1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 270: Bandit Suppression War
Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal.

Lisbon is located in the southwest corner of the European continent. It has a low latitude and is not cold in spring and winter. The warm wind from the Atlantic Ocean blows across the bay, across the city, and into the magnificent royal palace on the low hill.

It was early spring of 1469. A spring rain awakened the sleeping earth. The grass buds turned green, the flowers became bright, and the singing of birds and the chirping of insects made the world lively.

In the garden of the palace, the lavender has not yet bloomed. The vast fields of lavender are lush green, sucking nutrients from the earth eagerly and growing upwards with all their might.

There is an open space in the middle of the lavender field, with several big trees growing on it. A beautiful girl is sitting under the tree, holding a thick book in her hands.

Although she was holding a book, her mind was obviously not on it. Her bright eyes seemed to glance over the flower field unintentionally, and also seemed to glance over the young man walking towards her unintentionally.

The boy approached, but the girl didn't even look at him. She stared at the words in the book seriously, as if this book on rhetoric was very interesting.

The boy was not annoyed. He sat next to the girl with a smile, put his head close to her, leaned on her shoulder, and gently sniffed the fragrance of her hair.

"Joao! You interrupted my reading!"

The girl's cheeks turned slightly red. She put down the book and glared at João angrily.

"Donna, I knew you were here."

Joao chuckled and ruffled Donna's hair.

"If you do this again, I will tell His Majesty!"

Donna rolled her eyes at João, pouted, and adjusted her hairstyle.

João didn't say anything, just looked at her with a smile.

The boy's name was João Avis, Crown Prince of Portugal and the United Kingdom of the Algarves, and heir to King Alfonso V.

If nothing unexpected happens, the boy will inherit the crown of Portugal after his father's death and become the second king of Portugal named João, namely John II.

The girl's name was Doña Leonor Aviz, the daughter of Fernando, Duke of Viseu, and João's cousin, friend, lover and fiancée.

Next year, fourteen-year-old Joao will officially marry his eleven-year-old cousin. The two have a good relationship and are both talented, so this marriage is favored by many people.

The Portuguese royal family is notorious for inbreeding, and it is very common to marry cousins. Alfonso V married his cousin, and Duke Fernando of Viseu also married his cousin. The parents of Alfonso V and Duke Fernando were cousins.

That is to say, if João and Donna had a child, the child's father, mother, grandparents and grandparents-in-law would all have the surname Avis and would be very closely related by blood.

However, for now, inbreeding has not brought much hidden dangers to the Avesh family. Their fertility is as famous as their inbreeding. Alfonso V's parents gave birth to nine children, and Donna's parents also gave birth to nine children. The whole family is prosperous, and each child is not mediocre and incompetent.

"Donna, have you heard from Uncle Fernando?"

João pulled out a piece of grass and chewed it in his mouth, looking at Donna.

"Got it. Father just destroyed a pirate hideout in Casablanca and is on his way back."

Donna said.

"He said in the letter that Casablanca is a good place with many merchants coming and going. If we can occupy it for a long time, our national strength will be greatly improved."

Joao nodded slightly.

Fernando Aviz was the younger brother of Alfonso V and the adopted son of the former Duke of Viseu, Henry the Seafarer. He inherited his title and continued to engage in explorations in West Africa.

Of course, after Alfonso V came of age, he relied on the power of the land nobles to regain power from his father-in-law and uncle Pedro. The "navigation faction" led by Prince Pedro and Prince Henry was suppressed, and the main expansion direction of the Kingdom of Portugal also shifted from distant West Africa to nearby North Africa. It achieved a series of commendable victories, captured three of the four major cities of the Marin Dynasty, and was one step closer to the gold and silver mining areas of Morocco.

Donna thought about it and looked at João with some concern.

"Joao, my father also said that the power of the Marin branch of the Watas family has been growing rapidly in recent times. He plans to advise Your Majesty to increase the number of troops sent to North Africa to curb the expansion of the Watas family."

"Is there going to be another war?"

"I guess so. A fragmented Marin Dynasty is what we need. We can't just sit back and watch the Watas family unify."

Joao said.

"If only we had enough troops, we could just defeat the Moors like we did with the Eastern Empire. Why would we need to go through so much trouble?"

"The Marin Dynasty is not comparable to the Hafsid Dynasty and the Zayanid Dynasty. Even if it is the Eastern Empire, it is impossible to swallow up the entire Marin in one gulp, right?"

Donna asked.

João thought about it and smiled softly.

