kingdom of nations

Chapter 190 The Emperor's Invitation

When the priests discovered that Manuel I was indeed alive and not a corpse acting under the influence of sorcery or possessed by an evil demon, they were overjoyed. Of course, they hoped more than anyone else that Manuel I was alive, because only if the emperor was alive could he fulfill the promises he had made.

Among them were several priests from the churches and monasteries of Antioch, who abandoned their old masters and readily pledged allegiance to their new ones. Was it because Manuel I, the monarch, was exceptionally charismatic?
He may have been charismatic, but that charisma undoubtedly stemmed from his wealth and power.

In any case, Constantinople's wealth was unparalleled; it was called the queen of cities by all nations precisely because it was wrapped in gold and silk every day.

With the priests' treatment, Manuel I quickly regained full consciousness.

His memory still lingered on the moment he fell into the swamp, which was perhaps the enemy the cavalry least wanted to encounter—far more terrifying than swords or Greek fire.

Pursued by the Turks, they fled in panic until they entered the dense forest. After a few steps, they had to abandon their horses and continue on foot. The swamp was extremely deceptive; the top layer was hard, compacted soil covered with lush vegetation. When they first stepped on it, no one noticed anything amiss except that the ground wasn't very firm.

But the further they went, the less they had to support them. Suddenly, Manuel I sank. He was heavier than the others. Even in his hasty escape, he was still wearing a lot of gold jewelry and his clothes were covered with dense gold and silver embroidery.

As he sank, he began to cry for help, but his ministers were already stuck in the mud from which they could not escape. Only two or three lowly servants and slaves followed behind. Although they were not stuck in the mud, they did not have the courage to go in to rescue him.

They searched everywhere but couldn't find any ropes or anything like that. After a moment of hesitation, they actually ran away, which infuriated those stuck in the mud. They shouted and cursed, but what could they do? Words can sometimes have the power of thunder, but sometimes they are so weak that they can't even pierce a piece of paper.

Manuel I sank faster than the others. In his final moments, he cried out in repentance, confessing all the sins he had committed since birth.

This time, in particular, he prayed to God, hoping an angel would descend from heaven to rescue him. He was even willing to promise a marble building no less magnificent than the Hagia Sophia, but all he received in response were startled birds and beasts. He stretched out his hands, watching in vain as the sky slowly disappeared before him. Muddy water filled his eyes, causing him pain, and when he closed his eyes, the last glimmer of light vanished.

He thought that when he woke up again, he would be walking in hell or standing on the steps to heaven, but the pain and suffocation quickly told him that he was still in the human world.

The priests surrounded him, and he thought they had saved him. But when Manuel I expressed his gratitude, one priest, with a mixture of fear and resentment, admitted that it was not they who had saved Manuel I, but the King of Arrassal and a Christian knight beside him.

"The King of Arazarus!" the emperor exclaimed, "Has he actually come?"

The reason he made such a grave mistake, insisting on breaking through with a small group despite the objections of his subordinates, was because he had lost his desire for victory and his hope for the future. His heart was filled with pessimism, and he believed that this expedition would inevitably be an unprecedented defeat.

But from his own perspective, he did not want to die; every moment of a king was worth more than a hundred years of a lowly person—he comforted himself with this thought.

Unfortunately, neither this idea nor this argument could gain the support of the nobles, or rather, they did not consider their lives to be less valuable than Manuel I's. They insisted that Manuel I take responsibility, that this was no joke—he had brought them here, and he had to bring them back to Constantinople; similarly, he should not abandon the besieged Byzantine army.

In any case, they came at the king's summons.

Their king, in order to extricate himself, abandoned them in the wasteland, leaving them to be surrounded, cut up, and captured by the enemy—an act severely detrimental to honor and morality. Their opposition was so vehement that Manuel I, when deciding to break out, dared not tell too many people.

He only brought his personal guard and the eunuch officials who were loyal to him.

The Byzantine Empire's political system contained a large number of eunuchs who served in various political roles, from secretaries to captains of the royal guard. Because they no longer had male identities, they would not be able to guarantee their lives, let alone their power, if they left Manuel I. They would never betray him, and subsequent events proved this point.

But their strength was ultimately too weak. In order to avoid the ferocious Turks, they were forced to enter this gray fir forest. The primeval forest was no safer than the Turks' army. But it opened its bloody maw so quickly that Manuel I had never expected it. He thought he would die here, and an indescribable sense of panic arose in his heart.

He feared that no one would discover that the emperor of the Roman Empire (as the Byzantines called themselves), a great monarch, had fallen here. He would have no funeral, no tomb, and no one to perform sacraments for him; he would silently turn into a pile of bones in the swamp, perhaps a thousand years later, and no one would find him.

This fear gripped his heart so tightly that even several days later, when he saw the sunlight, he was still somewhat dazed and could hardly believe that he had actually escaped death.

Yes, it wasn't just the swamp; the king of Arrasar and his army also rescued him from the Turkic siege.

“Your Majesty. Sultan Arslan II of the Turks has arrived,” his royal secretary (also a eunuch) reminded him. Manuel I finally grasped the situation. Right, today was the day he would resume negotiations with Arslan II. “Is the throne for King Arrasallo ready?”

"Ready." In recognition of King Arazarus's benevolence and bravery, the emperor granted him a seat beside his throne, an honor previously reserved only for Manuel I's most beloved sons or his most trusted ministers.

