The Unjust System and My War-Crazy Self

"Khan, there is someone hiding here."

"Huh?" Shu Yichao took a spear and said, "It's actually a highlighted target."

"Puff-"

The sound of something falling to the ground.

【…】

[No, host, you...]

【Didn’t I just tell you to be careful and not offend anyone?】

How could you offend someone so quickly?

[But it seems that the Second Imperial Concubine didn't make any move to punish you?]

System 12345 found that Shu Yichao was still walking slowly and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

[They actually let you go like this? ]

【Why is she so open-minded today? 】

[Hmm——Host, I still feel unsafe.]

[Once you're out of the door, get out! Otherwise, she might go back on her word and send someone after you!]

Chapter 40 - Fence-sitters

"Suna."

"Hmm?" Mrs. Marti looked back at Constantine XI.

"Your Majesty, what's the matter?"

"Hit me." Constantine XI looked at the blood-red double-headed eagle flag flying on the top of the city wall of Thessalonica and said expressionlessly.

"I feel like I might be dreaming."

Shu Yichao successively captured Adrianople and Thessalonica.

Nearly half of the fertile land in the Balkans has been recovered.

Constantine XI could hardly imagine how all this could have happened.

He could only suspect that he was dreaming.

"Has Constantinople been conquered by the pagans?"

He said.

"Is all this just a fantasy I had in my dying moments before I died for the city?"

"Snap!" Mrs. Marty swung her arm, and with a snap, a big pussy bag swung over.

"Hey, hey, hey, you all heard it, the emperor himself ordered me to fight."

After Mrs. Marti finished fanning, she shouted loudly to the important court officials beside her.

“I’ve never heard of such a request in my life.”

After turning around in a big circle, Constantine XI, who was beaten so hard that he saw stars, stood firm again.

Looking at the blood-red double-headed eagle flag that had not disappeared from the city wall, and the Crusaders cheering like thunder, he laughed foolishly.

"Hey, it really hurts. It's not an illusion."

"Well, Your Majesty," Mrs. Marty also laughed.

"Let's go into town."

Constantine XI nodded, mounted his horse and walked towards the city gate, pretending to complain about the troubles of happiness as he walked.

"Our Caesar is truly a pure war maniac."

"Basically, we don't ask how many enemies there are, we only ask where they are."

"Every time they captured a city, they didn't send any soldiers to garrison it. They just looted it and left it to us."

"As a result, I, Augustus, have become the logistics captain following him, responsible for selling his spoils, arranging prisoners, and organizing the city's logistics."

"That's quite fitting, isn't it?" Mrs. Marty said with a smile.

"Caesar was an invincible commander, and Augustus was an adept consul."

"Hahahaha!!" Constantine XI was amused by Mrs. Marti's use of ancient metaphors to describe modern times.

Just as Norma's troops stepped onto the main road in the city.

Suddenly they heard a burst of cursing, the sound of fighting and the clashing of weapons.

"What's going on ahead?"

Constantine XI rode forward curiously.

Then, there were shouts of “True God will always protect us” and “True God is above”.

What caught Constantine XI's eye was a simple fortress built on the street with miscellaneous items, furniture, and mud and sand.

Inside the fortress, someone was praying fervently, with spears standing in rows and a fierce momentum, as if he was determined to fight Constantine XI to the death.

But the problem is that they are not the Ottomans who are resisting stubbornly as Constantine XI imagined.

But...

"What are these converted Norma people going to do?"

Mrs. Marty was speechless when she saw the scene.

"The genuine Osmanis have either fled or surrendered. The Osmani royal family has died out. Who are they fighting for now?"

That’s right, what appeared before the Norma Emperor was a group of converted Norma people.

These guys had been loyal subjects of the Norman Empire for generations, but after being conquered by the Osman people, they gradually converted in order to gain political status within the Osman Empire.

At this moment, this group of Luo traitors were shouting and calling for war and killing their emperor.

"Is there something unspeakable?"

Constantine XI thought about it and decided to send an envoy to inquire.

After all, in his opinion, although the Khitan Caesar did not kill them, according to the behavior of the Khitan cavalry under Shu Yichao, it was inevitable that they would be robbed clean.

