Under internal and external difficulties, in order to maintain her rule, Irina had to agree to the conditions proposed by Zhao Ziliang and cede all islands in the Mediterranean, excluding islands in the Aegean Sea, Sea of Marmara, Adriatic Sea and other waters, and ordered all islands The defenders evacuated as quickly as possible and transferred sovereignty to the Western Qin Army.
The Western Qin army withdrew and returned to the east of the border between the two sides on the Asia Minor Peninsula before the New Year.
Returning to the Western Qin territory, the army had sufficient supplies to keep out the cold and was able to rest and recuperate.
Irina also got a chance to breathe, and she paid a huge price for it.
The inner lake of the Mediterranean no longer belonged to the Eastern Roman Empire, and the empire's naval fleet could only huddle in the Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea and Marma Lahai and other sea areas.
This dispatch of troops by the Western Qin State caused a huge military blow to the Eastern Roman Empire.
The Eastern Roman Empire's army suffered heavy losses.
More than 80% of the troops originally stationed in the Asia Minor Peninsula were lost.
Only a part of the army that still persisted in Armenia was in Nisei.
Under the leadership of Frus, they still insisted on fighting against the Western Qin army led by Wei Gao However, after the peace talks between the two sides ended, Wei Gao received an order to lead his army to withdraw to the Western Qin Kingdom.
Nicephorus' pressure suddenly decreased, and he quickly restored the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire in Armenia, while other areas of the Asia Minor Peninsula almost became a power vacuum. , some remaining stragglers came out to claim kingship and hegemony after the Western Qin army withdrew.
Constantinople, Golden Council Palace.
Irina was sitting on the throne wearing a crown and purple robe.
The ministers below stood up one after another to report the extent of the losses of the entire empire after the war.
There was a military general among the ministers.
He was Baldanis, who had surrendered to Zhao Ziliang before.
Although he had surrendered to Zhao Ziliang, Irina did not dare to hold him responsible for the defeat.
Zhao Ziliang led his troops to withdraw and released him.
Also released were 20,000 Eastern Roman soldiers.
These soldiers and officers were afraid of being held accountable by the empire, so they rallied tightly around Baldanis.
Therefore, Baldanis also had scruples about Irina wanting to touch him.
Dare to strike casually.
At this time, Bardanis's 20,000 troops were stationed in Constantinople, and they were also the largest army stationed here.
This posed a great threat to Irina's rule.
It was Bardanis's turn to speak.
He stood up and saluted Irina: "Your Majesty, your Majesty, this defeat is my fault.
I cannot absolve myself of the blame.
I ask your Majesty to punish you."
Irina really wanted to order Baldanis to be taken out and beheaded, but she knew she couldn't do this.
Once Baldanis was beheaded, his soldiers would worry that their heads would not be saved, and there would definitely be trouble.
It's a big mess, and with the troops she can now attack, there's no way she can stop these beasts.
Irina had to put on a pleasant face and said: "This time the Western Qin Kingdom suddenly sent troops to attack our country.
We were unprepared.
In less than a month, the Western Qin army reached Constantinople.
The general was also ordered to rush into battle in the face of danger. , it is normal to lose to the Western Qin Army.
This is not the general’s fault, it is my fault.
I will apologize to the subjects of the world later.
Now we should discuss the aftermath.
I wonder if you adults have any good ideas."
Baldanis immediately stood up and said: "Dear His Majesty the Emperor, even though Your Majesty just said that the defeat in this battle was not my fault, I still believe that I have an unshirkable responsibility for the defeat against Zhao Ziliang.
In order to forgive me, , I ask your Majesty to allow me to lead the army to Asia Minor to fight bandits, recruit stragglers, restore the empire's rule over Asia Minor, and let the authority of Her Majesty the Great Queen penetrate into every town and village."
Chief Minister Gritsis immediately understood Bardanis' intention and immediately stood up and objected: "Your Majesty, the people in Constantinople are now scattered, mobs are rioting everywhere, the public security environment is extremely poor, and the morale of the army is also unstable. , it is precisely when a deterrent general like Baldanis is needed to take charge, General Baldanese cannot be transferred.
Without his deterrence, some unruly people will jump out to oppose His Majesty. rule and undermine the stability of the empire.
I suggest that your majesty can order the Armenian military district general General Nicephorus to lead the army to restore the empire's rule over the Asia Minor peninsula, and rebuild the military districts.
General Nicephorus still has 20,000 people. army, and they are all warriors who have fought against the Western Qin Army.
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They have rich combat experience and huge intimidation power, which is enough to deter those shameless people who want to become kings and hegemons on the Asia Minor Peninsula."
Irina deeply agreed and nodded: "Master Gritsis is right.
In order to alleviate domestic and international crises, we had to reluctantly cede all the islands in the Mediterranean to the Western Qin Kingdom.
