Two hours after ascending the throne, Her Majesty Zoe and Her Majesty Theodora, who had just become co-emperors of Eastern Solomon, encountered endless troubles.
First, there are domestic industrial issues.
Since the Great Schism between the Eastern and Western Churches, scientific and technological exchanges between the two sides have been completely interrupted.
So far, the civilian industry of the Eastern Solomon Empire has recovered to 40% of the level of the ancient Solomon Empire, and some complex household appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioners, televisions, etc. have resumed production lines.
The military industry is currently only able to manufacture firearms and mortars, which means that the rockets, power armor and aircraft stored in warehouses are almost gone as soon as one is broken.
Looking at the various densely packed reports, most of which were marked with deficits in bright red, Her Majesty Zoe rubbed her brows in distress. She finally understood why her father had to go on an expedition to the Seljuk Empire. The reason was simple: there was no money.
The treasury income of the Eastern Solomon Empire mainly came from the surplus of import and export trade, as well as the output of the mainland, especially the Anatolian Peninsula.
The rise of the Seljuk Empire in the East not only sucked blood from the empire's east-west trade routes, but also threatened the production order of the Anatolian Peninsula. It was in the interests of the empire to start a war.
The only problem was that we unfortunately lost.
Therefore, how to keep Anatolia became a headache and almost unsolvable problem.
The Seljuk Empire controlled the densely populated Caucasus and Syria regions. It deployed as many as 100,000 combat troops in the Battle of Manzikert, including 20,000 extraordinary people. It was no match for the Eastern Solomon Empire, which had less than 20,000 remaining troops.
"Can we borrow troops from the West?" Theodora asked seriously, "My Solomon Empire is known as the 'Shield of Civilization', guarding the Eastern gateway for the Western world."
"If Constantinople falls, the first to bear the brunt will be the Venetian city-state, the Holy Solomon Empire and the Khangri Principality. It is better to borrow troops from the three countries in the name of 'defending the Christian world'. Especially the Holy Roman Empire, whose queen Theophano is from the Empire's Sioleru family, so her family can act as a middleman to connect the two countries."
"Okay." Zoe nodded and said, "Sir Buril, please go and find out what the Siolelu family has to say."
Prime Minister Buril quickly bowed in response.
"In addition, the position of the Western Church must also be considered." Theodora added, "Since the split between the Eastern and Western Churches, the technology sharing agreement has been terminated, causing the Empire's power armor production line to almost stop."
"Why not try to reconcile with the Church? In the name of the pagan threat, ask the Innocent Church to mobilize the Templar army to help the Empire repel the Seljuk pagan invaders."
"Your Highness Theodora," Zoe said gently, "You should know that the split between the Eastern and Western churches was caused by a dispute over the leadership of the continent's ideology and beliefs. What if the Innocent Church demands that our Orthodox Church yield and completely revise the scriptures according to the wishes of their bishops, or even allow Catholic priests to enter the country to preach?"
"When the country is in crisis, why bother talking about heresy?" Theodora felt that something was wrong, but she still subconsciously expressed her thoughts. "The right to preach should never be given, but it seems that it is okay to modify the scriptures. Since the Vatican's scientific and technological level is ahead of our country, it proves that its scriptures may not be completely without merit. If necessary, can you persuade His Excellency Patriarch Alexios to make certain concessions?"