Chapter 570: Old But Steady
"O miserable Romans, why will ye abandon the truth? and why, instead of confiding in God, will ye put your trust in the Italians?"
- Fall In the East — The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon, Chap 68
Giovanni’s tactics did show some effect, as more and more Thomas’ men started coming out of their hideouts in the church and surrendered to the rebels, gulping down buckets after buckets of fresh water.
The Ecumenical Patriarch, Gennadius II Scholarius, came to the Hagia Irene today too, with his crowd of bishops and clergies demanding to see both Giovanni and Thomas Palaiologos. Which is kind of expected, as who on Earth will want to have a few hundreds of armed men with heavy weaponry crowded over the streets next to his house in an armed confrontation with the possibility of causing a bloodshed with every passing minute. It is part of his responsibility too as the Ecumenical Patriarch, the de jure mentor and master of the Christian world, to come down to the spot and calm both sides down.
The Ecumenical Patriarch visited Giovanni’s troopers camped near the Augustaton, conducted a mess for all the soldiers resting in the camp site, comforted the refugees, and expressed his concerns towards the confrontation between both sides, ending his visit by emphasising on the importance of Hagia Irene as both a Religious and Cultural landmark for all Romans and Christians, and only left the spot after Giovanni promising him again and again that not even a brick of Hagia Irene shall be damaged, he has gotten all of the actions under his control.
Gennadius II Scholarius is a smart person no doubt, for he did not raise a single political question related to this coup, such as which political faction is he on, where is Demetrios Palaiologos, and what kind of motive he has by his actions. They are all smart people, and it is better for them to keep this session happy for both sides to avoid some further... misunderstandings that would result in another clash inside the city. The Ecumenical Patriarch also realised that without water Thomas’ men would not be able to hold for long, and it would be a very wise move for him to pick the side of the winner and corporate for the new order, that is how this church survived through numerous wars and strives throughout the thousands of years.
The Ecumenical Patriarch only had one humble request for Giovanni Giustiniani, that is to end the civil conflict as soon as possible for the sake of God, for that he is willing to meet Thomas Palaiologos inside the church and arrange for a peace talk between both sides.
Giovanni agreed after pondering for a while.
Brothers from the same household getting into a conflict for way too long will only let create a disunity within us, let the outsiders see their weakness and create a potential chance for outside threats to prowl on the city. Do note that Constantinople has never been safe, she has already severely upset Abbas Pasha of Bulgaria during their crusade for Mesembria a few years back, and the Ottoman Sultan is still there watching over there in Edirne watching over their every single movement, and most importantly, the Zaganos Pasha of Anatolia who have never been heard for years dealing with the Mamluk expansion in Asia Minor and Syria, but no one will deny that this man will turn back to Constantinople without any hesitation if he smells blood.
The maritime security of Constantinople has never been this bad ever since the catastrophic defeat of Antonius De ’Ricci’s defeat off the coast of Epirus suffering the bulk of his combat fleet that needs years to rebuild. The maritime states who were once not considered a real threat to the city, like the Venetians and the Genoese off the coast of the Aegean, are now increasing their privateer activities off the shores once again. The Venetians had a long-lived ambition to devour up the Basileuousa, and the Genoese will surely increase their bargain if the conflict goes on for too long.
So lets hear what the old clergy has to say to Thomas.
The Ecumenical Patriarch stood before the Hagia Irene facing the dome, and shouted out with his hoarse voice towards the guards with their crossbows. "I! The Ecumenical Patriarch, archbishop of Constantinople, Primus inter pares, would like to have a word with the Sebastokratōr, born in the purple, Despotēs of Morea!"
There came no reply from the mighty church standing upright before him, the only thing that changed is only a dozen more guards turning up off the windows and roof with crossbows in their hands, pointing right towards the old man standing alone in the square with his disciple.
The Ecumenical Patriarch sees no fear in his eyes facing these dozens of arrow heads pointing at him glistering under the suns, he raised his staff mid-air and shouted once more. "Sons of God! Followers of Christianity! Would you be pleased to convey the message of an old man here for peace to your sovereign! It is best for us to lay down our arms and talk!"
But yet there came no reply from the church.
Just as the old man is still standing down there under the sun against the cold of late February waiting for a reply, he saw the guards upstairs talking within themselves. The old man could not hear what are these men talking about, but the disciple standing right beside him had a stern face the moment he managed to get an ear on a part of their conversation. He instantly approached the Ecumenical Patriarch and whispered in an agitated tone. "Your All holiness, these people are not Romans! They are Turks!"
The Ecumenical Patriarch twitched his lips as his eyes gradually turned cold. It is a common practise for noblemen, especially royalties to have a personal army to safeguard one’s safety in these era of chaos despite the law banning such behaviours, but that is acceptable to him so he has kept a blind eye on this kind of matters ever since his take over as the Ecumenical Patriarch, but taking large quantity of Turks into the city is another thing.
There has been a tradition for both sides of civil wars since thousands of years ago to recruit barbarians into their forces in order to gain an upper hand against their opponent. It is a part of the old Roman traditions, and that is exactly one of the things that worries the Ecumenical Patriarch the most.
The Romans often not blame themselves on their wrong doings that caused the collapse of the empire as they often associate the states down fall with outside threats, though they hardly ever reflected on why they are still so vulnerable against these threats.
One of the things they blame the most, is people bring Ottoman Turks willingly into Roman lands, especially after that devastating civil war between the two Johns of Palaiologos, with both sides promising more and more land and wealth towards these outsiders letting them gain their foothold here on the lands of Europa. Ever since that civil war, letting Ottoman Turks into the city has been totally forbidden ever since by Constantine XI as it would bring a tremendous uproar with the citizens who had never felt save with Ottoman cavalries roaming outside the walls every single day.
But today here and now, Thomas Palaiologos broke the firm laws set by his very own brother whom he claimed to have inherited.
"What do we do, yours all holiness?" The disciples asked the Ecumenical Patriarch nervously. These Turks here is definitely incapable of communicating with them, and this will inevitably increase the chance of misunderstandings leading to a complete tragedy.
"We shall stay." The old patriarch remained calm. "We came here for the sole purpose of peace, and that goal will fail the moment we choose to back off from here. We need to let all the citizens see the church’s determination for peace, and we need to let all the factions know that they can still believe in the church during this times of trouble, for we are always on the neutral side maintaining stability and order in this doomed country."
"Yes, your all holiness..."
"If you are afraid, my child, memorise the words of the Chronicles, especially Chronicles 28:20."
"Dixit quoque David Salomoni filio suo viriliter age et confortare et fac ne timeas et ne paveas Dominus enim Deus meus tecum erit et non dimittet te nec derelinquet donec perficias omne opus ministerii domus Domini..."
The Ecumenical Patriarch continued standing there, like a statue, with his grey moustache moving alongside with the wind. His shadows slowly moved from his right to his left, but he is still there, standing firmly between these two groups of armed men.
One might have doubts and questions on the faith, but at this point of time, not a single person has negative feelings towards this old man who is representing the faith.
