1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 323 Enclosure Movement
It was the middle of winter, the ground was covered with white snow, the sky was grey and the heavy snow had just subsided, with some snow grains occasionally falling from the sky.

The post road was covered with snow, and there were endless low mountains as far as the eye could see. A thin layer of ice had formed on the stone tablets on the side of the road.

A cavalry team appeared on the road. The tall horses marched on the snow, with white mist coming out of their mouths and noses. Several mules followed behind, carrying large and small bags of supplies on their backs.

The riders were all dressed in heavy warm clothing, fur on the outside and cotton clothes on the inside, some of the riders' outer clothes were very ornate, while others were relatively plain.

The revitalization of the handicraft industry in the Eastern Roman Empire began many years ago. The first to receive strong support were various textile industries. This kind of goods had huge demand and there was no problem selling them. There was a market wherever there were people.

Over the past twenty years, several textile centers in the Eastern Roman Empire have continued to prosper, with output increasing year by year. Silk, wool, leather, cotton, linen... from production to processing, have driven a large number of industries and fed a large population.

Since the Eastern Roman Empire had one of the best silk producing areas in Europe and almost monopolized all cotton producing areas that Europeans could touch, the mid- to high-end textiles produced in the Eastern Roman Empire quickly became popular in the Mediterranean world and gradually penetrated beyond the Mediterranean, becoming the favorite of many West African black nobles and spreading halfway around the world.

For some reason, although black people live in tropical regions, they are very fond of white cotton cloth. Some chiefs even regard cotton cloth as a handicraft and a luxury item.

"Sir, road monument!"

A rider in the cavalry shouted happily.

The Eastern Roman Empire's transportation post system connected the entire empire. Under the emperor's instructions, road signs were set up at regular intervals along the post roads to indicate directions.

In these remote mountains, seeing a road sign means finding civilization.

"Go and see!"

The middle-aged captain instructed.

The rider jumped off his horse, ran to the stone tablet, wiped the snow off, and read the words on it.

There are two languages ​​written on the stone tablet, Greek and Latin, which are the two official languages ​​of the Eastern Roman Empire.

"This is a third-level fork in the Pindus Road. We are now halfway between the town of Metsovo and the Meteora Monasteries."

The rider recited the mileage data on the stone tablet and made silent estimates.

"There are still three hours to reach Metsovo, that's plenty of time!"

"Well, come back, let's continue on our journey. We must reach Metsoong before sunset!"

The middle-aged captain nodded, took off his hat and patted the snow off it.

"This damn place is so cold!"

The middle-aged captain complained.

“It’s even colder than my hometown!”

Located in the northwest of the Thessaly region, in the Pindus Mountains, it has always been a remote place with a bad climate, high altitude, and cold and long winters.

"Haha, Lord Valentin, if I'm not mistaken, you should be a Russian, right?"

The old guide looked at him with a smile.

"Yes, but I went to Bulgaria with my parents when I was very young and grew up in Burgas."

Valentin curled his lips.

"Burgas is much better than here."

Valentin was indeed a Russian who migrated to Bulgaria. Because he could speak Greek and was tall and strong, he served as the captain of the Royal Mounted Police in Varna after the end of the Bulgarian War. During his tenure, he eradicated many bandit dens and was promoted to the captain of the Royal Mounted Police in the Pindus administrative district of the Thessaly region.

"Burgas is located on the Black Sea coast and has warm currents, so it's certainly better than here."

Another thin young man in the cavalry shrank back and spoke.

"Besides, it's so high up here, so it's naturally cold."

"As expected of an official who passed the exam, he is just a little different!"

Valentin looked mischievously at the thin young man who was frozen into a ball.

"Before you came, I told you that you had to wear cotton and wool, but you refused to listen and insisted on wearing silk."

"This is from the Royal Textile Factory."

The young man complained quietly.

"Do you know how expensive this thing is..."

"Okay, Calface, can you still keep going?"

Valentin became impatient and frowned.

"You have been assigned to the Pindus Administrative Bureau. There will be many more treks like this in the future."

"We still have three more towns and villages to go. If you can't stand it, resign as soon as possible and go back to your hometown Thessalonica to enjoy the beach."

"Hehe, sir, if you don't mind, there is a leather coat on my donkey. How about putting it on to keep warm?"

The old guide looked at Carlface and took out an old leather jacket from his bag, which was obviously sewn by the mountain people themselves.

"Okay! Thank you very much!"

Carlfis was overjoyed and didn't care about his dignity. He took the leather jacket and wrapped it around himself.

After thinking for a moment, Carlfis pulled out an ornate wooden box from his saddle bag and handed it to the old guide.

