European modulation mode

Constantine XI was still the same as he had seen when he first saw him. He had no crown or scepter, no silk or jewels. He was just an exhausted male elf, wearing an imperial heavy armor covered with scratches and blood, a purple cloak embroidered with a golden double-headed eagle, and holding a blood-stained blade, as if he was fighting a battle that would never end.

Contention.

"His Majesty."

According to his privileges of not having to kneel when entering the court, not having to name his name when praising or bowing, and wearing a sword and shoes when entering the palace, Aenarion simply bowed. This was the only privilege given by the other party that was of some use. The Eastern Roman Empire and its subordinate Morea Despotate had no extra troops to deploy, and the soldiers of the Athenian Despotate were originally its own private soldiers.

"I heard that you saved the Queen of Epirus, Francesca Komnenos?"

Constantine XI said tiredly.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Very good. Tell her that as long as she is willing to reduce her status as the Queen of Epirus to that of the Despot of Epirus, and incorporate Epirus into the Eastern Roman Empire like the Despotate of Athens, we are willing to help her restore her country."

"How can we have the troops to help her restore her country? Epirus is sandwiched between the Seventh Legion, the Sultan's Fist, and the First Legion, the Dark Angels. I only have enough people to defend Athens now. We can use a navy to help her defend the last two small islands."

"If we gather a Christian coalition, even if we conquer Epirus, the Latin Kingdom will be broken into pieces. At most, we can occupy the capital of Epirus, which is not cost-effective."

Aenarion was puzzled. No, do you really think you are the emperor? I have worked so hard to save my fortune in Athens, and you want to throw it away just for a piece of land with no strategic value? You are kidding.

"My warmaster, those words are for the Queen, not for you. I just need you to take over the strong claim of Epirus. If handled properly, we can even nominate her as the leader of the Komnenos family and form a strong claim to the land of the Empire of Trebizond. At the very least, we need to sign an alliance with the Komnenos in Trebizond and let them hold back the Ottoman army in Asia Minor."

Constantine XI said with a wry smile.

"If I hadn't been engaged, I would have even wanted to marry this Komnenos directly and start implementing the unification plan of Epirus and Trebizond, and reunite the two great elven tribes of Palaeologus and Komnenos."

"Oh? Your Majesty, you are engaged? Who is it?"

Aenarion was a little curious. He remembered that the queen had died many years ago and Constantine XI had never married again since then.

"Princess Mara of the Kingdom of Serbia."

"Serbia???"

Aenarion was a little surprised. Was he crazy? The Ottoman Empire had many vassal states, but among all the dogs, Serbia was the most loyal and ferocious dog of the kingdom. This kingdom was composed of Yugoslavs and believed in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. They were the first to pay blood tax and create the Janissary kingdom. Luther and Ryan were among the victims, and they put a Serbian princess in every Sultan's harem.

Not only that, every time the Ottomans went to war, there were always Serbian knights following, and their military exploits one by one were jaw-dropping. This group of Serbian noble knights fought in the east against Timur and Karaman, and in the west against Hungary and Poland, expanding the territory and making outstanding military exploits. Although they were defeated in the Battle of Ankara, they still won honor. Timur himself was frightened by the terrifying military force of these Orthodox Christians.

And in the Battle of Varna, they even won the knightly duel against the Crusaders. The one who killed the King of Hungary and Poland was also a Serb, the biggest traitor in all Christian kingdoms!

So far, this country has 500 dukes, earls and barons of all sizes. The iron cavalry vanguard led by these 500 Serbian nobles has made everyone around them feel terrified. Why would you marry a princess from a country that is definitely on the side of the Ottomans?

"The loyalty of the Serbs wavered with the rise of Mehmed."

Constantine XI looked at Aenarion's surprised face and explained slowly.

"Serbian monarchs of all generations were playing a big game. They kept marrying their princesses to various sultans and fought bloody battles for the Ottomans because they wanted to support a sultan of Serbian descent to take the throne and make their own daughter the queen mother of the Ottomans, thus completing a reversal. They almost succeeded and even did a lot of things during the interregnum. Unfortunately, the person who finally seized the throne was Muhammad's grandfather, a pure-blooded cannibal."

"From that time on, the ogre became wary of Serbia. When Muhammad's father, the infamous Murad II, ascended the throne, Serbia sent another princess, Lady Mara. However, he never touched this princess, fearing that his grandfather's Great Void Rebellion would happen again. He did not want this Christian princess to give birth to a child with the right of succession. Until now, Lady Mara is still a virgin."

