In mid-May, Romanus returned to Sicily Island.
After several months of siege, Attica Legion captured the city of Catania.
Because the city wall was too strong, the legion used tunnel blasting. A large section of the city wall was blown down by gunpowder, and the gap has not been repaired to this day.
In the camp outside the city, the crown prince found his childhood friend Maximus and handed him a small gold bull pendant.
"Look, the trophy I found at Corsica. You used to be called "little calf" by your friends, and you are a Taurus. This thing is the best match for you."
At this time, Maximus looked haggard and wore a beard. He accepted the gift listlessly, "Thank you for the gift, Your Highness."
Not only Maximus, the crown prince found three other companions serving in Sicily, and they also accepted the gifts with fear. Some people said a lot of words of loyalty, which once again disappointed the crown prince.
"Can't I even maintain my childhood friendship?"
The crown prince sighed and walked onto the deck of Trikka, following the transport fleet back to Constantinople.
On the way back, he often recalled his childhood experiences, such as:
Explore everywhere in the Blachernae Palace with Anna, looking for the legendary Alexios treasure.
Leo is greedy and fun-loving. When he was scolded by his parents, he would stay nearby and watch the fun. Sometimes he couldn't hold back his laughter, which earned him scolding from his parents.
Later, I moved to Northern Black Sea Coast, met a group of fellow readers, spent several years under the supervision of instructors, and then experienced a Anatolia war with these fellow readers.
"People will always change. Now I really understand this sentence."
Back to Constantinople, Romanus reported the inspection situation to Vitus, focusing on Corsica.
"Corsica has been in a long-term state of division. Genoa prisoners of war estimate that the island has 80,000 to 100,000 residents. The terrain there is rugged and the products are barren. It is a good decision to entrust the island to the local lords.
However, I am worried that it will be difficult for the foreign lords to suppress the situation, and I need Army to clear it out first, and then proceed to enfeoffment."
Romanus stayed on the island for a month and met with many local nobles and village leaders.
According to his understanding of each person, the relationship between Rome and the rebels broke down later, and he could instigate Chernado and the other three village leaders to rebel, and quickly calm down the situation with their help.
Vitus doesn't care about Corsica's conflict. Since the eldest son has this idea, let him go ahead and do it. There won't be much loss if he fails.
How can a desert island with a population of less than 100,000 turn the world upside down?
It was midsummer, and Vitus left the complicated government affairs to his eldest son, who planned to move to a suburban manor to escape the summer heat.
"The population around Constantinople has increased, and the summer is hotter than before. I heard that Charles VII has been living in Tours in the past few years, and he understands it.
Frederick III may have this idea in moving away from Vienna to a new Vienna city with a smaller population and closer to the forest."
After capturing Corsica's port, Eastern Roman Empire will not land on France's homeland.
In the future, the navy will continue to harass the enemy's supply lines and trade routes.
Once the Naples defenders are weakened, or the Italy city-state rebels, Vitus personally leads the army to land on Italy, ending this war that affects the entire Mediterranean Sea region.
Before that, Vitus had enough patience to wait, and Finance could support the war without risking an attack.
As the conversation ended, Romanus returned to the familiar Cabinet and continued to deal with endless government affairs.
On July 1, the second son of the emperor Leo returned from North Africa to Constantinople to report on his duties.
The Tripoli area has only a few seasonal rivers, is in a drought state for most of the year, is sparsely populated, and has no issues worth noting.
Soon, Leo went through all the procedures and chatted with Romanus outside Cabinet.
"While at the Golden Horn pier, some passers-by were discussing the recent popular tragedies. I seemed like an ignorant country rich man. I could only stand nearby and listen, without being able to say a word.
Address:\\\\\\.\\\
These days, I want to have a good time at the Grand Theater, and then go back to North Africa when I have enough fun. The local area is too poor, and the local touring troupes don't even bother to perform there, and there are no forests and no opportunities for hunting."
"Are you going to the Grand Theater?" Romanus looked at Leo as if he were looking at a fool, and explained to him the recent rumors about the emperor.
Leo was very confused. "Is there such a thing? But what does this have to do with me? I finally went to the city for a few days, why can't I watch a show?"
Seeing his brother's lazy and lackadaisical appearance, Romanus wanted to tease him again.
"Okay, whatever you want to do."
Thinking of this guy being scolded afterwards, Romanus felt happy, as if he had returned to his youthful days.
He whistled briskly and walked back to his residence.
