People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 266 The Queen and Anna

Constantinople, Brakhna Palace.

Anna hung up the "phone" and walked out of the room resentfully.

In the main hall, there was a woman wearing a purple crown who was reviewing documents. When she saw her, she asked casually, "He agreed?"

She has thick eyebrows, fair complexion and beautiful long eyes, charming yet majestic.

Obviously, this is Lagia Dukas, known as the most beautiful woman in the Eastern Empire, the Queen Regent, and the actual ruler of the Eastern Empire.

Anna said casually: "Hey, don't mention it, this guy is quite loyal to his leper king, I almost promised you out."

"Loyalty is the greatest virtue of a courtier, and I treat him with admiration."

The queen paused slightly, and said again: "It's just, don't make such rebellious jokes in the future."

"This is no joke."

Anna chuckled and said, "First of all, Earl Lothar is a very handsome man, and all the women in Jerusalem regard him as the lover of their dreams.

And he is also a very powerful wizard, followed by many extraordinary people.More importantly, he is loyal, upright, compassionate to civilians, and not pedantic. "

The queen raised her eyebrows slightly: "You like him so much, why don't you fuck him yourself?"

Anna snorted softly, "I just admire him—a good intention, don't be ignorant of it."

"presumptuous!"

The queen glared at Anna, seeing her disapproving look, she said helplessly, "Can your sea dragon participate in this battle?"

"Isaac's traitor hired the Brindisi pirate group and the Pisa fleet. If there is a real fight, the Imperial Navy may not be able to win."

The queen sighed softly.

The decline of the empire is visible to the naked eye.

The most powerful naval force in the entire Mediterranean in the past is now even inferior to the barbaric Latins.

The Magritos of Brindisi were the largest pirate gang in the Mediterranean in this era.

Among the city-states of the Apennines, Pisa can also be regarded as a relatively strong one.

The combination of the two is by no means a force that can be underestimated.

Anna said regretfully: "That sea dragon is our future. It possesses the power of storms and the sea. Once it grows up, the entire Mediterranean Sea will belong to us."

"So, I will not allow it to participate in this battle, even if it means losing Cyprus."

The queen's phoenix eyes were full of anger: "Anna, don't you know how important Cyprus is to the empire? Besides, that bastard Isaac raised the banner of the Komnene family and openly questioned my orthodox status. This kind of rebellion Molecules, once he is allowed to gain a foothold, the rebels in the entire empire will become restless."

Anna solemnly said: "I know, but 'Neko' is just a juvenile sea dragon, it is too fragile, even if it participates in the war, its role is limited, the risk is not directly proportional to the cost, so I can only refuse. "

"Well, you are an expert in this area, I will listen to you."

The queen was silent, and after a while, she whispered: "It's better to let those crusaders contribute."

"I received news today that Isaac signed a contract with Saladin to plunder the Crusader fleet and sell the plundered slaves in Egypt in exchange for Saladin's blessing."

"Isaac will be our common enemy."

Anna said loudly: "It is not a difficult problem to get the Crusaders to take action, but the question is, what price can you give?"

"Don't forget, Emperor Alexios I, during the first Eastern Expedition, originally wanted to use the Crusades to recover the lost land, Antioch, Edessa, Jerusalem-but now they are all occupied by the Crusaders .”

The queen was silent for a moment.

"I will reward them with money."

The emperors and kings in continental Europe have their own self-proclaimed titles, which can be translated as "望", "余" and "我".

"But what if they take Cyprus and don't leave?"

The queen pondered for a moment: "Baldwin IV is an upright person. If he agrees and makes a covenant, he will not go back on his word."

"Anna, please send me a letter to King Baldwin, and tell them that I will award Mazotos and the three nearby castles to the one who contributed the most to this battle as fiefs."

"As long as the forts and seaports in Famagusta and other places are still in our hands, it doesn't matter if this place is sealed by the Franks."

Anna sighed: "There is such a benefit, if I knew it earlier, I would have promised it to Lothar."

