1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 119: Envoys and Waiters

Bilinchi, Kingdom of Cyrenaica.

The sun had just risen, and this port city located on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and in the east of the Bay of Sirte began to wake up, with more and more pedestrians on the streets.

In the commercial district, vendors opened their shops and put a wide variety of goods on the counters; in the dock area, sailors started working early before dawn, loading wooden barrels filled with fresh water and dry food onto the ships; in the Mediterranean in the distance, several fishing boats were heading towards the port against the morning glow.

The Great Administrative Palace of the Kingdom of Cyrenaica is located in the center of the city of Bilinchi. Administrative officials headed by Prime Minister Isult usually work here. Every edict from the center of the kingdom originates from here. After being drafted by civil servants, it is delivered to the Black Castle and reviewed and stamped by His Majesty the Emperor.

The Grand Executive Palace is built entirely of white marble. It is majestic and tall, surrounded by a high wall and patrolled by guards all the time.

In the courtyard of a tavern in the western part of Bilinchi, Tevildo looked at the double-headed eagle flag flying over the Grand Consul's Palace in the distance, wondering what he was thinking.

He glanced at his followers and companions who were drunk and staggering beside him, took a sip of wine, and showed disdain on his face.

As soon as the pub opened, these Muslims, who usually pretended to be extremely pious, immediately jumped out of bed and rushed to get themselves drunk.

They were from the Hafsid dynasty, representing Caliph Yahya, and were sent on a mission to Birinchi.

As Yahya's confidant, Tevido served as the general leader of the delegation. The other members of the delegation were high-ranking officials and noble children in Tunis, who were sent out for gilding and did not participate in specific tasks.

"Two things on this mission."

Yahya said this as he paced in the dim palace of the Hafsid Dynasty.

"First, explore the current situation in the Barqa area and try to get in touch with the local resistance organizations and remaining Muslims."

"You don't need to get too entangled with them. Just report the general situation to me."

"Second, we will go to the Black Castle in Bilinchi and meet with our difficult neighbor to try to reach a truce."

"We need time to sort out things at home."

"See what the emperor wants. If it's acceptable, I'll send a formal diplomatic mission."

Tevido looked at Caliph Yahya's furrowed brow and bloodshot eyes with mixed feelings.

Over the past few years, life has become increasingly difficult for this young hero.

The Christians in the east grew stronger day by day with the huge profits from ocean trade, and their rule gradually became more stable. In the entire Surt region, there were fewer and fewer tribal forces willing to collude with them, and some sheikhs even handed over the envoys from Tunisia directly to Birinchi.

After the Battle of Kerkennah, the naval power of the Hafsid dynasty was wiped out, and the maritime trade on which cities such as Tunis and Sfax depended was greatly threatened.

The Christian pirates and the Knights of St. Simon who occupied the Kerkennah Islands would occasionally plunder coastal villages and fishing ports. After burning, killing and looting, they would board their ships and sail away before the local garrison troops of Hafs arrived.

Then, King Abdullah, who was lingering in the city of Sabha, was completely defeated, the city of Sabha changed hands, and the trans-Sahara Desert trade route was cut off by the Christians.

The decrease in trade profits caused a sharp drop in the income of the Hafsid Dynasty. The tight finances caused dissatisfaction among ministers and the army. The merchants were full of complaints and either fled to the Zayanid Dynasty and the Marin Dynasty in the west, or went directly to the east to join the Cyrenaica United Chamber of Commerce.

The endless quarrels and accusations made Yahya begin to realize that if he did not do something, his rule would soon end.

At that time, messengers from Edirne traveled throughout the Islamic world, inviting all Muslims to join the jihad in Constantinople for the glory of Allah.

As a result, Yahya and Mehmed II hit it off and brought the Mamluk Sultan Chakmak into the battle line, planning to fight together against the Eastern Roman Empire, which was still alive but not dead.

That night, Yahya was in high spirits and called Tevido to the palace, enthusiastically inviting him to taste the treasured fermented grape juice together.

In his opinion, the Eastern Roman Empire had no chance of survival under the three-pronged attack.

However, the development of things was beyond everyone's expectations.

On the northern coast of the Black Sea, the war in Constantinople was at a stalemate. The Ottoman Empire's 200,000-strong army and hundreds of artillery pieces spent months but failed to capture the tiny Constantinople.

In the Cyrenaica region to the east, the Mamluks were in a dilemma, and their army was hesitant around the Tobruk fortress complex, not wanting to waste their elite troops here at all.

Both Yahya and Mehmed II were very dissatisfied with the behavior of the Sultan of Chakmak, and several harsh letters were sent to Cairo.

The indignant religious sentiment at home and abroad forced Sultan Chakmak to finally issue the order to attack, planning to send a fleet to land in Cyprus while attacking the Tobruk fortress group.

