Constantinople, Grand Palace.
Leo IV was very ill.
Since the Bulgars attacked Thrace and defeated Leo IV's army in September last year, Leo IV had suffered a great mental blow.
Later, the Bulgars When attacking Constantinople, Leo IV forced himself to mobilize troops and mobilize food and supplies from various places to defend the city.
He persisted for more than half a year, and finally forced the Bulgars to withdraw to the middle and lower reaches of the Danube River.
When the Bulgars withdrew, Leo IV could no longer hold on.
He fell ill and was very ill.
He was unable to handle state affairs at all.
Military and state affairs had to be temporarily taken over by Queen Irina.
In order to let her To be justified, Leo IV ordered that all official documents processed should be signed by Emperor Leo IV and Irina of the Eastern Roman Empire, making her His name is ranked behind him.
According to the rules, their son Constantine VI should be written after Leo IV's name, because as early as last year, Leo IV issued a decree to canonize Constantine VI.
As co-emperor, Constantine VI was too young, less than ten years old, and had no ability to handle state affairs, so he could only be replaced by his mother Irina.
In this way, Irina can legitimately sit on the emperor's throne and summon ministers to make decisions on military and state affairs.
At first, the ministers did not think that Irina had the ability to take care of the military and political affairs of the empire.
But within a few months, people in Constantinople discovered that this queen was really not a fancy figure.
Her ability to handle military and political affairs was even better than that of Leo IV.
Some ministers who despised her were driven to death by her, and they never dared to despise her again.
It was her decision to order the abandonment of Syria and Canaan and transfer most of the troops back to Constantinople.
Although she lost Syria and Canaan, she preserved 20,000 elite soldiers and scared off the Bulgars.
If these soldiers and horses are not withdrawn, these soldiers and horses will be eaten by the Western Qin sooner or later, and Syria and Canaan will not be saved.
The burden on Irina is not light.
After the Bulgars retreated, the Thrace province of the Eastern Roman Empire was desolate and the people's livelihood was in ruins.
A large number of refugees were stranded in Constantinople.
This was not the worst. , what worried Irina and the civil and military officials of the Eastern Roman Empire the most was the Western Qin's reinforcement of troops in the northwest of the Khazar Protectorate and the Persian Protectorate.
The huge military pressure once again made the Eastern Roman Empire breathless.
Angry.
You must know that the Asia Minor Peninsula is the most stable and tax-revenient region in the Eastern Roman Empire today.
Even the Greek region cannot compare.
Once the Asia Minor Peninsula falls into war, the Eastern Roman Empire will suffer devastating losses.
Although the Eastern Roman Empire There are many troops deployed on the Asia Minor Peninsula, but no one can guarantee whether they can withstand the Western Qin attack.
The situation is getting more and more serious, and Constantinople must take action.
Otherwise, once the Western Qin comes, it will be difficult to find a solution.
Irina sat on the throne with a livid face and looked at the ministers below who were silent.
She was immediately angry.
She slapped the table with her jade hand and said angrily: "There are so many ministers and they can't even think of a solution.
What's the use of you people?"
" Irina's power was growing day by day.
When the ministers were so angry by her, they were so scared that they shrank their necks.
Thinking that the ministers no longer dared to hold back, the chief judge stood up and said: "Your Highness, I think we can follow The Mahdi of the big food country united and first sent people across the Mediterranean to contact the Mahdi.
Hedi, listen to what he thinks.
If he is willing, let him send troops to contain the border of the Sinai Peninsula.
In this way, Western Qin must have some scruples and dare not attack our country casually.
The most important thing is that Mahdi and Western Qin are the same.
Enemy, he definitely wouldn’t mind joining forces with us to deal with Western Qin’s attack.”
"And Mahdi is not a fool.
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He knows that Western Qin will send troops to Egypt sooner or later.
If he wants to protect himself, he must seek foreign aid to fight against Western Qin.
We are his only choice at the moment."
Irina nodded and said: "This is a way, but the big cannibals have always regarded us as enemies.
Will they agree to join forces with us and not invite us to eat?
But we can send people over to explore Mahdi's mouth.
But this takes time.
Even if the cannibal agrees, there are still many things involved.
To truly achieve a union, many things need to be done and it will take a lot of time.
Do you have any other feasible methods?"
The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry stood up and said: "Your Highness, the Frankish Kingdom in the West has become increasingly powerful in recent years.
Their king Charman personally led the army to annex many lands and wiped out many barbarian tribes.
Even the Kingdom of Lombardy was defeated by them.
To destroy the country, King Charlemagne’s army is unstoppable.
I think we can borrow troops from King Charlemagne.”
"In addition, the Western Qin is coming fiercely.
It is a terrible nightmare for us and other surrounding kingdoms.
I think that as long as it is a place where the light of God shines, we can ask the Holy See to mediate. , unite all other countries that believe in God to fight against the Western Qin Dynasty."
Irina raised her eyebrows and said, "It's too far to ask the Frankish Kingdom to borrow troops.
Is the Frankish Kingdom willing to wade through this muddy water?"
