1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 291 Under the Bustling City
Constantinople, Marmara.

It was already early spring in 1471. The heavy snow had just stopped, but the weather was still slightly chilly.

The dark clouds temporarily dissipated, and the pale sun hung in the sky, bringing a little warmth to the world.

The cold wind died down a little, and there were more ships on the sea again. Sailboats with colorful flags flying high passed through the narrow strait, entered the Golden Horn Bay, and stopped at various ports to unload cargo.

In various commercial ports, navigators waved small flags and guided the ships into the preset berths. Workers were busy moving the wheat, rye and various raw materials on the ship to the warehouse, and transporting furniture, clothes, clocks, glass and various luxury goods from Constantinople onto the ships.

It was early in the morning, the city was waking up from its sleep, the sounds of hammering and sawing in the workshop area could be heard far away in the early spring morning, black smoke was rising from the chimneys of every household, middle-class citizens were making morning tea on the fire, and housewives were preparing bread, eggs and milk for their husbands and children.

Even during the Renaissance, most Europeans still could not enjoy three meals a day. A large number of farmers would bring some dry food in the morning, work in the fields for half a day, eat the dry food with cold water, and continue to work until sunset. Only then would they go home and have a proper meal.

If the harvest is poor, or if there are natural disasters or man-made calamities, the people may not even have enough to eat a meal a day and can only struggle to survive on the poverty line.

Of course, for these old Romans living in Constantinople, hunger is already a very ancient term, and many young people have almost forgotten the feeling of being hungry. In the past 20 years, they have gone from one meal a day, to two meals a day, to three meals a day now, with more and more types of food, and a larger and larger proportion of meat.

There are no refugees or beggars in Constantinople. The perfect relief laws and regulations will put "work-for-relief" into practice. Even if you lose all your property in gambling, even if you lose your capital in investment, even if your estate suffers a disaster, the officials of Constantinople will provide you with job opportunities, reclaim barren fields, build streets and new urban areas, work as an apprentice in various workshops, work as a worker on various construction sites... There are many opportunities, this is the best era.

Of course, there are lazy people in every city. There is no such thing as free food and free drink. Lazy people who don't want to work will be shipped away and thrown into New Thrace and the Western Border Region, left to fend for themselves.

Children born in the new era are of course happy and comfortable. When they are children, Sunday schools will provide the most basic education. When they grow up, those with excellent grades and wealthy families will be sent to higher education institutions and monasteries to continue their studies. Others will learn a craft under the arrangement of their parents and go to various workshops as apprentices to support their families.

In the handicraft era, skilled workers were a scarce commodity and could not be replaced. They had very good incomes and relatively high social status.

As for the people who made a living from agriculture and animal husbandry, their lives were certainly not as good as those of artisans and merchants, but the farmers under the emperor's feet were far from comparable to those in remote countryside. They often owned more fields, more livestock and more advanced tools. Even if they suffered a disaster, the remaining assets from the previous few years could ensure safety for several years.

The emperor could not make all the farmers live a good life, but he could completely control the means of production through macro-measures, so that they would have more and more land, and the means of production would tend to be concentrated, so that they would gradually change from farmers with little land to rich farmers and landlords.

As for labor, livestock were plentiful, serfs were plentiful, and would only get cheaper.

As the number of farmers needed per unit of farmland gradually decreases, the idle labor force will flow into cities, further promoting the prosperity of industry and commerce and the development of capitalism.

The people of the imperial city are very discerning and are becoming more and more courageous. Even if they lose their land, they are not willing to serve as lowly tenants for others. They will put on military uniforms and win merits on the battlefield. They will board ships and explore distant lands.

Every Sunday evening, the children of Constantinople would return home from Sunday schools. They would walk on the wide streets, looking at the neat and prosperous city, smelling the aroma of food wafting from every household, with happy smiles on their faces. They were no longer afraid of the future, but full of longing.

They might wonder, over the past twenty years, Constantinople has gone from poverty to prosperity, and the people have gone from famine to a well-off life. What is hidden behind all these miracles?
Occasionally they would hear snippets of news at the dinner table that famine had broken out in grain-rich Egypt, and the starving people rushed to the granaries, only to fall under the muskets and horse hooves of the mercenaries.

Occasionally they would get some news from newsboys that the United Fruit Company was recruiting more seamen to go to West Africa and Congo to sell narcotics and inferior cotton cloth, and to purchase gold, kola nuts, cotton and sugar cane.

Occasionally they would hear gossip from the drivers that every pendant produced in the ivory workshop was stained with the blood of a dozen natives who had died tragically on the spot while hunting elephants.

