Chapter 288 The Emperor's Thoughts

Mircea was about to leave, but after hearing the news about Venice, he decided to continue listening to what he said.

"Are you sure what you said is true?"

"Your Majesty, it is true. I guarantee it with my character."

Francesco said solemnly, and he also exaggerated a lot of unfounded things, such as the Duke of Burgundy in France was also interested in participating, and Venice would join forces with Aragon, etc.

Mircea's brows furrowed more and more as he listened. He did not dare to gamble with the Roman Empire, and he could not believe this 100%.

"In this case, please stay in Constantinople for the time being. The two countries need to continue negotiations to ensure peace."

Seeing that Mircea finally changed his mind, Francesco directly thanked His Majesty the Emperor for his mercy and kindness. Afterwards, Mircea urgently convened a meeting in front of the emperor to discuss Venice's preparation to attack Constantinople.

"Your Majesty, you can't trust a Genoese. They are cut from the same cloth as Venice, greedy, dishonest, and arrogant. What if it's a trap for the empire?"

"But Venice and Genoa don't get along. And their finances are not enough to fight a war. Maybe it's true?"

"Who knows if they colluded? When they formed the alliance, they must have divided the interests, and then pretended to negotiate, the purpose is to let us relax our vigilance."

This meeting is different from the past. It concerns the safety of the capital. All members discussed all possibilities. Whether it is a trap or something else, the safety of the capital must be guaranteed.

"Send some soldiers to garrison Galata, and raise the iron chain of the Golden Horn if necessary."

"Your Majesty, this is a letter sent by His Highness. It says it's about Venice."

Mircea quickly opened Peter's letter, and what it said was exactly the same as what the Genoese envoy said. It seems that this is true.

Mircea dismissed the ministers, leaving only Angel, Adrian and Nikephoros. And passed Peter's letter to them.

After they all finished reading, Mircea asked them what they thought. The Grand Vizier spoke first.

"Your Majesty, Venice is planning to repeat what happened 200 years ago, capturing Constantinople and forcing the Empire to surrender. Although it is dangerous for the Empire, it can be seen that they are about to collapse. General Nikephoros sank many of their merchant ships in the battle at sea, and their finances can no longer support it."

Angel pointed out the problem of Venice incisively. This is a maritime country based on trade. It cannot be self-sufficient in food, and the majority of its finances rely on trade. Now that Rome has disrupted its trade routes, its income will naturally decline. Venice must reopen the trade routes in the shortest possible time, so it will inevitably strike with all its strength.

"Since you want to die, let the Empire give them a great gift to accompany them on their journey."

"Your Majesty, I think it will be very difficult for Rome to stop the Venetian fleet. But if they can be led into the Propontis Sea, I am sure to annihilate them." (The Propontis Sea is the Roman name for the Sea of ​​Marmara.)

Nikiphorus' proposal aroused opposition from the Grand Chancellor, which meant that Constantinople would be used as bait to lead the enemy here. If you are not careful, the tragedy of a hundred years ago will be repeated.

"Prime Minister, the premise of the tragedy you mentioned is that there are internal responses in the city and Galata surrenders easily. Now neither of these two conditions has happened. The subjects in the city fully support the Empire's war against Venice, and His Majesty Galata has also sent heavy troops to guard it. In this way, Venice will not be captured."

Angel was still worried, but there was no better way at the moment, so he acquiesced to Nikephorus' plan. Adrian also decided to allocate part of the army to assemble in Constantinople.

After reconfirming the plan, Mircea only asked Angel to stay, and he wanted to talk to this old friend.

"Angel Iliescu, do you think the empire can win?"

Mircea had not called Angel's full name for a long time, and the prime minister did not dare to neglect it and said quickly.

"Your Majesty, you must believe in the empire and the prince. The prince has expanded a lot of land and population for the empire, and the empire's navy has also made many military achievements. You should continue to believe in the empire until the war is won."

Mircea was refreshed after hearing Angel's words. "You are right, I must believe in Peter and the navy. Venice will be completely wiped off the map like Carthage, it will definitely be."

"Yes, your majesty, but we should end the war quickly, and the subjects cannot do this for a long time."

Angel wanted to persuade Mircea to end the war quickly, but Mircea looked at him and laughed.

"The end of the war is not something that a country can control."

Such a smile made Angel cold all over, and Mircea's eyes looked like he was going to swallow him. But the emperor asked him to withdraw, and it seemed that he had lived another day under the emperor.

"It really troubles me. These ministers are always scheming to protect their own and their families' status. Isn't it, Ghika?"

A man walked out from the dark corner of the meeting room. He had a gloomy face, which made people intimidated, and he was bald.

"Your Majesty, Angel has been meeting with officials and landowners frequently recently."

"Who are they?"

"Epreanu, the son of a high-ranking official in Bucuriesti, Florescu, a wine merchant in Constantinople, and Kapu, who owns a lot of land in Sofia Province..."

The more Ghika spoke, the more Mircea felt depressed. These were all powerful political and economic figures in the empire. Angel met with them frequently to seek opportunities for his family to continue to be in the center.

"What about Listerin? Is he honest?"

"Lord Listerin has also met with many people recently, mainly officials and nobles in Anatolia."

Well, the initial struggle is about to begin. Since ancient times, how can there be peace if the ministers do not quarrel with the rulers? What Mircea has to do is to make a profit from the checks and balances and make the emperor the biggest winner.

"Keep watching them. I am very much looking forward to their next performance."

"Yes"

The old aristocratic group represented by Angel and the emerging aristocratic group represented by Listerin are competing for the highest power in the empire. As the prime minister's health is getting worse day by day, both sides are determined to win this position.

Fortunately, the struggle between the two factions did not affect the empire's war decision, otherwise Mircea would have to go on a killing spree. At the same time, they also knew that in order to obtain the position of prime minister, the emperor's order was very important. They began to be tough in foreign policy. The radicals felt that Venice must be eliminated, and the conservatives felt that it was too conservative. Rome must also be taken back, and the glory of Augustus must be restored.