1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 187 Platinum Empire
Eastern Roman Empire, West African coast.

In a small port, a middle-aged man with a goatee walked out of a brothel with an account book in his arms, looking serious.

"Mr. Robben! You finally made it here, why don't you enjoy yourself?"

The brothel owner ran out of the door, trying enthusiastically to keep Robben.

Robben turned around. His straight clothes were obviously carefully tailored. He wore an exquisitely crafted badge on his chest and his hair was combed meticulously. He seemed out of place in the dirty and lewd environment around him.

The boss looked at the shining badge and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes.

Robben adjusted the badge, and the silver double-headed eagle on the badge shone brightly in the sunlight.

"Mosadas is a Bilinchi. His father was a tax collector in the former Mamluk Sultanate, and his mother was a local slave girl."

"You were baptized in 1449 and married a Coptic woman in the same year. You now have two daughters and one son."

Robben opened the account book and began to read it casually.

"Three years ago, you lost the date processing factory left by your father because of gambling. You heard that you could make a fortune in faraway West Africa, so you crossed the ocean to avoid being hunted by creditors. You moved your family to Baltan Island in the Governorate of Bijagos and bought a brothel."

As Robben continued to read, Mosadas's face turned paler and paler.

"Just a few months later, you lost the brothel due to gambling. Your wife was completely disappointed in you and left forever with her eldest daughter, leaving her youngest daughter and son to you."

"Two years ago, you walked into the Guinea branch on Baltan Island and asked the staff for a loan."

"yes, I……"

"Then, you first came to Porto Reina, but soon discovered that the local sex industry had been monopolized by big businessmen. You couldn't afford the high prices there, so you moved again. You went to Porto Duarte in Portugal and the New Galata Port in Genoa, but you couldn't stay there either time."

"At the beginning of last year, you came to this emerging port east of Queensport. The rapidly developing plantation economy in the area boosted the sex market. You took out a loan and opened this brothel."

"Just now, I came to see you, but your employees said you went to the casino."

Robben pointed to the shabby hut behind the boss. Inside the window of the hut, a group of scantily clad girls were crowded together. Their wanton gazes shone through the dirty glass windows onto Robben's fair face, and they were whispering and giggling from time to time.

Robben frowned, not wanting to stay in this place for long, and took out some documents from his pocket.

"I am an employee of the Roman Empire Guinea Company. I am here to inform you on the orders of my superiors, dear sir."

Robben shook one of the papers.

“It’s time to pay back the debt!”

When Mosadas saw the debt certificate, his eyes immediately turned red. He reached out to grab it, but was frightened by the sharp dagger in Robben's hand and shrank back, rubbing his hands nervously.

"Mosadas, don't underestimate anyone who dares to collect debts. They may not be as weak as they appear."

Robben said slowly, inserting the dagger into his waist.

"Yes, yes, respected Mr. Robben, as you know, the market has been bad recently. There are more customers, but the emperor's taxes and the protection fees of the bullies have also increased. Can you give me another month?"

Robben shook his head slightly.

"I'm sorry, Mossadas, but your credit has run out."

He pulled out another document with the seal of the port sheriff on it.

"I have informed the port's sheriff. From today on, the security team will protect you and your children until the debt is paid off."

"As for whether you have money or not, that is not within our consideration."

Robben looked at the embarrassed Mossadas and smiled jokingly.

"I will stay in this port for another two weeks. If I don't see the money within these two weeks, your family's safety will be at risk."

"You are a weak gambler and you are not worth much. You are probably worth only a few ducats in the market of Bilinchi. But your daughter and son are both good-looking. I believe someone will want them."

"Asshole! Just try to touch them!"

Mosadas roared, grabbing Robben by the collar, but was pushed hard and fell to the ground.

The gambler struggled to get up, his eyes dim.

"Within two weeks, the fifty-three ducats will be returned in full."

"And the interest for the two weeks, fifty-three ducats and eighty-one groschen."

Robben left a word, got on the carriage parked on the side of the road, and drove away.

In the carriage, Robben opened the account book and drew a wavy line under Mosadas' name.

"The last one left."

"Driver, go outside the city."

The carriage turned and headed north.

The port is not big, and the thatched buildings are gradually becoming sparse, leaving large tracts of wilderness exposed. From time to time, a few small animals jump out from the dirt road and run away screaming.

After a while, the carriage stopped outside a manor, which was surrounded by large plantations. Black slaves were wearing shackles and working under the scorching sun. The overseers stood under the shade of the trees, holding whips and looking around eagerly.

