Ch.207The Fall of Constantinople (3)

# Constantinople’s Great Palace

The Great Palace of Constantinople.

It was a palace built when Constantine I moved the capital from Rome to Constantinople around 330 AD.

This palace served as the center of Byzantine governance and ceremonies.

Given its proud tradition and history, it was used for the coronation ceremonies of Alexios II and Bellicose I.

The two men, dressed in purple-adorned garments known as the imperial color, slowly walked through the center of the palace.

To their left stood Byzantine officials, and to their right stood Mongol warriors.

Receiving everyone’s congratulations, the two reached the two thrones prepared in advance.

Then they turned their heads to face everyone and shouted loudly.

“I, Alexios II, as the legitimate descendant of Manuel I, will lead Rome according to God’s will. However, this task is arduous and difficult. Therefore, I swear to respect my guardian as co-emperor, as my ancestors did before me, and to follow his counsel.”

At this, the Mongol warriors cheered loudly.

In response to their cheers, Bellicose I stepped forward.

His true identity was none other than Gurkhan, Yesugei.

The Latin name he chose was Bellicose.

It meant “warrior” in Latin and had the same meaning as Yesugei’s actual nickname, Batur.

That’s why Yesugei used it as his imperial name.

“I, Yesugei, Gurkhan of the steppe, Emperor Taejo of the Central Plains, and co-emperor of Rome, Bellicose I, speak. As guardian of Alexios II, I swear before God to assist him and help Alexios in all aspects of state affairs, national defense, and administration.”

At these words, the Roman officials wore sour expressions.

This was because Bellicose I’s words essentially meant that all real power resided not with Alexios II but with Bellicose I.

However, in their position, they had no choice but to follow Bellicose’s words.

They had seen with their own eyes and felt firsthand the incredible fighting prowess of the Mongol warriors led by Bellicose.

No matter how strong Alexios II’s legitimacy might be, without power, he could achieve nothing.

The fact that Alexios II himself had nearly been killed by the deposed Andronikos was proof of this.

Given this reality, it was only natural that Bellicose I would wield influence over all aspects of governance, including military, administrative, and judicial powers.

In this situation, the Byzantine officials had no choice but to follow the prevailing trend.

So, like the Mongol warriors, they raised both hands to celebrate Bellicose I’s coronation.

“Long live Bellicose I Autokrator! Long live!”

“O self-ruler! Protect Rome!”

“Lead Rome to glory together with His Majesty Alexios II Porphyrogenitus, the legitimate imperial bloodline!”

The title of Basileus Autokrator, used since the 11th century, disappeared into history after Andronikos’s deposition.

Naturally, the titles of Porphyrogenitus, meaning an emperor of blood lineage, and Autokrator, denoting one with real power, were revived.

* * *

“Congratulations on becoming Emperor of the Great Jin, Father.”

“Thank you, my son.”

I said these words as I removed the Byzantine imperial crown.

Then I sat down in my place.

I had become co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.

To be precise, I had become the Autokrator with actual power, which essentially meant I was the master of Rome.

“Co-ruler. That doesn’t look good, brother.”

At Munglig’s words, I shrugged my shoulders.

From the perspective of nomadic Mongols, there could not be two rulers.

Of course, before Mongolia was unified, there were various khans leading tribal confederations.

So it would be difficult to say that the concept of joint rule was completely absent through the kurultai.

However, we were nomads.

From the perspective of the ulus, who had seen such joint rule—often appearing as monarch and regent—in the Central Plains, it could only be viewed negatively.

And historically, Mongolia had never had co-rulers.

As a result, they couldn’t understand the concept of jointly ruling a country.

“To rule Rome and use it as a base for European conquest, it’s better to follow their way of life, Munglig.”

As mentioned earlier, the ulus wasn’t capable of directly ruling the Anatolian Peninsula on the opposite side of the earth.

In such a situation, it was impossible to effectively control Byzantium, which required crossing by ship from the Anatolian Peninsula.

Therefore, I had no choice but to ally with local powers.

The power I chose was Alexios, or more precisely, the fake Alexios II.

“Besides, it would be difficult to find a local power as easy to manipulate as the current Emperor Alexios.”

We knew the secret of the impostor.

Additionally, we were pressuring him with military force, so it was impossible for him to rebel against me.

“Even so, I’ve heard that power cannot be divided, Gurkhan. So Alexios II might plot rebellion.”

At Muqali’s words, I shook my head.

Even if the fake Alexios II miraculously staged a rebellion, it could be quickly suppressed by mobilizing the Sultanate of Rum.

