"Sir, I will follow you to Sinop. One day we will make a comeback." A sailor spoke first, and his reaction directly led to a series of chain reactions.

"I am willing to follow you, sir!" A soldier who was lying on the ground with some injuries on his legs struggled to stand up and expressed his determination to Alexius and everyone.

"God bless, Amen..." An old Orthodox priest first prayed to himself, and then expressed his attitude to everyone:

"I'm going to Sinop too!"

Soon, more and more people chose to side with Alexius. The actions of these people undoubtedly relieved him. He finally convinced most of the people on the ship, although there were still a small number of nobles who were still hesitant.

decision, but they were helpless at this time. After all, the minority obeyed the majority.

Alexius did not embarrass them, "You don't have to worry, I promise you, even if your blood is boiling and you want to fight the Latins now, I will not embarrass you. But now there is only one ship, it is better to start with

Follow us to Sinop. I will rent some boats for you at my own expense so that you can reach where you want to go. But there is a precondition. If any of you dare to turn around and join those damn Latins, I will definitely punish you severely.

No loan, I swear as Komnenos!"

A nobleman was still worried: "I have a fief in Sinop. If I follow you, will you keep my land so that I can make a living?"

What this noble asked was actually a common concern for most people present.

And it was difficult for Alexius to answer this question.

As early as the Komnenos dynasty, the government increasingly used the tax farming system, which determined the amount of tax according to specific areas and assigned the task of tax collection to specific individuals. The consequences of this were obviously:

This opened the door to corruption, especially during the turbulent years of the Angelus dynasty. Moreover, the growth of the local economy and the importance of Constantinople as the country's main consumer center

The huge demand generated by local provinces had a negative impact on the political stability of the empire.

Especially the local aristocratic forces, some places gradually became independent from the central government in terms of administration and even finance. By the 12th century, the empire's military management of Semata became somewhat lax, which was equivalent to weakening the ties between local and central governments.

Together with another important factor (administration through military generals and administrators appointed from Constantinople), the local provinces were much less connected to the central government than before, a development that strengthened their regional identity.

consciousness.

In fact, a group of local elites "Akantis" (meaning consuls) began to emerge in various provinces of the empire. Their rise in economic and social status further strengthened their sense of identity with their local identity, while weakening their

This gave them a sense of belonging to the central government.

Once the emperor's personal charisma is not obvious or he is unable to firmly control the central power, the empire will catch fire in its backyard.

Having said that, although there were rebellions by nobles in the 10th century, they were not trying to change the political system of the empire, but just fighting for land, power or the throne. However, after the 12th century, rebellions occurred in many provinces of the empire, but

The goals of these rebellions were very different from previous rebellions, because they wanted to fight for their own independent political power. By 1204, many parts of the empire no longer accepted the direct rule of the emperor living in Constantinople.

Alexius was determined not to go to places like Thessaloniki, Morea, Rhodes Island or Cyprus. This was directly related to what was just mentioned.

For example, Cyprus has been controlled by Insac Komnenos and is a semi-independent local government; large areas of Western Asia Minor have fallen into warlord rule, and the local "Hydra" that obeys the Angelus dynasty has already "taken root"; Romania

The island of Deku was controlled by Leo Gavalas; central Greece and the Peloponnese Peninsula were controlled by Leo Sguros and belonged to semi-independent local governments; as well as Phila Zephia and Impyrus

Etc. These local nobles took advantage of the weakness of the central government of the empire and took the opportunity to become independent.

Not only that, many neighboring countries under the control of the empire successively gained independence by launching national liberation movements, such as Serbia, Bulgaria, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, etc., as well as the re-emergence of neighboring hostile forces (such as Hungary in Manuel

After I's death, I couldn't wait to plunder the Dalmatia region). The motives behind these actions were not the same as the causes of internal strife within the empire, but they both caused the empire to lose more territory and power.

Alexius wanted to revive the empire, but the obstacles he encountered were also troublesome. The nobleman's words meant, "Seal my land so that I can follow you wholeheartedly."

If Alexius wanted to stand firm in the Trebizond-Sinope area, he had to get the support of the local nobles, because he himself was a noble, and he could exchange power or land in exchange for their trust; but the locals

After decades of wanton development, social contradictions have soared to the sky, and can almost be described as tense.

If Alexius doesn't handle it well, he may end up losing his support and be assassinated by nobles or beaten to death by angry civilians. This serious problem for nobles is more terrifying than external factors.

Alexius felt "a lot of pressure" for a while. He was only in his early twenties, and he was already burdened with the task of restoring the country, as well as dealing with a mess of internal affairs, religious issues, class conflicts, and foreign enemies... Will he know?

Will die young because of these complicated government affairs...

Alexius took a deep breath and replied to the noble: "I..."

Before he finished speaking, a frightened voice suddenly sounded in his ears.
Chapter completed!