1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 263: Roman Porcelain Capital
As time entered the summer of 1468, everything was business as usual in the Eastern Roman Empire. Natural disasters such as floods, droughts and insect plagues were inevitable in various political regions, and man-made disasters such as rebellions or slave uprisings were inevitable in border areas, but fortunately, there did not cause too much social unrest, and the overall situation was stable and improving.

Natural disasters occurred every year, but the Eastern Roman Empire was vast, and the refugees affected by the disasters could either go to nearby cities to work in exchange for relief, or go to various border areas to build new homes, or follow the ocean-going fleet to various colonies to seek a living. There were many options.

In the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire, there were many pagan and cultural groups that had not yet been assimilated, and there were still a large number of slaves among the people. Rebellions and uprisings were of course endless, but after more than 20 years of coexistence, everyone from the common people to the officials had already figured out a set of effective methods to deal with rebels and insurgents, making it impossible for them to grow and develop.

After the optimization of the Royal Mounted Police and the Rangers, civil unrest was significantly less than before. The Mounted Police, who came and went like the wind, hunted down fugitives and escaped slaves in the countryside, and the wilderness was no longer a safe haven.

Officials in some political regions have even signed agreements with local gypsy tribes, requiring them to use their mobility to report rural conditions to the government, thereby nipping possible rebellions in the bud.

Unlike the peace and prosperity of the Eastern Roman Empire, many places were still in constant war and people were displaced.

In the east, the White Sheep King Uzum Hasan successively defeated the remnants of Jahan Shah and began to march into western Persia. Jahan Shah's son, the new king of the Black Sheep Dynasty, Hassan Ali, completely lost his ability to resist and began to seek help from Busayn, the leader of the revival of the Timurid Empire.

Busayin was the grandson of Miran Shah, the third son of Timur, and the adopted son and son-in-law of Ulugh Beg, the son of Shah Rukh. He was the most talented of Timur's fourth-generation descendants. He spent more than ten years to bring Timur, who was on the verge of collapse, back on track, integrated most of the central and western territories including Khorasan, Transoxiana, Fergana and Afghanistan, and nominally unified the divided kingdom.

When the envoys of the Black Sheep Dynasty arrived at Timur's court, Busayn was holding a wedding for his fourth prince, Umar Shah Mirza, to marry the daughter of Yunus Khan from the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and divided the Fergana Basin as their fiefdom.

What Busayin didn't know was that the decision he made now would largely rewrite the history of the entire Timurid family and lay the groundwork for the family's revival.

After meeting with the envoy, Bu Sain agreed to the request of Hassan Ali, the Black Sheep King, out of consideration for practical interests and began to mobilize troops.

After Uzung Hasan found out about this, he immediately sent envoys to Busayin to seek peace and expressed his willingness to accept the mediation of the Timurid Kingdom.

However, Busayn insisted that Uzum Hasan come in person to negotiate. After being rejected, he began to march towards the central and eastern parts of Persia.

Uzung Hasan decided to fight to the death and adopted the strategy of clearing the countryside, scorching the large area of ​​land he had just occupied, and led his army back to the city of Karabakh, waiting for Busayin to attack.

On the Anatolian Peninsula, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II spent several years and basically completed the initial construction of the Aegean Wall. The Karaman-occupied areas also basically stabilized and the national strength recovered.

After dividing the sphere of influence with the White Sheep King Uzung Hasan, Mehmed II withdrew his troops from the Pontic Mountains and stationed them at the border of Ramazan, preparing to complete the last piece of the puzzle of the Anatolian Peninsula.

After losing the protection of the Mamluk Dynasty, the Ramazan Bey State had lost the ability to fight against the Ottomans. People in the government and the country were in panic, and its demise was only a matter of time.

On the northern shore of the Black Sea, after obtaining a large loan from the Fugger family, Justinian, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Roman Empire, began to buy up Russian and Circassian white slaves on a large scale, organizing them into Cossack teams of a thousand men, preparing to take advantage of the great opportunity of the struggle for the throne among the sons of Hajigrat to show his strength.

