1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 209 The North Wind and Diamonds

Florence is located in north-central Italy, a prosperous city, a capital of literature and art, a city of handicrafts and commerce.

On the western outskirts of the city, outside a manor with a double-headed eagle flag flying, a gorgeous carriage slowly stopped, the coachman pulled the reins, and Giuliano Rovere jumped out of the carriage.

Many luxurious carriages have been parked here, all with their owners' coats of arms painted on them. Each coat of arms represents a famous family in Italy.

It seems that those who attended this rally are all well-known figures.

Gattilucio, Palaeolo of Monferrato, Trastámara of Naples, Este of Ferrara…

It is obvious from the flag that this manor belonged to the Eastern Roman Emperor Isaac III and was the embassy of the Eastern Roman Empire in Florence.

After the Conference of Lodi, diplomatic activities among Italian countries became increasingly frequent, the system of resident ambassadors began to take shape, and this embassy came into being.

Giuliano knew that the Eastern Roman Empire was currently the country with the most complete diplomatic system. The emperor divided the resident envoys into ambassadors, ministers and consuls according to the closeness of diplomatic relations and actual needs.

The ambassador is the emperor's plenipotentiary representative and has the power to handle diplomatic affairs independently under certain circumstances. He is only established in the most important countries and is generally the emperor's closest minister.

Ministers are set up in several countries with distant diplomatic relations, and generally also oversee the diplomatic affairs of several small neighboring countries.

Consuls have the lowest powers and can only handle some diplomatic affairs related to expatriates and business. They are usually located in small countries with little say and are under the jurisdiction of ambassadors and ministers.

The Eastern Roman Empire currently has only four ambassadors, stationed in the Kingdom of Portugal, the Kingdom of Naples, the Papal Territory and the Kingdom of Hungary. According to the principle of diplomatic reciprocity, the other party will also send diplomats of the same status to Constantinople or Carthage.

Other powerful countries in the Italian region are all at the minister level, with the Florentine minister having the highest status and in charge of the consulates in Pisa, Lucca, Ancona and Ferrara.

Except for Italy, other countries were not very receptive to this system of permanent envoys. It is said that Emperor Isaac wanted to set up an embassy in Vienna, but was rejected by Frederick III on the unreasonable grounds that it was not conducive to astrology.

As for Venice, the most important country in Northern Italy, the two countries have completely severed diplomatic relations. The Eastern Roman Empire does not recognize Venice as a country, so it is naturally impossible to establish a permanent embassy.

The current Eastern Roman Empire's ambassador to Florence is named Fraser, the second son of Minister of Commerce Andrew and one of the emperor's senior senators.

Giuliano straightened his clothes and walked into the manor and into the hall under the guidance of his servants.

There were quite a few people in the hall, and since they were all friendly forces of the Eastern Roman Empire, the atmosphere among them was quite harmonious.

"Ah, Giuliano, you're here too."

Fraser, dressed in formal attire and sporting a small mustache, looked gentle and courteous, which made him easy to be liked by others. The occasional gleam in his eyes showed his shrewdness and capability as a mature diplomat.

"Hello, Minister Fraser. My uncle sent me here immediately after receiving your letter. Rome is quite far from Florence. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."

Giuliano smiled and bowed slightly to the nobles present. His polite manner also made the nobles nod slightly.

"No problem, let me introduce these friends to you."

Fraser smiled and put his arm around Juliano's thin shoulders, bringing him to a young man.

The young man was about 28 or 29 years old, with a handsome face and a well-proportioned figure. He wore a noble sword inlaid with gems on his waist. His clothing had a strong humanistic color. He wore a white eagle emblem on a blue background on his chest, and the gorgeous diamond ring on his finger quietly glowed with a warm light.

"This is Ercole, from the House of Este. His brother, Borso Este, was the Marquis of Ferrara and the Duke of Modena and Reggio."

