The system has to be used even if it is pulled

Time flies. Less than a year after Zhao Yuanlang got married, Constantine IV died of illness during the expedition to Bulgaria. Leo contacted Zhao Yuanlang immediately. With the help of Zhao Yuanlang's 3,000 elite guards and the bribed guards corps, he suppressed the rebellion of several other half-brothers.

Since he was the heir to the empire, he was named co-emperor as soon as he was born. After Zhao Yuanlang spoke out immediately, other great nobles discovered that Leo had strong foundation and recognized Leo's status, allowing him to successfully ascend the throne. From then on, Leo was called Leo IV.

Zhao Yuanlang was not without achievements. The 3,000 elite soldiers he sent out were incorporated into the Royal Guards. These 3,000 soldiers carried the seeds of darkness, and they quickly spread Zhao Yuanlang's beliefs among the guards. This was something no one knew. The Royal Guards? It would be better to say that they were Zhao Yuanlang's guards.

Leo, who had just become emperor, knew that the nobles below obeyed his rule on the surface, but secretly blocked his imperial orders, so he decided to launch an attack on the Abbasid Empire, which we now call the Arab Empire, to seize the Syrian region that originally belonged to the Eastern Roman Empire. Of course, he was also very smart, and he brought Zhao Yuanlang with him.

Leo still underestimated the Arab Empire. Although the ambitious Caliph Mansur died in the same year as Constantine IV, the current ruler Mahdi is a master at using religion.

Before he ascended the throne, he governed the troubled times according to the sacred Islamic law, upheld justice, eradicated tyranny and social evil, rectified internal divisions in Islam, and revived the Islamic faith.

Mahdi not only has the blood of the Abbasid family, but also the blood of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. Therefore, although the Shiites have different views on Mahdi from the Sunnis, they still believe that the hidden twelfth Imam is Mahdi.

Here we have to talk about the differences between Shia and Sunni. For Islam, their fundamental conflict is that Sunni Muslims regard Ali as the fourth and last orthodox caliph; Shia Muslims regard Ali as the first generation of Imam, and Ali and his descendants as the orthodox successors of Muhammad. Ali and his descendants are all members of the holy lineage of Muhammad. Shia believe that the Abbasid family is a branch of the Hashemite family, and their descendants should not become caliphs.

However, the emergence of Mahdi kept both factions quiet, so Mahdi gained domestic support as soon as he ascended the throne.

Leo IV's ambitions suffered a devastating blow. His army fought with the Abbasid Empire's army on the border for more than a year without making any progress. He was forced to sign a peace treaty with the Abbasid Empire in dejection.

In order to cooperate with him, Zhao Yuanlang took the lead in attacking the Africa region controlled by the Muhailabi family. The Muhailabi family was divided into two branches. One branch defected to the Abbasid Empire and served as the Sultan of Egypt, and the other branch directly became independent in Africa when the Umayyad Dynasty collapsed.

Zhao Yuanlang's army was invincible and won every battle. They directly attacked the royal capital, killed the people of the Muhailabi family who controlled the Africa region, and even led troops to Libya.

Although the areas occupied by Zhao Yuanlang had already begun to convert to Islam, after Zhao Yuanlang sent a large number of priests, built churches and monasteries, and executed countless unconverted Muslims, Africa returned to the rule of the empire, which made Leo IV very happy.

Although he failed, the empire won, and it was a great victory. After all, this war was the result of the joint efforts of him and his brother-in-law. He attracted the attention of the Arab Empire, and Zhao Yuanlang captured the Africa region. In this way, the empire formed a siege on the Abbasid Empire.

Having conquered enough territory, Leo IV began to recuperate and prepare for the next battle, but he did not expect that this might be his last chance.

Zhao Yuanlang began to recruit soldiers crazily, and some Roman citizens who were eighteen years old or above began to enlist in the army.

At this moment, he had forty legions, which was more powerful than the current Emperor Leo IV. After stationing ten legions in Africa, he led his army into Carinthia in northern Italy, and even expelled the barbarians and Alvars from Croatia and Serbia.

At this moment, the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire was completely connected. Zhao Yuanlang immediately sent the good news to his brother-in-law, and then stationed ten legions in Croatia and Serbia to prevent the rampant Alvars and the Bulgarians who often went south to plunder.

Time flies. Zhao Yuanlang stands at the gate of the royal palace in Constantinople, where Leo IV is receiving emergency treatment.

Zhao Yuanlang originally wanted to discuss with Leo about using military force against the now unified Bulgaria, but just as they made the plan, Leo fell ill before his army could be assembled.

Soon, Irina and their son, co-emperor Constantine, went in, and soon after, crying sounds were heard from inside.

After presiding over Leo's funeral, Zhao Yuanlang watched his ten-year-old nephew Constantine being crowned emperor, and then left, because Zhao Yuanlang was of no use here and the regency was in Irina's hands.

For the next ten years, Zhao Yuanlang ignored the empire and just expanded his army as much as possible and encroached on other regions. As a result, Zhao Yuanlang became more and more powerful.

As the Doge of Venice joined Zhao Yuanlang's army, the Rector of Ragusa also followed suit.

Now Zhao Yuanlang not only controls the entire North Africa from Egypt in the east to the Strait of Gibraltar in the west, but also rules the entire Athens area by cannibalizing the great nobles in the empire.

Zhao Yuanlang's strength has completely overwhelmed that of the Eastern Roman Empire.

The current Emperor of the Roman Empire, Constantine VI, was living a very depressed life. He was already an adult, but his mother Irene still refused to give up power to him. His uncle in the west was incredibly powerful, so he decided to do something, such as taking back the power of the emperor from his mother first.

He failed, and after a conspiracy against her was foiled, Irene attempted to become Empress of the Byzantine Empire.

Constantine VI took the risk. He was eloquent and sold out many of the empire's interests. He finally succeeded in inciting the nobles in Anatolia and the empire's border areas to oppose Irene, and obtained enough military support to force his mother to give up the idea of ​​becoming emperor.

After gaining power, Constantine VI did not manage this huge country well. He was defeated by the Saracens in Asia Minor and suffered a shameful defeat at the hands of the Bulgarians in Masera. Rumors spread all over the country, and some people even jokingly called him a deserter from the battlefield, which made him extremely embarrassed.

When domestic opinion turned in favor of his uncle Caesar Nicophoros, Constantine blinded him and cut off the tongues of his four uncles.

His supporters in Armenia also rose against him because he had been deceived by his mother into blinding their leader, Alexios Moselaes; and the brutal way he suppressed the rebellion in 793 further established his image as a traitor.