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John was stunned for a moment, looking at these blood-stained old soldiers, unable to understand what he meant. He could remember all the dignitaries of the Roman Empire, but there was no one named Loen.

"He is a soldier from the First Company of our Seventh Battalion! Today, his squad was the first to break through the enemy's encirclement and rush into the city! He was the only one who survived out of the ten-man squad! He was also shot by six arrows, and a lead bullet pierced his left shoulder! He killed eight enemy soldiers! Eight!

If you attack a city, the first person to reach the city will get the biggest reward. This kind of merit can directly promote him to company commander, and then his battalion will distribute the first batch of spoils! This is the old rule! You, John Komnenos, stood the farthest during the siege, why do you get the biggest share by licking your face??? "

Several old soldiers pointed at his nose and started scolding him, completely disregarding his status as regent and chief inquisitor.

John Komnenos was stunned for a moment, and finally understood why this army was so brave and fearsome. My goodness, I was wondering why these people fought so hard. The first person to enter the city could get wealth comparable to that of the Roman commander? And then all the spoils given to the generals were distributed to the first batch of soldiers who entered the city?

Aenarion, you run a charity? You give more money to these peasant soldiers than to the old Roman purple bannermen? Is this in accordance with Roman etiquette?

John tried to refuse, how shameful!

But he found that the first battalion of auxiliary troops who entered the city surrounded his tent. The general sent by Aenarion, Indrognir Palaiologos, had no intention of helping him at all. Instead, he stood among the soldiers and demanded the compensation they deserved.

What was even more exaggerated was that his own Komnenos private army, through their contact with the auxiliary soldiers in the past few days, learned that their treatment was so good that they were envious and wanted to directly rebel and surrender. So he had to grit his teeth and endure it, and ordered his Komnenos generals to spit out all the wealth they had eaten and give it to these peasant soldiers. Only then did they leave with satisfaction. A bunch of high elves began to distribute the wealth using the heads they had snatched.

Chapter 345: Irreconcilable

John Komnenos looked at the scroll in front of him in shock. In the absence of Aenarion, Indrognir, the eldest princess of the empire, organized several thousand captains to pile up the looted wealth into a small mountain and began to reward them according to their merits. Thousands of murderous high elves, well-trained, lined up in long queues and exchanged bloody heads for the rewards they deserved.

The purple phoenixes of the Komnenos family looked at this

The scene of these bloodthirsty soldiers of the same clan exchanging human heads for monetary rewards was a bit frightening. They had none of the elegance of the high elves, but were just as barbaric and brutal as the Turkic barbarians in the east. The shoulders of the soldiers were covered with minced meat and even bloody heads on the hooks on their belts. Their armor, faces, and hair were densely covered with dark red blood stains. There was no elegance or grace in their eyes, only endless bloodthirstiness and greed.

Even the eldest princess of the empire no longer looked as elegant and noble as before, but instead looked more bloodthirsty and heroic.

Damn, how did the Roman Empire’s army become like this?

John admitted that the fighting power of this army was indeed strong, but this policy was problematic! The Roman Empire had a history of a thousand years, and the various noble families were famous and intertwined. They were the foundation of the Roman Senate and the upper structure. He needed to win them over and tie them tightly to his chariot.

You have to feed these big families. Only these families that possess knowledge, resources, and connections will be willing to work for the empire. Otherwise... Angelos and Palaiologos were originally among the great nobles of the Roman Empire, but later became emperors due to various problems.

How to win over the nobles? Giving them official positions is one aspect, and of course, the other aspect is to earn rewards for their military exploits! John took command this time because he wanted to lead the old Roman nobles in Constantinople to recapture the Thracian homeland, so that everyone could share this glory, divide the spoils equally, and form a more stable political alliance. At most, he could give a little to his soldiers.

But Aenarion's damn policy is directly contrary to the basic interests of the Roman Empire! Why are all the honor and money given to those mud legs and soldiers? ? ?

