1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 201 Vasco da Gama's Voyage
In the mountainous area of ​​central Crete, soldiers of the 12th Guards Legion lay in ambush on the cliffs on both sides of the road, covering their bodies with grass leaves, smearing mud on their faces, and staring intently at the narrow road below.

It had just rained a little and the valley was very quiet. The birds in the woods chirped from time to time, shook off the water on their bodies, and flapped their wings to fly up to the clouds.

"Captain of the Flag, will the Venetians really pass through here?"

Hidden in the temporary command post next to the haystack, Qasim, the flag captain of the 12th Guards Corps, sat quietly on the rock, chewing on the tender green grass roots.

"Marquis Mikhail's army has already captured Horasfa and Castellion. Southern Crete has actually escaped the control of the Venetian colonists. The eastern port of Zakros has long fallen into the hands of the empire, and the road to the west has also been blocked by the army."

"If the defeated Venetian soldiers want to return to the north, they must pass through the mountains."

Kasim said firmly.

"The road we are guarding is the flattest and widest. It is a highway left over from the ancient Roman Republic. Unless the Venetians are willing to break up into smaller pieces and risk being divided and defeated by us, and advance northward along other smaller roads one by one, then they will definitely take this road."

"Don't they know this?"

The bodyguard asked doubtfully.

"Of course they know, but they don't have any good solutions. They can either surrender directly or try to break through."

Cassim sneered.

"Besides, even though they know we are here to guard, I'm afraid they won't take us seriously."

"We also ambushed them here during the first Saint Titus Uprising a hundred years ago, but our weapons were too poor and the soldiers' combat skills were extremely limited. Although we did cause them to fall into chaos at the beginning, we were beaten and fled because of our poor hard power."

"Not long ago, we also set up an ambush here, but there was a spy inside, which resulted in the 400 volunteers being surrounded by enemies that outnumbered them by several times. In the end, most of them died, and only a few dozen managed to escape."

Cassim's voice was choked.

"Captain Qi, the traitor should have been caught by now, right?"

"He was caught, but he is not of Italian descent as we had always suspected. Instead, he is a pure Greek. It is said that his mother's last name is Komnenos."

"At that time, Commander Nikoli promoted him to such a high position because of his family background. I didn't expect that he would repay us in this way."

"With all due respect, he does not deserve to be called a Roman."

Cassim shook his head, his eyes gradually becoming determined.

"The latest equipment has been distributed. How are the soldiers using it?"

"They have all been distributed. Three hundred strong bows, fifty powerful crossbows, fifty matchlock guns, as well as long-handled halberds, flails, hammers and other armor-piercing weapons. These are all good things produced by the Constantinople Arsenal and the Carthaginian Arsenal. They are enough to give those Venetians a hard time!"

The bodyguard raised the new weapon in his hand and smiled proudly.

"All right! Let's get our brothers together, it's getting dark, and the Venetians are likely to force their way in in the dead of night!"

Time passed by minute by minute, and the soldiers of the 12th Legion of the Guards gritted their teeth and persevered, taking out furs from their packs and covering themselves with them to fight the cold of the spring night.

On the mountain road in the south, the fire flickered, the sound of horse hooves and footsteps came from far away, and the defeated Venetian soldiers were silent, their faces gray, and their eyes flickered in the firelight.

"Captain Flag!"

Qasim waved his hand to stop them, swallowed the dry food in his mouth, quietly climbed out of the pit, observed the team on the mountain road, and silently calculated the number of enemies and our own.

"This should be just their vanguard, all of them are conscripted militiamen. The cavalry and convoys should be behind them."

"Let's let them go and not alert the enemy!"

The bodyguard nodded and called the messengers to convey Cassim's order to the ears of each team leader.

The Venetian militia walked slowly. They were originally regarded as cannon fodder, but surprisingly they were not attacked. They looked around in surprise and their steps became much lighter.

"Captain Qi, there seems to be no other troops behind the militia? Could it be that we made a wrong judgment?"

"Don't panic! Wait patiently!"

Qasim suppressed his impatience and stared at the dark intersection.

After a while, the light of fire finally appeared again at the intersection, accompanied by the panting of horses, the clanging of armor and the rumbling of carts.

"Brothers, get ready. The big fish has been hooked!"

Cassim's voice was trembling.

Under the watchful eyes of 800 soldiers of the 2nd Legion of the Guards, the Venetian army gradually came into range. The road that was originally wide enough for six carriages to travel side by side suddenly narrowed in the middle of the canyon, and the Venetian army had to slow down and adjust its formation.

"That's about it! Kerosene cans, lime pots, boulders, and logs, throw them all down!"

"Light the torches and show our flags!"

Cassim stood up suddenly, sword raised high.

Under the astonished eyes of the Venetian army, eight hundred soldiers lit torches and, under the light of the torches, unfurled the flag of St. Titus.

Before they could react, logs and boulders rolled down the mountain, and kerosene and lime jars hit their heads like hail. The army formation suddenly became chaotic, and the Venetian army, whose morale was already low, began to flee in all directions.

"For the Emperor, and for our dead brothers, kill!"

