Manuel II sat opposite Zhao Yuanhong and carefully took the tea handed to him.
The clear fragrance of tea flows on the tip of his nose. He, who was born in the royal family, naturally understands the preciousness of this tea.
After taking a sip of warm tea, Manuel II felt his heart bleeding.
"This bite should be worth hundreds of gold coins."
Eastern tea has always been considered a luxury product in Europe, and it was reserved exclusively for the royal family of the Ming Empire in the far East.
Just the tea brewed here is worth as much as gold.
Several hundred gold coins were enough for him to pay a large amount of salary for his guards, at least to make him look better.
"The other party is a real oriental noble."
Manuel II made an affirmation in his heart.
Zhao Yuanhong observed Manuel II's expression with half-squinted eyes, and got the answer he wanted from the shock in his eyes.
It has been confirmed that the Paleoleg Dynasty is really at the end of its rope.
Who is Zhao Yuanhong? He was the person in charge who was the main planner of Annan.
When I saw this situation today, I suddenly had many thoughts in my mind.
After pondering for a moment, Zhao Yuanhong ordered in Chinese: "Wei Wan, take out our common documents."
Wei Wan had been working with Zhao Yuanhong for a long time. After hearing this, he immediately took out various documents from the package.
After Zhao Yuanhong took it, he placed the document on the table and said in Latin: "Dear Your Majesty the Emperor, this is a popular document from the distant Ming Dynasty. It not only has the seal of our Ming Dynasty, but also the seal of our country all the way from the east.
Stamps from every country it passed through.”
"Please also ask His Majesty the Emperor to check it out."
This document written by Zhao Yuanhong is actually equivalent to the ultimatum for crossing the border.
In the novel Journey to the West, the ultimatum brought by Tang Monk to cross the border is almost like this.
Because of his special status, he would meet the local government leaders wherever he went and then ask them to stamp them, which represented friendly exchanges.
Manuel II took the document and looked through it.
At the beginning of the document were the Chinese characters of the Ming Dynasty, which he naturally did not recognize, but at the end of the document were the characters of each country he passed through, including their government seals.
Manuel II flipped through page after page. He did not recognize or have seen the characters and seals of more than ten countries in front of them.
It wasn't until I turned to the back that the Central Asian characters became familiar.
Then on the last page, there are Turkish characters and a seal symbolizing the Ottoman Empire.
Manuel II looked carefully and saw a small seal next to the Ottoman royal seal.
That is the personal seal of today's Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I.
This shows that they have already met Bayezid I.
"Dear Eastern Noble Zhao, I have never doubted your identity." Manuel II explained seriously.
Zhao Yuanhong asked Wei Wan to put away the documents, and then replied with a smile: "Show the documents proving our identity. This is what we should do."
However, seeing the documents being taken away, Manuel II suddenly felt insulted.
His face became a little ugly.
After hesitating for a moment, he asked: "Sir, don't you need my seal?"
Manuel II was already very tactful.
Because everyone has stamped it, most of them are just officials, not the monarch of any country.
Although the current Paleoleg dynasty is indeed lonely, will it lose even this remaining dignity?
Zhao Yuanhong laughed dumbly. He really didn't expect Manuel II to be so sensitive. He smiled and said at the moment: "Your Majesty has misunderstood. I came to Constantinople to help your Majesty. I may stay here."
A long time."
"I am not just passing by, so there is not much need for the seal of this document at the moment. If I choose to leave here one day, I will ask Your Majesty to help seal it."
This passage is relatively long, especially when Zhao Yuanhong expressed it in Latin, which made Manuel II sound somewhat laborious.
But after I understood the general meaning, I couldn't believe it.
He was worried that he had understood it wrong.
"Did you just say that you want to help us?"
Zhao Yuanhong replied affirmatively: "Your Majesty, please forgive my presumption. The current situation in Constantinople is very difficult. The soldiers have no one to pay their salaries, and the residents in the city have no food."
