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Anno Domini 826, December-17
we moved through a long corridor that stretched across the palace, and the emperor walked at a slow pace while I quickly placed myself at his side
''So you are León's recommendation… he always spoke of a very… strange mercenary, since we usually deal with foreign mercenaries, and it was interesting to hear about a Roman mercenary'' said the emperor as he placed his hands behind his back
''That I know Skleros, yes, but I have no idea what he recommended me for'' I replied sincerely
''Ha, ha… I suppose he wanted to spare you the details… perhaps for the same reason he so stubbornly refused to give me your name and where to find you, since over the last few months he had been asking me favors for a mercenary. He wanted to send you to Sicily and give you a high post in the army, the rank of tourmarches, to help with a rebellion by a traitor, but it was resolved before that. Skleros rarely asks for favors, which is unusual'' he said with a faint smile
''To spare me the headache of politics, I suppose, right?'' I asked sincerely
''Exactly… that is what caught my attention… usually, after a great achievement, like capturing an important noble, men become…'' said the emperor, stopping as he placed a hand on his chin and thought
''Hungry for glory?'' I asked as we walked
''Exactly… but on three different occasions you helped reduce damage, and if Skleros had not told me, I would not even have known…'' said the emperor
''Hmm… I sent him a gift a few months ago, a set of armor that I made myself… did it not reach you my Basileus Rhōmaiōn?'' I asked, stopping as we walked
''Like that armor?'' he said, pointing at my plate cuirass
''No… it was lamellar armor, but with leather coverage and joined by rivets. It is more resistant than other types of armor… some of my bodyguards wear it, but… well, they were not allowed to accompany me'' I replied with a grimace
''Someone must have kept it… armor like the one you describe must be worth more than a year's wages… so it may have been lost along the way. It was not an official gift… this place is full of traitors'' said the emperor
''Terrible news, when spoken by the emperor of the Romans'' I replied
''Iconodules and Paulicians supported Thomas, and many here shared sympathies with the traitor… even when my intention was to try to resolve this conflict. But most people worry more about insignificant matters than about our enemies, who surround us on all sides'' said the emperor, as we were barely walking anymore
''Sometimes people look for any excuse to invent problems and profit from them'' I replied, nodding
''Do you know how I came to power?'' asked the emperor
''I know you were not born in the purple… so the only viable option… was by force'' I replied confidently
''Yes… my friend… the former emperor… was one of those you describe… he used religion as a weapon, attacking the iconodules, with the Bulgarians at our gates, the Sarakenoi on the other side, our possessions in Italy dwindling, and the idiot decides to create problems at home… with the support of the army I took power, even though my plot failed… when the soldiers supported me, that is how I met Skleros… a loyal and good friend, and a great part of why we are still standing is because of him, since he is also a good commander and has an eye for recognizing talent'' said the emperor, nodding and looking at me intently
''That is why I am here, right?'' I replied
The emperor nodded
''As you can understand… with already two rebellions trying to remove me from power, I have… my reservations about giving power to a strategos I do not know personally… since you never know when someone might use an army to try to depose you by force… many of my most trusted strategoi have been recommended by Skleros: the strategos of Thessaloníkē, Hellas, Opsíkion, Optimátoi… every time Skleros recommends someone, it is because they will be of help… unfortunately Skleros has run dry; either when he finds someone, he keeps them for himself, or they die in combat'' said the emperor, gesturing for us to continue walking
we kept walking and the emperor raised his hand
''But this is where you come in… on several occasions he offered you positions of power in the army to test you… but you rejected them multiple times… you said you would only leave the mercenary life if I gave you the post of tourmarchēs, which is a huge leap… I would almost be throwing my own military career overboard if I gave you that rank, since it took me decades to reach it… so that is my question: why did you reject the post?'' said the emperor
''At first I had problems with an Armenian named Grigor… my father and he are very good friends and he is a droungarios, and the Bulgarians almost killed us… because he took too long to respond to the threat of a Bulgarian raid. I did not want to follow his orders, and because of that I decided to become a mercenary to defend my smithy… and well, I got lucky'' I replied as we walked
''And now why do you still refuse?'' asked the emperor
''Responsibility… I have read the Strategikon… logistics, morale, equipment, food, scouts, camp, water, diseases, spies, terrain, climate, wages, and the worst of all… politics… whereas as a mercenary… crush the enemy, loot, food, distribute the spoils… if you ask me, the second is much easier'' I replied, listing all the problems of holding rank in the army
''Yes, I understand you… politics are terrible. My son enjoys them… but I do not… well… the reason I have you here, Basil, is that we have already launched two invasions against Crete. We must recover the island, since the sea has not been safe since the Sarakenoi took it; moreover, they are selling the population en masse into slavery to the Abbasids.