After a month of bloody fighting, the Mamluk army successfully captured two of the three large fortresses and was just a stone's throw away from the rich Green Mountains region.

Then, something unexpected happened.

On May 1453, 5, Sultan Chakmak died of illness in Cairo at the age of eighty.

Then, Mansur, the son of Sultan Chakmak, took advantage of his deceased father's influence and gained the support of some Mamluk generals, and ascended the throne of Sultan of Egypt and Syria. The Saladin Castle welcomed its new owner.

However, the opposition led by Prime Minister Ashriff soon began to move around, disrupting the entire political atmosphere in Cairo.

The political chaos affected the war as far away as Tobruk. Comrades who had fought side by side the day before suddenly became enemies in the political struggle.

The two sides were suspicious of each other and tested each other, and finally even their tents were stationed separately.

As a result, the Mamluk army was unable to capture any more fortresses until the end of the Constantinople War.

In the Barbary region in the west, Yahya successfully persuaded Nasirlan who occupied Tripoli and forced Hamza who ruled Malfa to surrender. He led his army to the outskirts of Misrata in a hurry and fought back and forth with the Slaves Corps that came to meet the enemy.

Due to the lack of an organized naval fleet, the Tunisian authorities have been helpless against pirates in the Kerkennah Islands and have been forced to leave part of their troops in their homeland to take precautions.

To be honest, the Hafsid dynasty army under the city of Misrata fought quite well, and Yahya also did his best to coordinate military supplies and troop replenishment, and the advantage on the local battlefield was obvious.

However, just as the generals on the front line were preparing for a decisive battle, news of the Battle of Constantinople came from the sea. The Muslims were dejected, while the morale of the Christians was greatly boosted.

That day, Yahya, who arrived at the front line with his personal guards, heard the overwhelming cheers in the city of Misrata. The shouts of "Long live the emperor" came one after another, hitting his heart hard and shattering his last bit of fantasy.

Tevildo shook his head, came to his senses, slammed a few groschen silver coins on the table, and called the tavern waiter.

The waiter was very young, about fourteen or fifteen years old, with freckles on his face and a very kind smile.

"Hello, distinguished guest, how can I help you?"

“We are businessmen from Anfa. This is our first time in Bilinchi. Can you introduce us?”

Since the Hafsid Dynasty and the Eastern Roman Empire were still at war, the delegation disguised themselves as merchants from the Marin Dynasty and entered the city with a letter from the United Chamber of Commerce of Cyrenaica.

"Sir, you have asked the right person. I was born in Bilinchi and I know this place very well."

Tevildo looked the waiter over.

"You don't seem to be a Berber?"

"My family is Coptic and has lived here since the Roman Empire until now, when the empire and the emperor are back again."

The waiter seemed very proud of his background, and raised the Coptic cross on his chest to signal to Tevido.

"The emperor allows you to keep your beliefs?"

Tevildo asked.

"In the code promulgated by the empire, all Christian sects that declare allegiance to His Majesty the Emperor will be recognized, and the Roman people can choose their own beliefs from among them."

"The Greek Orthodox Church, the Coptic Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church and the Syriac Orthodox Church have pledged allegiance to Your Majesty and have been granted permission to preach in Cyrenaica and Surt."

"Of course, the Greek Orthodox Church and the Armenian Orthodox Church have the largest number of believers in Birinchi, while the Coptic Orthodox Church is more common in the eastern cities of Marj and Beida."

"Roman Catholics are quite special. Most of them are craftsmen and merchants from Italy. Their faith is legal, but they are not allowed to build churches to preach."

"I heard that they are planning to follow the example of the French and establish the Bishopric of Bilinchi. They will no longer obey the orders of the Pope of Rome and instead pledge allegiance to Your Majesty, thereby obtaining the right to preach."

When Roman Catholics were mentioned, the waiter frowned, obviously having a bad impression of them.

"Is there any... rift between you?"

Tevildo asked curiously.

"Your Majesty has issued a decree to convene the Council of Bilinchi every three years. Each legitimate denomination will send a bishop to participate, with the focus on reconciling the differences between the various denominations."

"In addition, Bilinqi City holds a monthly debate meeting, with different denominations taking turns to host the debate, and all Christians are invited to participate in the debate."

"However, any form of religious discrimination and religious infighting is illegal. Last week, three lower-level priests from Constantinople publicly criticized your Majesty's religious policies and even set up a stage in the area where Orthodox Christians gather, preparing to incite religious sentiment." The waiter curled his lips, obviously very disdainful of these self-righteous Orthodox priests.

"The results of it?"

"All the major churches jointly declared him excommunicated, excommunicated him, and beheaded him in public."

“Look, it was hanging there a few days ago.”

