Ch.208The Fall of Constantinople (4)

# Bellicos I, Yesugei became co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.

As co-emperor with immense power, he renamed Constantinople.

“From now on, Constantinople will also be known as Ruber Bellicos (rubrum bellicose).”

Ruber Bellicos.

Translated into Mongolian, it meant Ulaanbaatar, or “Red Warrior.”

Of course, this didn’t mean the name Constantinople would completely disappear.

It simply meant the city of Constantinople would have an additional name.

Because of this, there were few Romans who resented it.

From their perspective, they could simply continue calling it Constantinople as usual.

“It’s not like we’re forbidden from calling it Constantinople.”

“Right. We can just keep using the name we’re comfortable with, can’t we?”

There was no law prohibiting the use of Constantinople.

This naturally led to such reactions.

Of course, not everyone had an optimistic outlook.

“They’re trying to change all our culture and customs!”

“These barbarians have conquered us and are trying to tame us!”

“Changing the city’s name is just the beginning!”

These were none other than intellectuals who hadn’t been chosen by the Mongols.

To put it bluntly, they were those who hadn’t been useful enough to be invited to the Ulus before the war.

This naturally led them to oppose Mongol policies.

However, very few people paid attention to their claims.

“It’s not causing any immediate problems anyway.”

“Right. Besides, those people tried to flee as soon as war broke out but couldn’t escape.”

“They’re trash who didn’t even fulfill their civic duties.”

The intellectuals could only blush at the people’s words.

As Roman citizens, they were obligated to serve the country in some way when it was in danger.

But they had abandoned that duty.

Moreover, they had done nothing when the tyrant Andronikos was being overthrown out of fear of imperial retribution, which had earned them considerable resentment.

“Compared to them, even the barbarians seem to understand honor better.”

“Right. They helped Emperor Alexios overthrow the tyrant Gamoso.”

“And they’ve embraced Roman culture, even changing their names to Roman style.”

“They’re helping Emperor Alexios rule the country, not usurping the throne from him.”

As perception of the intellectuals worsened, evaluation of the Ulus warriors naturally improved.

This naturally eliminated those who might have debated the renaming of Constantinople.

Thus, the coveted city of Constantinople came to be interchangeably called Ruber or Ruber Bellicos.

* * *

“How innocent.”

I said this with a smile.

“Like getting wet in a drizzle, small changes gradually make everyone come around.”

The addition of another name for the capital could be considered a trivial matter.

For Romans who believed Rome was the center of the world, Constantinople had already been called by various names in different languages.

However, despite being called by different names, it had always remained Constantinople.

With this history and tradition, Romans didn’t have much antipathy toward this change.

“Of course, the remaining intellectuals did resist…”

At that moment, the ger door opened.

Muqali approached me and bowed.

“Gur Khagan, I’ve resolved everything as you instructed.”

“Was there any resistance?”

“There were a few. But we managed to overcome it using the Venetian merchants we hired.”

I nodded at Muqali’s words.

After occupying the Byzantine Empire, I had hired Venetian merchants in anticipation of resistance.

While they were Westerners by Byzantine standards, they were also business partners to the Romans.

This was because some Venetian merchants had been using Constantinople as a base for trade.

Naturally, there were many Venetian merchants in Constantinople.

Anyway, I was using them to manipulate public opinion in Constantinople.

To be precise, I was creating public opinion favorable to the Mongols.

“We’ve instilled the perception that the remaining intellectuals are those who failed to fulfill their civic duties. Additionally, favorable public opinion about the Khagan and Ulus warriors is spreading widely.”

“Good.”

I nodded at Muqali’s report.

With public opinion favorable to us, it wouldn’t take long to devour everything in the Byzantine Empire.

“Then tell Temujin to proceed with what I previously instructed.”

“Yes, Khagan.”

Muqali bowed and left the ger.

As soon as he left, Munglig entered.

“Muqali was leaving. What’s happening, brother?”

“Public opinion has shifted in our favor. Now we need to drive in the wedge.”

“A wedge. Are you really planning to marry that widow to your son?”

Munglig looked at me with concerned eyes.

This was because he knew about the plan for Temujin to marry Agnes of France.