"Although the Ottoman Empire's army has now left, it is obvious that His Majesty's internal problems are even worse."
"Our Ming Dynasty has always been a country of civilization and etiquette. I feel very sorry to see the ancient Byzantine Empire become like this."
"So I want to do my best to help His Majesty restore the rule of the Byzantine Empire and restore the glory of the Roman Empire."
Manuel II couldn't believe what his ears were hearing.
The wealthy Eastern nobleman in front of him actually said that he would help him restore his former glory?
If it were someone else, he would definitely think the other person was a fool.
But this is a noble from the far east.
Zhao Yuanhong frowned slightly. He saw that Manuel II had no reaction to what he just said.
Could it be that there was a mistake in my Latin expression?
After thinking for a moment, he ordered the translator behind him: "Retell what I just said to His Majesty the Emperor."
The translator behind him was responsible for teaching Zhao Yuanhong Latin, and he also knew Chinese.
Zhao Yuanhong spent one hundred gold coins to buy it from a certain merchant.
In terms of status, he is Zhao Yuanhong's personal slave.
After hearing the instructions, the translator immediately repeated what Zhao Yuanhong had just said to Manuel II in complete and fluent Latin.
Only then did Manuel II react from his trance and replied with a little embarrassment:
"Hold your fists, Your Excellency, please forgive me for being rude. It's not that your Latin is not spoken well, but that I can't believe what I heard is true. It's like a dream."
"As you can see, Constantinople is now on the verge of destruction. Even if the Ottomans withdraw, our own problems will be very serious."
"I really hope to get your help, but reality tells me that it doesn't mean much."
Manuel II had a wry smile on his face. He did not regard Zhao Yuanhong as a life-saving straw. The Ming Dynasty was too far away from Constantinople. Even if he really wanted to help, it was too late.
Zhao Yuanhong's eyes flashed with approval.
This monarch of the Palaeologe dynasty is not a stupid and arrogant person, and he still has some sober understanding.
At least I didn't expect to be the first to trick him, so my character is pretty good.
Cooperating with such people will save you a lot of trouble in the future.
"Your Majesty, with all due respect, you have nothing to lose now. I sincerely want to cooperate with Your Majesty, not just a joke."
"Also, your Majesty, please understand that this cooperation is temporarily limited to your Majesty and I, not between the Ming Dynasty and the Paleoleg Dynasty."
"I will write to the Ming Dynasty and ask for the approval of my great grandson, the Ming Dynasty."
"Until I receive the letter, I will temporarily stay with His Majesty in my personal capacity."
"If I get a reply and His Highness Taisun prohibits me from doing this, I will have no choice but to leave. But if I can get the support of His Highness Taisun of the Ming Dynasty, I think this will be a big deal for Constantinople and Your Majesty.
good news.”
Zhao Yuanhong said carefully and explained the details clearly at the same time.
Manuel II's expression became serious and serious, and he said: "Today's Paleoleg Dynasty has nothing to lose."
"As long as you are really willing, I can agree to you no matter what the conditions are."
Having said this, Manuel II paused slightly and said again: "No matter what happens to you, it will not be worse than the current situation."
Obviously, Manuel II is now a broken man.
It didn't matter even if the nobles from the East were joking with him, the royal family's face had long been lost, and even the beggars in Constantinople could easily spurn him.
At least the arrival of the Eastern nobles might allow him to have a few full meals without any worries?
This is already very good.
"I hope that His Majesty the Emperor can appoint me as Chancellor and Minister of Finance."
Zhao Yuanhong stated his needs directly and clearly.
Manuel II was stunned by these words.
"Are you kidding me?" Manuel II asked hesitantly.
Of course he didn't mean that he couldn't be appointed, but it was just such an empty name, what's the point?
Zhao Yuanhong did not explain anything to Manuel II, but said in addition: "Now there are a thousand knights under my command, except for a small number who followed me from the east."
"The others are the warriors I met on this road. Perhaps because of their desolate life, or perhaps because they are looking for new hope in you, they chose to be loyal to me."
