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Text Chapter 700 The Battle of Christ

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    With the intervention of the three great empires of Tang, Daqi and Tianzhu, Dashi not only stopped expanding, but has even turned to a defensive posture. After all, they are not the opponents of the three empires in any way.  />

    It was precisely after seeing this situation that Constans II suddenly had an ambition, that is, to take back the lost southern provinces from the hands of Dashi. After all, these provinces were lost in his hands. If  If he could take it back, he would not only make up for his reputation, but he might even become one of the most famous emperors in the history of the Roman Empire.

    It was with the support of this idea that Constans II began various preparations to regain the lost territory, not to mention the military and economic aspects. In recent years, through trade with the Tang Dynasty and other countries, Rome  It also promoted the development of domestic industry and commerce, and the treasury revenue was very sufficient, so it naturally had enough strength to launch a war.

    In addition, in order to win the support of the people in the southern provinces that had fallen, Constans II thought of a method that he thought was good.  Although the southern provinces have been occupied by the Great Eclipse, the people in these areas have not changed their beliefs for the time being, and they mainly believe in Monophysites.  So Constans issued a decree that prohibited Catholics and Orthodox Christians from discussing the divinity and humanity of Christ. This was equivalent to a disguised overture to the Monophysites.

    Originally, this decree of Constans II did have an effect. For example, Irina's father, he and some nobles who fled from the southern provinces, after learning about this decree, attacked Constans II.  The world is filled with gratitude.  In addition, it turned out that some churches in the southern provinces were also secretly sent to contact Constans II.

    Speaking of the churches in the lost southern provinces, their lives are not easy. Dashi is an Islamic country. For the sake of stability, it does not force proselytizing in the occupied areas, but it imposes additional taxes on non-Islamic believers.  tax.  This made those Christian churches feel a fatal threat, so it was natural for these churches to move closer to Constans II after Constans II passed a decree to show favor to them.

    The Eastern Roman emperor was both a political leader and a religious leader, so the decree of Constans II also represented the attitude of the Eastern Orthodox Church. However, Constans II ignored the reaction of the Roman Church.

    The current Pope of Rome, or the person directly called the Pope, is Martin I, and for some unknown reason, Constans II dislikes Martin I very much.  When Martin I succeeded to the throne as Pope.  According to the church's etiquette, the approval of the Roman Emperor was required, but the Western Roman Empire had long since perished, so subsequent Roman popes would seek permission from the Eastern Roman Emperor to ascend the throne.

    Of course.  Because the Eastern Roman Empire had long lost its control over Rome, this approval was only a step in the papal enthronement and was not necessary.  For example, Constans II did not approve Martin I's accession to the throne, but Martin I eventually became the Pope of Rome.

    At the Lateran Council convened and chaired by Martin I, he publicly condemned monotheism and the decree of Constans II prohibiting debate on the will of Christ.  This made the Eastern Roman emperor very angry and even issued an arrest warrant directly for Martin I.

    Although the Apennine Peninsula where the city of Rome is located was ruled by the Lombards, the Eastern Roman Empire was the overlord of the Mediterranean region after all.  Constantine II still had the power to order the arrest of a person, so Martin I was quickly arrested and, a few months later, escorted to Constantinople.

    But Constans II did not think of it.  His move caused big trouble. Although the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople had never dealt with each other very much, in fact the separation between the two churches did not last very long, and many doctrines were not as different as in later generations.  In fact, if you put aside the political stance, there is not much difference in the teachings of the two churches.  For example, regarding the Monophysites, their positions are the same.

    Constans II's previous decree prohibiting discussion of the divinity and humanity of Christ had caused dissatisfaction among some people within the Orthodox Church. Now he directly arrested Pope Martin I, which made many nobles feel dissatisfied.  They all asked to see Constans II, hoping that the other party could pardon Martin I. Even the Senate opposed the arrest of Martin I. Unfortunately, during the empire, the Senate did not have any real power, and it was impossible to have any influence on Constans's decision.  What a decisive influence.

