1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 109 Invisible Shackles
Karjank Castle, Belgrade, Serbia.

From the outside, this small castle was designed entirely for war. It has all the necessary defensive facilities. It is located near mountains and rivers, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

However, when the Eastern Roman delegation actually walked into the inner hall of the castle, they were so shocked by the magnificent scene before them that they were speechless.

Gold and silver products can be seen everywhere, including gold-inlaid decorations and silver-wrapped furniture. There are also a wide variety of gems and porcelain.

Serbian Grand Duke Durad Brankovic sat high on the throne, looking at the envoys below, and was obviously very satisfied with their surprised expressions.

"Friends who have come from afar, welcome. Please convey my congratulations to your emperor on his success in achieving another extraordinary victory."

"Also, I'm very curious, how did you break through the Ottoman siege and successfully get here?"

Anderson turned his eyes away from the decorations and looked up at Grand Duke Durand.

Durand was a thin old man, wearing gold and silver, gorgeous clothes, thick makeup on his face, and fiery red fur on his shoulders. He looked extremely noble.

But his sunken eye sockets, high cheekbones and weak voice all indicate one thing:
The Serbian Grand Duke's health was inevitably declining.

Anderson and Albert looked at each other and saw a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

"We are not from Constantinople."

"Even before His Highness left, he told us to go on a diplomatic mission to the Balkans in April this year."

"As for the victory you mentioned, we haven't heard of it yet."

Durad was silent for a while, and in addition to admiration, there was also a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Your Majesty is truly a man of foresight."

"Just a few days ago, your Majesty used fire attack in Galata City to annihilate most of the more than 10,000 troops led by the Ottoman Second Vizier Zagan Pasha. Zagan Pasha escaped alone."

“It was truly a remarkable battle.”

Everyone in the delegation was also smiling happily.

They had not heard any news from Constantinople for a long time, and the second-hand information they received from Latin merchants was mostly false.

However, this great victory cannot be concealed and will surely be widely spread, which will greatly boost the morale of the troops in the North African territories, suppress discordant voices, and make hidden unstable elements afraid to act rashly.

After everyone finished congratulating each other, Anderson began to use his usual diplomatic skills and boasted about Durand's wealth.

The Kosovo region in southern Serbia is rich in gold and silver mines. The New Brdo gold and silver mine alone can provide Durad with 20,000 ducats every year.

Relying on Kosovo's gold, silver and other minerals, the Grand Duke of Serbia's annual income can reach a terrifying 60,000 ducats, not to mention the output of the royal territory and tributes from the nobility.

You know, Durad had to hand over a portion of the output of the gold and silver mines to the Ottoman Sultan as a gift every year.

I'm afraid even Durad himself doesn't know how rich this mineral vein is.

Since the Renaissance, the European commodity market has begun to prosper, but the currency used for transactions has gradually become scarce, causing serious deflation.

In this context, the value of a gold and silver mine can be imagined.

There are even rumors that Grand Duke Durand is the richest monarch in Europe.

"I heard that your Emperor Isaac also found a lot of gold in West Africa. Is that true?"

Grand Duke Durand had a reserved smile on his face.

"Yes, there is some gold, but it is nothing compared to you."

Anderson responded with a smile, but he was secretly complaining in his heart.

His Majesty Isaac is eager to use every grain of gold to support the army, and he is eager to spend the gold as soon as he gets it. He is really no match for you.

"Why do you come to my court?"

Durad was still talking with a smile, but his eyes started to become serious.

“What do you think of the current Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II?”

"Mohammed? Humph, may he live long!"

Grand Duke Durand showed disdain and even some resentment on his face.

"In my heart, only the late Murad II is my master, and I will only obey him."

"This young man, Mehmed II, has little ability but is extremely arrogant. He has no qualifications!"

Anderson felt relieved when he heard these answers.

It seemed to be just as he expected.

After the fall of the Great Serbian Empire, Serbia was divided into more than 500 aristocratic fiefdoms of various sizes. The later established Principality of Serbia was just a loose alliance of aristocrats, and it was never able to unite them like Stephen Dušan did.

The nobles in the Serbian region had no national or ethnic consciousness at all. All of them took sides between the Ottoman Empire and Hungary and were firm fence-sitters.

At that time, it was the Ottomans' more tolerant policies that attracted the nobles, including the Grand Duke of Serbia, and made them throw themselves into the arms of the Ottoman Sultan.

