1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 210 Galleon
After a long period of conflict and killing, the Mediterranean world finally quieted down in the second half of 1463, and there was an overall eerie calm.

In the distant Kingdom of England, the War of the Roses had been going on for eight years. The House of Lancaster, led by Queen Margaret, first won but then lost, and were driven out of London by Edward IV of the House of York. King Henry and Queen Margaret both went north to Scotland.

Edward IV, who won the throne, temporarily controlled the situation, but the Lancastrian Party never gave up its plan to regain the crown and instigated uprisings from time to time. The nobles stood idly by and took advantage of the situation.

The War of the Roses brought extremely serious damage to the Kingdom of England. The two related families, who were both descendants of the Plantagenet family, completely tore their faces apart. You killed my brother, and I will hang your father's head high on the city wall.

In order to gain supreme power, the nobles could not wait to take off the hypocritical mask of morality and sentiment, and drove the knights and the lower-class peasants to the battlefield to kill each other.

In this war, the medieval virtues of war were completely abandoned by both sides. Once the nobles fell into the hands of the enemy, they could no longer pay ransom to buy their freedom as before, and most of them ended up in a miserable state.

The hatred has not ended and this cruel war will continue.

The civilians finally ushered in peace, but what awaits them in the future are still waves of storms.

Across the English Channel, the situation in the Kingdom of France was not peaceful either. After Louis XI came to power, he quickly proved that his wild words at the coronation ceremony were not empty talk. High-ranking officials from the era of Charles VII fell one after another.

Demotion, exile, imprisonment, murder, these heroes who dedicated their youth to the Hundred Years' War between England and France were like beautiful winter snow, unable to survive the spring breeze of reform.

Louis XI carried out drastic reforms throughout France, severely suppressing the land aristocracy, ordering the church to disclose its property, cracking down on the clergy and forcing them to be loyal to him.

The collapse of the old order often also means the birth of a new order. Many lower-class nobles, secular businessmen and middle-class citizens in France took advantage of the reforms of Louis XI and became the king's right-hand men in ruling the country.

Louis XI was not rigid in selecting officials and employing people. He only cared about the loyalty and ability of his subordinates and never considered their status, lineage or even morality.

People jokingly said that a talented bandit who killed and burned people was more likely to be recognized by Louis XI than a noble descendant who was of noble birth, noble character but mediocre ability.

Louis XI's centralized reforms soon aroused dissatisfaction among the powerful French nobles. The great nobles of Burgundy, Anjou, Bourbon and other countries strongly resisted Louis XI's series of measures. The former tried to reach a reconciliation with the king, but the latter never had the intention to compromise, and the conflict between the two sides was inevitable.

In the Duchy of Burgundy, the largest French vassal state, Philip the Good, a pacifist, is growing old. His son Charles the Bold is very dissatisfied with his father's weakness and is secretly uniting the various vassal states, preparing to use violence to force the king to respect the interests that the nobles deserve.

The Holy Roman Empire was still in a mess. Two years ago, during the civil strife of the Habsburg family, Frederick III was beaten by his own brother and fled in panic. He saved his life with the help of King Jiří Poděbrad of Bohemia, but his prestige further declined.

Of course, Frederick III had always been lucky. His younger brother died without an heir shortly after the capture of Vienna. Frederick III was able to return to the capital happily and somehow unified Upper and Lower Austria.

In the northeast of the empire, the Thirteen Years' War was coming to an end. The once powerful Teutonic Knights were completely unable to resist the invasion of the Kingdom of Poland and could only ask the Holy Roman State and the Pope for mediation.

Unfortunately, there were many German states that sympathized with the Teutonic Knights, and many German nobles who were willing to help their fellow brothers in secret, but in the end, only the old ally, the Hanseatic League, was willing to face the military might of the Eastern European powers and help the Teutonic Knights conduct peace negotiations.

However, King Casimir IV of Poland, who was also the Grand Duke of Lithuania, was not very happy with the deal and rejected the peace agreement proposed by the Hanseatic League, insisting on demanding that the Teutonic Knights submit to him.

The peace conference was bumpy, small-scale wars continued, the decline of the Teutonic Knights was inevitable, and Prussia, which had been in chaos for many years, could finally recuperate.

The civil strife in the Kingdom of Hungary had been basically quelled. Matthias I suppressed the rebellion of the land nobles, carried out centralized reforms through violent means, and gradually built up a powerful army.

