[The Lord of hosts said, "A sword shall arise, and attack my shepherd and my companions. When the shepherd strikes the shepherd, the sheep will be dispersed. I will put my backhand on the tiny." - Zacalia

1202 AD was the eighth year of Emperor Alexus III's ascendance to the throne. Before this emperor, the empire had experienced three emperors in three years. Civil war and coup continued throughout the whole world, and finally ended the turbulent political situation. However, the residents of Constantinople really had no favoritism for this new emperor who brought peace. In fact, this man relied on his wise and capable wife to overthrow the rule of his brothers.

, successfully put on a purple robe. During the years of his rule, the lives of the people not only did not improve but became increasingly difficult. Due to the improper position, the emperor indulged the nobles to exploit the people, which made the country's finances worse and worse. He himself no longer dared to believe in his people and the army, but favored foreigners and gave the country's interests at will. In just a few years, the Italian merchants in the empire spread like weeds, making the treasury unable to make ends meet.

Constantinople, which was once prosperous and like a paradise, now has many shops closed in the streets and alleys. The depressed business makes the city prosperous, but it is much dim. However, the nobles who are greedy and indulge in pleasure are still extravagant and wantonly plunder the people's wealth, so that the lower city of a great city like Constantinople is crowded with homeless beggars.

No one cares about the crisis hidden under the glitz of Constantinople, because in the eyes of most people, although the empire is no longer as strong as the time of Emperor Manuel, it is still the most powerful country, and Constantinople is still a distribution center that goods from the East and the West must pass through. As long as this continues, wealth will continue to flow into their pockets.

But obviously, not everyone is so optimistic. In the emperor's residence, the imperial finance minister Vatazes was worried about reporting the financial report on the empire's annual income and expenditure to Emperor Alexus.

"This can no longer continue like this, Your Majesty. Our annual income is decreasing, while various expenses are increasing day by day. Sooner or later, the treasury will be exhausted. What we should do now should be to regain the privileges given to Italian merchants in Constantinople and to instruct the military districts to prepare land lists instead of continuing to implement monetary reforms, which will only worsen our finances."

Vatazes roughly calculated that the empire's income was about 12 million Helenpet in the past year, and the expenditure was at least 13 million, which is already a considerable deficit. Even considering the currency reform of Alexus I, Helenpet is only one-sixth of that of Nomisma in the past, and so many deficits are almost 2,300 pounds of gold. Such a severe fiscal situation, but no one has paid attention to it until Vataz takes office as Minister of Finance, which is really unbelievable.

Discussion. Now that the treasury is empty, Emperor Alexus III actually wants to replace Helenpe, who was already depreciating with gold-plated copper coins. Such a method of drinking poison to quench thirst was immediately opposed by Vazetas. It should be noted that although the empire's currency is not as good as before, it still has a certain reputation to circulate overseas. If the empire further implements a policy of currency depreciation, the new currency minted by the Italians will inevitably replace Helenpe's status, and the empire's last advantage in overseas trade is now gone.

However, after he finished speaking, he found that the old emperor on the throne had been dozing off and did not take his words to heart. Vazetas was stunned and could not speak at all. At this time, Alexus III woke up slowly and opened his eyes.

"Oh, thank you for your hard work, Vattazes. You are very dedicated and deserve the praise of the queen for you. The matter of coin is indeed a national event. I will consider your suggestions, so let's stop here for the time being." He slowly stood up from the imperial throne, and the old man said expressionlessly. On the surface, he said that he had to consider it, but obviously did not take the other party's words to heart. Alexus had heard the Minister of Finance talk for two hours and was already tired of it. In fact, he had already made up his mind to promote currency reform. Summoning Vattazes was just a formality, but he never thought that the other party had a long speech and firmly opposed his edict.

It's light! As an emperor, I don't know the interests? Whether it's regaining privileges or investigating the land of the military region, the Italians and the nobles of the military region could not afford to offend, let alone the mobs in Constantinople who dared to tear the emperor alive. At this time, I asked me to dance on three eggs!

Thinking of this, Alexus was furious, but for the sake of the emperor's identity, he did not show it on his face. He had already decided in his heart that currency reform was imperative. Not long ago, the news came from the west that his nephew Alexus was plotting to unite with the Latins to overthrow him. In order to deal with the possible threat, Emperor Alexus must plunder all wealth as much as possible to supplement his small treasury. Alexus firmly believed that only by holding the wallet tightly can his position be stable, and he must not end up with the previous emperors who died in a bad life.

