A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

The person just now had "rudeness" written all over his face.

But this one is completely different.

"Thank you for your concern, Sultan." Thomas replied calmly.

Even though they are enemies who wish the other party to die soon, they must always follow etiquette in diplomatic occasions.

What's more, with so many knights present, Thomas had to show the demeanor of a grand master.

Chapter 376: Summons 2

Next, according to the common rules of that era, the envoy began to speak eloquently.

It must be said that this is a qualified diplomat.

He started with the historical origins, telling the story of the long coexistence of the two sides, then the trade exchanges between them, then the Sultan's kindness and the Grand Master's wisdom, and then how the past wars were all unfortunate misunderstandings.

Typical diplomatic rhetoric.

Although we can't turn black into white...

But at least the black is really said to be red!

If there was an ignorant person listening to this, he would have thought that the two sides had always been friendly neighbors and just had a quarrel last time!

There was a conflict that was insignificant and did not affect the overall situation.

Of course, all the knights present had experienced that bloody war.

That was no small conflict.

Instead, both sides fought to the death with all their might.

Therefore, no matter how clever the envoy's words are, they will just go in one ear and out the other.

Anyway, it didn't impress Thomas at all.

He waited patiently for the envoy to finish all his nonsense, and then finally got to the point.

In fact, the main topic can be summed up in one sentence.

Both sides cease fire and sign an armistice treaty!

Although it is impossible to sign a permanent armistice agreement and for everyone to live in peace forever, at least we can sign a... armistice treaty with a limited time limit!

"The above is what His Majesty the Sultan requires."

"I agree to a ceasefire," Thomas said after listening to everything. "But there must be conditions."

In the war that had just ended, the Knights were the victors and the Turks were the losers.

If the loser wants to negotiate, he will have to pay a price.

You can lose the battle without paying any price - unless you are facing the Qing government!

"What conditions do you need?"

"In the conflict at Smyrna," Thomas also chose the word "conflict," "the Knights suffered heavy losses. We demand an indemnity of five million florins and the cession of Ephesus as compensation for our losses. In return, we are willing to reach an agreement with the Sultan to maintain peace for at least ten years."

Ephesus is the territory next to Smyrna.

It is currently the territory of the Rum Sultanate. Although the rulers here are Turks, the majority of the civilians here are Orthodox Greeks.

For the Knights, it is a relatively easy territory to rule.

When the Knights recover and want to expand, Ephesus will be the first target.

When the Saracen envoy heard the Grand Commander's request, his expression changed immediately.

"Grandmaster... you are making an impossible request..."

"Why not?" Thomas asked.

"The Sultan won't accept it," the other said. "You are blackmailing me."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Demetrios give him a look and shake his head slightly.

This requirement is indeed too high.

Even the Sultan cannot afford it.

The cession of Ephesus was fine, but five million florins...

Well, even a big country like the Sultanate of Rum can’t afford it.

At least not at this stage.

When people are pushed to the limit, they can do anything - except math problems.

Likewise, the Sultan was driven to extremes and would agree to anything except five million florins.

He really doesn't have it, and it's impossible for him to have it!

Thomas returned the glance, indicating that he had known it for a long time.

Although there are some professional politicians in this era who make empty promises, the moral standards of a large number of people are still online.

It is basically impossible to sign a contract today and tear it up tomorrow.

But Thomas didn't know much about this Sultan.

I can’t say I know nothing about it, but they are basically just rumors - the kind that’s hard to tell whether they’re true or not.

It is said that this Sultan was a man of chivalry. But it is only said.

And Thomas knew that chivalry could be acted out.

I don't know whether this Sultan is a politician who treats promises as farts, or a knight who would rather suffer losses than not stick to his promises. Of course, it is more likely that he is somewhere in between.

So, we can only give it a try.

If you are the first type of person, then all treaties are meaningless.

The right thing to do is to kill you while you are sick!

The Knights now do not have the power to actually seize the Sultan's territory, but with the advantage of the five protectorates, they can continue the war.

Don't send out troops, just send out troops to protect the country!

It became a rotten war where they would come and wipe out a town every now and then.

Of course, on the other hand, if it is the latter two types of people, Thomas decided that it is still necessary to abide by the contract.

