1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 180 St. Augustine
The roosters crow at dawn, the sun is about to rise, and the warm winter sunshine awakens this vibrant land.

In the attached villages, farmers carried farm tools and led oxen towards the fields outside the village. On the nearby sea, fishermen who had been busy all night returned to the port with fresh fish and shrimps, the joy of a good harvest flashing in their tired eyes.

Several sailboats suddenly appeared at the junction of the sea and the sky, and the double-headed eagle flag fluttering in the wind was getting closer and closer.

"The Emperor's fleet is coming!"

On the coast, children who were busy picking up shrimps and crabs screamed and ran towards the port.

The news spread quickly, and the harbor master was dressed neatly and waiting at the dock with his staff.

"Is this Port St. Augustine? It doesn't look like much."

On the medium-sized caravel New Thrace, Lake leaned against the side of the ship bored, took out his sketchbook and paintbrush, and began to sketch the scenery of the port.

“It’s pretty good to build a port village with 300 people in just over a year.”

Beside him, Count William, the Colonial Minister of the Eastern Roman Empire, spoke.

"In addition to St. Augustine Port, our Limnios, who is from the branch of the Paleologian family, also built a castle called New Broad at the foot of the mountain in the east, and the population of the affiliated village has reached 300."

"How did you know?"

Lake didn't even look up.

"All the overseas colonies of the empire have been filed with me. The local population and special products will be sorted and filed. We will disclose them appropriately to major chambers of commerce to assess their commercial value."

"Oh? What's the commercial value here?"

“Average, but with good development potential.”

William thought about it.

"Currently, the most valuable commodity in Port St. Augustine is ivory. Limnios has subjugated three small Khoisan tribes and uses them to exchange for precious animal materials, including ivory, from inland tribes."

"This place has a good strategic location. It happens to be surrounded by bays and mountains, so it is not easy to be attacked by powerful natives."

"What is their main source of income? Fishing? Farming? Hunting?"

Lake quickly took out a pen and paper and began to take notes.

"I think so. The land here is fertile and we can grow a variety of staple foods. The seafood by the sea is also quite abundant. We won't have to worry about food and drink in the short term."

William pointed to the small fishing boats returning to the port.

"There is also a very good kind of livestock here. The locals call it the Boer goat. It has a strong adaptability to the environment, strong reproductive capacity, high meat production rate, delicious meat, and good fur. It is an excellent large meat sheep."

"Before you came, several officials from the Imperial Agricultural Research Institute came here to investigate and evaluated the Boer goats. They found that this type of goat has a higher economic effect than all other goats in the known world. They took great pains to bring two rams and ten ewes back to North Africa to replace the original local goat breeds."

The fleet continued sailing and arrived at St. Augustine Harbor. After docking, the delegation was warmly welcomed by the port officials.

"Respected Earl William, Lord Lake, my master is fighting a disobedient tribe in the east. It's not far away and he is expected to be back tonight."

On the dirt road leading to New Broad Castle, the harbor master chatted enthusiastically.

"My master was originally the lord of Brod Town in the North Macedonia Military Region. He was born into the Palaiologos royal family and is a descendant of Emperor Andronicus II."

"Oh? So, Limnios and I are cousins."

Earl William smiled.

The Palaiologos family of Monferrato were also descendants of Andronicus II, but they seldom mentioned it and usually called themselves descendants of Michael VIII.

Andronicus II was a good writer and poet, but he was not a good emperor. Not only did he disband all the remaining fleets of the Eastern Roman Empire, he also messed up his own family affairs, leading to the Andronican Civil War.

"Not long ago, my master was bewildered and, under the instigation of a Turkic Bey, he opposed the royal teacher and almost made a big mistake."

The harbor master sighed.

"Fortunately, he came to his senses and personally delivered the head of the Turkic Bey to Skopje. This earned the mercy of His Majesty Isaac, who allowed him to go to South Africa to redeem himself for his crimes."

"The prodigal son returns, and that's a good thing."

William nodded.

"I wonder why the two adults are here this time?"

The harbor master looked at Lake and William's faces cautiously.

"You'll find out later."

Lake said mysteriously.

The mountains along the coast were not very high. After walking for several hours in the hills, a fairly neat wooden castle appeared before them.

The castle is located at the foot of the mountain, surrounded by a small river. Dozens of low thatched houses are scattered along the river, and the small market is quite lively.

