Chapter 581: Thank You, Helios
"The civilians need a peaceful environment to harvest, and in order to exchange for a peaceful surrounding they will need to have a troop stationed in the area, but in turn the troops will need grains from the civilians, while the governor coordinates between the two sides making sure that the civilians can keep enough harvest for themselves while the troops get enough grains... I call that an unvoiced alliance, or balance, between the three sides, a typical triumvirate."
Helios and the governors are stunned, because this voice came from none of them, instead it came from someone else that they are all familiar with –
"But this alliance, this balance, is fragile, it can be broken and interrupted easily by any external factors, such as a bad harvest, a bad weather, especially a prolonged war."
The man of the voice revealed himself as he entered the tent, alongside with several other men. The man revealed his face under the black messenger hood and smiled towards Helios. "It is my fault that they are unable to supply you with enough grains, Helios, I ordered them to supply Julian’s troops in Epirus last year, and hence they don’t have enough grains to supply you this year on paper."
"Your Majesty!" Helios and the two governors immediately saluted Antonius on the spot. "You could have at least informed me of your schedule before you came so that I can hold a parade or something... My camp is in a mess..."
"Ah shush it my dear Helios." Antonius raised his hands to interrupt the general. "You saw this hood? I came here by myself secretly, I expect no one, especially the Ottomans and the faggots in Constantinople, not even my own troops, to know my presence here."
"Aye, your Majesty."
"That means I will reside in your tent for now... My life and safety is dependant on you now Helios... By the way Helios, your tent is not soundproof at all, I could hear what you three are talking about right outside this tent, and your guards dare not to stop me, that can lead to a very serious mistake."
"Aye, I will increase the number of guards outside my tent right away."
"Governors." Antonius looked at the leaders of Seres and Drama. "Go back to your city with your grains, Lord Abdullah has ordered a tax cut for your lands for this fiscal year, distribute these grains to the farmers as a welfare of the state, for I have came with fresh grains that should be enough to supply general Helios’s troops."
"Thank you, on behalf of all the people in Drama, your Majesty!" The two lords hurriedly bowed towards their sovereign. "May the sun over Roma always shine with your light of mercy."
"But remember, gentlemen. You saw nothing, you heard nothing, and you know nothing, about my presence in lord Helios’s tent, is it clear?"
...
The two governors left the camp with a thousand thanks and rushed back to their cities bringing their fleet of grains back.
"Your Majesty." Helios stood beside the exit of the tent, watching for any suspicious movements outside, and sealed the tent before turning to his sovereign who is seated on Helios’s seat in front of the commanding flags warming his hands against the stove which has a mug of wine on top of it. "Don’t mind me asking, but are you here with a new set of orders for me and my army?"
Antonius, on the other hand, did not answer his faithful general’s enquiry directly, instead he asked back staring at the fire jumping in the stove. "Any news in the area recently, Helios?"
"Yes, your Majesty." Helios instantly understood what his overlord is referring to as he spread out the regional map on the ground. "Ever since the death of Giovanni Giustinianni, the Ottomans in Bulgaria has moved a step forward and recaptured the city of Mesembria, sources suggests that there has been a massacre in the city following the recapture of the city by Abbas Pasha..."
Helios swiftly lifted his eyes up and took a glance at his sovereign, obviously the Caesar is not interested with this piece of news.
"I don’t care about Mesembria, nor the warlords in Bulgaria, I want to know what is going in the little Sultan’s court and barracks."
"Ever since the demise of Giovanni Giustinianni, the Sultan ordered his Janissaries to the tactics that his father and grandfather have used to do, squeezing the living space of the Romans in Constantinople, he gathered a Janissary of two thousand men and marched onto Eastern Thrace, captured a few forts, chased the Romans residing in the area back into Constantinople. The garrison in Mandres is currently only left with a little more than a thousand men."
Antonius leaned forward. "Helios, that is exactly the news that I want to hear, and that is what I came here for, have you tried recapturing the garrison and that fort in the past?"
"I have, your Majesty, but it is hard, the young Sultan has built a series of roads and pathways connecting all the major settlements and the warlords in Bulgaria, if there are any movements by us the Ottomans are able to gather up the whole of their strength and reinforce this fort in less than two weeks’ time, forcing my troops into a retreat in order to keep the casualty rate low."
"I have read your report in the past." Antonius frowned. "And I have came with a response, we need to get that garrison, we get to get the whole of Thrace, we need to get Edirne, we need to penetrate through the whole of that boy Sultan, but he is not our true target, that city, the city that those bunch of traitors and scumbags have stolen from Giovanni, is the true target, but before that we need to finally get rid of the Ottomans in the Aegean, and first we need to start off with that Garrison, with your troops, listen here Helios, I do not care about the casualty, we need to get that garrison, fast, before the Ottoman bastards can react, you clear?"
Helios is stunned once again, for this is the first time he heard such words coming from his Caesar. If there is one thing that the lands of the Romans desperately need to regain now apart from land, it is manpower, after so many centuries of vigorous clashes and civil wars between various faction and states, the population of the entire Romania has dwindled to a terrible state of not even a million population, it is important to know that just the city of Constantinople itself used to have a little more than half a million back ages ago.
Helios has questioned himself repeatedly on whether his Caesar has forgotten about the alliance, friendship and oath he had with Giovanni Giustiniani, as it has been more than a month and there are no movements or news from Thessaloniki about this. But it is today that he finally knew that the desire for revenge by the Caesar is strong, stronger than what he has expected, so strong that he gave up on the thought of protecting the lives of his fellow soldiers.
But that means one thing, since the Caesar came here incognito, that means that he, Helios, shall be the one who shall give the orders leading his men to die, and he shall bare the blame, getting cursed by his men, and no longer be loved by his troops.
Helios gulped.
He still remembers the day when he vowed to join the Caesar’s army. He did not join to make a living, unlike Julian, for he came from a rich native background; He did not join for his life, unlike Abdullah, for he came here voluntarily; He did not join for money, unlike Fisnik or Yuri, he did not join for fame, unlike the old man Anjelo, for he had one simple wish in mind at that time; to save and liberate as much Romans from the high pressure rules of the Ottoman Bays and Pashas.
It might sound childish, but Helio knows that he is closer than even in achieving that goal, and perhaps that is why his sovereign appointed him as the commander for the army group east, knowing that he shall come in handy when there’s a war against the Ottomans.
Perhaps the Caesar has been planning all of these since the start.
A cold shiver ran down Helios’ spine, he dared not raise his head again and look into the eyes of the ruler, for they seemed so deep and unpredictable.
Helios bite his teeth, hard, and apologised to his men beneath his heart, and kneeled on one knee.
"Leave this to me, your Majesty, I will conquer this fortress for you." Helios looked up. "With any cost."
Antonius paused for a few seconds, before he looked up at the ceilings of the tent. "Thank you, Helios."
"Thank you."
