Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 374 International Order
To Alexius, Gellis's words sounded more like a threat than a prophecy.

And it's a threat again and again.

What if he took Trebizond?
Can it fight the Latins? Can it survive the oppression of Nicaea? Can it deal with the Turks in Asia Minor?

Even if he succeeded in taking Constantinople, that would not be the end, but a new series of problems would lie ahead.

The Near East and the Middle East have long been quite hostile to the Eastern Empire since the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, with endless enemies constantly challenging the empire like a war of attrition.

Defeat one and there will be another, endlessly, until the empire collapses.

Alexius said that Georgia was behind him, but Gairis said that Georgia could not protect itself.

This art of conversation can be accurately described in one word in later generations: argumentativeness.

Faced with such tireless argumentative behavior, Alexius, a young man, naturally became impatient.

When Gellis made his request to Alexius, the latter was naturally furious.

Subconsciously, he stood up suddenly and slammed his fist on the table.

The guards beside him were all startled.

Whether it was Alexios's younger brother David Komnenos, or Lorian beside Gairis, both sides subconsciously put their hands on the hilt of the sword, fearing that a conflict would break out between the two sides in the next moment.

In this situation, Garys was not panicked and stood up calmly.

"I'm not going to argue with you. I'm going to tell you that the direction you're heading in is a dead end that leads to the past."

"I tell you again, I need real order in the Levant, in Asia Minor, and more precisely, along the entire eastern Mediterranean coast."

When the word order was mentioned, Alexius' face once again showed impatience.

"You are talking nonsense. Only the strong are qualified to set the order, and the losers are naturally not the strong. The failure of the empire is a military failure, so it must be able to regain its past glory only through military success."

What Alexius did not say was that in his mind the fall of the Komnenos dynasty was also due to military decline.

His grandfather, Andronicus, the last emperor of the Komnenos dynasty, would not have been in a politically passive position if Thessalonica had not been captured by the invasion of the Kingdom of Sicily.

In other words, if he had been victorious in Andronicus, he and his brother David would not have had to go into exile in Georgia.

Garys took a deep breath and continued, "If you believe that between countries and people, there is only the law of the jungle, only the weak obey the strong, and only suspicion and jealousy and fighting between each other, then who do you think is the strong one here, between you and me?"

Hearing this, Alexius was quite confused.

Then, Garys walked directly towards him. He subconsciously wanted to take a step back, but found that Garys's speed suddenly increased and he put his hand on his shoulder.

Then, an irresistible force suddenly came over him, and like a chick, Alexius was pressed back into the chair without any resistance.

Then, just when Alexius subconsciously wanted to draw his sword, he heard Garys snap his fingers.

With this crisp sound, Alexios found his sword in Gellis's hand.

This is a carefully crafted sword. Both the texture on the blade and the carvings on the hilt are exquisite.

While Alexius was still confused and bewildered about what was happening, Garys flicked the sword.

The sword broke... Alexios was speechless, his eyes filled with shock. David, who was standing beside him, also subconsciously tried to draw his sword, but found that he had missed.

The sword also appeared in Gailis's hand, and then Gailis held the blade and placed the hilt on Alexius' shoulder.

This was a hint of friendliness from Gellis, but everyone present understood the meaning behind it.

"I said, who do you think is stronger and who is weaker between you and me?"

"As the weaker party, you should just listen to me for a few words. Are you so impatient?"

Although the cold sword blade was not pressed against his neck, just the various behaviors of Gellis before were enough to make Alexius break out in a cold sweat.

Gellis held one side of the sword blade, lifted it up, and then swung it towards Alexios. When Alexios subconsciously dodged the blow from the hilt, he found that he could hear nothing except the sound of wind.

Then there was a click, and David's sword returned to the scabbard, and Garys reappeared in his previous seat, as if nothing had happened before.

Of course, Alexius' sword could prove that everything that had just happened was true. The hilt and the blade of the sword had been split into two.

Witchcraft or miracle?

It is not certain about the brothers Alexius and David.

They only knew one thing: if Garys really wanted to kill someone, no one here could stop him.

In terms of personal strength, Garys is undoubtedly a strong man.

After that, Alexius no longer showed the arrogance typical of young people, and just like Lorian beside Garys, he listened attentively.

In this conversation, Gellis proposed a new perspective for thinking about the issue - international order.

The four words "international order" are very common in later generations, but in this era, most areas of the earth are blank.

In this era, any alliances and exchanges of interests between countries would often change due to the personal likes and dislikes of the monarch.

History has proven countless times that human credit is not trustworthy. Even fathers and sons, or brothers, can become enemies.

It is in this environment that Saladin's character becomes particularly valuable.

But in a sense, this is not the case in the Catholic world.

In Europe of this era, there was a rough and primitive international order.

There is a mechanism for measuring relations between nations that does not rely solely on military power.

Even when nobles competed with each other for interests, they often needed to find "inheritance law" as an excuse.

It can be said that in Europe during this era, there were dynasties that collapsed, but it is difficult to say that there were wars that destroyed nations.

For example: The Norman conquest of William the Bastard was intended to rule England, not to destroy it.

But for those outside the Catholic world, whether it was the Crusades or the Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, their goal was blatantly to destroy the country.

Civilization was divided here, and the binary relationship between "ourselves and others" was born.

(End of this chapter)