1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 190: Saint Titus' Revolt
Balkan Peninsula, Thessaly Basin, Larissa Plain.

Greece is a mountainous region with a small area of ​​plains suitable for farming, which are mainly distributed in coastal areas and intermountain basins.

The Thracian Plain, located between the Black Sea, the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Aegean Sea, was the most important grain-producing area in the Eastern Roman Empire. Adrianople, located at the junction of the Balkan Mountains and the Rhodope Mountains, divided the Thracian Plain into two parts. The Merici River and mountain precipitation irrigated large tracts of fertile fields, supporting Constantinople, the "dream city of the world", which had a population of up to 500,000 in its heyday.

The Macedonian Plain, located east of the Pindus Mountains and north of the Aegean Sea, is also an important grain-producing area. Thessalonica, the second largest city in the Eastern Roman Empire, was born along the way.

The temperature in the southern part of the peninsula is relatively hot, and the influence of the subtropical high pressure is stronger in summer. The increase in light and heat makes the several plains in the south more suitable for the growth of cash crops rather than staple foods. Wine and olive oil have become important local export commodities.

The Thessaly Basin was the third largest agricultural production area of ​​the Eastern Roman Empire on the Balkan Peninsula. The Pinios River formed two mountain plains, namely the Larissa Plain with the city of Larissa as the core and the Trikala Plain with the city of Trikala as the core, with excellent agricultural and pastoral conditions.

The Thessaly Basin is bordered by the Pindus Mountains to the west, the Aegean Sea to the east, the famous Olympus Mountains to the north, and the Attica Peninsula to the south through a narrow corridor. It is a relatively independent and special geographical unit.

Compared with the Thracian Plain and the Macedonian Plain to the north, the Thessaly Basin is slightly insufficient in both area and natural endowments, and is unable to form large coastal cities such as Constantinople and Thessalonica, but this mountain valley is not without its own unique advantages.

You can raise horses here.

The Thessaly Basin was a famous animal husbandry base and horse breeding center in ancient Greece. The famous Thessaly cavalry was active on various battlefields and established immortal achievements.

After losing the Levant region and the Anatolian Plateau, the Thessaly Basin became the only remaining horse center of the Eastern Roman Empire. If it was properly managed, it still had great potential.

Unfortunately, the later emperors of the Eastern Empire were busy fighting among themselves and had neither the energy nor the desire to systematically develop the Thessaly Basin, which resulted in the Latin colonists occupying it with almost no effort. They used the Western European feudal system to forcibly divide it into pieces of family fiefdoms, leading to the continued decline of southern Greece.

North of Larissa, the Thessaly Military Stud Farm.

The grass is green and the river is as smooth as silk. Groups of strong horses are galloping on the grassland. In the near distance are the fences and houses of the horse farm, and in the distance is the snow-capped Mount Olympus.

The scenery of Olympus was picturesque. Isaac's entourage couldn't help but look toward the snow-capped mountains in the distance, marveling at the wonders of nature.

After regaining the Balkan territory, Isaac consulted the opinions of various professionals and formulated detailed development goals for each region, tailoring them to local conditions and focusing on different areas.

The Thracian province was mainly agricultural. The Lower Thracian Plain was responsible for supplying the capital Constantinople, while the Upper Thracian Plain located north of the Merici River and the Rhodope Mountains served as the first barrier in the north of the empire and was under the jurisdiction of the Kardzhali Military District.

The South Macedonia region is similar, using the agricultural output of the Macedonian Plain to support the city of Thessalonica, and then feeding back to agriculture through the industrial and commercial output of the city of Thessalonica.

The Morea region mainly develops economic agriculture and supporting textile industry, with the goal of developing the city of Mystras into the largest silk industry base in the Balkan Peninsula.

The population of Attica is the most sparse, Euboea has developed to a certain extent due to inheriting the legacy of Venetian colonists, and the revival of Athens is still progressing slowly.

There is no way. The geographical location here is too awkward. All the wealth has been sucked away by Thessalonica and Constantinople in the north. There are no special products to show off. Although wine, anise liquor and olive oil are all good, the output is small and they are not famous.