"Who are you? Stop!"

The owner of the manor was a wealthy man and had many guards. When the guards saw the carriage approaching, they raised their muskets and crossbows and aimed at the uninvited guests.

"I'm from Baltan Island! I'm an employee of the Guinea Company! I want to see your master!"

Robben threw the dagger to the ground, raised his hands and shouted loudly.

"Wait! We will inform the master!"

A few days later, Robben appeared in the manor owner's study.

The decoration of the study was very luxurious, all in the Constantinople style. When Robben was in it, he felt as if he had returned to his long-lost hometown.

"Are you here to collect a debt?"

The owner of the estate was named Yanna, a merchant from Constantinople who came to West Africa two years ago and borrowed a large loan from the Guinea Company.

"Yes."

"sit down."

Yanner pointed to the velvet-covered seat across from him.

"Coffee? Wine?"

"random."

Robben had no mood to enjoy himself and took out Yanna's debt certificate.

"Mr. Yanna, your debt is about to mature. I am here to inform you on the orders of the company."

Yanna gave a big businessman's trademark smile, pulled out a Bible from the bookshelf behind him, opened the book, took out a piece of gold from the hollowed-out hole, and slapped it on the table.

"Is it enough?"

"enough."

Robben was about to reach out his hand, but Yanna's short and thick fingers suddenly covered the gold.

"Mr. Yanner?"

Robben became alert and quietly reached for the dagger hidden in his trouser leg.

"You should know that I am insignificant, but behind me stands the Guinea Company and Emperor Isaac!"

"If anything happens to me, the next ones to come will be Count Gosia's army!"

Yanna's expression remained unchanged, and he still looked smiling.

“I have no intention of antagonizing the company.”

"On the contrary, I am ready to discuss a big business with you."

"what business?"

Yangna didn't say it directly. He took a sip of the coffee brought by the maid and pointed out the window.

"What did you see?"

“Cotton fields.”

"Yes, cotton fields."

Yanna put down the coffee cup and took out a plump cotton ball from the table.

"Do you know the origin of this port?"

Seeing that Robben didn't answer, Yanna started talking to himself.

"In 1454, His Majesty Isaac signed an agreement with friendly countries such as Aragon, Genoa, and Portugal, and published the sea chart from the Viceroyalty of La Palma to Porto Reina, allowing them to establish a trading port near Porto Reina and join the West African trade system."

"So, merchants from these countries flocked to the Gold Coast and established their own trading ports on the coast. This port was once the territory of Aragonese merchants."

"Three years ago, King Afonso V of Aragon died, and his brother Juan II succeeded to the throne. He got closer and closer to the French, and the relationship between the two countries quickly deteriorated."

"Two years ago, in view of the evil deeds of King Juan II of Aragon, the emperor sent a fleet to take back this port. The Aragonese merchants who did not want to stay were also sent back, and Roman ship merchants came here."

"what do you want to say in the end?"

Robben was a little annoyed.

"At that time, the Mamluks were in turmoil, and Sultan Mansur asked the emperor for mercenaries and cheap slaves. The emperor agreed, but not without conditions."

"One of the conditions was that the Eastern Roman Empire was allowed to recruit cotton farmers in Egypt and Syria, learn technology, and buy high-quality seeds."

"The emperor's inspection team came here and thought that the sunlight and water conditions of the port and the inland land were very suitable for growing Egyptian cotton, so they began to promote it on a large scale." "When the first batch of cotton was planted, everyone was skeptical and opened up a few cotton fields at random with a try-and-see attitude."

"When the second batch of cotton began to be planted, plantation owners who had made a lot of money in the previous round of harvest began to establish large plantations along the coast and rivers, using black slaves as the main labor force."

"By the third batch, a wave of cotton planting swept through the port. Batches of natives were driven inland. The empty land where they lived was reclaimed into cotton fields, and cotton estates of all sizes emerged one after another."

Yangna lay by the window, looking at the vibrant cotton fields, the greed in his eyes almost turning into reality.

“This is the fourth batch.”

“The sunlight and heat here are sufficient, and we can harvest twice a year.”

"Stimulated by the cotton boom, this former transit port has become increasingly prosperous, with increasingly rich supporting service facilities, and is even poised to rival Queensport."

"All kinds of people come here to pursue their dreams of getting rich."

"So, at the beginning of this year, His Majesty Isaac placed this port under the direct jurisdiction of the Colonial Office and gave it a nice name."

"Platinum Port."