At present, Matthias I is stockpiling military supplies and gathering troops to confront the mercenary Marshal Colleoni who occupies the Dalmatia region.

After the signing of the Treaty of La Spezia, Italy enjoyed a long period of peace. Charles VII had passed away, Sforza was gradually aging, and their descendants were obviously not interested in continuing the struggle.

The war between the Republic of Venice and the Eastern Roman Empire was drawing to a close. The loss of trade hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean had brought Venetian merchants' disappointment with the government to a peak. The ambivalent attitude of the mercenary Marshal Colleoni also made the attacks against the Doge in the parliament increasingly fierce.

The war in Crete continued, and some islands of the Naxos Archipelago were still in the hands of the Venetians, but these territories were too far away from the Venetian mainland, making it difficult to obtain supplies, and its fall was only a matter of time.

In fact, due to the special political system, the number of standing navy of the Republic of Venice is not large, and there are not many warships built specifically for naval warfare. Most of the ships are controlled by major families, and most of them are dual-purpose military and commercial ships, which are used for business in peacetime and recruited in wartime.

The prevalence of nationalism made the naval conscription model of the Republic of Venice more efficient, and the major families did not dare to bend the law for personal gain in major events related to the fate of Venice.

However, after a series of failures, the families that participated in the war lost all their money, so of course they would be dissatisfied and have complaints.

After all, they are still a group of profit-seeking businessmen who don't want to keep doing business at a loss.

"Mr. Miloto, it's been a long time since we last met. Please take a break and enjoy some pastries and drinks."

In the royal palace of Carthage, the Eastern Roman Queen Leonor sat on the throne and smiled gently at the visiting guests.

The visitor was named Miloto, a municipal official of the former Venetian Republic's expatriate community in Constantinople. He chose to fight alongside the Eastern Roman Empire in the Battle of Constantinople and persuaded many Venetian captains to stay and fight against the pagans. He was a devout holy warrior.

"Your Majesty, it is really presumptuous of me to come here this time. I hope..."

Miloto was a little restrained and sat aside cautiously.

"No need to restrain yourself, my dear sir,"

Leonor asked the maid to bring coffee, poured fresh milk into her coffee cup, and stirred it gently with the spoon.

"You helped us in our most difficult times and are our forever friend."

"Before Isaac left, he told me to entertain you well."

"He said that his promise will not change and the door of the empire will always be open to you."

"Thank you, Your Majesties. I am always grateful for the choice I made back then."

Miloto also smiled and took a sip of the fragrant coffee.

"Isn't His Majesty the Emperor here?"

"Isaac is out on business. You can tell me if you have anything to say. As long as it's not a major diplomatic incident, I can make the decision."

Miloto nodded and was silent for a moment.

"After the Constantinople Colony was abolished, I was recalled by the Republic for trial. If it weren't for the connections in my family, I might not have been able to save my life."

Leonor said nothing and maintained a formal diplomatic smile.

"Later, I was demoted and sent to serve as an official in a small town in Dalmatia."

"Not long ago, Marshal Colleoni led his troops into Dalmatia and clashed with the local governor. He drove the governor and officials like us out and replaced them with his own people."

"The Grand Council had no choice but to appoint Colleoni as the Governor of Dalmatia."

"it's a pity."

Leonor opened her red lips slightly.

Miloto pouted.

What are you regretting? Wasn't this what you had secretly planned?

"You are also aware that Emperor Isaac and King Ferdinand severely cracked down on Venetian merchant ships near the Strait of Otranto, causing many people to go bankrupt."

"The prices of Eastern goods were too high. Often a ship full of spices carried the entire fortune of a small family, and they could not afford such a hassle."

Miloto put down his glass and considered for a moment.

"Some people came to me and hoped that I could take the lead in setting up a chamber of commerce to continue the previous trade."

"I didn't agree to them at the time, so I wanted to ask for your opinion first."

Leonor was not surprised at all, as these things were expected.

"What they mean is that they hope to bypass the Venetian government and reach an agreement with us so that they can join our trade system and get a share of the pie?"

"Uh……"

Miloto was a little embarrassed for a moment. Those merchants did not say that they wanted to bypass the Venetian government, nor did they say that they wanted to join the Eastern Roman trade system. They just wanted to take a back door.