The previous sultans were indeed tolerant towards the Serbian nobles, and the Serbian nobles reciprocated by contributing money and manpower to the sultan's wars. They were the most loyal of all Ottoman vassal states.

In Murad II's army, Christian soldiers accounted for up to one-fifth.

In the Battle of Ankara, the Serbian knights fought bravely without fear of death.

In the Battle of Varna, although Serbia nominally stood on the side of the Crusaders, it secretly sent a number of mercenaries to help Murad II and killed countless enemies in battle.

One of them was Władysław Jagiellon, the King of Poland and Hungary at the time.

In the Battle of Kosovo in 1448, it was their defection that led to the almost complete annihilation of the Hungarian army, and Hunyadi escaped alone.

The Grand Duke of Durand was indeed very obedient to the tolerant Murad II, and this obedience would continue if the Sultan continued to allow them to retain a high degree of autonomy.

However, unlike his father, Mehmed II was determined to take all rights and interests into his own hands and regard the empire as his own private property.

After Mehmed II ascended the throne, he began to reform the system in the Serbian region, and the first step was to cut into the main artery of the local nobles.

He believed that the land nobles in the Balkans were too brutal in their oppression of the common people and was determined to get rid of these blood-sucking parasites.

He executed a large number of corrupt officials and local tyrants, confiscated all their property, nationalized part of it, and distributed part of it to local people.

He attempted to free the serfs and enacted laws to protect peasants' rights and set crop prices and minimum wages for tenant farmers.

For the Balkan region, where serfdom was the main system, this system was simply digging up the ancestral graves of the nobles.

As a result, conflict inevitably broke out.

In Serbia, the originally pro-Hungarian forces began to revive, which also affected the political inclinations of Grand Duke Durand.

You know, he himself was a staunch pro-Ottoman and had a deep hatred for the Hungarian regent, the White Knight Hunyadi.

During the siege of Constantinople, Durand only sent more than a thousand cannon fodder and refused to pay this year's tribute. It can be said that he expressed his dissatisfaction with Sultan Mehmed II through practical actions.

"Grand Duke, the Ottomans have just been defeated, and Constantinople has tied up almost all of their troops. This is a great opportunity."

"You are rich and brave. If you can gather an army and invade the Ottoman Empire when it is least prepared, great things can be accomplished."

Anderson seized the opportunity and immediately encouraged.

"Father, I suggest you throw this Greek out, or sew his mouth shut, so he doesn't dirty your ears."

Before Grand Duke Durand could answer, a slick voice suddenly sounded, followed by a gloomy figure appearing.

"Dear Prince George, is there anything wrong with what I said?" Anderson was not irritated by the simple words. He still maintained a formatted smile and looked at the young man in gorgeous clothes.

George Brankovich, the second son of Grand Duke Durand, is a romantic and dissolute man, lustful and greedy, narrow-minded and vicious.

Before this, George had asked Isaac to marry Princess Helena, the daughter of Grand Duke Thomas, from the Eastern Roman Empire, but was rejected outright. In the end, he respected Helena's wishes and married her to Baron Conti.

His Highness George was a staunch pro-Ottoman and strongly opposed any union with Hungary.

"Your Greek emperor has only won a small victory. The Ottoman army still has a tight siege on Constantinople, and the main force has not been lost yet."

"Besides, the Balkan Mountains are winding and tortuous. With our military strength, it is extremely difficult to capture several mountain fortresses. Even if we succeed, we cannot establish effective occupation, let alone threaten the core areas of the Ottomans!"

"When they withdraw their forces and march north, what shall we do?"

It is not difficult to see that George Brankovich is quite knowledgeable and has pointed out the military difficulties faced by the Balkan countries.

The core areas of the Ottoman Empire are located along the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea. They have a large population, prosperous trade, and weak local power. Over the past hundred years, they have been run like an iron barrel by successive Ottoman sultans.

The Balkan Mountains and the Anatolian Plateau, which are far away from the ruling center, belong to frontier areas with strong local forces. Some areas are still mainly ruled by tributary rule, which mainly serves the purpose of defending against foreign enemies and providing manpower.

The Ottoman strategic position was so good that it was difficult for Albania, Serbia, Wallachia, Moldavia, and even the Karaman, Ayuntamiento, Mamluks and even the Safavid Persia in the east to directly cause damage to the Ottoman core areas.

Unless he could gather elite troops like Timur the Lame and march straight in to completely defeat the Ottoman army.

Therefore, it was difficult for the Balkan countries to seize the initiative when resisting the Ottoman attack. In addition, due to insufficient national strength, they could basically only defend their own corners.

