bookandnovel Chapter 844: Karakhitan Emperor
Chapter 844: Karakhitan Emperor
Chapter 844: Karakhitan Emperor
"Is there anyone else who wants to visit later?"
Lothar looked at Fulin. As far as he knew, Fulin had the most living relatives among all the followers.
"Forget it. I've only been away from home for over a year. I haven't had time to miss them yet."
Fulin shrugged. "Besides, I have nothing to say to my old man. It takes him at least several decades to sleep. Maybe he hasn't noticed that I have run away from home yet."
Losa felt relieved. That was true. For vampires, who were immortal and would often lie in coffins for more than ten years, it was normal for their feelings to be indifferent to each other.
He turned to look at the Candle Knight who was standing calmly: "What about you? Do you want to have a good chat with the Elector?"
"Forget it."
Viviana was a little hesitant. She would rather visit the German Emperor if she had the chance, as she had seldom met him since they were young and his father was very strict when they did meet, which had never allowed her to experience what fatherly love was.
As for everyone else.
Most of them have no ties in their original world, otherwise they would not have been recruited to the other world by just one word from Lothar.
The Voice of Babel is not only for the followers to visit their relatives, it is actually a tool for Lothar to recruit followers from the world of yesterday's battleships in a targeted manner, reducing the randomness of his usual card draws.
The effect is actually very big.
For example, when recruiting a four-star, it makes a huge difference for Lothar whether to call for a combatant or a technical talent who specializes in making farm tools.
The former is almost useless to Lothar now, but the latter is worth a fortune.
At this time, the sky was already turning white.
The scope of this palace coup was not large, but the impact it caused was by no means small. That night, nearly half of the middle and high-level nobles in Constantinople who could be seen in the limelight died.
This is a good thing and a bad thing.
The death of so many nobles meant the weakening of the entire aristocratic class.
The military strength of the empire will certainly be greatly affected. No matter how useless those aristocratic officers are, they cannot be replaced by simply promoting a civilian or foreign mercenary.
According to the imperial inheritance law, their Pronia estates would only be inherited by nobles who were originally not eligible for inheritance and had less education.
However, a number of military positions monopolized by the Komnenos family will also be freed up. It would be a good thing if the empress could take this opportunity to nationalize a large amount of Pronia real estate, implement military reforms, and break the aristocratic families' monopoly on key military and political positions.
"Okay, whoever wants to use it can use it. I have to go to Galata on the other side to meet with those Crusader lords."
...
While Lothar quelled the Third Crusade, far away in the Transoxiana region of Central Asia, a team from the Levant also stepped into the whirlpool of history.
Camel bells jingle and trees are green.
Thousands of soldiers drove pack animals along the Silk Road.
The place they were heading to now was Samarkand, the capital of Hezhong Prefecture in the Karakhitan State.
The team was flying the Holy Flame Flag and was well-equipped. Along the way, the bandits that were rampant in Central Asia were frightened by the military might and they all stopped and dared not show their heads.
At the front of the team, Ivan rode on a Persian horse, looking at the fertile land in the river with a look like a hungry wolf with green eyes: "It is worthy of being called the fertile land in the river. Not only is the land fertile, but there are so many caravans coming and going. In this day, I don't know how much money I can make just by setting up checkpoints and collecting tariffs."
"Only if you can hold off the Tatars on your own."
Baron Fulk standing by was now wearing a full set of Elanshahr's iron chain mail with a Persian flavor, with a lath armor similar to that of the ancient empire on the outside, and his mount was also covered with gorgeous scale armor.
Ivan's adventurous plan was successful. Not only did they take all the wealth in the delegation into their own hands, they also gave part of the money as a gift to the King of Kings and used the other part as military supplies.
The few nails that Saladin had planted were easily pulled out and replaced with his own confidants.
Now, this motley crowd sent to them by Saladin has been completely controlled by Ivan.
"Don't pour cold water on me like that. I'm just looking forward to it. Look, we have money and connections now. Even the King of Kings doesn't look down on us and has awarded us the title of cavalry commanders."
"But we still don't have time to train these soldiers."
Fulk frowned and said that according to Ivan's plan, it would be best to obtain the power to supply, train and even recruit local soldiers in a territory somewhere in Elanshahr through bribery. However, the King of Kings obviously did not want to have another warlord under his control, so he simply rejected this request.