Under the oak tree in the courtyard, Anna was reading a book that recorded the deeds of saint Eastern Orthodox Church. The sunlight filtered through the shade of the trees, forming tiny spots of light that floated slightly on her body.
Sensing Romanus's abnormal mood, she turned her head slightly, her fallen hair brushing her cheeks, and the pages rustling in the breeze.
"I haven't seen you smile like this for a long time, what happened?"
Romanus: "Idiot Leo... haha, there is a good show to watch."
Anna sighed when she heard about this. She heard that some theaters often put on eye-catching shows, which are not decent at all.
"Leo is not an emperor. He is behind you and the children in the line of succession. His daily behavior should be more licentious, so as not to arouse excessive resentment from the church and the people.
But you are different. If you really want to watch a drama, set up a stage in the palace."
Romanus picked up the toy that was thrown on the ground, "I don't want to be taught to talk about it over and over again because of this kind of thing."
The church has always been like this. In the classical period, they boycotted gladiatorial games and circuses. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Constantinople became popular in racing competitions, and they began to boycott racing again until the death of this sport.
However, when society was in turmoil, the church that adhered to tradition could often act as a mediator and help the emperor stabilize the situation.
According to my father, civil servants, the army, the church, merchants, local lords and squires, Imperial Clan, all have their own shortcomings and advantages, and they cannot be allowed to overindulge one party, causing their power to exceed their control.
Last year, Yaan University published a paper in a joint journal, blaming the problem of Hussite Wars on the church's excessive real estate.
When Charles IV (1316~1378) was alive, he gave many concessions and favors to the church.
As a result, the church became the largest real estate owner in Bohemia, owning more than one-third of the country's land.
After his eldest son Wenceslaus IV succeeded to the throne, the contradiction became more obvious and Jan Hus's ideas spread widely.
Within Hussites, Utraquists represents the middle and upper class, and Taborites represents the civilian class. The two sides have different ideas, but the common point is to confiscate church real estate.
In 1419, Wenceslaus IV died of illness, and Sigismund inherited his brother's territory, eventually detonating Hussite Wars.
In this regard, Vitus summarized it more briefly. "Whoever owns the most land and property will bear the most resentment. Even without Sigismund, this war will still break out."
Two o'clock in the afternoon, Southeast City.
The carriage of Leo is parked on the south side of Theodosius Square. In front of it is the most famous Theodosius Grand Theater in the empire.
In order to hide from others, he and the four guards changed into a set of clothes: Flax shirt, Flax tunic, trousers, and leather sandals, making them look like ordinary citizens.
This is a three-story stone building with a wide area. Leo walked up the steps to the main entrance, as if he were in an ancient Greek temple. Twelve huge Corinthian stone columns formed a magnificent porch, and heroic deeds from the classical period were carved above.
"If they carve the god Olympus, the church will really fall out."
Leo muttered a few words and stepped on the thick Persia carpet to enter the main entrance.
In front is a luxuriously decorated foyer, with a chandelier hanging from the top and filled with burning whale oil candles. There is an entrance on the left and right sides, leading to the public seats on the first floor, and the stairs directly in front lead to the upper floor VIP seats.
The theme of the dome mural is classical warfare: on the left is the city wall, on the right is a vast and continuous military formation, and in the open space in the middle, two warriors equipped with bronze armor are fighting fiercely.
"Dagger, spear, and notched buckler, this is a duel between Trojan War, Achilles and Hector?"
Leo raised his head and enjoyed this familiar story.
Half a minute later, he walked from the left entrance to the public area on the first floor, where the seats were densely packed. Looking from the bottom up to the second and third floors, he could clearly see the boxes above. All the boxes had no curtains.
Leo Return to the lobby and follow the main staircase to the second floor.
The corridors here are lit with whale oil candles, marble sculptures or porcelain bottles are placed at regular intervals, and a name is written on the sign of the box.
Leo Asked the waiter, the theater viewing experience on the second floor is the best, and it is contracted by various big names for a long time. The theater viewing experience on the third floor is slightly worse, and there are still some boxes and seats left.
Leo just wants to watch the show quietly and doesn't want to get into trouble. "Then let's go to the third floor. When will it start?"
The customer lacked the common sense to go to the theater, and the waiter speculated that this guy was the son of a wealthy businessman from out of town, and that he was stupid and easy to fool with his money.
His tone remained gentle, "It's six-thirty in the evening. Historically, major plays have only been performed in the evening. Some light comedies and popular plays have been staged at matinees, and ticket prices are relatively cheap.
