1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 131 Dias

On the boundless ocean, a fleet was sailing against the wind and waves.

The middle-aged captain stood at the bow, looking at the port in the distance.

"Captain, ahead is the port of La Palma, the empire's first stronghold in the Atlantic Ocean and the first gateway to the Golden Kingdom."

"Ten years ago, this was still a deserted island, inhabited by some indigenous people who migrated from Morocco, who lived on the island and lived a life of eating raw meat and drinking blood."

"After arriving here, His Majesty Isaac bought the island from the then Kingdom of the Canary Islands and turned it into a transit port and marine fortress."

"This is a volcanic island with fertile volcanic soil all over the island. The climate is mild, and the fertile coastal plains are enough to support a large population. Several fishing ports can also provide food supplements."

"Over the past ten years, the local governor has gradually gained control of the remaining islands in the west, established farms and ranches on the islands, and built watchtowers as an outer barrier for La Palma."

"Currently, this place belongs to the Governorate of La Palma of the Eastern Roman Empire, and is governed by Governor Lothair. The total population is about 15,000, of which nearly half are slaves from North Africa or West Africa."

"The Empire has long regarded this place as its core area. There is a solid castle, underground granary and secret armory on the island, and a guard of 300 people is on standby."

"The official religion of the Governorate of La Palma is Greek Orthodoxy. In addition to Orthodox Christians, there are also some Catholics and a small number of Armenians on the island."

"The main industry in the Governorate is..."

"Slavery and the service industry."

The captain interrupted the clerk's report and pointed to the port which was getting closer and closer.

"It's obvious. Slave markets, ship repair yards, brothels and taverns are all crowded on the docks, as if they're afraid others won't know."

The two stopped talking and waited quietly for the ship to dock.

A small patrol ship came toward them from the harbor, and the harbor tax collector stood on the bow and greeted them in Latin.

"Welcome to the Governorate of La Palma, an overseas territory of the Roman Empire, blessed by God, protected by the Emperor, and approved by the Pope."

The tax officer finished this routine statement, took out a pen and paper, and began to ask questions.

"Name?"

"Dinis Dias."

The tax collector frowned, as if he was somewhat familiar with the name, but he couldn't remember it for a while.

He shook his head and continued to ask.

"Purpose?"

“Explore the south and find a new route.”

The tax collector nodded, most of the adventurers who came here had this purpose.

"Size of fleet?"

"Three caravels and two supply ships."

"license?"

Seeing the other party stunned, the tax officer frowned and explained quickly.

"If you have a first-level license from one of the three major chambers of commerce, you only need to pay a symbolic Groschen silver coin to enter the port and stay as long as you want."

"If it's level two, five ducats."

"Level three, fifteen ducats."

"If there is nothing, it's fifty ducats, and you can only dock for ten days."

“Is this the norm now?”

Denis was a little surprised and said to himself.

"Hello?"

The tax collector interrupted his thoughts impatiently.

The clerk at the side snorted and handed a beautiful document to the tax officer.

The tax collector took it and stared at it.

"For those who hold this order, all ports are open to them, all customs are not allowed to block them, and local administrative agencies must provide all possible assistance to their expeditions. Those who violate the order will be severely punished."

"Isaac Palaiologos, by the grace of God, Emperor of Rome and of the Romans."

A bright red double-headed eagle emblem was printed at the end of the document, representing supreme authority.

The tax collector swallowed and his hands began to tremble.

"You... you..."

"How many ducats will this cost?"

The clerk straightened his back and looked at the tax collector, feeling secretly pleased.

"Okay, let's go, and remember to inform Governor Lothair."

Denis was in no mood to tease a new employee and waved his hand casually.

"Yes... Dear Sir, we will offer you our best service. We hope you can have a happy time in La Palma Island and wish you a safe journey in the future..."

The tax collector was obviously very grateful for Dinis's generosity. He immediately led the fleet to the dock and introduced the port city to him attentively. At the same time, he sent an envoy and a fast horse to inform the Governor's Office.

Soon, Dinis and his entourage appeared in the official residence of the Governorate of La Palma and were received by Governor Lothair.