Previously, Skanderbeg had rejected Anderson's proposal for similar reasons.

"Grand Duke, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II is determined to centralize power. If you want to continue to retain your power and wealth, you will inevitably become his enemy."

Anderson ignored the sarcastic George and turned to Grand Duke Durand.

The Grand Duke did not stop or object to George's offensive remarks, which in a way made his attitude clear.

Although the main force of the Ottoman army was not lost, he still had doubts.

"If you really can't muster a large army, you might as well send light cavalry to harass the Ottoman countryside to undermine the morale of the Ottoman army besieging Constantinople."

"I will gather the vassals to discuss this."

Grand Duke Durard nodded.

Anderson could only smile, feeling somewhat disgusted.

Among Serbia's vassals, nearly half are still pro-Ottoman. They have long been frightened by the Sultan's power. How can they possibly reach a conclusion through discussion?
"You came from Cyrenaica, and heard that it was under attack from both sides, and even your beautiful queen was about to be captured by the Saracens?"

George at the side made another sarcastic remark, his eyes full of resentment.

Anderson looked at George, somewhat surprised by his malice.

Didn’t I just reject your engagement proposal in front of all the ministers and foreign envoys in the Grand Palace? Is it that serious?

But it doesn't matter. He is not the Grand Duke, nor the heir, so what he says is useless.

"Thank God, everything is normal."

"Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Justinian went to Misurata to supervise the battle. The Slaves Legion and the Hafsid Dynasty Army fought back and forth between Misurata and Melfa, with both sides winning and losing. The battle situation was not a concern for the time being."

"The Mamluk army has been confronting our army at the Tobruk fortress complex and will not be able to capture it in a short time."

"When the news of the Battle of Galata reaches the country, the situation will be more stable, so you don't have to worry about it!"

"George, get out."

Grand Duke Durade on the side finally couldn't stand it anymore. George cursed in dialect and left the hall angrily.

"You two envoys, you are exhausted from the journey. Please take a rest in Belgrade. I will send someone to provide you with the most thoughtful service."

"That's not necessary. We are not as free as you are. We have important tasks to attend to and will leave tomorrow."

Anderson's tone was somewhat cold.

"You should be preparing to go to Beda City next, right?"

"Exactly!"

"The situation in Hungary is very complicated right now, and I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to get the results you want."

Durand seemed to be unconcerned about Anderson's ridicule and spoke calmly.

"The posthumous son Ladislaus is about to be crowned. Now the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, the Hungarian Sachem János Hunyadi, the Bohemian Regent Jiri Podebrad, and Count Ulrich of Celje are entangled in a dispute."

"This political struggle involves the ownership of two crowns and a duchy. They have no time for you."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere on the field suddenly became stagnant.

Anderson bit his lip and clenched his hands.

Albania was reduced to a scorched earth in the last war, Serbia was seeking temporary peace, and the most powerful Hungary was deeply mired in political struggles.

Since he was appointed Foreign Secretary, he has never encountered such a difficult situation.

"No matter what, our Lord's will must be spread."

"What wish?"

Anderson raised his head and spoke loudly.

"My Lord said that you can temporarily avoid the Ottoman army, but you can never avoid the Ottoman ambitions."

"My Lord does not ask you to send troops to rescue Constantinople. I just hope you can remember one thing."

"When the lips are gone, the teeth are cold. This has been the case since ancient times."

Grand Duke Durard remained silent.

"There is no room for maneuver between me and Mehmed II. I will no longer support his war."

"As a Grand Duke, I must be responsible for my vassals and territories. I will choose to send troops or defend according to the changes in the situation."

"Go now. Although there is a mortal enemy between Hunyadi and me, I still wish you good luck with him."

Anderson walked out of the luxurious but decadent palace and took a deep breath of the fresh air outside.

It was a sunny and windy day, and the scenery on the Balkan Peninsula was just perfect.

"I wonder how long this beautiful land can hold out under the iron hoofs of the Turks?"

Albert sighed.

"They are just so scared of being beaten that they dare not resist even when they are bullied to the extreme."

"The Ottoman military might is like a shackle that locks the Balkans tightly."

"So? We're just supposed to wait to die?"

"So, we need an unprecedented victory to completely break the shackles that hang over the Balkans."

Anderson turned his head and looked east, in the direction of Constantinople.

Outside the city of Constantinople, there was war and dragon blood.

(End of this chapter)