The waiter pointed to a rope in the distance, on which bloodstains were still faintly visible.

"What about the Greek Orthodox Church in Billinge? They have no objection?"

"So what if they have an opinion? They don't have a lot of tax-free real estate and taxation rights like other churches in other places."

"Here, the church's funding mainly comes from central government grants and donations from church members. There is very little real estate, and taxes have to be paid."

"Their honor and wealth are all pinned on the emperor, so how could they destroy their own future?"

Tevildo was silent for a while.

"What about Muslims? How are they?"

“There used to be a lot, but now there are very few.”

"Muslims are not recognized by the government, are not Roman people, are not protected by the law, and can only live at the bottom of society."

"Over time, they either left on ships or were captured by slave traders."

"They didn't try to resist?"

The waiter glanced at Tevildo.

"There may be some in the south. Anyway, they haven't appeared around Bilinchi for a long time."

Tevildo thought for a moment, then took out another silver coin and handed it to the waiter.

"Do you have time? Take me around the city."

The waiter took the silver coin, wiped it on the dirty corner of his clothes, whistled, and put it in his pocket.

"As you wish."

"I'll go talk to the boss."

The waiter walked into the tavern, went into a room and found the tavern owner.

"how?"

the boss asked.

"I'm afraid it's not as simple as I thought."

"What is certain is that he is definitely not a merchant from Anfa. His accent is too authentic. Even the nobles of the Marin Dynasty do not have such an authentic accent."

"Should we continue exploring?"

The boss thought for a moment.

"We are just a peripheral intelligence organization. This is not our responsibility."

"You lead him to visit the city first, and I will go and notify Bilinchi's city guards."

"Our new city guard commander is no pushover. I'm sure he can make this mysterious man speak soon."

……

"This is the Grand Administrative Palace, the administrative center of the entire Cyrenaica. It is heavily guarded and no one is allowed in."

The waiter stood in the center of Bilinchi City and introduced the layout of the city to Tevildo.

"The seven districts from the Grand Administrative Palace to the north are all residential areas, four of which are Greek Orthodox, two of which are Armenian Orthodox, and one of which is Coptic Orthodox."

"The two districts in the east are workshop areas, where blacksmith shops, leatherwork shops, tailor shops, glass workshops, paper mills, printing houses and other workshops are gathered."

"The area in the south near the walls of Bilinchi and the Black Castle is the wealthy area. Rich businessmen and nobles all live there. Owning a mansion in the south of Bilinchi is the dream of countless people."

The waiter looked towards the magnificent house to the south, his eyes full of envy.

“The port area and the commercial district are both in the West City. Our pub is located there, which is the busiest area in Bilinchi.”

"The West City District used to be quite chaotic, with thefts and robberies happening all the time, and the former city guard commander was helpless."

"Two months ago, a new city guard commander took office. He used extraordinary means and brought his own men to clean up the West City District. In just one night, human heads were hung all over the street."

"So fierce?"

"Of course, but I heard that he is a meritorious official of Constantinople. Your Majesty has other important uses for him, so he will not stay in this position of city guard commander for long."

"Here he is."

Tevildo turned his head and saw that the originally crowded and noisy crowd on the street to the west suddenly became silent and automatically made way for each other.

A tall and burly figure appeared in the middle of the crowd. The tall horse under him snorted, looking as manic as its owner.

The giant was wearing heavy armor and holding a peculiarly shaped hammer. A roaring wild boar was carved on the hammer and breastplate.

Behind him, a small group of heavily armored knights in similar attire appeared one after another. Their ferocious looks made people dare not look directly at them.

Before Tevildo could be surprised, a dagger was pressed against his neck.

"Baron Abel, this person's origins are unknown and the documents are forged. Please investigate."

the waiter said loudly.

Abel jumped off his horse, holding his war hammer, and walked towards the two men step by step.

As if he had expected this, Tevildo slowly pulled out a letter from his deep pocket.

"I come from Tunis City, on behalf of Caliph Yahya, to request an audience with His Majesty the Emperor!"

Abel was stunned and put away his warhammer, with some disappointment in his bloodthirsty eyes.

He took the letter of credence, glanced at it casually, and put it in his pocket.

He grabbed Tevildo by the shoulders and threw him onto his horse like a chicken.

"The sixth one."

Abel grunted.

"The sixth?"

Tevildo was knocked unconscious by the fall. He finally sat up and asked in confusion.

"Do you think you are the only Muslim emissary who has attempted to gain access to His Majesty in this way?"

"Ok?"

Abel lowered his huge head and thought for a while, then stretched out five fingers and counted.

“Marrakesh, Tlemcen, Tripoli, Cairo, Damascus.”

"It seems that your monarch is a little slow!"

There is at least one more chapter today

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(End of this chapter)