1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 249 Romanian Amber
Western coast of the Black Sea, Eastern Roman Empire, Constanta Military District.

This is a small hill south of Constanta, with the dark Black Sea not far away.

A few years ago, this was a small Bulgarian village. Due to the impact of the war, the villagers fled far away and the village became increasingly deserted, with only a few scattered households left.

Thanks to the protection of Archbishop Maximus, the Constanta region did not suffer a second war. The entire Constanta was taken over by the Eastern Roman Empire in a relatively peaceful manner and began to recover slowly.

In early 1466, the newly appointed Minister of Transport Jerme came to Bulgaria and presided over the construction of a post station network and the improvement of the road system. He decided to start from the coastal areas where there were more Greek immigrants and plan a coastal highway from Constantinople all the way north, through Burgas and Varna, to the cities of Constanta and Tulcea, with the aim of truly connecting Thrace and Bulgaria.

This avenue was built according to the highest standards, serving both civil and military purposes. It was funded directly by the central government of the empire and skirted mountains and built bridges over rivers.

Since Isaac led the Northern Expedition to Bulgaria along this route, and almost all the funds came from Isaac's private wallet, this road is also called the "Emperor's Road".

The southern section of the road from Constantinople to Burgas was continuously repaired in the more than ten years after the Battle of Constantinople and is well preserved without spending much money and time. The middle section of the road from Burgas to Varna is also in good condition and can be used after a little renovation.

However, after the construction team entered the Constanta Military Region, they were immediately slowed down by rivers, lakes, forests, and swamps. Slaves responsible for road construction collapsed from exhaustion one after another. Several rebellions were suppressed, and they had to continue to shed their lives and blood and sweat on foreign lands.

Later, Jerome finally realized his oversight and stopped mechanically copying the experience of the North African post stations. He decided to build the Emperor's Road to Constanta and no longer extend it to the Tulcea area, which was densely populated by Danube tributaries.

This semi-abandoned village is the location of the last post station on the Imperial Road. The road further north to the city of Constanta is under the responsibility of the Constanta Military District.

"Hurry up! Try to finish it before the sun sets!"

At the construction site, several supervisors holding whips shouted loudly, and slaves carried heavy stones and logs and piled them in the open space in front of the post station.

The framework of the post station has basically been built. It is relatively large and can accommodate dozens of passengers. Usually, there are eight postmen living here to take care of the nearby roads and fields under the name of the post station.

Outside a tent, Jerome sat at a table, concentrating on writing and drawing on the map. The winding Emperor's Road was outlined with crimson paint, and the black dots on the road represented post stations.

"Three large post stations, five medium-sized ones, and six small ones, that's enough..."

Jerome muttered to himself, circled the last dot on the map, threw away his quill, and poured himself a glass of expensive wine from North Macedonia.

"You are in good spirits, Master Jerome."

Salmon Valleolio, commander of the Constanta Military Region, stood beside Jerome and looked at the wine in the glass with envy.

"Isn't this a good thing from Davina Winery? The production is small, but the taste is excellent. Apart from the ones presented to the emperor, there are only a few barrels that actually enter the market. I only drank it once at the last family gathering. I didn't expect you to drink it as a beverage."

"Your family is powerful, so I guess some businessman gave it to you?"

"What are you thinking about? This was given to me by the Emperor when I took office as Minister of Transportation. I never drank it, but now that the project is finally about to be completed, I'm going to take it out to celebrate."

Jerome rolled his eyes at Salmon, then took out a glass and filled it with wine.

"Want a drink? You've done a lot of work along the way, you should celebrate."

"Hehe, thank you very much, sir."

Salmon quickly took the wine glass, put his lips against the wall of the glass, took a sip, closed his eyes, and felt the unique aroma.

After a while, he opened his eyes, looking intoxicated.

"It would be great if the production could be expanded. With such good wine, North Macedonia wouldn't be so poor."

"To preserve such a good taste, the land and grapes must be selected from the best, so how can the yield be increased?"

Jerome shook his head noncommittally and looked towards the construction site in the distance.

"The output is too small, so it is destined not to become a pillar industry, and North Macedonia will continue to be poor."