"I have heard of the reputation of the Ester family for a long time. I have also met your brother with my uncle."

Giuliano politely extended his right hand.

Ercole was stunned, a little surprised.

"I am not a knight, but I still have a knight's heart and am willing to use this etiquette between knights to express friendship."

"You are the famous 'Knight of the North Wind'. It is a blessing to meet you today."

"It's just a nickname given by my friends. It's not worth mentioning."

Ercole smiled bitterly and shook his head, then stretched out his right hand and shook hands with Giuliano.

"I went to Naples at a very young age to study at the court of King Afonso V of Aragon, and I recently returned to the North after serving as a commander of an army during the War of Succession, thanks to the trust of King Ferdinand."

“So, this is also the first time we meet.”

"I hope that in future meetings, we can be as friendly as we are today."

Ercole pulled his hand away.

"How is the war in Naples going now?"

Giuliano asked with concern.

"With the departure of Charles VII and the rise of Louis XI, the Kingdom of France began to focus on the country and fight against the great vassal in the north."

"Without the support of the King of France, the Anjou family would naturally not be able to achieve anything great, and now they can no longer cause any trouble."

Ercole said calmly.

"I trust King Ferdinand's methods. With the financial support of Emperor Isaac, he will be able to eliminate the remaining Angevin forces quickly."

"However, Ferdinand is still a little too violent. I'm afraid it will be detrimental to his future rule."

"In troubled times, severe punishments should be used. I admire this new king."

Giuliano had apparently heard of King Ferdinand's cruel method of mummifying rebels, and he shook his head disapprovingly.

"Maybe. I heard that he has recently participated in Emperor Isaac's maritime wall plan against the Venetians. The navies of the two countries jointly blocked Venetian ships in the Strait of Otranto."

"His methods are bloody and violent to the pirates."

Giuliano smiled and didn't pursue the topic any further.

Ercole and Ferdinand were very good friends and had known each other for many years. They had a deep relationship, so naturally he could be more casual.

"Emperor Isaac once said that violence is the best way to deal with disobedient people if it is really difficult to change their hearts."

"Emperor Isaac also said that violence is only a means, not an end."

"Oh? Are you familiar with him?"

Giuliano became interested.

"I only met him once, but I know his wife, Queen Leonor, very well."

"She really doesn't like to use violence, but her methods are just as powerful."

A look of reminiscence came over Ercole's face.

"Anyway, I have seen her social skills."

Ercole smiled bitterly and touched his nose.

Seeing Giuliano's keen interest, Ercole continued.

"It was just a memory from childhood. When she came to visit her uncle's palace, a merchant happened to bring some very rare cakes to Afonso V. Each cake cost dozens of ducats, and we kids fought over it endlessly."

"At that time, Ferdinand had no official status and was looked down upon as a bastard. The traditional nobles from Aragon did not regard him as one of their own."

"I was living under someone else's roof, had no opinion of my own, and was from northern Italy. Both the southern Italian and Spanish nobles were not impressed by me."

"Leonor is different. She is of noble birth, with the blood of the royal families of Avesh and Trastamara. She is beautiful, well-educated, has outstanding literary talent, and has rich artistic attainments. She is almost an ideal princess in the eyes of children. People follow her wherever she goes."

"While Ferdinand was hiding in a corner and sulking, she shared her cake with him as a younger sister, comforted him, and acknowledged his status as a prince in public."

"From then on, Ferdinand's self-confidence gradually built up. For a prince of this status, nothing is more important than the recognition of his family."

Ercole's eyes flickered.

"Leonor was very popular, and she used this to attract many followers and friends to Ferdinand, secretly training a team for him."

"It was during this period that I followed them around."

Ercole laughed.

"After this incident, Afonso V admired her very much and treated her as his own daughter. Ferdinand also truly accepted her as his own relative. The children who first followed Ferdinand because of Leonor have now received rich rewards."

