A pair of Varangians in full mail open the doors to the Chamber and take up flanking positions by it. The Basileus strides in behind them, armed and with a travel stained purple cloak the only mark of his rank. Marching to the middle of the room, he addresses the Senators.

I congratulate the Senate on our recent victories. The reclamation of the Empire proceeds at a much faster pace then I anticipated. Rebels have been put down and settlements lost to us have been restored to their rightful place. There is much to celebrate.

Aleksios pauses, his gaze sweeping the chamber.

However, we must temper this head-long rush for land with restraint. We have now plucked the lowest hanging fruits, further conquest and holding what we have reclaimed will present difficulties. The bloody massacres at Belgrade and, to a lesser extent, Antioch, along with the rioting at Zagreb, show the challenges we will face in the future. Lands outside the sway of the true faith will resent our restored sovreignty. As our frontier expands, these new conquests will be further away from our heartland, making supplies and soldier more difficult to bring to the front or garrison restive settlements. We have also pushed out our borders next to more organized kingdoms rather than rebels playing petty despots. They will present more of a challenge.

In order to hold our new lands and prepare for further expansion, I believe the Empire needs to prioritize pacification, proselytization and construction over conquest for now. Roads must be built to connect the frontier to the core of the Empire. Churches must be built and priests recruited to convert heathens and schismatics. Our castles must start building stables, bowyers and barracks so we can have proper armies. Trade must be emphasized so that we can fund further expansion.

I know the temptation exists to keep up a frenetic pace of expansion, to keep going forward and let pillage and blood fuel a never-ending cycle of conquest. It is even possible that we could do so. Yet, there is more to the restoration of the Empire than just conquest or settling old scores, though that is a part. Our task is to bring Roman civilization, Roman order, Roman prosperity and Roman peace back to the blighted places of the earth that so badly need it. We must bring the light of Orthodox Christianity back to those who have shunned it. We may conquer by the sword, but we will rule with justice, as exemplified by Marcus Aurelius and Justinian the Great. In the places we reclaim we will build new monuments, new churches and new roads, for not only were our ancestors the greatest soldiers on earth, but the best builders as well.

This is our task, this is what we must restore. Not just in taking back land, but in rebuilding a way of life: A new Empire, a new Pax Romana. I will not live to see it completed, but I ask for the help of the Senate in laying the foundations.