Memories

Memory

In early August, Vitus issued a decree to establish the Royal Society and to open new universities in Athens and Thessaloniki.

Entering the steam age required a great deal of technological accumulation, so he established a dedicated research institution in the hope of accelerating scientific research.

"Scientific research requires inspiration, and the emergence of inspiration is unpredictable. Under normal circumstances, we can only wait and see. However, if a genius like Galileo or Newton were to appear, it might propel technological progress significantly."

Vitus believed he lacked scientific talent, so he did not interfere with the daily operations of the Royal Society and let things take their natural course.

Subsequently, he devoted most of his energy to organizing his notes. "In 1439, I reorganized the troops. In 1440, I attacked Sakarya. It feels like I've spent most of my life fighting wars."

After reviewing all the notes, Vitus had some of his servants correct and copy them.

Writing books was a tradition among Rome rulers, such as Caesar's * Meditations on the Gaul War Chronicles *, Aurelian's Meditations, and Morris's Strategies.

Manuel II was a scholar-emperor who produced a large body of literary, theological, and philosophical works throughout his life.

John VIII left behind a memoir detailing his reign in an attempt to salvage his reputation. This effort had little effect, and he remained labeled an apostate.

Vitus's works were mainly textbooks, such as military textbooks, mathematics and natural science textbooks; he did not write any theological or philosophical works.

This record of the campaign is divided chronologically, with several chapters covering the Apennines, the Balkans, and the Northern Black Sea Coast.

The style of the work is similar to that of the Gaul War Chronicles —concise, restrained, and without ornate embellishment. The biggest difference lies in the narrator's perspective.

The text is written in the third person, focusing entirely on "how Caesar his decisions" and "what Caesar said."

Vitus's war chronicles are written in the first person; for example, the opening line reads, "In June 1422, the Ottoman army attacked Constantinople, and my life's campaigns began."

Vitus had enough prestige that he wrote this war chronicle simply to dispel public misunderstandings and prevent them from spreading rumors about him as a "mercenary master" or a "Tournament."

In September, with everything back on track, Vitus went on vacation to the east. Agnes accompanied him and strongly requested to visit Cotton Castle.

He was puzzled by his wife's idea. "It's just a hot spring, is it really that attractive?"

Eighteen years ago, western Anatolia was liberated, and after careful governance by the Central Administration, it once again became the core region of the empire.

Lacking large plains, the terrain is undulating, and the people gather in the wide valleys carved out by rivers such as the Gediz River and the Great Menderes River, providing Constantinople with a steady stream of agricultural products and Greece soldiers.

Occasionally, Vitus would stop in villages along the way.

Ordinary villages are laid out haphazardly, with houses distributed along the terrain. Immigrant villages, on the other hand, are uniformly planned, with each farmhouse having a similar style and an overall orderly layout.

It was Sunday, and the village streets were deserted as people gathered at the church for a service.

This is an immigrant village, inhabited by people from Bulgaria. The elderly and infirm sit on the church benches, while the rest stand around. They cannot understand the priest's Greek church language and generally look bewildered.

This is a common occurrence; even in their native Bulgaria, the locals cannot understand the priest's church Slavic language. The priest only uses vernacular language during the subsequent sermons.

As the ceremony drew to a close, amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, the Vitus couple were the first to receive the fermented bread and the diluted wine.

Afterwards, Vitus spoke with the priest. These residents, totaling 120 households, had migrated here twelve years ago, and Bulgaria is still the predominant language in the village.

Some adults needed to trade goods with the outside world and had a limited vocabulary of common Greece words, which enabled them to communicate with difficulty.

Today, immigrants consider this land their new home, and their longing for their homeland has faded. As the children grow up, they will identify more with Palaiologos's rule.

On September 12th, the team arrived at Cotton Castle.

The valley has been designated a nature reserve, and wealthy individuals are prohibited from building holiday villas there.

Years later, the scene here is exactly the same as Vitus's memory: rolling yellow-brown hills interspersed with a patch of abrupt white terraces, and countless trickles of water flowing from the crevices of the rocks, filling pools.

"I'd been looking at oil paintings of Pamukkale for ages, and now I've finally seen the real Cotton Castle!"

Agnes walked toward Cotton Castle, surrounded by her maids.

Vitus did not follow the chattering crowd, but walked alone to the hillside. The grass was sun-dried to a yellowish-green, like a wide and soft carpet. A few wild olive trees stood crookedly on the slope, their branches and leaves sparse.

He sat under the largest olive tree, where the shade was thin and sunlight filtered through the leaves, and unknowingly fell asleep.

When he came to his senses, he found Agnes sitting beside him, gazing at a small flock of Merino sheep in the distance.

"How does it feel? Is this the scene you imagined?"

Agnes nodded slightly. "It's alright."

After a month and a half vacation, Vitus returned to Constantinople and received two messages from the Indian Ocean:

Portugal ceased hostilities.

Demetrius passed away.

Although Vitus and Demetrius have never had a good relationship, a sense of indescribable sadness still lingers.

A few days later, news came from the north that Hunyadi had passed away.

The series of obituaries depressed Vitus, and he became increasingly indifferent to politics, losing his enthusiasm and vitality.

The people of Constantinople did not react much to this. They were used to the emperor's reclusive lifestyle and generally believed that he was just conserving his energy, like a tiger dozing in a cave, which would come out to hunt after a while and leave its prey covered in blood.

There was no unusual activity from the outside world. Although there were rumors of Vitus's death or retirement, no one dared to act rashly until the news was confirmed.

Move.

Uzun Hassan repeatedly sent envoys to Constantinople, requesting that a peace treaty be signed, following the precedent set by the Sasanian Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire, so that trade could be established thereafter.

White Sheep's request was rejected every time.

The Eastern Roman Empire obtained far more goods from the Red Sea - Indian Ocean than through the Persia route, and even though it was cut off from the Persia region for a long time, it did not affect the overall Trade pattern within the country.

Wladyslaw III had no interest in the Balkans, and the two sides maintained a peaceful coexistence along the Danube.

On one occasion, when he went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Vitus hosted this guest on his return journey.

According to a Poland attendant, the emperor appeared to be in good condition, showing no signs of madness or being bedridden.

Charles VII faced even more troubles, and as he approached his later years, his relationship with his Dauphin, Louis, deteriorated further.

Finally, Louis fled to the territory of the Duke of Burgundy. The king was in a state of high anxiety for a long time, fearing that Louis would plot against him.

With the political situation in the Court unstable, France lost its motivation for foreign expansion and was even less likely to intervene in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Over time, the Eastern Roman Empire adapted to this environment of "all foreign tribes submitting and peace prevailing within the country."

Day after day, year after year, the Sea of Sea of Marmara relentlessly washes over the coast, sweeping away memories of war and famine. This has continued for so long that most people have come to believe it is the norm in the world.

On a quiet evening, the emperor died in the Blachernae Palace. Some were filled with fear and unease, while others felt relieved, believing that a great weight had been cast over them.

The dark clouds have dispersed, and a new era has begun.

Thanks to the administrative system and army he left behind, this peace lasted for decades. Many people never saw the flames of war in their lives, were born in peace, and died in peace. The Eastern Roman Empire rightfully enjoyed Vitus's legacy, as if it were a long and never-ending beautiful dream.

(The main text ends here. The side story will be released on October 1st. The update frequency and schedule will remain the same as before.)