"Hello, respected Lord Lothair."

Dinis was born into a noble family and was well versed in etiquette, so he was the first to salute his host.

"I thought that there was nothing but wilderness south of Lisbon, but this bustling port proves my ignorance."

“This is all thanks to you.”

Denis praised, half flattering, half amazed.

"La Palma is in such a good state thanks to God's blessing and His Majesty's plan. I am just an agent."

Lothar waved his hands quickly.

Despite this, a happy smile appeared on his tanned face.

"Please take a seat, Lord Dinis from the Dias family. Your family is famous and your story is widely known."

"It is my honor to host you here."

In the field of ocean adventure, the Dias family of the Kingdom of Portugal is well-known and renowned.

João Dias was one of the first navigators to explore West Africa. He once followed the famous navigator Tristang to discover the Gulf of Alguín. He was the first to transport slaves to Europe for sale, which set off a wave of private exploration.

His son, Denis Dias, was also a famous navigator. Like his father, he participated in the discovery of the Gulf of Alguin. Later, he sailed alone and reached the westernmost cape of the African continent, naming it Cape Verde.

"You and your father were both great adventurers and devout believers in Jesus Christ, and your children will surely be the same."

"I heard that you have two sons, is that true?" Denis nodded with a smile on his face.

"My eldest son Bartolomeu and my second son Diogo are blessed by God and are both in good health."

Lothar smiled and nodded, bringing the conversation back to the point.

"It seems like you haven't been out to sea for a long time. Do you have any mission this time?"

Denis handed the document to Lothar, along with a letter from the emperor.

Lothar finished reading the letter and looked up.

"I understand. Just tell us what you want. We will do everything we can to make it happen."

"The fresh water, navigation medicine, native guides and other supplies you need will be arranged within three days. The subsequent Governorates of St. Nicholas, Bijegos and St. William will also provide you with services along the way."

"Although your destination is not Queen's Harbor, I still recommend that you sail along the coast. This is because when you pass through the Guinea area, you will encounter a large area of ​​calm winds, and sailing along the coast is the safest."

Lothar immediately took out the nautical chart and quickly drew a route.

Looking at the professional and serious look of the Governor, Dias was deeply moved.

A few years ago, a far-reaching political struggle took place in Portugal. Prince Pedro, a strong supporter of the West African expedition, was defeated and killed. Prince Henry stopped caring about state affairs from then on, and the land nobles regained control of the country's affairs.

Against this background, Portugal's West African exploration suffered a severe blow. Under the influence of the land aristocracy, the young and headstrong king had been trying to expand territory in North Africa and had little interest in distant West Africa.

During this period, the Eastern Roman Empire continued to be committed to the exploration of West Africa. Caravelles, flying the flag of a double-headed eagle, sailed to distant seas in the name of Jesus Christ and discovered islands, some rich and some barren.

This aging country seems to have incredible persistence and endless confidence in opening up new sea routes, and an upbeat spirit emanates from top to bottom.

Sometimes, Denis really wondered why the emperor's expedition fleet dared to continue exploring southwards and why it was always able to find the right results.

You know, when facing the endless ocean, not all monarchs have the courage to continue gambling.

The technical bottleneck of ocean voyages has basically ceased to exist. The only thing that prevents explorers from continuing to sail is the fear of the unknown.

When Portugal's domestic maritime activities suffered a blow, the young Roman emperor extended an olive branch to Dinis, hoping that he would move his family to Birinci and settle down and serve as the first dean of the Navigation Academy that was being prepared.

In addition, the emperor generously expressed his willingness to provide financial support for him to continue his unfinished exploration into unknown distances.

As a child of a seafaring family, the ocean is his home, the ship's planks are his cradle, the sailors' vulgar words are his bedtime stories, and fighting the wind and waves is his duty and his destiny.

This time, it was Denis Dias' first ocean expedition for the Eastern Roman Empire.

According to the plan, they will depart from the port of La Palma, pass through the Portuguese Island of Arguin and the Portuguese Island of Gorée, and go to the Governorate of Bijagos for repairs and supplies, and then continue sailing along the coast directly to St. William.