The father would continue to talk with interest, while the mother would cover their ears. They were skeptical about the stories and didn't care.

They only knew that the sacred and wise emperor brought them a prosperous era, allowing them to wear warm clothes, drink more hot water and hot milk, and eat many foods that they had never dared to imagine before.

Food is the most important thing for people. In this era, there is no need to worry about obesity. The more and better the food is, the stronger the people's overall physical fitness will be, the higher the average height will be, the more soldiers and sailors will be able to go to the battlefield, and the greater the proportion of talents will be.

A large number of talents will build strong ships and powerful guns, and strong soldiers and skilled sailors will go to distant battlefields to defeat those enemies who are emaciated by poverty and hunger, open up unequal trade routes, gather more wealth to Europe, and use blood and lives to water this city that the world desires.

Everywhere in the prosperous city, there is a pile of countless blood and sweat, either belonging to others or to one's own people.

……

On the other side of Constantinople, the emperor's army had captured Remuspolis, controlled half of Bithynia, and completely opened up the road to Asia.

This area has been assigned to the direct jurisdiction of Constantinople, making it the first giant city in human history spanning the two continents of Asia and Europe.

The Chalcedon area on the other side of the strait had turned into a large construction site, with soldiers sweeping the snow to both sides and clearing a path.

In the middle of the road, several royal carriages were moving slowly. On the largest four-wheeled carriage, Isaac pulled open the curtain and waved to the soldiers on the roadside.

Beside Isaac, five-year-old Anastasius and four-year-old Constantine curiously poked their heads out and looked eagerly at the gathered crowd.

This was the first time for the uncle and nephew to leave the palace. Although they had not yet stepped out of the gate of Constantinople, they were very curious and talked and laughed along the way.

The carriage was very spacious and filled with thick thermal insulation, making it warm and comfortable.

In the winter that was about to pass, tens of thousands of troops of the Eastern Roman Empire set up camp in the open space between Chalcedon and Remusburg. In addition to training, they were ordered to build houses, construct city walls, and contribute to the new city area of ​​Constantinople.

Isaac knew that the Central Guards were probably not willing to serve as laborers, but the larger number of archers had no choice. The temporarily recruited slaves and the Ottomans who were searched from all over became the main force of the construction team. Once the snow stopped, the supervisors immediately whipped them and drove them to the construction site.

In Isaac's plan, the mature Constantinople had three main areas, namely the Theodosius District, Galata District, located in Europe, and Chalcedon District, located in Asia. The urban planning was basically modeled after modern Istanbul in Turkey. In modern times, a cross-sea bridge would definitely be built.

The Chalcedon district of Constantinople was mainly located opposite the old city of Theodosius, in the south-central part of the eastern shore of the Bosphorus, roughly based on the Üsküdar district of modern Istanbul.

Although the area north of Chalcedon is also a plain, it is covered with forests and is a national park in modern Turkey.

Last autumn's fire destroyed some of the forests, and Isaac plans to divide part of the area into farmland and most of the area into orchards and woodlands to prevent soil erosion and natural disasters.

In order to ensure the smooth flow of sea routes, the pontoon bridge from Fort Romanus to Fort Remus was dismantled, all civilian ships were returned, and wooden planks were used to build the new city of Chalcedon.

Isaac planned three ferry crossings in the Asian part of Constantinople, located at the three cross-sea bridges in modern Istanbul. Various ferries would travel back and forth across the strait, making the flow of goods and people more convenient.

At present, tens of thousands of troops and more auxiliary personnel have gathered on this plain. The money spent every day is astronomical, but Isaac does not feel sorry. Their existence itself will make a significant contribution to the development of the new city of Constantinople.

With so many people, there must be somewhere to live, right? Tents, fortresses, wooden houses, and various infrastructures... When the army leaves, all of these will be left to the people.

Soldiers don't like to build houses, but building military defenses is your duty, right? When the army leaves, a fairly good city wall, a dozen fortresses and numerous watchtowers will be left to the people of the new district of Chalcedon.

You don't like to do labor work, but as a Christian, building churches is understandable, right? When the army leaves, several brand new wooden and stone churches will be left to the priests to spread the gospel of the Lord to the people.

Isaac also planned to design a Christian architectural complex modeled after the Ottoman kuriye, with the church at the center and schools, hospitals, inns, markets and baths placed around it, integrating missionary work, teaching and service.