Perhaps these compatriots wanted to use this method to protest to him, the emperor, and seek help.

Not long after, the envoy sent by Constantine XI brought back the news to the emperor with bruised faces and disheveled clothes.

Then, the conditions proposed by the other party almost made Constantine XI angry.

"You want me to get out of this city with my troops?"

"You also want me to respect their beliefs and allow Thessalonica to become an autonomous city-state?"

"The funniest thing is, I have to take care of the city's reconstruction, the supply of materials, and the repair of houses?"

Constantine XI was furious: "What do these traitors think of their emperor?"

"Free labor?"

"Even when I was forced to kowtow to the Osmani, they were never this arrogant!"

"Hmph." Mrs. Marty curled her lips.

"This shows that Your Majesty still has too little experience."

"When I was leading troops along the coast of the Black Sea, fighting guerrilla warfare against the Osman, I saw many people like this."

"In the minds of these traitors, everyone owes them something, and everything in the world should revolve around them."

"Of course," Mrs. Marty scoffed. "Only when facing my own people."

"He treats his own people like a mad dog barking all day long."

"When dealing with the Osmanis, they became like sick chickens, not daring to crow even slightly louder..."

"Your Majesty." Mrs. Marty drew the sword from her waist and said, "Leave it to me."

"I don't think I've fought a single battle since Caesar went off."

"Let me send these traitors to hell."

"It's not that simple." Constantine XI shook his head. "Don't you find it strange?"

"Why are these people shouting here, but no one comes to stop them?"

"Our Caesar?" Mrs. Marty said in surprise. "He probably thought they were Norma people and not enemies."

"No." Constantine XI shook his head. "I'm talking about these local noble families..."

Mrs. Marty thought about it for a moment, and her expression changed immediately.

"Humph, it is just as you said, Your Majesty."

"What a bunch of parasites!"

She knew what was going on.

Could the Ottomans rule this land solely with their own people?

Of course not.

This group of semi-barbarians must cooperate with local nobles to establish effective rule.

After all, empires often fall, but aristocratic families with good inheritance can often stand for hundreds of years.

These nobles are very skilled at changing their stance according to the situation and playing fence-sitters.

When the Osman Empire was wreaking havoc, they would naturally convert some of their people in order to gain political benefits within the Osman Empire and then bully the civilians together.

And when the king of the Norma Empire returns, they will certainly come to serve—

However, effectiveness is effectiveness.

The shelf also needs to be put up.

The situation before us was undoubtedly a warning to Constantine XI from the nobles in the city.

Constantine XI knew that his best option now was to quickly find the local nobles to negotiate with.

Recognize their special status and ensure that all their local interests remain the same.

Then, these noble families will happily say that we are all people bathed in the glory of our Lord, and from now on, we will do our best to be loyal to the empire.

Afterwards, local nobles would appear and disperse the converted Norma people, or force them to convert back...

The Norman Emperor got the city, the nobles secured their privileges, and everyone was happy.

If you don't do this, just wait for them to pretend to obey you but actually do something against you and make trouble for you in the future.

but--

Should I really do this?

Constantine XI's hands began to tremble slightly.

Chapter 41-Nine Clans Too Many

When Constantine XI was in his prime, he also had a period of time when he fought desperately to revive the empire.

He first carried out drastic reforms in the Moria region, restored the traditional soldier-farmer system of the Norma Empire, and established a relatively combat-capable citizen militia of about several thousand people.

Then, through diplomatic mediation, he won over the Western Crusaders.

Then, Constantine XI took advantage of the Ottoman Empire's northward advance to fight the Crusaders and captured Athens in one fell swoop.

If the Crusaders could bring news of victory in the north, he would be able to take the opportunity to capture cities such as Thessalonica, open up land transportation lines to Constantinople, and connect the land of the Norman Empire.

In this way, the empire at least had half of the Balkans, and at least it looked like a country.

However, the Crusaders suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Ottomans, and Constantine XI was subsequently defeated by the main force of the Ottoman Empire that marched southward and retreated in defeat.

The dream of imperial revival was shattered.

After returning to Constantinople, Constantine XI found the road to reviving the empire even more difficult.