Turning our attention to the west, the Iberian Peninsula was still in chaos. Henry IV of the Kingdom of Castile and Prince Alfonso continued to fight, the Great Brotherhood of Galicia continued to grow, and King Alfonso V of Portugal continued to stay in North Africa to consolidate the Moroccan seaport under his rule.

As for the Kingdom of Aragon, since the Angevin forces of France made a high-profile march into Aragon, Juan II's plan to resolve the Catalan rebellion in a short period of time has completely come to nothing. The rebels still firmly occupy Barcelona, ​​the largest seaport in Aragon, and show signs of continued expansion.

In the distant British Isles, the War of the Roses in the Kingdom of England was still brewing. The victorious York Dynasty in the previous stage had serious political struggles within itself. Some of the country's great nobles were very dissatisfied with the king's bias and were plotting a rebellion.

Deep inland in Central Europe, the border conflict between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Bohemia intensified. Jiri Podebrad struggled to hold on and did not allow Matthias I of the Kingdom of Hungary to gain much advantage, but he grew older and his health deteriorated.

The Apennine Peninsula did usher in a period of peace and development, but Galeazzo, Duke of Milan, was extremely restless. Not only did he impose heavy taxes at home, he also sharpened his knives against several surrounding forces.

Turning our attention back to the Eastern Roman Empire, the return of the second wave of East Indian merchant ships brought huge profits to the Eastern Roman Empire. The livelihood projects that had been stalled due to lack of money were able to continue construction, several major companies were able to expand their scale, several naval shipyards built warships non-stop, and the army also ushered in another expansion.

In the summer of 1468, the Eastern Roman Emperor Isaac signed an order to expand the army in Constantinople and reorganized the central army sequence.

The Central Army was roughly divided into the Guards and the Purple Guards. The Guards had twelve corps and the Purple Guards had five, with a corps strength of one or two thousand, for a total of more than 23,000 people.

In addition to the Guards and Purple Guards, the Central Army also includes the Armored Paladins, the Varangian Guards, the Leorea Legion and the Guards Dragoon. The Armored Paladins total 800 people, the Varangian Guards still have 500 people, the Leorea chariot unit has 1,500 people, and the Guards Dragoon is divided into four corps, totaling 4,000 people.

After the military expansion is completed, the Eastern Roman Empire will have more than 30,000 standing troops, the largest in continental Europe.

If semi-regular troops, conscripts and mercenaries were added, the Eastern Roman Empire could mobilize up to 120,000 troops in times of war, enough to deter any enemy.

Of course, the territory that the Eastern Roman Empire needed to protect was also very vast, and Isaac would not and could not withdraw all the garrisons in the border areas.

In several years of war experiments, the Roman phalanx has proved its advancement. Except for some heavy infantry that must be retained, the central armies began to replace their equipment with muskets and spears, and conducted drills according to the phalanx model.

In recent years, the navy has also made great progress. The scale of the earliest established large shipyards has continued to expand, and the newly established Theodore Shipyard and Varna Shipyard also launched their first small warships in early 1468.

There are many forests around these two shipyards. The oak in high latitudes is better than that in low latitudes and is very suitable for the construction of warships and merchant ships.

Stimulated by maritime trade, the demand for ships among the people of the Eastern Roman Empire was increasing day by day, and a large number of orders were given to major shipyards. When they built warships for Isaac, they could even make a profit by taking orders from the public.

In the spring of 1468, the giant battleship Shine of Cairo finally completed its final assembly and was able to carry out missions independently. Isaac assigned the ship to the Western Mediterranean Fleet to strengthen the Eastern Roman Empire's control over the Western Mediterranean.

Then, the first military and commercial dual-purpose ship of the Eastern Roman Empire built specifically for sailing to East India was launched at the Constantinople shipyard. This ship has towering sides, a wide cabin and good firepower. Its attack power is slightly worse than that of ordinary large warships, but it can accommodate a large number of sailors, supplies and goods.

This type of ship was collectively called "East India Merchant Ship", and the first ship was named "Oriental Caesar" and was immediately incorporated into the East India Fleet.

