Anno Domini 830, December-18
This entire situation of intrigue surrounding the imperial family had me on edge. There was not much that could be done when such trash remained so close to Theophilos, since Theophilos depended heavily on them by having at least a group of strategos who, although incompetent, were loyal to him, men to whom he could grant greater authority and power because they were tied to him by blood, and that would only become formalized once Theodora became pregnant. That would be the moment those men would begin entrenching themselves within several imperial institutions and they would surely become a problem later on.
"Skleros, we have to do something. We cannot leave those men in power… who knows what evils they may bring upon the empire later. Marinos seems like a man addicted to power, who for now has more power than he can use now that his daughter is the basilissa and Theophilos listens to her constantly, but what will happen when his hunger for power grows?" I said while pacing back and forth in the courtyard of Skleros' mansion.
"You should be careful with your words, Basil… if I did not know you and know that you only think of the good of the empire I would think otherwise, but others would not… they could think that…" Skleros said while sitting in his chair and enjoying the sunlight.
"That I am a traitor? That I want to dress myself in purple? I do not want power. All of this… all of this about becoming governor of the foederati, my position as strategos, these are things that are necessary… unlike those sewer rats I never sought power through the state. That is why I always preferred being a mercenary, because I could move away if things turned bad, but now I have parents and a brother who will live the best life possible… the life the Bulgars stole from us." I said interrupting Skleros.
"I know, Basil… I saw it in you years ago. You are a good soldier and a good commander, but a poor politician. You are too honorable to sink low enough to play the political schemes of the capital… but what do you propose? That we try to tear away the greatest supports Theophilos has while the iconodules wait for that moment? The instant we try to impose something upon the basileus rhomaion would be the moment for them to strike once they see that the ruler's power can no longer control the men who only seek to help the empire… we would only cause greater harm." Skleros said while shaking his head.
"That iconodule problem already has me exhausted… why can we not simply launch massive purges across the imperial cities and finish this once and for all? I can no longer tolerate that we constantly stand upon the edge of civil war because those men cannot accept that their vision of religion is not the dominant one." I said rubbing the bridge of my nose while pacing back and forth.
"You know better than anyone that if such a purge is not effective we would force them into open rebellion and we would have a civil war on our hands… one only needs to look at what the Abbasids have lost because of their civil war. All the Armenian and Levantine positions have been easily taken because their civil war kept them occupied, and now that it is ending they will surely try to return. What better than to hand them a civil war so they may simply march through our conquests demanding their domains back?" Skleros said with a simple smile that later turned into a look of resignation.
"Then what do we do…? The empire is stronger than ever, but hanging by a thread before everything collapses into pieces, and it is not something we can simply ignore. If Marinos continues like this it will not take long before he tries to return the empire to the same levels of corruption it had under Theophilos' father, and we also cannot publicly oppose them because we would hand the iconodules their moment." I said while looking at Skleros searching for his advice and experience.
"We are standing at this crossroads because it is the two of us… nobody else. Other officers may still hold some respect for me… but the one with the greatest political power among us is you because of your armies in the capital… currently you are the most powerful man in the city after the basileus himself… if you want to control Marinos… you must enter politics… even if you hate it completely, Basil." Skleros said while looking directly into my eyes and gesturing with his hand for me to block the sun from him.
"You forget that I plan to retire as soon as the Egyptian campaign is over and end things with the Carolingians through peace, so in three years I am done." I said raising an eyebrow and stepping to the side to give Skleros the sunlight he kept asking for.
"Then what are you complaining about? In three years it will no longer be your problem and you can lock yourself away on your island and never leave again when something happens that puts the destiny of the empire at risk." Skleros said shrugging his shoulders.
"I am not going to let everything burn around me either. If the empire collapses into civil war the Saracens return to the seas and everything goes back to how it all began." I said while walking a few steps as I thought.
"Then you have to enter politics whether you like it or not… it is the only way for Theophilos to truly take you seriously. Even while remaining loyal to the throne he must have supporters who force the policies that are best for the empire to be carried out and who can block Marinos' attempts… and that is achieved by doing something you already did well with the foederati. You have men who will undoubtedly support you, but they carry no political weight unless they rebel… here they would only be useful when you need them in the city, nothing more." Skleros said while placing his hand beneath his chin.
"Then what? Do I try to do the same thing in Egypt?" I asked.
"No." Skleros said bluntly. "This time make sure the strategos who are chosen are men you trust. Place someone you trust as much as Lysander… that man is loyal to the marrow. Surely you have competent officers who perhaps lack experience as strategos or tourmarches whom you can convince Theophilos to place into those positions… they will protect your back in politics and they will hold influence over the imperial institutions… finish the job. Do not hand them over on a silver platter like what happened in Croatia to Marinos, since many of those strategos now serving there are friends of Marinos." Skleros said with a stern expression.