"It's from the Royal Cigarette Factory, Roma brand. It's a good thing. You can use it to relieve your fatigue!"

The old guide refused again and again, but couldn't resist Carlfis's insistence, so he finally accepted it and put it happily in his arms.

Valentin snorted and shook his head.

The cavalry continued to move forward, and the snow gradually stopped. The sun broke through the clouds, revealing half of its profile, emitting a faint light.

Kalfis walked beside the old guide. No longer feeling cold, he became more active and asked questions.

"Old man, how many people are there in your family?"

"There are seven of us in the family. My eldest son is married, and the three younger ones still live with me."

The old guide replied.

"Seven people? Are you living well?"

Carlface was a little surprised.

"Well, it's much better than before. At least His Majesty doesn't collect much tax. I usually plant some land and raise some sheep. When I'm not farming, I go fishing and sell it to the monastery in the south."

A smile broke out on the old guide's weathered face.

"But the conditions in the mountains are definitely not comparable to those in the city. My eldest son once went to Larissa and praised it highly when he came back."

“What are you growing now?”

Kalface asked.

"It's still mainly wheat, but it's been so cold in recent years that more people are growing corn, potatoes and rye."

The old guide recalled.

"Our place is too remote, so tax collectors only come twice a year. The monks and agricultural officials come the most. The monks treat our illnesses, and the agricultural officials introduce new crops and livestock to us for us to grow."

"That Boer goat is much better than the sheep we raised before. It can reproduce and grow meat. Now, during every festival, everyone can eat meat."

The old guide said with a smile.

"There are also corn and potatoes, which can be grown in the mountains. Many places that were not suitable for growing wheat have now been turned into farmland."

"Everyone's life is getting better. My family's life may be a little worse, but this is mainly because I have too many children. They are all envious of me!"

Calface nodded and pondered.

"Since your family's life is already average, why do you have so many children?"

"One more child means one more hope. Who among the farmers in the mountains doesn't want to have more children?"

The old guide said as a matter of course.

"I heard from businessmen that Albania and North Macedonia have more children and they are poorer than us!"

"Besides, His Majesty also encourages more births. He has specially trained a group of priests and nuns with medical skills, and given them money to deliver babies in the village."

The old guide thought about it.

"I heard from the priest that people in the city have more children than us and can successfully raise more children, but they have money and more doctors, which we can't compare with."

"My sons have always wanted to go to the city, but I am reluctant."

Calface sighed and looked at the old guide.

"Have you ever thought about how to change the current situation of widespread poverty among people in mountainous areas?"

"How do I know this?"

The old guide laughed.

"I have lived for more than 50 years. In the past 10 years, life has been much better than before. We are already content."

"Without continuous wars and officials coming to collect taxes from time to time, we would be grateful to the emperor even if he did not provide us with new crops and charitable medical care."

"Oh, this is not good."

Calface still shook his head.

"Can you read? Have you ever read a newspaper?"

Kalface asked.

"No, but I have heard the priest talk about the Daily Record."

The old guide recalled.

"Last time I think we were talking about the civil service examination. By the way, I heard there are three examiners who grade the papers. Which one are you a student of?"

"Me? I'm the emperor's student!"

Calface held his head high with pride.

"I took the re-examination of the Ministry of Government Affairs, but the three examiners didn't like my answers very much. In the end, it was the emperor who personally selected me, and that's how I got my current position."

"Have you ever heard of Thucydides? I quoted him on my exam paper, arguing that there is no way around it that there will be a war between us and the other great powers of the world."

Karsas said with interest.

"The three driving forces of conflict between nations are fear, honor and ambition. The most important factor is fear. The French, Poles, Hungarians and Persians are afraid of our rise. Sooner or later, they will have a conflict with us, whether it is a military war or an economic struggle."

"I believe that in order to survive, we must do our best to become the world hegemon and do our best to oppress the weaker nations. Rome must either stand at the top of the world or completely cease to exist!"

"Come on! Calface! Stop showing off your knowledge and say something that will benefit the people's lives!"

Valentin became impatient and interrupted Karfis.

"You are a local government official, not a diplomat, let alone the Minister of War!"

Carlface was a little embarrassed and scratched his head.

"The same is true for people's lives. In your opinion, why are the lives of people in the mountains not good enough?"

"Of course, because they live in the mountains."

Valentin said without comment.

"Yes, you are right. It is because the mountains are short of resources and have too little arable land, but they feed a lot of people. This leads to their general poverty and almost no one can read and write."

Carlface said.