In that case, Byzantium, which had already fought a war with Mongolia, would clearly suffer great damage.

Additionally, if we spread information about the fake Alexios II, the emperor would inevitably fall from power.

Then the Byzantine officials would naturally have to support a new emperor, and since I was already the co-emperor, I would naturally become the emperor.

“Don’t worry. Then the emperor will die.”

Killing a fake emperor wasn’t difficult.

From the beginning, I planned to place kheshig around him to monitor him 24 hours a day.

“Killing the emperor is easy. But it requires effort. Additionally, when the war between Jin and Song ends and a winner and loser emerge, one of them will surely attack the ulus. If the fake emperor harbors different intentions during that time, it will be difficult to prevent.”

This was the insight worthy of Muqali, the great general of the Four Heroes.

As he said, possibilities always existed. So he was saying we should be cautious.

“Very well. Then let’s strengthen surveillance and management of him.”

After saying this, I looked at Munglig.

Munglig bowed and then looked at me.

“Don’t worry about that part, Gurkhan.”

At Munglig’s answer, everyone present wore puzzled expressions.

This was because Munglig’s expression was already full of pride.

“I’ve assigned six kheshig to Alexios. They are masters of chest, back, arms, abdomen, shoulders, and… some lower body exercises.”

“…”

I felt something chilling.

His words sounded like he intended to fill six days of the week with exercise.

Moreover, the exercise areas were predominantly focused on the upper body.

As evidence, it seemed like the lower body was reluctantly included just for proportion.

It felt like he was trying to create an extremely upper body-focused athlete.

Is… is this… right?

While I was thinking this, Temujin suddenly asked Munglig a question.

“As I understand, there are 7 days in a week, so why only 6 days?”

Munglig laughed heartily in response.

Then, with a benevolent expression, he waved his hand dismissively.

“Haha. I’m not that bad a person. At the very least, muscles need one day of rest. Since Sunday is their day of rest here, I told them to rest then.”

To suffer through exercise for 6 days straight and then rest by going to church for mass.

I wondered if he was even human.

Whether he knew my thoughts or not, Munglig just looked at me with a hearty laugh.

* * *

The coveted city of Constantinople survived once again.

Moreover, the Byzantine Empire itself did not collapse but remained intact.

As a result, the Byzantine people couldn’t help but rejoice.

“I thought the country would fall when the barbarians invaded, but it didn’t.”

“Exactly. Rather, only that Gamoso fellow died, and the wise Emperor Alexios II is leading the country, so it should be safe.”

“But I heard the actual power holder is the barbarian king, Emperor Bellicose I, who has risen as co-emperor?”

As Bellicose I was mentioned, Mongol warriors on patrol looked at them.

The citizens flinched and began to watch the Mongol warriors cautiously.

“Are they going to harm us?”

“From what I saw before, they seem stronger than the Varangian Guard…”

The citizens, who had become frightened, didn’t know what to do.

At that moment, the Mongol warrior leaders approached them and spoke.

“!@(*()#!*()”

“What are they saying?”

“They’re pointing at something with their hands?”

What the Mongol warriors were pointing at was none other than the food in the citizens’ hands.

Seeing this, the citizens were flustered and held out the food to the warriors.

“Could it be… they want to take this away?”

“Just like barbarians, they even take away what we’re eating…”

They complained, but it was useless.

The Mongol warriors’ swords were closer than the law.

As they reluctantly tried to hand over the food, the Mongol warriors waved their hands.

Then they used gestures to communicate.

Understanding the message, the man nodded and pointed to a corner with his hand.

The Mongol warriors looked in that direction, soon spotted a shop selling similar food, and smiled brightly.

Then they gave a thumbs up and headed toward the shop.

“They were asking where we bought this.”

“Y-yeah. I thought they were trying to take our food.”

“The barbarians are people just like us?”

The citizens began to dispel their misunderstandings about the Mongol warriors, saying such things.

Seeing them line up and buy food like other people made them realize that they were human too.

But this was entirely a misunderstanding on the citizens’ part.

Originally, Mongol soldiers didn’t know how to behave this way. The reason they were acting like this was simply because of Gurkhan’s orders.

“I don’t understand why the Khan gave such an order.”

“Me neither. Approaching citizens eating food, asking where they bought it, lining up at that shop to buy food, and eating it in front of everyone… such a bizarre order is a first.”

“He must have his reasons. We just follow the Khan’s orders.”

Saying this, the warriors brought the Byzantine food to their mouths.

They couldn’t help but grimace at the sour yet unique flavor they had never experienced before.