"Your Highness, if you don't give it a try, how would you know to send someone over to test King Charlemagne's attitude and reaction?
It doesn't cost a lot of money.
It's just a question of who to send."
Irina nodded: "Well, let's send someone there.
You can discuss and choose one person.
But I'm afraid it's too late.
Now that Western Qin is increasing its troops on the border, we have more and more troops on the border of the Asia Minor Peninsula.
The garrison generals sent people back to say that the situation is very tense and a war may break out at any time.
We must think of other ways to ease the current tension before contacting the Cannibals, Franks and other forces, otherwise we will not wait until we are done.
Get ready, the people from Western Qin are coming."
The Minister of Commerce and Trade stood up and said: "Your Highness, I have a very bold way to ease the current tense situation.
I just don't know if Your Highness dares to use it."
Irina disliked the Minister of Commerce and Trade very much.
This person had always looked down on her, opposed her everywhere, and often made trouble to embarrass her.
After hearing this, she snorted in her heart, but her face remained calm, and she raised her hand and said: " Let’s talk about it” The Minister of Commerce and Trade immediately said: "The King of Western Qin should be in Jerusalem now.
We can send people to see the King of Western Qin, lobby the King of Western Qin to withdraw his troops, and re-sign a peace agreement with Western Qin.
This will not only ease the current tense border situation, but also re-establish the peace agreement."
Repair relations with Western Qin, maintain peace, and eliminate wars."
Irina was furious: "What a good idea you are doing.
I have sent people there a long time ago, but they were all blocked.
The King of Western Qin did not see our envoys at all.
If the King of Western Qin is so easy to persuade, how can it be your turn?"
Just pointing fingers here.”
The Minister of Commerce and Trade smiled and said: "Your Highness, that's because you didn't find the right person."
Irina sneered: "So you think you are the best candidate, why don't I send you there?"
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The Minister of Commerce and Trade shook his head and said: "Your Highness, if I had such eloquence, I would have stood up and asked Your Highness for help.
Others may not be able to do it.
Only two people may be able to do it, and the probability of success is more than 80%.
That is Your Majesty and Your Majesty.
Your Majesty is currently in bed, and you are the only one who can take action personally."
"How brave are you?"
Someone immediately jumped out and pointed at the Minister of Commerce and yelled, "What on earth do you think of asking the Queen to see the King of Western Qin?
Do you know how dangerous this is?
Your Highness, this person wants to harm you, please give the order."
Take him out and kill him.”
Irina stared at the Minister of Commerce and Trade with a livid face, and said nothing for a long time, but the Minister of Commerce and Trade looked calm and composed, without the slightest bit of fear.
Irina finally spoke: "Why do you think that if I go to see the King of Western Qin, I can make him withdraw his troops and sign a peace agreement with Western Qin?"
The Minister of Commerce and Trade then said: "Your Highness, I often traveled between the East and the West when I was young.
In the past twenty years, I have been to the East no less than twenty times.
I understand them.
The principles of doing things in the East are different from those in the West.
If If we send a minister to see the King of Western Qin, he will definitely not pay attention to it, but if it is His Majesty It is different from your Highness.
Your status is different from others.
Your status is equal to that of the King of Western Qin.
To a certain extent, your status is even higher than his.
After all, you are the emperor and queen in name. , and he is just a king.
But now His Majesty the Emperor is ill and cannot make the trip, so I can only feel wronged."
"It's different when Your Highness goes to see the King of Western Qin.
Your Highness is a woman.
Women are naturally in a weak position in front of men.
Any heroic man has the instinct to protect weak women, and Easterners are face-saving and respectable. , if His Highness goes to see the King of Western Qin, the King of Western Qin will not do anything that is disgraceful.
If he bullies His Highness, he will be criticized by the world, so I dare to conclude that His Highness will go without any danger.
If His Highness is worried , I can go with you.”
The consul immediately stood up and objected: "Your Highness, this is absolutely unacceptable.
There has never been a precedent for a queen of one country to meet with the king of another country for state affairs.
Are all the men in our Eastern Roman Empire dead?
Do you want a woman to do it for the safety of the empire?"
Let’s go back and forth.
Once word of this gets out, it will not only be extremely detrimental to His Highness’s reputation, but will also damage the reputation of His Majesty the Emperor and the Royal Family.”
Irina smiled bitterly and said: "Western Qin is not the Bulgar Khanate, and it is not easy to get rid of.
The army is about to attack the border.
Is it useful to worry about this now?
If Western Qin cannot retreat and cannot stop Western Qin's attack, The Eastern Roman Empire will perish in an instant, and losing some reputation is nothing compared to being a subjugated slave."
"Your Highness" The ministers were infected by her pessimistic attitude and burst into tears.
Irina gathered her mood and solemnly said to the ministers: "I have decided to immediately send someone to inform the King of Western Qin that I will go to Jerusalem to meet him.
My warship will be anchored in Beirut Port, and then go directly to His Majesty the Emperor of Jerusalem.
His condition has not improved at all, and I do not intend to tell him about this to avoid aggravating his condition.
During this period, military and political affairs are in charge of the consul
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