Emperor Julian VII had just finished a meeting with his new advisors. He had decided that Greece would be his first target for expansion. However, Julian VII wanted to give his men morale. As such, he would fight with them personally. He would accompany them on campaigns.
But campaigns to where? He needed a specific location than just “Greece”. There were many minor states in Greece. Of course there were. The numerous Greek cities all had self-identities. They had been either independent or Roman for ages.
However, that also presented a problem. The Greek cities enjoyed their newfound independence, and they were likely to fight hard to keep it. He was confident that he could defeat some of them, but that would take a lot of time.
On the other hand, he could begin by attacking Tylis. That would gain him much territory. In addition, Tylis was a state that was used to being a vassal to larger states. That meant that they would not fight as much as the Greek cities would. However, that also presented a problem. Tylis might submit to him easily, but, if its chiefs saw that he was weakening at someone else’s hands, they would be quick to defect. In short, he could take Tylis quite easily. It would be much harder to hold it.
Ergo, Tylis was out of the question for now. They’d probably fold soon enough once his campaigns started, anyways. To the Empire’s immediate west, Thessalonica had established its independence… and its authority over all of Thessaly. They would be a good first target. However, there were also various states in the Aegean. They would make a good base from which to strike across the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, if the Empire had scattered territories across the Mediterranean, it would be far too overextended, and it would lose territory at least as quickly as it gained territory. That was something Emperor Julian VII most definitely wanted to avoid.
He began to prepare his armies. The legions had been lost with the de-facto collapse of the Empire, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t create new ones. He then figured that he should probably double check his plan with his advisors.
He called both of them into his palace. Then, he began the meeting.
“Right,” Julian VII began. “I’ve called you here for advice. Here’s our situation. We plan to begin our Imperial restoration by attacking Greece. However, Greece is divided into many petty states. I wish to know which to attack first.”
“Well,” Alexios responded. “What is your current plan?”
“I plan to attack Thessalonica first,” Julian VII answered. “Why?”
“Just curious,” Alexios responded. “That plan sounds fine.”
“Why Thessalonica and not the Aegean states?” Leonidas wondered. “You can seize control of much more of the Mediterranean Sea with the Aegean as a springboard.”
“That is true,” Julian VII acknowledged. “But, if we take over much of the Mediterranean, we become overextended - we can’t defend all of our borders.”
“Fair,” Leonidas began. “However, many of our former vassal realms and governors will acknowledge our authority once more if we take initiative.”
“Fair point,” Julian VII responded. “But they will only acknowledge my personal authority - and will revolt immediately after my death. My successors will have to continue proving their strength, and, once some people get a taste of freedom, they won’t be very inclined to give it up. In short, we can’t be everywhere at once, and, if we try to secure the entire Eastern Mediterranean at once, we will have to be.”
“Logical,” Alexios commented. “Although attacking many states in succession will cause other states to form alliances - this could be bad because it makes it harder to conquer them, or good because it means we don’t have to fight as many wars.”
Leonidas shrugged and said, “I’m not one for military strategy. I think in more political terms.”
“Okay,” Julian VII said. “I’m sticking with my current path.”
“Right,” Alexios said. “But, my liege, you are planning on beginning a restoration of the legions, right?”
“Yes,” Julian VII said. He didn’t know where Alexios was going with this, or even how he knew. After some thought, he figured that Alexios probably knew from recruitment posters.
As Julian deduced that, Alexios was speaking. All Julian VII caught was, “...will command the legions?” He figured that the full question was “who will command the legions?”. That was a good question that he hadn’t quite considered.
Julian VII sighed, and, then, he admitted the truth. “I don’t know,” he answered.
“You’re going to need to figure it out,” Alexios warned. “And you’re going to have to do so quickly.”
“Also,” Leonidas chimed in. “You must ensure that you don’t give them too much glory or power. If you do, their loyalty to you will decrease, and you might have a revolt on your hands.”
Julian VII considered both of their statements. They both had good points, and he said as much. Then, he dismissed the meeting and left.
The points mentioned in his private meeting with his advisors haunted Julian VII for days. So far, he had only managed to raise one legion. It still needed a commander, but that must be a loyal commander. Or, given that there was only one legion, he could command it himself. Yes, that was what he would do. After all, he wasn’t about to revolt against himself, now, was he?
Of course, that was a temporary solution. Eventually, he would have multiple legions, and they would need commanders of their own. Thankfully, he didn’t need to deal with that now. He could check for advice with his advisors later, when such a course became necessary.
He did have a loyal vassal. However, said loyal vassal already had his own troops that he was commanding. He couldn’t let the Duke of Thrace command a legion under any circumstances. If he did, then it was likely that he would lose his throne, at least at the current moment. Perhaps, in the fullness of time, local governors would be allowed to lead legions, but that time was not here yet.
He sighed. Soon, war would come. Thessalonica would fall. He would begin the Restoration of the World once more, but his descendants would have to finish the process. Rome was not dead yet, and it would rise like a phoenix once more!