They were also ordered to leave the country as soon as possible to support the Kara Khitan Kingdom, which had suffered a series of disastrous defeats and even the royal court in its capital Husiwoerduo was occupied by the Tatars.
Ivan's enthusiasm remained undiminished. "He also said that we should prove our abilities first. Once we win a few battles, the King of Kings will surely realize our value."
Fulk admired Ivan for this: no matter when or where he was, he was always enthusiastic about the future: "I hope so."
Ahead, a magnificent city appeared before them.
Ivan shouted excitedly, "Brother, we are here, Samarkand, the largest city in Central Asia. I have a feeling that this is where we two brothers will become famous. Sooner or later, we will become as prominent as Losar, Saladin, and Sassanid King!"
At this time, in the court of Samarkand.
The Khitan Emperor, Gur Khan, the Khan of Khans - Yelu Zhilugu was at this time hosting a banquet in the palace, indulging in sensual pleasures, as if the loss of the capital had not dampened his appetite at all.
"Great Khan, Elanshahr's reinforcements have arrived, and their messengers are waiting outside."
Li Siye suppressed his disgust and glanced at the Khan who had ascended to the throne. His ancestors were members of the Guiyi Army who had stayed in the Western Regions during the Tang Dynasty. Now he was a general under the Khitans, but his position was not high.
There were actually quite a few Han people in Western Liao. In addition to the Tang people left behind by the Guiyi Army, there were also Han people from the Northern Dynasties who followed Yelu Dashi to migrate westward when the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty. The total number was about 100,000.
However, compared with the Western Liao's own "Khitans" and the Uighurs who had considerable power in the local area and whom the Liao Dynasty needed to rely on, the status of the Han people was much lower. They could generally only serve as civil servants without real power. If they were appointed to military positions, they were often only deputy positions and it was difficult for them to command an army alone.
He didn't expect that at this time, the Khan still had the mind to indulge in sensual pleasures. He didn't want to fight back to the capital and recover his homeland. He, Li Siye, still wanted to return to his hometown and reunite with his wife, daughter and relatives.
It is said that the Tatars are cruel and often massacre people in the city. I don’t know whether my own fortress has been invaded by the Tatars.
"Make them wait!"
Yelu Zhilugu said impatiently.
It was Empress Xiao beside him who was slightly moved and hurriedly reminded him: "The country is in danger now. The Tatar bandits' generals, Zhebei and Subutai, have led 20,000 troops westward. Although Elanshahr has a grudge against our country, it is better not to treat our guests with disrespect at this critical moment."
Yelu Zhilugu was stunned for a moment, and said unhappily: "Since the queen has said so, let them come in quickly."
Western Liao still maintained the tradition of Yelu and Xiao ruling the world together. Empress Xiao had spoken, and even if Yelu Zhilugu was impatient, he had to give her face.
Li Siye responded and went out to report.
The appearance of the envoy was very different from theirs. Li Siye often dealt with Hu people, but this was the first time he had seen such a Hu person. He must have seen that even their blood was not pure enough, so they could only be called "mixed Hu people".
"The Khan is waiting for you inside."
Ivan and Fulk were stripped of their weapons and walked into the hall.
They raised their heads and looked at the man sitting high in the hall. He looked rather ordinary, with a strange shaved head and a tuft of hair hanging in front of each ear. He looked no different from those ordinary Khitan warriors.
This person must be the ruler of the Kara Khitan Kingdom, Yelu Zhilugu.
"How many reinforcements did the King of Elanshahr send?"
The Khitan emperor spoke in a rather arrogant tone.
Ivan raised his eyebrows, wondering if he had misunderstood the purpose of this trip. Were we the reinforcements, or were these Khitans the reinforcements? "Khitan Khan, the reinforcements we brought with us include 5,000 armored soldiers and more than 2,000 auxiliary soldiers."
Yelu Zhilugu frowned and said, "Li Siye, tell me, what is the level of the Persian reinforcements?"
His confident look made Ivan suspicious - could it be that the Khitan king, who had lost his capital and fled westward in panic, had some hidden cards to fight against the Tatars?