Now, the Chalcedon district of Constantinople had a total of nearly 5,000 Roman citizens, some of whom had fled from Anatolia and some had migrated from the Balkans. They had survived the cold winter in military tents and with the emperor’s relief, and were cutting down trees to build their new homes.

Isaac did not establish a household registration system. In theory, any Roman citizen could go to Constantinople to settle down, but the increasingly high land prices and living costs naturally discouraged many people. Chalcedon was in ruins and the land was worthless, making it the only choice for many people who wanted to move to the capital.

Of course, the old residents of Constantinople have always been arrogant and would not even bother to pay attention to the people of Galata, let alone the temporarily impoverished people of Chalcedon. This was an unavoidable situation, and Isaac could not interfere too much.

"Uncle, what is that?"

The carriage reached a higher place, and little Constantine pointed to the sea in the distance. A spire was faintly visible above the sea.

"That is Leander's Tower, also known as the Virgin Tower. It is one of the landmarks of Constantinople and an ancient lighthouse with a history of more than 200 years."

Anastasius proudly showed off his knowledge.

This boy is one year older and has begun to receive simple education. Every time he comes home from school, he will proudly find his nephew and tell him what he has gained that day.

"Uncle, you know so much."

Young Constantine looked at Anastasius with envy.

"Haha, what is this?"

Anastasius waved his hand modestly.

"Look at those people, guess where the stones on their backs come from?"

Anastasius pointed to the white stones on the slaves' backs.

"I do not know."

Little Constantine bowed his head.

"Hey, that's marble from Marmara Island, a top-quality building material. It must have been shipped from the sea."

Anastasius' smile grew wider.

"You have to think about it. Marmara Island means Marble Island and Marmara Sea means Marble Sea. There must be a reason why they have such strange names."

Anastasius patted his nephew's head. "Come on, stop showing off your knowledge in front of little Constantine. I'll send him to school next year, and then you won't have anything to show off."

Isaac was amused and tapped his youngest son on the head.

He didn't learn these little bits of knowledge from books. Isaac mentioned a few of them casually last night. He didn't expect that the boy still remembered them so clearly.

"Grandfather, when will my father come back?"

Little Constantine looked toward Isaac.

"Carlos is over one year old and has never seen his father."

"I think it will be soon. He said in the letter that after handing over the assembled army to your godfather Gonzalo, he will come back to buy some military supplies and visit you brothers."

Isaac touched his face.

Compared with Constantine, who was the center of attention, Isaac's second grandson Carlos was much more low-key. This child, who was born in the cold winter, was destined to have no chance of becoming an Eastern Roman emperor from birth. He was not baptized until he was one year old.

The Eastern Roman people were very indifferent to Carlos' baptism because the child received the most orthodox Catholic baptism. Cardinal Francesco della Rovere personally came to Constantinople to baptize him and served as his godfather. The Archbishop of Toledo also sent an envoy. Both groups of priests were very excited and left Constantinople with their heads held high.

The situation in Castile was turbulent. Enrique IV was the legitimate king and his status was unquestioned, but his daughter was still not recognized by many nobles. If he failed to give birth to a male heir before his death, the nobles would still provoke a civil war and choose an heir who suited their wishes.

To be honest, Isaac felt a little sorry for his second grandson. After Enrique's death, the Eastern Roman Empire would never allow Aragon to interfere in Castile for its own interests. It would definitely win the support of the majority of the nobles and send little Carlos to Toledo to be a puppet king.

It is not easy to be a puppet king, and Isaac cannot help him strengthen his authority. Instead, he will indulge the land nobles and bishops, and even introduce the power of the Roman Catholic Church into Castile, thus interrupting their centralization process.

There was no other way. For the sake of the country's interests, Isaac had to sacrifice his personal feelings.

Henry IV had three years left to live, which meant that if the plan went well, little Carlos would leave Constantinople at the age of four and go to Toledo to receive education. When he came of age, he would basically be a genuine Latin nobleman and would have no entanglements with the Eastern Roman Empire.

On the European continent, blood ties are complicated and wars between brothers or fathers and sons are not uncommon. Isaac did not expect that the Palaiologos branch of Iberia and the main Palaiologos branch of the Eastern Roman Empire could remain friendly forever. It is foreseeable that future hostility and even war are very likely.

In any case, being able to make Spain lose the precious hundred years in the early days of the Age of Discovery was already a huge victory and worth the gamble.

Isaac shook his head vigorously and focused his attention on the important matter at hand.

The carriage drove past rows of military barracks and houses and arrived at the newly built wooden church in the Chalcedon district.