“Ready,” the royal secretary replied, then whispered a reminder, “And the Earl of Edessa…”

“Oh, it was that handsome young man who, together with the King of Arazarus, pulled me back from the brink of death. Did you not bestow my favor upon him?”

“This matter has already been arranged,” the royal secretary said. “But this count is a blood relative of King Arazarus and a close friend of his for many years. They swore an oath before God to vouch for each other, and in fact, they did so. Furthermore, I have heard that the King of Arazarus has granted him the same rights as himself, allowing him to act in the king’s name when he is out in the world.” Manuel I closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

“Then so be it,” he decided. “Place another chair next to King Arrassal. It should be of a slightly lower rank than the king’s, but not too far away.”

The royal secretary accepted Manuel I's order and left the tent. Soon, he returned to Manuel I and led him to a larger tent where three groups had gathered: Manuel I of the Byzantine Empire and his subjects, Arslan II of Rum and his generals, and King Arrassal and his accompanying Christian knights.

Because the contents of the contract had been discussed back and forth by envoys from all parties many times before, this was just a solemn and formal ceremony.

Arslan II swore an oath before Manuel I once again. They first abolished the original treaty, and then the Sultan promised that he would not have any ambition for Manuel I's throne or territory, and that he would accept God's punishment if he violated the treaty.

In return, the vassal-lord relationship between Arslan II and Manuel I, as established in the previous treaty, was abolished, and the Sultan became an ally of equal status and position to Manuel I.

As an ally, Arslan II acknowledged Manuel I's authority and agreed to serve him. If Manuel I or his empire were to be invaded by foreign enemies, he was willing to personally lead the army or send his own officers and soldiers to fight for Manuel I.

In return for this loyalty, Manuel I should hand over all the territories previously conquered by Arslan II, and Manuel I will also dismantle the fortresses and strongholds built on these lands.

Finally, Arslan II and Manuel I exchanged tokens and swore oaths—to their respective gods.

The scribe presented the completed treaty. Manuel I signed it first, followed by Arslan II, and then the witnesses present: Baldwin IV, King of Arrassa; César, Count of Edessa and Knight of Bethlehem; Bohemond III, Grand Duke of Antioch; Raymond, Count of Tripoli; and others of honor and status.

After the ceremony, Manuel I felt tired, so he went back to his tent to rest.

Not long after Baldwin returned to his tent, another messenger of Manuel I arrived, bringing gifts from Manuel I—the third such visit in the past few days. He also solemnly invited, on behalf of his sovereign, the King of Arrassal, along with his close friends and anyone else he wished to bring, to Constantinople.

He promised that no matter how many people the king brought—a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand—their food, clothing, lodging, and other necessities would all be provided by Manuel I. He pleaded with them to accept the king's invitation with an extremely eager and pleading attitude, which could not be overstated.

Those present all had somewhat strange expressions, especially Grand Duke Bohemond of Antioch, who was the first to suggest that he would not go to Constantinople with King Baldwin of Arathi Basin. People understood his decision; he had lost more than 10,000 men, even though fewer than 100 of them were knights and the rest were all hired soldiers and laborers. This loss was still a devastating blow to the Grand Duke of Antioch.

Although the emperor had promised to make up for the Grand Duke's losses as much as possible, he knew that the emperor probably wouldn't repay everything. After all, the burned siege equipment had already proven Bohemond's incompetence, and Manuel I was only making this statement to appease people—while in private, Manuel I had ridiculed and rebuked his in-law more than once.

Even if he foolishly followed him to Constantinople, he would still be met with Manuel I's disdain and indifference.

Since that's the case, why bother making a fool of himself? He might as well return to Antioch as soon as possible, curl up in his lair, and lick his wounds.

“I’ll go with you,” Raymond said. He had made this decision after careful consideration. The reason everyone looked at him strangely was that they had guessed why Manuel I would make such an invitation.

News of Manuel I's crushing defeat had reached Constantinople, and his cowardly act of abandoning his loyal ministers, generals, and soldiers before the war was even over had enraged many, both inside and outside Constantinople.

For the people of Constantinople, overthrowing and killing a monarch was not uncommon; they were always the ones who chose, not the ones who were chosen.

It can be said that if Manuel I had not already killed all his brothers and castrated all his nephews and nieces, and if his son had not been only six years old, he might never have had the chance to return to Constantinople.

The schemers lurking in the shadows are not just his dead brothers; his two thousand-strong personal guard may not be able to play a significant role in such a bizarre and unpredictable vortex.

As for his queen, Constance, the sister of Grand Duke Bohemond III of Antioch and daughter of Raymond, she was not well-liked by the people of Constantinople. Although Constantinople also believed in Catholicism, their political system leaned towards the East. This new queen stubbornly dealt with problems with Frankish mindset and methods, thus making many enemies and unable to provide much assistance to Manuel I.

Manuel I needed a new ally. Of course, he wasn't referring to Arslan II; who else could this new ally be but the King of Arrassal? Not to mention, the young king also had a minor saint whom many acknowledged as a leader.

If we're talking about the miracles he performed on Arrassa Road, they might have been forged. But what happened to Manuel I forced the emperor and those around him to admit that this incredibly handsome knight was indeed favored by God, and this favor had even overflowed, influencing those around him.

The equally young King Arazarus had previously won a great victory at the Sea of ​​Galilee, in which they even took Nur ad-Din, the light of the Saracens, prisoner.

He was the victor in the war against Arslan II of Rum, and with so much honor, if he were to stand by Manuel I's side, Manuel I would be confident in calming the people of Constantinople and navigating the crisis smoothly.

(End of this chapter)