"So, Cardinal Isidore, you really went and tried to convert my people…", The next morning, inside the Blachernae Palace in Constantinople, Basileus Constantine XI met with Isidore, who had come to demand an explanation, with a wry, helpless smile. The Cardinal was still bruised and battered from being pulled off the stage and beaten by the citizens of Constantinople yesterday.
"It's incomprehensible," Isidore suppressed his anger and sighed, "How could the once glorious and great people of Constantinople have fallen into such a state, to be so rude to an envoy from Rome…".
You should listen to what you said yesterday, Constantine, dressed in casual clothes, silently cursed in his heart.
Despite his thoughts, out of a desire to maintain the existing relationship with the Roman Curia, Constantine did not show his schadenfreude. Instead, he smiled calmly, comforted the Cardinal, and defended his people, "As I said before, the people of Constantinople have been numbed by various threats, past and present, but this does not mean they are indifferent to what has been happening since before. This matter is also related to the fact that I did not inform the citizens in advance. I am very sorry for the Cardinal's experience, and I hope he will not take offense."
"Very well, perhaps I was a bit out of place here." Although he still didn't quite understand why the citizens of Constantinople reacted so strongly to his speech, Isidore decided to let the matter go in light of Constantine XI's sincere apology: everything for the continued maintenance of Church unity.
Afterward, their conversation naturally turned to Church unity. When discussing this, the Cardinal casually lamented the difficulties of the Curia's work in Bosporus, "Alas, they verbally support the decisions of the Council of Florence, but in reality, they have no interest in promoting Church unity, nor have they allowed the construction of Latin rite churches. The Bosphorus Caesar on the eastern Black Sea does not appreciate the difficulties of the Curia."
Constantine nodded impassively, then retorted: "However, Cardinal, your words are somewhat biased. Church unity is more about the outcome than the process. As long as the Turks can be defeated under the banner of Church unity, then the true path will naturally be promoted. Therefore, participants with considerable strength like Bosporus are what Constantinople and even the Curia need…"
"Mistaken, Basileus," noticing the envy in Constantine's tone, Isidore immediately advised the Basileus, "Your Brother-in-law, Manuel, his rule is probably not as stable as you think, at least in terms of the situation."
"Oh?"
Noticing Constantine's confusion, Isidore smiled bitterly and shook his head, explaining it with what he had heard from the Venetians, "Basileus, you only see the superficial prosperity of Bosporus and overlook its internal problems. The biggest problem with the Bosphorus Despotate is that it is a country held together by the prestige and ability of Manuel alone. Even if it conquered the Kingdom of Georgia and established a land connection, the divisions on both sides of the Black Sea cannot guarantee the country's continuation in the long run, unless a city becomes a central hub to give the two regions a common focus. Otherwise, it will likely be difficult to avoid fragmentation after a few decades.
"As for its current outward display of wealth and strength, to use words from the scriptures, 'Surely every man walks in a vain show.'① The prosperity it displays is merely a temporary illusion. The Christian Romans within the Autocratic State are not absolutely dominant in number. To this, your Caesar Brother-in-law's measure is to suppress all discordant voices with his autocratic dictatorship. Although I know Manuel has established a Senate, it is merely a rubber stamp he deliberately created. From what my Venetian friends have observed locally, the Senators of Bosporus probably do not have as much power as the Senators of Constantinople.
"As for the currently acclaimed developed trade, ha, it certainly seems so. But this is merely picking up the scraps left by merchants following in the footsteps of the Venetians. Take their contact with Egypt, for example. Although Bosporus provides high-quality slaves to Egypt, it is certainly the Venetians who load Mamluk goods first in Alexandria, and the merchants of Bosporus have to wait until the former have finished loading before it is their turn. Can they really replace the Italian merchants in the Eastern Mediterranean? How could they? Otherwise, why would the Venetians continue to happily ally and interact with that Caesar.
"From this perspective, your Brother-in-law is probably not as hostile to the Latins as the common Romans believe. If it weren't for this Caesar skillfully avoiding Latin interference in his internal affairs, thereby preventing his people from being directly affected by commercial powers, and deliberately presenting a devout image to the outside world, as well as having genuine military achievements, then his reputation among the Romans would probably not be as good as it is now."
"Do you mean that Constantinople and Mangup are no different in essence?" Constantine deliberated, "Because the former is closely linked with Genoa, and the latter has a deep relationship with Venice."
"To put it nicely, that's how it is," Isidore said to himself, "If I were to put it less nicely, then it would be… never mind, that's not a topic I should touch."
Even though he didn't finish the second half of the sentence, Constantine understood his unspoken meaning: he was Genoa's commercial vassal, and Manuel was Venice's commercial subordinate. In other words, in terms of trade and commerce, neither of them had true autonomy when facing the Latin commercial powers.
"So, you must not follow your in-law. Such opportunistic measures will ultimately become completely unmanageable due to a huge political earthquake," seeing Constantine's hesitation, Isidore seized the opportunity to advise, trying to persuade the Basileus.
But was it really so? At this moment, Constantine recalled what he had seen and heard during his interactions with that young and promising Brother-in-law, and he had deep doubts about Cardinal Isidore's words.
Could a Latin unfamiliar with the Roman national conditions see a situation that the Caesar, who governed a country, could not?
"Basileus, our prosperity will not last forever." At the same time, the Chief Minister of Bosporus, Serenus, also expressed his thoughts to the Caesar, feeling somewhat uncertain about the unknown future.
"That is not a problem for you, as Chief Minister, to consider." Manuel stood up and patted the files on the table with his right hand.
"Are the Venetians really trustworthy?"
"Serenus," when speaking of the Venetians, a rare, indifferent look flashed in Manuel's eyes,
"I trust these Latins no more than any other Roman, but now is not the time."