"That's true. The population of the Marin Dynasty is too large. The Hafsid Dynasty and the Zayanid Dynasty combined are not as large as theirs. Let's take it slow."

Seeing that her lover looked tired, Donna felt distressed and reached out to stroke his hair.

"You changed your perfume? It smells really nice."

João took Donna's little hand and placed it under his nose.

"Yes, it was sent by Aunt Leonor. It's a royal rose from Bulgaria."

Donna smiled happily when she saw that João had finally discovered it.

"I usually use lavender perfume, but now I'm trying a different scent. Do you like it?"

"Yeah, I like it anyway."

João scratched Donna's nose, leaned back comfortably, and looked up at the sky.

"What's wrong with you lately? Every time you feel something on your mind, you come to me, and every time you pretend like nothing happened."

Donna looked at Joao worriedly.

"It's nothing. In recent years, the tasks my father has given me have become increasingly difficult. This is the first time I understand how difficult it is for him."

Joao sighed.

"I used to think that my father shouldn't have given those nobles so much power, nor should he have spent so much energy in North Africa. He should have taken a long-term view like the Eastern Empire and focused on exploring and discovering the unknown world."

“After I started handling government affairs, I really felt the resistance from all sides.”

"Especially the Duke of Braganza. He is so hateful. He is afraid that the royal family will gain huge profits overseas, so he always interferes in all expeditions."

Joao said through gritted teeth.

"Some time ago, Columbus of the Eastern Empire discovered something in the west. I discussed with Uncle Isaac and wanted to send out an expedition team of twelve ships to find an uninhabited area in the west to serve as a colony. Uncle Isaac agreed, but the old man didn't want to do it. He dragged a bunch of nobles to the court to make a fuss, causing the plan to be stranded."

"Joao, don't blame him. I know about this. He is just conservative and hasn't changed his mind yet."

Donna consoled.

"If you want to establish a colony, twelve ships and more than a thousand people, that's almost one thousandth of our population. Those nobles must be frightened by you."

"Yes, our population is too small. Managing North Africa is already our limit. We can't expand everywhere like the Eastern Empire."

"Moreover, Emperor Isaac of the Eastern Empire rebuilt the entire empire almost single-handedly. He has great prestige and no one dares to oppose him. He can have the final say and use the power of the entire country to accomplish some seemingly incredible feats. However, my father and I cannot do that. We must consider the opinions of various factions in the country."

Joao sighed heavily.

"In my conception, Portugal should focus on colonization and commerce, earn a lot of money through trade routes, and then use the funds to build a strong navy, so as to use the navy to protect the trade routes."

"As long as we can be the first to discover an extremely rich trade route and control it, it will be difficult for other latecomer countries to compete with us."

"How come what you're saying is similar to the business system of the Eastern Empire? Did you get inspiration from them?"

Donna laughed.

"I guess so. They were the first to discover India and built a navy that was the best in the world. For at least a hundred years, the Indian shipping routes belonged to them."

Joao shrugged.

"However, there must be more than one route to make money in the world. The unknown land is very vast. India has been discovered, but Ming and Japan are still hidden in the fog. We still have a chance."

"Don't we have a share of the profits from the major companies in the Eastern Empire? Didn't we use this money to speed up the conquest of North Africa?"

Donna said.

"That's true, but everything has two sides."

Joao's eyes flickered.

"The Eastern Empire has a fleet in one hand and money in the other. They are actually tying us to their chariot."

"Those nobles and merchants have reaped a lot of benefits from the Eastern Empire's trade system. If we ever fall out with the Eastern Empire, they will be the first to stand up and oppose us."

"This money came too easily, and the nobles were completely addicted to it, living in luxury and not striving for progress."

Joao said expressionlessly.

"As long as we follow the Eastern Empire, we can continue to be prosperous. Why should we go out and venture out?"

"This kind of thinking is harmful to people, and the key is that it is still prevalent."

"After several of our exploration ships sank, the noise grew louder."

"How could they know that without years of persistence, there would be no ultimate success?"

Donna was silent, not knowing how to relieve her lover's worries.

"However, we have already lost the initiative. After the Eastern Empire built the British Fortress, their dependence on us has been greatly reduced, while our dependence on them has gradually deepened."

"My father said that in order to capture the coastal town of the Marin Dynasty, we once mobilized an army of 50,000 people with a national strength of one million people, and borrowed a lot of money from Emperor Isaac at that time."

"In the future, if we want to completely defeat the Marin Dynasty, we may have to borrow money from him."

Donna smiled wryly and shook her head.