“It’s a very touching story, but unfortunately it’s only known to everyone.”

Robben looked at Yanna, still not understanding what he meant.

"But as the population continued to grow, there was less and less coastal land suitable for plantations, and there were terrible diseases in the interior."

"Now, the port has reached its development ceiling."

Yanna sat back down at his desk.

"Do you have a solution to this problem?"

"Yes."

"This problem is actually not difficult to solve. Someone has already proposed similar insights."

Yanna opened the map and found Platinum Port and the Bijagos Islands on it.

"Platinum Harbor is not the only place suitable for growing cotton. In fact, similar high-quality land can be found throughout West Africa north of St. William Islands."

"On the West African mainland east of the Bijagos Islands, plantation owners also opened up many cotton plantations, but their area was covered with dense rainforests, and there was too little coastal land for planting."

"A plantation owner proposed whether it would be possible to train a group of black natives loyal to the empire, have them go to inland areas with higher altitudes to open plantations, and then send the harvested cotton to the port."

"Loyalty is difficult, right? The ability of the natives is also a big problem."

Luo Ben became interested.

“Indeed, the idea I proposed is to solve this problem.”

"You say."

"I think we might as well change our thinking and reach an agreement directly with the tribal chiefs in the interior, teach them cotton seeds and planting methods, let them plant them, and we will be responsible for purchasing them."

"The natives have no loyalty, but they will pursue their own interests."

“They may not have enough capacity and their unit output may be low, but this problem can be solved by sheer quantity.”

Yangna was obviously a little proud of his discovery. He took out a few documents from the side with several handprints on them.

"Last year, I signed a purchase agreement with the chiefs of several small tribes in the north, asking them to burn down their rice fields and plant cotton instead, and then hand it over to me for unified sales."

"Not long ago, several chiefs who tried to grow cotton sent cotton balls to my estate. The rewards they received were much higher than those from growing grains. They all clamored to go back and plant cotton on all their mature fields."

"They no longer grow crops, so they can only buy from other tribes. This way of farming, which changes crops into cotton, can spread from the coast to the inland through repeated trade, and eventually grow stronger."

"My plan was successful."

“Guess what these native chiefs’ favorite trading items are?”

Yanna smiled mysteriously.

"What? A glass ball?"

Robben couldn't help but ask.

Yanna shook his head and took out a piece of cheap cotton cloth.

"That's it, cotton!"

"Everyone knows that the two major textile centers of the empire are Mystras and Tripoli. The former is mainly responsible for the production of silk and linen for the nobles and the lowest class of people, while the latter is mainly responsible for the production of leather and wool fabrics for the middle class and nomadic areas."

"Not long ago, His Majesty announced the establishment of a cotton textile trade union in Carthage, imported a lot of simple machinery and cotton textile talents from Florence, and invested a lot of money."

"This is the lowest quality cotton cloth produced by the Carthaginian cotton mill. Rather than cotton cloth, it is a mixed fabric of cotton and linen. It is made by mixing the leftovers of high-quality cotton cloth with linen cloth. It is specially used for trading with the natives of West Africa."

"How is it? Amazing, right?"

Yanna looked at Robben proudly.

"They worked so hard to grow cotton, but we took all the wealth away from them."

"I plan to ask the company for a loan to continue promoting this method of converting grain into cotton in inland areas."

Robben stroked the rough cotton cloth and was shocked for a moment.

"Your plan is very valuable. I can't make the decision, but I will report it to the company truthfully. They will send an inspection team to evaluate it!"

Robben stood up and made up his mind.

"If your plan really works, it will be invaluable, and you may even have the honor of dining with His Majesty."

"Please hurry up."

Robben nodded, forgetting even to take the gold, and got into the carriage directly, passing through the vast cotton fields in full bloom, and rushed towards Platinum Port.

……

Cotton mill in Carthage, on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Led by the management, Isaac and his second son Alexius walked through the production workshop and listened to the factory director's explanation.

"Your Majesty, please look. These are bundles of ginned cotton. They will be sent to different production workshops for processing. High-quality cotton cloth is very valuable. The textile industry's commercial guilds regularly send people to collect it. They will connect with the chambers of commerce of various countries and sell it to nobles and wealthy merchants from all over the world."

"The market for inferior cotton cloth is much larger, targeting the middle and lower class aristocrats and gentry."

"The inferior cotton cloth has always been the equivalent of the colonial trade."

Isaac nodded and gave the other man an encouraging smile.