Agnes of France.

She was the only sister of Philip II, who currently led the Crusaders.

She had previously been married to Alexios.

But after Andronikos killed Alexios, he forcibly took her.

She became the wife of Andronikos, a Western European-hater who was 65 years old.

At that time, she was only 11 years old.

Suffering like that, she became Andronikos’s trophy and was confined to the palace.

In the original history, she should have been in a monastery when the tyrant fled due to a people’s rebellion.

But unlike the original history, due to the Ulus invasion, Andronikos fled without his concubine, so Agnes of France remained in the palace.

When I heard this, I immediately informed Temujin.

This was because Agnes was someone who had seen the real Alexios.

Therefore, we had to either cover up his death as having occurred during the people’s rebellion or somehow win her over to our side.

At that time, Temujin had said to me:

“Temujin told me he wanted that woman as his share from this war. So I simply accepted the request of my son who had achieved great military merit in this war.”

I said this to calm Munglig down.

In reality, Temujin had already accepted his life as a ruler.

As a result, he was politically exploiting the Ulus tradition of taking the previous ruler’s woman to absorb the tribe, especially in occupied territories.

Of course, being my son played a big role,

but originally, Temujin had been able to build a support base as the king of Western Liao thanks to marriage.

It was through marriage that he had the power of the Oirat and Kereit tribes, which enabled him to occupy Western Liao.

With that experience, Temujin viewed marriage to Agnes positively, despite her being a widow, because it could bring significant political benefits.

“That Temujin. Who would dare say he’s not your son? He takes after you completely.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Of course it’s a compliment.”

Munglig chuckled as he spoke to me.

At his playful words, I shook my head and sighed.

“More importantly, are you keeping a good watch on Alexios?”

“Of course. We’re moving to minimize his exposure to the public. Additionally, we’re making him exercise daily to change his physique.”

I nodded at Munglig’s words.

It wasn’t because I had some strange hobby of tormenting Alexios under the pretext of exercise.

The reason we were exercising and managing Alexios was simply because we were afraid someone might recognize him.

Although the fake Alexios really resembled the real Alexios, Agnes, who had been intimate with him, would immediately know he wasn’t the real Alexios.

In the modern world, we might force plastic surgery on him, but unfortunately, such sophisticated surgery wasn’t possible in this world.

Therefore, I was intentionally making him exercise to make him look like a different person.

This would naturally make Agnes think that he had changed due to his suffering from Andronikos’s schemes.

Additionally, we could explain his memory loss as shock from falling into the sea after an assassination attempt.

Anyway, while there were many possibilities, it was better to be as careful as possible.

Because you never know how variables might play out.

“Make him change as much as possible. That’s the only way Temujin can achieve the grand plan he’s prepared.”

That’s why I wanted to dispose of Agnes under the pretext of an accidental death.

But my son Temujin, that is, Genghis Khan, convinced me by explaining his plan to use Agnes of France to terrify Western Europe.

After hearing this, I decided to follow my son’s proposal.

“Temujin’s plan, huh. Being your son, it must be an incredible plan.”

“Yes. That boy is already looking beyond the Byzantine Empire to a wider world.”

Munglig nodded at this.

I had to work diligently so as not to become a burden to my son.

“While we completely take control of Rome, give the soldiers sufficient rest. And let them roam freely as long as they don’t harm the Byzantine people.”

“Are you preparing for war again?”

I nodded at Munglig’s question.

Then I looked at the map spread out on the desk.

“Now that we’ve subdued the Byzantine Empire, it’s time to deal with the Crusaders.”

“Weren’t the Crusaders our allies, brother?”

“They are allies. That’s why we won’t attack them directly.”

“What do you mean…”

A major factor in Temujin’s marriage to Agnes of France was the fact that France and Philip II were currently in Syria.

This was because he could potentially die during the Crusade if he was truly unfortunate.

If he died, his young son Louis VIII would have to lead the country.

What would happen if Agnes of France appeared then?

“Many accidents happen on the battlefield. For example, being assassinated…”

In my hand was a letter.

This letter was from none other than the Nizari Ismaili state in Syria, which was on the verge of collapse by our hands.