1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 165 Toko Family
On the avenue along the coast, a small group of people walked towards the northeast in the dim light of dusk.

Two fully armed knights walked in the front holding a large banner that symbolized the family's prestige, and three militiamen acted as guides, following closely behind the noble in the center of the team.

At the end of the procession followed several mules, which were loaded with heavy packages, obviously filled with gifts.

"Brother, how long will it take to get there..."

A little head popped out from the middle-aged noble's chest, and was immediately startled by the chilly wind of early spring. It then shrank back into its eldest brother's arms and buried its head in his warm chest.

"It's almost there, let's work harder."

The nobleman covered his younger brother with his cloak, clamped his legs lightly around the horse's belly, and rode the horse into a trot, snorting and exhaling puffs of white mist.

"Sir, there is a village ahead. Do you want to rest for a while?"

A guide saw this and kindly asked.

The nobleman looked at the setting sun and was about to refuse, but then he glanced at his pitiful younger brother in his arms, thought for a moment, and nodded.

"Vincent!"

The noble called an old knight.

"Sir, what's the matter?"

"Take a guide with you to explore the village ahead, prepare food and hot water for us, and buy a better carriage."

"The road conditions here are better than in the south. We shouldn't get stuck in the mud anymore."

"Yes!"

Old Vincent patted his chest, took a guide, and rode his horse forward at full speed.

As the moon rose, the horse team arrived at the village. Old Vincent, along with the village priests and elders, greeted them at the door of the tavern.

The elder recognized the blue and white wavy family emblem on the flag and took a few quick steps forward to greet them.

"Greetings, Despot of Epirus, distinguished guest of the Toco family, welcome to the village of Iyacha."

"This is Roman land, protected by Emperors Constantine and Isaac."

"I am the elder here. If you need anything, please tell me and I will do my best to satisfy you."

Leonardo, the patriarch of the Tocco family and the Despot of Epirus, carried his younger brother off the horse, exhaled a breath of cold air, and made the sign of the cross on his chest.

"Hello, I am Leonardo Tocco from Alta, on my way to Thessalonica to meet the Roman emperor. I passed by here and thank you for your hospitality."

Leonardo was not polite and told the elder what he needed.

"We have traveled a long way and are a little tired. Please prepare hot water and food for us, as well as a room for us to rest."

"Besides that, please help me find out if there are any vacant carriages for sale nearby."

The elder nodded.

"Your servants have already told us this, and what you need is already prepared."

"As for the carriages, the five carriages in the village were driven to Larissa City by their drivers a few days ago. I don't know when they will return."

"If you really can't wait, you can use my donkey cart first."

Leonardo felt a little regretful, but still declined the elder's kindness.

He turned to the kind-looking old priest and nodded slightly.

"I wish you good health, Father."

"If possible, before we rest, we would like to pray and thank Jesus Christ for his blessings and protection along the way."

"There is only one Orthodox church in the village, Your Excellency."

"If you don't mind, I certainly don't have any objection."

The priest looked at Leonardo and kissed the Orthodox cross on his chest.

Leonardo was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook his head.

"It's okay, please prepare it for us."

"grown ups!"

The knights around him shouted in Latin and looked at their monarch in disbelief.

"It's just a matter of time."

Leonardo said this and walked towards the dilapidated chapel with his younger brother.

The next morning, Leonardo was awakened by the crowing of roosters. He opened the door, walked to the dining table, and sat next to his youngest brother and old Vincent.

"Not long ago, Prince Justinian led his army past us. He sat in your seat and praised the wine brewed in our village..."

"He should be a little older than you, maybe a head taller."

The elder sat opposite the little boy and told him a story using gestures.

Seeing Leonardo coming, the elders and priests stood up and saluted him.

"My Lord, please try our wine and jam bread, which are all produced by the villagers themselves."

The elder said with a smile.

"It's a pity that my brother doesn't let me drink, otherwise I would definitely try it..."

The little boy said regretfully as he swallowed the jam bread in his mouth.

"Prince Justinian also drank secretly. At that time, Marquis Mikhail went to suppress the rebellion, and no one dared to stop him."

"and after?"

The little boy's curiosity was immediately aroused.

"When Emperor Isaac found out, he beat him up and gave our village the vineyard to the east that originally belonged to a Turkic nobleman."

“Since then, there has been an endless stream of people coming here to drink.”

The elder drank the wine in his glass, obviously quite proud.

Leonardo picked up a piece of bread, coated it with coarse applesauce, and put it in his mouth.

The table was filled with food. In addition to the ordinary bread and wine, there were also bacon, beans and various vegetables, a plate of apples, and a plate of unknown seafood. Although it was simple, it was also rich.