"I ruined it, did I not?" I said covering my face with my hands.
"You did… you left the selection of the strategos of Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia to Marinos. That demonstrates your devotion to Rome… but by God, Basil, use your wit to realize that you leave everything prepared for the most incompetent of men to take the position. Fortunately those lands were underpopulated and the thematic armies poor, so they had to bring troops from the themas governed by Marinos and his son… do not let it happen in Egypt or we will have the same problem. Egypt is by far the most populated place we will encounter. Having it under the control of strategos loyal to the empire but who answer to you will give you more power so Marinos cannot do whatever he wants and so you can compete against Theodora." Skleros said.
"God…" I said while forcefully dragging a hand across my face. "Why does everything have to be so complicated? Is it too much to ask to live peacefully in Crete and dedicate myself to farming?" I muttered through clenched teeth.
"Because you are not a peasant… everything has its advantages and disadvantages. You are obligated to act according to your position… that is why we are here, because God tests us with every challenge… we learn as much as we suffer… if you want to live on a farm do not complain about what happens around you… but if you want peace… Si vis pacem, para bellum." Skleros said.
"I understand… I suppose I will have to make my choice during the Egyptian campaign since there is no turning back now… besides having to win it I must also take advantage of ensuring my men are chosen." I said lowering my head.
"Exactly… and afterward you will come to the capital, accept whatever reward Theophilos grants you and request the position of magister of the Scholas, that way you remove whoever currently holds the post… and position yourself as the supreme commander of the Roman armies, because I am certain Marinos and his son obsess over that position since it would place control of the empire into their hands as the second most powerful men in the city." Skleros said.
"Fine… I suppose I already have the plan fairly clear if I decide to do that." I said placing my hands upon my waist while looking at the clouds beginning to cover the sunlight Skleros had wanted so much.
"You must become the pillar of Theophilos… I do not have much time left, I am already old and soon I will follow Michael into the grave." Skleros said rising from his chair while beginning to walk into his mansion.
"Do not say stupid things, you are fine… at the very least you still have another decade among us, but I will listen to your advice… though first we must win in Egypt… it is not as if victory will magically happen, we will have to fight against an enormous army and the wali of Egypt must possess formidable forces considering it is the largest and richest former Roman province because of all the trade passing through the region, not to mention the enormous harvests produced by the Nile River." I said walking behind him.
"Just do whatever is best for the empire… you have done too much for the empire to simply abandon it now. Perhaps your dream of a farm will become reality further in the future but understand that it will only come after you carry out the reforms necessary so we do not return to where we began… so we must close ranks around Theophilos and expel those who seek to benefit from power in the way Marinos does." Skleros said.
I nodded at Skleros' words and before long we ate within his mansion where there was little occasion for conversation while we ate and I did not take long to leave the place in order to begin the preparations to move toward Egypt.
All of this involved preparing the fleet that would transport us toward our destination. Nearly one hundred dromons from several naval themas and two hundred and fifty transport ships had been assigned for the movement of the bulk of the army.
All of this would become an enormous logistical undertaking since we would land directly in Egypt attempting to seize some coastal city through assault and convert it into our zone of operations since arriving through Sinai would be far too risky.
So we had to gather wheat, water, animals, armor, swords, everything necessary for killing, in addition to prefabricated siege equipment since on the first day of the campaign we would already be fighting against a city and would have to seize it as quickly as possible, preferably forcing a rapid surrender instead of dragging ourselves into a long siege that would give them the opportunity to organize a counterattack while we still lacked a place where we could shelter and receive reinforcements and supplies.
There were armies in Jerusalem that would arrive as the second wave of invasion but everything depended upon the success of our first strike.
So we departed from the city with forty thousand men aboard ships. Varangians, Serbs and Slavs formed the bulk of my forces in addition to several thousand Greek soldiers that Skleros had given me from his thema, which meant they were trusted men.
Later more Greek troops would join us, a combination of thematic forces from several themas, so although for the moment the expedition resembled more a foederati force, later it would become a proper Roman army once the forces stationed in Jerusalem arrived together with the second wave of reinforcements Theophilos had prepared to mobilize once we secured several cities.
I have to triumph no matter the cost.
-----------------------------
If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
-------------------------------
Hello everyone! If you'd like to read chapters in advance, you can support me on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Currently, there are 7 chapters available
without spaces
p atreon. com/Chill _ean_GUY
Thank you all for your support!