"You also know that His Majesty Ferdinand is such a person. He is very cruel to his enemies and very kind to his relatives and friends."

Ercole spread his hands.

"It takes no effort to defeat an army of thousands."

“The key is, there is almost no cost.”

"You have all lived in Emperor Isaac's court, and you should be aware of Her Majesty the Queen's outstanding talent in court politics."

Ercole was vaguely impressed.

"It is also a very remarkable method to be able to firmly control the women of the noble families in such a complex and huge territory."

"If this kind of thing is done well, Emperor Isaac can save a lot of money and soldiers every year in maintaining stability."

"how about you?"

"Me..."

Ercole was embarrassed for a moment.

"I was so obsessed that I wrote a love letter to Leonor."

Fraser, who was listening nearby, nearly spit out a mouthful of wine.

"and then?"

"Of course she refused. Her goal is the most noble crown."

Ercole clearly felt some shame about his youthful frivolity.

"A few days ago, Leonor's third son Basil had his birthday. I sent him a cradle made by a master carver, but I didn't expect to receive a gift of even greater value in return."

"What gift in return?"

Fraser also asked curiously.

"Here, this is it."

Ercole held up a finger.

"The diamonds from New Thrace are of unprecedented beauty in color and shape, and are much better than the Indian goods shipped from Venice."

"I used this diamond to create my own signet ring."

“When it comes to diamonds, you are truly a master.”

Giuliano nodded.

"It's more than just diamonds. Mr. Ercole has made in-depth studies in music, poetry, architecture and art. Even some masters are ashamed of themselves!"

Fraser complimented.

"Your nickname is just like you. On the battlefield, you are as sharp as the north wind, and in art, you are as dazzling as a diamond."

"The north wind and diamonds are the two most beautiful words for you."

Ercole smiled and waved his hand.

Next, Fraser took Giuliano to meet Dimarco of the Gattiluccio family, Bonifacio of the Monferrato Valleoli family, and several other noble envoys. The party reached its climax in a pleasant atmosphere. The nobles entered the banquet hall and sat down in order of importance, enjoying singing, dancing, music, and a feast of delicacies. The topics became more and more bold.

Most of these nobles had some friction with Venice, especially Ercole of the Este family. Their family's Marquisate of Ferrara, and the Duchies of Modena and Reggio all faced direct land threats from Venice. The Po River Plain was indefensible and the military pressure was very great.

Venice's army is insignificant compared to other major powers, but it is still very easy to defeat the weak small and medium-sized Italian states on the plains.

The nobles drank expensive wine, cursed the Venetians, and laughed about their recent miserable situation.

"Alas, Venice is a dying centipede. Losing the Eastern Mediterranean trade will indeed hurt them greatly, but the prosperous commerce in the Po River Plain and the well-developed handicraft industry in Venice are still enough to support a great country."

"Minister Fraser, you are a close associate of His Majesty. Can you give me some accurate information? Is His Majesty planning to attack Venice?"

A northern Italian nobleman asked casually while being drunk.

"Haha, after the incident in La Spezia, our Majesty and the Italian nobles, including His Holiness the Pope, have made an agreement that they will never set foot on the Apennine Peninsula at will."

Some of the nobles were worried, while others were secretly relieved.

The crown of Italy still belonged to the Habsburgs, of course, but no one really took them seriously.

"In that case, you must have gathered us together not just to enjoy delicious food, right?"

Ercole said with a smile.

Seeing this, Fraser thought the time had come and started to get down to business.

"I believe you have all heard some rumors recently. After the defeat, the Venetians were furious and spread the Roman threat theory in Italy, trying to form an alliance against His Majesty the Emperor."

"As far as I know, Florence is likely to stand on Venice's side this time due to the impact of our country's goods on the Italian market."

"Among the other powerful countries, Savoy has always been at odds with us and will probably respond to Venice's call."

