In the afternoon, there were rare clouds in the sky, and even a torrential rain. But this is Constantinople after all, and the rainstorm comes and goes quickly.

The carriage drove through the rain-washed streets, and the Patriarch even opened the windows. In the past, the Patriarch did not dare to do this, and the stench of the streets made him avoid it. Unexpectedly, after a few months of governance, things have changed radically. The technical cooperation provided by the Great Song was of course important, and the loyalty of the eunuchs particularly touched the Patriarch.

When the chief eunuch came to visit, he said straight to the point: "If this continues, the Orthodox Church will be wiped out by the Holy See." ”

Now, a few months later, remembering these earth-shattering words, the Patriarch still felt a slight throbbing. The Crusades dealt a heavy blow to the Orthodox Church. In the past, the Orthodox Church and the Holy See did not recognize each other and excommunicated each other. Later, the Orthodox Church, which was founded hundreds of years earlier than the Holy See, naturally demanded that the Orthodox Church be dominant in the merged Holy See.

During the Crusades, the Crusaders stormed and sacked Constantinople several times, and the crumbling Orthodox Church had to accept the demands of the Holy See. Recognition of the dominance of the Holy See in the world of Crucifixion. When the Eastern Roman Empire was beaten to the ground by one Crusader state after another, the Holy See, which led the Crusader countries religiously, could certainly say with arrogance that if it were not for God's guidance, how could the Holy See be so victorious.

"By saving the people from a plague that could not be solved before, we can prove that the Orthodox Church is the orthodox guided by God." The chief eunuch gets to the heart of the matter.

Horse-drawn carriages. It was a nobleman who went to the house, and the elders of the family were relatives of the Patriarch, who himself went to perform Requiem Mass. In the streets, the reciters lined up, reciting the new scriptures written by the Patriarch, which were also propaganda slogans.

"The flies are the image of the Demon King of Hell, and we have to destroy them. Participating in the making of flytraps is an offering to the gods......"

"Hygiene is not only a Roman tradition, but also an evil war to eradicate plagues and other evils, which will surely be pleased by the gods......"

Originally, such actions were advertised as fundraising, and were not welcomed by the people of Constantinople. However, this time, when the reciters traveled, the people raised their right hands, put their thumb, index finger, and middle fingers together, and crossed their chests from top to bottom and from right to left. Others spontaneously handed gifts to the reciters. As the envoy of the Song Kingdom said, while the flies and filth were removed, the plague began to dissipate rapidly. The Orthodox Church, which promoted this action, was unanimously praised by the citizens of Constantinople, who believed that the Church, which had been preoccupied with collecting money, had finally begun to get down to business.

When he arrived at the house of a noble relative, the Patriarch began to celebrate Requiem Mass. This is a ritual that has been done hundreds of times, and even thinking about something else entirely, and the capital of the Great Pastor can solemnly complete the ceremony. Just as they were comforting the family, the relatives of the deceased took the hand of the Patriarch and tears rolled down their faces.

Having seen this scene too many times, the patriarch showed a decent look, and before the words of comfort could be spoken, the relative wiped away his tears and said, "Thank you." Before his death, his father said that he would no longer have to be harassed by flies. Finally, you can enter heaven in peace. ”

The Patriarch's expression faltered slightly. Everyone is a superior person, and being so sincerely thanked by the superior people, the Patriarch feels a little unhappy in his heart. I don't know if it's a psychological effect, but the Patriarch felt that the people who attended this Requiem Mass were much more pious than the previous rituals.

After the Mass, a cute kitten suddenly broke into the mourning hall. During the Crusader invasions, the barbarians considered raising these arrogant little things to be a propensity for sorcery. The Eastern Roman Empire was also deeply affected, and now the Orthodox Church has the courage to correct the name of the cat. The Patriarch bent down and gently touched the fierce hunter of the future. Perhaps sensing that the Patriarch had no ill will, the kitten closed its eyes, raised its head, and gently rubbed its chin against the Patriarch's fingers. Even at Requiem Mass, many people who saw this scene smiled.

At the end of Requiem Mass, the Patriarch departed in a carriage with a sense of tranquility. That night, he was very calm.

After another three days, the envoy of the Great Song Dynasty came to visit again. It's still the three parties last time, and even the personnel have not been changed. The envoy of the Great Song Dynasty said cheerfully: "We will go to Cyprus." ”

Hearing this, the Patriarch only felt a little nervous in his heart. A thousand years ago, the entire Mediterranean Sea was the inner lake of Rome, but Rome was divided in two because of the inefficient rule. Eastern Rome occupies the east. Now, a thousand years later, Eastern Rome has lost most of its land, and only two symmetrical pieces of territory are left with Constantinople as the center. It looks like a delicate butterfly. Cyprus is an island some distance from the right wing of a butterfly. The island was only a few dozen miles from the coast of what is now the Mongol Empire.