"Emperor Isaac was very kind to us. He asked for very little interest and promised to provide us with artillery and fleet assistance."

Seeing that João was in deep thought, Donna tapped him on the head.

"What are you thinking about?"

João came back to his senses, took Donna's hand and kissed it gently.

"I was thinking, if I were in power, I would not be like my father and would make Portugal truly strong."

"Then what are you going to do?"

Donna blushed and pulled her hand back.

"First, we must continue our conquest of North Africa. We must completely destroy the Marin Dynasty, seize their gold and silver mining areas, and obtain a large amount of money for external expansion."

João looked at the sky with deep eyes.

"Secondly, I must suppress the great nobles in the country and never let them interfere in government affairs at will again."

"Third, after completing these two tasks, immediately launch a great voyage to distant lands to reap profits."

"We and the Eastern Empire are related by marriage. We have many common interests and need each other. We can participate in exploration and colonization together."

Joao said slowly.

"The Eastern Empire is indeed powerful, but it is impossible for them to take all the overseas lands into their possession. They will inevitably cede their interests to us and divide their spheres of influence."

"Uncle Isaac once wrote me a letter saying that the world is big enough for our two countries to share."

"But... although Africa is huge, there aren't many places suitable for human survival, right?"

Donna asked suspiciously.

"Not Africa, but the West."

Joao shook his head, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Everyone says that Columbus's discoveries are nothing. They are not India, Ming Dynasty or Japan. They are just some islands full of cannibals."

"However, Emperor Isaac was very interested in this discovery. After Columbus returned, he sent out four more exploration fleets, totaling more than a dozen ships."

Joao looked at Donna.

"Do you think that, with Emperor Isaac's talent, he would attach so much importance to a few deserted islands?"

"I think there must be a lot of land in the west that is suitable for human habitation."

Donna didn't quite understand what was said, so she could only smile and nod.

João stood up and looked at the city at the foot of the mountain.

The royal palace is located on a low hill. From here, the two can overlook the entire city of Lisbon. Looking far into the distance, they can also see merchant ships passing by in the bay.

“Portugal is my home and Lisbon is the best city in my mind.”

"But we have a very big problem ahead of us."

"The mainland is too small, and the population is too small, even the Marin Dynasty can't absorb it."

Joao pursed his lips. "We must expand our territory as much as possible and increase our core population."

"Doesn't your father want to marry Princess Juana of Castile? If he succeeds, he will have both territory and population."

Donna suddenly interrupted.

“It has failed.”

Joao said expressionlessly.

"Now that Prince Alfonso is dead, his loyalists are leaderless. The internal pressure on Henry IV has been greatly reduced, and he no longer needs our support."

"This fool can be quite shrewd sometimes. If he wasn't at the end of his rope, he wouldn't have married his only daughter to us."

"Oh."

Donna smiled.

"Oh? You seem quite happy?"

Joao also laughed.

"Of course I am happy. Think about it, if Juana really married your father and gave birth to a child, what would you do?"

Donna took João’s arm.

"It is natural for a mother's crown to be passed on to her son, but why should it be passed on to the child born to her husband and his ex-wife?"

"If they really give birth to an heir, your father might exclude you from the succession line for the sake of the unification of the two kingdoms."

"Even if your father loves you and passes the two crowns down separately, Portugal will still gain nothing. Instead, it will waste a lot of precious time and energy."

"Haha, well said. I have always been very unimpressed by this integration plan."

Joao chuckled.

"The chaos in Castile is our opportunity, but not in this way."

"Recently, I have been dealing with the resettlement of refugees. After the rebellion of the Great Brotherhood of Galicia, many Galicians fled to Portugal."

“Of course, that bastard Duke of Braganza objected again, saying it would lead to social instability, but I persisted.”

"The Galicians share the same culture and ethnicity with us, and they all speak Portuguese. Why can't we accept them?"

Joao said excitedly.

"The crown of Galicia originally belonged to us. If we can take Galicia, the core population and land area will be greatly improved."

"What I want is not a United Kingdom of Portugal and Castile, but a United Kingdom of Portugal and Galicia."

"That's a good idea. The Galicians and Castilians have nothing in common, so they have always been drawn to us."

Donna laughed.

"And what about the Basques? They are more divided than the Castilians."

"Forget about the Basques. Their language and culture are different from any other country on the peninsula. I can't understand Basque at all."

Joao waved.

"To achieve this goal, we must establish good relations with the Eastern Empire. They have actually been deeply involved in the situation in Iberia."

