1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 12 Recruitment
In the Gulf of Lyon in the northern Mediterranean, the wind is calm and the sun is warm.

This is a small bay in southern France with rich fishery resources and sufficient hot water along the coast. It is one of the origins of precious wines.

The Rhone River flows into the sea here, and the fertile land along its coast feeds a large number of French people.

From east to west along the bay, major cities such as Nice, Toulon, Marseille, Avignon, Montpellier and others are lined up.

This fertile land belongs to France and the County of Provence. The farmers live in various villages or manors. Their production methods are still quite primitive. They work from sunrise to sunset. In addition to sowing staple foods such as wheat, they also tend to some cash crops.

The spring breeze of the Renaissance had not yet reached here, and French farmers cultivated the richest land in all of Europe and enjoyed the bounty of Mother Nature for many years.

However, life is not easy for French farmers at the moment.

The protracted Hundred Years' War between England and France spread far and wide, and the entire northern part of the kingdom was devastated by the war.

Big businessmen in Flanders and other regions, which were important financial and tax centers, refused to pay for France's war and voluntarily submitted to Burgundy's rule.

The current King, Charles VII, abolished the Estates General and declared himself the sole ruler of power.

After signing a five-year armistice with England, Charles VII anxiously began his reforms.

The reforms mainly improved the treatment of the urban middle class, suppressed the power of the land nobles in central and southern Taiwan, and brought financial and taxation power back to the central government.

Of course the conservative nobles refused to give up and launched a rebellion in 1440, but it was quickly put down.

What should I do if I don’t want to pay taxes and can’t defeat the king?

Then let the people suffer.

What? You paid taxes?
I'm sorry, but that's for the king, I haven't got my share yet.

The people were unable to repay their taxes, so they could only use their land to pay off their debts.

The local tyrants and gentry took the opportunity to raise the price of grain, lower the price of land, and annex large amounts of land, resulting in an increasing number of landless and land-poor peasants. Some lower-level knights also lost their fiefs and became wanderers.

Refugees were everywhere and thieves were swarming.

Of course, the nobles and clergy living in the big cities did not feel this.

At this time, Isaac's fleet stopped at the port under Montpellier to replenish supplies and experience the customs and culture of southern France.

At this time, there was still a big difference between the north and the south of France. The sprouts of capitalism had begun to appear in the north, and French national consciousness was beginning to take shape.

The south was still dominated by the feudal manor system, and the people only knew their feudal lords, not the King of France.

Isaac asked Henry, the new captain of the St. Nicholas, to stay with the fleet, and he took Fidel and William into the city.

The sailors of the fleet were overjoyed after receiving the bounty from His Highness and took turns to go off the ship to rest.

When he reached the city gate, Isaac was really surprised.

The plains near the city of Montpellier were crowded with shacks built by refugees.

Several monks and nuns from nearby monasteries carried baskets and distributed food and medicine.

The amount of supplies was far from enough. The strong refugees roughly snatched the food from the nun's hand, stuffed it into their mouths, and then cast greedy eyes on the bread in other people's hands.

The weak children and women were squeezed to the end, and by the time they got there, there were only a few crumbs of black bread left.

A baby was unable to suckle his mother's milk and began to cry loudly. His mother was skinny and her eyes were dull.

The nun beside her covered her face and cried.

There are so many examples like this that they can't help.

Since the kind-hearted Archbishop of Montpellier announced relief for refugees, refugees from all over southern France have flocked to the country.

This situation has been going on for several months, with limited relief funds and the number of refugees continuing to increase.

Merchants from Genoa and Venice took the opportunity to move in and relocate some of the refugees in the name of "recruiting workers".

In reality, they would most likely spend their lives paddling in the dirty bottoms of boats or working themselves to death in the mines of Austria.

Such was life for civilians during wars in medieval Europe.

Later historians will focus on Charles VII's great achievement of regaining Paris and strengthening central power.

But they will naturally throw the suffering of the people into the wastebasket.

Never mind. This has nothing to do with Isaac.

Isaac shook his head and led the crowd toward the city gate.

The guards complained loudly about the "selfish" behavior of the Archbishop of Montpellier.

"Have you heard that the food reserves in the city are no longer sufficient? Now we are eating the expensive food brought in by Genoese merchants."

"Of course I know. I almost couldn't help throwing cow dung into the greedy Genoese merchant's mouth yesterday!"

"Damn refugees, the war has stopped, why don't you go back?"

……

Isaac took out the bulletin issued by the Pope, and the guards saluted and let him go.

"Sir, you'd better leave here as soon as possible. It's very chaotic around here..."

The guard kindly reminded.

Isaac nodded and led everyone into the city.

The city of Montpellier belongs to His Excellency the Archbishop and is governed by the City Council.

This is a city with a strong religious atmosphere, with many monasteries nearby and monks coming and going all the time.

Since Charles VII issued the Edict of Bourges in 1438, the French Church has actually been free from the control of the Roman Curia.

The country was divided into several archbishoprics, which were subject only to the king and no longer had to pay taxes to Rome, while enjoying the privilege of electing their own dioceses.

Montpellier is one of them.

The city is pious and solemn, with white buildings as the main part and crosses everywhere. Well-nourished citizens walk confidently on the streets and look down on outsiders.

The brightness and cleanliness inside the city contrast sharply with the poverty and darkness outside.