"Can you tell us more about how much influence the Orthodox Church still has on the island?" The Great Song envoy began to talk about more explicit issues.

"It's not influential. Now the island is mostly populated by the Holy See. "The Patriarch does not speak nonsense.

"Is it easy for you to convert them?" The envoys of the Great Song Dynasty have been in Eastern Rome for so many years, and they have carefully collected all kinds of information.

The Patriarch didn't know how to answer in his heart. Over the years, all Orthodox dioceses have been converted, and there is basically no Orthodox Church conversion from other places. At this embarrassing time, the eunuch spoke, "The sword can convert those who believe in Orthodox Christianity, and the sword can also convert those people to Orthodox Christianity." ”

"Humph!" The Great Song envoy smiled, and it sounded very symmetrical.

The Patriarch was speechless for a moment, he did not expect that things would develop to such a point. The Orthodox Church even went so far as to preach by force. That's what the Orthodox Church thinks is evil and cruel.

"How many priests can you send?" The Great Song envoy continued to ask questions. If you can get help from the army, even the army of the Eastern Romans. Now some of the members of the mission are from the Red Turban Army, and everyone thinks that the Cold Weapon Army is very useful in the Mediterranean.

"Fifty...... A hundred people. The Patriarch replied.

"What about you?" The envoy of the Great Song Dynasty asked the eunuchs.

"We can't send troops. But you can recruit mercenaries. The eunuch replied very simply.

July 29, 326 of the Great Song Dynasty. A force of four thousand people boarded the ship in Constantinople. The bishop of Constantinople personally prayed for the blessing of the troops. Five priests, ten deacons, forty aco-deacons, and chanters boarded the ship with these people.

Most of the people who came to see them off were family members of mercenaries, and they were very touched when they saw this scene. The flotilla carried the blessed people out of the harbor and headed south.

August 4th. Combined troops landed in Cyprus. At this time, the island was ruled by the Russignam dynasty. In 1191, King Richard I of England seized the island of Cyprus during the Third Crusade, plundered and sold Cyprus to the Frankish Guy Drussignam through the Templar Order in Jerusalem. Guy then ruled the island and gave it the super-domineering name of the Latin Empire. He has the meaning of being the emperor himself. This so-called Latin Empire was the Russignam dynasty.

Immediately after landing on Famagusta Bay on the east coast, the coalition forces headed for the core of the island, the city of Famagusta. The island has a population of tens of thousands, scattered all over the island. Before the inhabitants of Famagusta could understand what was going on, the coalition forces were slaughtered under the city.

The defenders immediately closed the gates and prepared to hold on. The Song army did not talk nonsense, and immediately asked the captured people to cut down trees and form siege equipment. Although the Mongol return cannon had many disadvantages, it had the advantage of being easy to build and able to throw huge stones. The two-catty cannon and five-catty cannon of the Great Song Dynasty can exert great power in field battles. In siege warfare, it cannot be compared with a return cannon that fires one or two hundred pounds of large stones.

Before the coalition forces launched an attack on the castle, there were ships at sea that began to sail north after seeing the coalition fleet. On the same day, when news of a fleet attacking Cyprus was discovered, he went straight to Baghdad, where the Great Khan's Golden Horde was located, along the official route of the Mongol Khan's direct domain.

The temperature in Baghdad is very high in summer, but the climate here in Baghdad is dry, and Kublai Khan feels the cool breeze brought by the fan in the shady palace, and feels very comfortable. Recently, Kublai Khan has become more and more accustomed to this warm place, and the winter in Baghdad is simply as warm as spring compared to the winter on the Mongolian plateau when it was minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius. As for the summer, it will not make the Mongol Great Khan feel unacceptable.

However, at this time, Kublai Khan's brows were slightly furrowed, and the recital spread out in front of him was about Hao Ren. This 10,000 households, which were once considered to be the sons of the Mongolian Han people, are leading hundreds of thousands of Han people to cultivate the land at this time. What's even more outrageous is that his former territory was in the northern part of the Ögedai and Chagatai Khanates, and now Hao Ren has gone to the northeast of the Golden Horde to cultivate the land. Let the descendants of the Jochi family feel a strong pressure.

Now the twist and turn is to cry to Kublai Khan about how terrible Hao Ren Wanhu is. The Khanate established by the Jochi family is now 100,000 Mongols. Also scattered all over the place. Hundreds of thousands of Han Chinese gathered in one area, and tens of thousands of them were Han soldiers who followed Hao Ren to conquer the Ögedai Khanate and the Chagatai Khanate. The combat strength made the descendants of Jochi feel very uneasy.

Putting down the recital, Kublai Khan did not make a decision immediately. Although Hao Ren is acting recklessly, it does not mean that Kublai Khan will stand on the opposite side of Hao Ren. The Mongol Great Khan was a little suspicious that the Ögedai Khanate and the Chagatai Khanate were behind this.