"The last question on the test paper asked this question. In my opinion, since life in the mountains is not good, let most people move out of the mountains and live in places with better conditions so that they can all become rich!"

"But, sir, there are only a few good places..."

The old guide whispered.

"There are only a few good places in the empire, but others have many more! Let's go grab them!"

"The Anatolian coast is a good place, so go live there. When all the good land in Anatolia is divided up, go to Italy, the Levant, Egypt, Hungary, and Wallachia!"

Calface exclaimed.

"Once we have occupied all these places, we will go to New Rome, New Thrace, and every corner that can be reached by strong ships and powerful guns!"

"Within the range of the gun is justice, under the horse's hoof is justice!"

"For the happiness of the Romans, nothing is impossible."

After Carlfis finished speaking, the people around him fell silent for a while. They didn't quite understand what he said.

"Sir, you are telling me, an old peasant, these things... I don't quite understand them either."

The old guide was confused.

"You are a government official in the administrative district. What are you going to do when you come here?"

"Good question! I'm here to participate in the reform."

Calface pulled a sheaf of papers from his saddlebag.

"The Farmland Liquidation Act, the Poor Refugee Assistance Act." "The administrative agencies are undergoing a major expansion. Your Majesty is preparing to liquidate the Balkan land and stipulate the minimum amount of land that a single family can own. Once your land is less than this amount, Your Majesty will spend a large amount of money to buy it back, and then sell or lease these lands to those who already own more land, so that they can become wealthy farmers and large landowners."

"There are also poor refugees. Their existence has greatly slowed down the development of the empire. Your Majesty will arrange a place for them."

“The purpose of these two bills is to solve the problem of poverty, centralize the land, tools and livestock in the hands of farmers, make them prosperous, liberate the redundant population and eliminate absolute poverty.”

The old guide was immediately startled and looked at Carlface quickly.

"What about farmers like us? When the money your majesty gave us is gone, won't we starve to death?"

"How is this possible? His Majesty has already made all the arrangements for you."

Carlface produced two more documents.

“Textile Industry Development Policy.”

Carlfis began to explain.

"The textile industry is the mother of handicrafts. Your Majesty intends to continue to expand the scale of the textile industry in the Eastern Empire, hoping to occupy more market share. A series of cotton and wool textile workshops will be established in major cities. At the same time, taxes on private textile workshops will be reduced, loan limits will be increased, and private workshops will be encouraged to open."

"People who have been liberated from poverty have two options. The first option is to move to the city and work in factories."

"Working in a factory?"

Valentin smiled noncommittally.

"From what I know, ordinary workers in some workshops live a life comparable to that of slaves. They have no skills and do hard labor. The wages they get every day are barely enough to fill their stomachs."

"That was in the past. Things will be different now."

Calface shook his head.

"Your Majesty's investment in handicrafts this time will be unprecedented. In addition to the textile industry, other industries will also develop at the same time."

"The labor force required is huge, and our surplus population is far from enough."

"These people who enter the city are more like craftsmen than workers. Your Majesty will fund the establishment of a large number of professional and technical schools to provide these people with advanced technical education and engage in craft labor instead of selling labor."

"One makes straw sandals, and the other embroiders high-end carpets. They are both textile workers, but can their treatment be the same?"

Calface smiled.

"Most professional skills do not require any talent, and you don't even need to be able to read. As long as you study hard, you can basically learn it."

"Besides, your majesty has a decree to protect craftsmen."

Calface waved the second document.

“Ordinance for the Protection of Orthodox Workers.”

"From now on, all Orthodox workers working in royal workshops, private workshops and state-owned workshops will be protected by the church. The Patriarch of Constantinople will set up a supervisory committee to set minimum wages and maximum working hours for Orthodox workers. Unscrupulous workshop owners will be punished, and the maximum punishment is deprivation of church membership."

Carlface said.

"These priests in charge of supervision all come from seminaries, most of them come from poor families, and are sponsored by the emperor. They are replaced every two years to ensure their purity."

"All Orthodox Christians are brothers. If you exploit your brothers, you will be judged by the Church."

"If the government can't manage it, let the church manage it!"

"This is to make them wealthy so they can afford to have children and raise them, thus increasing the population."

Valentin was stunned and thought for a moment.

"Then what about the lower-class workers? Since the Orthodox Christians are all working as craftsmen, who will do the hard labor?"

"Lord Valentin, didn't you just say that low-end workers have no skills and are just doing hard labor, so their lives are worse than slaves?"

A cruel smile appeared on Calface's face.

"Then we will use slaves, Saracens! Their lives and deaths have nothing to do with us!"

