Manuel II sat opposite Zhao Yuanhong and carefully took the tea handed to him.

The clear fragrance of tea flowed around his nose. Being born into a royal family, he naturally understood the preciousness of this tea.

After taking a sip of warm tea, Manuel II felt his heart bleeding.

"This one should be worth hundreds of gold coins."

Tea from the East was considered a luxury item in Europe, and was also used exclusively by the royal family of the Ming Empire in the far East.

The tea brewed here alone is worth as much as gold.

Hundreds of gold coins were enough for him to pay a large amount of guards' salaries, and at least he would feel better about himself.

"The other party is a real oriental noble."

Manuel II was certain in his heart.

Zhao Yuanhong squinted his eyes and observed Manuel II's expression. He got the answer he wanted from the shock in his eyes.

It is certain that the Palaiologos dynasty has now reached the end of its rope.

Who is Zhao Yuanhong? He was once the person in charge of the main planning of Annan.

When I saw this situation today, many thoughts suddenly came to my mind.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhao Yuanhong said in Chinese: "Wei Wan, bring out our documents of passage."

Wei Wan had been working with Zhao Yuanhong for a long time. Upon hearing this, he immediately took out various documents from the package.

After Zhao Yuanhong took it, he placed the document on the table and said in Latin: "Your Majesty, this is a document from the distant Ming Dynasty. It not only has the seal of our Ming Dynasty, but also the seals of various countries we passed through from the East."

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

This document from Zhao Yuanhong is actually equivalent to a pass.

The pass certificate carried by Tang Monk in the novel Journey to the West looks almost like this.

Because of their special status, every time they arrived at a place, they would meet with the local government leader and ask him to stamp the seal, which represented friendly communication.

Manuel II took the document and began to read it.

At the beginning of the document were the Chinese characters for Ming Dynasty, which he naturally did not recognize, but at the end of the document were the texts of each country it passed through, including their government seals.

Manuel II flipped through the pages one by one. He did not recognize or have seen the characters and seals of more than a dozen countries.

It was not until I turned to the back of the book that the Central Asian characters became familiar.

And then the last page is written in Turkish and has a seal symbolizing the Ottoman Empire.

Manuel II looked carefully and immediately saw a small seal next to the Ottoman royal seal.

That is the personal seal of the present-day Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I.

This shows that they had already met with Bayezid I.

"Honorable Oriental noble Zhao, I have never doubted your identity." Manuel II explained seriously.

Zhao Yuanhong asked Wei Wan to put away the documents, and then replied with a smile: "Showing documents proving our identity is what we should do."

However, when Manuel II saw the documents being taken away, he felt insulted.

His complexion turned a little ugly.

After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Sir, don't you need my seal?"

Manuel II was already being very tactful.

Because all the people stamped their seals on it, most of them were just officials, not monarchs of any country.

Although the current Palaiologos dynasty is indeed in decline, is it really going to lose even this last bit of dignity?

Zhao Yuanhong burst out laughing. He had never expected Manuel II to be so sensitive. He smiled and said, "Your Majesty has misunderstood. I came to Constantinople to help Your Majesty and may stay here for a long time."

"I am not just passing by, so there is no need to seal this document at the moment. If I choose to leave here one day, I will ask Your Majesty to help me seal it."

This passage is quite long, especially since Zhao Yuanhong expressed it in Latin, which made it somewhat difficult for Manuel II to listen to.

But after I understood the general meaning, I couldn't believe it at first.

He was worried that he had misunderstood.

"Your Excellency's words just now mean that you want to help us?"

Zhao Yuanhong replied affirmatively: "Your Majesty, please forgive my rudeness. The current situation in Constantinople is very difficult. The soldiers have no one to pay their salaries, and the residents in the city have no food."

"Although the Ottoman army has left now, it is clear that your Majesty's internal problems are even worse."

"Our Ming Dynasty has always been a civilized and courteous country. I feel very sorry to see the ancient Byzantine Empire become what it is now."

"So I want to do my best to help Your Majesty, to restore the rule of the Byzantine Empire and to restore the glory of the Roman Empire."

Manuel II could hardly believe what he heard.

The wealthy oriental noble in front of him actually said that he would help him restore his former glory?

If it were someone else, he would definitely think that the other person was a fool.

But this is a noble from the far east.

Zhao Yuanhong frowned slightly. He saw that Manuel II showed no reaction to what he had just said.

Could it be that there was something wrong with my Latin expression?

After thinking for a moment, he instructed the translator behind him: "Repeat what I just said to His Majesty the Emperor."

The translator behind him was responsible for teaching Zhao Yuanhong Latin, and he also knew Chinese.

Zhao Yuanhong bought it from a merchant for one hundred gold coins.

In terms of status, he was Zhao Yuanhong's personal slave.

After hearing the order, the translator immediately repeated what Zhao Yuanhong had just said to Manuel II in complete and fluent Latin.

Manuel II finally came back to his senses and replied with a little embarrassment:

"Bow your fists, Your Excellency. Please forgive my rudeness. It's not that your Latin is not good, but I can't believe what I heard. It's like a dream."

"It is just as you have seen. Constantinople is now on the brink of destruction. Even if the Ottomans withdraw their troops, our own problems are still very serious."

"I really hope to get your help, but reality tells me that it doesn't make much sense."

Manuel II had a bitter smile on his face. He did not regard Zhao Yuanhong as a life-saving straw. The Ming Dynasty was too far away from Constantinople. Even if he really wanted to help, it would be too late.

A hint of approval flashed in Zhao Yuanhong's eyes.

The monarch of the Palaiologos dynasty was not a stupid and arrogant person, but had some clear understanding.

At least I didn't expect to be cheated first, so I'm lucky in terms of my luck.