The city of Athens actually had the potential to develop into a large or medium-sized city, but the Latin colonists made it sparsely populated. It has recovered somewhat in recent years, but it only has a population of just over 10,000.

Without a sufficient population, there would be no surplus labor. The Athens shipyard that Isaac invested heavily in building can only build small fishing boats and merchant ships so far, and the perfume industry that he had always encouraged has never been able to expand in scale.

The situation faced by the Thessaly region is similar to that of the Attica region. After years of war and chaos, the population has become sparse, and it has only improved in recent years.

Objectively speaking, the commercial value of the Thessaly region is even inferior to that of Attica. Thessalonica and Constantinople in the north have absorbed most of the maritime merchants and there is not even a complete transit port. The only thing that can be shown off is probably animal husbandry.

"Your Majesty, our Thessaly Military Horse Farm now has a total of 800 war horses and more than 3,000 civilian horses, totaling four groups. The allocated pastures are very abundant, but you also know that horse breeding takes time."

Beside Isaac, the Archon of Thessaly, Leonidas, reported to Isaac.

Leonidas was born into the Komnenos family that settled in Constantinople. He had previously served as a mid-level tax official in Constantinople. His promotion was the result of exchanges and consultations between the two major administrative centers of Carthage and Constantinople.

Isaac knew very well that Leonidas did not have any special talents, but fortunately he was diligent and had worked hard in recent years to achieve some political achievements.

"What kind of horse?"

Isaac asked.

"They are mainly Turkish ponies that originated from the Anatolian Plateau. They are average in appearance, but they are hardworking and can endure hardships."

"We also have some Andalusian horses and Akhal-Teke horses, which are mainly sold to the nobles."

Horses are animals that originally lived in semi-arid grasslands and arid deserts. However, some places with particularly harsh natural environments are rich in famous horses, such as the famous Akhal-Teke and Arabian horses.

Western European countries began systematic horse breeding very late. Before that, war horses and noble horses were mainly imported, and local horses that were raised in temperate regions could only do odd jobs.

"Two years ago, I ordered you to allocate 500 ducats per year for horse breeding. What is the situation now?"

Isaac asked.

"The time is too short, Your Majesty, and the breakthrough is limited."

"The first crossbreds of North African Barb and Anatolian horses had not yet reached sexual maturity, and their endurance and speed had improved, but only to a limited extent."

Leonidas wiped the sweat from his eyes.

“As you know, horse breeding takes a long time and a lot of effort.”

Isaac nodded.

"In addition to the Larissa Stud Farm, I also established a larger stud farm near Sfax a few years ago. Their main horse breeds are Barb and Arabian horses."

"The Barb horse is a native North African horse breed. Although it is not as smart as the Arabian horse, it is just as brave and hard-working, and is a very good breeding horse breed."

"The Andalusian is a cross between the Barb and the Spanish, and the potential of this breed of horse is immeasurable."

The Andalusian horse under him saw the green horse farm and seemed eager to try it out. Isaac smiled, jumped off the ground, and drove it to the horse farm.

Isaac knew very well that the Barbour horse played an important role in the history of world horse breeding. The Andalusian horse, the first noble horse in classical times, and the British Thoroughbred horse, the first racehorse in modern times, were both its mixed-blood descendants.

Of course, British Thoroughbreds and Andalusian horses were later introduced to the Dutch, and after years of crossbreeding with German and French horses, the Dutch Warmblood horses were bred, which are gentle, easy to tame and extremely valuable.

For a big country, horse management is very necessary. Good horses can not only make civilian production and life more efficient, but also enable cavalry to gain the upper hand on the battlefield.

In the original time and space, the Russian Tsarist Empire suffered a great loss in this regard. Their various original breeds of horses were completely crushed by the systematically bred French war horses.

“Remember to keep a good pedigree register, and don’t mix good horses with bad horses as in the past. You must select the best from the best.”

"Remember your majesty's teachings."

"Horses must be bred in a targeted manner. Gentle but not durable ones are used for pulling carts, strong and hard-working ones are used for fighting, and strong but violent and unruly ones are bred until their wildness is worn away."

