Eagle Flag of Epirus

"Your Excellency Justinian, what do you mean by this? I invited you to take a great risk, and it also means my sincerity, but you have this attitude."

Only Justinian and Duke Leo were in the secluded room, and Leosgros was obviously dissatisfied with Justinian in his voice.

Accepting the invitation of the Duke of Leo, Justinian went secretly to the other party’s mansion. As soon as he met Duke Leo, he opened the door and asked for the independence of Justinian from Epirus, and the condition was Moria. The nobles will fully support him.

However, Justinian didn't seem to care about it. He looked at the lustful man before him and said, "You want me to betray Mikhail to help you regain the fief from the Latins. This is indeed very good. Intended, but what good is it for me? The power I have at present can mean isolation and helpless if I rebel."

It will be a matter of time to get out of the control of the Dukas family, but Justinian will not be so stupid that he will tear his face openly with the other party now, the price is not he can bear. However, what interests Justinian are the Moria nobles represented by Leos Grace. They seem to have been drifting between Epirus and Nicaea, and doing so must mean that they have their own The trump card.

At this time, Duke Leo showed a proud expression: "You don't have to worry about this. Moria's noble power is far less weak than you think. Although the Latin invasion is fierce, they haven't had time yet. Digest all the territories, and now your army has opened up in the southern Peloponnese. With our assistance, it can gather enough strength to be independent. At that time, it will be easy to restore the entire Peloponnese. By then It is enough to fight against Epirus." In the Battle of the Olive Grove, although the Achaean kingdom severely damaged the Byzantine army, there were still many remaining forces. The Latins were busy dealing with the threat of Epirus, so they did not have time to eliminate them one by one. And if you use the political power of the Moria nobles, you can undoubtedly get an amazing power.

Although Duke Leo’s words were a bit exaggerated, Justinian knew that what the other party said was true, and he had considered doing this before, but he quickly rejected such a plan.

The reason is simple. The decayed aristocracy of the Byzantine Empire is not enough to become his ally, otherwise, even if he succeeds, he will not be suitable for the lingering end of the Paleolig dynasty.

But despite this, Justinian certainly would not say what was in his heart, otherwise he would become the enemy of all the old nobles.

"But why are you doing this? For you, is there any difference between the Ducas family and the Lascaris family?"

And Duke Leo sneered slightly, "Hmph, whether it is Macedonian or Orientalist, they have been in charge of the empire for too long, right? It's time for a change. Is your Excellency willing to become a chess piece and don't want to taste the taste of power? Is it? As long as you join us, Moria’s nobles will fully support you, and it is not impossible to even push you to the throne." From the Macedonian dynasty to the Komunin dynasty, the Eastern aristocrats who controlled the backbone of the army and controlled the imperial economy The lifeblood of the Macedonian nobles took turns controlling the empire. Now that the empire is falling apart, the contest between the two nobles has become a battle between Nicaea and Epirus, but now Leos Grace has become ambitious. Together they compete for the orthodoxy of the empire.

But these words seemed extremely ridiculous in Justinian's ears. If he was really just an ordinary martial artist, I am afraid that he would be confused by the other party's words for a while and agreed. Support him as the emperor, I'm afraid that it is true that even if it ends up either as a monkey in the fire, or as a puppet emptied by the Moria nobles.

But Justinian pretended to be excited and trying to hide, "What are you saying...really?"

Seeing Justinian's shoulders trembling slightly, Duke Leo felt proud, and there was no doubt that the young man in front of him had already taken the bait.

But at this time Justinian showed a hesitant look, "But Lascaris of Nicea is the son-in-law of His Majesty Alex III and has the support of the patriarch of Constantinople, Mikhail Then there is the hole card of Emperor Muzifius in hand. If we openly confront it, it would mean treason!"

"You don't need to worry about this. I think you should have heard that Princess Odosia and her daughter are now under my protection. At the same time, I also own the edict of King Alex III's Golden Seal, and it admits that Empress Odosia was his heir.” Leosgros had clearly anticipated this, and he did not shy away from showing his hole cards and sets. In his opinion, the young man in front of him had too little experience after all. Judging from the performance at the banquet before, the rebellious Justinian has always been unwilling to be manipulated by others, but now that he puts this opportunity in front of him, it is impossible for him to refuse.

However, all this was in Justinian's expectation, but what surprised him was the Golden Seal edict that Leosgros said. He actually had such a thing in his hand, and he didn't know whether it was true or not. As far as Justinian knows, Alex III prefers his eldest daughter Elena. How could he designate the heir as Odosia who became a political victim of this?

But Justinian didn’t know that all of this was due to him. After he warned Alex III of the danger of going to Thessaly, Emperor Alexe Angeles deliberately arrived in Corinth by sea to prepare. Detour to Rusnina, so he got the help of Duke Leo, but in exchange, Duke Leo had the Golden Seal edict. However, Leosgros still felt that it was a pity that he should be forced to "retain" the emperor at that time, otherwise his ambitions would be more likely to be achieved ~www.ltnovel.com~ Now he can only retreat and fight the Odosei second. Princess Ya's idea is up. As for the informal marriage with Odosia, it is also a ladder of this man's ambition.

"Princess Odosia?" Justinian, who knew well, whispered in surprise, with a shaken expression on his face. And Duke Leo, who was in his eyes, was also secretly overjoyed. Sure enough, the young man's heart was finally moved by his revealing such a trump card.

"Then let me see Her Royal Highness Princess Odosia first?" Justinian made a request, but Leos Grace showed an embarrassed expression.

"I'm afraid it won't work yet..."

This old fox!

Justinian scolded secretly. Although he was also a little fox, he knew that Odosia, the decoy of Duke Leo, would not be exposed easily, but at least he finally confirmed Muzfius’s wife. The woman is indeed in the hands of the man in front of her.

"Then let me go back and think about it for a while." Justinian thought for a moment and decided not to rush for the time being, and then he got up and said goodbye to Duke Leo.

And Leos Grace was not surprised, "Well, it's no wonder, after all, such things are indeed not easy to pay attention to. Then I will wait for the good news, but the Latins don't have much time for you. , Your Excellency!" The man reminded him as he looked at Justinian with a playful look.

And Justinian also understood what the other party meant. Tripolis would not be reconciled to the fall of Achaia. He was here for an extra day, and without him, Tripolis would have one more. Layer danger.

"Thank you for your reminder, Lord Duke."

"Then I hope your Excellency the Governor will make an early plan."

The two looked at each other, but the invisible swords between the air seemed to be dancing in a flurry, hiding the battle.