"Since Rome's founding, it has grown from a small town into an empire spanning three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa; from a small, nearly extinct state in 1444 to a great nation now encompassing Emmos, Levant, Egypt, Africa, Italy, Tauris, and Anatolia; from classical times to the 21st century, it has stood for 2770 years. No matter how long you stay here, you can feel the charm of this country, which is as ancient as our own..." One afternoon in the new century, a young man of East Asian appearance sat in a restaurant in front of Hagia Sophia, expressing his heartfelt feelings in his native language under a parasol.
"This is Rome, according to Emperor Manuel." The black-haired, brown-eyed Rome boy sitting opposite the East Asian boy replied in fluent Chinese after swallowing the shaved ice in his mouth, and even pushed up his glasses as if to sound profound.
"Can you please stop ruining this atmosphere...?"
This is Constantinople in the new millennium. With nearly 1600 years of history, Constantinople University collaborates with prestigious overseas universities every year on student exchange programs. Li Hua, from an ancient Eastern country, is one of them, and this is his second year at Constantinople as an exchange student from Wudaokou. The young man in front of him, Rome, who is the same age as him, is named Manuel. The two are international friends who met at Constantinople University because of their shared love of history.
"Alright, enough of this sentimental talk. Speaking of which, I brought you that book you asked me for." They then switched to Greek to continue their conversation.
"?"
"Hey buddy, you haven't forgotten, have you? Last time you specifically asked me for this: a new edition of a historical masterpiece, a secret history that wasn't published until after the fall of the old empire— The Secret History of Goth." With that, Manuel pulled a simply packaged Greek history book from his pocket and handed it to his friend with feigned seriousness.
It wasn't until the book was handed to him that Li Hua suddenly realized, "Yes, yes, this is it! 'The Secret History of Goth,' secretly written by Prime Minister Justinian Seresnus, who is hailed as the last man of the Renaissance. A legendary work comparable to Procopius's'Secret History,' containing many documents and secrets from the Renaissance that were forbidden to others..."
"It's not that amazing," Manuel rolled his eyes at his Eastern friend after hearing this. "At least it doesn't have the kind of absurd plot like in 'The Secret History', where 'the emperor's head can fly' or royal women are sold from Cairo to Constantinople to earn travel expenses."
"Oh, no..."
"Dude, why did you suddenly deflate upon hearing this? As a Roman, I must solemnly declare that not every Roman historian is as fond of creating drama as Procopius. Enough already..."
"Really? That's wonderful news!"
"Can you please not say such helpless things while looking so regretful...?"
Li Hua sighed helplessly, accepted the book, and immediately flipped to the part that interested him most. But he was soon greatly disappointed. "Your ancestor with the same name has such a clean private life. Although he was quite promiscuous with his wife, there was absolutely no third party involved. It's too pure love. I thought there would be some unspeakable secrets."
"I can assure you that what you're imagining never happened to my ancestor," Manuel said with a proud smile, his arms crossed over his chest.
"But were books of this size not allowed to be published during the old imperial era?" Li Hua asked casually after seeing this.
"There's nothing we can do about it. After all, the old empire was under the rule of the Gavaras dynasty for most of its history. In order to build and maintain the myth of the dynasty's rule, it would be unbelievable that the 'Secret History of Goth,' which involves a lot of dark history from the Manuel III era, could be published openly." Manuel shrugged and said helplessly, "So the current new empire era is much better."
"The new empire," Li Hua said, closing his eyes and thinking carefully for a while. "It is clearly a monarchy, but to be honest, it doesn't feel like a monarchy at all. Your ' empire of the Romans ' is really amazing from any perspective."
"Consider this a compliment to the wisdom of the Romans," Manuel chuckled, swallowing another shaved ice. "After all, this system was specifically established after World War II when our country specially invited Alexander Kazinbek① to guide its creation. It's also the result of our Romans experimenting with various paths, including black, white, red, yellow, blue, and brown. Under the 'purple system,' Rome is a centralized, large-government state, with the universally recognized Basileus serving as the impeachable head of state for life, directly accountable to the Romans. While it does foster a tendency towards dictatorship, it helps maintain policy stability and continuity, preventing it from being swayed by temporary misjudgments of public opinion. And the current Basileus is a distant relative of mine."
"Isn't this just electing a monarch?"
Despite saying this, Li Hua thought of the slogans that circulated throughout Constantinople: "Everyone is an emperor." This phrase, after the "Purple Revolution" of the last century, became the collective consensus of the people of the new Roman Empire.
"It's too abstract and hard to understand," Li Hua, who had lived in Rome for a year or two and was born under the Five Stars, still couldn't understand the system of the purple double-headed eagle. He muttered to himself, "But perhaps it is the unique charm of an ancient country."
"No, no, no, strictly speaking, a monarch is not elected but is born through recognition…" Manuel waved his hand in rebuttal after hearing Li Hua's words.
"Understood, in the Republic..."
"Hey buddy, can you stop thinking about all this nonsense? And personally, I think you..."
"Cough cough cough cough."
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore." Manuel raised his arms and gave his friend a standard "French military salute," then immediately changed the subject, "Speaking of Li Hua, we've been here long enough. Hmm, never mind, I'll treat you to Rome barbecue later."
"Barbecue!?" Li Hua's eyes lit up immediately.
"Exactly! There's an old shop in the outer city of Constantinople that's having a sale. They use fresh meat from the Eastern European Great Plains, which is skewered and grilled on a rotating grill, and seasoned with Indian spices that were brought in through the Suez Canal, which was dug in 1780. I highly recommend Koya! And my wife has already checked out a table for us, so we don't have to worry about not getting a seat."
"Really? That's great news! But your girlfriend must be furious making you wait so long."
"It's okay, Barbara just texted me saying she just arrived at the store, we can still make it in time. So, would you like some barbecue?"
"Alright, alright, I'll call my girlfriend down too. You can go now, Manuel Gavras."