Outside the church, Father Jerónimo, who had just taken office as Bishop of Chalcedon, and priests of all levels were waiting outside and bowed slightly to Isaac and the two princes.

"Your Majesty, Prince, welcome."

Jerónimo smiled and made the sign of the cross on his chest. The mace on his waist was still shining, and on the other side he wore a short-handled spring-loaded pistol, which looked extremely strange.

Isaac handed the two princes to the nanny and guards and asked them to go to the castle near the church to eat and rest. He followed Jeronimo to a high place and gazed at the rolling military camps and the white snow in the fields at the foot of the hill.

"Have you ever used that wheelgun? How was it?"

Isaac smiled and pointed to the short-handled musket at Jerónimo's waist.

The spring-loaded musket was a new type of musket between the matchlock and the flintlock, but it could not replace the matchlock like the flintlock, and the two coexisted for a long time.

After Isaac developed the watch industry in Constantinople, he invited many Italian and French watchmakers to open businesses here. This precision machinery was similar to the early spring-wheel guns. Under Isaac's guidance, the craftsmen quickly made several sample guns.

The biggest drawback of this type of firearm is that it is complicated to make, has too many parts, and is relatively expensive, making it temporarily unsuitable for service. Isaac only regards it as a luxury item and a handicraft, and orders craftsmen to carve intricate patterns on it as a reward to every meritorious official.

"Not bad, but I still prefer my mace."

Jerónimo said with a smile.

"The inhabitants of Doliana have been settled in Chalcedon, and your officials are dividing the land among them."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Jerónimo looked at Isaac.

"Since they respect me as the emperor, they are my subjects. This is what I should do."

Isaac nodded slightly.

"I would like to build various buildings next to the church, modeled after the Ottoman kuriye. Do you have any ideas?"

"That's a good idea, Your Majesty. I'm different from those old stubborn people. As long as it benefits the country and the people, there's nothing I can't do."

Jeronimo said.

"The Ottomans were also a mature civilization with their own strengths, and we should learn from them."

"You added a squad of royal grenadiers to each large square legion. Aren't you learning from the Ottoman Kapikulu Legion?"

"Well... that's right."

Isaac smiled noncommittally.

The Ottoman Empire was indeed the first country in the Mediterranean world to classify grenadiers as a separate military branch, but they were initially modeled after the Greek fire throwers of the Eastern Roman Empire.

It has to be said that the Ottoman Empire was Isaac's number one enemy for more than 20 years. They are indeed in decline now, but their political system, military system and economic system are relatively advanced and mature, far exceeding other Islamic forces.

This spectacular Great Turkish War was also a test for the Eastern Roman army, and Anatolia was the best training ground. Learning on the battlefield and making up for one's own shortcomings on the battlefield was also one of the purposes of the war.

"His Majesty?"

Jerónimo saw that Isaac was lost in thought again and woke him up.

"what happened?"

Isaac looked at the resolute and courageous priest.

"In recent days, more and more Orthodox Christians have fled to Chalcedon. They have suffered a lot and have been oppressed. I would like to ask you to send troops as soon as possible to rescue more people."

Jerónimo said heavily.

"There are not many Orthodox Christians in Anatolia. If you want to rebuild the empire's rule in Anatolia, you must rely on them."

"Well, I am very clear about this. The plan has been drawn up, and I will send troops as soon as possible."

Isaac promised.

"My treasury is already quite empty. Due to climate reasons, the East Indian spices shipped back last year have not been sold out. Once the gold coins arrive and the weather warms up, I will immediately lead my troops eastward."

"The Ottomans have fallen into their final madness. Mehmed's rule is doomed to be short-lived."

"Then I thank Your Majesty on behalf of the Orthodox Christians of Anatolia."

Jerónimo bowed.

Isaac nodded, mounted his horse, and headed straight for the camp.

In the spring of 1471, as the weather warmed up, Isaac began to train his soldiers in the Chalcedon camp, stockpiling military supplies, replenishing manpower and weapons, waiting for the final blow.

At the end of February, the snow on the road began to melt, the weather cleared up, and the temperature rose.

On March 1471, 3, 1 troops of the Eastern Roman Empire gradually took their positions and assembled in the new district of Chalcedon in Constantinople, vowing to march eastward with Nicomedia as their target.

Isaac waved his eagle staff among the thousands of troops, and each legion roared to the sky, took firm steps, and advanced slowly in batches.

Under the prosperous city, the double-headed eagle flag fluttered in the wind, with the golden-red eagle head pointing one to the west and the other to the east.

(End of this chapter)