With the launching of the Eastern Caesar, the comprehensive naval strength of the Eastern Roman Empire officially surpassed the combined strength of the Republic of Venice and the Kingdom of Portugal, realizing the previously stipulated "two-power principle" and becoming a veritable maritime overlord.

However, just as the citizens of Constantinople were rejoicing over the bumper harvest in East India, another piece of good news came from the West.

Columbus's fleet returned.

However, after spies from various countries inquired about the news from the sailors of the West India Fleet, they instantly lost most of their interest.

According to the sailors' description, what Columbus discovered was not India, Ming Dynasty or Japan, but a rainforest and a group of small islands. Many cannibals lived on the islands and they still used stone tools. Their level of civilization was not even as good as that of some black tribes, and there was no gold or silver.

However, Isaac received Columbus and the other warriors as heroes and was very happy.

He knew very well that what Columbus had explored was only the tip of the iceberg of the New World of America, and he was far from figuring out the outline of the entire continent.

Besides, these islands are not without value, they just haven’t been shown yet.

The island of Cuba has fertile soil and can grow many tropical and subtropical crops, such as sugar cane, tobacco, cocoa and coffee.

However, the European monarchs at that time did not understand the value of tobacco and cocoa, and sugar cane had not yet been brought over.

Moreover, Cuba is an ideal forward base, which can be used as a springboard to seize Central and South America.

Columbus did not land in Brazil as Isaac had intended, but was blown north by a storm. Although Isaac felt regretful, he was still satisfied.

After appeasing Columbus and the sailors, Isaac decided to establish the Colony of St. Constantine, which included a series of large islands such as Cuba, Dominica, and Puerto Rico, and the Colony of Venezuela, which included Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, and a number of small islands in the Antilles.

Although Columbus repeatedly declined, believing himself guilty, Isaac still followed the old precedent and appointed him as the Governor of Venezuela, and conferred him the title of third-class senator of the Senate and a sword-bearing noble.

Isaac encouraged overseas exploration, and the great colonists all served as elders, with high ranks.

William Palaiologos, Isaac's great-grandfather and relative, Colonial Secretary, and Senator-at-Large.

Denis Dias, discovered South Africa, was the first to cross Cape Storms, principal of the Navigation School, Governor of Mozambique, and a second-class senator.

Estevao da Gama, discovered East Africa and India, was the first person to reach the Indian subcontinent, was the Viceroy of India, and was a senator of the second degree.

It is worth mentioning that due to his outstanding performance and foresight in the exploration operation, Amerigo Vespucci was awarded the title of Level 5 Elder.

Columbus brought back some plants and plant seeds, and Isaac recognized some of them, but because the place he discovered was completely a scrap of American civilization, the seeds were very incomplete and of poor quality, which did not satisfy Isaac.

If you want to truly make use of American crops, you have to look for the three major civilizations in Central and South America. They have domesticated many crops in their long development and have made many improvements to starch crops including corn and potatoes. With so many varieties, you can always find one that is suitable for planting in Europe.

Isaac remembered that under the improvement of the civilizations in Central and South America, there were hundreds of varieties of corn alone, and they were divided into different uses, such as food corn, brewing corn, and feed corn...

Among the plants brought back by Columbus, only tobacco was of good quality. Isaac had handed all the seeds and plants over to the Agricultural Research Institute, asking them to cultivate them in experimental fields in order to use them as soon as possible.

However, there was no rush for these. Isaac gave the sailors of the West India Exploration Fleet a long vacation, allowing them to enjoy themselves in Constantinople. After they had relaxed, he would assign them the next mission.

Columbus's exploration did not cause much stir in Europe, as their attention was attracted by another shocking news.

King Louis XI of France was captured.

Since Louis XI ascended the throne, he has always advocated centralization and weakening the power of powerful vassal states. The first to bear the brunt of this was the Duchy of Burgundy, the largest vassal state of France.

As early as 1435, the signing of the Treaty of Arras had actually turned the Duchy of Burgundy into an independent "kingdom" with very low centripetal force towards the French central government, and few taxes and troops were paid.