"But--" Vattazes still wanted to continue talking, but Emperor Alexus was no longer interested in listening.

"You can thank you and give up." The cold old emperor interrupted Vatazes's words and unilaterally ended the conversation.

Although Vatazes was still unwilling to give up, the emperor finally gave up. He understood that he had just said pros and cons and suggestions were a waste of time, and the emperor did not adopt the opinions of his minister of finance. The reason was that these policies were not easy to implement, nor were they easy to make money as fast as adding gold to copper coins, but the most important reason was his identity - he was recommended by Queen Oversene, and the suspicious emperor did not trust him at all.

"Yes, your Majesty!"

In desperation, the lost man accepted this fact, respectfully saluted the emperor in front of him, and left the Brachna Palace under the guidance of the eunuchs on both sides.

Looking at Vatazes's back as he left, the old and old emperor's eyes showed a sharp gaze that only young people could have, at this time, not as old as before. Alexus looked thoughtfully at the mottled murals on the dome of the palace. The treasury was empty, and there was not even the money to repair the palace in recent years. It can be seen how tight the empire's finances were. The eunuch who was on the side walked to the imperial throne, bent down and whispered: "Your Majesty, do you want me to send the owl over?" The old slave who had been following the emperor for many years had already figured out the temperament of the Majesty in front of him. Without the support of the Minister of Finance, it was very difficult for the emperor to forcibly implement the currency reform. In such a difficult situation, it is naturally much easier to solve the problem than to solve the problem - Emperor Alexus has always implemented it in this way for so many years.

But at this time, Emperor Alexus hesitated and pondered: "There is no need for this for the time being. After all, he is the queen's person after all..."

The old emperor slowly walked down the steps from the imperial throne, and the eunuch behind him followed him step by step. He saw that Alexus III was hesitating. After all, without the support of the queen, there would be no such thing as His Majesty today.

This is a fact that everyone knows but dares not say directly, and it is also the most taboo thing in Emperor Alexus. He is grateful to his wife, but he is also afraid of his queen and the Ducas family behind her - a two-faced family. For a hundred years, every conspiracy in the palace had the shadow of Ducas, and even Alexus became emperor depended on them. What he most reluctant to recall in his life was the fate of Andorex being torn to pieces. When asked, he could not guarantee that he would not follow in his footsteps.

The eunuch who knew this carefully looked at Emperor Alexius, "It is precisely because of this that your Majesty must not keep him by his side!"

"What do you mean?"

The eunuch showed a meaningful smile on his face, "Your Majesty, you should know better than me. The queen has dismissed several important officials in the court in the past few years, even the Grand Tutor... And who are the people who are above these vacant positions?"

He took out a secret letter from his sleeve and handed it to the emperor carefully, "These are all reported by those loyal to His Majesty. They were dissatisfied with the various practices of the queen and the relatives of the queen. This is evidence that they collected the rampant behavior of the Ducas family in Epirus."

This is the true intention of this eunuch. The people who handed him this secret letter had sent huge bribes, hoping to be valued by the emperor. Before that, they had to bring down the queen's men before they could have a space to be vacant.

"But although Vatazes's words just now are not enough, it can be seen that he is loyal to me..."

"Your Majesty, do you really believe that he is a loyal minister to Your Majesty? What he is loyal to is only the queen. If he can become the Minister of Finance, he naturally dare not do his best! Moreover, many interesting rumors in the market have begun to spread. This Lord Vazetas and the Queen seem to have a little too close relationship." The eunuch was still immersed in the high talk, but he did not notice that the face of the emperor in purple in front of him had changed.

"Bold eunuch! How dare you slander the empress of the empire and the one who governs me with me. Do you know that the reputation of noble people cannot be cleaned by the blood of a humble and lowly person like you!" The old man with a cold face suddenly raised the scepter in his hand over his head, looked at the eunuch in front of him coldly, "Come on the way--"

After the words came, outside the hall, the palace guards who were attending the side walked in with Romfaya sword in hand, and waited for the emperor to give the order and pulled the person who angered His Majesty out of the hall for the death penalty.

Seeing this scene, the terrified eunuch crawled down quickly. He never expected that Emperor Alexus would have such a big reaction. It was also something that everyone knew that he was afraid of his wife. Did he think of something wrong?

After thinking for a few seconds, the fearful eunuch suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but regret it! He had just said the queen's infidelity rumors. I'm afraid that Emperor Alexus had heard of such a thing, but whoever didn't have a good eye to say it would naturally meet the emperor's anger! It was fortunate that no one had landed secretly now. It was also because of this that the eunuch who had gritted his teeth made his heart and lay at Alexus' feet like a dog.