The village has all the necessary facilities. The slaughterhouse and tannery are located on the outskirts, the newly built mill and bakery are on a gentle hillside, the simple windmill creaks, and the church bells echo in the distance.

The square in the center of the village was crowded with people. Several short yellow natives were leading cattle, sheep and slaves, and hawking their wares among the crowd. An interpreter stood on a high platform, translating the words of the native merchants into Greek.

"Oh, this is a small gathering. Since the establishment of New Broad, the surrounding indigenous tribes have used this place as a trading point, and people come here from time to time to do business."

The harbor master explained.

"At first, they were quite hostile. But after Lord Limnius led his troops to beat up the most aggressive tribes, the surrounding natives became completely obedient."

"They didn't even know how to use stone tools, didn't engage in farming, and often traded the game they hunted and the slaves they captured for leather clothes, shoes and other low-end handicrafts."

"My master is very open-minded. He not only took in many Khoisan natives who fled here, baptized them, and taught them Greek, but also opened New Broad to all natives. The tax rate on low-level goods such as ordinary furs and meat was extremely low."

"However, ivory and rare animal furs are goods that belong exclusively to him. They can only be confiscated by his officials and then transported to the port of St. Augustine to be traded with passing merchant ships for tools that we cannot produce on our own."

"As you know, we have signed an agreement with your Majesty's commercial company. Every six months, when they send ships to New Thrace, they will stop here for three days to purchase goods."

The harbormaster looked at Earl William.

"Sir, can you talk to them and ask them to lower the price of the ironware? An iron farm fork costs a hundred groschen! What do you think of this..."

William spread his hands helplessly.

"You should know that the Chamber of Commerce is directly owned by His Majesty. Not only me, but even the Prime Minister has no power to change their minds."

"Besides, when your town prospers, there will naturally be blacksmiths coming to provide services."

As they were talking, two knights holding banners with family crests came into view.

"My lord is back!"

Limnios Palaiologos, then 30 years old, appeared on the path north of the village riding a pony, followed by an army and a group of indigenous slaves.

The army was divided into two parts. In addition to dozens of well-equipped armed militiamen, there were also hundreds of indigenous servants armed with sticks and slings.

They had just won a victory, when Lemnios led a mixed army straight into the city, burned the camp of a tribe that refused to surrender to him to the ground, and returned to the castle with the spoils.

Limnios ignored the people who were trading and prepared to go directly back to the family castle.

When the people saw that their lord had won another victory, they cheered and threw unknown wild flowers at the soldiers.

"Sir, here!"

The harbor master shouted loudly in the open space in front of the castle.

Limnios took a closer look, then quickly dismounted from his horse and knelt on one knee.

"The guilty minister Limnius, I meet Earl William!"

William smiled, helped Limnios up and patted him on the shoulder.

"You are no longer a criminal."

Limnios didn't understand what was going on, so he quickly ordered his servants to prepare wine and food to welcome the European delegation.

"Sir, the conditions here are simple, and there is only the inferior wine brewed by the villagers. I'm afraid it doesn't suit your taste." "There is a lot of meat, all of which we collected from the tribesmen. On the way back, we also met an old elephant. You must try this unique game."

"The elephant was so big that we only picked out the best part to bring back, along with a pair of tusks, and gave them to the adults as a gift."

Limnios said earnestly.

He has always been a pragmatist and has always put himself in the right position. No matter how arrogant he was in the past, now that he is guilty, he should act like a criminal.

Even though he could call the shots in New Broad, as long as he was separated from Europe's ocean trade, he would soon lose his absolute military suppression of the natives due to shortage of equipment due to lack of independent production capacity, and would be torn apart by them who had the advantage in numbers.

"Oh? Ivory is indeed very valuable. Do you have a lot of it here?"

William became interested.

“A lot, but hard to fight.”

"My Lord, I'm afraid you won't laugh at me, but when I first came to St. Augustine, I was so frightened by a group of elephants that I didn't dare to get off the boat."

Limnios smiled sheepishly.

"It is difficult for us to capture this ferocious social creature by ourselves. Today's harvest is just a pleasant surprise. Our main source of ivory now is the collection of the indigenous people for thousands of years, and the same is true for the fur of large beasts."

"When we become stronger in the future, we will also form our own hunting team."

