1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 10: Chamber of Commerce and Fleet

The next morning, Isaac walked out of the room.

After breakfast, I came to the reception room.

John sat in the main seat and handled affairs, while William listened in boredom.

Isaac sat down and waited.

Since the Marquis of Gian fell seriously ill, John has been in charge of all affairs in Monferrato.

I can't say that he is very adept at handling government affairs, but at least he is experienced.

After a while, John sent away the last visitor, signed the last decree, stood up, and rubbed his sore eyes.

"My dear brother, I'm sorry that I don't have time to accompany you. I will let William out in the afternoon and let him take you around Monferrato."

"It's okay, dear cousin. I came here to ask for your help."

"Oh? What is it? We will definitely help if we can."

John straightened up.

"Look, I'm planning to set up a chamber of commerce in Genoa, and I'd like to ask you to use your influence in northern Italy to help me make connections."

"Chamber of Commerce? Why don't you set it up in Constantinople?"

John was a little confused.

Isaac had to explain the reason to him in detail.

Currently, Genoa and Venice are the two most influential commercial republics, dominating more than half of Mediterranean trade.

At that time, trade routes brought more than just money.

Slaves, population, talent, culture, technology...

These things will be exchanged along the trade routes.

It is like the financial center of later generations.

Now, Constantinople has lost its former glory and all trade has been monopolized.

If you can register a chamber of commerce in a commercial city-state, you can get many conveniences.

For example, advanced ships, qualified sailors, stable currency, abundant commodities, colonial ports throughout the Mediterranean, and strong naval support.

This attracted nobles from various kingdoms to list their properties in Northern Italy.

The commercial city-state itself would certainly not refuse this. The Chamber of Commerce would buy ships and recruit people from them, and the taxes they would pay would not be reduced.

Moreover, the monetary systems of commercial city-states would take this opportunity to invade various countries.

For every ducat you spent, you had to pay a stamp tax to Venice.

In this way, wealth and talent will gather in commercial city-states.

Countless trade and financial powers in later generations have done the same thing.

The main difficulties arise from within the commercial city-state.

They are very xenophobic, either join them or wait to be robbed by pirates.

This is why Isaac wanted to cooperate with Monferrato.

This is Isaac's second plan, and it determines the success or failure of the final plan.

"Here's what I think. We have three main businesses: food, books, and slaves. I can produce books myself, and food and slaves are the main products of the Black Sea coast. We can make a good profit by taking advantage of Constantinople's connection to the Black Sea."

Isaac stopped and looked at the two brothers.

William was indifferent for a while, but John began to ponder.

Putting aside food and slaves, books are definitely a profitable business.

In addition, Monferrato can also get a share of the business.

Anyway, let's give it a try.

"Cousin Isaac, I think the food does not need to be shipped from the Black Sea. We in Monferrato can provide it. Since you have a naval fleet, we can try to transport cheap food from northern Italy to North Africa and sell it to those pagans at a high price."

"In addition, I can help you invite a few more nobles you know. Your book business has low costs and high returns, so there will definitely be people interested."

"You have the Pope backing you up, so you don't have to worry about any open difficulties."

"As for the slave trade in the Black Sea, you should stay out of it. It is a taboo for the Genoese."

“Instead of letting those booksellers make money, we should do it ourselves.”

John spoke a long speech and also opened up Isaac's mind.

He spread out a map and marked four points on it.

Rome - Genoa - Tunisia - Athens

The fleet set out from Rome, carrying books to northern Italy for sale. This was the first step.

The second step was to load the abundant grain in northern Italy into ships in Genoa and dump it in Tunisia in North Africa.

The huge profits were taken to Athens to buy slaves - the upstream Black Sea trade was left to slave traders.

The fleet then sailed along the Adriatic Sea, selling slaves along the way, which was the third step.

Finally, he returned to Rome with a large amount of money.

In just a few words, a mature business route was outlined.

Of course, each situation needs to be treated on a case-by-case basis.

For example, if the wars in several countries along the Black Sea subside and the price of slaves rises, then they can go directly back to Rome from North Africa and abandon this sector.

If this trade route can be realized, it will definitely be very profitable.

John spent the next few days traveling all over Piedmont with Isaac and his idea.

Many nobles showed some interest.

Finally, a group of nobles willing to invest gathered at the Castello di Paleologiano in Monferrato.

Isaac introduced to them the main business of his chamber of commerce.

He then produced several fine printed books and papal bulls.

The nobles who were originally skeptical immediately believed it.

The nobles asked some specific questions, and Isaac answered them one by one.

Highly recommended by John.

"Henry, you are the second son, and it will not be your turn to inherit the land in the future. If you don't prepare more things while your parents are still alive, what will you do in the future?"

"Karl, your family's grain production is indeed large, but don't you know how much the Savoy and Milanese merchants have lowered the price?"

"Leon, don't you always complain that we don't have a navy and that we have to hire a fleet to do business? Why don't you seize this opportunity?"

Several nobles who were called looked at each other.

The oldest one, Count Karl, stood up.

"John, we all trust your character, but..."

His eyes turned to Isaac.

"Will this Byzantine prince waste our investment on a war with the Ottomans?"

Isaac also stood up slowly.

"I can guarantee that I will never drag the entire Chamber of Commerce into the war. I will not touch a cent of your share. We can create a headquarters in Monferrato to monitor the flow of funds."

Isaac smiled contemptuously.

"As for my dividends and profits, they have nothing to do with you. Even if I take them to Constantinople and lose them all, it's my own business!"

Everyone stared at Isaac.

Carl spoke slowly.
"Let's sign it then."

