Byzantine Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire.

This is an ancient empire that lasted for thousands of years.

Of course, this does not mean that the inheritance of the empire lasted for thousands of years, but specifically the inheritance of civilization, such as writing and language.

During these thousand years, the Byzantine Empire lasted for twelve dynasties.

Today is the Palaeoleg Dynasty.

The monarch is the tenth emperor, Manuel II Paleleg.

The Paleoleg Dynasty is somewhat similar to the current Ming Dynasty. Before the founding emperor of the Paleoleg Dynasty, Michael VIII Paleoleg, had not yet ascended the throne, as a symbol of the Byzantine Empire,

Constantinople has fallen.

The Paleoleg Dynasty regained Constantinople, which meant the restoration of the Byzantine Empire.

This situation is like the Central Plains Dynasty was taken over by the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, and then recovered by Zhu Yuanzhang, and was once again ruled by the Han people.

It's just that after more than 130 years of rule, the Paleoleg Dynasty has obviously reached the end of its dynasty.

In fact, since Michael VIII led his army into Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire at this time had been reduced to the status of a second-class small country, and it was a country that could only be on the defensive.

The interior of the empire has begun to gradually decline, while the outside of the empire is facing greater military threats. The surrounding countries are eyeing it eagerly, hoping to bite off a piece of flesh from this ancient empire.

At present, the empire's territory restored by the Paleoleg Dynasty only consists of the two cities of Constantinople and Thessaloniki, as well as small surrounding unstable areas and two dependent territories.

It was surrounded by Bulgaria and Serbia in the north, while Asia Minor was almost completely occupied by the Ottoman Empire.

In addition to serious external threats, what is more important is the crisis of governance within the empire.

Three civil wars that lasted for more than sixty years have turned the current imperial power of the Palaeologe Dynasty into a complete laughingstock.

Even the residents of Constantinople dared to laugh at their emperor without any scruples.

In addition to the chaos in the political sphere, social and religious conflicts have evolved into a real class struggle.

Just when the Ottoman Empire surrounded Constantinople some time ago and prepared to launch the final offensive, the priests of the Byzantine Empire were still chattering about the issue of unity or division in Hagia Sophia.

Archimandrite Lucas Notaras even publicly stated that he would rather see the rule of Turks wearing kerchiefs in the capital than the rule of Latins wearing triple ecclesiastical crowns.

Serious civil strife caused the entire country's economy to collapse, especially the agricultural economy, which was almost completely destroyed under the double blow of civil strife and foreign invasion.

When a country's traditional agricultural tax revenue is completely lost, and domestic trade with grains and agricultural and sideline products as its main commodities completely disappears, the Paleoleg Dynasty is completely at the end of its rope.

It seems that even God has no way to save this dynasty.

In order to overcome the crisis caused by the civil war, the emperors of the Paleoleg Dynasty did not hesitate to implement some wrong foreign policies based on betraying national interests.

These erroneous foreign policies that shook the country not only failed to save the empire, but instead brought more serious political, economic, and military crises to the empire.

The Byzantine Empire now in the hands of Manuel II is a complete mess riddled with holes.

During these most difficult and scarce years, clay vessels were used for royal banquets, and expensive Oriental porcelain had long been sold for money.

In the absence of gold and jewelry, worthless glass and leather crafts must not be used as substitutes.

At the wedding of Manuel II, the clothes he wore only looked like gold and gemstones, but were actually made of gold-dyed leather or decorated with colored glass.

dignity.

By this time, a large number of residents of Constantinople had already fled, and the entire city seemed very empty. The few residents were in ragged clothes and looked sallow and thin.

Even though the news of the withdrawal of the Ottoman army spread throughout Constantinople, these numb-looking residents did not have any emotional fluctuations, and many even felt it was a pity.

Maybe if the Turks rule this castle, they can still have a chance to eat?

Their eyes had lost any brilliance.

However, today's Manuel II seemed extremely excited after hearing the news from the guards.

"Are you sure that he is a noble from the Ming Empire in the far east?"

The guard saluted perfunctorily, and then said, "Your Majesty, what else can I deceive you at this time?"

Manuel II did not care about the rudeness of the guards, because he had no way to pay the salaries of the guards who guarded the palace.

The reason why these guards still guard the palace is because they have nothing else to do.

Those who have a way have long since left, and the rest have to live in peace and quiet.

"Take me there quickly." Manuel II urged impatiently.

These days, anything that can be related to the East is a symbol of wealth.

Not to mention the nobles from the distant East.

Manuel II didn't have any other ideas. He was just so poor that he heard that a rich man was coming. Anyway, it was an opportunity.

"Wait a minute, I want to change into a dress." Manuel II was about to get up when he suddenly stopped.