"There are so many wild animals here. When we first arrived here, we had to work hard to drive away a group of giraffes. We sold a few pieces of fur to a wealthy businessman in Bilinchi at a high price and earned our first income."

Limnios was talking and laughing, and it seemed that he had been living quite well recently.

"The main problem we face is the severe shortage of tools, weapons and labor. The Chamber of Commerce's fleet only comes once every six months, which greatly limits our pace of expansion."

Limnios felt a little regretful.

"Don't worry, my dear sir."

Lake, who had been silent until then, spoke.

"Among all the convicted nobles who went to South Africa to open up land, one died, one refused to leave and was thrown into prison, and several others dared not leave New Thrace and only dared to become local manor owners."

“You are the most successful one.”

"Your deeds have begun to spread widely in the Balkans and Africa, and have even reached His Majesty."

"I believe you are aware that His Majesty never hesitates to reward meritorious officials."

Limnius' heart began to beat violently and he looked at Earl William.

"This is Lake Derryman, His Majesty's Royal Historian, Court Poet, and Court Painter."

Lake held his head high.

"You may not know that before I came here, His Majesty also gave me an important position, asking me to carry forward the family tradition."

"What position?"

"The court herald!"

"You mean-"

Limnios' pupils suddenly dilated and his hands trembled uncontrollably.

"Limnios Valleolius, listen!"

Lake unfolded Isaac's letter.

Limnios plunged his sword into the soil and knelt on one knee.

"From today on, all the crimes committed by you and your family will be forgiven, and your descendants will all be members of the royal branch."

"To reward your achievements, His Majesty Constantine and His Majesty Isaac have unanimously decided to confer you the title of Count of Saint Augustine, and all the lands that can be occupied will belong to you."

"In addition, all of His Majesty's chambers of commerce will sell goods to you at a discount, and advanced weapons such as muskets and crossbows will also be available to you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, and thank you, Herald Officer!"

Limnios was overjoyed and his eyes instantly turned red.

"There is one more request."

Lake looked at the newly appointed Earl of St. Augustine with a smile.

"You say!"

"Your expansion in the Earldom of St. Augustine cannot be stopped just because of your pardon. You may not stay in the Balkans and Africa for more than six months a year."

"If you violate it, you should know the consequences."

"Of course there is no problem with that. I have been running this business for over a year. How can I just give up on this business that I have built with great difficulty?"

Limnios hastened to make the promise.

"Okay, that's all. Choose a crest and I'll register it in the Imperial Noble Register and the Royal Family Tree."

Lake took out his paintbrush.

Limnios thought for a moment.

"My current achievements are inseparable from the ivory trade, so I will use the elephant as my family emblem."

"Row."

Lake painted quickly, completing a sketch in just a few strokes.

An elephant with its head held high and its tusks puffed out appears on the paper. The elephant's body is painted with the Palaiologos cross family emblem and it wears a crown on its head.

"Okay! Thank you, Master Lake!"

Earl William watched this scene with a smile in his eyes and applauded.

"Today is truly a joyous day. Before we left, His Majesty specifically instructed us to bring fine wine, delicacies, and specialties from your hometown to reward his warriors."

"Long live the emperor, may the Holy Father bless him."

Limnios sighed and made the sign of the cross on his chest.

……

Meanwhile, on the Apennine Peninsula, the port of La Spezia.

The night was dark, the stars and the moon were shrouded in dark clouds, and not a single ray of light could be seen.

boom--

The sound of artillery fire in the distance broke the tranquility of the night. The Eastern Roman Empire's Mediterranean fleet had finished its rest and came from the southern ocean. It ignored the warnings of the Genoese patrol ship and directly broke into the waters near the port, opening fire.

A round of artillery fire stopped, and the noisy voices of people and the neighing of livestock continued to be heard.

The guards guarding the naval port received an order to reinforce the dock. They left a small number of troops to continue patrolling, while the main force hurried to the dock.

Behind a small hill, Dimarco looked at the lights of the brigade that were gradually disappearing into the distance, and his tightly clenched fists finally relaxed.

Behind him, three hundred carefully selected fighters, carrying short knives and wearing black cloaks, were waiting for the final order of action.

"How about it?"

Emro came up behind Dimarco and asked quietly.

"It's almost time! Let's go!"

(End of this chapter)