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."
To be continued...