"The best case scenario is that we can sign a permanent alliance similar to the Treaty of Windsor, which will bind the two countries together completely."

"In this way, we won't have to look at the East Empire's opinion when exploring the New World, and perhaps we can even face the French and Aragonese together with them."

João looked at Donna and chuckled.

"We will certainly have many children in the future. If possible, let our daughter marry Justinian's son Constantine. What do you think?"

"Nonsense, we're not married yet!"

Donna's face flushed and she turned her head away, then her eyes widened and she pulled at the corner of João's clothes.

"Joao, what is that?"

On the sea, a huge fleet was coming against the wind, and on the leading giant ship, the flag of a double-headed eagle was fluttering.

"That is the Leviathan of the Eastern Empire, the Light of Cairo."

João looked at the huge fleet with envy.

"How great it would be if I could have such a powerful fleet!"

"Forget about it. If we don't count the slaves, the number of sailors in this fleet alone is almost equal to half the population of Lisbon, and the maintenance costs are astronomical."

Donna pouted.

"The coastline of the Eastern Empire is so long, and there are many fishermen. Even if you have such a fleet, do you have enough sailors?"

"It means that as a ruler, the most important thing is to know yourself and not do stupid things."

João laughed and pulled Donna up.

"The Cairo Star is Emperor Isaac's flagship. He is probably here to discuss the situation in Iberia with my father."

"Let's go and meet this legendary conqueror!"

……

Southern coast of the Mediterranean, Eastern Roman Empire, western frontier, city of Algiers.

The city of Algiers is one of the major ports on the southern coast of the Mediterranean. It has been an important commercial center since the 10th century and a major hub for commercial exchanges between the Arab and Christian worlds.

In the past twenty years, Algiers has been in constant war, with the princes of the Zayanid dynasty fighting for supremacy, and overland trade has declined as a result.

The most deadly crisis came from the sea. After the fall of the Hafsid Dynasty, the warships and pirates of the Eastern Roman Empire began to turn to the Zayanid Dynasty, with Algiers being the first to be hit.

Pirates swarmed ashore, warships watched covetously, Algiers lost population, trade was cut off, and the city continued to decline.

Later, King Ferdinand of Naples also briefly occupied this ancient city. He not only plundered all the wealth, but also deliberately destroyed many city defense facilities and infrastructure before leaving, leaving Algiers in a dilapidated state.

When Abel's Western Frontier Army captured here, Algiers had become a small city with a population of less than 3,000. Half of the city was uninhabited and large tracts of farmland were covered with weeds.

After the Western Frontier Region established Algiers as its capital, it began to bring in refugees, gradually occupying the living space vacated by the retreat of Muslims, and the city recovered to a certain extent.

Of course, the Eastern Roman colonists dismantled the few remaining handicraft systems in Algiers in more than half a year, and the craftsmen moved to Carthage under coercion and inducement. Algiers completely became an agricultural and pastoral city and a commercial transit station.

The colonists may objectively bring a higher standard of living to the people in the colonies, but their purpose is always plunder. Individuals may live better, but the strength of the entire nation is slowly lost.

During the more than 20 years that the Eastern Roman Empire occupied Africa, the local population never grew and was in a state of net decline. While major cities such as Carthage prospered, the vast inland area completely lost the ability to survive independently and became extremely dependent on the Eastern Roman Empire's commercial system.

Now, the Eastern Roman Empire will retrace the old path of Africa in the western border area, and completely transform it into the empire's raw material production area and commodity dumping ground.

In the open space outside the city, the breeze blew up dust. Abel Butcher, the resident minister of the Western Frontier Region, rode a majestic horse and examined the military formation in front of him.

Above the army formation, flags were fluttering. The roaring wild boars came from the Western Legion, the golden and red double-headed eagle came from the Emperor's Guards, the blood-stained eagle came from the Slavice Blood Cavalry, and the gorgeously dressed cavalry were the Royal Mounted Police seconded from cities such as Carthage.

In addition to these regular and semi-regular troops, there were also many village militiamen gathered in the army. They were all European refugees attracted by the Homestead Act. They did not dare to go to the battlefield, but they had no problem carrying out attacks and robberies.

Abel walked to the middle and pulled the reins.

"My name is Abel Butcher, Crusader of Constantinople, Minister of the Western Frontier, Duke of Bejaia."

Abel's powerful voice spread throughout the entire army.

"The Western March is the homeland of Rome, the territory of the Emperor, and the homeland of you and me."