"He can't."

The queen shook her head resolutely and said: "The sea battle is the key point in this battle. I never heard that Earl Lothar has a fleet under his command."

"That's true."

Anna felt a little regretful, she really valued Lothar's potential.

And because Lothar is a Frankish barbarian in the eyes of the mainstream people in the empire, he is not rejected.

For wizards, they are of the same kind.

...

In the evening, Anna sent another message.

"Mazotos? What's that place?"

Lothar frowned.

"A small seaport in the southeast of Cyprus. Although there are many seaports on the island of Cyprus, you may not earn much transit fees, but it can serve as your stronghold in the Mediterranean fleet."

Lothar was silent for a moment.

"Do I look like a man with a fleet?"

Yes, there are.

But all in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.

In addition to Hogg, there is also Muller's merchant fleet and a coastal defense fleet.

Anna said with some embarrassment: "You always have to start from scratch, the Mediterranean trade is so profitable, don't you want to get involved?"

Lothar let out a "huh": "Money is money, and pirates are everywhere. My teeth determine how big my appetite is. I can control part of the Red Sea trade like I am now, and I am very satisfied."

"Besides, your empress is too stingy. What does it mean to be the first to get a feudal title? Isn't this just drawing cakes?"

Anna was also a little embarrassed, and she also felt that her queen's matter was not open enough.

However, although the Eastern Empire has a great family and business, the local forces are deeply rooted, and there are too few lands that can really be controlled by the royal family.

For example, in the city of Athens, the land tax paid by the entire city is only [-] silver coins a year.

Because there are a large number of tax-free estates belonging to the nobles, the problem of land annexation is also very serious. Coupled with the church estates, the taxes that the empire can collect from the land are very limited.

As a result, imperial finances were heavily dependent on commerce and tariffs.

And the rise of commercial city-states such as Venice and Genoa, and the successive loss of a large number of commercial bases in the coastal areas of Asia Minor and the coastal areas of the Black Sea.

It also led to a huge challenge to the empire's status as an eastern trade hub.

Anna said in a flattering tone: "The imperial family has a big business and a lot of expenses, please be considerate."

"Of course I understand, so I didn't intend to participate at all."

Lothar smiled lightly and said that the site of Mazotos has some gold content, especially in the hands of the Temple, the Knights Hospitaller and Earl Raymond.

Because the three crusading forces all have a powerful fleet, this can be used as a transit port and supply port for their fleet.

But to him it's tasteless.

Anna was silent for a moment, and said, "I remember that your power system is not the same as that of traditional wizards, so, do you not understand that magic book?"

"Indeed, are you going to teach me?"

Anna thought about it for a while, and said, "How about it, I will spare an hour every night to teach you."

Lothar said very bluntly: "Then thank you."

The opposite party was choked enough: "Just thank you?"

"If you want me to be a mercenary for you, this price is definitely not enough."

"Hey, I'm the president of the dignified Levantine Wizards Association. What's the price, one hour is enough for me to prepare a high-grade potion."

Lothar was unmoved by this.

Anna said again: "If you count the return of your favor, I can consider making the core of the tyrannical dragon into a magic item and giving it to you."

Lothar joked: "It would be too far-fetched to talk about returning favors."

Anna snorted softly and said, "If you don't return your favor, you don't know how many places you will have to find it to get it back. Therefore, I would rather clearly mark the price."

"Okay, what kind of identity should I fight for you? Mercenary or ally?"

Anna replied: "Of course it is an ally. Your Majesty the King will talk to you about this matter. When the time comes, just don't refuse."

"okay, I get it."

Hang up the communication here.

The queen frowned: "How many people will this Earl of Lothar bring to the battle? If it's only a few hundred people, don't you feel bad?"

"Don't worry, it's worth it."

Anna looked calm. In his opinion, as long as Lothar led the extraordinary men under him to fight, he would be able to support the entire army.

Moreover, once Lothar obtained Mazotos, he would be a vassal of both the Eastern Empire and the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

(End of this chapter)