Chapter 368: Kid, You Are Our Future

"Do you really think that those bronze pots are just for cooking lambs, my boy?"

The teenager stomped his foot and made a tsk sound. "Indeed, a barbarian from the west who knows nothing except for prosecuting people in to following him through the use of blades as a threat."

"Talking about threats." Borislav turned around. "After such a long time, did you really see this man pull out his blade and point it towards us? And how do you think about this entire 'five years plan' he distributed to us?" 

"Frankly speaking it is hard to accomplish every thing listed there in five years. But indeed it is still doable if the Caesar is not just bluffing to us and has the real capabilities to get things done." 

"What if he really did manage to accomplish every thing listed on the plan that you just deemed as hard to do?" Borislav stared at his grandson with a pair of eagle sharp eyes that is totally unseen during his meeting with Antonius. 

"Emmm…." 

"Leave the question to me." Borislav's son, the middle aged man who has been standing there silent all the while interrupted. "If the band hordes hidden among the mountains are cleared out, the population returns to their fields, registered in to the government papers of Census and starts paying taxation normally, the schools are set up with enough scholars and mentors, the irrigation system gets renovated and become functioning properly once more, if the social stability of Drama is rebuilt again with a healthy economics and trade system within five years, then I would say that the entire Drama shall enter a new age of collective prosperity and economical growth." 

"Your father is right." Borislav folded his hands behind his back as he walks towards his son and grand son. "If he succeeds in achieving these results he had promised, he would be remembered as not only a foreign sovereign, but also as a liberator, a reformer, an economist who brought a stable living to every one in Drama, his statue shall be erected in the city plaza and his name shall be written in the history books. But if he fails… His rule shall be even more unpopular, with a larger group of bandits and rogues forming up against his rule, which may even join together to form a rebellion against him."

"You see, that is what I want to hear." Borislav gave his grandson a slight whack on the head. "Why aren't you like your father? Be more patient about things, never act with such haste going around spreading your words of arrogance around which would only result in you offending more people, you understand child? Our family, the house of of Aleksandrov has been residing here ever before the fall of our Tsardom, for more than a hundred years already doing business and sprouting on this piece of land till now we can already proudly call ourselves the 'new Romans'. Why cant we all have a broader mind and give the Caesar our support, if he is indeed changing Drama towards a better direction? Remember how I taught you when you were young?"

"Do pardon me, Grandfather." Noticing that Borislav is getting more and more agitated and impatient towards him, the grandson Tsvetan quickly apologised. "It is just because since the Caesar came, he and his men have been treating us in such an unruly manner, forcing you, my grand father in to doing things always keeping the idea that they are the authority on their lips, thus I have a negative impression on them hoping that we would go back to the days when we are the authority.."

"I am not reprimanding you, there is no need to feel sorry." Borislav stood still right in front of his eldest grand son, took a full inspection on him tidying up his cloth and collar, then sighed and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "You are bound to go for Thessaloniki very soon to join the academies over there, which was set up by the Caesar himself which means that he shall become your principal, even probably your teacher one day, so if I were you I would pay respect to him starting from now."

"Yes, Grandfather."

"Our family have always been longing to join the sphere of the government and academics to raise our social statues, remember my child Tsvetan, you carries the future of our entire house with you. If you succeed in your studies in Thessaloniki and gets chosen to join the Caesar's army or his government, we shall no longer have the need of being stuck here being nothing but a merchant who can be persecuted at any time without even being able to put up a proper resistance, just like what happened when the Ottomans came last time, here, take my blessings with you." 

Borislav untied his necklace, which has a silver key tied to the end of it, and handed it over to his Grand son stuffing it in to his hands. 

"This key used to belong to my grand father's house back then in Sophia. Though it is no longer needed because when the last time I went back, the house has already been torn down by the Ottomans to pave the ground flat for their horses to gallop. But still take it with you, with Saint Michael's blessings on this key it has successfully helped my grand father to evade the Ottomans and escape to the land of Romania, and it has helped your grand father to prosper in the years of merchant activities as well… I hope that it shall bless you too, in the future." 

The teenager grabbed the necklace with force, trying to resist the tears from coming out from his eye socket. He gave his father and grand father a final look before going out of the courtyard to the doors, where a junior servant is already waiting for him over there with his back pack for the prolonged journey already prepared. They shall embark on a journey to the temporary capital of Antonius' realm, the second largest city in the entire Romania, where a journey of both brightness and uncertainty waits for the young man who is just turning twenty this year.

"As you have ordered, father. I have gathered more than half of the resources of every Aleksandrov family member and placed in to supporting the rebuilding works of the Caesar." The son of Borislav took the chance to make his report. "We have placed all of our resources supporting the Caesar in his missions, I do hope that our bet this time round is a correct choice made."

"My son, you still need to realise one thing. We do not really get a choice in thinking about which side do we support. If it is a game of chess we are definitely not the players, the Caesar is, we are nothing but pawns, perhaps we can play around a little bit for our interest in the process but we cannot determine who we shall support, at least not in the current stage. If we dare to say no to any of the Caesar' order or if we does not fulfil his orders good enough, he can always find some one else to replace us, take every thing that he gave to us, like my appointment as the Caesar's special advisor on the affairs of Drama, and your son's chance to be a student in Thessaloniki."

The middle aged man acknowledged, spoke a few more words to his father, excused himself saying that he still got things to attend to and left the courtyard, leaving Borislav alone staring at the crescent blankly, wandering where he shall steer the future direction of his entire family in the series of sudden events that has been going on recently. 

Mean while, hundreds of miles away, another battle is taking place between in the border region of Thrace, with the Roman army led by the one and only legitimate dictator marching back to the lands where they once possessed. 

The emperor of Constantinople only managed to assemble a relatively small sized army of around twelve thousand men which consists of over four thousand mercenaries. He has literally thrown in his entire treasury, placing his empire as a stake for this chance to advance in to the lands his predecessors used to rule over. After he has experienced through the events of Mehmed's siege on Constantinople, he is no longer afraid of making any further bets. 

The general in charge of all tactical missions and battle planning is undoubtedly our old friend Giovanni Giustiniani, who is probably more capable and experienced than any other general under Constantine, and now maybe a little bit more reliable than last time also, because he is the son in law of Constantine's most trusted cup bearer George, Giovanni even managed to have a Roman son with his wife before this expedition.