Cassim roared loudly, muskets fired in unison, bows and crossbows fired in succession, and the soldiers, armed with weapons, rushed down the mountain like crazy.

……

Southwest Africa, Eastern Roman Empire, New Thracian colonies.

Five years ago, the first caravelle fleet carrying 500 criminals arrived at this land of lush grass and water, where they reclaimed land for farming, and went fishing and hunting.

Later, more and more criminals and immigrants came here, and three towns were established around Cape Storms, named after the original three ships, namely New Thrace Port, St. Helena Port and Hadrian Town. The number of white immigrants reached four thousand.

In the first two years, the development of the New Thrace colony was very barbaric and disorderly. The prisoners who were exiled to remote areas were full of resentment and very dissatisfied with the central government of the empire.

However, when food gradually became scarce, the criminals inevitably had to worry about their livelihoods. They began to kill each other, eliminating the weak and surviving the strong, competing for food and tools.

Of the first group of 500 criminals, less than half saw the arrival of the second fleet.

According to the instructions of the central government of the empire, each fleet would only provide the immigrants with a very small amount of food and just enough tools, thereby controlling them in terms of livelihood.

After experiencing bloody massacres and the passage of time, the brutality in the hearts of the immigrants gradually subsided. As the land was reclaimed, they had new enemies. Every day they were busy fighting against ferocious beasts and natives who were no less ferocious than beasts. They had to rely on the empire's replenishment to survive and had to compromise and seek peace with the empire.

They began to realize that compared to fighting for a moment, the more important thing is to survive.

As a result, the surviving immigrants began to establish organizations to unite everyone and overcome the difficult times together.

Then, more immigrants were sent to New Thrace. Some of them were criminals, some were freed slaves, and some could not make it on the Mediterranean coast and voluntarily went to the new land.

Along with the immigrants came the emperor's army and officials. Colonial Secretary William and Governor of Bijagos Gosias paraded through the three towns with hundreds of black guards, and then declared that the whole of South Africa belonged to the Roman emperor and that they were all subjects of the Roman Empire.

Under the threat of force, the three towns successively declared their allegiance to the Roman emperor. The County of Limnios, which had established a foothold in St. Augustine, was also incorporated into the colony. Since then, New Thrace has left its barbaric growth stage and started to get on the right track.

In accordance with Isaac's highest instructions, Colonial Secretary William moved again and relocated the Imperial Colonial Office to the port of New Thrace.

When Count Gosia left with his Black Guards, Colonial Secretary William had already set up the framework of the First Legion of New Thrace. He also used force to subdue the chiefs of several surrounding Khoisan tribes, signed protection agreements with them, and brought them under the rule of the New Thrace colony.

According to the protection agreement, the Khoisan chiefs pledged allegiance to the Roman emperor, accepted the protection of the Roman emperor, enjoyed autonomy, and were not required to pay taxes, but they were required to provide servants during war.

After solving internal and external problems, the New Thrace colony experienced several years of great development. More immigrants came here, more land was reclaimed, and more goods began to circulate in the market. The primitive beliefs and unformed culture of the Khoisan tribe were simply vulnerable to the mature Christian and Roman culture. Missionaries went deep into the inland from the coast. For the ideal in their hearts, they traveled thousands of miles to the wild lands, preached to the chiefs, taught them to speak Greek, and observed the local customs and habits of various places, mapped them, and recorded them in books.

In order to reduce the obstacles to missionary work, Isaac specially summoned several famous missionaries and advised them not to be too serious about marriage and to downplay the concept of monogamy.

In fact, many tribal chiefs in sub-Saharan Africa accepted baptism on impulse, but soon repented. One of the reasons was that they were accustomed to having many wives and concubines and were unwilling to accept the Christian system of monogamy.

Based on the maps drawn up over five years, Colonial Secretary William divided the southwestern African continent into twelve provinces and formulated the future development direction of the New Thrace colony.

The first step is to focus on the four provinces that were developed first, increase the population, reclaim wasteland, build towns, vigorously develop trade, and use precious animal tissues and dye crops as the main export commodities.

The second step was to explore the surrounding areas along the coastline from the four provinces, settle immigrants and reclaim wasteland, and bring more land into actual jurisdiction.

The third step is to advance inland and completely occupy this fertile land.

In order to increase the population as quickly as possible, Colonial Secretary William also issued a decree stipulating that any Khoisan tribesman who had learned Greek and believed in Orthodox Christianity could find the town sheriff at any time and register as a legal town resident.

At this time, the Bantu blacks from the north had not yet moved south in large numbers, and the Khoisan tribesmen were still using stone tools and had extremely low land utilization rates, which provided a good fertile ground for colonial activities.

Due to special circumstances, it was difficult for early colonies to form large cities. The colonists all focused on occupying the best land, and there was no internal circulation at all. Even if New Thrace was developed, it would definitely be sparsely populated.

For the central government of the empire, a vast territory and sparse population is certainly a good thing. Without big cities, it is difficult to have a mature industry. They can only exchange agricultural and pastoral products for necessary tools, clothes and other industrial products. They are in a long-term trade deficit and become seriously dependent on their homeland.

