1453: Revival of Byzantium

Leon Battista Alberti kept his smile while his assistant grumbled. He waited for his assistant to quieten down first, and then replied. "Although I am aware of all these consequences that I might lead to today, but I certainly do not regret having this conversation with him today."

"Why! Your holiness why! We have already got enough troubles on the negotiation tables due to the Magnum schisma occidentale and the war on the heretic Jan Hus, our relationship with a lot of Northern realms in Germania are already in a stalled state, and the last thing we want now is to have a worsened relationship with the East…"

"Oh, don't worry, trust me my brother, look at my eyes." Leon Battista Alberti looked in to his assistant's eyes and replied with an earnest look. "Trust me it will not happen, because the relationship between the Vatican and Antonius shall deteriorate no matter what we do, for we are a state that is built on a belief, which the Caesar holds an immense suspicion on. And he would not mind for what I have spoke to him today, not at all. He is a logical thinker, after a while when his anger perished, he shall start to think and in the end, realise that I am right in my accuses."

The Emissary concluded his sentence and wandered off towards the direction of the exit, his assistants had no choice but to follow closely behind with a sigh, asking. "Then what is the purpose of you asking that Caesar those questions, your holiness?"

"Because he is one of those very rare kind of man rulers that actually puts the priority of his people's welfare before his personal prestige and luxury." The Emissary answered with out turning back. "Although he do lack of many things unlike the other dukes and kings I have seen, but he do have a pure mind and a clear intention, you can say what ever you want, but I am interested in this kind of ruler, and I shall stay for some more period of time in Thessaloniki to observe his moves next. You folks can go back to report your duty first."

The assistants looked at one another in their eyes wandering what is actually going on here, an Holy Emissary appointed by the Pope has openly commented that he shall not go back to report his duty, instead he is going to stay here just because he is 'interested' in the other party. This is the first time they have seen such a thing in their past decades of career life. But the only thing they could do is to file a report criticizing their leader for such behaviour to their Pope, and before that they still got to follow up with his foot steps to see where is he heading to.

Unknowing to them is that their Emissary is going to spend the entire day walking around the ancient buildings, remnants and structures of the entire city studying its architectural design and urban planning, admiring the superb settlement building techniques and under ground sewage system of the ancient Romans, which is a thing that is almost gone in Western Europia, even in the most parts of Italia before the thirteenth century. The assistants of the Holy Emissary now got to admit that their leader really do have a pair of legs and stamina that is completely unlike any normal old man of this era, walking around every monument and road of the megatropolis with up to eighty thousand inhabitants.

While Leon Battista Alberti decided to take a little stroll in the city against the tides of the Mediterranean sea wind, Antonius is indeed grinding about that conversation he just had with the white haired Holy Emissary, and the more he thought about it, he could not reject the feeling getting in to him that most of the things the old man has talked about is correct. If what that old man has mentioned about his brief stay and inspection in the domain is correct, then the man must have a pair of observant eyes and quick witted head to make a swift analysis, with the aid of his past experience over the years and knowledge of a life time.

Later that night Antonius could hardly sleep with Anna by his side, making her almost wander whether any of the foreign delegates have infuriated her husband so much that made him develop an Insomnia. But in fact, Antonius is just recounting on the words of wisdom, and when morning comes the next day, the very first thing that Antonius asked Abdullah was. "Do you know the hostel of the delegate group from the Patriarch of the West?"

"They should be staying in the designated area for the foreign diplomats, beside the Octagon of Saint Basil… Why my brother? I must advice you that no matter how much rage you have on them, they are still considered foreign delegates…"

"It is not rage, my brother. Remember that Arab Idiom you once taught me on our ship? Seek knowledge even if it is in Serica? I am going to pay that old man a visit, I have this instinct coming to me that the old man got some thing to teach me, just like Anjelo last time… I shall pay them a visit tomorrow, no, today afternoon."

"I did mention that… Fine, fine. " Abdullah shook his head and casually walked away. "But I got to tell you one thing, judging by the words given by the doctor, it seems like our oldest comrade here Anjelo does not have a lot more time to live, perhaps it is time for us to completely lay off the burden on him, and appoint him a….successor, so that our espionage system would not be suddenly paralysed…"

"I shall think about it."

Then he headed towards the outside without heading back, Abdullah watched his back still worrying if the conversation between Antonius and the Emissaries from the Vatican shall further deteriorate the relationship between the east and west, called for a poor guard standing duty today, giving him an almost impossible mission. "Quick! Soldier! I want you to use what ever ways you have to get to their hostel now, and ask them to not say any extra words if they still care about their mission! Go!"

The soldier, after being startled in the ground for two seconds, ran in the top of his speed to the stable and grabbed a horse even before his Caesar and rushed towards down town to inform the Emissaries. Lucky for him Antonius suddenly decided to turn towards another direction on the way to inspect the recently established common market in the Forum of the Romans inspecting the results of a new marketing policy, buying the poor folk enough time to reach the hostel in a mere thirty minutes through the sea of citizens, informing the disciple of the Emissary while gasping for air, looking like he is almost going to black out and faint.

Upon hearing this piece of news, the Emissary Leon Battista Alberti suddenly had a trick forming up in his head. He called for each of his assistant and disciples, giving them each some gold and tools. "Now, every one of you, go to the place where those farmers assemble to sell their fresh summer vegetables, buy a few packs of seeds from them! And all the young ones, go use these tools to plough the piece of empty land before the hostel, dig an irrigation cannel and if possible, get some chickens. The assistants and disciples of course did not understand this idea of the Emissary, and protested that they are trained for diplomacy not for agriculture, but still after several warning given, they still obliged and managed to start working on the gardens half an hour before the Caesar of Thessaloniki arrived on his horse.

Antonius must admit that he is indeed shocked and bewildered when he got the sight of a bunch of diplomats and students, dressed in the clothing of a regular Italian peasant with a turban on their heads and no foot wears, going on and forth in the plot of land that used to be a garden, digging up soils with their hoes and pouring bucket after bucket of water on to what it seems to be an extremely poorly designed irrigation cannel. In a distance away, another group of diplomats can be seen chasing after a peck of panicking chickens around the walls, and in the centre of them seats the Holy Emissary from the Vatican, giving out instructions and commands for his men to work faster giving people the impression that he is not a scholar with the role of a diplomat, but an experienced farmer that has been dealing with agriculture for years.

However, what concerns Antonius is that he clearly remembered this piece of garden took four hundred ducats to be made on the design blue print, which he read and approved it himself. Now the lawns and flowers has been completely turned over, replaced with chickens and soil.