In 1457, Philip the Good died and Charles the Bold succeeded him as Duke of Burgundy. This generous man with a fondness for drinking had always been committed to building Burgundy into an independent country free from French control, which was incompatible with Louis XI who advocated centralization.

As a result, conflicts broke out one after another between the "League for Public Welfare" headed by Charles the Bold and Louis XI, and they fought in many fields such as military, politics, economy and diplomacy.

By 1468, the Alliance for the Common Good had temporarily gained the upper hand, and Louis XI was forced to sign treaties that were unfavorable to him many times, but he did not care about his reputation and would forget about the treaties as soon as he turned around.

Louis XI was a very treacherous, cunning and cruel king. He levied heavy taxes and squeezed the people's fat and blood. He also lavishly funded the rebels within the Public Welfare Alliance, using this extremely despicable method to weaken the strength of the Public Welfare Alliance.

Therefore, Louis XI was called "the universal spider" by several of Charles the Bold's close ministers.

In this era, "spider" is not a good word. It is a very vicious insult, symbolizing insidiousness and viciousness, and is contrary to the spirit of chivalry.

In contrast, Charles the Bold of Burgundy was the "national idol" of all Western Europe. He was brave and passionate, generous and just, and many nobles liked him very much.

In 1468, Louis XI, disregarding the Treaty of Conflans signed previously with the Commonwealth League, launched a war against Brittany, demanding that the Duke of Brittany sever his alliance with the Duchy of Burgundy.

Charles the Bold was very shocked. He never expected that the legitimate king of the largest country in Western Europe would be so dishonest. He immediately led his troops to threaten Louis XI and demanded that he fulfill the Treaty of Conflans.

Louis XI suggested peace talks between the two, but still did not stop the hostile relationship. He even instigated the Burgundian cities to rebellion during the talks, which made Charles the Bold very angry.

When the anger accumulated to a critical point, Charles the Bold finally decided not to tolerate it anymore. He exploded on the spot, launched a military rebellion, arrested Louis XI, who was lying in bed in his pajamas, and explained the pros and cons to him.

Isaac learned the news while inspecting the surrounding cities, but he just laughed it off and didn't spend any thought on it.

Stir it up, stir it up, the more chaotic the better, it would be best if the people could suffer terribly and move south in large numbers, it would be best if the country could be divided and not pose any threat to themselves.

Isaac returned to Constantinople in a happy mood, but was immediately pulled into the meeting hall by the prime minister and several other ministers.

"Your Majesty, you are free and easy while you are away. I have been busy with several meetings."

In the meeting hall of the Grand Palace, Prime Minister Isurt looked at Isaac, who was in high spirits, and curled his lips.

"Prime Minister, I am doing this for the future of the empire. The development of handicraft industry is related to people's livelihood and national affairs. We must work hard on it."

Isaac chuckled.

"Did anything happen in Constantinople while I was away?"

"Your Majesty, there are many things to do."

Iseult sighed.

"At this year's joint military and political meeting, your navy and army quarreled again. The navy insisted on getting half of the military funds to build a more powerful fleet to plunder the East and West Indies."

"The army insisted on receiving 70% of the military budget for future military expansion and wars in the East."

"In the end, a few naval and army officers almost came to blows."

"How do you conduct this meeting? Don't they listen to you?"

Isaac frowned.

"They said that only you can make the final decision. This is what you stipulated before. What can I do?"

Iseult snorted.

"The results of it?"

Isaac was amused.

"The result? There was no result at first, but His Highness Alexios happened to be back in Constantinople to visit his nephew. When he heard about this, he rushed in with a sword in hand and scolded them, saying that they were not worthy of being soldiers of Jesus Christ."

Isurt spread his hands.

"These guys are a bit embarrassed, so we've cancelled the duel and will make a decision when you return."

"Yeah, okay, that's still a bit sensible."

Isaac nodded.

"How about this, let's make a compromise. The navy will take 40% and the army will take 60%. But of course, this is only for the central army. The cost of maintaining the border guards and garrisons is not included in the military expenditure, so the money spent on the army is still much higher than that on the navy."

