ALL NOVEL
Chapter 42: Mandarin!
“Constantin XI is too much!” a furious roar could be heard echoing in a luxurious mansion.
After those nobles who tried to make a stand were done in by Shu Yichao, Constantin XI couldn’t even be bothered to keep up a front before the remaining ones.
The Holy War had concluded for now.
Constantin XI and his Crusaders didn’t engage any enemies along the way, but it was also exhausting having to clean up after Shu Yichao. On top of that, the initial fever of fanaticism had died down, so the Crusaders naturally dispersed with the conclusion of the Holy War.
With the reclaimed territories, the Eastern Romain Empire’s population instantaneously shot up from 100,000 to almost 400,000. It was like a snake trying to devour an elephant. For now, they had to slow down and secure the acquired territories first before deciding on their next move.
Constantin XI made use of this momentum to shove a bitter gourd down the nobles’ throat.
Revolution! I declare so!
He exploited his current military might and prestige to roll out a series of changes to their economic, political, and military policies. The policy that the nobles were the most opposed to was the change in the land policies.
You want to confiscate our fertile land and give them away to those lowly serfs?
This is ridiculous! Not even the heretic sultana dared to do so! How dare you try to push this farce on us?
“Indeed!”
The gathered nobles here had twisted faces. Their usual graceful demeanor was nowhere to be seen.
“That swine wrapped in purple cloth isn’t worthy of being the Romain emperor!”
“He’s a tyrant!”
“He uses a pretext of a Holy War to curb all heretics… but are we no longer Romain nobles just because we converted to another religion? This is ridiculous!”
“You’re absolutely right!”
The nobles cheered in agreement.
“Since that dogshit emperor does not have the compassion to accept us, there’s no need for us to submit to his rule anymore.”
A noble furiously bellowed, “Pull him down the throne!”
“Tell him to get lost!”
“We’ll reach out to Morea, Transylvania, Hungary, Albania…”
They didn’t care who ruled over them, as long as their interests were assured. If the Eastern Romain Empire’s Augustus was going to infringe on their interests, they would rather see the empire crash and burn.
Why should the empire exist if it couldn’t serve their needs?
“I have a plan—” a noble said.
Most of the nobles fell silent after hearing his plan.
“Are you sure you weren’t hallucinating?”
“You got in contact with the Venetians?”
“Is that important?” that noble placidly replied.
“That’s true,” the other nobles murmured. At this critical juncture, it didn’t matter whom they had to work with.
“But there’s one problem,” someone said. “How do we deal with the Khitan Caesar? Even cannons can’t bring him down.”
“I’ll admit that the Khitan Caesar is an amazing warrior, but he’s still mortal,” that noble replied. “Pasha Callerga used a small cannon on him, and his face was blackened and he lost his steed. This shows that he isn’t unkillable. With sufficient gunpowder, we surely can blow him to bits!
“Besides…” That noble revealed a mysterious smile. “Who says that war is the only way to kill someone?”
Those words stoked the other nobles’ excitement.
“What are you thinking of? Drowning? Poisoning? Assassination?”
These were things that nobles specialized in.
…
【Wuuu! My host, I did you injustice!】
System 12345 cried with a choked-up voice, thinking that it was a failure of a System.
【I just realized that the screenplays I gave you doesn’t translate across different languages!】
System 12345 had never felt so dumb before.
It was bewildered as to why its host’s performance failed to reel in the Second Imperial Consort despite having stoked everyone’s excitement, but later, it realized that the screenplay, despite being a classic, hadn’t been translated yet.
This meant its host couldn’t even read the screenplay!
Despite the hurdles, its host still deciphered the screenplay based on the drawings and moved the officials and nobles with his performance. That was a formidable achievement in itself!
【My host, how could I have been so dumb!】
After lamenting its incompetence, System 12345 squeezed its brain juice to figure a way to help Shu Yichao.
【My host, I suspect that you might have inadvertently offended others due to the language barrier. Quite a number of nobles in the city are dissatisfied with you right now.】
【The Eastern Romain Empire’s circle of nobility had grown intricate after many generations of political marriages. Offending a single person may result in a group of them going after you…】
System 12345 pondered about this matter.
【My host, I’ll compile their information and hand it to you. I’ll make sure to include their pictures too so that you can steer clear of them. Your relationship with them mustn’t sour any further than it is, or else it’ll be hard for you to remain in the city.】
“Hm?”
Shu Yichao tapped into his notification and saw that he had received a book as a reward.
Unlike the previous books he had received, this book contained portraits of nobles dressed in opulent clothes, and there were countless lines drawn in between them as if to signify their web of connections.
“A genealogy?” Shu Yichao deduced. “Is my reward a genealogy book?”
【One more thing, my host…】
System 12345 was sheepish.
【语言插件我貌似还得再修一修。】
【I think I need more time to fix the language installation pack. An error keeps popping up, saying either the genre is wrong, the storyline is wrong, or the environment is wrong. So…】
Shu Yichao obtained yet another bunch of books.
【So, I’m giving a dictionary that translates the words of this world into Mandarin. It includes the characters and pronunciations too…】
System 12345’s voice got softer and softer. It was embarrassing that a System like itself was telling its host to learn the otherworld’s language. Its reputation would go into the gutters if word ever went out!
【To help you get along better with the nobles, I have also compiled details about the nations here that share similar customs and cultures with your previous world… With these, you should have no trouble playing as a noble from the far east.】
“…” Shu Yichao was rendered speechless. “What are these?”
He found an empty room and dumped the things he deemed useless there, though he opted to keep the genealogy book as he thought that it could be put to good use in the future.
“What did the Caesar throw in there?”
Out of curiosity, Madam Marti entered the empty room and casually grabbed one of the books. Seconds later, her eyes widened in shock.
“T-these are?!”
Ten minutes later, she rushed into Constantin XI’s room and shouted, “Your Majesty, you need to look at these!”
Twenty minutes later, Constantin XI was stunned.
He realized whatever was written on the books were much more efficient and impactful than the series of policy changes he was planning to push through.
Half an hour later, Constantin XI, Madam Marti, and their aides appeared before Shu Yichao.
“Const XI.”
Shu Yichao nodded in acknowledgment before walking away, but a string of awkward words stopped him in his tracks.
“Wespected Han Worrier, our Kaishar, I harf sumting to arsh yew.”
Shu Yichao turned around in shock. “What did you just say?”
Am I hearing things? Is Constantin XI speaking Mandarin?!