"Then, the funny thing happened. The current Sultan Muhammad was the son of a slave girl. The slave girl could not educate the Sultan's son, so the one who raised him was this virgin concubine. He regarded Lady Mara as his real mother. When Murad II died and he became the Sultan, the Serbian monarch had no second daughter or sister, so he proposed that Lady Mara marry Muhammad."

"Oh, the child married a foster mother? Muhammad didn't agree?"

Aenarion listened to Muhammad's gossip with great interest.

"Yes, he was very filial and respected the mother who raised him, so he respected her opinion and sent her back to Serbia, her adoptive mother's hometown after decades of absence, with the highest standards, so that the father and daughter were reunited, and he began to strengthen the centralization of power.

The vassal states were digested into provinces of the empire, which seriously violated the interests of the King of Serbia. "

Constantine XI made no secret of his disdain for Mehmed II.

"This kid took every right path, but he moved too fast. So I sent a marriage contract to the King of Serbia, Durad Brankovic, hoping to marry this princess. If the marriage is successful, we will have the opportunity to win over 500 Serbian knight lords from the Ottoman camp and let them charge against the pagans for God, and maybe even make peace with the Ottomans. After all, Lady Mara is his adoptive mother. If I marry him, I will be half the father of that young boy.

It could even slow down his determination to attack Constantinople - I don't believe that he is so filial that he would dare to attack his adoptive mother."

Aenarion nodded, understanding what his master meant. He wanted to keep Muhammad's foster mother as a hostage in Constantinople.

"Not only that, I still have the last chess piece in my hand, which is the real reason why I called you here!"

A gleam of excitement flickered on Constantine XI's tired face.

"After coming to power, Muhammad, his father, and his grandfather killed almost all of their brothers in order to ensure the stability of their rule! However, there is still one person from the Ottoman royal family who is still alive and is inside Constantinople. That person is Prince Orhan! His father was a hostage sent to Constantinople, and he was born and raised in Constantinople. This ogre was deeply baptized and educated by Christ. According to the law, he is Muhammad's uncle.

If we operate properly and release this pure-blooded ogre royal family, it may cause another rebellion within the Ottoman Empire."

"At that time, the Crusaders, Serbia, Venice, Genoa, and our Roman Empire will form a five-nation alliance to attack the European part of the Ottoman Empire. We will also win over Ibrahim Pasha of the Karaman Kingdom, Sultan Timur the Lame of the Timurid Empire, and the Empire of Trebizond to jointly attack the Asian part of the Ottoman Empire. Meanwhile, Uncle Orhan will question the rule of the Ottoman Empire and split it! This chess game will come alive! The Eastern Roman Empire will be reborn in our hands!!!"

Constantine XI gestured on the map and enthusiastically explained his strategic plan.

"If everything goes according to your plan, there is indeed a chance of a reversal, and everything else will be easy to deal with. However, the prerequisite is that the Serbs will really turn to us, and whether the Timurid Empire will really take action."

Aenarion was a little unsure. The historical trajectory of this damn place was very strange. The Timurid Empire should have been torn apart, but it was still in its heyday.

“That old cripple will do it. Decades ago, after he defeated the Ottoman Empire, he really led hundreds of thousands of troops to march into the Western Regions and attack Zhendan, wanting to capture Dadu and make the Mongol Empire great again.

Then they met the Ming expeditionary army in a place called Talas. After a bloody battle for several days, they suffered a great defeat due to lack of supplies. From then on, the Timurid Empire lost its vitality and could only watch the Ottoman Empire, which he had defeated with his own hands, rise again. After so many years, the old cripple should have recovered. I am trying to contact him across the Ottoman Empire. "

Constantine XI was planning his own restoration of the country, his eyes full of ambition and madness.

"Although that guy is a pure Muslim and would never do anything unhalal like 'joining forces with infidels', it doesn't matter. I don't need him to join forces with me. I just need to let him know that the Ottoman Empire is about to face its biggest crisis since the Battle of Anraka. I don't believe that he won't take advantage of the chaos to take action."

"And you, my warmaster, I called you here this time to give you an escort mission. The King of Serbia has agreed to this marriage, but this marriage is a game of tying Serbia to the chariot of Christ and taking the Ottoman Sultan as a hostage. The Ottomans cannot fail to understand and will not fail to obstruct. I need you to mobilize all the capable fallen angels to Serbia at all costs and send Madam Mara back to Constantinople safely under your protection. This is the first step towards the revival of the empire."