But then again, Aenarion's change in military policy did train a strong army that even he himself admired... John frowned, thinking, weighing the gains and losses, and did not speak for a while. He continued to march westward with the nobles who complained about not getting glory and money, and the soldiers who were murderous after eating and couldn't wait to prepare for the next war.

With Giriman and his main force defending Edirne, no one in the entire Thracian Plain could be a match for the 20,000 Roman auxiliary soldiers. What's more, among the 20 battalions, several were veteran elite soldiers who had fought with Aenarion all the way from Athens and Thessaly. With artillery fire and deafening cries of killing, they destroyed the fortresses and cities of the Thracian Kingdom with a crushing force. In just one month, they had penetrated the Thracian Plain and drank from the Merisi River.

The Thracian elves prepared food and drink to welcome the royal army. Some elderly elves even shed tears as they looked at the four flags of the Eastern Roman Empire fluttering in the wind, lamenting that they had never expected to see the imperial army in their lifetime.

However, these civilians welcomed the soldiers who fought bravely and entered the city, not the generals and nobles.

After fighting a few battles, John went from admiring the soldiers in the beginning to becoming wavering. These people were good at fighting, but they had no respect for their superiors. They were so arrogant that they would even mutiny if they were not rewarded. They surrounded the camp and did not even look at the existence of themselves as the commander-in-chief!

Some veterans with great military achievements, centurions, even dared to look down on themselves! Look at a senatorial honor or a high-ranking official! The Grand Inquisitor! The Regent!

It was not until he transformed himself into an immortal fire phoenix, fought a siege battle and proved his strength that these soldiers put away their arrogance and began to respect him a little.

As their fighting power soared, the bloodiness and tempers of these soldiers also soared wildly, which made John feel deeply uneasy. If this continued, the Eastern Roman Empire would become a country kidnapped by the army and war, and their system was spreading like a virus. Some of his own Komnenos private soldiers also suggested that he learn from Aenarion's reforms. They were jealous of this way of getting rich purely by killing, which made him more and more afraid.

As time went by, the nobles who followed John Komnenos were not happy. What was going on? All the spoils were divided among the big soldiers? The glory also belonged to them? The people loved them too? What about us? Why did we go out to fight?

Although we did not go to the battlefield and fight bravely, what we learned were the tactics and strategies, as well as the methods of commanding soldiers. Without us, could these peasant soldiers win?

The nobles were indignant, but were then surprised to find that the peasant soldiers they looked down upon knew just as much military strategy as they did. It was just that these nobles were born into good families and had been learning since childhood, while these soldiers, low-ranking officers, had only started learning in recent years under the orders of Aenarion.

John gasped. Giving ordinary soldiers the knowledge of nobility was a bit scary. Then he discovered something even more terrifying - in Aenarion's own fiefdom, these officers were just nobles with a different identity! In his fiefdom, only these officers had noble privileges!

I could tolerate you guys robbing me of money and honor, but you robbing me of my noble status? I absolutely cannot tolerate something that threatens the nobles' basic interests! As the Grand Inquisitor, I am responsible for the laws of the Empire, not the military. I just came into contact with you today and found out that Aenarion actually implemented such a dangerous policy in the military.

No! This policy must not be retained!

From the beginning, the military policy set by Aenarion did not leave any room for old nobles like himself.

No matter where he was - starting from Athens, to Thessaly and Crimea, he conquered them all with his powerful military force, so this system of military merit had been going smoothly for him. Until now, when he became the regent of the Roman Empire and brought this policy to Rome, he encountered huge resistance.

Aenarion pretended to be sick in Constantinople, but what happened in John's camp could be delivered to his ears by the Fire Wing spies within 24 hours. He smiled slightly. The constraints of the regent a few days ago and the news that they wanted to abolish the military merit system today made him more determined in his ambitions and desires, and he even gave it a nice name.

Damn it, how can we build Rome with these insects?

"First, you should persuade John and his nobles to abolish the military merit system. Believe me, the more they make trouble, the more resentful the soldiers will be, and the greater the possibility of our victory."

