The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 125

125. With My Teacher (2)

—Italy, Papal States—

Generally, the Pope is a position that clergymen who have reached the pinnacle of their careers as cardinals can obtain through various influences. Because of this, Popes are generally old.

Pope Pius II will go down in history as the Pope who successfully led the Third Crusade. Unlike the Popes who failed to recover the Holy Land during the First and Second Crusades, Pius II succeeded and thoroughly punished the Islamic forces.

This is an achievement that surpasses even Pope Urban II, who initiated the First Crusade. If Urban II was like a vending machine coffee, Pius II would be like pulling out a TOP [a premium canned coffee brand in Korea], no, a Luwak coffee [a very expensive coffee made from beans that have been eaten and excreted by civets].

Now, if he could reach a stable conclusion, he could have retired comfortably. To that end, he even secretly aided Venice in this civil war to help Prince John.

It was as if Prince John had used the method of birthday gifts in his childhood to persuade Henry II, repaying the debt of saving his life.

Anyway, he thought that if he finished well, he could receive a passing grade from England as a Pope. If he set a good example as Pope until his death, another Pope from England would emerge, even if it wasn’t him.

‘Popes have usually been French or Italian, but I must break the tradition.’

His remaining wish was to create a precedent where clergymen from England could become Pope, not just the Popes that everyone else gets to be. That was Pius II’s remaining wish.

In any case, the problems in Europe are almost resolved. There won’t be any major issues for the time being.

The re-emerged Kingdom of Poland is sharpening its knives for revenge against Denmark, but the problems of those northern European bumpkins are not something that His Holiness the Pope needs to worry about. They can just squabble amongst themselves. Especially since the fight between the Viking forces and the Slavic forces is always entertaining to watch.

And for now.

The Eastern Roman Empire, which gained vast territory from the last Crusade, still had significant administrative problems.

In simple terms, it’s a power struggle. Although the governors and royals cannot challenge Emperor Alexios II, who strengthened royal authority by suppressing rebellions, the political struggle for those positions is intensifying. If the Holy Roman Empire were peaceful, this kind of infighting wouldn’t exist, but the Eastern Roman Empire is relieved to see the cracks in what they call the fake Rome (Holy Roman Empire), so they are fighting without worry.

However, no one among them knows that the Duchess of Ireland is the half-sister of the current Emperor Alexios II. The people of the Eastern Roman Empire, including the Palaiologos family, who know this fact have already infiltrated Ireland.

The Angevin civil war is virtually over. The moment Henry II appeared, the balance of power was broken. Prince Geoffrey had already become a noble prisoner of Prince John and was being humiliated, and it probably won’t be long before Prince Richard and Prince John become the real powers.

The Kingdom of France, which will not see a good outcome from meddling in other people’s family feuds, will also have to go through a time of shock and horror for the time being.

The Holy Roman Empire temporarily stopped their own family feud to join the Angevin family feud, but it is an unholy nation that is scheduled to be split again like firewood due to the incompetence of the heir, the German King (Crown Prince).

And the remaining kingdoms were not in good enough internal condition to dare encroach on the cities near the Papal States. The majority of them participated in the Crusades and gained considerable profits.

Unlike the original history that Safe Zone knew, Christians gained a lot in the Third Crusade, so they were struggling to digest it for a long time.

One of the reasons why the Kingdom of France easily fell to John was that there was infighting among the ‘lords’ in this digestion process, so there is nothing more to say.

Anyway, Pope Pius II thought that all that was left for him was a peaceful retirement.

But this world is always full of variables. In the East, the Jin Dynasty fell and the unfamiliar Holy Mongol Empire was established.

Pius II was mentally dazed and his head began to spin, wondering where exactly that was a holy empire. As a successor of Peter who oversees all churches, it is good if the Lord’s word spreads.

Aren’t they a variant of Nestorianism, which was concluded as heresy a long time ago? That means they are like wild horses that the Vatican cannot control.

So Pius II quickly informed the major Western monarchs about the Holy Mongol Empire that had risen in the East.

In fact, Pius II foresaw the future. He knew that the Christian monarchs would not take his letter seriously. As expected, the Western monarchs were passive.

‘Why should we care about the problems in the distant East?’

‘We will correct the bad manners of our lords first.’

‘Anyway, it is my descendants’ time for them to invade.’

At that time, the Pope thought of his disciple John, who would soon become the real power in England.

“John, I heard that the child has an Eastern knight who converted?”

“That is correct, Your Holiness.”

“Then we must inform Prince John of that fact.”

So he wrote a letter to Prince John.

At least John is the one who knows the threat of the Mongols better than the other idiots in Europe.

Soon after John came from the East to the West, he came to the Papal States with his converted aide, Yue Buqun.

Prince John is no longer just an old disciple.

“John, your Venetian friends are interesting, and I have been watching your activities in utilizing rural counts like the Habsburgs. But your hidden desires are even more terrible.”

So Pius II told John what he had been thinking.

* * *

Am I terrible?

I don’t feel good, but well, my teacher is not wrong.

I can be as terrible as possible to protect my power. Paris, too, didn’t they suffer complete pillaging from Dangerous John after siding with the wrong party once?

“I want to be as safe as possible, but I can be more terrible for my people.”

“That’s the same for me, John.”

In the Middle Ages, the Pope was not necessarily sacred.

From the beginning, didn’t even the first Pope Peter have faith, courage, and political power to lead the early church?

Why did Peter and Paul reign among Jesus’ many followers? Because they were people with strong charisma as well as ‘political’ power.

Anyway, after a brief conversation, it was dinner time.

“Now, I have prepared a banquet for the distinguished guests from England.”