"If you want to make a region rich, you still have to develop large-scale industries and produce bulk commodities, such as flour from Thrace, silk from Morea, saltpeter from Jared, slaves from Bilinchi, and roses from Kazanlak... You have to form industries and build scale, so that you can win by quantity."

Salmon nodded, took a sip of wine, and looked at Jerome.

"The Emperor's Avenue has been basically completed. The interior decoration of the post station and the selection and recruitment of postmen will take time. Where are you going to go in the future?"

"I guess he's going to Carthage to attend the wedding. What about you? You're not going?"

Jerome asked.

"I have military duties to attend to and cannot go. I will send my son as a representative."

Salmon sighed, drank the wine in his glass, and poured himself another one.

"The reorganization of the Chasseurs, the renovation of the river forts, the division of the border guards' land, the establishment of the militia framework... ah, it's a mess."

"It's okay. The Wallachians won't go south for the time being. You still have a lot of time to sort out these miscellaneous matters."

Jerome consoled.

"The empire is very busy right now, with large-scale construction going on everywhere. I am running around everywhere, let alone the Minister of Engineering, who is nowhere to be seen."

Having said that, Jerome thought about it and couldn't help but remind him.

"By the way, it seems that the old Emperor Constantine has come to the north. Although he probably won't come to your place, we still have to be prepared."

"He has left, taking Prince Manuel and Prince Alexios with him. He is probably going to Carthage to attend a wedding."

"But thank you for your kindness."

Salmon nodded to Jerome.

As they were talking, the sound of horse hooves was heard from the distant fields, and a dozen tall cavalrymen appeared in everyone's sight. They were all wearing gorgeous and bright military uniforms, with mattocks and whips hanging around their waists, muskets or spears on their backs, and the spurs on their military boots were shining.

"The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a team that only showed up a few months ago, what are they doing here?"

Jerome looked at Salmon in confusion.

"Don't look at me. They are not under my control. How would I know?"

Salmon shrugged, put down his glass, and prepared to negotiate.

As soon as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police appeared, their bright appearance immediately attracted everyone's attention. In the camp, the village women who were responsible for cooking and washing clothes had shining eyes, and their admiring gazes were fixed on the broad and powerful chests of the Mounted Police.

The slaves who were carrying the building materials looked at the arriving mounted police with fear, obviously having seen their methods before.

After a while, the captain of the cavalry came to Salmon, dismounted, and shook his long brown hair handsomely.

"The First Centurion Valentin of the Varna City Royal Mounted Police greets you, my lords."

Valentin bowed slightly, smiling widely, revealing his white teeth.

"From the north?"

Jerome was obviously not happy about this and snorted.

"My father is from Russia, but this doesn't seem to have anything to do with our work, right?"

Valentin said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Well, I'm Salmon Paleologio, the governor of the Constanta Military Region, and this is Jerome Sfranchis, the Minister of Transport. We are overseeing the construction of the Imperial Avenue."

Salmon asked.

"What do you want, Centurion Valentin?"

Seeing that the two adults were of high status, Valentin immediately stopped smiling, became serious, and stood at attention.

"It's like this. We caught a group of escaped slaves while on patrol. After asking them, we learned that they ran away from here, so we came here along the way."

"I really didn't expect that the two adults would come in person to preside over the work. Please forgive me if I have offended you."

"Nothing, you didn't do anything wrong."

Salmon shook his head and pointed to the escaped slaves behind the mounted police.

"Thank you very much. Take them to the construction site and someone will give them the punishment they deserve."

The mounted police led the fugitive slaves to the construction site. They had droopy eyebrows, were covered in dirt, and had expressions of fear on their faces.

"What are you afraid of? We won't kill you. At most, we'll extend the date of your debt. Once you've completed the deadline and learned Greek, you can regain your freedom."

Jerome shouted in Berber, shaking his head in disdain.

"Captain Valentin, these people you have captured are complete idiots. The road is only one step away from completion. After the project is completed, they can learn the language, convert to Orthodoxy, and immediately be free. Not to mention entering the city, they can even go to the countryside and become tenants for others."

"But they just want to run away. If they are caught, the debt period will be extended. I don't know what they are thinking."

"You cannot think of Saracens with ordinary human minds, my lord."

Valentin said with a smile.

