Chapter 421: 416: The Letter

"I wish I lived in more enlightened times..."
-        Europa Universalis 4, one of the most hated events by me.
Antonius stared at these people in shock, feeling like although he and the villagers believe in the same God, speak the same language and live in the same place, but difference in the gap of thoughts and believes between them is so wide that it almost made him question whether they are of the same species living in the same piece of land. Can there be a possibility where by he is a man from another world, which is why he do not understand the minds of these people? Antonius do not know, Antonius is confused, that is why he is shocked.
The village chief explained the whole 'custom' of the village to Antonius, saying that if he do not do this thing, a plague shall invade their village accompanied with droughts and famine, because of a concept passed to them ages ago saying that 'if the purity of the village is affected by witches who conducts treasonous sins like adultery or before marriage relationships, thus what the parents of the girl has done is simply according to the old customs which, in the eyes of the villagers, is completely correct, not a bit wrong.
So in the end, who is the one here that is to be blamed? Is it Antonius, because he could have simply accepted the girl's kind gestures, or take her away to Serres to avoid all the trouble? Or is it the girl? Because she started all of these fuss, and she must have knew about these customs, and yet she chose her own path. Or is it her parents? Because they are the ones who murdered their own daughter, or is it the villagers? Or is it their ancestors who made this appalling piece of rule ages ago? Antonius does not know, as it seems like every one is at fault over here, but at the same time every one has their own set of rules.
In the end Antonius brought the parents of the girl away under the laws of the state and left the rest, telling them that such behaviours would not cause the 'purity' of this place to be affected. But judging by the blurred expression of these people, Antonius reckon that his speech would have any effect on these people, and it would be ages before modern civilisation, accompanied with perhaps the morale standards of a modern citizen of the state. All of these just shows the urgent needs to further increase the nation's progress on education in rural areas, but…
Where shall the funding come from? Like the good old times robbing Ottoman ships in the Aegean? But there are hardly any more Ottoman ships for them to rob, even if there are, most likely they are hanging the Genoese flag of Saint George. Where shall the tutors come from? Are the tutors willing to give up the lives in the cities and go to these rural areas, where they are most likely unwelcomed by these ignorant villagers who see them as useless, heretics who spread false believes and challenge the customs set by their ancestors.
But these difficulties do not mean that the government can close an eye and forget about them, the ruler can mimic an ostrich (Antonius: What is Ostrich?) and bury their head low in the ground, pretending that the problem does not exist at all. But the problem shall eventually come back to haunt them a few decades later when they pass away, leaving a population that is vastly divided, between the city dwellers who are largely educated, and the rural citizens who are still living in their old way being completely isolated. This can cause a lack of communication between the cities, the government and the vast rural majority, which in the end can tear the state apart.
In the end, under the statement that 'Thou who murders shall pay back with thou own life, under the watchful eyes of All Mighty God' in the Judicatory laws, the couple is sentenced to an immediate death through hanging. The crime they conducted with their own hands, superstitions and cold blood in the end came back to haunt them. There are people who are dissatisfied with the sentencing, arguing that the law is the law, but the law's fundamental function is to maintain a set of morale standard in the entire society with the aid of the military as a brute force, it does not always look that caring. One can feel that it is unfair and change it through legal means, but one can never go on and challenge it, forcing a state to make a new law and only cause chaos.

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Thanks for this trip to the country side, Antonius now has a much clearer perception on what is the situation like in the rural areas of Drama, giving him many inspirations and thoughts on what he shall do next. With the help of Apostolos he had another tour in the borders between his state and Epirus, too allowing him to have a more detailed understanding of the current chaotic situation over there, in the mountainous lands beyond the mountain range of Doúsko.
The land of the mountains has been stuck in an utter disarray following the series of consecutive events, first is the death of the old Sultan Murad II, followed by the sudden burden laid on to them with Sultan Mehmed II's ambitious plans; Then he followed his father's path. A few years later the barbaric infidels from the seas led by the thief called Antonius, and the treasonous piss pots in Bulgaria declared independence, which immediately cut off all communications between the Ottoman possessions in Epirus and Edirne.
After that the area plunged in to an era of warring states, with various Ottoman governors starting first sending troops to the areas of the other governors trying to make them submit. Then the various over lords representing the interests of different land lords of Epirus emerged toppling the rule of some Ottoman governors and starting to create a number of pretty independent pretty kingdoms. Then as the situation develops, the foreign powers showed up, with the Albanians led by the legendary Skanderbeg showing up in the North, the Venetian Doge Cristoforo Moro in the west, and the Aragon king of the Normans in the south. Now they are going to get a new player on to the table very soon.
After spending a dozen more days in the borders, returned to his faithful Drama where by he finally met his chief economic professional Alexios, who have done a superb job in distributing the seeds of the new year and guiding the local farmers in what kind of agriculture mode they should adopt. The Olive greeneries and wheat fields Antonius seen along the way further certified Alexios' achievement and credit in his job, and so Antonius officially awarded him the title of Sakellarios. He is not supposed to do that of course, as it is a right only possessed by the Basileus. But of course, no one would have any doubt regarding the appointment order, due to the simple fact that Antonius now has more say than Constantine in a lot of things.
The admiral definitely did not come back to Alexios just for the purpose of giving him a noble title, he is here for another thing. Since the original focus of expansion towards the North with their blade pointing towards Edirne is halted by the still present Ottoman fighting force, then Antonius is planning to start another expedition in to Epirus, stirring the water over there to test how deep it is. And if the conditions approve, he shall need the region to serve as a reliable source of man power, a port along the Adriatic coast, and most importantly a secured frontier against the west, preventing any power from possessing a threat on the highly economical valued plains of Thessaloniki causing a stall in the development progress.
Though before that, Antonius got another immediate issue to deal with.
"Admiral, I received a letter from Thessaloniki a few days back… And it is being sent directly to you, with a caption saying that no one else are to read the letter." Alexios showed a bitter grin on his face and passed Antonius a beautifully decorated envelope with a lilac scent on it. "Perhaps you got to take a look at it yourself…"
"What is it Alexios?" Antonius took the letter, frowning. "I do not like to be disturbed by unimportant letters like this, what kind of letter can be more urgent than our strategic planning session over here for the future? Let me see who is this…Oh….My…."
Antonius opened the envelope, took out the brown letter, and perhaps not so surprising to him, he recognised the handwriting of this letter, it belongs to some one whom he has long missed, but the content wise… Is not so graceful to him.

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