"Your Majesty forbids anyone to provide any education to any Saracen except theology and Greek literature. He only allows them to work as laborers. Those who violate this will be excommunicated. This is to prevent them from taking the high-ranking jobs of the Orthodox Christians."

Valentin was silent for a moment and frowned.

"This is a huge project and the emperor will have to pay a lot of money."

"The emperor has money."

Carlface chuckled.

"However, there are still only a few people who can be craftsmen. Even if Your Majesty tries his best to expand the workshop, there are only a limited number of workshops."

Valentin still shook his head.

"There is a second way."

Carlface took out the last document and spread it out carefully.

"The Enclosure Act."

Without giving a direct explanation, Carlface turned to the confused old guide.

“Have you ever heard of the Angora sheep?”

"Angora sheep, a superior sheep from Anatolia, with a high wool yield."

The old guide thought hard.

"However, it seems that we cannot raise Angora sheep here because the climate and soil are not suitable. People usually raise meat sheep and dairy sheep. Wool sheep are good, but they are not suitable for us. Otherwise, we can also become rich."

"Yes, the Greek peninsula and Bulgaria are not suitable for Angora sheep breeding. To use the words of the geography textbook, this kind of sheep is only suitable for continental climates."

"As for Merino sheep, the kind that originated in Hispania is not very well adapted to the environment of the Greek peninsula, but it is good in North Africa."

Calface smiled.

"So, do you want to raise Angora sheep? Do you want to become rich in the booming textile industry?"

"This... Could it be that the agricultural officials have developed a method to allow Angora sheep to survive in our area?"

The old guide's eyes lit up.

"No, it can't be developed, and there's no need to develop it."

Calface said, looking at the document in his hand.

"The Enclosure Movement Act stipulates that all Roman citizens can go to several highland administrative regions in western Anatolia to establish large pastures and raise Angora sheep. All Saracen farmland can be directly occupied as pastures, and all Saracens can be used as laborers or sold to slave traders and transported to workshops in coastal cities."

"Of course, the more pastures you occupy, the more taxes you have to pay. Because the benefits are too great, the nobles cannot reduce or exempt them! This must be determined from the beginning!"

"Your Majesty will use the money to buy the land from the farmers with little land. You can use the money to make two choices: either attend professional technical training classes and enter a workshop to become a senior craftsman, or go to Anatolia and occupy a large pasture or farm. It's up to you."

"The Aq Qoyunlu dynasty is in turmoil. Uzung Hassan is already negotiating a peace treaty with His Majesty. The remnants of the Ottoman Empire have repeatedly sent envoys to seek peace. We will divide the territory. There will be a lot of living space on the western plateau, and there is no need to worry about the attacks of the Saracens."

After hearing this, the old guide seemed to be moved, but still had some concerns.

"I believe in your Majesty's credibility, but how much can your Majesty pay?"

"How much land do you have?"

Kalface asked.

"Not much. The output is just enough to feed the whole family. We also have to work as tenants for the landlords in the village. The rest of the sporadic income comes from fishing and hunting."

The old guide said truthfully.

Carlface estimated for a moment and nodded.

"Please give me a number and I'll see if it meets your expectations."

"Ten Solidus?"

"it is good."

"Fifteen?"

"it is good."

"Twenty... twenty?"

"it is good."

Calface looked at the old guide with a smile.

"I can say with certainty that the ransom money provided by Your Majesty definitely exceeds the actual value of the land, and there is also a premise, that is, you can only spend it domestically and are not allowed to leave the Eastern Empire."

"We have a series of redemption policies, backed by the newly expanded civil service system, supervised by the censorship office and the clergy of the seminary, to minimize corruption."

Calface patted the old guide on the shoulder, waking him out of his shock.

"Cherish the present. The empire is in its heyday. His Majesty is practically giving you money to promote the handicraft industry, and politics is relatively clear. If you wait another fifty years, this reform will simply not be able to proceed."

"You can go back and have a good talk with your sons. The opportunity to become rich is right in front of you. If you let it go, it will be gone forever."

Carlfis had initially sorted out his policy ideas, and his mood improved a lot. The weather didn’t seem so cold anymore.

"Kalfis, after the land is concentrated, the rich peasants and landlords who own more land will also need tenants. If the peasants all go to the city to work as craftsmen for a better life, or go to Anatolia to become ranchers, where will the tenants come from?"

Valentin asked.

"Your Majesty has opened up a channel for foreign workers. Foreign Christians can come to the Eastern Empire to be tenants. For example, Italy is nearby, with a population of over 10 million. The Eastern Empire has a labor shortage, and the treatment of tenants is definitely better than that of densely populated Italy. There will definitely be people willing to come."

