Chapter 575: The Last Legacy Of Constantine
Giovanni Giustinianni entered the tent where all the senators are.
The Ecumenical Patriarch is still seated up there, with a worrisome look on his face, but still squeezed a smile upon seeing the general.
Innocentius took the initiative to speak first. "Greetings, lord Giustinianni, it has indeed been a hell of a long time ever since the last time I have met you."
Giovanni looked straight into his eyes and replied. "Thank you, lord Innocentius, but may I just ask for the sake of knowing as the commander in chief regarding your presence in the city? How about your post in Mesembria?"
"I left the city to the hands of my supervisor." Innocentius replied without blinking his eyes.
Giovanni stared at his old pal with eyes of disbelief.
He knows what this meas.
Emperor Constantine made Innocentius the governor of Mesembria for a number of reasons before his death, the city of Mesembria is the results of all the decades of his hard work, reforms, with tears and blood since his ascendence to the throne. Constantine has done something that no Roman emperor has done in the last couple of decades: Taking a piece of territory back from the Ottomans. This is one of the few things that Constantine can proudly say his name in the history records stating that ’I have done this’ and hence he treasured Mesembria, by a lot.
Furthermore, he needed to show to the people in the newly recovered territory that the Roman army shall not leave them to the fate of the Ottomans again, unlike what the Roman emperors in the past have done, therefore Constantine appointed Innocentius, a high ranking official who is both experienced in government and military matters to govern Mesembria. But now, it seems like Innocentius has withdrew out of Mesembria which took the lives of so many faithful Roman soldiers to recover, just for the sake of civil strives in Constantinople.
Giovanni continued staring at Innocentius, with a cold face not saying a word. Innocentius could not bare the stare any longer, and left the tent, leaving Giovanni to the rest.
"Lord Giovanni." Germanicus greeted the general. "We have come to the conclusion with the senate and the Ecumenical Patriarch that no further shedding of Roman blood on the streets of the holy city can be allowed, you need to stop this war with lord Thomas immediately."
"Where is lord Sphrantzes." Giovanni scanned through the tent instead of answering the words of lord Germanicus.
"You shall make peace with Lord Thomas immediately!" Lord Germanicus hissed beneath his voice.
"Where is lord Sphrantzes!" Giovanni raised his voice, still not responding to the words of the former senator.
"The senate has decided! You little barbaric Lombard, you shall have peace with Lord Thomas!" Lord Germanicus continued creeping upon Giovanni as he came closer and closer, until to the point of extent that Giovanni can feel the man’s breathing on his face.
Giovanni pushed the senator off his face in rage, and shouted out once again. "WHERE IS LORD SPHRANTZES! I DEMAND TO SEE LORD SPHRANTZES! RIGHT AWAY!"
Lord Germanicus fell heavily onto the carpet, knocked his head against a hidden rock beneath the tent, and covered his head in pain, with blood sipping down his scalp. But none of the senators came to show any care or concern for their fellow colleague, instead they all hurdled around Giovanni, tied up his arms, and continued urging him to make peace with Lord Thomas.
"Lord Giovanni! You must make peace with Lord Thomas!"
"Lord Giovanni! This has already been decided by the senate! Are you going to defy the wills of the senate, and all Roman people?"
"Lord Giovanni! George Sphrantzes has already been arrested for his acts of betrayal on the state, do you wish to follow his path and be imprisoned and sentenced as well?"
"Lord Giovanni! Think about your family!"
The Ecumenical Patriarch closed his eyes in pain, refusing to see another round of chaos going on in among these lords and courtiers before his eyes.
Giovanni’s eyes dimmed upon hearing the fact that George Sphrantzes has already been imprisoned, he knows from the moment of the appearance of these senators that his coup has already been deemed unsuccessful. However, upon hearing these senators mentioning his family, the eyes of Giovanni brightened up again, with energy from an unknown source getting onto him, as he struggled to break through the ties of the guards and senators, pushing them to the sides, and wanted to pluck out the sword by his sides, only to realise that all his weapons have already been taken away by his faithful lieutenant a while ago.
The guards brought by the senators got up on their feet, and jumped onto Giovanni once again, piling up on top of him pinning down all of his limbs, and made sure that this Genoese man is totally unable to move by a single inch, then tied him up, and stuffed a piece of cloth into his mouth to shut him from all those non stop Italian curses.
"Get him up! Get him up!" Germanicus roared and ordered, with his eyes already filled with blood from that fall a while ago. "Tie him up! We are going for Hagia Irene!"
The Ecumenical Patriarch stood up, and yelled just as the gang of men is about to leave the tent. "Stop! At once! I... I shall come with you."
The senators looked at one another and persuaded the Ecumenical Patriarch. "Your All holiness, we are going to step our foot on a potential battlefield, your personal safety is of the utmost importance to us, all Romans, and all legitimate followers of Christ’s teachings.... "
"Thank you, my child." The Ecumenical Patriarch tried his best coming down his seat with no support but only his staff. "But, those people who are now starving inside the Hagia Sophia, no matter whether they are the soldiers of Thomas Palaiologos, or the nuns and priests being locked in the basement, are disciples of Christ, my fellow brothers of the same faith as well, I, as the Ecumenical Patriarch representing the three in one, the father, the son, the holy spirit, I cannot watch my fellow Christians suffer... I shall be there! Right under the Hagia Sophia! To show to Constantinople and the world that I still stands with the them, the Church still stands with them, the God still stand with them! I, as the Ecumenical Patriarch, need to go!"
Germanicus gave a peek towards Innocentius, while the later slightly nodded his head.
These people still needs the support of the Ecumenical Patriarch to make them look legitimate when they are about to take over the power of the state and assume regency. Furthermore, he believe that this old man has neither the reason nor the power to stop them in their plans.
The senators marched out of the tent, parading across the camp which is built partly on the messe, partly on the crop field, and partly on the ruins of the Great Palace that was once used as a simple of the greatness of the Roman Empire. The parade is being watched silently by a bunch of troopers hurdling on the sides, with some faces that Giovanni has never seen before, and some familiar faces who either hide themselves upon seeing their commander or looked up towards the sky pretending that they have saw nothing.
But what about the rest of the people under Giovanni’s leadership who failed to turn up today?
Only God and Innocentius know.
...
The gang of men paraded themselves to Hagia Irene, Thomas Palaiologos is already out there by the gates welcoming their arrival.
Thomas Palaiologos could no longer remain standing due to days of starvation, thirst, hallucinations and stress, but upon seeing the incomers he still stood upright and maintained the proper posture of a noble man, with all the standards and flags flying behind him. Though it seems like the two mercenaries with a Persian look do not seem to be happy holding up the two flags for their master.
Giovanni eyed the frail man before him with eyes full of hate, despise, and disgust, but the later seems to not mind at all as he comes forward with a laugh, and said. "You know, Giovanni, just a day ago I used to look at you with the exact same eyes, but now it seems like our roles have been reversed around... How should I call this, is it God’s will? I don’t know..."
Thomas started raising his voice too as that smile vanished from his face with his lips twitching from thirst, starvation and anger as he stared back at the commander. "...But the only thing I know is that you are being extremely unlucky this time commander, you have turned yourself into a trouble so deep that you cannot imagine, because you have fallen into my hands... And I, shall go for your master, George Sphrantzes, immediately after I lock you up in the deepest jail cell I have."
