A Crusader with System in the Middle Ages

”Foreigners like the Varangians, Pechenegs, Cumans, and Turkic People have been made the main force of the army, used to suppress those within the Empire who resist the Emperor’s authority. As foreigners, they have no psychological burden when it comes to suppressing the Greeks and Armenians.

”The same friction that exists between the Greeks and the Teutons and Franks applies equally to the relationship between the Greeks and the Armenians, the Bulgarians, the Varangians, and others,” Eric continued.

”You seem to understand quite well. Sometimes, to achieve a good outcome, one must employ bad methods. And I must admit, sometimes it seems the Greeks enjoy fighting each other within the Empire more than they do fighting outsiders.

When different ethnic groups live together, they distinguish themselves by ethnicity rather than wealth or class. They become fragile and sensitive. The Emperor must be doubly careful with his every move, lest one group feels it is being neglected and another is being favored.

But sometimes, even with such caution, they still grow dissatisfied.

Often, if the Greeks are satisfied, the Armenians are not. When the Armenians are satisfied, the Bulgarians are not... Sometimes, I must borrow the swords of the Varangians, the blades of the Pechenegs, and the arrows of the Turkic People to keep them in check.

Sometimes, I find the Varangians, Pechenegs, Cumans, and Turkic People far more agreeable than the Greeks and Armenians. These pure barbarians are naive and direct, simple-minded, and have no excessive political ambitions. They delight in gold and silver rather than land, prefer pastures to farmland, just like Tacitus described the forest ancestors of the Franks and Teutons.

The Franks and Teutons of today are not quite the same. They are semi-civilized barbarians. Although they still retain some of that simplicity, and the worldview of their Nobility and commoners is not so different, they possess an extraordinary desire for land. As brothers in faith who have received some Latin education, they have some understanding of us. Unfortunately, that understanding is almost entirely negative, and the Popes of Rome of the past played a detrimental role in that.

The Greeks, Armenians, and Bulgarians, on the other hand, are different. They have received a full Greek education. The lingering memories of the city-state and republican eras make them unwilling to relinquish the smallest bit of freedom. They are exceptionally sensitive to any change that might threaten their status quo.

When they realize their lives are deteriorating and the Emperor cannot fulfill his promises, alarm and dissatisfaction spread among them like wildfire. They often rush to find a new candidate for Emperor, even knowing that person might just be another charlatan.

This emotional response, even if it won’t necessarily change their reality, often drives them to take extreme measures—destroying sacred buildings, torturing and humiliating a captured emperor—all to vent their inner fury.

That is why many emperors, after taking the throne, don’t think about fulfilling their promises. Instead, they think about how to get rid of the very mobs that supported them.

You cannot expect me to be a secular Christ. Christ is omnipotent; I am not.

I must employ bad means to achieve a good end.” Alexios’s fingers tapped lightly on the table.

”So, are we discussing those ’bad means’ now?” Eric suddenly asked with a smile.

’Bad means. That was exactly the answer Eric wanted from Alexios.’

Alexios froze for a moment, instantly realizing his slip of the tongue. His admission meant he no longer occupied the moral high ground. If Eric were to make a request he was unwilling to grant, he could no longer use high-minded excuses to refuse him.

Alexios gave a resigned laugh. ”Very well. If I had any doubts about your position in the King of England’s Court before, they are certainly gone now.

Count, what is it you want?”

”No, the question should be what do *you* want from us, His Majesty the Emperor? Is it Anatolia, or Jerusalem?” Eric said, shaking his head.

”If we cannot even solve the problems right in front of us, is it not absurd to discuss lands even more distant?” Alexios rose from his chair and walked toward a decorative screen. ”The Franks and Teutons know only of Jerusalem. If I speak of Antioch, some educated Priests and Nobles who have made the pilgrimage might nod their heads. But if I mention Anatolia, their eyes will fill with nothing but blank incomprehension.

To them, distant lands are but vague concepts; to us, they are a matter of life and death. That is why we must first consolidate our own position and ensure our survival and security.

Otherwise, no matter how many holy lands or campaigns we discuss, it would be futile. And you would only think my agreement was nothing more than an attempt to placate and prevaricate.”

At this, Alexios turned back to face Eric and continued, ”The Seljuk Sultan died from his wounds not long after Manzikert. The new Sultan is a young man, and the Empire has inevitably fractured. The Seljuk Turks in Anatolia have broken away from the Seljuk rulers in Persia.

Although this Sultan, named Malik, is exceptionally talented and, with the help of his father’s minister, the Grand Vizier Nizam, has put down his uncle’s rebellion, his control still doesn’t reach every corner of the Empire.