“Do you eat these every day?”

Leonardo pointed to the wooden table.

"It's a little more because of your arrival, but it's basically the same."

The elder looked at the food on the table, a trace of nostalgia flashing in his eyes.

“If you come here on Christmas Day, you can enjoy even more food.”

"December 12 last year was the first Christmas we celebrated after driving the Turks away. We finally didn't have to hide or hide. Every village held a grand celebration. The crowds in the parade were joyful and everyone had a smile on their faces."

"Oh?"

Leonardo was a little surprised.

"Your place belonged to the Ottomans half a year ago, right? How could such a big change happen in just half a year?"

"What trick did Emperor Isaac use?"

The elder smiled and pointed to the food on the table.

"This place is not barren. The land can produce wheat and oats, the woods have fruits and herds of animals, and the ocean has plenty of fish and shrimp."

"Six months ago, bread lay in the Ottoman warehouses, fruit hung in the orchards of the Turkish nobles, and the livestock in the forests and fish in the sea all belonged to the Sultan of Bursa."

"In their eyes, we are no different from cattle and sheep. We pay heavy taxes, but everything we eat is a gift from the Sultan."

"After the army of Prince Justinian drove the Turks away, he gave us the wheat in the warehouses, granted us the mining rights of the forests and the sea, and gave us the tools and cattle of the Ottomans."

"These things are tax-free for three years."

“Without taxes, the wheat left in the fields by the Ottomans, combined with the produce from the forests and the sea, would have provided enough food for the entire year.”

"The more food that's left over, the more new babies are born, and the more new clothes people have."

"Sir, don't underestimate the peasants. We have our own wisdom and our own ways of survival."

"We don't need any tricks. As long as the people above us don't mess around, we can live well."

The elder drank and talked, and was obviously a little drunk, with some emotion.

"One hundred years ago, my ancestors lived in the suburbs of Constantinople. They were authentic Constantinople people."

"In order to support his army, the emperor at that time sent people to rob all his wheat. Our ancestors had no choice but to take their families and move south to seek refuge, where they took root and sprouted."

"This is the first time I've seen an emperor who doesn't collect taxes in all these years."

Leonardo was silent, but the little boy opened his mouth and asked.

"Emperor Isaac's army is so powerful, and he doesn't collect taxes. How does he support his army?"

"I don't know, maybe it depends on God's grace."

The elder made the sign of the cross on his chest. "I heard from Italian merchants that Emperor Isaac killed many people and robbed a lot of things. Is that true?"

the little boy asked rashly.

"Carlo!"

Leonardo slapped Carlo on the head, causing him to burst into tears due to the pain.

"Humph, you can't trust the Latin merchant's words."

The elder snorted coldly.

"Even if it's true, so what?"

"Why weren't they born in Rome?"

"I think it would be a good idea to be born in Rome."

As they were talking, the sounds of horses neighing and carts rumbling were heard outside the tavern.

"The elders and priests have all been brought back."

"Oh, okay, I'll be right away."

A few people came to the open space outside the tavern, and saw slaves tied with ropes coming down from five carriages one after another, with lifeless eyes, looking blankly at the ground beneath their feet.

"The quality of the products this time is quite good. Some people from the neighboring village are jealous. Haha..."

The driver jumped down from the carriage, opened his coat and laughed loudly.

"Well, your family gets to pick first this time!"

"Call everyone here quickly, select them in order, and no quarreling allowed!"

The elder said, assigning people to notify every household.

"how much did you spend?"

"Not much. The Emperor sells and gives away, and twenty strong laborers only get sixty ducats."

"A dozen women are not expensive, one for each widower in the village."

"The ten children will be taught by the priest without any charge. After they learn Greek, they will be exempted from slavery and join our village."

"With them, we don't have to worry about the newly opened land being abandoned..."

The driver rubbed his hands excitedly.

"This is the last batch. The village is only this big. I heard that several large villages near Larissa brought hundreds of Berber slaves at once. That's what we call a bustling scene..."

"Brother, let's go..."

Leonardo was staring in fascination when little Carlo hid behind him and tugged at his sleeve.

"Well, it's time to go."

Leonardo sighed and carried Carlo onto the horse.

The Toko family's team left quietly, just as they had come quietly.

"Brother, now that we have met Emperor Isaac, what should we do?"

On horseback, Carlo looked at his absent-minded elder brother and couldn't help asking.

"I heard from Vincent that Emperor Isaac will probably not allow us to continue to rule Arta, and we will have to hand over the newly occupied Ioannina..."

"I'm afraid so."