Chapter 215: Madam Mara

Serbia - Pristina

Constantine XI planned and strategized, and when the new Ottoman emperor ascended the throne and faced internal and external troubles, he made full preparations for war. He was ready to operate on three fronts: Greece, Asia Minor, and within the Ottoman Empire, in an attempt to tear apart this huge empire with eighteen legions.

In Serbia, Durad Brankovic, a loyal soldier who had fought for the Ottoman Empire all his life, began to waver.

The person he was loyal to was Muhammad's father: Murad II, not the entire empire. The old fox Murad never touched his own daughter in his entire life. He even kept his concubine a virgin until his death to prevent the Serbs from getting pregnant with royal blood, making himself a powerful relative. This was already very infuriating.

After all, the only purpose of the loyalty of the Serbian monarchs of all generations was to make a Serbian princess the queen mother and a Turk of Slavic blood the sultan.

Now, after his death, not only was Muhammad unwilling to marry his daughter, his adoptive mother, he was also dissatisfied with his father's lenient rule over the Serbian vassal state and tried to seize the sovereignty of the vassal state, turning Serbia into a province of the empire and demoting himself from king to governor. This directly violated

Your own core interests!

Although Serbia was powerful, it could only compete with one or two legions of the Ottoman Empire. It was impossible for it to go to war with the nine legions stationed in Europe at the same time. In this critical situation, it turned its attention back to the Christian camp and even accepted Constantine XI's marriage proposal, preparing to marry its daughter, Muhammad's adoptive mother, to Constantine XI as a token of its allegiance.

The King of Serbia made plans quickly and immediately went to his daughter's room, preparing to send his daughter, who had just left the Sultan's harem, to the emperor's dragon bed. After all, a daughter is an appendage of her parents and is meant for marriage.

"Mara? Mara! I found a great husband for you!"

Durand pushed open his daughter's door and looked at his daughter whom he had not seen for twenty years.

Her noble and elegant face exudes dignity and majesty, her mature and beautiful face is pale and delicate, her eyes still have charm, exuding alluring glances, her black hair is proudly tied on top of her head, supported by a gorgeous bun, dotted with colorful gems, and sparkling with colorful brilliance under the sunlight.

A well-cut red dress perfectly outlines her slender waist. The hard whalebone petticoat slightly holds up the silk pleated skirt, making it look like a quietly blooming blood-red rose. Every pleat on the skirt is as soft and gorgeous as a petal.

Durad moved his eyes upwards, and the red cloth came to an abrupt end at the top of the two snow-capped peaks. A large piece of sexy and gorgeous hollow black gauze covered half of the proud snow-capped peaks, the sexy and delicate collarbone, and the swan-like slender neck. The mature and beautiful carcass and the skin as white as mutton fat jade were faintly visible under the cover of the hollow black silk, which made people imagine endlessly.

Her smooth shoulders, alluring back, and slender arms are completely exposed to the air. Her tender and flawless flesh and graceful curves are so fascinating that one cannot help but linger.

Durade was in a trance. Time passed quickly and his daughter was no longer the little girl who got married that year.

"Father."

Mara performed a court ceremony gracefully and waited for her father's next words.

"I have decided. Since the Ottoman Sultan doesn't want you, then we will marry the Eastern Roman Emperor! He is one of the richest and most powerful men in the Balkan Peninsula. The situation of the Eastern Roman Empire has begun to improve recently. Perhaps we should change our target."

Durand said excitedly.

"At that time, as long as you can give birth to Constantine's prince, I can use Serbia's pressure to force him to make your child the next emperor. Then I can control the entire Eastern Roman Empire and make the Serbian Empire great again!"

Mara subconsciously prepared to agree that her entire childhood was spent under the control of her father, who taught her aristocratic etiquette and manners, and how to please men, shaping herself into a perfect aristocratic princess, and at the age of 12, she married Sultan Murad.

However, she suddenly realized a problem. She was not favored by the old Sultan and lived alone in a luxurious and exquisite birdcage all day long. Muhammad was the child she raised by herself and was the only person she could communicate with sincerely for more than 20 years.

To him, he was both an adopted son and a friend. Since childhood, he had enthusiastically described to himself his greatest wish: that is, to lead an army and conquer Constantinople, the Queen of Cities.