"However, I will also warn them not to do this in the future, otherwise they will be severely punished."

Isaac groaned.

"In addition to these, I will allocate some more money to them. On my way back, I visited various major cities in the empire. Everyone is very willing to join the army, and the atmosphere of bravery among the people is also very strong. This is a good thing."

"More! Your military expenditure this year exceeds three quarters of the country's total fiscal revenue!"

Isurt immediately shook his head in dissatisfaction.

"Government agencies need to be expanded, livelihood projects need to be built, and cultural assimilation needs to be promoted. All of these require money!"

"It's okay. You're only talking about the country's fiscal revenue. I still have a lot of personal income, and I'll give it to you when the time comes."

Isaac glanced at Iseult.

"You talk as if the national treasury can be self-sufficient. Isn't it me who uses my personal wallet to fill the gap every year?"

"I am the emperor. Logically, the treasury should belong to me, but you never seem to leave me a single copper coin."

"You have so many lucrative trade routes, why would you care about these land taxes?" Isurte said somewhat embarrassedly.

"You still know how to make money through trade routes, so stop opposing me in building a large navy."

Isaac smiled.

"I think the two-strength principle is still insufficient. We can stipulate the three-strength principle in the future."

"Besides, don't worry about not having money. I can assure you that in a few years, once we have established ourselves in Cuba, money will flow in continuously."

"Is there anything else?"

Isaac looked at the prime minister.

"Several documents need your signature, several newly appointed local officials you have not met yet, and several grants still require your approval..."

When Isaac heard this, he frowned.

"Let's put the documents and grants aside for now. I'll sign them when I have time. Let a few local officials go to see the Queen. She can represent me."

"Your Majesty, there is actually one more thing."

Iseult hesitated.

"Before, some Roman merchants from Anatolia came to visit me. They were Roman survivors who had been living under Ottoman rule."

"In recent years, Mehmed II has treated these people worse and worse, often increasing taxes and intensifying surveillance, making them miserable."

"They hope that you can recover Anatolia as soon as possible and save them from the oppression of the pagans."

"I have already made plans for Anatolia, but this matter is of great importance and cannot be resolved overnight. My diplomatic and intelligence departments have already started taking action. Don't worry."

"Don't worry about not having a war to fight. I'm afraid we'll be stuck in the quagmire of war in the East for the next twenty years."

Isaac rubbed his brow.

"In three years at the latest, I will begin my campaign against Mehmed II."

"In the next few years, you will strive to continue to expand the population, encourage childbirth, purchase more Orthodox white slaves, and strive to increase our population to 6.2 million by then."

"Yes, I understand."

Isurte nodded.

"That's it. I have other things to do today. You go and take charge of the work."

Isaac waved his hand, signaling everyone to disperse.

"By the way, if Columbus and his party come to see me, let them go to Adrianople, where I shall be for the next few days."

……

After consulting with Leonor for a while and visiting his grandson Constantine, Isaac left Constantinople and drove to Adrianople.

The two cities were not far away, and the road between them was very wide. After two days of fast riding, Isaac finally arrived at the second largest city in Thrace at noon on the third day.

Adrianople was originally a solid fortress surrounded by mountains and rivers. The nearby mineral reserves were very rich, especially the high-quality iron ore in the mountains.

Since Isaac recaptured Adrianople, the city has never returned to the prosperity of the Ottoman period. In order to maintain stability, a large number of handicraft workshops were moved to Constantinople, and merchants also turned to the eastern coast.

Of course, Adrianople's qualifications are quite good. In recent years, with the promulgation of the "Nineteen Decrees", a large number of domestic and foreign businessmen have begun to come to Adrianople to explore for minerals in the mountains, and have signed agreements with the government to organize manpower and carry out development.

After Bulgaria's recovery, the military pressure on Adrianople was greatly reduced, and more and more merchants engaged in inland trade with Bulgaria. This historic city finally ushered in a recovery.

After having lunch with several local officials and local merchants in Adrianople, Isaac briefly planned the future development direction and came to the workshop area of ​​Adrianople with several guards.