Leonardo nodded heavily.

"Not long ago, a detachment of the emperor's troops cooperated with the local rebels to capture the city of Skopje and took over the entire Macedonia."

"Now, apart from Bulgaria, the only territory the Turks have left in Europe is the weak Thessalonica, which is crumbling under the fierce attack of the army."

"If he launches an attack on us, the fleets will cut off our connection with the outside world, the brave armored paladins will tear our army into pieces, and the powerful artillery will destroy our castles one by one."

"But, brother, didn't you always say that Emperor Constantine is our uncle? Given this relationship, he shouldn't be so brutal to us, right?"

Leonardo smiled oddly.

In a sense, Constantine XI was indeed his uncle, as his father's sister was the old emperor's first wife, but she failed to give birth to any children.

Constantine XI's two sons, born to his second and third wives, had no relationship with the Tocco family.

"Perhaps. That's why we still have room for negotiation."

"I heard that Queen Leonor is about to give birth. If it's a girl, I will ask for your hand in marriage."

"Emperor Isaac is soft-hearted and does not respond to hardship. Since we have such a good attitude, I believe there will be a good ending."

The cavalry continued to advance, and the sound of artillery fire and shouts of killing in the distance came closer and closer.

At the end of the road, a cavalry group came running. On their blood-red uniforms, an eagle holding a blood-stained blade was flying in the wind.

"Stop, there is a battle ahead, no one is allowed to pass!"

Leonardo dismounted, revealed his identity, and negotiated with the Slaves cavalry who had arrived.

We arrived at Thessalonica.

……

It was late at night, in the central camp of the siege troops, Isaac was waiting anxiously by his wife's bed, watching the dense beads of sweat on his wife's face.

"I've already said it, even if he was born in Carthage, the little guy is still my child, and no one dares to question his identity..."

Isaac took Leonor's hand and placed a gold cross in her palm.

Justinian also lay on the head of the bed, tilting his head to look carefully at his mother's bulging belly.

After the queen became pregnant again, Isaac repeatedly instructed her to give birth in Carthage and not to go to the Purple Palace to avoid the bumpy journey.

Leonor seemed quite stubborn on this point. Although she had promised everything, she still forced Vice Captain Henry to take her north.

After the fleet landed on the Morea Peninsula, it headed north. When it reached the city of Thessalonica, it was stopped by Isaac, who refused to let it go any further.

You have to know that the Bulgarian region was still under the control of Mahmud Pasha, and the area near Thrace was not safe, as cavalry would often go south and plunder the countryside.

"Do you think it will be a girl this time?"

Leonor's hair was disheveled, but she had a smile on her face.

"What are you going to name her?"

As she was speaking, Leonor's expression suddenly froze, her teeth clenched, and sweat poured down.

"Your Majesty, Prince, the Queen is about to give birth, please step aside."

Isaac glared at the midwife fiercely, shook Leonor's hand, and pulled Justinian out of the tent.

The moonlight tonight is exceptionally bright. The city of Thessalonica under the night sky is like a gentle beauty, lying quietly in the arms of the Thessaloniki Gulf.

There was silence in the military camp. The soldiers poked their heads out of their tents, curiously waiting for the birth of new life.

Seeing this, Isaac simply lifted the ban, and the soldiers cautiously moved towards the camp with expectant smiles on their faces.

"Your Majesty, if it's a boy, can we take a holiday, drink some wine, and share the joy with you?"

A brave soldier in the crowd started to make a noise, and immediately a chorus of responses rang out.

“After they had taken Thessalonica, both men and women feasted for three days and indulged in revelry.”

The cheers rose and then stopped, and everyone held their breath, listening to the movements in the tent.

Wow--

The baby's cry echoed throughout the earth. The midwife pulled aside the door curtain and took out a healthy child.

"Your Majesty, congratulations, you are a princess."

Isaac nodded, took his eldest daughter, and lifted her up high, bringing the breath of new life to the entire military camp.

“She was born in Thessalonica by the will of the Lord.”

"In that case, let's call her Salonika."

Thessalonica is the name of an ancient Thessalian princess, from which Thessalonica gets its name, foreshadowing the victory of Thessaly.

“The Lord brought new life, foreshadowing the victory of the Romans.”

"Take that city for me and this child, Roman soldiers, and the Lord be with you."

"Long live!"

The shouts resounded through the clouds, pierced the sky, and collapsed the broken city walls.

On March 1458, 3, Princess Thessalonica of the Roman Empire was born in the suburbs of Thessalonica. In the early morning of that day, the Roman legion raised the eagle flag over the city.

Since then, the Balkan Wars ended.

(End of this chapter)