If I marry him, wouldn't I become a hostage in the hands of Constantine XI, used to control my own children?! We might even go to war in the future!

"No, father, I have sworn to God that if I can escape from Murad II's harem, that magnificent hell, I will return to my hometown and serve God forever with piety and loyalty, just like those nuns."

Mara thought for two seconds, then quickly used God as an excuse and rejected the marriage.

"Okay, then I'll get ready and send you to Constantinople - wait, you refuse?"

Durad's eyes widened in disbelief. It was the first time in all these years that he heard the word "no" from his daughter's mouth. He frowned, and the bloody murderous intent that he had been fighting for more than sixty years spread out unconsciously. The maids around him suddenly felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave. They trembled all over and dared not breathe under the pressure of the Serbian monarch.

"You are a Serbian princess, why do you want to be a nun? Besides, you are not a priest or a holy warrior. Don't worry about the stupid oath! Be good and marry Constantine XI."

"Father, I refuse."

Madam Mara stared into her father's eyes and said firmly.

“I am no longer a little girl. I can choose my own life. I am willing to serve God all my life and never marry anyone again.

What's more, I have already sacrificed myself for you and the Kingdom of Serbia. I married a thirty-year-old cannibal at the age of twelve and spent the most wonderful years of a woman's life sitting in the harem of Murad II. I don't owe you anything!"

"Ridiculous! You are still my daughter no matter how old you are! Besides, I am doing this for your own good! Both of your marriages were to the most powerful monarchs! Do you believe that I can tie you up and send you to Constantinople?"

Seeing that his daughter dared to resist him, the 70-year-old Durad couldn't help but get angry, his pale hair and beard were

Automatically, like the pale mane of an old lion, waving its teeth and claws in the wind.

"you dare!"

Facing her strong father, Mara also became angry. Her noble and elegant face showed a furious expression, and her mature and beautiful body also exuded the aura and pressure of a superior, which was no less than that of her father. Twenty years of training in the Ottoman court made her no longer a pawn under her father's hands.

"The current Ottoman Sultan was the one who brought me up since I was a child. He respected me as he respected his own father! He loved me as he loved his own mother! He even used the etiquette of the Queen Mother to respect my choice and sent me back to my hometown.

Are you doing this now to tear your face off and go to war with the Ottoman Empire? ! As long as I get the chance, I will definitely write a letter to my child and tell him everything you did today, His Majesty the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire! At that time, what kind of actions he will take, and what the nine legions stationed in Europe will do, I don’t know, father! ! ! "

Durad was almost suffocated by his own daughter. He was really frightened by her words and did not dare to act rashly. Yes, the current Ottoman Sultan was his daughter's adopted son. In theory, Serbia's goal over the past hundred years was barely half achieved, allowing a Serbian princess to become the Ottoman queen mother.

But the problem is that the queen mother's heart is towards her adopted Ottoman son, not her Serbian biological father.

Chapter 216: Conjugated Father-in-Law

Eastern Roman Empire - Constantinople

As the war marshal of the Eastern Roman Empire, Aenarion joined the top-secret meeting of the empire. There were only six people in total, namely the supreme emperor Basileus, the imperial war marshal who commanded the military forces of Greece and Asia Minor, the imperial prime minister who was the head of all officials, the marshal of the imperial guards who led the imperial guards, the imperial supreme judge of the court of inquisition, and the chief eunuch of internal affairs who was similar to the combination of East Factory + West Factory + Jinyiwei + Silijian.

The six people who held the highest power in the empire talked all night long about how to turn the tide for the empire. While Aenarion was meeting with these five people, he was also preparing an elite team to go to Serbia to pick up Lady Mara. However, before he was ready, Serbia replied.

Lady Mara became a nun. She was determined to serve God all her life and rejected the kindness of Constantine XI.

Constantine XI's eyes were covered with a layer of gray shadow. He had planned a series of detailed and complicated plans to tear apart the Ottoman Empire. Did he fail in the first step of winning over the Kingdom of Serbia and marrying Lady Mara as a hostage? Was it that King Durrad still stood on the side of the Ottomans? Or was it that Lady Mara simply did not want to do so?

Aenarion's expression didn't change much. He remembered who this woman was. She was a famous virgin queen mother in Ottoman history. She remained a virgin until her death. A few years later, she even returned to her adopted son Muhammad II to accompany her children. Until her death, she was the mother that Muhammad respected and relied on the most.