The city is located at the confluence of the Maritsa River and the Dinza River. It has abundant water resources and extremely rich mineral resources. It can become the second major handicraft city in the Thrace region and share the pressure of Constantinople.

Isaac walked into a house in the workshop area and found Estevao da Gama who had just arrived.

"Your Majesty, you are finally here. There are mines everywhere near Adrianople. There are no entertainment facilities at all. It is not even as good as a block in Constantinople."

Esteban was leaning over the desk looking at a map, and when he saw Isaac coming, he quickly stood up to greet him.

"Okay, once this matter is resolved, I will immediately let you return to Constantinople."

Isaac patted his shoulder.

Estevan nodded and took Isaac to the backyard.

The house originally belonged to an Ottoman nobleman, but was later seized by Isaac, who then granted it to the workshop area of ​​Adrianople.

The backyard is very large. The former flower and garden gardens have been demolished and replaced by mud kilns.

There were many broken bottles and jars piled on the open space, which were obviously defective products made by these craftsmen.

Many craftsmen gathered around a clay kiln. A tall Gentile was pointing at the kiln in an unknown language. The translator next to him racked his brains to translate the Gentile's words into Greek and told them to the Eastern Roman craftsmen.

"Your Majesty, he is one of the craftsmen we brought back from India, and he knows how to make porcelain."

Esteban pointed to the Gentile.

"However, he had no attachment to Calicut. When he heard that we invited him to give lectures here, he immediately agreed and even asked us to bring his family with us."

Isaac nodded and looked at the clay kiln quietly.

In the clay kiln, a pottery jar was being fired and formed. Through the crowd, Isaac saw the faint patterns on the pottery jar.

The foreigner carefully stared at the pottery jars in the kiln, studying the patterns and designs.

After waiting for a while, the temperature gradually dropped and a fairly good piece of pottery gradually took shape.

However, on the pottery, Isaac could clearly see the indigo-blue patterns and the milky white surface glaze.

Ceramics, a beautiful art form originating from the East, was another highly valuable commodity in East-West trade.

Esteban walked forward, whispered something to the interpreter, and waved to the Roman potters behind him, signaling them to leave.

When the crowd dispersed, Isaac got a good look at the Gentile.

"Persian."

Isaac was a little surprised and spoke in Turkic.

"Your Majesty, I am not a Persian, I am a Hulagu!"

The Persian looked at Isaac with pride.

"My family has been making ceramics for the descendants of Hulagu Khan for generations, and later for Timur. We are certainly not Persians!"

“If Samarkand had not been robbed so many times, I would not have ended up in Calicut!”

Isaac was somewhat amused and talked to him for a few words.

After hearing the Persian's story, Isaac roughly understood his life experience.

Their family had been making ceramics for the Hulagu family for generations. After the fall of the Hulagu Khanate, they were captured by King Timur and taken to Samarkand. They didn't say anything and continued to make ceramics for the Timur family.

Later, there was a civil war among Timur's descendants, and Samarkand was in chaos. He fled south with his family all the way to Calicut.

"Do you know who your ancestors learned their craft from?"

Isaac looked toward the Persian.

"Naturally, it was a gift from Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan."

The Persian said generously.

"When Hulagu Khan conquered the west, he brought many Mongolian craftsmen with him, and later he asked Kublai Khan for many more. My ancestors learned from these people."

Mongolian craftsmen? Never mind, just be happy.

Isaac shook his head and ignored him.

Basically every civilization in the world has the technology to fire pottery, but for a long time, ceramics were the exclusive domain of Eastern dynasties.

Although pottery and ceramics are both fired, they are made from different raw materials, and the ceramic process is very complex and demanding. Craftsmen must control the fire temperature and the depiction of glaze to the extreme, which is far beyond the reach of pottery.

Persia is the closest civilization to the Eastern dynasties. It began to imitate Eastern porcelain very early on, and even specially imitated Tang Sancai to create "Persian Sancai".

However, the Persian ceramics at that time were far behind oriental porcelains in both technology and craftsmanship and were very crude.

Later, the Mongol Empire occupied half of the Eurasian continent, and Persian porcelain really ushered in great development.

