paranoianovel Chapter 818: Basilius's Imperial Meeting
Chapter 818: Basilius's Imperial Meeting
Chapter 818: Basilius's Imperial Meeting
After taking Cairo, there will be no more tough battles in Egypt.
The Faiyum Governor Buri was captured, and the province was already in Lothar's hands. Turanshahr in the Nile Valley suffered heavy casualties in his efforts to support Cairo. When he learned that Cairo had been captured, he was likely to cross the sea into exile as soon as possible.
After that, it was a matter of slowly sorting out internal affairs and establishing the steady rule in Egypt.
Now Lothar was planning to send troops to Constantinople, which required him to establish a charter before leaving, so that even if he left, his kingdom could move forward in an orderly manner according to his will.
That night, Lothar convened a royal meeting in the palace of Saladin Castle.
In fact, what the overseas kingdoms lack right now is not wealth or resources, but bureaucrats who can govern a region.
The edict allowed the knights to serve as vassals, the so-called gentry, or lower-ranking nobles, but they could not become bureaucrats who collected taxes, governed cities, managed commercial hubs, or developed handicraft manufacturing and shipbuilding industries.
At present, they can only be expected to recruit clergy on their own to serve as local tax collectors, clerks, etc.
Even Anna could not help him in this regard. After all, the bureaucratic system of the Eastern Empire had collapsed, and the bureaucratic training system of Constantinople had been abandoned. What's more, what was suitable for the Eastern Empire might not be suitable for Egypt.
No wonder that throughout history, both the East and the West have favored the tax farming system, which is a convenient policy that saves administrative expenses and collects taxes.
Recently, some guild alliances in the city have sent out some representatives to approach Lothar, hoping that in exchange for a huge amount of taxes contributed each year, Lothar will continue to recognize their autonomy.
The same goes for the commercial port that the Venetians wanted to build. The feudal monarch did not need to interfere in municipal management at all and could just sit back and wait for their share of the spoils every year.
How convenient!
Lothar was always unwilling to accept it, simply because he didn't want to be assimilated by this era.
At this time, Lothar sat alone on the temporarily moved golden throne. The magnificent palace dazzled the eyes of the Crusaders. These country bumpkins from Europe, armed with sharp weapons, shuttled through the magnificent courtyard and came to the throne hall.
Just now, the servants had hung up the double-headed eagle shield emblem according to Frankish custom, covering the sacred fire pattern made of mosaic tiles.
The participants were all middle-level generals under Lothar, about fifty people in total, gathered together.
Losa said slowly: "Everyone, Cairo has been captured, and the day is just around the corner for all of Egypt to be bathed in the glory of God again, but I can't be happy because I heard some sad news last night."
The joy on everyone's faces froze a little, and they all showed a look of confusion.
"In Croatia, the Hungarian King Bela III, who claimed to participate in the holy war and was willing to wait for them to arrive even if we missed the opportunity, betrayed the great cause of the Crusades!"
"For his own selfish interests, he colluded with the Venetians, supported a prince of the Eastern Empire whose true identity was unknown, and even wanted the Crusaders stranded in Veneto, Croatia and Austria to march to Constantinople."
"Where does he put the great Crusaders? With no honor or shame, can they use a little money to stab their swords against mercenaries of their own faith? Such evil deeds are simply a disgrace to our comrades who shed their blood and sweat in foreign lands, and even to Jesus Christ!"
This is not an exaggeration by Losa. The Fourth Crusade was quite despicable even in the eyes of the Franks. In the original history, the Pope even issued an excommunication order, but in the end he was unable to stop it and had to acquiesce in the establishment of the Latin Empire.
Moreover, compared with the Fourth Crusade in the original history, this time was undoubtedly more despicable, because the Holy Land did not fall at all, and the so-called occupation of "Constantinople" as a base for launching a holy war in the East could not be used as a fig leaf.
Hearing this, everyone in the field became angry. They could not sympathize with those who were poor and stranded on the Adriatic coast, or those who planned to join in and grab glory after hearing about the Crusaders' successive victories.
What they are doing is undermining the legitimate rights and interests of jihad.