"There are also Hungary, Wallachia, Moldavia and Lithuania. There are many Orthodox Christians in these countries. The Eastern Empire has low taxes, so perhaps some people are willing to come."

Carlface said.

"They may be afraid of the large number of Saracens in the western border, but there are no Saracens in the mainland, which has enjoyed peace for more than ten years."

"Even if no one wants to come, there are still serfs."

"This is a big deal. This will require a major change in the production system of the entire empire."

Valentin sighed.

"I read in the newspaper before that His Majesty called for the acceleration of the development of capitalism. I didn't expect it to be true."

"Is that true? Your Majesty has money, and it is better to use it for investment and development than for those nobles in Western Europe to indulge in extravagance."

Calface snorted.

"If the plan succeeds, the wealth of the Eastern Empire will greatly increase, and most people, from common people to nobles, will benefit from it. More wealth will also mean more sufficient food, better medical care, and better education. The population and quality of the people will also improve as a result."

"The only victims are the Saracens, but they are thieves who have seized our land. They do not care about the fate of Rome, and Rome does not need to care about theirs."

"What about the future? The population will expand, and there will always be not enough benefits to share."

Valentin pursed his lips.

"You see, after all the talk about people's livelihood issues, we are still talking about the point I just made."

Calface smiled happily.

"Development comes at a price, and Your Majesty obviously does not want the people of this country to bear too much of the cost."

“Even if Tlaxcala is gone, there will still be Maya, Inca, and India.”

"A new Rome has been established, and there will be a new Gaul and a new Anatolia."

"When the Turks are used up, there will be Arabs and Turkmen."

The desolate mountain village was just ahead, and Carlfis quickened his horse's pace.

"Your Majesty said that the rapid development of capitalism will bring about a great increase in productivity and great progress in technology. The later it gets, the stronger we will be and the weaker they will be. In another two hundred years, our technology will be far ahead and even have a generation gap with the Saracen world."

Karfis pulled the reins and looked at Valentin.

“In this prosperous era, why bother thinking about the future? Just enjoy, immerse yourself, and contribute!”

Carlface laughed and rushed towards the remote village deep in the mountains.

……

In early 1473, the first civil service examination in the Eastern Roman Empire came to an end, and the administrative department underwent a huge expansion. Although it was still in the experimental stage, it became a topic of discussion among the people of the Eastern Roman Empire. This was the first time that officials were selected through examinations.

At the same time, wealth from the New World and the East Indies continued to flow into Constantinople, and the emperor's treasury was once again full.

Money that had been sitting in the warehouse was meaningless, so the emperor took this opportunity to start a large-scale reform of the production system of the Eastern Roman Empire. At the same time, he established education and built ten higher technical colleges in major cities along the Aegean coast.

On January 1473, 1, the Eastern Roman Empire promulgated the "Regulations for the Protection of Orthodox Workers", which protected handicraft workers in the name of religion and became the first written decree with the nature of labor law in the Eastern Roman Empire.

On January 1, the emperor promulgated the Land Liquidation Law, which began to solve the poverty problem in remote areas. It stipulated the minimum amount of land that a single family could own, and nationalized it through redemption. It then leased or sold it to farmers with more land, turning them into rich farmers and landlords with more means of production.

On the same day, the emperor also promulgated the "Enclosure Movement Act", calling on Roman citizens to go to the western Anatolian plateau to enclose large pastures and raise Angora sheep with huge wool production to make up for the defect that the Balkan region is not suitable for raising wool sheep. While eliminating local Muslims, it also provides a large amount of raw materials and Muslim slave labor for wool textile workshops.

In this era, the wool textile industry was the largest handicraft industry in the whole of Europe and the first large-scale industry to begin using capitalist production methods. The economies of countries such as England and Spain were heavily dependent on wool exports, which even accounted for more than 70% of the total foreign trade. The Netherlands and northern France imported wool and wove woolen cloth.

If the Eastern Roman Empire could make a breakthrough in this regard, it would not only enrich its people, but also be able to interfere in the situation in Western Europe through trade.

Of course, the development of capitalism is inevitably accompanied by bloody exploitation, either externally or internally, and most likely both at the same time. The emperor can only control the present but not the future, so he can only do his best to exploit outsiders more and his own people less to avoid affecting population growth.

In any case, in 1473, twenty years after the Siege of Constantinople, the Eastern Roman Empire leapt from a poor and backward city-state to the first power in the eastern Mediterranean. It also plundered a large amount of wealth from overseas colonies and began to spare no effort to promote capitalism and help the economy take off.

(End of this chapter)