"My army is stationed ten miles away from the city. If you really want to hand me over to the Latins, you can give it a try. I hold a sword in my left hand and a money bag in my right hand. I have never believed in force.

But please don't force me to use the sword."

Justinian's understatement was like a thunderbolt in Baron Pierre's ears. The man with wide eyes was shocked and angry. He never thought that the young man in front of him would threaten him like this. Looking at this childish face

Pierre felt shuddering at his face, but a big boy in his early twenties had such a decisive decision to kill. He finally found out why he was fearfully called "Little Fox" by the French in Achaia.

Already.

But Baron Pierre, who suppressed his fear and calmed down, said coldly: "So what, do you really think you can conquer Nafplion?" Although Justinian threatened with force,

But Pierre comforted himself and wanted to rely on the strong city of Nafplion to force the opponent back.

But Justinian showed a look of disdain on his face and said calmly:

"The defenders of Tripolis and Argos thought the same way as you did. Even Emperor Alexius III of Constantinople thought the strong walls could be relied upon. But what was the result?"

As soon as these words came out, the momentum of the Pisa man who still had some confidence waned immediately, and the silent Pierre's eyes obviously flickered. Sure enough, although his attitude was as firm as before, he was actually still shaken in his heart.

There was a long silence, with no one speaking, except for the crackling sound of the wood as the flames continued to burn. At the same time, the darkness of midnight above them seemed to be gradually being left by the dawn in the east.

At this moment, Baron Pierre, who was extremely helpless, finally showed a look of surrender and waved his hand to make the soldiers behind him put away their weapons.

"It seems that you have made a wise decision." Looking at this scene quietly, Justinian said sincerely, showing a "kind" smile, but this expression made Pierre want to cry without tears.

, speaking of which, it was really his own fault for letting Justinian come here. He originally wanted to use Justinian as a shield, but he didn't expect to be accidentally pulled into the water by this cunning little fox.

Nodding, Pierre said: "I don't know whether it's wise or not, but thanks to you, I have no choice but to do it now. It's almost dawn, so I think it's really inappropriate to talk here!"

"

Justinian shrugged and replied: "I don't care about this. As for the location, it's up to you!"

"Then let's discuss everything in detail at my house for the time being." The desperate man could only make this helpless decision and agreed to Justinian's request that he had never accepted before, and he immediately turned around and asked his men to

People were dealing with the ruins and corpses here. Although it was inevitable to fall out with the Achaean princes, Pierre, who was troubled in his heart, no longer wanted to make the matter worse.

…

…

…

"Then let's talk, Your Excellency Justinian, I have been honored to learn your sword, but what about the purse you mentioned?" Since we have agreed to cooperate with Justinian, the interests are

The former Pisa man naturally went straight to the point. After all, he could not agree to provide unconditional convenience to Justinian without risking his own involvement in the war.

"Your Excellency Pierre can rest assured that the exchange of interests is mutual after all." Justinian nodded and was about to answer, but was interrupted again by the other party.

"But first of all, let's make it clear that the Pisa people will not directly join the war. In the final analysis, you just take a fancy to the importance of the location of the port here." Pierre, who saw it very clearly, added, Now Na

Fuplion is Moria's only outlet to the east of the Achaean kingdom, and Justinian's victory here not only cut off the opponent's sea lifeline but also provided an additional escape route, so it was clear that the man immediately opened a

Conditions, and then slowly wait for the price to sell.

And listening to the other party quietly, Justinian had no expression on his face. He was not surprised at all. He agreed to the other party's request in one breath, but at the same time he also said one of his own requests:

"Of course the Pisa people as foreign expatriates do not need to participate in the war, but Your Excellency Pierre, after everything is over, everything in Nafplio, except the Pisa community, will return to the past and return to the control of the Roman Empire. I

I guess there shouldn’t be any doubts, right?”

As soon as these words were spoken, Baron Pierre stood up from his seat in shock and anger, and almost cursed, but he still endured it.

"Are you kidding? Nafplio has been protected by us for so many years. Why should the Roman Empire take it away from us?" Although the previous period of Justinian's actions had made him intolerable, but

This time the opponent's big mouth finally exceeded Pierre's bottom line.

But Justinian shook his finger and said: "Yours? I'm afraid not necessarily. According to the Golden Seal issued by Emperor Alexius I, you only have extra-legal jurisdiction and settlement rights here, and

Doesn’t it mean that every inch of land here belongs to you? Aren’t Pisa people firm supporters of contract theory? Don’t they know about the agreement made more than a hundred years ago?”

Justinian's words left Baron Pierre speechless for a moment, because what Justinian said was not wrong at all. It was just because of the centuries of foreign settlement of Pisa people here and the decline of the Roman Empire that they came into being.

This is an illusion. In fact, this is a word game played by Emperor Alexius I. Faced with the threat of Turks, civil war and foreign invasion, the empire's economy was on the verge of collapse, so he sought help from the city-states of northern Italy.

took the lead in expanding Venetian trade privileges, and

In order to check and balance the subsequent emperors, they gave it to Pisa and Genoa. Italian merchants gradually grew up and settled freely in various seaport cities in the empire. They thought they had control of their economic lifeline and became their masters. However, in fact, as long as the empire

I am willing to take it back at any time. The best example is Emperor Manuel's large-scale arrest of Venetians in Constantinople. Afterwards, the Venetians sent troops to retaliate, but they were beaten up and had no choice but to know that decades later, when the Romans were in civil strife, they

Take advantage of the opportunity and enter.

But even knowing this, Pierre could no longer remain silent, because if Justinian really did that, all cooperation would be impossible.

"Is there really no room for other negotiations, Your Excellency Justinian?" Staring at the other party, Pierre was almost desperate.

But Justinian's next words made his mood rise from the sky and then suddenly fall into the abyss.

"Of course it is not impossible. If the Pisa fleet joins the Empire's foreign legion, I will be rewarded with a city. As the governor of Moria and the heir of the Despot, I still have the power to make this decision. But in the end
Chapter completed!