Eagle Byzantium

It seems that the person who presided over this currency reform was the wardrobe manager, an ordinary old man, who was also the manager behind the imperial power, a eunuch, so ordinary that even these craftsmen who had worked in the royal garden for five years had never seen this Nicodemia, or had never noticed him. But his name was known to everyone in the country, "Little Bird Nicodemia", his nickname, which was generally associated with cruelty, coldness, power and loyalty, was incredible but unnoticed, but how the nickname "Little Bird" came from, no one could tell, and those who knew it dared not to say.

Even so, this group of craftsmen were determined to fight for the rights of their hard-earned money, even if they had to face this evil "Little Bird".

"Paying workers with insufficient coins and paying taxes with sufficient coins, isn't this fraud and robbery!" The white-bearded craftsman was so desperate that he spoke frankly, "We came here from the mountains of Thrace and worked as stonemasons for five years to build this small garden in front of us. The payment of plants and stones cannot be defrauded in this way."

"Plants? Stones? Then let me tell you, I have served many generations of emperors for fifty years, and I have never asked the emperor for anything. That is why I can wear the purple robe bestowed by the emperor and control the keys to the entire palace and the treasury, while you greedy villains can only be a The fundamental reason for the stonemason. "Nicdemia changed his face and scolded, "If you want compensation during this period, I can make the decision, but I will never use the money in the emperor's treasury. Every penny there belongs to my master. I will use my savings and private wealth - you supervisor, use a small scale and a sight to calculate the difference in this batch of wages and give them the compensation, so that no one will gossip after leaving the Brahena Palace, and then it will be His Majesty who is sad. "

The supervisor raised his head, his face full of ridiculous and helpless expressions, but the words of the wardrobe manager were actually as effective as the emperor, no, they must be followed to the end than the emperor's edict, so he could only kowtow and do it.

"You guys go, follow this supervisor, remember not to talk too much when you go out, you know that even after death, my ashes will be mixed with lime and built in this palace, continuing to serve my master, and becoming a cornerstone of Brahena. If you want to talk before the drum, think about what I said today." When the bird Nickdemia said this, there was no pretense, and the swollen eyelids, with rotten eyelashes, suddenly emitted a fierce light, like a poisoned dagger, which made Gawain, who was watching, shudder.

Finally, the group of craftsmen left, and then Eudoxia quickly stepped forward, half-knelt down and held the "bird's" hand, lowering her head, "Respected wardrobe manager, my uncle..."

"Just say the former." Nicodemia quickly interrupted Eudoxia's words, "Is this the person you introduced to the emperor?"

So that's it, Gawain remembered that Eudoxia once said that her husband was the emperor's guard, and her husband's uncle was the most honorable royal wardrobe manager. At that time, Gawain thought she was bragging, "What kind of official can someone who manages the emperor's clothes be?" But now he knows he is wrong. This is the weird official rank system of Byzantium, that is, honor and appearance are not necessarily linked to real power. This is also similar to ancient China. To put it bluntly: Who could have thought at that time that secretaries and privy councilors would be the most powerful official positions? Wasn't the privy councilor just a very humble secretary at first?

When he came to his senses, he found that Nicodemia's eyes were fixed on him. "Is this just a servant?" Gawain could hear that the eunuch's tone was still in the local accent of Paphlagonia. It seemed that dialects would always be with him.

"Yes, I am the guardian of the hermit Peter, the secret letter from Pope St. Peter to His Majesty." Gawain was not flustered and answered before Eudoxia.

"Very good, you have an aura that is difficult to control, and an aura that is enough to control the situation, which is completely different from the mob. How about castrating yourself and then serving with me in the court. In the future, I think you can take over as the wardrobe manager. I have been looking for a successor for a long time, but I don't think I am satisfied."

"Thank you for your kindness." Gawain refused without hesitation!

Afterwards, the eunuch led them to the "River Hall" in front in a very friendly manner. In fact, the full name of this palace comes from the Danube River. When the emperor received the envoys of the Frankish world, he would stay in this palace. The style was also Frankish. The steps in the palace were rough and uneven, and the seats and furnishings were also casual. The pillars were hung with colorful silk curtains, swaying in the wind.

At the entrance of the palace, two soldiers of the inner palace guard stopped Gawain and the guard, "The attendants who are not related to the talks must be armed and wait outside the palace gate."

So Gawain shrugged his shoulders and stood in front of the pillar bored and uninterested, looking at the palace, monastery and green mountains and forests everywhere. He looked at the guard, and the other party sat on the steps with a shield in his arms. It seemed that there was nothing in common between them, so he could only calmly prepare to wait for Peter to come out.

But in fact, when Peter and Idorus entered the palace, they did not see His Majesty at the first sight. Instead, Patriarch Masdas, wearing a gorgeous crown and a black robe, came one step ahead and sat on the seat in the palace. The Patriarch's face had no other characteristics, just one word, "stubborn". The stubbornness unique to monks emanated from every bone in his body.

It is no wonder that Masters has been the Patriarch for ten years. His tough style is obvious to all. When Emperor Alexius ascended the throne, he tried to abandon his first wife Irene. All the officials in the imperial court dared not say anything about this matter. Only Patriarch Masters stubbornly resisted the emperor's power and strictly forbade him to divorce Irene, who had no fault. He dared to stand in front of the door of the Holy Wisdom Cathedral on New Year's Day, stopped the emperor and the queen mother's carriage and ceremonial team, refused the emperor to come to the ceremony, and angrily rebuked the supreme Alexius in front of thousands of Constantinople citizens, telling him that what he should do is not to attend the ceremony, but to beg God and his wife to forgive his sins.

In the end, the emperor gave in, and Queen Irene's position has always been as stable as a rock. Until today, she has given birth to several children for the emperor, but Alexius never dared to mention the word about divorce again, as long as Masters was still alive.

"Idolus." The Patriarch said this when he saw the two.

Then there was a long silence.

"Sit down and wait for His Majesty's arrival. He is meeting an important secret envoy." The Patriarch's second sentence.

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Peter and Idolus sat down in two seats away from him involuntarily.