Now our defense lines are almost everywhere.
Air leakage, and there are also domestic There are many people who oppose me.
These people have ulterior motives and do not care about the safety of the empire and its subjects.
They only think about their own interests.
Therefore, General Bardanis is still needed here.
With you in Constantinople, I Then you can sit back and relax.”
Baldanis is also a person with family background and status, and he is not sure that he can change the dynasty in Constantinople.
Therefore, before he has the absolute strength to oust Irina, he feels that he cannot be safe and can only deal with Irina.
She had to compromise to a certain extent and could not openly oppose her, so she said helplessly: "Since Your Majesty thinks that my staying in Constantinople is more powerful for the empire, I will obey His Majesty's order and stay in Constantinople."
Irina breathed a sigh of relief and immediately said: "Immediately give an order to Nicephorus and let him lead the army to restore the empire's rule over the Asia Minor Peninsula.
Constantinople will later send officials there to handle administration, taxation, and commerce." , agriculture and other matters, if the original local officials are still alive, as long as they have not openly surrendered to the Western Qin, they can be retained as appropriate."
"Yes, Your Majesty" After the ministers dispersed, Constantinople Mayor Cotesim stayed.
Irina asked: "Cotesim, do you have anything else to do?"
Cortsim took out a letter and said: "Your Majesty, when Baldanis was in charge of the Anatolia Military Region, he had a general named Leo.
Leo was a young man, but very talented in military affairs.
He served in the Western Qin Dynasty.
During the army's attack on Asia Minor, although his army was defeated, it was still able to retain a considerable number of troops and retreat to the Taurus Mountains to resist, causing great losses to the Western Qin army's logistics supply line.
This was a gift sent by Leo Your Majesty’s Letter of Allegiance” "Leo" Irina was a little lost and lost her composure.
It's no wonder that her dead husband was named Leo.
Now suddenly the name of a young general named Leo came into her ears.
How could she not be aroused?
Where are the memories This is also due to the fact that naming children in the Western world is a bit strange.
Especially aristocrats and aristocratic families like to use the names of famous people when naming their children.
There are countless examples of grandfathers having the same name as their grandsons, and grandsons having the same names as their grandfathers.
Although such naming has a certain commemorative significance, it is too difficult to distinguish, and there are very few names that can be given in the West, just a few dozen.
Therefore, there are too many duplicate names, which also results in many famous people.
All have the same name.
These are just famous people.
There are not many unknown people with the same name among the people.
You must know that in ancient China, especially after the Tang and Song dynasties, names were based on seniority.
People with a certain status still had prefixes.
With the small population base at that time, there were not many people with the same name. , even if there is, they are not the same family, nor the same ancestors, because there is such a thing as a genealogy, and the genealogy has to be compiled every ten or twenty years, and there are still many people who do not use the family name, and some people use the word , Hao Xingshi.
In the post-modern era, names based on seniority are no longer popular, and there are no characters.
People’s names have distinct characteristics of the times.
When young people name their children, they like to follow the trend and choose some pleasant names.
There are more and more people with the same name and surname.
Some names number in the hundreds of thousands nationwide.
Irina read Leo's letter of allegiance and asked: "Cortsim, do you think this person is available?"
Cortsim said: "Your Majesty, I have sent people to do some investigations.
Judging from Leo's usual words and deeds, he does not agree with the worship of icons.
He is also a newly rising military aristocrat and a speculator.
This person is very courageous and has no moral integrity, but it cannot be denied He has very good military talents.
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Moreover, Leo is very different from other military nobles.
He is not from a noble family, has no profound background, and does not have the support of complicated forces.
I think this person can be used, but for He should be temperate and defensive.”
Irina has many staunch supporters in politics, so she can turn around, but she also has a fatal weakness, that is, she lacks strong military support, and her own political ideas are incompatible with the military group The conflict of interests made her rule unstable.
"Okay, then give him a promotion and appoint him as the deputy general of the Anatolia Military Region."
"Yes, Your Majesty" Promoting from a regiment captain to a deputy general in a military region is a qualitative leap.
Countless generals in the Eastern Roman Empire were stuck at this level.
Although they were deputy generals, they were generals at the military region level after all.
Their power was definitely not that of a regimental captain.
In comparison, almost all deputy generals of a military region can be responsible for the administrative affairs of the military region or directly command two teams.
Leo also directly entered the stage of history because of this promotion.
After the peace talks, Irina began to use her hands to attack the opposition forces extremely crazily.
Her confidant General Nicephorus was transferred back to Constantinople to assist her in the fight after leading his army to regain control of Asia Minor.
Baldanis did not dare to act rashly.
The Red Party and Blue Party forces who opposed her were almost bloodbathed, but this also made her even more jealous of the Red Party and Blue Party forces.
A secret palace coup plan was underway.
Proceed quietly
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