Aenarion gave orders to the Firewings, and these sharp former Janissary spies immediately dispersed to carry out the Warmaster's orders.

"Dad, why are you making so much trouble? Eight-tenths of the Roman Empire's military force are in your hands and obey your orders. The remaining two-tenths are just the Imperial Guards of Constantinople and the private soldiers of various nobles. Now John is taking a large number of private soldiers and Imperial Guards to fight.

If you want, you can lead the First and Second Legions and charge directly into Constantinople! Control the emperor and the Senate! From now on, you have the final say over the entire Eastern Roman Empire. The administrative and security chiefs of the Golden Horn are all yours. If you want, it won't be difficult to lead troops into the capital. Just slaughter all these old nobles, right? ! "

Miaoying didn't quite understand what her father was doing, so she raised her little front paws and started scratching and sharpening them on a wooden stake.

"Let me give you an analogy."

Aenarion was confident in the anti-magic and anti-surveillance systems in his room.

"Remember when we went to talk to the retired Emperor Constantine a few days ago, we found that the young emperor had been trained by his father to become a young dragon, playing a hunting game of diving to catch sheep and setting them on fire? Do you want to play too?"

"I remember, the little emperor was very stingy. He said the sheep were all mine and wouldn't let me play with them. It was only after his father persuaded him that he gave me a few sheep to practice hunting."

Miaoying complained.

"Yes, and then you could fly better and faster than him. Did he personally give you a lot of sheep and beg you to teach him how to fly so well and so fast?"

Aenarion continued.

"Yes, but what does this have to do with my question?"

Miaoying tilted her head in confusion and began to chew on the tree stump to grind her teeth.

"I have already answered."

Aenarion patiently taught his eldest daughter.

"If you ask him for something, the initiative is in his hands; if he asks you for something, the initiative is in your hands."

"One of the side effects of the military merit system is that it makes soldiers extremely arrogant, believing in the barbaric theory of the survival of the fittest and the law of the jungle that the strong get everything. I have to lead by example every time to win their trust and respect. This is the case at ordinary times, let alone when there is a military coup and the country seizes power?

You said, let John force these soldiers into a dead end, let the soldiers beg me to seize power quickly, and be grateful that without me, the military merit system on which they relied to get rich would be kicked out of Rome's national policy.

Is it the same as if I were to order the army to march into the capital now, begging the soldiers to join me in a coup, and let them feel that without us brothers who have been with you through thick and thin, you, Aenarion, cannot seize the throne? "

Chapter 346: Undercurrent

It took John more than a month to capture the entire Thrace south of Edirne, and then he personally led the army to participate in the Battle of Edirne.

At this moment, the entire country of Thrace of Gilman had basically fallen or lost contact. The four legions plus the Roman Empire surrounded the last Edirne and attacked fiercely, but with little effect. The 13th Legion, the Ultramarines, was the largest legion of the Janissaries, and the 7th Legion, the Sultan's Fist, was the Janissaries' best defensive legion. The combination of these two legions, plus the Ottoman Empire's well-defended old capital, made it difficult for the coalition forces to capture it for a while, and the two sides formed a stalemate.

John was not idle either. He began to contact Constantinople and reported to the Senate everything he saw during his command. After seeing the true performance of the soldiers under their command, these old nobles of the Roman Empire were shocked. No one expected that Aenarion's military law would be such a thing.

I heard from the war commander that the effect of his training of troops was very good and powerful, and the surface results were indeed very impressive. But when John walked into the military camp today, he saw that the barbarity, bloodiness, and arrogant soldiers and generals were secondary. The main thing was that these things were completely contrary to the interests of the Roman nobles and the interests of us, the vested interests!

A large number of Roman senators silently stood on the side of John Komnenos and began to visit the warmaster's home, saying that you were too extreme. When you started out, you lived in a corner of Athens, and you needed the power of a province to fight against the entire Ottoman Empire. We can understand that you are a little extreme.