According to the agreement, the Monferrato Trading Company will be registered in Genoa, pay taxes, and enjoy Genoa's trade protection. The northern Italian nobles used their influence to ensure the successful registration. Isaac took out all the gold coins he had, a total of 2,300 ducats, and promised to increase the investment to 15,000 in the next year.

John invested five thousand ducats.

The remaining thirty or so nobles subscribed a total of 20,000 ducats.

Isaac's fleet is counted towards the Chamber's share.

Plus some miscellaneous investments, such as warehouses, sites, and transportation.

In the end, Isaac held 51% of the shares and John held 15%.

The Palaiologos family accounted for a total of 66%.

The meeting decided to establish a council in Monferrato, and Isaac wrote urgently to Archdeacon Andrew, asking him to come and preside over the council after he finished his work at the printing house in Rome.

The affairs of Rome were left to a few of his assistants.

Isaac and John were busy throughout February.

On the last day of February, Butler Andre finally arrived and brought with him 6000 ducats, the income from printing indulgences for the month.

He also brought news from Byzantium.

As for Constantine, things are still as bad as ever, with a lot of wrangling going on all day long.

On the Athenian side, the Grand Duke of Athens from Florence had reached an agreement with Constantine, paying a tribute of 20,000 ducats and allowing garrisons as the price of retaining his status as Grand Duke.

The Corinthian Wall underwent a new round of reinforcement. At the suggestion of Italian firearms engineer Martinez, Thomas added many small designs to counter artillery bombardment.

The first batch of refugees from the north have been settled and are preparing for the first round of spring sowing.

Ibrahim's arrogant robbery aroused the anger of Epirus, which assembled a large army to encircle and suppress him.

But in the Middle Ages, the massing of armies could not be hidden at all.

Captain Kerman learned about Epirus's actions in advance and informed Ibrahim.

Hundreds of cavalrymen fled, leaving the Epirus army staring blankly.

"Well done."

Isaac listened to little Lothar's report with satisfaction.

This is Andre's youngest son, who is learning management from his father.

The 14-year-old boy was enthusiastic, serious about his work, and loyal to Isaac.

This time, Andre will manage the Monferrato Trading Company on his behalf for a long time, and asks little Lothar to follow Isaac well.

Using the initial funds provided by the nobles and the money brought by Butler Andrew, Isaac prepared to expand his fleet.

This time, Isaac planned to purchase ships in the name of a trading company.

With the help of the northern Italian nobles, Isaac brought William to Corsica, one of Genoa's colonies at the time.

Ajaccio is the largest seaport city in Corsica. The life of the people here is quite primitive. The Genoese do not seem to be willing to bring a prosperous life to the people in the colonies.

The island has a small area of ​​arable land, and most of the people make a living by fishing and hunting, and they are tough.

The island was home to many private shipyards built by Genoese and Pisa nobles, who took advantage of Corsica's cheap labor and abundant timber resources to fill their wallets.

As it turned out, Isaac had paid a lot of money for the galley he bought before.

Here, a medium-sized galley costs less than a thousand ducats. With the guns and sailors, it costs only 2,500 ducats.

Commercial transport ships and smaller keks were even cheaper.

Isaac discussed with William and decided to purchase the first batch of four medium-sized galleys, each equipped with 4 sailors and 80 cannons.

Purchased 15 commercial transport ships, without naval guns, but with a small crossbow installed at the bow and stern of the ship.

After some bargaining, the price was finally sold for 15,000 ducats, and it is expected to be fully delivered next month.

Knight Roland was very happy to have made a big deal and invited Isaac and his companions to visit the shipyard.

"Knight Roland, are these the only small ships your master's shipyard has?"

As he walked along, Isaac discovered that there were almost no large warships in the shipyard, only galleys and transport ships.

"Prince Isaac, it's not that we don't want to build them. Large warships are strategic weapons everywhere."

"The governor may turn a blind eye to these small boats, but he has strictly prohibited us from building large ships privately."

Roland looked embarrassed.

"You're lying! Last year the Count of Anjou bought a caravel from you!"

William loudly exposed Roland's lies.

Roland refused to admit it.

"If you want to buy it, you can go to the official."

Nonsense, if I could afford a genuine boat, would I come to you?

"Aren't you doing Mediterranean trade? It seems you don't need a large ship for ocean voyages, right?"

Roland was a little confused.

Isaac smiled and didn't ask any more questions.

In the evening, the owner of the shipyard invited Isaac and William to dinner.

"Hello, dear friends!"

"My name is Nicolo Snopia, welcome!"

Isaac's expression changed.

The Snopia family is one of the top families in Genoa.

The fat businessman pretended to be enthusiastic, his eyes narrowed into slits, and his true emotions could not be seen.

"I am impressed by your shipyard, dear sir. I hope we can have the opportunity to cooperate again in the future!"

Isaac also stepped forward enthusiastically.

The two had never met, but they seemed like close friends.

The guests and hosts took their seats and the dinner began.

Everyone drank a lot of wine, and when they returned to the guest room, Isaac supported the drunk Nicklo.

Nicklo seemed very drunk and was talking nonsense.

"Our family...is powerful! We even have people in the navy..."

"We can even retire some ships early..."

Isaac smiled and asked softly in his ear.

"Dear Mr. Nicklo, what should we do with those old ships?"

"We... decide for ourselves..."

"The Governor...can't do anything about it."

After a while, Nicklo suddenly "sobered up".

He "greatly regretted" the information he had revealed to Isaac while drunk and asked Isaac to forget it.

"Sir, since the ship is obsolete, why not sell it to me? I plan to use it to attack the pagan fleet and spread the gospel of God!"

"For God? But..."

"Sir, this is something that even the Pope would praise!"

"This...I'm afraid it doesn't comply with the regulations..."

"Eight thousand ducats."

"make a deal!"

(End of this chapter)