikos was continuing his precarious rule while relying on soldiers loyal to him.

“There have been continuous rebellions recently, Basileus and Autokrator Romaion.”

“That’s not good.”

His confidant and Protasekretis, Stephanos Hagiochristophorites, agreed with him.

“We must make an example of those who dare to rebel against Your Majesty.”

“That argument is too extreme, Protasekretis.”

An official recited the title meaning head of the document bureau and openly criticized Stephanos.

In response, he continued speaking as if mocking the one who criticized him.

“Like a beardless Bestarches, your words sound like those of a little girl.”

“What did you say?”

“I said you’re a being without even a beard. How dare you run your mouth when you’re neither man nor woman?”

“Eek!”

The enraged eunuch tried to say something.

But since the emperor stopped him, it was difficult to continue speaking.

“Calm yourself, Protasekretis.”

“I apologize, Your Majesty. I got too excited in front of Your Majesty. I couldn’t contain my anger at the foolishness of the commoners who dared to rebel against Your Majesty’s good governance.”

The emperor smiled with satisfaction at Stephanos’s words that flowed like a mountain stream.

And he addressed him.

“However, your words seem to reflect my heart, which pleases me.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“In that sense, I will accept your opinion.”

All the officials were surprised by Andronikos’s words.

This was because the emperor, who had a duty to protect his subjects, had ordered soldiers to massacre the people.

“Your Majesty! This absolutely must not happen.”

“That’s right. Our country’s reputation is already poor due to the massacre of Westerners. If civilian massacres continue in this state, it will lead to terrible consequences.”

“The chaos will intensify, and evil pagan countries will take advantage of this to target our territory.”

Despite the opposition from his ministers, Andronikos showed no reaction.

Rather, he continued speaking with a resolute expression.

“Are you my subjects? Or are you the subjects of the people?”

“That… that…”

“It is because of the people that Your Majesty can exist.”

“Is that so?”

Andronikos smiled.

And he raised his hand to call a soldier.

When the soldier appeared, the official who had said that the emperor could exist because of the people swallowed dryly as he looked at the emperor.

“Say it again. What did you say?”

“I said that Your Majesty can be in that position because of the people.”

“I see.”

The emperor nodded at this.

And he gave the order to behead that official with his hand.

At this, the soldier beheaded the official in front of everyone.

“Urgh!”

“Eek!”

“My… my goodness…!”

The officials wore shocked expressions.

Seeing their reactions, the emperor instead wore a pleased expression.

“Now do you understand my fearfulness and resoluteness?”

He was too accustomed to ruling through fear.

As a result, he was under the delusion that the officials, who were now too terrified to do anything, were sincerely following him.

This was entirely his delusion.

Only the emperor thought this way.

In their hearts, a spirit of rebellion was beginning to sprout.

After all, they had seen with their own eyes today that if the emperor’s tyranny continued like this, their lives would not be spared either.

* * *

Just like the chaotic Byzantine court, the lives of ordinary people were also tough.

Many had been executed due to false accusations or false charges after the massacre of Westerners.

Because of this, they were focused on preserving their lives while keeping quiet.

“If only God’s punishment would fall upon him.”

“Be careful with such talk. The Gamozoo might try to kill us.”

Gamozoo was an insulting Greek word meaning a person who commits bestiality.

It was a high-level curse, so people didn’t often use such profanity.

But as the emperor’s tyranny worsened, the people called him Gamozoo.

This spread so widely that although there were many damnable people in the Byzantine Empire, Gamozoo became a word attached to a special being.

Of course, the emperor hadn’t actually committed bestiality.

But because many people disliked him, they gave him this insulting nickname to vent their anger toward him.

Anyway, when the word Gamozoo came up, the man nodded.

“Right. We should watch what we say. I’ve heard that recently, not only nobles but also members of the imperial family are fleeing to survive.”

Many members of the imperial family had taken refuge to survive Gamozoo’s tyranny.

Among their destinations was the Kingdom of Sicily, and the reason they headed there was because many Sicilians had died due to the emperor’s massacre.

Because of this, Sicily was waiting for the moment to invade the Byzantine Empire.

This was a fact known to ordinary people, nobles, and everyone.