But now, we have occupied most of the territory of the old Greek world. The Roman Empire is the most powerful in the entire Greek peninsula, and the Ottoman Empire has also lost half of its territory. Do you think your military policy should be changed and made a little more tactful?

Aenarion was extremely tough, arguing with reason and even using

As in the previous case, your fucked-up aristocratic policy forced the empire's most elite armored cavalry to rebel, making them the steel wing of the Ottoman Empire's First Legion, and caused the Varangian Guards to disband due to lack of money and become Janissaries.

I finally changed the law and let the Steel Wings return to the Empire, and they became the Eastern Roman Armored Cavalry again. The reconstruction of the Varangian Legion is also in full swing. Now you want to force them to rebel again?

The Senate immediately said that of course not, and that things would be resolved if we took our time. We should change slowly, bit by bit. For example, we should not teach these junior officers knowledge, military law, and strategy, and we should gradually cancel the rules and privileges of senior officers.

Then we will slowly change the rest, like boiling a frog in warm water.

Aenarion was naturally unwilling, and the two sides were in a stalemate for a time. Although Aenarion controlled the army, most of the empire's civil servants and nobles did not stand on his side.

These senators were not fools, and they would not leak any secrets to the army. After all, the Roman army, which was fed by Aenarion, was too picky, and if they were to reduce their numbers hastily, something bad would really happen, so they did a very good job of keeping secrets.

But Aenarion had anticipated this and recorded the discussions of the Senate with magic equipment. He secretly spread the nobles' concerns about the army's strength to the army, and arranged for his generals who were qualified to enter the Senate to participate in the discussion. He argued and tried to get the nobles' private soldiers and imperial guards to join the military merit system. In this way, if the senators opposed it, they might even offend their own soldiers.

In just one week, this matter, which was supposed to be top secret, was quickly spread secretly to the army. The soldiers were extremely shocked. They originally thought that the army was a stable job to make money, but they didn't expect that the upper echelons wanted to destroy them! Shock, anger, and fear began to spread among the army, but they didn't know what to do.

Should we unite and rebel, declaring the Senate as our enemy? But all we have learned is loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, and making Rome great again. Would we be committing treason by doing this?

But if we don't do that, all the achievements we have made through killing enemies and winning merits may disappear into thin air. How can we tolerate this?

For a time, the Roman army was in chaos. The soldiers didn't know what to do so they gathered under the centurion to seek advice. The centurion had no idea about such a big thing, so he went to the centurion. The centurion also looked confused and went to the legion commander, Indrognir, the general appointed by Aenarion.

Just when the army was in chaos, Aenarion's Firewing spy took action again and gave these people a perfect idea: the military merit system was proposed by Aenarion, and he was one of the five regents of the empire, in charge of the empire's military affairs. If anything went wrong, they should look for him.

The Roman generals suddenly realized what was going on and immediately sent messengers, some even went to Constantinople to meet Aenarion in person, but they were all turned away by Aenarion, who used the excuse of being seriously ill to reassure the senators in the Senate.

But secretly, Aenarion went to meet all of them and explained the whole process clearly, including whose interests were affected by the military merit system and who wanted to abolish the system. Then he sighed and said that he was alone in the Senate and could not compete with them. This system might really have to be abolished.

At this time, the Roman generals and soldiers were really anxious. The Senate was also a little scared when it saw that its secret meeting was leaked. They immediately came out to appease the soldiers, assuring them that the military merit system was only under discussion and would never be abolished. They asked the soldiers to rest assured and continue to support Rome. Only then was the situation suppressed reluctantly.

But that night, new intelligence was leaked, saying that the elders' discussion during the day was just a delaying tactic. All they discussed in the Senate was how to suppress the soldiers' rebellion without bloodshed and deal with the crisis safely. Methods included but were not limited to cutting them into small pieces and scattering them in various cities of the empire to prevent them from unifying into a force. The soldiers felt chilled to the bone when they heard this.