However, the daytime temperature in summer is too high, and thousands of people are crowded in one building. Even if there are ice buckets placed in the corners, it is still impossible to cool down. Therefore, matinees are canceled in summer."
"I don't have time to watch the show tonight, it's such a pity." Reluctantly, Leo left the Grand Theater and came to a civilian theater in the south of the city.
This is an open-air theater with no magnificent Corinth stone pillars or murals, only a simple four-story wooden terrace. There are no seats in the lower two-story stands, so the audience must stand to watch the play.
The ticket prices for each level of the stands are different. Even for the fourth-level seats with the best view, the ticket price is only a dozen Copper Coin, which is less than half a silver coin.
So cheap?
Leo came to the fourth floor and sat down. There was a dim and worn-out awning on it. He reached out and touched it. The material of the tarpaulin was the same as the sail. It was probably a discarded sail from a certain merchant ship.
There was still some time before the opening, and familiar audience members gathered together to chat.
"Galatia Province It's such a pity that after finally building the dam, there was such a big dispute because of the water diversion problem."
"I gave Stella a bouquet of flowers last time. I wonder if she was satisfied with it? Or should I give her a bottle of Damascus's rose perfume?"
"Stop dreaming. She was used to big scenes when she was young, and a bottle of broken perfume can't impress her."
Leo is not familiar with these citizens and has no common topics.
He looked around boredly and asked the guard to buy some beer and grill some skewers to pass the time while eating and drinking.
After a while, the occupancy rate in the stands reached 30%. A short acrobat performed somersaults onto the stage and told jokes to the audience to warm up the show.
This guy's jokes are vulgar, but they can make the audience laugh loudly. From time to time, people throw Copper Coin to the stage to appreciate his antics of picking up money.
Leo asked the guard for his money bag, grabbed a few silver coins and threw them over with a calm expression, as if he was throwing some insignificant bread crumbs.
At 3:30, the occupancy rate in the stands reached 70%. The mood of the people was changing and they were clamoring for a formal performance in the theater.
The theater owner winked, the acrobat made a pitiful expression towards the audience, and then left the stage with a series of somersaults.
"The show is about to begin."
Leo leaned forward slightly in his sitting posture and put down his half-empty beer bottle.
The staff on both sides of the stage pulled the ropes, and the light red curtain slowly opened, and a fair-skinned actress wearing a low-cut long dress came forward. She was good-looking, but she was a bit older, and she deliberately wore heavy makeup on the corners of her eyes to try to cover those crow's feet.
"Stella!"
The stands made whistles one after another. Obviously, Stella was the top performer in the theater. Some of the audience just wanted to see her and didn't care what she was playing.
When buying tickets, Leo saw Tales of the Macedonia Court written on the bulletin board. I guess this person is playing the role of the queen.
In history, there are many queens who are famous for their beauty. Queen Theodora of Justinian, Irene of Isauria, Manuel I's queen Marie, historical records record that "she is like the smiling, golden Aphrodite, and Hera with white arms and bull's eyes..."
The drama is adapted from the Macedonia period. There are two beautiful queens with rich stories: Basil II's mother Theophano and niece Zoe.
Soon, Stella began to sing solo, and the first few lyrics directly pointed out her identity:
"The sun sets over the mountains, and the dynasty withers.
I went through three weddings but failed to give birth to a child..."
Got it, this character is Zoe.
Leo recalled the records of her in the history books: an extremely vain and extravagant woman. She lacked judgment on government affairs and was easily manipulated by Eunuch, her lover and her close ministers.
He tried to calm down and enjoy the plot, but his interest was always interrupted by some outrageous plots.
In contrast, the rest of the audience was immersed in it, sometimes cheering and sometimes cursing.
Seeing that a character was about to die, an enthusiastic audience member climbed onto the stage, only to be dragged away by the crew.
"Is this necessary?"
When the play came to an end, Leo got up and left the stage, belching wine, and before leaving, he threw a handful of coins into the stands.
Seeing this, the theater owner hurriedly came to his side, smiled and whispered:
"Master, you are a decent man who understands drama. There may be some mistakes in the drama. An actor would like to buy you a cup of coffee to discuss the plot."
Leo hesitated at first, and then a picture flashed through his mind. When Romanus mentioned the theater in the morning, his expression was very serious.
Remembered!
When I was a kid, Romanus always had this look on his face when he saw my jokes.
"Let's talk about it next time." Leo refused the extra service. It's best to stay calm these days and wait for the limelight to pass before having fun.