    Among these nobles, the one who reacted most violently was Prince Theodosius, who was far away in Asia Minor, and was the younger brother of Constans II.  With the secret help of Li Ke, he escaped from Constantinople to the front line of Asia Minor. In recent years, relying on his previous military exploits and the network of contacts he had established, Theodosius led the army in Asia Minor.  Having mastered most of it, I now have the strength to challenge Constans II.

      After Theodosius learned that Constantine II ordered the arrest of Martin I, he immediately united with the nobles of all levels in Asia Minor to jointly protest against this move of Constantine II, and even many Constantine  The nobles of the fort also responded one after another.  Of course, Constans II himself had many supporters, and together with the nobles of the southern provinces who had fled back, they also united to quarrel with the opposition led by Theodosius, and for a time the entire Eastern Rome  The political situation in the empire became a mess.

    However, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the reason Theodosius opposed the arrest of Martin I so hard was not because of his fanaticism about religion. The real reason was that he wanted to use this incident to influence Constans II.  to cause a blow to his prestige, thereby achieving his ulterior motives.

    When Theodosius was in Constantinople, although he was nominally a consul, he actually did not have much power in his hands. It was difficult to even leave the city. It can be said that that simple life was no different from house arrest.

    Perhaps it was influenced by that period of life that Theodosius became extremely enthusiastic about power after returning to the Asia Minor Peninsula. Now he not only has most of the military power in his hands, but also attracted a large number of local nobles.  Especially since Irina was an ally in the court, Theodosius was at ease, and everything seemed to be going very smoothly.

    However, as his status changed, Theodosius' ambitions also expanded. Even in some private occasions, he even expressed without scruple that he would be better off only if he became Augustus of the Eastern Roman Empire.  to protect the security of the empire.  The so-called Augustus was actually the co-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, whose status was equal to that of Constans II.  Theodosius's mother worked hard all her life but could not make him become Augustus.

    Constans II naturally knew better than anyone else the ambitions of Theodosius, but the situation in Asia Minor was special. Theodosius was very prestigious in the army, and now he held the real power of the army, which made the monarch  Tansi II did not dare to touch him easily.

    What Constans II didn¡¯t expect was that Theodosius took advantage of this opportunity to arrest Martin I and actually gathered a large number of nobles to challenge him. This caught Constans II off guard for a while.

    However, Constans II was not a vegetarian. He quickly organized his supporters and began to have a verbal war with the opposition led by Theodosius. The other two people also thought of one person at the same time, that was Yi.  Linna.  As a queen, Irina's status in the empire is only lower than that of Constans II. Coupled with her special relationship with Li Ke, Irina's influence in the empire has greatly increased. If  If one party wins her support, it is likely to overwhelm the other party.

    In fact, Irina's position at the time was very awkward. Theodosius was the ally Li Ke found for her. The two had helped each other several times before. For example, Irina's father was in Theodosius's house.  With help, he became the fleet commander of the Roman navy again.  So in terms of alliance relations, Irina should be on Theodosius's side.

    But this time is different from the past. In the past, Theodosius and Irina only communicated secretly, and at most they helped each other a little, and there was not much other contact.  But this time Theodosius actually confronted Irina's husband Constans II directly, and the reason was that Constans II supported the Monophysites, and Irina's family happened to be all monophysite.  She is a Christian, so Irina should support her husband no matter in terms of identity or religion.

    Originally, Irina's position was more in favor of her husband. After all, if Theodosius really became Augustus of the empire, he would take away half of Constans II's power, and as the emperor, he would  The status of Stans II's wife will naturally decline, coupled with the influence of religion, so if nothing unexpected happens, Irina will still stand by her husband in the end.

    But in the end, after Irina thought about it for a long time, no one had a choice. Instead, she proposed to Constans II that she was bored in Constantinople, so she wanted to take this opportunity to go out for a walk.  .  The reason why Irina made this decision was actually to take this opportunity to go to the Iberian Peninsula to have a private meeting with her lover.

    Although Constans II was caught off guard by Theodosius at the beginning, he was the Roman emperor after all and had the highest power of the empire, so he quickly stabilized the situation and slowly recovered his disadvantage.  So what he is most worried about now is that Irina will support Theodosius. Now that he heard that Irina made it clear that they would not help each other, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief and at the same time agreed to Irina's temporary departure from Constantinople.  Dimburg's request.
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