The next day, a rebellion even broke out in John's camp on the front line. The angry soldiers tried to hold the commander hostage, but were suppressed by Komnenos' private soldiers. The first bloody incident occurred during the reform. The four united Janissary Legions looked at the Roman allies in confusion, wondering what they were up to and why they were in civil strife.

Things soon got out of control. Not to mention the twenty battalions of Roman auxiliaries, even a small number of John's Komnenos private soldiers joined the rebellion in pursuit of better treatment. Although there was no open rebellion, John could no longer control the twenty battalions of soldiers. Indrognir also looked helpless, saying that he was Palaeologus, a member of the royal family, and the soldiers did not trust him, so he could not control them.

There were only fifty battalions of Roman auxiliary soldiers, and twenty of them were out of control at the front line at once. This matter was really too serious and terrible, and the Senate was in a state of panic. They tried to win them over and appease them, but these old soldiers who had fought with Aenarion through blood and fire no longer distrusted the purple nobles in the marble towers. They did not rebel completely now, but only remembered the generous rewards from the warmaster and the promise of rebuilding the Roman Empire together.

"If I say that everything I'm going to do next is for the empire, would you believe it?"

Faced with the dangerous situation he had instigated, Aenarion once again visited the mansion of the Palaiologos family and met with the retired Constantine.

After playing chess and not being an emperor for more than two years, this middle-aged man regained his youth. He looked much younger and healthier than before, and his face no longer had the tired look before.

"I believe that when Caesar led the Thirteenth Legion across the Rubicon River, and when Isaac, the Marshal of the Guards, killed the emperor and established himself as the emperor, they all said that they were doing it for Rome."

Constantine did not look at his warmaster, but picked up the chess piece and focused on the game.

"But I'm curious, why are you telling me this? The Paleologian family is also a traditional purple noble family. My brother, Prime Minister Thomas, my son, and even I are all on the opposite side of your interests. Do you have any bargaining chips that make you confident that you can convince me 100%?"

Facing Constantine's fierce offensive on the chessboard, Aenarion launched a more intense attack. The two sides launched a high-intensity exchange of pieces. The sound of wood and iron colliding was crisp and loud, and the table was filled with the eaten pieces.

"Because I can promise you the promise you made when you won over the Komnenos family. The eldest son of Indrognir and I will inherit the throne."

Constantine was stunned for a moment, and Aenarion continued to add.

"Moreover, times have changed, Your Majesty. The aristocratic politics that the Eastern Roman Empire believed in has long been out of step with the times and is no match for the Ottoman martial system. Those elders, clinging to this outdated system, were pushed all the way back to Constantinople from the Mesopotamian region.

My system of military merit, which was modified from the Ottoman Janissaries, helped the empire recover most of Greece. Everything I did was for the empire."

Chapter 347: The Constantine Rebellion

After persuading the Palaiologos family to stand with him, Aenarion went to the White Tower again. The wizards of the White Tower did not rely on their noble status to rise to power. They were purer than Aenarion's army. Even if you were a commoner, those with high magical talent could climb up. Even if you were a prince, you could not rise if you had poor magical talent. The business of Caledor, the Minister of Finance, was also closely related to his own, and the conflict of interest was extremely serious.

After three of the five regents stood on his side, Aenarion finally stopped pretending to be sick. After making some arrangements, he put on a purple toga, wore the Sword of Khaine, and strode into the marble Senate under the care of several personal guards.

Although the law prohibits the wearing of weapons in the Senate, Aenarion wears a sword when he goes to the palace. What's more, his power has been greatly reduced, and he is no longer as powerful as the Senate in the Republican era? The nobles looked indifferent, and even gnashed their teeth at him. Cutting off someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. After Aenarion's policies were completely exposed to the Roman nobles, the relationship between the two sides had deteriorated to the extreme.

"I've heard everything."

Aenarion stood on the podium, bathed in the light of the golden dome, and looked around tiredly at the Roman senators who had unfriendly faces.