"Since the establishment of the Mounted Police, we have captured many escaped slaves and fugitives. Some of them have even become large-scale bandits, occupying the mountains and gathering in a certain area."

"It's a pity that they are so poorly equipped and disunited that ten mounted police can chase and beat a hundred escaped slaves."

"In the past, this kind of trivial matter was left to the local guards and purple guards. Later, they became too annoying, so His Majesty established our cavalry team to pull the central army away from the local area."

"Well, you guys are doing a great job. I thank you on behalf of the people."

Salmon heard this, thought for a moment, raised a glass of wine and handed it to Valentin.

"Good stuff, would you like a drink?"

"No, sir, we don't drink on patrol."

Valentin looked at the glass, saw that it was wine, and shook his head in disappointment.

After the salute, Valentin mounted his horse and called on the mounted police to leave the construction site.

"What a pity. Such good wine, but there is no place to drink it."

Salmon shook his head regretfully, ignoring Jerome's angry look.

"Lord Jerome! I am not a runaway slave, save me!"

Among the fugitive slaves, a ragged middle-aged man saw the police walking away, and immediately shouted and waved his hands, attracting Jerome's attention.

The middle-aged man was wearing traditional Arab clothing, a dirty turban on his head, and a tattered package across his waist.

"Abu Ibn? How did you get yourself into this state?"

Jerome frowned, waved his hand to stop the overseer who was holding a whip, and waved to the Arab.

Abu ran towards Jerome, tears streaming down his face.

"This is Abu Ibn of the Mineral Prospecting Team, an Arab who is a... uh, alchemist."

Jerome threw a handkerchief to Abu and explained to Salmon beside him.

"Master Jerome, please stop calling me an alchemist! This title has caused me so much trouble."

Abu wiped his cheek, sat on the ground, and gasped.

"Abu, what's wrong with you? Isn't your exploration team looking for minerals nearby?"

Jerome was a little amused and handed a glass of wine to Abu.

Abu took it, drank it all, and thanked him repeatedly.

"Oh? An Arab drinking alcohol? You haven't converted to Christianity, have you?"

Salmon was amazed.

"Sir, you must drink the wine of your savior. Allah will not blame you."

After Abu finished drinking, his complexion looked much better, and he stared eagerly at the half-empty bottle.

"Okay, forget about the wine. What happened?"

Jerome looked at the bottle with distress, put the cork in it and put it in his bag.

Abu withdrew his gaze regretfully and looked at the two of them.

"My Lords, as you can imagine, in the eyes of others, I am an alchemist, but I don't like this title. I prefer to be called a 'chemist'."

Abu uttered an unfamiliar Arabic word.

Salmon thought about it, but couldn't figure out the difference between the two names.

"Same meaning, so how did the troopers target you?"

"Sir, ever since I responded to His Majesty's call and came to the Eastern Empire, I have been working in the exploration team. His Majesty treats us very well and does not force us to convert..."

Seeing that the two were a little impatient, Abu quickly got to the point.

"It's like this. Our exploration team has been following Lord Jerome all the way north since last year, exploring minerals along the way, from Dobruja to Constanta..."

"A few days ago, we discovered a small sulfur mine near here. Look, it's at the foot of the hill ahead."

Abu pointed to a hill not far from the construction site.

"Yes, the exploration team is working over there. Why did you come out alone?"

Jerome nodded, his eyes full of confusion.

"Sulfur is a good thing. Black powder cannot do without it. The smoke produced by burning sulfur can also be used to bleach clothes..."

"Oh? There is such an effect? ​​This is the first time I've heard of it."

Salmon became interested.

"Haven't you read Homer's Iliad? There are relevant records in it."

Abu looked at Salmon with disdain.

"My Lord, you should read more and observe more..." "That's enough! Stop talking nonsense!"

Jerome interrupted Abu impatiently.

"You were prospecting for your sulfur, but why are you hanging out with runaway slaves?"

"Your Excellency, I am different from the other members of the exploration team. They are only responsible for exploration, but I am researching better ways to make sulfur and other applications of sulfur. This is something very valuable, your Majesty said so himself!"

Abu patted his chest.