But only Gamozoo, who enjoyed doing it with animals, didn’t know.

While venting their frustrations by badmouthing Gamozoo, the man spoke to his friend.

“By the way, have you heard that rumor?”

“What rumor?”

“The rumor that a crusader who appeared from the east is defeating all the evil pagans.”

“You believe that rumor? I’m dumbfounded that you, of all people, would believe such a baseless rumor.”

“It’s true, I tell you.”

“I don’t believe it. The claim that the vast Persian land was conquered in just two weeks is something that wouldn’t appear even in legends featuring ancient gods.”

At the man’s rebuttal, the man who mentioned the rumor blushed.

This was because the rumor that Persian land had fallen in just two weeks was truly something that would only appear in mythology.

Therefore, it was understandable not to believe this rumor.

“Additionally, they say Baghdad has also fallen, and believing this would make one no different from a complete fool.”

“I really heard this information from a Venetian merchant. Just try to believe me.”

“Tsk tsk. Why should I trust those money-hungry fellows?”

The man waved his hand dismissively as he said this.

The perception of Venetian merchants in the Byzantine Empire was at rock bottom.

Therefore, trust in them could only be very low.

“Anyway, bring me a more plausible story instead of such talk.”

“A plausible story? You mean the story about Cyprus falling?”

“Cyprus has fallen?”

At this, the man shrugged.

And looking at the man who had been rebutting him, he shook his head.

“This friend is late with information.”

“Tell me quickly what happened. I’m dying of curiosity.”

“Haha. This is payback for mocking me earlier. I’ll tease you a bit more.”

“What a cowardly friend you are.”

In this way, the man returned as much as he had received from the man who had rebutted him.

After teasing him like that, he immediately began to share the news about Cyprus.

“I heard that crusaders from the west have occupied Cyprus.”

“Westerners?”

“Yes. They say a brave king with the nickname ‘Lionheart’ from the west has occupied Cyprus.”

In the perception of Byzantine Empire people at that time, Westerners meant people from the Western Roman Empire.

Even if they came from various countries like England, France, the Holy Roman Empire, etc., they were simply seen as Westerners since they ultimately came from Western Rome.

This was because, from the perspective of Byzantine people, Rome had not fallen.

They thought it had merely been divided into east and west.

So they viewed Lionheart, who participated in the Crusades, as just a king leading one of the forces within the Western Roman Empire’s sphere of influence.

The reason for this perception was that those who occupied the land after the fall of Western Rome claimed to be Rome.

In fact, there were even people in Western Europe who believed that the Roman Empire still existed.

Of course, not all Byzantine people had this perception.

However, the majority held this concept.

“Isn’t Cyprus a territory of the Byzantine Empire?”

“That’s right. So I’m worried that Gamozoo might send troops.”

“That seems like too forward-thinking. Even if Gamozoo is a madman who does it with animals, he should know that there are no troops to dispatch from the Byzantine Empire right now.”

The current financial state of the Byzantine Empire was not very good.

Gamozoo, who was leading the Byzantine Empire with a reign of terror, was turning a blind eye to the corrupt actions of his favorite official, Stephanos.

Because of this, Stephanos was committing evil acts such as embezzling the national budget needed for improving national defense.

As a result, the morale of Byzantine Empire soldiers could only be very low.

Of course, this wasn’t entirely Stephanos’s fault.

In fact, the Byzantine Empire had been facing an increasing burden on national defense for a long time.

Therefore, it was natural for the budget needed for national defense to increase.

However, as Gamozoo conducted his reign of terror and couldn’t even properly manage his corrupt officials, the entire country was staggering.

“I wonder if we’ll be able to properly defend when those pagans invade.”

The other man nodded at the man’s lament.

And he turned his head to look toward where the Anatolian peninsula was.

“I’m worried that God’s punishment might fall upon us.”

“God’s punishment?”

“Yes. I wonder if God will send down a divine army to punish the corrupt Gamozoo.”

“A divine army… if such a thing existed, the world would have been turned upside down already.”

The man responded cynically.

The other man nodded at this.

If there had been a divine army, it should have come to earth thousands of times already.

Therefore, the man knew that his thought was a vain delusion.

But now something was different.

He couldn’t explain why. It was just a feeling.