Sometimes the dining table represents power. The Pope’s meal, seasoned with plenty of spices, was more splendid than I expected. To be honest, I would say that the dishes and number of items were the same as the dishes I received in the Eastern Roman Empire?

Of course, as it was such an occasion, I ate the food as neatly as possible, and Yue Buqun, my aide and informant from the East, also ate in the Western style as much as possible, perhaps because he was aware of my mood.

Of course, I felt good because the food was delicious.

After the meal, the real work began.

“I want to hear about the East.”

“Then I will tell Your Holiness about the information from the East.”

Everyone who knows already knows that Yue Buqun is good at Latin.

Even though I indirectly experienced China through future history books, I cannot know the East in as much detail as Yue Buqun, who lived in Southern Song in the 12th century and was wrongly captured by the Mongols and dragged into slavery, so a Christian from the local area must explain it directly?

First, Yue Buqun began to speak seriously about his opinions. He spoke of the fall of China (Song Dynasty) and the awesomeness of the Jurchen and Mongol people.

Yue Buqun especially wanted to tell the truth even while abandoning his national pride. Of course, I persuaded him properly.

“The Jurchen were strong nomads who subjugated our China. But the Mongols, who destroyed them in an instant, will be more terrible beings than the Huns in Western history.”

“In what way?”

When Pius II asked, Yue Buqun looked at me for a moment.

‘It seems like he is going to tell a heartbreaking old story?’

“It is the story of when I was captured as a slave while doing intelligence work.”

When Yue Buqun was sold as a slave, he began to tell how cruel the emerging nomadic Mongols were, and my teacher’s expression became serious.

* * *

—1191, Italian Papal States—

“Now, let’s talk as we go.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

We came out onto the streets of Rome.

Italy.

I have been to this city several times in my past life, but medieval Italy had a different charm. Because this era is the Middle Ages.

The Pope’s guards blocked the road, and we walked the streets of Rome.

“How is it?”

The building built during the Roman Empire was visible in front of me.

“I can feel the power of the old Roman Empire and it is very beautiful.”

“I see.”

I gave an obvious answer. Anyway, it is a compliment for the citizens of the Roman territory who are watching our appearance from the outside.

“The Roman Empire is futile. They had a brilliantly shining empire and thought they would be eternally great, but their era was also a comedy of an era.”

“That is correct.”

“Prince John, that is why your era cannot be safe.”

This tone is like, I’m going to die soon, so suffer a little, John! Is it just my imagination?

* * *

—Goryeo, Gaeseong—

The unheard-of Holy Mongol Empire appeared and destroyed the Jin Dynasty, which was like an enemy. This is a great opportunity for the Korean Peninsula regime.

But unfortunately, Goryeo is a mess right now.

Not to mention the national power to do anything about the Mongol barbarians, but even the internal situation was a complete disaster.

The military regime rose, and the emperor was no different from a scarecrow.

Even though Myeongjong could have expected the ignorant military officials to fight among themselves,

I couldn’t reverse the situation at all.

Lee Ui-min.

The ignorant but shrewd man’s military regime had been going on for eight years.

Choe Chung-heon, a Jungnangjang [military rank] of the Yongho Army, lamented this living hell-like court and heard about the situation unfolding in the West.

‘The world is changing.’

He was terrified of the thought that he might be purged by the Lee Ui-min regime at any time, but he felt that even greater terror was coming.

Goryeo is a more open country than Joseon because it has Byeongnando [an island that served as a major international trading port], an international trading hub. Conversely, it means that they have information from merchants. To some extent, the powerful people of Goryeo already know about the Middle Eastern demon Safe Zone through merchants.

Such merchants are spreading the horror of the ‘Mongols’ like selling goods, and the nobles of Goryeo felt like they were going crazy because they were already confused.

Even Lee Ui-min, who was ruining Goryeo by indulging in women and power, took this issue seriously. Now, there is no one inside the country who can do anything to him, but he is someone who bullies the weak and submits to the strong, and is terrified of the monster barbarians from the outside.

At that time, an envoy came from the Japanese shogunate.

“I greet the Emperor of Goryeo.”

The Japanese shogunate knows that Goryeo is practicing 외왕내제 [a system where a country internally claims imperial status while externally maintaining a lower title, like king] and also knows that Lee Ui-min holds the real power.

It’s not that they sympathize with this similar state of affairs, just like they serve the Emperor but the Shogun does everything.

‘Now is the time for even a moment to be urgent!’

Of course, Hojo Yoshitoki, the envoy from Japan, was not concerned about the situation in Goryeo. It is because there is a very urgent situation now.

“Yes, what do you have to say to me?”

Myeongjong was well aware that the envoy from the Wa [ancient name for Japan] country would formally report to him and then report to Lee Ui-min, the person in power.

‘Maybe they will talk about the Mongol barbarians.’

However, even if it was just a formality, he listened to the report with a very serious face, befitting the Emperor of Goryeo, who inherited the blood of the Dragon King.

The Emperor also roughly anticipated what the Wa country would say.

“I would like to form an alliance with the Song Dynasty and Goryeo.”

“Is it because of the Mongols?”

Hojo Yoshitoki immediately answered Myeongjong’s words.

“Your Majesty, you must not forget that the Mongols are quietly staying still for a while. They are not just nomads. They are a disaster.”

There was a commonality in East Asia in this era. It means that they are Chinese character cultural spheres that follow Buddhism and Confucianism, although the proportions are different.

However, the Mongols revealed themselves to the Eastern world by taking out Mongolian-style Christianity, and the three Asian countries, which were not even on good terms, needed to talk.

The moment when the event of the union of the three Eastern countries explodes in later history.

Of course, at the same time, Safe Zone, who had been through a lot of trouble, was on a business trip and traveling in Italy with Yue Buqun.