"Yes, you are the only alchemist among a group of pragmatists. If His Majesty had not written to me, I would not have allowed you to stay here any longer."

Jerome said sarcastically.

"Alas, it was precisely because of my great reputation that the leader of the escaped slaves, who was a somewhat ambitious man, really thought that I had the Midas touch. When he was escaping, he kidnapped me and hoped that I would provide him with military funds."

Abu had a sad face.

"Oh? How's that leader?"

Salmon suddenly became serious.

"He's dead. The troopers killed him. We don't even know where his body is."

Abu shrugged and smiled contentedly.

"When I was kidnapped, I didn't have the identity documents that His Majesty gave me. The mounted police didn't believe my identity at all and took me back as a fugitive slave."

"How can these reckless people know the subtleties of chemistry..."

Salmon felt a little uncomfortable when he heard this and snorted coldly.

"What have you come up with in all these days? How much practical effect can it bring?"

"My Lord, that is a good question. I will show you right away."

Abu's eyes lit up, thinking that he had finally met a soulmate. He lifted the package from his waist and poured out a table full of ore and two tattered books.

"Those escaped slaves thought I could turn the ore into gold, so they brought it all out without confiscating it."

Abu said, holding up a yellow solid block.

"This is sulfur. It is mined from the great desert southeast of the Jufra region in North Africa. There are many volcanic remains there, and the nearby land contains sulfur. There is also a lot of this pure sulfur, but due to the harsh natural environment, it is difficult to establish a large-scale mining base. Only about one-fifth of the empire's sulfur comes from there."

Then he raised a piece of golden ore.

"This is a common sulfur ore. Sulfur can be obtained after smelting. It is said that some people can extract iron from waste slag, but I have never tried it and I don't know if it is true."

"This ore is quite common. Currently, three-fifths of the empire's sulfur comes from this ore, and another fifth comes from Sicily."

"Those runaway slaves saw this and thought I could make gold, so they kidnapped me."

Abu sighed.

"So what? What does this have to do with your research?"

Salmon asked.

Abu looked at Salmon, then at Jerme, and asked mysteriously.

"I wonder if you two adults have heard of a person."

"Jaber ibn Hayyan?"

"Arab? I don't know him."

Salmon shook his head.

"I have heard of this name. The alchemist from hundreds of years ago?"

Jerome groaned.

"Yes, yes! Sir, the epoch-making alchemist and chemist, he was the one who introduced the word 'chemistry'!"

Abu waved his arms excitedly and picked up two books on the table.

"These two books are his surviving works, The Book of Chemistry and The Book of Equilibrium, in which he discussed and criticized Aristotle's theories and put forward many valuable opinions."

Abu opened the wrinkled book, found a page and showed it to the two men.

"can't read."

Salmon glanced at the complicated Arabic text and frowned.

"Well, I found out that in the book, Jabir did a lot of in-depth research on many alchemical products, and successfully obtained two new things through some means."

"He called it, sulfuric acid and nitric acid."

Abu recited in unfamiliar and ancient Arabic.

"The preparation method he wrote in the book is relatively complicated and the raw materials are hard to find. I have been looking for a better preparation method to achieve mass production."

"Later, His Majesty suggested that I work on the sulfur ore, maybe I could find some surprises."

"Did you make it?"

Jerome asked casually.

"Maybe it worked. I followed the method given by Your Majesty and achieved some results, but I don't know if what I extracted is the sulfuric acid mentioned in the book. Even if it is, the content is definitely not high."

Abu whispered.

"However, this is a way after all. His Majesty said that the second wave of East India merchant ships will focus on collecting some scientific works from the East, which may give me some inspiration."

"He said the temperatures we were getting from the fuels we were using now were too low and coke should solve that problem."

"Even if it is extracted, what use will it have?"

Salmon stood up and stretched, obviously no longer wanting to listen.

"This is alchemy! Sir, are you really not interested in the technique of turning stone into gold?"

Abu shouted, a blush rising on his face.

"Speak nicely! I don't believe that Your Majesty would believe in nonsense like turning stone into gold!"

Jerome slapped Abu on the head.

"His Majesty really doesn't believe it, but he also thinks that sulfuric acid and nitric acid are very important. Even if the purity is low, we can try to make some fertilizers."