Among the four great khanates, the Ögedei Khanate perished very early, the Golden Horde completely refused to recognize the suzerainty of the Yuan Dynasty after Yogibe Khan, and the Chagatai Khanate had always been on and off the path to the central government.

However, the Hulagu Khanate always maintained a fairly friendly relationship with the Yuan Dynasty and was always a loyal vassal of the Yuan Dynasty, never rebelling.

Hulagu Khan and Kublai Khan were brothers from the same mother. His descendants also became close to the Yuan emperor out of interest or affection. The Hulagu Khanate imitated the Yuan system in many aspects, including waist badges, post stations, treasure notes, and provincial systems...

The letters to the Pope are stamped with Chinese characters, and the mosques are carved with dragon patterns...

They also wrote history based on the Eastern system and compiled the "History of the World" which is of great historical value.

It is extremely inappropriate to equate the Hulagu Khanate with the other three Khanates. The Persian region has been the territory of the Yuan Dynasty from beginning to end.

During the period of Hulagu Khanate, exchanges between Persia and the East were very prosperous, and many Eastern technologies were introduced to Persia, including porcelain.

Persian porcelain at this time made extensive use of oriental mythical beasts such as dragons, phoenixes, and unicorns as decorative patterns, and also had some unique Persian characteristics.

Later, when the Hulagu Khanate was destroyed, King Timur attached great importance to craftsmen. He gathered craftsmen from Persia and Transoxiana and gathered them in Samarkand, and the ceramic craft continued to develop.

However, with the deaths of Timur and Shah Rukh, Persia and Central Asia suffered repeated chaos, Samarkand was no longer what it used to be, and a large number of craftsmen fled, but it also objectively promoted the progress of other civilizations.

"Well, Hulagu, since your homeland has been destroyed, you might as well stay here and make porcelain for me, and by the way, convey the "Mongolian craftsmanship" you mentioned to more people."

"The Eastern Roman Empire and the Hulagu Khanate are historically friendly countries with many marriages. It is better for you to make ceramics for me than to stay in Calicut."

Isaac said to the Persian with a smile.

"What do you think of the natural conditions around Adrianople? Can it be used as a porcelain capital?"

The Persian thought about it and nodded slightly.

"Not bad, Your Majesty."

"I have visited your capital before, but to be honest, it is not possible. The soil is of poor quality and not suitable for firing porcelain."

"Adrian Castle is not bad. The raw materials can be found at the foot of the nearby mountains and by the river. If you are willing to give me some manpower and money, I can lead them to some raw material collection areas."

"There are many minerals around this city, and the porcelain fired here may have some unique characteristics."

The Persian said this, somewhat excitedly.

"Your Majesty, the iron content largely determines the color of the porcelain itself. Generally speaking, the higher the iron content, the darker the color of the porcelain, from white and blue to purple and black. This is a very profound knowledge."

"But you can't hold your hopes too high. There is no way that what we produce can surpass the oriental porcelain. Even during the heyday of Hulagu Ulus, we can't compare."

"No problem, just do it, I will collect more porcelain masters later."

Isaac shrugged.

Since Zheng He's voyages to the West, Chinese began to immigrate to Southeast Asia in large numbers, and many Southeast Asian cities began to produce porcelain. The third wave of the East India Fleet is worth paying attention to.

The porcelain of the Eastern dynasties has always been far ahead. Even at the end of the Ming Dynasty, many countries began to imitate porcelain, but their ruling position was not shaken at all.

Of course, European civilization later improved on the traditional porcelain-making process and proposed adding cow bone powder to the raw materials, successfully firing a higher-end porcelain, bone china.

Later on, Isaac could pass on the idea of ​​adding bone meal to the porcelain masters to see if they could succeed.

In any case, the porcelain industry of the Eastern Roman Empire finally started. If it could be developed, it would be a big industry that could bring huge wealth.

As long as this thing can be cooked, there will be no problem selling it.

Just as Isaac was lost in thought, a guard came quickly towards him.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Columbus has arrived."

(End of this chapter)