The guard was a little impatient: "Your Majesty, you will keep this distinguished guest waiting for a long time."

Manuel II pointed to the somewhat tattered clothes on his body: "Now this will make the noble Eastern nobles feel that we are despising them. I heard that the distant Eastern nobles are the most civilized countries that pay attention to etiquette."

Manuel II's clothes were torn to pieces by angry priests when he was fighting with them at the Cathedral of Santa Fesoia.

The royal family had no money to buy new clothes, so they had to ask tailors to simply repair them.

The tailor was an apprentice, and because skilled tailors had long since run away, the signs of repair on Manuel II's clothes were very obvious.

This is how it is in the palace on weekdays.

Now if you want to receive nobles from the East, it is naturally different. You must bring out the clothes from the bottom of the box.

However, from the fact that Manuel II needed to explain the situation to the guards, it can be seen that the royal family has now lost all power.

After hearing this, the guard felt that what Manuel II said made sense, so he agreed.

Manuel II put on new clothes and couldn't wait to go.

The area of ​​Constantinople is dozens of times larger than the ancient city of Byzantium, and far larger than the old Roman city.

On the hill where the old Byzantine city originally stood was the Empire's Grand Palace. The old city walls of the Byzantine city were rebuilt into the outer walls of the palace. The Grand Palace is also known as the 'Holy Palace'.

Located at the commanding heights of the city, facing the Sea of ​​Marmara to the south, it covers an area of ​​nearly 1,000 acres, or more than 600,000 square meters according to Western calculations. It is the most luxurious building complex in the entire Constantinople.

In addition to the royal family living in the palace, there are also groups of concubines, eunuchs, imperial guards, priests and palace officials. During the glorious period of the Byzantine Empire, its population was as many as 20,000, almost equivalent to a city.

It consists of several adjacent palaces, including the Ramagnol Palace, which is specially used for official ceremonies, the Dafna Palace, which is used by the royal family, and the Schalke Palace, which also serves as an exhibition hall.

The palaces are connected by arcades, and the courtyards between the palaces are opened up as royal gardens.

The place where Manuel II met nobles from the far east was the Royal Garden.

In the garden, dozens of fully armed guards stood solemnly. The armor they wore was completely different from that in the West.

With black hair and black eyes, he is an authentic oriental.

In the center of these guards, a middle-aged man wearing a Confucian robe was drinking tea leisurely. The expensive tea from the East exuded a leisurely fragrance.

The nearby palace guards watched this scene from a distance, with envy in their eyes.

They know very well how powerful the purchasing power of these tea leaves, which is almost equivalent to gold, is.

This tea comes from the distant eastern nobles. In their eyes, they are almost drinking flowing gold.

But they did not dare to show the slightest greed, because this Eastern nobleman not only had dozens of powerful guards, but also had more than a thousand fully armed knights outside the Holy Palace, and wore powerful firearms.

Today's Constantinople no longer has the ability to fight against more than a thousand knights.

What's more, this is a noble from the East.

Yes, this nobleman from the far east was none other than Zhao Yuanhong, the military advisor Zhu Ying once sent to Annan.

In Annan the year before last, after Hu Jiyou was imprisoned due to his rebellion, Zhao Yuanhong decided to capture Li Laosi, who had caused the loss of a large number of soldiers, and bring him back to enforce the family laws of the Qunying Chamber of Commerce.

So he took two hundred people on board the ship from Annan and tracked and captured Li Laosi's traces all the way to the west.

Originally, Li Laosi did not intend to run far, but by coincidence, the soldiers following Li Laosi discovered Zhao Yuanhong.

After all, Easterners are too conspicuous in the South and West, and their traces can easily be revealed.

So Li Laosi escaped overnight, and of course Zhao Yuanhong hurriedly pursued him.

The two parties were running away and chasing each other, and it actually lasted for nearly two years.

It passes through the entire Indochina Peninsula, crosses the Arabian Sea, disembarks from the Persian Gulf, and reaches Central Asia.

It then passed through Central Asia and reached the territory of the Ottoman Empire.

Now it has even come to Europe.

Fortunately, the reputation of the Ming Dynasty has spread to the entire Central Asia and even Europe along with maritime trade.

Both Li Laosi and Zhao Yuanhong benefited from their status as Ming people and were treated with respect and courtesy along the way.

It was just the language that made it difficult for Zhao Yuanhong to hunt down Li Laosi.

Especially with two hundred guards, it can easily arouse the fear of some forces passing by.

It takes a lot of time to communicate.

But Li Laosi felt much more relaxed. After all, there were only a few dozen people, and in the name of the Far Eastern Caravan, they were easily accepted.
To be continued...