"Now that His Majesty has appointed me as the Royal Minister and Minister of Finance, these thousand knights will join the Holy Palace to maintain the safety and stability of the Holy Palace."
"At the same time, I will bring some meager food to the residents of Constantinople. Although I cannot guarantee that everyone will be full, at least they will not starve to death."
"Those obstacles that disobey His Majesty's orders will be swept away by the brave knights with the sharp swords in their hands. Those who dare to resist will receive the punishment they deserve."
Zhao Yuanhong's vowed words made Manuel II feel a little unreal.
He never had the extravagant expectation that there would really be such a person who would tell him that he wanted to save Byzantium.
You must know that Manuel II wrote to His Majesty the Pope many times before, hoping that he could come forward to gather European coalition forces, relieve the siege of the Ottoman army, and provide some help to Constantinople.
But this didn't get any response, even His Majesty the Pope had already given up on him.
But ‘God’ really appeared.
For Manuel II, Zhao Yuanhong was the 'God' who came to save him.
As for authenticity, this is completely unimportant to Manuel II.
Even if there is another purpose to deceive, it doesn't matter.
Because except for the appointment letter of the Royal Minister and Minister of Finance, Manuel II could no longer produce anything, and he could not even arrange a sumptuous dinner as a reception.
During the previous civil wars involving royal power, both Manuel II and the nobles with ulterior motives hired a large number of foreign soldiers.
They come from various ethnic groups in Europe and West Asia. Apart from the so-called mercenary spirit, the Paleologe Dynasty has no actual restrictions on them.
Some of the mercenary leaders even held high-ranking military positions in the Paleoleg Dynasty.
Such a move to lure the wolf into the house completely eliminated the power of both sides of the royal family.
Now that we can't afford military expenses, it has become a cancer.
Apart from an empty name, Manuel II really had nothing.
Manuel II couldn't wait and after confirming it again and again, he immediately trotted back to his palace to get the emperor's seal.
And he drafted a letter of appointment himself.
In this way, Zhao Yuanhong suddenly changed his identity and became the imperial minister of the Byzantine Empire, overseeing all affairs.
Such a direct appointment actually does not comply with the process, and even according to the current situation of the Paleoleg Dynasty, Manuel II has lost this power.
In other words, the appointment letter was only approved by Manuel II, and other royal members, including Constantinople priests, noble members, and officials, could reject the appointment.
Is it just Zhao Yuanhong who cares about this?
At the same time as becoming the imperial minister, Zhao Yuanhong once again asked Manuel II to issue a letter of appointment.
Wei Wan was appointed as the commander of the guards of the entire Holy Palace.
While sending people to summon the thousands of knights outside, they also requested that all the guards who are still in the Holy Palace be gathered together.
The problem of loyalty is easy to solve when boxes of gold are placed in front of these guards.
The originally undisciplined palace guards immediately declared their loyalty to Zhao Yuanhong.
If you have breasts, you are a mother. This principle applies to both the East and the West.
These boxes of gold are not meant to be distributed to the palace guards, but just to show them how much wealth they have to protect their salaries.
This is very important and can stabilize morale very well.
Taking control of the military power of the Holy Palace, Zhao Yuanhong had his own right to speak in Constantinople.
That night, Zhao Yuanhong held a sumptuous banquet to entertain Manuel II, and decided to invite a large number of nobles, priests, and even officials to hold a grand banquet on the third day.
The banquet was expected to cost Zhao Yuanhong half of his money, but he didn't care at all.
After entertaining Manuel II, Zhao Yuanhong naturally moved into the Holy Palace.
Late at night, accompanied by the night scene outside.
Zhao Yuanhong wrote a letter.
This is a letter to be sent to the grandson.
There are many contents, the most important of which is that he needs the support of Ming Dynasty and asks His Highness Taisun for forgiveness.
Because next, he needs to rely on the name of Ming Dynasty to do some things.