"The Duchy of Milan has grievances with both Venice and the Eastern Empire. Originally, they should have just sat back and watched the quarrels between the two sides, but Sforza is old, and his eldest son Galeazzo is not very capable. He only wants to deal with his other brothers."

"As for the Holy See's meaning... it's not very clear at the moment, so we need Mr. Giuliano to explain it to us."

Frazier set his sights on Giuliano.

"Everyone, I just came here from the Vatican. The Holy See has held a meeting. The cardinals and the presidents have different opinions and are arguing endlessly."

"The most annoying is the Borgia family. Their power has expanded greatly recently, and they have always been hostile to His Majesty the Emperor. They advocate temporarily forgetting the old grievances between Venice and joining hands to keep outsiders out."

Giuliano frowned.

"The other families have their own opinions due to their own interests, but none is as radical as the Borgia family."

"Venice now occupies some of the land donated to the Holy See by the Carolingian royal family. This claim is based on the Donation of Constantine and its legitimacy is beyond doubt."

Giuliano said generously.

Fraser glanced at him and said nothing more.

The Donation of Constantine is of course a fake, but this did not prevent successive popes from gilding their own laurels and using it to claim their secular rule over Western Europe and Italy.

This document played a role in the establishment of the Carolingian dynasty and the land donation of Pippin.

Of course, the situation at that time was indeed that the Eastern Roman Empire was the first to lose its composure. As the emperor of the empire and the protector of Christians, it did not send a single soldier when Rome was invaded by the Lombard barbarians, ignored the Pope's request for help, and directly pushed the Pope to the Western dynasty permanently.

You have to know that there had not been a major split in Christianity at that time. No matter how bad the relationship was, the Eastern Roman Emperor was still the protector of the Pope of Rome. Even if others did not recognize it, the Roman Patriarchate was still the highest-ranking patriarchate in the Eastern Roman Empire.

Later, Pepin repelled the Lombard barbarians, regained the lost land, and gave the Pope a narrow strip of land from Rome to Ravenna in return for his help in the Carolingian usurpation of the throne.

Later, the Eastern Roman Empire wanted to take back the Italian land that was taken back by the Carolingian Empire. The Holy See, after some negotiation, came up with the forged "Donation of Constantine" to reject the Eastern Roman Emperor's request.

Fraser was certainly well aware of this, but he was not a priest, a theologian, or a humanist pursuing truth. Instead, he was a diplomat who played Machiavelli and put his own interests first in everything.

It is obvious that everyone here has the same idea and ignores this sensitive topic.

"In that case, what does the Holy See think of this?"

Fraser asked.

"The Holy See doesn't really want to get involved in these matters. Now that he's old, everything is controlled by a few big families."

"Their bottom line is that Emperor Isaac must not occupy Venice's territory in northern Italy."

"Otherwise, he will face encirclement and suppression from the entire Catholic world."

Fraser smiled and ignored the meaningless threat.

"Compared to this, dear Sir Fraser,"

Ercole knocked on the table.

"I am more concerned about what France, Hungary and Austria will think of this matter."

"You don't have to worry about that. Neither France nor Hungary will be our enemies. As for Austria, it can only express its opinion."

The crowd burst into laughter.

"However, Venice has accumulated wealth over the years. Although most of it is scattered among the major families, it should not be underestimated."

After laughing, Ercole became serious.

"Those noble families may usually pretend to obey the orders of the Venetian government, but if you really want to march into the mainland and destroy their jobs, you will definitely encounter unprecedented resistance."

"Not to mention that Venice has a strong nationalist mentality, which can often explode with great power in times of crisis. We cannot repeat the mistakes of Genoa."

"We all understand these principles, and the emperor is not in a hurry to achieve success. We have plenty of time."

Fraser nodded.

"I called you all here today to establish a common policy. I hope you will help each other when facing Venice and not be deceived by their sweet words."

"Venice fell, and such lucrative benefits were not limited to the East Mediterranean trade."

"Your Majesty is willing to share these benefits with you all!"