Abu scratched his head in embarrassment.

"As for how to make fertilizer, His Majesty did not say it clearly, nor did he hold out too much hope. He just encouraged me to keep going down this path."

"That means nothing has been discovered yet. Why are you telling us this?"

Salmon looked at the nervous Arab with disdain.

"My Lord, I thought you were interested in this..."

Seeing that the two were not interested at all, Abu's face darkened.

"It doesn't matter. His Majesty knows me well. He said that if I can make a breakthrough, I will definitely have a place in the Royal Academy of Sciences in the future."

Jerome shook his head in a helpless manner, stood up and looked towards the small mine in the distance.

"Salmon, tell me, it's been so many days, and the exploration team hasn't left yet. Is a small sulfur mine really worth their efforts?"

"The last time they explored for iron ore in Adrianople, it didn't seem to take this long."

"Who knows? These people are always mysterious. Anyway, they just follow us and we have no control over them."

Salmon looked at the sun in the sky and then looked at Jerome.

"In my opinion, if these people are like this Abu and keep talking nonsense all day, I'm afraid nothing will come of it."

Abu heard the conversation between the two, thought about it, and walked forward.

"Sir, I am the only chemist in the entire exploration team. They are different from me. They are all very utilitarian. Their only wish is to find valuable minerals and receive the reward from His Majesty."

"That's good, then I'll feel relieved."

Jerome laughed and patted Abu on the shoulder.

"But how much value can a small sulfur mine have?"

"Hmph, sir, you don't know anything about the land. This small sulfur mine is a co-existing mine. There is a coalfield next to it."

Abu curled his lips.

"Coal fields? What's the quality? How does it compare to Macedonia?"

Jerome raised his eyebrows, turned around and looked at Abu.

"This... is a little better, but still pretty bad... it still smells terrible when it burns."

"Well, come on, Salmon, let's go eat."

Jerome's last bit of patience disappeared and he walked away.

"Sir! I forgot to tell you that there are many things associated with coal mines, including some very valuable gems! The utilitarians of the exploration team are looking for these things!"

"Besides, this is His Majesty's order!"

Abu shouted.

Jerome smiled casually, waved his hand behind him, and decided not to believe anything the alchemist said.

As the two were walking, they suddenly heard a noise in the distance.

An old man with a dusty face came running over, laughing and jumping as he ran.

Jerome stopped and looked at him in surprise.

"This is the leader of the exploration team. Did he really find something good?"

Salmon and Jerome looked at each other and shook their heads.

The old man came running over, laughing non-stop.

"Lord Jerome, we found it!"

"What did you find?"

Jerome asked.

The old man opened his clenched right hand, revealing a large dark brown translucent stone.

Jerome picked up the stone and looked at it carefully in the sunlight.

An insect is clearly visible in the dark brown translucent stone.

Jerome's eyes widened and he took a breath.

"It's amber! My Lord! We found amber!"

The old man said excitedly.

"There are still quite a few in this mine, and this is the largest and clearest piece!"

"I suspect there may be such mineral veins nearby!"

Jerome swallowed, turned his head and looked at Salmon.

"Mr. Salmon, congratulations! The Constanta Military District may become rich. This piece of amber in my hand is definitely a priceless treasure even if it is taken to East Prussia. It is more valuable than gold."

Salmon grinned, his eyes full of joy.

"I really didn't expect that there is an amber producing area in Europe besides the Baltic Sea. I just wonder if there is as much amber as in the north?"

Jerome came back to his senses and looked at the old man.

"I'm afraid that's still not the case, but it's enough to drive an industry."

The old man laughed.

"So, according to your majesty's plan, how will the discovered mineral veins be dealt with?"

Salmon asked with concern.

"It's not clear yet, but we are an exploration team funded by His Majesty. Everything we find belongs to His Majesty. We still have these basic professional ethics."

The old man said.

"However, the mine is in Constanta, and you will definitely reap the benefits."

Salmon thought for a moment and looked at the amber in Jerome's hand.

"We will present this largest piece of amber to your majesty as a gift for the prince's wedding. What do you think?"

"That's great. Let's do it."

Jerome nodded, wrapped the amber in a handkerchief and kept it away.

(End of this chapter)