Chapter 504 - Into Epirus

The huge fortress lying in the middle between Antonius and Epirus, spent the deceased Sanjek three years plus to build, surrendered willingly to the Romans after a short negotiation. The Ottoman defenders are allowed to come out of the fortress in one piece after discarding their weapons and armours to the Roman safe keepers by the gates. It is obvious that the people inside knew as well that nothing can be done from this point of time onwards, as they seemed to be very happy when raising their hands high up in the air and getting sent back home. 

Looking at this Antonius decided to come up and have a little friendly chat between him and an Ottoman guy that looked like their leader, only to be surprised that this man is actually a native Roman who is able to speak a fluent Greek, only became the leader because people elected him to become one. And he is not the first one to be elected, there was a guy who was elected before him but have already disappeared. 

"These people." Antonius pointed towards the line of Ottoman troopers waiting to throw their equipment. "They are all just ordinary local Romans like you?"

The man replied in a rather sarcastic manner. "They are all the owners and contributors of the nation, waiting to return to their homes." 

"Then who are those people on horses coming out of the fortress a day ago?"

"They are our elected representatives; they are our servants." 

"…"

"I heard that your Sanjek has previously made a law ordering every commander to care for soldiers, anyone who disobeys and punishes their men or run away from their posts shall be punished severely, don't they know about it? I mean even I knows." 

"What is the use of it your majesty?" The man shrugged his shoulders. "Everyone knows that you are supposed to pay allegiance to that emperor in Constantinople, but do you actually do it?"

"…"

Antonius walked away from this man, complaining to Apostolos that Romans living in Epirus are just plainly way too boring to talk with. 

Two hundred men are left behind guarding this fortress that has now became a central holding site for prisoners of war as well as a transfer base for logistics supplies from the East. The rest of army is being split into three portions, six thousand men with most of the cavalries led by Helio going Northwards to save as many towns and fortresses in the Albanon borders before they are claimed by Skanderbeg, five thousand men led by Antonius himself going right towards the city of Ioannina, and the rest nine thousand plus men going Southwards aiming to wipe out all the smaller warlords that are still jumping around in Southern Epirus. 

The banners of the double headed eagle representing the Imperium Romanum are seen flying over the hills of Epirus again after an entire a hundred years, ever since this place was lost to the once powerful Serbian empire a hundred years ago. 

Empires come like a sudden mudslide and goes like the piles of brown maple leaves in every Autumn season, getting blown away by the wind. The only things that never ever changed are probably only the constant sufferings laid on to the commoners residing here. 

There is a mixed feelings between the native communities when they saw a Roman army marching pass their premises. It is not like their personal identities and classifications have changed, they still consider themselves to be Romans, but the past experience and memories passed down to them by their fore fathers living under the rule of Roman officials and nobles was not that good either; It was accompanied with drafting, heavy taxation, unreasonable judicatory system, and constantly bullying and robbing by the riches, the nobles, and especially the soldiers. 

There is a reason why the Roman army was notoriously known for most of the times in history since its establishment, for it had a long history of pillaging, ransacking and committing fraud to the people that they are supposed to protect. And every time when there is a military operation in the area, the local government officials are required to gather sufficient food supplies for the passing by armies. The amount of food required shall increase by a bit each time the order for supplies is being passed down the hierarchy of governance, and when it reached the farmers at the bottom the number of grains required has literally been increased to an amount whereby the farmer cannot afford even if he gives all of the food he has. 

What if one has an iron heart and persistently refuse to hand over your precious grains? Don't worry, the soldiers will then come to kindly do the work for you, they will pillage your house, take all the grains you have, confiscate your land, execute you and show you around on a cart in front of the whole village. If things become a little extreme, or if the soldiers and the commander are plain psychopaths wishing to lay their blade on something to release the thirst for blood and plain evilness inside their mind, they might go on to massacre the entire village, wiping it out from the surface of the world forever. 

That was what happened to several communities during the Roman civil war between the notorious emperor John V Palaiologos and his co emperor John VI Kantakouzenos. As compared it even made the early Ottoman rule that came with it after some what more enjoyable as the taxation suddenly became a lot more reasonable, though it is still heavy, and the Ottoman nobles would not bother them so much unlike the Latin and Roman nobles who have a wide spread sick fetish for hunting. 

This is the reality of living inside this era, it is filled with pain, agony and hunger, and yet one cannot foresee a future that their lives can improve. The only standard they have for their ruler determining whether he is good or bad, is whether they as farmers can keep their family away from hunger for the most time of the year without dying. But still just such a simple wish is unable to be fulfilled for most of the times in history. 

Antonius rode past the muddy road beside his soldiers while observing the villagers standing by the side of the road, these people are mostly consisted of women, elderlies, children and the disabled, with almost no adult male being spotted around them. They are observing Antonius too, he can feel it. And whenever he looks into these men's eyes it almost made his spine shiver in fright, as their eyes and sights are made up with a mixture of emotions like untrust, anger, hatred, suspicion and tiredness. Antonius ordered his flag's bearers to raise the icons of Chi Rho and the standard of the double headed eagle higher up to show that they are vastly different from the Ottomans that oppressed them into this state, but that did not change much either. 

It is clear that the ordinary ones have already been way too hungry to care about the flag raised over their head or the identity they belong to, for they only care about their well being and the right of them filing up their stomach. 

Some quarrels and screams can be heard from a distance away breaking Antonius' deep thoughts. A few minutes later a messenger came back reporting that the commotion happened when the Serbian crusader squadron marched pass this village, two old villagers is suddenly filled with energy as they charged up towards these Serbian soldiers shouting curses in their Epirutian dialects. The conflict cooled down quickly as the villagers pulled these two men off to one side and the Serbian commander ordered his men to not take any action. 

Antonius made a deep sigh, there is no need to think too deep about this. History is a terrible subject, it brings in an endless debate, quarrel and struggle, especially for the piece of history that involved blood, as it shall be pierced deep inside the brain of the ones who have went through it, never to be forgotten, and so is the hate and anger that comes along with it. 

Antonius looked at the city of Kastoria erected in the middle of the huge lake under the early dawn. Her walls, her cathedrals, her castles, even that mini port of hers, are all so elegantly built producing almost a fairyland like view. But immediately after one turns his head and looks around, he shall be quickly brought back to the reality of the village houses with broken rooves, children starved to the bones running around bare footed, elders with disabilities and fallen walls that still have that burn mark barely visible. 

The Caesar knows from these observations that he must do something from now onwards to reclaim the love and trust from these people who are going to become his people very soon, if he still wants to see himself as the immediate legitimate ruler of all Epirus.