Seeing Leonidas sweating, Isaac smiled.

"Don't think I'm being long-winded. When your stable can make a profit by selling horses, I promise I won't say a word."

"Okay, that's enough for Ma Zheng. Let's go back to the house and talk in detail. There are still many things that need to be told."

Isaac turned his head and met the eager eyes of little Alexius. Little Carlo next to him was also gazing at the herd of horses on the grassland with a look of longing.

"Leonidas, please send some grooms to take my son and son-in-law to choose a pony. They have been following me for so long, it's time for them to get some fresh air."

The children ran away cheering, and Isaac dragged Leonidas to the stable's office.

"The conditions are simple, and I don't want to waste your time, so I'll just state some of the work requirements directly."

Isaac opened the map and got straight to the point.

"You say."

Leonidas pulled out his notebook.

"The three-year tax exemption period for Thessaly is almost over. I would like to hear your opinion on taxation."

Leonidas considered for a moment.

"Your Majesty, after the cleansing, the remnants of Western European feudalism in Thessaly have basically become negligible. The people are engaged in agricultural and animal husbandry production with the village community as the core, and it is much easier to collect taxes."

"I plan to organize tax collectors to conduct field surveys in various settlements, measure the land, count the population, and train the elders and priests of each village community, asking them to assist our agents in collecting taxes."

"In order to minimize corruption, I plan to break up the tax collectors in each administrative district and conduct cross-taxation."

“There are some ideas, but they still need to be improved.”

Isaac nodded slightly.

"What taxes should be levied? What taxes should be levied? Have you thought about these questions?"

"Or will it still be the same as before, whatever is convenient?"

"Uh……"

Leonidas was speechless for a moment, obviously not having thought it through.

"The autumn harvest is approaching, and tax collection is a big project. If it is done well, the limited population and land can create greater value. If it is not done well, it will also cause public resentment. We can't be careless."

"I'm telling you, if anyone tries to meet certain targets to increase his political achievements and causes the people to scold me behind my back, I will make him feel the same way!"

"Yes, yes, you tell me, I will definitely improve it."

Isaac took a sip of coffee and repeated his previous conversation with the governor of Attica. "I plan to improve the tax laws of the Eastern Empire to reduce the burden on the people and increase the population as soon as possible."

"First, abolish all the taxes such as the head tax, marriage tax, and child tax, and collect a unified land tax. Simply put, the better the land, the more land you have, the more tax you pay, which will reduce the burden on farmers with little land."

"Of course, the tax rates for people in different industries cannot be the same. The tax rate for the wheat industry should be set at the lowest, followed by fisheries, animal husbandry and forestry, and cash crops should be the highest."

"You don't need to manage the taxation of commerce. The right to levy taxes belongs to the central government of the empire."

“Second, the people do not have many precious metals, so the taxation adopts a mixed model, partly gold and silver, and partly in kind.”

"The ratio of gold, silver and physical objects will be determined based on actual conditions. The Central Finance Department will make statistics and send you the annual quota."

"Third, the local governments keep a portion of the tax revenue and give the bulk to the central government. When they need money, they can ask the central government for it again."

"But--"

Leonidas hesitated to speak.

"Don't tell me there aren't enough tax collectors. I told you to train tax talents when the Balkans were liberated. If you haven't done anything in three years, I think we should hire someone else."

"Don't worry, I will complete the mission even if I go into battle myself!"

Leonidas gritted his teeth.

"Also, the roads. I have already done some research on the way here. You did a good job on that."

"Larissa is the southern terminus of the Balkan First Class National Highway. We can only talk about going further south later."

The renovation of the Balkan National Highway has been going on for more than two years. It still follows the old practice of classifying the national highway into three categories. The first-class national highway has the best road conditions and is directly funded by the central government.

The first-class national highway in the Balkans starts from Constantinople and has two routes heading west and south.

The national road to the west is shorter and connects Adrianople and Kardzhali. It mainly serves the military, allowing the garrison in Constantinople to move into the Kardzhali Military District on the front line more quickly.