If you cooperate with such people, you will have fewer troubles in the future.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being blunt. You have nothing to lose now. I sincerely want to cooperate with Your Majesty, and I am not just joking."

"Also, Your Majesty, please understand that this cooperation is temporarily limited to Your Majesty and I, and not between the Ming Dynasty and the Palaiologos Dynasty."

"I will write a letter to the Ming Dynasty and ask for the consent of His Royal Highness the Ming Dynasty's Crown Prince."

"Until I receive the letter, I will temporarily stay with Your Majesty in my personal capacity."

"If I get a reply that His Royal Highness prohibits me from doing this, I will have no choice but to leave. But if I can get the support of His Royal Highness the Great Ming, I think this will be great news for Constantinople and His Majesty."

Zhao Yuanhong spoke carefully and also explained the details clearly.

Manuel II's expression became serious and solemn, and he said: "The Palaiologos dynasty now has nothing to lose."

"As long as you are truly willing, I can agree to any conditions you offer."

At this point, Manuel II paused for a moment and said again: "No matter what happens to you, it won't be worse than the current situation."

It is obvious that Manuel II has now given up hope.

It didn’t matter even if the nobles from the East joked with him. The royal family had lost all face long ago, and even a beggar in Constantinople could be spit on at will.

At least with the arrival of the Eastern nobles, perhaps he could have a few full meals without worries?

This is already very good.

"I hope that His Majesty will appoint me as Chancellor of the Court and Minister of Finance."

Zhao Yuanhong stated his needs directly.

This sentence left Manuel II confused.

"Are you kidding me, sir?" Manuel II asked hesitantly.

He certainly didn't mean that the appointment could not be made, but what was the point of such an empty title?

Zhao Yuanhong did not explain anything to Manuel II, but said: "Now I have a thousand knights under my command, except for a small number who followed me from the East."

"The others are warriors I met along the way. Perhaps because of their miserable lives, or perhaps because they were looking for new hope, they chose to be loyal to me."

"Now that His Majesty has appointed me as the Minister of the Court and Minister of Finance, these one thousand knights will join the Holy Palace to maintain its safety and stability."

"At the same time, I will provide some meager food to the residents of Constantinople. Although I cannot guarantee that everyone will have enough to eat, at least they will not starve to death."

"Those obstacles that do not obey your majesty's orders will be swept away by the brave knights with their swords, and those who dare to resist will receive the punishment they deserve."

Zhao Yuanhong's solemn words made Manuel II feel a little unreal.

He never expected that someone would come and tell him that he wanted to save Byzantium.

You should know that before this, Manuel II had written many letters to His Holiness the Pope, hoping that he could come forward to gather the European coalition forces, lift the siege of the Ottoman army, and provide some help to Constantinople.

But this did not receive any response, even His Holiness the Pope had given up on him.

But 'God' really appeared.

For Manuel II, Zhao Yuanhong was the 'God' who came to save him.

As for whether it is true or not, it is completely unimportant to Manuel II.

Even if there is another purpose for deception, it doesn't matter.

Because apart from the appointment letter as Chancellor of the Court and Minister of Finance, Manuel II had nothing else to offer, and he couldn't even arrange a sumptuous dinner as a reception.

In the former royal power civil war, both Manuel II and those nobles with ulterior motives hired a large number of foreign soldiers.

They came from various ethnic groups in Europe and West Asia, and apart from the so-called mercenary spirit, the Palaiologos dynasty imposed no practical restrictions on them.

Some of the mercenary leaders even held high-ranking military positions in the Palaiologos dynasty.

This move of inviting a wolf into the house completely led to the loss of power to both sides of the royal internal struggle.

Today, the inability to pay military expenses has become a cancer.

Manuel II really had nothing except an empty title.

Manuel II, who was impatient, confirmed it again and again, then trotted back to his bedroom to get the seal of the emperor.

And he drafted a letter of appointment himself.

In this way, Zhao Yuanhong suddenly became the imperial minister of the Byzantine Empire, overseeing all affairs.

Such a direct appointment is actually not in line with the procedures. In fact, according to the current situation of the Palaiologos dynasty, Manuel II has already lost this power.

In other words, the appointment letter was only approved by Manuel II, and other members of the royal family, including clergy, nobles, and officials in Constantinople, could reject the appointment.

Only Zhao Yuanhong cares about these?

At the same time as becoming the Grand Chancellor, Zhao Yuanhong once again asked Manuel II to issue a letter of appointment.

Wei Wan was appointed as the commander of the guards of the entire Holy Palace.

While sending people to gather the thousand knights outside, he also asked to gather all the guards who were still in the Holy Palace.

The issue of loyalty was easily resolved when boxes of gold were placed in front of the guards.

The originally lax palace guards immediately swore their loyalty to Zhao Yuanhong.

Whoever gives you milk is your mother. This principle is very applicable both in the East and the West.

These boxes of gold were not meant to be distributed to the palace guards, but were just displayed to them to show them how much wealth they had and to guarantee their salaries.

This is very important and can help stabilize morale.

By controlling the military power of the Holy Palace, Zhao Yuanhong had his own say in Constantinople.

That night, Zhao Yuanhong prepared a sumptuous banquet to entertain Manuel II, and decided to invite a large number of nobles, priests, and even officials to hold a grand banquet on the third day.

The grand banquet was expected to cost half of Zhao Yuanhong's money, but he didn't care at all.

After entertaining Manuel II, Zhao Yuanhong naturally moved into the Holy Palace.

Late at night, accompanied by the night view outside.

Zhao Yuanhong wrote a letter.

This is a letter to be sent to the crown prince.

There is a lot of content, the most important of which is that he needs the support of the Ming Dynasty and asks for forgiveness from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Because next, he would need to rely on the name of the Ming Dynasty to do some things.