Water Margin people

"Master Xu, this is the main road in the city! The palace is ahead!"

Theodore pointed to the majestic palace at the end of the street.

"interesting!"

Xu Guanzhong looked at the very distinctive dome-shaped building in front of him. He had seen many such buildings in Byzantium.

The officials and nobles who entered the city first had already arranged for people to place carpets and flowers at the doorsteps. This was because there were not enough carpets, otherwise they would have spread carpets all over the streets.

Entering the palace, Xu Guanzhong nodded slightly. This palace was much more magnificent than the outside world.

After entering the palace, Xu Guanzhong sat directly on the throne, while the army controlled the defense of the entire palace.

When everyone saw Alexios III, their faces turned ugly. These people from Qi were too domineering. How could they just come and grab the throne?

"Master Xu, we have prepared a banquet and singing and dancing!"

Alexios III suppressed his dissatisfaction and said to Xu Guanzhong with a smile.

"Let's skip these unnecessary things and get straight to business."

Xu Guanzhong looked at the people in front of him and said.

"Sir, please speak!"

Alexios III spoke quickly. He was very uneasy. The people of Qi did not play by the rules and were so strong that there was no room for negotiation.

"We are here today. This place will be Qi's territory from now on. You must convert to Qi's Imperial Religion and learn Qi's writing, language, and culture! Someone will take over later!"

Xu Guanzhong looked at Alexios III and said.

When he finished speaking, the whole hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. No one dared to speak. The nobles and ministers looked at Alexios III.

The smile on Alexios III's face also disappeared. He had already been humble enough today, but these people of Qi not only did not appreciate it, but also became more and more demanding.

"Master Xu, we agree!"

Seeing that the emperor didn't speak, Theodore quickly spoke.

"Theodore!"

Alexius III interrupted Theodore with a low growl.

"Master Xu, we have been polite enough today, I hope you will be more polite too!"

Alexius III looked at Xu Guanzhong and spoke.

"Haha, you're welcome? Do you deserve it?"

Before Xu Guanzhong could say anything, Li Jun took two steps forward and shouted. He looked down at Alexios III and a group of officials and nobles with disdain in his eyes.

"You are simply barbarians!"

An elderly minister pointed at Li Jun and shouted that the people of Qi were too rude, just like the barbarians in the north.

"Snapped!"

Li Jun pulled out the pistol from his waist and shot the old man. He did not take the old man's life, but shot the old man's leg.

The old man covered his leg and wailed in pain, blood constantly flowing out.

This shot stunned everyone. They only saw Lu Jun holding an iron box. With just a finger and a snap, the leg of a person seven or eight meters away was injured. This made everyone unable to understand.

"witchcraft!"

"magic!"

"curse!"

All kinds of terrible thoughts appeared in everyone's mind.

"Who else has anything to say?"

Li Jun looked at everyone and spoke.

No one dared to speak. They all gathered together in fear. They had witnessed witchcraft, which they could not resist.

"Master Xu, they agreed. They really agreed!"

Theodore spoke up.

"Is that all you need to do to agree to this?"

Li Jun looked at Theodore and asked. Theodore was surprised. After spending so much time together, he knew that Xu Guanzhong was easy to talk to. He was a wise and polite person.

But Li Jun is a rough and savage man. What he likes most is killing people. It can be said that he kills without blinking an eye.

Theodore immediately walked into the crowd, took the scepter from Emperor Alexius III, and removed the crown.

"General, these two are symbols of the Byzantine emperor!"

Theodore directly handed over the scepter and crown.

"Not enough, this thing is meaningless!"

Li Jun shook his head and said, they were not planning to be the Byzantine emperors, so what did they need these things for?

"General, the storehouse is behind the palace. The gold, silver and jewelry inside belong to you."

Theodore said, pointing to the back of the palace.

"Those things were originally ours! Are you trying to buy your lives with our things?"

Li Jun blew on the gun barrel in his hand, and the smoke was blown away.

"We are willing to submit a surrender request and inform the whole city."

Theodore gritted his teeth, he knew that if they did this, they, the former nobles and officials, would no longer have any face.

"Very good, now go do it, and remember, you all need to sign!"

Li Jun pointed his pistol at the group of people huddled together.

As the pistol was pointed, those people retreated in fear, thinking that Li Jun was going to use witchcraft again.

Theodore immediately took out the parchment and began to write a surrender, and soon a surrender was completed.

Alexius III and others hesitated and were reluctant to sign.

Such a surrender letter actually has no meaning, and tearing it up is just a sentence, but there is a prerequisite, that is, Qi must leave and never come back, or it will not be easy to come back.

But the Qi fleet had already controlled the Mediterranean and had made it clear that it had no intention of leaving.

"Master Xu, can we discuss this matter again? Everything else is easy to deal with, but this is about believing in the Emperor's Religion... I'm afraid it won't be easy!"

A minister looked at Xu Guanzhong and said that surrendering was a small matter, but changing one's faith was too difficult and it could not be changed with just a few words.

"No need to discuss, those who believe in me will live, those who don't will die!"

Xu Guanzhong waved his hand nonchalantly and said that preaching is always difficult, but it is also easy to solve.

Xu Guanzhong's words frightened those people. How many people were going to be killed? They didn't know that it was you who signed your name.

"very good!"

Xu Guanzhong was very satisfied looking at the letter of surrender in front of him. This thing and the scepter and crown would be sent back to Qi for archiving.

"Now we can have the wine and the feast and the singing and the dancing."

Xu Guanzhong nodded.

The news of Byzantium's surrender to Qi quickly spread throughout the city. The civilians were relieved and grateful for the peaceful resolution.

But soon the news of Byzantium's conversion to Imperial Christianity spread, which aroused the anger of the common people.

Since the split between Byzantium and the Roman Catholic Church a hundred years ago, Byzantium established the Eastern Orthodox Church, which has now become its own branch and is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Those fanatical believers began to take to the streets, shouting and protesting. Their numbers grew larger and larger, and finally they headed towards the palace.

Inside the palace, a sumptuous banquet was served and beautiful women in tulle were dancing gracefully on the dance floor.

Xu Guanzhong had no interest in singing and dancing, but Li Jun watched them intently, not hiding his desire at all.

"If the General likes it, I can arrange it later!"

A noble whispered to Li Jun, saying that it would be easy if we knew what these Qi people like.

"Good good!"

Li Jun never refused anyone who came to him. Life at sea was boring, so he naturally wanted to relax when he had the chance. After all, it was a matter of mutual consent and it did not violate military law.

"Sir, a large number of civilians are gathering outside the palace!"

A soldier walked into the hall and reported to Xu Guanzhong. (End of this chapter)