Lothar waved his hand to stop the indignant crowd and said in a deep voice: "I have always been on good terms with the Purple Princess of the Eastern Empire. She hopes that I can send troops to save Constantinople and stop this unjust war that will turn the Crusaders into bandits. For this reason, the Empress of the Empire is willing to recognize me as the Vice Emperor who governs the East, equal to her, Basilius."
"Basileus, Vice Emperor of the Empire!"
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. The title of Vice Emperor of the Empire, Basileus, was not something that any barbarian mercenary could obtain. It was the most honorable title in the Christian world, representing the unity of divine power and royal power.
"Your Majesty is the Son of God incarnate, the divine monarch. No one is more suitable than you to bear this sacred title!"
"The Greeks are sensible and know who can save them at this critical moment."
"Send out the troops, Your Majesty, and teach those scums under the banner of the Crusades a lesson."
"Punish those scum!"
The people in the field started to make a noise. They were all a group of restless people. Lothar had brought them a series of victories one after another. In their minds, they had long equated war with merit and wealth.
Losa raised his hand and pressed it lightly, and the bustling Golden Hall quickly became quiet.
"Everyone, please be patient. The war in Egypt has not yet ended, and the local rebellion has not been completely quelled. Therefore, I will only lead a small number of troops to support Constantinople this time, and we will be traveling light."
As he spoke, he did not give his men a chance to challenge him, and said, "Kurse, you will remain the chief treasurer of the kingdom, concurrently serving as the palace minister of the kingdom, stationed in Cairo, in charge of the country's financial affairs, and in charge of the kingdom's seal."
"In addition, I also grant you the power to select talents and promote bureaucrats. You must stabilize the situation in Cairo as soon as possible, reopen the university here, and cultivate our own talents."
Kurth, who stood inconspicuous in the crowd, looked distressed, but still replied respectfully: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your gift."
Lothar followed up with another sentence: "Hans, from today on, you will be the marshal of the Kingdom's Southern Crusade, in charge of the war against Fayoum Province, Upper Egypt Province, and the southern oases."
Hans' expression fell, and he said sadly: "I will obey your orders and will not let your majesty down."
Veneto on the side showed a mocking expression, but the smile did not last long, and he heard Losa read again: "Veneto, you and Lord Raymond are responsible for commanding the western army and pacifying the province of Cyrenaica."
Sir Raymond is the second son of Duke Raymond. When they were on the shores of Lake Galilee, Lothar promised him the position of Duke of Cyrenaica in exchange for a thousand elite soldiers and a large amount of supplies.
Sir Raymond the Younger was also an outstanding talent. With the combined efforts of the two of them, with a thousand armored soldiers, three to five hundred light and heavy cavalry, plus three thousand town militia and pilgrim warriors, it should be no problem for them to pacify Cyrenaica.
Veneto reluctantly agreed.
The two brothers have been out of the main combat sequence for a long time, and this time they were simply not brought along by Lothar.
As for the specific arrangements on which companies to take away and which to leave behind, Losa has his own considerations. After the meeting, the orders will be issued to the commanders of each company to prevent them from feeling unbalanced.
In fact, the mission of staying in Egypt and mopping up the remaining enemies is more profitable and safer, but if most Crusaders have a choice, they still prefer to follow Lothar.
"Okay, everyone, disperse. Clear out the remaining enemies in Cairo as soon as possible. I don't want to see any chaos during the entry ceremony tomorrow morning."
The brief meeting soon dispersed. In his army, Lothar was always the most arbitrary person. Although it was called a meeting, in fact most of the decisions had been made before the meeting. Holding a court meeting was nothing more than a notification.
After the meeting, Losa sent someone to deliver a letter to Turiados in Limassol, announcing the news that he would soon be crowned vice-emperor of the empire, and asked Cyprus to provide them with ships and all military supplies.
His first stop after leaving Egypt was Cyprus. The Cyprus Military District had been split into three parts, Famagusta, Nicosia, and Limassol, due to Isaac's rebellion. Each military district had a population of about 50,000 people, and he already had one-third of them. Now that he had both orthodoxy and swords, it should be quite easy for him to take over the island.
As for whether the news will leak out?
I can only say that there is a high probability.
Cyprus also has trading ports for Latin merchants. As a port city, it would be strange for the Venetians not to have spies there.
But Lothar didn't care.