The national highway to the south is longer and passes through the city of Thessalonica along the coastline. It is divided into two branches here. One branch connects to the city of Skopje in the North Macedonia Military District to the northwest, and the other connects to the city of Larissa in the Thessaly region to the southwest.

These roads are ancient routes that have existed for a long time. Merchants throughout the ages have proven their value, but some parts are severely damaged. It is only a matter of time before they are renovated and restored to prosperity.

Isaac had originally planned to build a first-class national highway all the way to Athens and Mystras, but after looking through the reports, he eventually changed it to second-class.

It was certainly not that Isaac was short of money. The money needed to renovate the road was not much, and using slaves and criminals as labor would not interfere with the normal lives of the people.

The problem is that the Attica Peninsula and the Morea Peninsula are surrounded by the sea on three sides, with no shortage of natural ports. The cost of transporting bulk commodities by water is much lower than by land, and the tariffs collected on first-class national highways cannot even cover the maintenance costs.

As for military use, the second-class national highway is sufficient.

"The first batch of national highway renovation projects has been successfully completed in Larissa City, but there are still many loopholes. The second-class and third-class national highways are all funded by local governments. You can sort out a plan when you have time recently. If you need anything, just submit an application directly."

"As for the Western National Highway plan you proposed last time, I thought about it and it's not very realistic."

Not long ago, Leonidas submitted a plan that advocated starting from Larissa, crossing the Pindus Mountains to the west, connecting the Ioannina Military District and the Principality of Epirus.

“The first-class national highway in the west must be built, but it cannot start from Larissa. It would take too many resources to cross the Pindus Mountains.”

"I plan to use the city of Aulon as the starting point, connect the cities of Ioannina and Arta to the south, and serve several military districts in the west."

"Follow orders."

Leonidas nodded with some regret.

"One last thing. After the taxes in the Balkans are collected, I plan to build three new legions, namely the Fifth Legion of the Purple Guards, and the Tenth and Eleventh Legions of the Guards."

"Both corps of the Guards are light cavalry corps, stationed in Larissa and Tripoli respectively, as quick reaction forces."

"The officer framework of the Tenth Guards Legion has been established, and the soldiers have been recruited from the Thessaly region. The banner is the Crowned Centaur, and the code name is the Crown of Thessaly."

"This legion will be active at the junction of the Thessaly Basin and the North Macedonia Military District all year round. You must be prepared for their recruitment, replenishment, and supply."

"I see."

Isaac finished his coffee, waved his hand, and prepared to leave.

"Your Majesty, raising three legions at once, does that mean we are going to fight again?"

Leonidas asked.

"Yes, time is running out. I would like to develop for a few more years, but my enemies won't give me that time."

When he reached the door, Isaac thought for a moment and stopped.

"I might as well tell you that something happened in Crete, and there are new developments in the war in Karaman."

"The Army has been idle for several years. It's time to move."

"May your majesty's military fortune flourish!"

……

For the two territories of the Eastern Roman Empire, the autumn of 1461 was peaceful. The raging Italian War failed to affect the land production in the Balkans and Africa. The profits brought by ocean trade soon led several large cities to embark on a path of rapid development. The policy of light taxes and levies also led to a rapid increase in the population of the Balkan Peninsula.

After the Black Sea trade route was reopened, Constantinople and Thessalonica experienced a revival, and the siphon effect on surrounding areas continued to grow. A large number of businessmen who had made a fortune overseas came to settle in the two major cities, and even the Berber merchants in North Africa were full of yearning for the famous Constantinople.

Against this background, the population of Constantinople continued to increase and has officially exceeded the 120,000 mark. The number of "New Romans", mainly Berbers, Armenians and Copts, has reached 30,000, and local luxury houses are hard to come by.

According to financial statements, in the past year, the Constantinople government earned a huge sum of 4,000 ducats from land finance alone.

At the same time, the maritime hegemony between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Republic of Venice intensified. The fleets and subordinate pirates of both sides continued to fight in the eastern Mediterranean, looting merchant ships, disrupting trade routes, and both sides suffered losses.