But the queen in front of him classified them as Venetian rebels in just a few words, leaving Miloto at a loss for words.

Seeing Miloto speechless, Leonor curled up the corners of her mouth.

"We have always maintained a welcoming attitude towards merchants. If they are willing to move their families to Constantinople or Carthage, they can enjoy the same treatment as Eastern Roman merchants."

"This……"

"If they don't want that, there is an alternative."

"You say."

Miloto asked quickly.

"They can register their ships under the Free City of Ragusa and the Free City of La Spezia, so that they can legally enter various ports and trading posts of the Empire, and the Imperial Fleet will not attack them."

"But of course the taxes will be higher than those of local merchants. A trip will only be a small profit at best. You have to be mentally prepared."

Miloto thought about it, sighed and nodded.

"It's better to have something than nothing. The Po River trade is monopolized by the big families. It's hard for merchants who used to be engaged in the Eastern Mediterranean trade to squeeze in."

"You've been generous by giving them a way to continue to make money."

Miloto stood up and bowed slightly to Leonor.

"In that case, I will tell the merchants about these two conditions as soon as possible and set off tonight." "When His Majesty returns, please pay my respects to him on my behalf."

Leonor nodded and watched Miloto's hunched figure disappear outside the steps of the palace.

……

In the Roman Armory and Carthaginian Naval Shipyard, Mansreti was concentrating on studying the blueprints while Isaac sat quietly beside him.

In the dock, the workers' hammering sounds and the sound of the waves of the sea sounded rhythmically. In the distant sea, a small cog hugged the sea surface for the first time. The ship merchant from Constantinople stroked the texture of the hull and expressed his gratitude repeatedly with excitement.

Next to the newly launched ships, the registry staff were holding reports and recording the ship's parameters.

"How's the shipyard's revenue lately?"

"We have turned a profit. Genoa is occupied by the French, and Venice has suffered a series of failures. Many sea merchants have turned their attention to us."

"Your dividend for the first half of the year should have arrived."

Mansreddy didn't even look up.

"We are also designing a vessel specifically for inland waterway navigation, which will be lower in cost and higher in profit, mainly for Danube River navigation."

“Are there any difficulties in the development of the shipyard?”

Isaac asked.

"A few months ago, there was an accident in the downstream supply chain. The loggers in the Atlas Mountains quarreled with their bosses over religious issues and wages, and threatened to quit their jobs."

"and after?"

"And then? Then the boss fired them all and replaced them with Caucasians."

Mansreti curled his lips.

"Those Caucasians are so innocent and adorable. Some of them don't even want to be paid, and they believe in the Orthodox religion."

"By the way, Your Majesty, you said a few years ago that you would find a stable source of high-quality wood for us within ten years."

"It seems that there is no sign of wood yet!"

"Well..."

Isaac was speechless for a moment, then smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"Wait a minute, there are too many things to do and I can't get away for now."

"We'll use the wood from the Atlas Mountains first, and if that doesn't work, we'll import it from abroad."

Shipbuilding is a very important industry, involving many sub-industries, such as logging, textile, mining, and smelting. The most important of these is of course the supply of timber.

The most widely used shipbuilding wood is oak, which has good properties, good flexibility and corrosion resistance, and a wide distribution range, making it suitable for serving as the main part of a ship.

The main source of wood for the Carthaginian shipyards is currently oak from the Atlas Mountains.

The best oak in the world is produced along the Baltic Sea coast. Due to the high latitude, the oak grows slowly, and the wood is fine and dense, making it more solid and durable. It was deeply loved by the navies of various countries in the Age of Sail.

In addition to oak, shipbuilders also used fir and pine for decks and elm for bottoms.

Of course, there are better woods than oak, such as walnut, Cuban mahogany, Brazilian rosewood, Indian teak, etc. These woods are of excellent quality and can be used to make and carve into precious furniture. They can also be used to extract dyes and other precious plant materials and have extremely high economic value.

These woods failed to replace oak's dominance in the shipbuilding industry, not only because of their small quantity, but more importantly because they were too expensive and not worth the money.

It is true that ships built with Brazilian rosewood can withstand many years of corrosion, but the money earned from selling the wood as furniture is enough to buy many ordinary oak ships.

Isaac looked at Mansreti who was looking expectant, and complained in his heart.

Even if Brazil was discovered in the future, Isaac would only use mahogany on the most important warships, and other small boats would still use oak.