"I know that our philosophies are highly conflicting and our interests are not consistent, but no matter what, I am also a high elf! And also the war marshal of the Roman Empire! The late emperor was eager to recruit talented people, and personally recruited me when I was still a small earl of Athens, and promoted me to the high position of the empire's war marshal. This kindness is hard to repay - if you can't solve the rebellion of twenty battalions, then I will personally take charge and summon the soldiers of Constantinople to solve it!

I led those twenty battalions of soldiers, and they will certainly obey my orders."

Aenarion looked around coldly, pretending to be exhausted, and threw the Spear of Dionysus, which symbolized the war commander and could mobilize any legion of the Eastern Roman Empire, into the crowd.

"I will resign as Warmaster. Since you all oppose my policies, I will retire. Don't look for me if there is any trouble in the empire in the future. Solving this rebellion will be the last thing I do for the empire."

The nobles were stunned for a moment. They thought Aenarion came to argue with them about whether the military merit system should be abolished. They didn't expect that he would just give up and resign? And really hand over the Spear of Dionysus? Several nobles pulled out the adamantine spear with solemn expressions and found that it was genuine. He was really irrelevant and was ready to resign.

Wait, there's a problem! John had transferred half of the army in Constantinople, and now 20 battalions on the front line were rebelling. In a hurry, they could only use the other half of the imperial guards, as well as several battalions in the Gallipoli Peninsula and the southern plains to suppress them. In that case, Constantinople would lose all its soldiers and all its defenses...

But then again, this man threw away the Spear of Dionysus and looked disheartened, which didn't seem like a fake. And if he really resigned, the damn national policy of the military merit system could be quickly abolished without any resistance.

And the most important thing is that the rebellion of 20 battalions in the north is indeed troublesome. Apart from this war general, it is difficult for others to deal with it, let alone suppress it without bloodshed. That is almost one-third of the Roman army! If it is really suppressed, the national strength of the Roman Empire will be reduced by at least half, which is an unacceptable loss.

The nobles were stunned. For a moment, no one could guess what Aenarion was thinking. Was he trying to retreat in order to advance? Threatening to resign, forcing us to agree to his plan? What a joke! Do you really think that the Roman Empire will not survive without you? Without you and your policies, the Empire can still be revived!

"In that case, everyone please express your opinion. Those who want to allow Aenarion to lead the expedition and resign as Warmaster, raise your hands."

Imperial Prime Minister Thomas Palaiolo raised his hand immediately after he finished speaking, followed by the Minister of Finance

Caledo also raised his hand.

Seeing that one of the three regents present offered to resign, and two agreed to the former's resignation, the other nobles who had long been dissatisfied with Aenarion raised their hands and passed this resolution.

Aenarion looked even more lonely. He elegantly straightened his purple robe, walked out of the Senate without looking back, and prepared for his last expedition.

Three days later, the army was ready, and 1,300 imperial guards were assembled, of which 300 were Phoenix Guards of level eight each. Palaiologos provided five dragons, and the White Tower provided some mages and more than a thousand zombie puppets.

Five battalions of Roman auxiliary soldiers hurried over from the Gallipoli Peninsula, and the Second Legion stationed in the Crimean Peninsula also began to respond. The legion commander Valkia took three battalions of Varangians and quickly sailed south on dragon boats, gathered an army of 10,000 people, and began to march north to join John Komnenos and Marshal Kate of the Guards to prepare to quell the rebellion.

But in the past three days, the news that Aenarion was going to resign was spread wildly among the army through the Fire Wings of the Janissaries. The soldiers were all shocked. They knew that it was the Warmaster who allowed the military merit system to operate in the Roman Empire. If the Warmaster stepped down, then this policy would have no chance of being retained! It would definitely be abolished from Rome!

Although the salary of Roman soldiers was already very high, three times the average salary of citizens, they were playing a life-threatening job after all. Without the military merit system to make money, land, and reputation, what was the point of playing with a few dozen denarii silver coins a month?

What's more, we joined the army to fight for wealth and fame, not to live a miserable life in retirement!!!