Chapter 706: Son’s Path
But just immediately after Leo kneeled down, Antonius laughed.
"You know, I used to tell Anna all of this, and she said immediately, we have experienced a lot of sufferings, obstacles, dilemmas, to reach into the state that we have right now, and we have sworn that we shall never let our next generation live through all of these again. I am an emperor who has spent almost my entire life, my entire reign, expanding the state that we have, from a single city, no, a single island, to the lands and populace that we have today, almost the maximum possible land area that we could achieve."
Leo sighed. "But father, I do believe that the entire nation is now watching us as the government, on what and how we act next. We already have nowhere to expand, father. Our fleet is still in the process of rebuilding, meaning we definitely cannot expand into overseas territories. And don’t you realise how hard it was for Lord Apostolos and Abdullah to achieve the peaceful and stable environment we have today? Our lands are already highly depleted from our continuous military expeditions. We have brand new ships and artilleries laid down every single day, but what about civilian infrastructures? In my visit to a village, the chief said they requested to build a bridge over a stream to ease communication between the two banks years ago, but it never got approved. Why? Because the money was spent to build artillery!"
The emperor remained silent.
Leo continued, "The land we have right now has already been scorched, not by the enemies, but by the policies of our own. I believe, my father, no, your Majesty, that in order to achieve a wealthier state, we must make the people rich first. And if the people are rich, then it would create what I call a snowball effect, where the people can use their excess funds to improve their infrastructure and trade, making themselves even richer. While we, in turn, benefit from all the productivity and increased revenues."
"You thought of these by yourself?" Antonius suddenly asked.
Leo gulped and nodded. "Yes, father."
"Don’t lie to me." Antonius turned around.
"I am sorry, father." Leo lowered his head. "I have read through the reports of Lord Alexios."
The tone of the emperor softened a bit. "I do not mean to say that his words in the report are bad, but I do know that, as the emperor and leader of this country for decades, I can see with my own eyes that we will definitely need a superb and sturdy army. With a strong army, we can achieve prosperity through all kinds of means. But if we only have wealth, we will be like sitting lambs, waiting for our opponents, who seem to have pledged allegiance to us in the east, to leap on us again, eating us alive. I hope you understand this simple rule, my son."
Leo sighed inwardly, knowing that despite decades of leading a country, his father still carried the mindset of his old days as a humble pirate.
"You study history." Antonius slowly stood up with the help of both Cerberus and Giovanni Junior. "Let me ask you then, my child. You know that this land we are standing on has been flourishing with riches and wealth for centuries since the creation of this empire. But when facing the hordes of the Huns, Tartars, Avars, Pechenegs, Persians, Saracens, Turks, did our wealth, in any way, help us defend against the large cavalry groups of the enemies? All we could do was sit back behind the defences of the mountains, rivers, and fortresses. I am here to transform this country into a massive barracks. I need to give the Romans the ability to defend themselves against possible threats in the future, even when I am gone, so that we do not repeat the stories... of the Komnenian."
"Father." With determination, Leo raised his head. "I have developed some thoughts after my month-long travel across the country. If you allow me, father, please listen to my unpleasant words."
Antonius frowned, as this was the very first time his son had said such things that went against his will.
"Speak on."
"I have raised the point that the people of this nation are unable to handle another decade of constant conflict, with the majority of the youth being drafted for military training or fortifications. And there was another thing I saw in the barracks; Father, how long has it been since you have witnessed a direct cavalry charge onto our infantry formation?"
Antonius halted and began counting; indeed, just as his son had pointed out, it had been some time since he had witnessed a direct cavalry charge on his infantry formation.
"I have, thanks to brother Giovanni." Leo pointed to his brother, who seemed a little shocked at being singled out. "I have, with the honours of General Khalid and Commander Aurelian, witnessed a military exercise of cavalries charging against our prepared infantry formation."
Antonius stared into his son’s eyes, unable to believe that his son was now discussing military strategy with him after only a few weeks in a camp.
"I witnessed a wholly new way of warfare during my visit," Leo continued. "I realised that the importance of spikes and blades is diminishing on the modern battlefield. The ways of countering cavalries are evolving from humble spike formations to using more guns and artillery. In the exercise, with great training, discipline, and organisation, half of Khalid’s cavalries were lost in a single charge without even reaching Aurelian’s infantry. The arquebuses can easily pierce any form of armor we have right now from a distance."
Antonius stopped in his tracks, looking back at his son with eyes of disbelief.
Leo gulped. "I am not trying to challenge you, father. I know I have never experienced army life as you have, but this is what I have seen with my own eyes. I have concluded that traditional weapons like blades, spikes, and bows have remained roughly the same for thousands of years. These new forms of weapons, however, are rapidly evolving thanks to the constant work of hardworking smiths like Master Jacob and the teachers in the academies. The artillery recorded in the books in the library of Constantinople is already vastly different from the new ones I have seen with my own eyes."
After his long speech, Leo bowed. "Please, father, if you can, see it for yourself! Perhaps that will change something. I sincerely hope so."
The old emperor scrutinised his young son, who was barely thirteen, and suddenly laughed. But unlike the sarcastic laughs he had just moments ago, this laugh was full of pride and warmth.
"Look, Cerberus." Antonius turned to his faithful Varangian. "Our younger generation has already grown up. They have their own minds, their own understanding of things. We are already getting old, backwards, and... stubborn!"
Cerberus, unsure of what to reply, just stood there with a dry smile. Leo, hastily looking up, was unsure of his father’s intentions in saying this.
"I will... look into your words. Now get back up here, my son." With a smile, Antonius gripped his son tightly with his thin, old hands. "You have not wasted this month. I am satisfied with your observations."
Leo heaved a sigh of relief.
The night was already dark now, with the blanket of the moon and stars covering the sky, erasing any signs of the sun, as Antonius and Leo stood on the high ground, right beneath the moon.
"It is a full moon today," said Antonius.
"Yes, father."
"Giovanni! Come here." Antonius signalled for his adopted son, calling for the two of them to stand side by side with Leo.
The old father looked at his two sons, his eyes filled to the brim with plain joy and happiness. He held the hands of the two young men, looking right and looking left.
"I promised you, when you were much younger, about the height of a blade, that I would bring you to the beginning of everything, to where I started my campaigns. And here we are."
"Thank you, father."
"I am sorry, I cannot keep my promise now," sighed the old emperor. "I cannot bring you to the island of Marmara, nor can I bring you to the peninsula of Erdek. The court physician has told me that I am no longer fit to travel on ships. I didn’t like that answer, so I had him replaced, but the new court physician advised me the exact same thing. So I had no choice but to break my word."
The two brothers looked at one another, their eyes filled with worry.
As Leo was about to say something, the old emperor suddenly started coughing violently again. He almost collapsed onto the wooden dockside once more if it weren’t for Cerberus by his side. Leo hurriedly went to his father’s side, only to realise one thing—there was blood by his father’s mouth.
"Father! You..."