"It is said that Muhammad respected his mother very much. She stayed in Murad II's harem for 20 years and remained a virgin. Her only task was to raise Muhammad, who was born as a sex slave. The two had a very good relationship. This rejection should not be King Durrad's intention. Serbia can still win her over."

Aenarion suggested.

"Okay, the Warmaster will be in charge of Europe. I'll give you two tasks. Establish the Despotate of Epirus, and then, as the Eastern Roman Empire, sign a contract with Albania, Serbia, Venice, Genoa, and the Knights of Rhodes, calling on the six countries to unite and attack the Ottomans. You are very familiar with them and have experience in joint operations."

Jun Shiyi felt very troubled.

"I turned into a dragon and flew to Asia Minor to incite Trabzon, Karaman, and the Turkish Bey states that were subject to the Ottomans, and even spread the message to the Timurid Empire that the countries were attacking the Ottomans.

You guys, go spread the news that Uncle Orhan, a pure-blooded ogre royal, is still in Constantinople. He is much more legitimate than the half-elf, half-ogre Muhammad. Incite as many Ottoman old officials as you can. When everything is ready, meet in Constantinople."

"As you wish."

After the meeting, Aenarion returned to Athens on the Ulthuan and sent the Queen of Epirus back to Kephallonia and Corfu, where he established the Despotate of Epirus, adding two small islands to the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Queen willingly accepted her position as a despot and returned to the rule of the Roman Empire. After all, without the Romans, she would not even have her current position as a despot.

After the establishment of the Despotate of Epirus, the remaining task was for the six countries to unite and attack the Ottoman Empire. Aenarion wrote four letters in the name of the war commander and sent them to Albania. Rhodes, Venice, and Genoa were all allies who had cooperated for a long time, and Albania was the most ironclad of them all.

He supported himself with 5,000 craftsmen, a large amount of mining, smelting and casting technology and experience, which helped him establish a complete blacksmith work system. He supported him with a large amount of gunpowder, and established the Albanian firearms army from scratch. By the way, he taught those golden dwarfs how to build bastions. Although the two had never met, they had long been on the same boat.

A few days later, Genoa said that many people were willing to fight, as long as the price was right and money was paid.

There are as many mercenary groups as you want in northern Italy and Germany.

The Knights of Rhodes Island also responded to the call very bravely.

Albania agreed, but Skander said that the Seventh Legion was blocking his door, and all he could do was to delay the Seventh Legion, the Sultan's Fist. It would be difficult to do more - unless you can attack Albania directly and help me beat the Seventh Legion away.

As for Venice, the Venetians refused. After integrating the Venetian soldiers on the Aegean islands, the blind Dandolo led the navy back to Venice in a mighty force, wanting to take back his kingdom from his rebellious son. He had no time to take care of anything for the time being.

There are also rumors that Dandolo tried to sell the entire Venice to the Holy Roman Empire, and change his own status from Doge of Venice to a Duke or even Elector of the Holy Roman Empire in exchange for the aid of the Habsburg family. Dandolo would get Venice, and the Habsburgs would get greater control and influence in northern Italy.

Forget it, one less Venice is one less Venice.

Aenarion continued to communicate with the King of Serbia through letters. After some indirect communication, he roughly understood the current situation. Serbia was about to be reorganized into a province by the Ottomans. The 500 lords of the entire kingdom began to split. The small lords such as barons and knights felt that it was acceptable. Anyway, with the Ottomans' control over the grassroots, it didn't matter who was at the top.

However, those nobles at the level of earls, dukes, and kings could not accept that they would become governors of provinces or regions and their rights would be restricted and limited. Muhammad played this trick very well. After dividing the upper and lower classes of Serbia, he prepared to use heavy troops to annex and digest Serbia.

But again, all his paths were fine, but they were all too fast. If after Durad died of old age, the new Serbian king was not able to convince the people, or was leaderless, or he directly pushed Lady Mara, a Turkified Serbian princess, to the position of queen, and then implemented this strategy, it would be a fatal blow.

But now, Durad Brankovic, the old guy who fought for the Ottomans for sixty years and ruled the kingdom for more than thirty years, is still alive. He still enjoys absolute rule over Serbia, and all the nobles submit to him either sincerely or out of fear. The only consequence of doing this now is to force the whole of Serbia to rebel.