The Governorate of St. William was the last established stronghold of the Eastern Roman Empire in West Africa. Going south from St. William, there was the vast ocean and a vast expanse of emptiness.

Dinis will lead the fleet further south until the supplies run out or the world ends.

"Okay, thank you for your help. I won't bother you any more. I'll go prepare the supplies now."

After chatting for a while, Denis stood up and said goodbye.

"I wish you a safe journey and a fruitful return."

……

In Constantinople, in the Palace of the Purple Nobles, Isaac was playing with little Alexios in the cradle while listening to Leonor reading a report.

A clear and pleasant voice came out from the red lips and echoed in the garden.

"This morning, we received a report from Foreign Minister Anderson that he has arrived in Lodi City and is communicating and exchanging views with various forces."

"In his letter, he suggested that due to the complexity of diplomacy in the Italian region, we should establish a resident envoy to specifically deal with the diplomatic affairs of Italian countries."

"That makes sense. I'll make the arrangements."

Isaac nodded gratifiedly.

Isaac was very pleased that his foreign minister could think of this independently.

In fact, in the original time and space, the Conference of Lodi was the beginning of modern diplomacy. After that, Italian countries began to send permanent envoys to important countries, which greatly improved efficiency and made it easier to deal with extreme emergencies.

"Send someone to tell him that, in addition to achieving our diplomatic goals, his main task is to stir up trouble and prevent the Italian countries from reaching a substantive peace agreement."

Isaac commanded.

The political situation in Italy is very special. Most of the time, it is a battlefield where various ideologies and factions fight overtly and covertly, and it is difficult to achieve internal unity.

A hundred years ago, the Guelphs who supported the Pope and the Ghibellines who supported the Holy Roman Emperor were fighting fiercely here, and the various forces took this as an excuse to fight each other.

Fifty years ago, the Avignon Prisoners caused a great split in the Catholic Church. At one point, there were three popes in Europe, which made the political thought in northern Italy a mess.

Since the Renaissance, the republican forces in northern Italy have been waging an all-round struggle against the military tyrants. The most representative of these was the protracted war between Venice and Milan.

The war lasted until 1454, when the Italian countries finally began to feel tired and sat down to negotiate. This was the origin of the Treaty of Lodi.

The Treaty of Lodi in the original time and space was supported by almost all Italian countries, including His Holiness the Pope, bringing decades of precious peace to northern Italy.

Milan and Florence continued their Renaissance, with outstanding talents such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli emerging like mushrooms after a rain.

Venice was free to focus on dealing with the threat from the Ottoman Empire.

However, the situation in this world changed by Isaac will be very different.

Historically, after the fall of Constantinople, Venice became the country at the forefront of the fight against the Ottomans. Although they did not want to anger their powerful neighbor, they were still placed high hopes on by the Christian world.

As a result, the Venetians' strength on paper was indeed good, but they fought very poorly on the battlefield against the Ottomans, which greatly disappointed the Christian world behind them.

Not only did they hardly win any land battles, but they also fought poorly in naval battles. They only managed to stabilize the situation with the full support of the Spanish Habsburg family.

Now, he had successfully won the Battle of Constantinople, Mehmed II was defeated at the gates of the city, and the pressure from outside had been greatly reduced.

In this situation, will the other countries and His Holiness the Pope put aside their grudges and make peace with the Venetians?

It’s hard to say.

Not long ago, His Holiness the Pope supported the Knights Hospitaller in seizing the Karpathos Islands, which is very telling.

"A peaceful development of northern Italy is not good for us. The waters must be muddied as much as possible."

"In addition to the northern Italian states, we also have to bring in Aragon and the Holy Roman Empire. After all, they all have sufficient reasons to intervene."

The more countries that have a say in a peace conference, the more chaotic the conference will be and the harder it will be to achieve peace.

"I heard that the Ten in Venice deliberately kept Sforza so that someone could take the blame for the peace conference. How could I spoil their fun?"

Isaac smiled slyly.

"What should we do in the meantime?"

Leonor asked.

"Develop trade, strengthen armaments, increase population, cultivate land, and wait for the right opportunity."

"The rest will be left to time."

(End of this chapter)