"Your Majesty, wise, I am just your humble slave! How dare I slander the Queen, let alone in insulting your honor. But I must not defile my loyalty to you and swear to God. I didn't say anything falsely just now. Your Majesty is the empire of the empire, and the empire is also the empire of your Majesty. But if the queen continues this way, your Majesty will lose power. Are you really not afraid of repeating the mistakes of the predecessors?"

With courage, the eunuch said. He followed Alexus for a long time and knew that the emperor was moody. His words and deeds were sometimes completely different from what he thoughts in his heart. However, one thing is certain, that is, this Majesty has never trusted the queen. It can be seen from the fact that Alexus loved his eldest daughter Irina very much, and the queen favored his youngest daughter Odosiya. There are rumors in the market that Princess Irina was not the queen's biological child.

This is a sacrifice, and the eunuchs almost burst into tears. "If this continues, Vazetas will never allow His Majesty to implement the new policy. Now it will be difficult for them to master the empire's money bag and then try to cut off Ducas's wings!"

In the hall, there was silence except for the eunuchs' sobbing and crying. Emperor Alexus did not say anything for a long time, because every word the slave said in front of him fell on his heart. The silent old man slowly lowered the scepter in his hand and lowered the guards entering the hall with his eyes.

Staring into the eunuch's eyes, Emperor Alexius still said nothing, then lazily reached out, took the secret letter, glanced casually, folded it, put it in his pocket.

The eunuch who saw this scene was overjoyed, but without the emperor's order, he still dared not get up from the ground, let alone say anything. At this moment, an inaudible whisper came from the top of his head.

"Go and ask him to come to the palace to see me immediately." After the words came, the purple-clothed emperor left the hall alone, leaving only the trembling eunuchs left where they were. Several other close ministers helped the eunuchs up and winked each other. Although they were still scared, the eunuchs were all happy at this moment. They bet right this time!

...

When Vazetas walked out of the palace gate, it was already dark. It was late autumn and winter was about to begin, so it was dark early. Outside the palace, there were only the guards responsible for guarding, and there were no other people on the streets except for the patrol garrisons. Vazetas, who was riding horses and heading north through St. Irina's Cathedral, suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky above his head. Looking at the paper candlelight of the church, the melancholy in his heart, he suddenly remembered a sentence in the New Testament.

[At that time, Jesus said to them, "Tonight, you will fall for my sake. For the scriptures say, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be dispersed.'"]

Many years ago, when Vatazes was a child, his tutor once recited this passage in the Bible. At that time, he was still an ignorant child. Now he is gradually able to understand the saint's painstaking efforts to future generations in this sentence. Sheep will be dispersed without shepherds, sick, fall, disappear, and even become food for wild beasts. And the gangsters of the empire are also a flock of sheep. Under the leadership of the smart and brave shepherds, the flock can grow and grow, but how can the ignorant shepherds avoid the wolves surrounding them?

"Your Majesty is like this now... Maybe if this continues, God will really punish us fools!" Vatazes said to himself with a wry smile. He wanted to change the current decline of the empire. When he was appreciated by the queen, he became the Minister of Finance Vatazes thought he could make great achievements, but he saw only corruption and darkness. Even the emperor who should be a shepherd who controls ministers and protects his people was a part of the darkness. Vatazes tasted what despair was for the first time. His worries were not groundless. Now there were everywhere around the empire.

The bad intentions are eyeing each other. The Bulgarians who left the North independently are ready to move in the northern border. In addition to the vengeance of the Turks, the Queen of Georgia is actively contacting the descendants of the Komuning family to attempt to trigger a rebellion in the Eastern Military Region. In the West, Alexius, the son of the former Emperor Isak, seems to be planning some conspiracy with the Latins with ulterior motives. The news that spies keep coming back is very unsettling, but it is impossible to determine whether it is true or not. On the surface, Constantinople is still an eternal city, but Vazetas knows that its foundation has long been shaky and fragile.

"Sir, it's getting late, so we should go back too." At this time, the guards who were accompanying him said. The nights in Constantinople are not as safe as before. The deterioration of people's livelihood has made public security worse than before. Even the military pay can't be paid. The capital garrison, which had already been cut off, was naturally too lazy to take charge.

It was indeed not suitable for Vatazes, who had always been light and simple, to continue to stay outside. The man nodded immediately, "Well, it's really getting late, let's go back."

