Chapter 580: An Army Needs Grains
Therma Sphrantzes has never stepped foot in the city of Thessaloniki before, nor has she entered the palace of Thessaloniki where people address it as the government house before.
It is small, no doubt, as it was never designed to be the permanent home for a monarch before, it cannot be compared with the lavish palace of Blacknaraea, nor can it be compared with the palace of Porphyrogenitus, and of course it is nothing when compared with the majestic Great Palace of Constantinople, but still, despite being small it’s got all the things that it needs to have, including a grand hall, a ball room, banquet room, waiting room, rooms for various government sectors, and even a forum and a bell tower. It is widely known that the owner of Thessaloniki does not have the habit of having concubines and mistress unlike the other monarchs in Europa, and thus this small palace is enough to house all the things that is required.
Giovanni Junior grew tired of playing with the stewards while waiting and started dozing off beside his mother. While the mother, Therma, is still on her nerves as she constantly observes the environment, watching Mauro as he is talking to his old friends standing guard nearby.
The gates to the palace came wide open, Abdullah came out of the building in wide steps with the Warden behind him.
Therma immediately stood up with her son bowing down, a bit of disappointment flashed before her eyes as she saw that the incoming person is not Antonius, but immediately that disappointment is replaced with a smile.
"Madam Giustinianni, please, accept my humble apologies for not being there personally on the harbour to welcome you, we ought to hold a ceremony for your presence in the city, the grandest out of the grandest, and my apologies for my fellow men who made a terrible mistake by holding you up under the care of Warden Baron, please, accept my apologies."
"There is no need to apologise, lord Mohammad Miralai, your men are merely doing what they are supposed to do, and furthermore they have showed a great sense of loyalty to the Roman Empire and discipline, your men made me feel safe stepping foot on the soil of Thessaloniki."
For this moment, Therma Sphrantzes changed back from the role of an escaping deserter to her usual role as a prestigious noble lady, if one can ignore the grey dress with multiple wears and tears, she is wearing.
"I, on behalf of your husband’s friend, the Caesar of Imperium Romanum and the owner of the city Antonius De’Ricci, invite you, Lord Mauro and Lord Giustinianni junior into the Government House, please."
Mauro laughed as he gave the old warden a pat on the back and walked up the stairs. The little boy does not know what is going on at all as he tightly gripped the hand of his mother, nervous about the sudden presence of so many strangers, whereas Therma, on the other hand, maintained a polite grin on her face as she lifted her dress up following Abdullah up the stairs, as if those dresses are not the plain torn rugs she bought from the fishermen, but her usual violet elegant noble dress.
She knows that this is not the best time to ask Abdullah questions, and so she waited all the way until she is ushered into the guest room, had a cup of drink, and had a little chat with the various officials in the building, noting down their names by heart. As an educated woman she knows what she can do and what she should do at different times.
"By the way, Lord Miralai, do you mind telling me the whereabouts of the Caesar? I came here to seek his refuge after all those events, and I must thank him by myself."
Abdullah has already expected this question.
"The Caesar is currently not inside the city of Thessaloniki." Abdullah stared into the eyes of the lady. "I am being very frank with you, madam, the Caesar is currently being involved in a top confidential task outside of the city, and we, the people in Thessaloniki, are trying our very best to create an illusion that the Caesar is still inside the city, inclusive but not limited to parading the Caesar’s carriage across the city every day, publishing fake news of the Caesar’s activities in the government, and occasionally holding Meet the People session with fakes, you know."
"I see." Therma remained silent.
"Of course, it is definitely not because we don’t trust you, don’t think about it in a hard way Madame Giustinianni, but everything must stay confidential when it comes to military matters." Abdullah blinked his eyes as he looked at Therma.
Being quick minded as always Therma immediately managed to catch a bit of information in the words of Abdullah that sounded almost like a hint. The Caesar is currently out of the city due to military matters, and where can he possibly go? The North? The Baltic kingdoms and duchies have maintained a good relationship with Thessaloniki after that failed crusade. The west? The situation of Epirus has been stabalised from what she read in the papers, the South? But according to Mauro, Julian should be more than enough to clear out the remnants of the Roman strongholds and the Venetian factions in Morea, so that only leaves one direction, the east.
And what is the Caesar seeking for as he points his blade and his attention to the East?
Therma got an answer.
With that knowledge in mind, she no longer questioned Abdullah, she stood up, bowed slightly towards the highest-ranking court official in Thessaloniki, and thanked him. "Thank you for answering my questions in such a humble way, Lord Miralai, please do help me bring my words of appreciations to the Caesar if he comes back, may Christ bless his Majesty on his path."
"Of course, madame Giustinianni." Abdullah stood up as well. "The Kaisarissa, Anna, is upstairs and is eager to see you and Lord Giovanni Junior, and, if you wish, I have already ordered the servants to clear out three rooms for you, Lord Mauro and Lord Giustinianni Junior, if you wish, Madame. You will be a lot more safer staying with the family of the Caesar."
"Of course, Lord Miralai." Therma looked at her boy. "Thank you for your kindness, yes safety is indeed my top priority at the moment, I miss Anna as well. I will not bother you any more Lord Miralai, please accept my sincere appreciations for taking up so much of you and Warden Baron’s time."
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Meanwhile.
In the commanding tent of General Helio.
Helio is throwing a tantrum towards his fellow commanders and the local government’s delegates.
"What do you mean by the government of Drama and Serres is unable to supply ten thousand Modioi of grains on a monthly basis? Look at this piece of paper, it said in black and white that your governors need to provide the garrison with sufficient grains every season, and now you have come to tell me that this paper is nothing but a piece of trash?"
The delegates from Drama and Serres looked at one another and continued trying to explain. "Your highness, it was a harsh winter last year, and the provinces of Drama and Serres had to supply part of the expedition for Epirus last year, the grains in stocks are already nearly depleted, our merchants cannot buy any grains in this season as the price of the grains are at the peak in this point of time, the seeds for this year’s harvest has just been sowed weeks ago, it is hard for us..."
"I don’t want to waste my time here listening to you two mumbling about your dilemmas and difficulties! Go do something about it!" Helio roared at the top of his lungs as he grabbed the piece of goat paper and threw it at the direction of the two shivering delegates.
"But, general, please do think of the hardship that our farmers are facing! They have spent their entire lives working in the croplands supplying one after another army marching and ransacking through the region, living on the brink of survival..."
"Have my men ever ransacked the farmers before?" Helio suddenly interrupted, with his hawk like eyes penetrating right through the delegate’s mind. "I see my army as the protector of this land, and all the citizens on this land, shielding them against any threat, and in exchange for the peace, they will need to provide my men with the grains we need, any problem with that?"
"...No"
"Good." Helio stood up and came to the two delegates, lowering his voice. "But remember, honourable gentlemen, I have six thousand men here in this garrison, they are starving, and if they starve to a certain point, they won’t come for the people they protect, instead they will come for you, storming your mansions and grabbing whatever they can eat..."