Cotton is a magical plant. Cotton balls can be used for weaving and cotton seeds can be used for oil extraction. High-quality cotton cloth has always been a precious commodity in short supply throughout Europe and is called "white gold".

Nowadays, cotton is mainly divided into two types, tree cotton originating from India and grass cotton originating from Arabia and Egypt. In terms of quality, tree cotton is the worst and has been basically eliminated in the 21st century.

In fact, the quality of the two types of cotton in the known world are extremely ordinary, and are called "coarse-staple cotton". The best cotton on earth is long-staple cotton and fine-staple cotton. The former is the most delicate but expensive, and the latter is relatively rough but easy to grow.

Unfortunately, both are crops exclusive to the American continent.

Before cotton was introduced to Europe by the Arabs, Europe's textile industry was mainly based on silk, wool, linen and leather, which were either too expensive or too rough in quality.

Compared with the previous fabrics, cotton cloth is white and delicate, and soon became popular among Europeans. Cotton itself has a high yield, and the economic effect it brings is far greater than wool and linen textiles.

However, Europe's latitude is too high, with too little sunlight and heat, making it unsuitable for cotton growth.

The most suitable places for cotton growing in the entire Mediterranean coast are Egypt and the Levant. Egypt's cotton industry has a long history. The subtropical desert climate is sufficient to provide sufficient sunlight and heat, and the Nile River can also provide abundant water resources.

After the failure of the Crusades, trade between the Christian world and the East was monopolized by Muslim merchants, and cotton was one of the important raw materials imported by Europe from the Muslim world.

Despite the loss of the source of raw materials, Europeans' desire for cotton cloth did not diminish. As early as a century ago, a relatively complete cotton textile industry had been established in Italy, with Florence being the most prominent.

Not long ago, Isaac specially tried to grow cotton from Egypt on the coast of West Africa, and achieved great success. Platinum Port became more and more prosperous, and more than 90% of the empire's cotton came from here.

Isaac was not surprised by this. He knew very well that Platinum Port was the Port of Lomé, the capital of the Togolese Republic in later generations. In this small country, nearly 30% of the population was engaged in cotton planting and related industries.

The Togo region has a tropical savannah climate with sufficient sunlight throughout the year. The higher altitude makes the difficult-to-open tropical rainforest even more sparse, making it suitable for cotton cultivation.

In addition to Togo, Mali, Benin and Burkina Faso are all major cotton producing countries with extraordinary resource endowments.

The textile industry is the beginning of industry. Whether it is silk, wool, leather, hemp or cotton, they all occupy an important position in world trade. Leather is one of the main commodities in the Baltic trade and the Black Sea trade. The wool industry is the current economic pillar of the Netherlands and England. Its rise and fall even indirectly promoted the protracted Hundred Years' War between England and France.

Cotton played an even more important role in human history, with early capitalism and the Industrial Revolution in Britain revolving around it.

The gold mines will be exhausted one day, the slave trade will decline one day, and sugar and coffee will become cheap one day, but as long as human beings exist, the textile industry will never disappear completely and will only become more prosperous.

Ultimately, the purpose of human life is to have enough food and clothing.

In order to fundamentally revitalize the Roman Empire, it was necessary to invest limited labor into more advanced industries and develop industry.

The textile industry is one industry that Isaac is prepared to strongly support.

As early as several years ago, Isaac had set different development goals for the two territories. The Balkan Peninsula would focus on silk, while Africa and Cyrenaica would focus on wool. Through a powerful navy, the market would be continuously expanded, products would be sold to every corner, and wealth would be concentrated in the Roman Empire.

What? You don't buy my stuff? Then just don't buy anything.

To this end, Isaac sent people to South Africa to introduce Boer goats and brought back Merino sheep from Aragon. Both provided meat and wool respectively, gradually replacing the original breeds in North Africa and making production more efficient.

The economic value of Boer goats and Merino sheep is very high, and they make money much faster than the traditional camel and horse breeding in North Africa. One day, when the profit-seeking herders begin to abandon the camels and horses used for war and raise goats and sheep instead, the martial tradition among the Berber people will gradually fade, and their ability to resist will gradually disappear.

This is the real way to ensure long-term stability in the North African territory.

Walking out of the cotton mill, Isaac held Alexius' hand and felt deeply moved.

Perhaps one day in the future, Isaac will travel to the New World of America and bring American cotton to Egypt and West Africa for planting. By then, the cotton textile industry will usher in a new leap forward.

Only then will the Platinum Empire's territory be truly complete.

(End of this chapter)