"How is the research on this warship blueprint going?"

Isaac stood up and looked at the drawing that Mansreti had marked.

“It’s a crazy idea, but I don’t really like it.”

Mansreti looked at the blueprint of Cairo's Star and shook his head slightly.

"This battleship is too big. Everything about it is good, except for its poor controllability and maneuverability."

"The Venetians probably intended to use this to defraud the Mamluks of their money. They added a lot of gorgeous but useless designs and deliberately left loopholes in the control system."

"I mean, why don't the Venetians keep it for themselves? It turns out there are a lot of traps in it!"

Isaac was also a little amused.

"Not necessarily. This giant warship is completely different from the shipbuilding concept of Venice. They prefer to improve the existing Galleon."

Isaac recalled the history of ship development in the original time and space, and nodded in agreement.

Up to now, the paddle sail era has lasted for thousands of years. During this period, paddle sails have certainly undergone upgrades and improvements, but the design concept is still the original one, heavily relying on human rowing.

This concept meant that galleys could not carry too many broadside guns, and could only carry one main gun at the bow and stern, which gave them no advantage in the era of cannons and giant ships.

As they were mainly engaged in Mediterranean trade, the Venetians failed to break out of this framework. Instead, they continued to delve deeper into galleys, pushing this thing that was destined to be eliminated by the times to the limit and creating the Galleon.

The shipbuilding concept of the up-and-coming Portugal was different. It was mainly aimed at exploring and sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. They improved the Nordic cog, abandoned the human-powered rowing power system, and built caravels and caravels to meet different needs.

The caravel has a small displacement, strong maneuverability and high speed, and is mainly used for ocean exploration.

Caravelle has a large displacement and can carry a large amount of supplies, personnel and broadside guns. It is mainly used for war and ocean trade.

These two types of sailing ships played a very important role in the great voyages of discovery, discovering one fertile land after another and opening up one prosperous trade route after another.

The shortcomings of the caravel are also very prominent, that is, its maneuverability is too poor and it is difficult to control. The larger the displacement of the ship, the more prominent this shortcoming is.

Later, carracks were built larger and larger, and even giant ships of two thousand tons or even three thousand tons appeared. They were indeed very powerful, but also very bloated and had low utilization rates.

As a result, another more efficient ship came into being, which was an improved version of the caravel, the galleon.

The early galleons were not as light as carracks in terms of average displacement, but the result of being lighter was that they were more maneuverable and more suitable for complex and changeable sea conditions.

Isaac thought for a moment, took out a stack of documents and handed them to Mansreti.

"This is a review of some improvements I made to the Clark sailboat based on actual conditions. The drawing technique is not good, so it is mainly in text. You can take a look."

"I divided this improved version of the ship into galleons and fluke merchant ships according to their different uses. The former is used for warfare and is expensive but has strong firepower, while the latter is used for trade and is cheap and can be mass-produced."

Mansreti flipped through it slightly, his eyes shining with surprise, and he praised it.

"These are all very good suggestions for improvement. I will gather personnel to conduct research on these two types of ships."

"Flut is probably a Dutch word, right? Do you also know the language of my hometown?"

Isaac smiled and said nothing.

"As soon as possible. I have a feeling that this voyage led by the Da Gama family will be a great success."

"When the time comes, I will formally establish the East India Company, and your shipyard will probably be too busy again."

"This time, you will build the Cairo Star based on the design concept of a galleon, and try to reduce its displacement by one third while retaining its original advantages."

Mansreti smiled wryly and nodded.

“This is a real challenge.”

"The process of overcoming difficulties is also a process of accumulating experience. Believe me, this shipyard built by us will become stronger and stronger, and eventually grow into a well-deserved giant."

Isaac patted Mansreti on the shoulder, walked out of the shipyard with a smile and came to the seaside.

Just as Isaac was staring at the sea in a daze, several fast horses hurried over. The captain of the guards, Yergubai, dismounted from the horse and handed a letter to Isaac.

"what's up?"

"The Prime Minister summoned you back, saying there was an emergency."

Isaac nodded, opened the fire seal, read ten lines at a glance, and then fell into silence for a moment.

"Yergubai, disperse the guards and gather all the high-ranking officials, nobles and important ministers in Carthage. I want to call an emergency meeting!"

The guards brought the mount, and Isaac mounted it and rode away in a cloud of dust.

(End of this chapter)