After staying in the camp for a few days, Roger met the official in a scorching suit again.

He brought the document with the seal of the Deputy Emperor John.

He read: "Three days later, Caesar, who was favored by God, and John of the Komuning family.

"In the side hall of the Holy Palace, we will meet with Bosimund Otwell, son of Prince Antioch Bosimund of Taranto.

"He will represent the Lord of the world, the eternal ruler, the supreme commander, the respected, the great, the emperor of the Roman Empire, the Greek emperor, the Bulgarian emperor, the eternal Augustus.

“Boximond Otwell, who accepted Taranto’s oath of allegiance.

“And will be granted a certificate of conferment to him by Prince Antioch.

"...Long live your Majesty!"

The officials handed the documents to Xiao Boximond and left.

Roger immediately attracted a certain Muttier.

He said: "Tell me about John."

Mutelyi replied confidently: "Captain, based on your induction, we can draw such a conclusion.

"This John, nicknamed "Beautiful Man", is actually an ugly guy.

“He is not only short, but also has an unusually ugly appearance.

"His eyes, hair, and skin are all black, and he is like a Moor."

Roger stopped Muttier's narrative laughed and cried.

He said: "I am not interested in what he looks like. What I care about is his identity and his behavior."

Muttiyi then said as if he was endorsed:

"John Komuning is the eldest son of Emperor Alexus of the Eastern Roman Empire and Queen Irina Ducania.

“He was born in the Grand Palace of Constantinople and is 30 years old.

“He was very restrained and every meal was very simple.

"And he often scolded the courtiers who lived in his speeches.

"But he believes that the gorgeous ceremony is conducive to demonstrating the power of the empire.

“At the same time, he was also a kind man, and he was famous for never executing or maiming anyone.

“He was also very generous and did a lot of charity.

"The citizens generally believe that he possesses noble character and pious faith.

“He has a very high reputation among the middle and lower class citizens.

"But in the upper nobles, the comments about him often implicitly mock and ridicule.

"He married Princess Piroshka, the daughter of King Radislau of Hungary, 13 years ago.

“The princess raised eight children for him.

“They are…”

"Stop, stop, I'm not interested in his family."

Roger stopped Muttier's long speech.

He knew that if he did not interrupt him forcibly, Muttiyi could continue, and he could say that the sea would be gone and the rocks would be broken, and that it would be incompatible with the theme.

Roger knew that the Eastern Roman Empire had a very strange tradition.

They had two emperors.

These two emperors are one in charge and one in charge.

Sometimes the power of the two emperors is comparable.

But sometimes the deputy emperor is just a decoration.

He wanted to know how much power the current Deputy Emperor John had.

So Roger said, "I remember you said that the military power and regime of the Eastern Roman Empire were separated.

"So, can he control the army now?"

Muttier replied hesitantly: "This, they are very messy.

"The army of the military region is obeyed the general of the military region.

"And the central army, including the army and the navy, were obeyed the generals of the army and the marshals respectively."

Roger interrupted: "Your answer and my question, donkey lips are not right.

"I asked, can John make the soldiers in the army obey his orders? Why do you tell me these generals do?"

Muttier replied in embarrassment: "They are different from us."

"Their soldiers did not obey the emperor's orders."

Roger smiled and said, "What are you kidding?"

Muttier said: "I'm not kidding, that's it.

"I'll give an example, their Royal Guards heavy infantry unit, namely the Varangi Guard.

"This is a unit directly under the emperor and does not obey the generals of the army.

"But their soldiers listen to the emperor? No, they don't.

"They only obey the leaders of their own guards.

"This leader was directly loyal to the emperor and was responsible for commanding the troops, distributing military pay, finding troops to supplement the corps, etc.

"Now is a Norwegian named Harold Hadrada who is their chief."

"Stop, stop, don't deviate from the topic, I understand what you mean."

Roger touched the short beard on his chin and thought, wasn’t this just dividing the army into mercenary groups?

He thought that the relationship between the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire and his army seemed to be like that between Bosimund, the Catalan mercenary group he led.

The emperor controlled these generals and directly gave money or other items to the general.

The general himself found a way to maintain his legion.

Roger thought this way of commanding the army was stupid.

He remembered that when he was playing games in his previous life, he learned how arrogant the ancient Roman guards were, that they even deposed and established the emperor on their own.

Why did so many years have passed, and Eastern Rome, which inherited the Roman Empire, still not learnt this lesson?

The Royal Guards were like mercenaries, and weren't they afraid of their rebellion?

Roger remembers that Yuan Shikai, who died in the Qing Dynasty, used the emperor's money to support his own soldiers when he was training in the small station.

Soldiers in feudal society often only obey those who pay them directly.

Roger thought, what is the difference between using this military system by the Eastern Roman emperor and digging his own grave?

He thought, why don’t these emperors understand?

Roger shook his head and withdrew his divergent thinking.

He thought, so the question became whether John had control of these generals.

Roger thought of a way to prove it.

He asked: "Welf, Duke of Bavaria, when he crossed the strait, was he aboard a military or civilian ship?"

Muttier thought about it and said with certainty: "It's a civilian ship."

Roger asked: "Is it because military ships are not enough, civilian ships are requisitioned, or are they all civilian ships and no military ships are involved?"

"It's all civilian ships. The spy report records that there are free military ships parked at the dock, but no military ship participated."

Roger then realized.

He knew that the Eastern Roman Empire had a huge navy.

Dulles once told him that he could not lead the fleet into the Marmara Sea controlled by the Eastern Roman fleet.

But the Eastern Roman Empire, which had such a huge navy, had to hire civilian ships when transporting the Duke of Bafaria's troops and crossing the strait.

Roger thought, obviously, the Marshal of the Navy did not obey the command of Deputy Emperor John.

This proves that John did not receive allegiance from the generals and did not control the military power.

He thought that the army must still be in the hands of the emperor, and John could only directly command his personal guards at most.
Chapter completed!