Just as Vazetas was about to leave, the gate of the originally silent St. Irina Cathedral opened, and bright candlelight shone in the church in front of the door. Two old and young people walked out of the church. One was wearing a black robe and was obviously a monk from the church, while the other was a young man dressed in a dress of dress, who was very immature and obviously not a person in the church. Seeing this scene, Vazetas couldn't help but wonder, why would anyone come to the church so late?

However, this thought only flashed through his mind. As the Minister of Finance, he naturally could not peek into other people's privacy. His eyes were only for a moment, and Vatazes took his servants away from the church and returned home.

...

"Why are you here?" The fat monk in a black robe looked up and down at the boy in front of him with a hint of anger in his tone.

The cramped boy did not dare to look directly into the monk's eyes in front of him, and looked at the gilded iron cross in the sacred hall behind him from afar, swallowing in a daze.

"If you go in here, you will never have to endure that hell on earth again!" The boy thought to himself that when he was very young, he had always dreamed of becoming a priest to stand out, so that he could completely get rid of poverty and humility. However, the boy's fantasy was quickly pulled back to reality by unhappy scolding.

"I'm asking you, Igor!" said the fat monk impatiently.

And the young man who realized this then said stutteringly: "Yes, Mr. Sergius. I want to ask you to take me in... I really can't stay in the military camp."

"Can't stay?" The fat monk looked at the boy with a slanted eyes.

"Yes, sir," replied the young man named Igor weakly.

"Ah! Then this is great."

Monk Sergius looked at Igor, and the eyes in his eyes seemed to take away the remaining life of the young man: "I arranged it for you to the army for your father's sake. Your father was undoubtedly the best warrior of that year, and also my old friend for twenty years. But you failed my expectations for you. Since you are unwilling to stay, I will prepare you for travel expenses to arrange for you to go back to Crete."

"Sir, you can't do this!" Igor said in a trembling voice.

"What else do you want," the monk pushed him and looked at him angrily. His eyes were suddenly doubled and the fat on the corners of his mouth moved involuntarily. All of this was full of jokes about himself in the eyes of the young Igor. On the surface, the man in front of him was his father's old friend, but in Igor's eyes he looked down on him, a poor boy from the south. The so-called arrangement of him to the army was just perfunctory, and he could not even maintain the daily expenses of Constantinople.

"I just hope you can keep me. I have a lot of memory, understanding and thinking ability. I have studied a little theology on Crete. As long as I pass the necessary exams, I believe I can help you. I am not suitable for being in the military camp, maybe... more suitable for here!" Even though I felt despised, Igor still sincerely asked.

However, the response to him was the sneer of the priest, "It's more suitable here? Haha, my dear child, it seems that you still don't understand anything. What I know about your little head is thinking, but I think that you can become a decent person by becoming a priest. But you must understand that I wear this black robe because my virtue deserves this reward; but you, the equal reward that God can give you now is this military uniform."

The fat priest looked at the sky and drew a cross. However, seeing this gesture, Igor could not feel any sacredness but felt the coldness of his body.

The monks obviously noticed this, "I have dozens of people who want to pursue the most sacred profession," Sergius finally said, and his tone suddenly changed, stern but not evil. "There are very few people who are truly qualified. I can agree to your request and put you in the scope of my consideration. This is the limit I can do with my old friends. But children, you must understand that my protection is neither partiality nor tolerance, but double attention and severity towards sin. Now I prick up my ears and listen well, I will not repeat it again."

Seeing the fat monk's tone relaxed slightly, a glimmer of hope rose in Igor's heart.

"Can you speak Latin?" asked the priest Sergius, who was in Latin asking Igor.

"Yes, I can say a little bit, Mr. Sergius." Igor replied, although Latin was no longer the official language of the empire, reading religious scriptures still lacked its assistance, and before coming to Constantinople, Igor had already done his homework.

The conversation continued in Latin. The expression of the fat monk's eyes gradually became softer, and his attitude towards the boy in front of him became much better.

Sergius examined Igor's knowledge, not only the Bible, but also theories of other sages. The breadth of knowledge that the young man in front of him showed him could not help but surprise him. It seemed to be related to the complex history of Crete. In addition to being familiar with theological foundations, Igor also knew a lot of strange things in other foreign countries, which is indeed very rare.

After pausing for a moment, he looked again. At this moment, the priest Selkius had already gained a new understanding of this young man named Igor.
Chapter completed!