''They do not stop attacking our merchant ships, and this is weakening our lines to Italy… both invasions failed, and in one of them the strategos died… as you can understand, no one I trust wants to lead, and I will not give the post to someone ambitious or hungry for power… the moment he achieves a victory he will want to become emperor… like the traitor of Sicily who is currently hiding in Africa'' said the emperor, and finally we reached large doors that the guards opened
Listening to the great chaos beyond, we reached a gallery from which the Hippodrome could be seen, and the chariot races were visible while the crowd screamed like madmen
''Stand beside me,'' said the emperor as he took his seat, and I moved to the position he indicated, standing at his left
''It is strange that people refuse to carry out an attack; it is the most direct way… to become someone, isn't it?'' I asked, leaning slightly toward the emperor
''Yes… if we had the numbers, believe me… the third attempt required gathering fifteen thousand men… sixty transport ships and forty dromons… with everything the themata can provide, we managed to gather eight thousand men, ten transport ships, and forty dromons,'' said the emperor while watching the race
''I notice a very clear difference in numbers, both in men and in ships,'' I said while also watching the chariot race
''That is why everyone is refusing; no one wants to destroy their military career, since we could not gather more. The strategoi have gathered everything they can without endangering their defenses against pirates and along the borders… I cannot demand men from all the maritime themata for a campaign whose victory I cannot guarantee… so Skleros and I reviewed our options, and we needed someone willing to be the leader of the expedition and, above all, to finance it,'' said the emperor, looking directly at me
''I see… and by finance it, do you mean everything? supplies, ships, soldiers, equipment?'' I said, already calculating how costly this imperial request would be
''As I understand it, you acquired a considerable fortune in Bulgaria; the supplies, at least for the first three months of the campaign, will be covered by me. We returned one of that Bulgarian's sons in exchange for a sum of gold to finance part of the expedition… what we need most are the ships, since we have no way to transport the troops, and I cannot simply requisition merchant vessels given how dangerous the seas are now… the soldiers arm themselves, as stipulated in the themata contracts. The idea is that you provide the ships and see if you can gather the men,'' said the emperor, applauding as the winner was announced
''That… is expensive…'' I said thoughtfully
''It is, but given everything that is happening, this may be the last opportunity in several years to retake the island… I am no longer young… I am old now… and what I once could do easily has become increasingly difficult; and the gold in the treasury must be used by my son to pay for and buy the loyalties he will need to remain in power, so continuing the campaign is very difficult,'' said the emperor
''Honestly, I do not know… I can secure the resources and the ships; many merchants are favoring land routes over maritime ones, so I could obtain them cheaply, and I can secure the soldiers and equipment… but commanding a naval battle and so many men… that will be difficult,'' I said hesitantly
''Officially you will be in command, but of course we will assign an experienced commander; what I am asking for is primarily the funds and the men, since Skleros told me you could obtain them,'' said the emperor as another race began
''I have a thousand trained men… I can easily gather another thousand who know how to fight… if I act quickly, I could gather another five hundred, but that is what I can mobilize; I would need more time… but my question, and I believe it has nothing to do with your fear of someone hungry for power, is: what do I gain from all this?'' I finally asked
''Glory and prestige,'' he said seriously, before bursting into laughter. ''Ha, ha, ha… even I do not believe that… Skleros told me you wanted land, since some of your mercenaries were drawn to it… and Crete, if reconquered, will have a great deal of land available, especially now that it may be severely depopulated due to the mass enslavement of its population… so you may be interested in having an island in your name… of course, you will have to protect it afterward,'' he said with a smile, before turning his attention back to the race
''I need one more thing: protection for my Varangian friends… many of the men I will bring are varangoi and they are pagans… you could do something about that; I would not want problems over them. They are loyal warriors,'' I said to the emperor
The emperor looked at me for a moment. ''Honestly, that does not concern me; as a general, I appreciate having warriors who are willing and, above all, loyal… if they do not change sides in the middle of a battle, that is excellent… I know the patriarch may be more troublesome regarding the use of pagans… but even he understands that he cannot forbid much when we are surrounded by pagans on land and at sea; if they kill the enemies of the empire, they are welcome…'' said the emperor dismissively
''Very well… then I will return home and see if it is feasible to finance this,'' I said, already thinking about how to hire the men the expedition still lacked
''No, Basil… you must decide today… the decision cannot be delayed any longer… or I will have to disband the army… we must strike the pirates now,'' said the emperor seriously
''In winter? you want to conduct a military campaign in winter?'' I said, raising an eyebrow
''It is the correct decision… in winter the Sarakenoi are more active; they leave their bases in Crete and raid the seas… if you manage to move unnoticed, you will find the pirates dispersed, with little resistance; you might even retake the fortress of Heraklion by assault if you find it lightly defended… our spies indicate that the Sarakenoi have around fifteen thousand men if all are gathered in their bases… there is no way to expel them like that,'' said the emperor
''Yes… that makes sense… but then I would need… a loan,'' I said, looking at him
the emperor narrowed his eyes and studied me. ''Why? you have enough to finance this campaign and cover what is missing,'' said the emperor
''Yes… but not here… it is in Ainos… it would take me four days to go and return with the resources, and losing four days would not be ideal… I should take advantage of the moment to attempt recruitment, even if they are inexperienced; numbers can influence enemy decisions, buy equipment, try to secure some physicians, purchase supplies and ships… if I had my funds, or rather, if I had been informed of the nature of this request, I would have brought my wealth with me, but I did not know… therefore, I need access to gold and silver coinage now… of course, I will repay it as soon as I return to Ainos; with the imperial fleet I will send a ship loaded with silver ingots to reimburse it, my Basileus Rhōmaiōn,'' I replied
the emperor began to smile. ''Now I understand why León likes you; you are very quick-minded… you will be a great general… a new Belisarius, perhaps? I do not know, and I doubt I will live long enough to find out… I hope my son can be a new Justinian and that you will be his Belisarius, since I tried, and well, without education, there was little I could do… León was my Belisarius, though I could not give him everything he asked to save the empire… take whatever you need from the imperial treasury… as long as you can repay it…'' said the emperor, motioning for me to withdraw with his hand, followed by a murmur among the officials
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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