The struggle on the ocean stimulated the shipbuilding market. Several major shipyards in the Eastern Empire received continuous orders, and the downstream textile and logging industries also prospered as a result.

On September 1461, 9, dozens of cadets from the Naval Academy of the Navigation School captured a Venetian merchant fleet loaded with precious Indian spices in the waters near Cyprus.

When they defeated the escort ship after great difficulties and drove the merchant fleet back to Port Bilinchi, the entire port was in an uproar.

As the news spread, dozens of cadets from the Marine Academy were received by Isaac and praised for their "high moral character, devout faith, loyalty to duty, and courage."

In order to encourage the naval attack against Venice, Isaac paid for the construction of a fully armed three-masted sailing ship for them out of his own pocket, hoping that they would continue their efforts.

The struggle on the sea soon spread to the land. As expected, the Aulonian Military District, which was closest to Venice, was attacked again, and hundreds of civilians were captured and enslaved.

The Eastern Roman Empire's counterattack also followed. President Giovanni personally led the team to attack the Dalmatia region of the Venetians and returned with a lot of loot.

As luck would have it, an illegitimate son of the Venetian Doge Maripiero happened to be doing business in the local area. The poor illegitimate son was pulled out of the brothel by the pirates and sent directly to the Golden Gate of Constantinople to be hanged.

Such small-scale conflicts continued for a long time until one day, a piece of news spread wildly throughout the Mediterranean, completely triggering an all-out war between the two countries.

Crete revolted.

On November 1461, 11, the people of Crete, unwilling to be oppressed and after experiencing many setbacks, finally realized the importance of unity. In order to cover up their tracks, several leaders of the rebels held a meeting on a fishing boat and determined the future direction of the uprising.

The next day, an uprising broke out around the city of Rethymnon. The rebels quickly captured several fortresses outside the city and entered the city with the cooperation of the people in the city.

The local city lord hurriedly sent out troops, but more than one-third of the troops defected at the last minute, and the other two-thirds quickly collapsed. All the diehards were executed, and the rest joined the rebel army.

That night, the rebels occupied the lower town, but were unable to attack the upper town with complete defense facilities. The rebel leader summoned the people of the lower town, killed the captured Venetian officials in the square, and gave a speech, calling on the people to unite and break the shackles on their bodies.

The next day, the Venetian army, having received the news, rushed to Rethymnon from all directions. In order to avoid unnecessary losses, the rebels were forced to leave the city and enter the mountainous area in central Crete.

After the Rethymnon uprising, the inspired rebels raised the flag of rebellion in various regions, and the Venetian army was forced to run back and forth to quell the rebellion.

On November 1461, 11, Nikolaias Kalergis, a descendant of the Kalergis family, launched an uprising in the small town of Seliya in southwestern Crete. After a hundred years, the banner of St. Titus was raised again.

However, the Venetians had been operating on the island of Crete for a long time, and the defense facilities of large cities were extremely complete. Except for the initial city of Rethymnon, the rebels were unable to capture any large city and could only be active in rural areas where they had a stronger mass base.

On November 1461, 11, the Venetian Council declared the St. Titus uprising illegal and recruited mercenaries from all over the world to go to Crete to suppress the rebellion.

On the same day, the two emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire delivered a speech to all citizens in Constantinople, announcing that they would do everything in their power to save their compatriots in distress and support the St. Titus uprising.

At the same time, Isaac listed the ten major crimes of the Republic of Venice, demonstrating his firm stance of no compromise.

"From today on, the Senate and the Roman people will not recognize the legal status of the Republic of Venice, and all the land and property of the pseudo-government of Venice will belong to the Roman Empire."

"From today on, the Senate and the Roman people will sever all diplomatic relations with the Venetian pseudo-government until they recognize the sovereignty of the Roman Empire again."

"From today on, the Empire's fleets will launch unlimited attacks on the Venetian puppet government. All ships flying the Venetian flag will be targeted."

On November 1461, 11, the empire's three fleets and 12 troops assembled at the Birinci naval port, ready to land on Crete at any time.

The St. Titus War officially breaks out.

(End of this chapter)