The Sun and the Lion

Two flowers bloom, one on each side. Just when the Holy See and Hungary were panicking about the sudden disaster, the Holy See's envoys who had penetrated into the world of heaven had already successfully arrived in Isfahan along with the Armenian caravan.

The monks walked into the magnificent and luxurious Grand Palace. Since the victory over the Ottomans, craftsmen were creating reliefs and tile mosaics to praise the victory to decorate the walls. Captured cannons were also placed in the courtyard and beside the gate.

He glanced and counted quietly. A rough calculation revealed that there were more than a hundred Ottoman heavy cannons on display as trophies. Although he had not been able to see the temples and monuments in Ankara with his own eyes, he was convinced that they had been processed several times after being spread from Venice. The news is true.

Ibrahim did not greet the papal envoy with grand pomp. The meeting was arranged in a small reception room next to the hall. He sat on the sofa, waiting for the papal envoy to walk in.

The monk who had been entrusted with the important task was introduced into the room and said with full courtesy: "Dear Sophie, Augustine of Amalfi, the servant of Christ, salutes you."

"Yes." Ibrahim responded.

"The fame of Sophie's victory over the Turkish Sultan has spread to the Christian world, and is famous all over the world. The Pope hopes to form a good relationship with you and reach a consensus on jointly fighting the Turkish Sultan, so he sends me to see you." Augustine slowly explained the purpose of his visit.

"Oh? Am I so famous among you Franks?" The King of Kings' vanity was easily aroused again.

The topic was led to an irrelevant area, but Augustine was not impatient and continued the question: "As one of the most powerful monarchs in the world, you regard the Turkish Sultan as a bug on the sole of your boot, and you cannot understand that you The shock of the fall of Constantinople was natural and unsurprising.”

"Picking the red apple is also a big event for Muslims." Ibrahim retorted flatly. For him, the pressure on Ottoman did not come from the change of ownership of Constantinople, but from the other party. The reason cannot be known or understood.

And now that the Safavids had gained the advantage over the Ottomans, the pressure in Ibrahim's heart disappeared. All Augustine saw was the confidence and complacency he showed.

Then he heard a lot of false information circulating in Western Europe. Due to diplomatic influence, Augustine could only pick out those that he thought were suitable for his ears - such as the killing of hundreds of thousands of Ottoman soldiers in Ankara, the Shah brothers' ability in literature and martial arts, and their very handsome appearance.

In short, after propaganda and repeated processing, his image was still positive in the Christian world due to his hostility to Ottoman. Every court intentionally showed favor to him out of economic or military interests, except for Portugal, which was injured in India.

Portugal's expansion in India aroused the jealousy of neighboring monarchs. Seeing the wealth flowing into the Tagus estuary, the French king directly called Manuel a grocer, which most intuitively showed the mentality of his neighbors.

Therefore, the failure of the expansion of the Holy War in India did not arouse the common hatred of the Muslims in the Christian world. Venice directly jumped in ridicule, and the Spanish court was fortunate to have obtained territorial claims on the west side in the "Treaty of Tordesillas".

The topic turned back to the Crusade against the Ottomans. Augustine said that when he set out, the Pope had already issued an edict calling on all countries to attack the Ottomans, and soon a powerful coalition would set out from Hungary to liberate Rumelia.

In order not to be looked down upon by the King of Kings, the monk deliberately chose the most exaggerated rhetoric to show him the unity and reliability of the Christian world under the coordination of the Pope's orders. However, Ibrahim knew that this was bragging as soon as he heard it. France and the Holy Roman Empire jointly sent tens of thousands of troops as the main force. He was well-informed and would not be deceived by this nonsense. The Holy See envoy still imagined Iran. Too occlusive.

According to common sense, the Crusaders attacking the Ottomans will most likely be a personal show of Hungary, supplemented by a small number of foreign volunteers, and at most Poland will intervene. It is impossible for other palaces to project military power to Rumelia.

"Okay, okay, if that's the case, then I hope Huda will bless you with victory." Ibrahim had reservations about the Crusaders. He hoped that the Christians could win a moderate victory and continue to weaken the Ottomans. Not to completely destroy it - this is not out of any interests, but just because he wants to monopolize the prestige of Minming City.

As for actual actions, he did not promise anything. As far as the current situation is concerned, with the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Aegean Sea blocking him, he would be powerless to do anything. Otherwise, why would he wait for the Crusaders to do it? He would take advantage of the victory and attack Kostantinye directly. Okay.

Although nothing was agreed, the harmonious atmosphere drove Augustine to ask the crucial question: "Dear Sophie, I heard that there are many Christians living under your rule."

"They are all loyal and reliable subjects. I have never persecuted them. They live and work contentedly under my rule." Ibrahim, who originally thought that the Holy See was only concerned about the rights of Iranian Christians, responded perfunctorily.

Hundreds of thousands of Armenians and millions of Georgians living under the rule of Safavid, as well as Assyrian Christians in Nineveh, look for Shuyuanｗww.zhaoshuyuanｎ.com. The Holy See learned of these heresies that existed outside Rome The church came up with a bold idea - for the sake of the pope's spiritual leadership status, let's take all the jurisdiction of each church back to Rome!

Leo's conditions were very generous. All Eastern churches could maintain their original liturgical and theological differences. Rome would not deny their history and had almost complete autonomy. They only needed to recognize the priority of the Pope and share the same status with the Catholic Church. melt.

But "generousness" is for these churches. This does not mean that it will give any benefits to Safavid. In this case, it can only be said to the self-righteous guys.

As soon as these words came out, Ibrahim looked at Augustine sharply, and the original goodwill was replaced by hostility: "Please take back this joke. My subjects cannot accept the jurisdiction of foreigners. No monarch in the world will allow People swear allegiance to another lord outside the country."

Augustine quickly backed down in the tit-for-tat confrontation: "You may have misunderstood the Pope's meaning..."

"What did I misunderstand? I funded the construction of the Armenian cathedral. I can immediately summon the Armenian Caliph to talk to you about this matter. How about that?"

In fact, it does not matter whether it is the will of the Armenians, Georgians or Assyrians. The final decision still lies in the hands of Ibrahim. If he says no, it means no.

Augustine was originally opposed to this clause, and he was relieved by the immediate failure. The person he was sent to was not the dying Greek emperor. Guaranteeing the independence of the church was obviously conducive to the rule of pagan monarchs over Christians. In contrast, the Pope What chips of equal value can be offered in exchange?

Moreover, the bargaining chips that the Holy See can put on the table are shrinking. Messengers from the West have arrived in Isfahan, preparing to report the latest developments of Osman to the King of Kings.