In the Colonial Office in the port of New Thrace, Colonial Secretary William is hosting a farewell banquet.

The banquet was very grand, with all the high-ranking officials and nobles of the colony in attendance, and many Khoisan chiefs who converted to Orthodox Christianity were also invited to the banquet.

A few weeks ago, a large fleet arrived at the port of New Thrace. On board were not only immigrants and merchants, but also a group of small distinguished guests from afar.

Students from the Ocean-going Academy of the Navigation School.

At the banquet, Bartolomeu Dias wolfed down the barbecue in front of him, and while eating, he enthusiastically invited Columbus who was standing beside him.

"Hey, Columbus, this is roasted giraffe meat, a rare commodity, even the emperor can't eat fresh one!"

"Why don't you eat?"

Columbus didn't move, his eyes fixed on the middle-aged man in the crowd, his eyes full of envy.

"Oh, that's Estevao da Gama. His family is also an old sailing family. He was recommended to Emperor Isaac by my father a few years ago. He is now the captain of the ocean-going fleet."

"This time, he will sail east with a large fleet of four caravels and three supply ships, seeking the land of spices and gold, India."

Dias gobbled the barbecue and gulped down his glass.

"The young man next to him is Paul da Gama, his eldest son, who has been sailing since he was ten years old."

"Estevan also has a three-year-old son named Vasco da Gama, who will probably also attend our navigation school in the future."

"Why can others take part in the voyage, but we can only stay here?"

Columbus muttered.

"We are still young and need to accumulate experience."

Diaz was full and sighed with satisfaction.

"Take the exploration of India, for example. Do you think the Emperor did nothing in the five years after the discovery of Cape Storms?"

"I am not afraid to tell you that in the past five years, four expeditions have set sail from the port of New Thrace, without any response."

"I heard that because of this, the court teacher, the stubborn Basilius, was sarcastic in class, thinking that the Atlantic navigation business was a waste of money and labor, and that the focus should be on land. He said that he hoped to see the Roman flag cross the Levant and be planted in Persia in his lifetime."

"Prince Justinian was so angry that he scolded him, and then was sent by His Majesty to Crimea to fight the Tatars."

“If you don’t manage the household, you won’t know how expensive firewood and rice are. Without money, everything is nothing.”

"Then why are you restarting the exploration now? Aren't we at war?"

Columbus was a little confused.

"This plan was launched five years ago. The emperor was very rich at the time and invested tens of thousands of ducats at one time as sailing funds, specifically to support ocean exploration."

"Hehe, not long ago, Prime Minister Isurt came to my father and tentatively proposed to withdraw some money from the funds for the war."

"and then?"

"Then my father arranged with Estevan to sail immediately and spend the money so that they wouldn't have to worry about it."

Diaz laughed heartily.

"Aren't you afraid that the emperor will be defeated?"

"Why are you in such a hurry? My father has inquired and found out that His Majesty has made a lot of money from the merchants recently, which is enough to defeat the Venetians."

"My father is old and can't stand the wind and waves at sea. He will have to rely on us for the next few decades."

Diaz sighed softly.

"This Estevao da Gama also wasted a lot of time and failed to obtain funding from the Portuguese royal family several times. In the end, he turned to our great Majesty."

"Our Majesty is truly a rare and heroic ruler. While other monarchs try their best to enjoy life, he saves every penny and invests it in meaningful things."

Dias turned and looked at Columbus.

"Speaking of meaningful things, have you finished your paper? On the Greater Bay Area of ​​Guinea?"

Columbus was stunned, then rolled his eyes at him.

"You can't always copy me. We have visited the Greater Bay Area of ​​Guinea along the way and understand its customs and geographical features."

"From northwest to southeast, there are the Grain Coast, Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, and Slave Coast. Each coast corresponds to a local specialty product. Isn't it enough to just analyze them casually?"

While the two were arguing, Colonial Secretary William, accompanied by Denis Dias and Estevao da Gama, came over to the students and explained to them Estevao da Gama's upcoming ocean expedition. He encouraged them to learn more and lay a solid foundation for future expeditions.

The banquet reached its climax at this moment. The crowd surrounded several explorers who were about to set sail and walked out of the Colonial Office to the New Thrace Pier where the fleet was docked.

Esteban hugged and said goodbye to William, Denis and others one by one, then jumped onto the flagship San Rafael under everyone's eager gaze and waved to everyone.

As the fleet moved farther and farther away and disappeared into the sea and sky, a round sun hung in the sky, coating the surging sea surface with a layer of gold.

Dias looked at the high sun, and suddenly something came into his mind. He looked at Columbus who was lying on the railing.

"Do you remember the last words of the Emperor's speech before we left?"

Columbus nodded and stared into the distance, his eyes full of obsession and fanaticism.

"The ocean is vast, the frontier is endless, I hope that one day, the sun will never set on my land."

……

On March 1463, 3, Estevao da Gama and his eldest son Paolo da Gama led a large ocean-going fleet with sufficient reserves and personnel from the port of New Thrace, planning to bypass southern Africa and explore the distant East.

(End of this chapter)