After all, family members know their own business, and the Knights are not in a good situation right now.

What happened just now shattered the last bit of fantasy of the Knights.

The Knights Templar had now become the target of oppression by the Holy See, and it seemed that this would be difficult to change until the Pope returned to the embrace of Christ.

But everyone knew the new Pope wasn't very old. Furthermore, these charlatans had a chance of coming into contact with higher levels of the Demonic Network. If they reached the seventh level or higher, their lifespan would be significantly longer than that of ordinary people.

The diplomatic, human and financial situations are all very bad.

That's why even Demetrios is inclined to reach a contract.

Conditions that are too harsh will appear insincere.

As the saying goes, a servant resembles his master. This kind of diplomatic envoy must have carefully understood the upper and lower limits of the monarch's tolerance before setting off.

"Blackmail? What are the Sultan's conditions?"

"We are willing to recognize the Knights' ownership of Smyrna," the messenger replied immediately.

Anyway, the Sultan couldn’t conquer it even with all his troops, so what difference does it make whether he recognizes it or not?

"Then the Sultan is truly insincere..." Thomas's attitude softened considerably. "How about this, let's both take a step back!"

"I want Ephesus, but I'll spare the Sultan the indemnity."

Ripples appeared in the air again around Thomas, and translucent ripples that were difficult to see with the naked eye appeared again.

Moreover, the light was insufficient, and even the messenger who was close by could not see clearly.

"I will report back to the Sultan." The Saracen envoy bowed.

Then exit.

Chapter 377: Summons 3

"Captain, we're at a disadvantage this way..." Demetrios said in a low voice.

Is the Knights short of money?

Very short of money!

Now I have a lot of debts. And this debt must be paid back, I can't get out of it.

After all, the Knights' territory is very small, even now there are only two earldoms.

A territory of this level cannot produce all the materials it needs, and must be purchased through trade.

If you want to trade, you will be strangled by others.

What's more, it's the right thing for them to pay back the debt, and you can't deny it.

What's worse is... the ways to make money in the past, such as robbing as a pirate or looting a city as a bandit... are no longer useful now.

Being a pirate was fine when they were weak, but not anymore, because Thomas had declared that he would protect the lives and property of merchants, even those who were pagans.

It was a natural decision to make this way - everyone in the Knights knew that in the long run, collecting protection money would always make more money than robbery.

In the past, being a pirate meant collecting protection money.

If you have the ability to collect protection money, you naturally can't continue to rob. Otherwise, you will lose the big picture while picking up sesame seeds.

As for looting cities... after this happened last time, all the Star-Moon Cult countries in North Africa were on guard.

God knows how many spies are hiding in the Knights' territory. If the army moves out, they will know immediately in advance.

The reason why we won a great victory last time was actually because we attacked the enemy by surprise.

They were completely unprepared and were forced into the city by your army.

Then there is a high probability that you will give in.

In addition, the weaknesses of the Golem Legion are now widely known.

This is a wooden golem that can withstand arrows and bullets, but not cannons and fire.

Magic is no match for them, after all, they were caught off guard and unprepared to resist the power of magic.

The Star-Moon Sect also has mendicant monks, and their magical skills are real.

A single "Dispel Magic" spell would instantly clear all magic within a fairly large area. This had been clearly demonstrated in every battle.

The Bloody Cross Flag is useful, but not invincible.

In short, after people have made preparations, the risk of a long expedition like last time is too great, and wise people would not do it.

Besides, the Knights’ army is not strong enough to carry out robbery on their own!

The Knights Templar are now fully focused on fighting a powerful enemy and have no time to help.

Therefore, if compensation can be obtained from Sudan, it can greatly alleviate the current financial pressure.

In fact, from the perspective of the Knights Templar, Demetrios would rather receive compensation than cede territory.

But Thomas did not answer this question.

Because from the beginning, he knew that the Turks would accept the cession of territory but would never accept compensation.

Thomas regained his position.

The two episodes of the meeting ended.

Now let’s get to the point.

This meeting was actually a post-war summary meeting of the Battle of Smyrna.

This is the real meat of the meeting.

Although the Battle of Smyrna had ended for quite some time, Grand Commander Thomas was still busy.

Although I have listened to several reports in the middle, I have a general understanding of the situation.