Isaac walked into a bookstore and was satisfied to find books with a purple double-headed eagle emblem.

The printing house's business is developing steadily.

"Sir, this is the latest book, printed by a new machine in Rome. The font is beautiful and elegant. It is said that even the Pope and bishops like it..."

The businessman talked for a long time without stopping.

Isaac listened happily and nodded from time to time.

Then put down the book and leave the bookstore.

Leaving the businessman standing behind him depressed.

Isaac then ordered everyone to separate and look for useful information.

At noon, Isaac visited the Archbishop of Montpellier.

The good bishop was now in a difficult position.

The city council demanded that the refugees be expelled and that food distribution be stopped.

The archbishop could not bear to break his promise.

He could only inform the nobles in the south to come and take back their people, but few responded.

Now that he is taken back, he belongs to the king, so let the king take him back.

The archbishop had no choice but to report to the king, but the message fell into oblivion and there was no response.

The centralized forces and the feudal forces are in conflict with each other, and the civilians are the ultimate victims.

After a few casual chats, the Archbishop of Montpellier agreed to purchase and use the Bible printed by Isaac in the future.

It can be seen that the archbishop is now in a state of panic.

He was a kind old man who wore plain robes and lived in a very simple house.

"My child, I'm sorry I don't have time to entertain you right now. I'm sure you've seen that I don't have time to spare for the refugee issue."

The bishop placed his hand on his forehead.

"Please give my regards to Emperor Ioannis VIII. When I was young, I traveled all over the world and once visited Constantinople. It is a beautiful city. May it never fall."

Isaac thanked him.

"My Lord Bishop, in the name of God, I want to rescue some poor civilians. Can you help me?"

The archbishop glanced at him suspiciously.

"I know that some Latin merchants are colluding with local priests and doing things that even the devil would curse. I can't control it."

"You have the Pope's approval, and you are a Byzantine prince. I don't think you would do the same thing as the devil."

"If you want to help the poor refugees, then do it. This is the work of saints."

Isaac agreed and repeatedly assured that he would find a good home for the refugees.

Walking out of the church, Isaac felt a little emotional.

Bishop Pierre is a true saint. At least he is willing to stand up for the common people and stand at the forefront of the storm.

Back at the hotel, William brought Isaac a piece of news.

He found that many lower-level knights who had lost their fiefdoms gathered together, preparing to try their luck elsewhere.

This phenomenon is quite common nowadays.

Some of them would become knights of other countries, some would form mercenaries, and some would directly join the Ottoman Empire, which was actively recruiting talents.

There were a large number of Christian advisers in the court of Mehmed II.

Isaac prepares to recruit some landless knights.

As the plan progresses, the Army must be put on the agenda.

To build a strong army, the first task is to find enough officers.

Without officers, there would be no training system and no battlefield command.

A group of peasants without a commander are meaningless and will lose their weapons and armor in a matter of minutes on the battlefield.

This is also why the late Byzantine Empire relied so much on mercenaries.

All the great nobles had defected to the Ottoman Empire, and the remaining ones were useless.

The next day, Isaac brought William to meet the landless knights.

There were fourteen people in total, led by a middle-aged man with blond hair.

"I heard you want to hire us?"

The visitor was very rude and used the word "employ" very strongly.

"I want your support."

The blond knight smiled contemptuously.

"The last person I followed was Joan of Arc."

Isaac was stunned.

In the end, Isaac signed a contract with a blond knight named Conti, and fourteen people joined Isaac's guard, and Isaac paid them.

As for employment or loyalty, that will be left for later.

Afterwards, Isaac took Conti to the refugee camp and selected strong refugees to join the guard, with a total of 100 people, and their families could also go with them.

Isaac also took away 20 orphans around ten years old and asked Conte and others to teach them and cultivate reserve forces.

At night, Isaac and Conte stood on the deck as the fleet weighed anchor and prepared to set sail.

Conte looked at the land in the distance.

"You are about to leave your hometown. How do you feel?"

Isaac asked Conte.

The blond knight remained indifferent.

He opened his mouth slowly.

"I was a blacksmith's son, and I was getting by until the English destroyed everything I had,"

"I swore revenge, and the Saint reached out to me."

"We supported Charles VII. The Saint crowned him. We fought for him and took down the English strongholds one by one."

"The war was about to be won. The nobles who had been wavering stood up and took over the manors and properties one by one."

"The Saint was ruthlessly abandoned by Charles VII, and we were made knights of the lowest rank, with our fiefdoms in the most barren mountains."

"Then the king asked us to pay heavy taxes, and I didn't even have many subjects."

"I sold the fiefdom and left."

"When I left, I saw many children of great nobles gloating over the misfortune."

Conte turned his head and looked at Isaac.

“It was only then that I discovered,”

"Only when foreign enemies invade and the country is in danger will those nobles treat you as a compatriot."

“I have no hometown anymore.”

"They... don't have a hometown anymore."

Conti pointed to the port, where the strong refugees and their families recruited by Isaac happily boarded the transport ship and bid farewell to the dark shacks.

After listening to this, Isaac remained silent for a long time.

After a while, Isaac raised his head and looked at Conte.

"Perhaps in the future, you can find a new homeland in my land."

Okay, now that you’ve figured it out, just follow me from now on.

At least I won't treat you unfairly.

(End of this chapter)