"Berdine, I didn't expect that we would meet under such circumstances. You have always been very cautious. Why are you taking such a risk this time?"
Outside Thessaloniki, not far from the battlefield where a bloody battle had just taken place, Alexios's men set up a tent. It was in this tent that Alexios met with his
Captive, Serbian ruler Bertin.
Bodin was held on his knees by two soldiers. The intertwined spears forced him to bend his strong waist and face the emperor sitting on the marching chair in a humiliating posture. Combined with the broken armor and the blood on it, this
, and Alexios, who had just put on new clothes and armor, appeared like an imperial monarch condescending to a barbarian chief.
"My skills are inferior to others. Your Majesty Alexios, you can do whatever you want next. I am a loser. I will accept my fate calmly, but if you kill me, my descendants and people will not be able to do it."
Will stop resisting the Empire, Alexios, killing me is not the end."
The decisiveness in Bertin's tone was very obvious, just like that of a tough guy, but Alexios just wanted to laugh. He had been dealing with the Dalmatian Governor for a long time, and he had no idea who Bertin was.
, isn’t he clear yet?
"Lord Burdine, stop pretending to be a tough guy. We have had many confrontations. Don't I know what kind of person you are? There's no need to show off your poor acting skills."
Alexios first waved the generals and soldiers around him to retreat, leaving only the two guards guarding Burdine, and then exposed Burdine's performance mercilessly.
"Tsk, is it that bad? It seems that I should have learned a lesson earlier so that I could face such a situation." Bodin was not angry after being exposed. In other words, being exposed was part of his expectation, "Okay.
Okay, okay, Your Majesty Alexios, let us discuss how you can let me go."
Bodin's words did not make Alexios raise any objections. The reason was that both of them knew each other well. If Bodin was killed, the out-of-control Serbs would definitely cause more trouble than they did now.
"Yes, then let's talk, Lord Governor of Dalmatia."
Alexios emphasized Bodine's status as a vassal, but Bodine acted like a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water. He has already fallen into this situation. There is no point in playing these power tricks with him. The next step is to fight for no more
Get the worst possible release conditions.
The subsequent negotiations were thus considered smooth. Bourdin was well aware of the situation he was currently in. He knew that concessions would definitely be made, no matter how much concessions he made.
Alexios was also very knowledgeable. He knew that he could not ask for too much. His greatest desire was nothing more than security at the borders of the empire.
So the emperor only wanted Bertin to send his eldest son to Constantinople as a hostage, and then asked Bertin to swear allegiance to the empire again, and finally some symbolic compensation.
Bourdin was quite surprised by such a generous condition. He originally thought that the Greeks wanted the lion to open his mouth, but he did not expect that Alexios' conditions were so tolerant. This was something he had not expected at all.
The ruler of Serbia naturally agreed immediately, and he also planned to settle down after returning to his country. This war had dispelled his illusions about those grandiose projects, so he should just be his own ruler in his hometown.
And he will also be in trouble next time. Those Croatian fellows will definitely come to find trouble when they know that he has suffered such a big setback. The recent invasion of the Magyars has made them a little anxious, and since there have been losses in this direction, then generally
The idea is to find it in another direction, and Serbia seems to be the right direction to go.
After asking the guards to send Bertin down, Alexios immediately summoned two people, the two heroes of the Battle of Thessalonica, Vasiliko, the captain of the Varangian Guard, and the Grand Duke of Rus.
Son-in-law Gregory.
Looking at the two people walking in, Alexios felt a little emotional about the impact of war on people.
He still remembered how Vasiliko looked when he first arrived in the capital. His mind was full of reading and his whole person was full of bookish temperament. No one would associate him with the war, but in the end he became a famous scholar.
A famous general for half of the Mediterranean time.
Now Vasiliko's whole person is full of the temperament of a general. As a person who grew up among military nobles, Alexios has often seen people with such temperament since he was a child, but compared to what Alexios has seen,
Among those barbarian mercenaries, his bookish temperament is still easy to see.
As for Grigory, his changes were obvious. Alexios still remembered the young man who came to visit him on behalf of Rostislav. Although he had obviously received relevant training, he still felt unfamiliar.
It couldn't be more obvious. Alexios has seen such a temperament in many recruits. This is a huge challenge for these recruits, because losing such a temperament often requires a cruel war.
Now Gregor has obviously experienced such a battle, and the greenness in his body has obviously faded away, but looking at his face that seems to be still recalling the previous deadly battle, Alexios knows that he still needs to practice more.
.
"Thank you both. If it weren't for you, Thessaloniki would have been lost long ago. As usual, I will send the gold and silver to the camp."
Alexios' words did not make Vasiliko move at all, which has become a common practice, but Grigory just stood there ignorantly, he had no idea what the emperor was saying.
"Then can I go back to Constantinople?"
Vasiliko said feebly that although he was used to the battlefield, he was exhausted physically and mentally after experiencing such a war. Now he just wanted to go to the library in Constantinople to study. That was his way of relieving stress.
"I'm sorry." An apology appeared on Alexios's face, because the Varangian Guards still had tasks to do next, "Arslan of Rohm is back, and now his army is gathering. According to my spies' report,
Their target is Nicaea."
Vasiliko's expression didn't change much. Over the years, he had become accustomed to running around on battlefields, and he didn't have any time to recuperate.
Grigory's expression was very bad, because according to the Grand Duke's order, if the war continued, he still had to follow Vasiliko, but he didn't want to. In the previous war, he was thrown directly into the most dangerous place.
, he didn't want to do it again.
But reality is reality, and he can only accept it.