"Not long ago, the emperor came here and set a ruling goal for the entire western border region. He appointed some Berber princes as emirs and granted autonomy to Saracen peasants."

"However, the emperor's goodwill is limited to peasants. All Saracen scholars who spread the heresy without permission are aliens, and all Berber tribes who do not pledge allegiance to the emperor are rebels!"

Abel yelled.

"Now, there are still many bandits entrenched in the core lands of the Western Border, and many Saracen scholars spreading evil doctrines between villages."

"I know that there are many Berber tribes crowded in the Atlas Mountains, and our vassal emirs have very limited control over them."

"As long as they have some men and horses, they will involuntarily go down the mountain to plunder. This is their nature and has been like this since ancient times!"

"The emperor believes that we should fight a war to eliminate bandits and completely stabilize this narrow and fertile land."

Abel waved his strong arms from east to west.

"I know this task is difficult to accomplish. We can't completely wipe them out in a short period of time, nor can we get all the villages to join our system in a short period of time!"

"His Majesty said this would be a long war, and he gave me five years."

"But I don't want to use five years. I'll only give you three years!"

Abel raised his sandbag-sized fist.

"In the next three years, I will gather you together from time to time to launch a large-scale campaign against the entire Western Border Region."

"I don't want economy, I don't want population, I just want stability!"

"Those who dare to rebel will be killed!"

"Anyone who dares to preach will be killed!"

"Those who dare to plunder will be killed!"

"When all the Berber peasants were filled with deep fear, when they no longer had any rebellious thoughts, when they began to voluntarily hand over the missionaries to us, and when they began to tell us the rebels' strongholds, we would have succeeded."

"There is a thousand-year-old conflict between these Saracen farmers and the Berber tribes. It is a conflict between robbers and the robbed, and it cannot be resolved by saying that they share the same faith."

Abel smiled contemptuously, his face full of fat.

"According to the Emperor's order, you must also do the following while suppressing the bandits."

Abel took out a document stamped with a double-headed eagle and waved it in the air.

Abel could not read, and the above regulations were all dictated by Isaac, and he just memorized them.

"First, all Saracen villages that have signed the protection agreement are protected by the emperor. If they do not harbor Sunni scholars, no one is allowed to harass them at will. Anyone who violates the order will be sentenced to death!"

Abel looked around indifferently.

"I tell you, those people farm for us and pay taxes for us. If you dare to touch my money bag and grain bag, just wait and see!"

The cold wind blew and no one answered.

Abel smiled with satisfaction and continued.

"Second, when you attack rebellious villages and tribes, you need to focus on collecting military supplies such as ironware, horses, camels, etc., and bring them all to Algiers. The emperor's merchants will give you a good price."

"Third, any mines you find being mined without permission must be destroyed, roads demolished, facilities burned, and the engineers at the mines taken back to Algiers!"

"Fourth, you must capture as many Saracen scholars as possible during your fight against the bandits. In addition to scholars, all literate people are on the wanted list and will be brought back to Algiers. They will be sent to the All Saints City of Kairou to become ascetics, and we will be responsible for their support!"

"Fifth, collect craftsmen. Villages with a population of no more than 500 people are not allowed to have any craftsmen, including blacksmiths, leatherworkers, carpenters, and tanners. Our caravans will follow you and establish trade routes to sell them our high-quality and low-priced factory-made goods to fill the gap in industrial products caused by the loss of craftsmen."

"Sixth, collect books. Except for the Bible and the Koran, the Western Border Region is not allowed to own any books, especially books related to agriculture, medicine, engineering construction, arithmetic, astronomy and cultural heritage. All books must be brought back to Algiers and sent to Constantinople!"

"That's all, got it?"

Abel yelled.

"clear!"

The soldiers roared.

"Very good, for the empire, for the emperor!"

Abel picked up the giant hammer and raised it high.

"For the Empire, for the Emperor!"

……

In early 1469, the first anti-bandit war began in the western border area of ​​the Eastern Roman Empire. Fifteen thousand troops dispersed from Algiers to various places, broke into villages and tribes that had not yet signed protection agreements, and searched every house.

During this period, due to the strict control of the seminary priests, the soldiers did not rob much treasure, and these poor farmers did not have much treasure to rob.

However, the soft power of the Berbers in the western border region suffered a very serious blow, with productivity, culture and ideology downgraded.

The previous system was completely destroyed, and what remained were just a group of ignorant, soulless people who knew how to farm and herd sheep.

This is already extremely fortunate for them, and they will find their own place in the new system.

(End of this chapter)