Fraser was very satisfied with today's results. He immediately raised his glass and stood up.

"I wish Emperor Isaac good health!"

……

In the garden of the Carthaginian court, Isaac held Leonor's soft hand and put a diamond ring on her slender white ring finger.

"How about the New Thracian stuff? Is it nice?"

Leonor nodded happily, fiddling with the diamond ring on her hand, looking left and right, unable to let it go.

Women... always like shiny things.

Isaac looked at her happy expression and a smile appeared on his face.

Diamond is a very precious gem. Due to its beautiful appearance and hard texture, it has always been sought after by people.

There are no diamond producing areas in the Mediterranean world, and the earliest diamonds came from India.

Diamonds became popular in the Middle Ages. Nobles and big businessmen liked this precious treasure and used it to decorate their appearance and show their nobility.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, Italy, especially Venice, had established a good diamond cutting industry, which could process diamonds into various handicrafts.

Embarrassingly, the number of Indian diamonds arriving in Europe during this period decreased dramatically, and the price of diamonds became more expensive and hard to come by.

The world's first diamond wedding ring was worn by Maximilian of the Holy Roman Empire on the hand of Princess Mary of Burgundy. It became a legend and witnessed the rise of the Habsburg family.

"See what's engraved on it?"

Isaac chuckled.

Leonor looked at him carefully, and the tenderness in her eyes immediately became intense.

Leonor's name is engraved on it in Latin.

"How did you come up with this method?"

Leonor asked joyfully.

"Well, a friend told me."

Isaac scratched his head.

There was no way, he couldn't say that this friend was Maximilian, right?

"I haven't given you anything nice in all these years. Consider this as compensation."

Leonor hummed softly, looking at Isaac with slightly blushing cheeks, her amber eyes full of love.

Wow——

When the youngest son Basil woke up from his nap, he saw that there was no one around and started crying loudly.

Isaac gave his youngest son a fierce look and took his wife's hand to sit next to him.

Although Leonor doesn't often take care of children, she still has some experience and coaxed the little one to sleep in no time.

"Diamonds have been discovered in New Thrace. I plan to promote the diamond trade. If you want to give gifts in the future, you might as well use our South African diamonds."

"This is a great gift. I am really flattered."

Leonor quipped.

Isaac was in a good mood and laughed too.

South Africa is a blessed land, rich in precious minerals that require no advanced technology to mine.

A farmer was hoeing the field in his backyard and dug up the world's largest gold mine with one hoe.

A mine manager inspected the mine and used a flashlight to illuminate the largest diamond in the world.

Isaac estimates that the diamonds currently handed over by New Thrace are not mined independently, but are traded with indigenous tribes.

There are many open-pit and semi-open-pit diamond mines in South Africa. Some diamonds are hidden under the shallow mud of the rivers. Even the Khoisan tribes in the Stone Age and the Bantu tribes in the Iron Age accumulated some diamonds.

In addition to South Africa, Namibia, which is adjacent to South Africa, is also an important diamond producing area, but the natural environment is too harsh and cannot be used for the time being.

Now that we have a source of diamonds, the diamond processing industry should also be put on the agenda. We cannot let the Venetians take all the processing fees.

The war against Venice has come to an end, but the huge profits brought by ocean trade continue to nourish the two territories. The finances are improving year by year, the people's living standards are rising year by year, and the fertility rate has begun to soar.

After resting for a while, Isaac prepared to officially launch the third phase of the plan to completely defeat the Ottoman Empire and recover the most important homeland of the Eastern Roman Empire - Asia Minor.

After a while, the treasury that Isaac had emptied during the Venetian War would be replenished, the number of troops would continue to increase, and the soldiers who had experienced blood and fire in the war would become more brave and adept at fighting.

Twenty years of accumulation, a population of four million, hundreds of warships, and an army of nearly 100,000.

Take that, Muhammad!

(End of this chapter)