1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 326: Mercenary House

The city of Carthage, on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

In March, the city of Carthage is full of vitality. The westerly winds and rainfalls of the Mediterranean climate make the city hazy. The temperature rises, plants grow wildly, and all things revive.

The city of Carthage is probably the most habitable place in the whole of North Africa. There are no cold winds and blizzards, no persistent cold rainy seasons, no unbearable high temperatures, no desert dust, and an annual precipitation of more than one thousand millimeters is completely sufficient. The legendary hot and dry summer rarely exceeds thirty degrees Celsius.

As the "Southern Capital" of the Eastern Roman Empire, Carthage was not only the absolute center of the entire North African administrative region, but also a transit hub for ocean trade. It controlled the land gate of the eastern Mediterranean. The protruding peninsula and the Maltese Islands formed a tight blockade line, firmly guarding the Strait of Tunisia connecting the Eastern and Western Mediterranean.

Some time ago, the Eastern Roman Empire began civil service reform. With the continuous expansion of its territory, the central government of the empire decided to restart the "provincial system" based on the regions and military districts, placing several regions and military districts under the jurisdiction of the provinces, making local coordination more standardized and orderly.

The Eastern Roman Empire had a total of ten provinces, five in the Balkans, two in Anatolia, two in North Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean islands were combined into one.

A province has four heads, namely the highest-ranking consul, the tribune in charge of local armaments, the chief praetor in charge of legal affairs, and the archbishop in charge of religious affairs. In addition, a province also has local officials such as education officials and tax officials. Inspectors are not included. The power of appointment and removal belongs to the central government, and the province is only responsible to the central government.

Compared with the ancient governors, provincial consuls had less power and were only in charge of civil affairs. They had the power to appoint and dismiss personnel in individual local departments. In times of war, they needed to assist the tribunes in mobilizing the firing corps, raising military supplies and replenishing troops.

Based on their functions, provinces can be divided into military provinces and political provinces. Macedonia, Epirus, Moesia and Pontus are typical military provinces. One military region is at the front and the other regions provide assistance in the rear. If a war breaks out on the border, the military provinces can enter a state of war more quickly and delay until the arrival of central reinforcements.

In order to avoid confusion of responsibilities, the provincial tribune of a military province is usually concurrently served by the military district commander. In peacetime, he is responsible for coordinating the military district's border defense forces and training the regional shooting forces. When war comes, he can mobilize the local troops of the entire province to assist in combat with the emperor's orders.

The military region is always in a state of war. The border guards of the military region are on the front line and will immediately join the battle once a war breaks out without waiting for the emperor's orders.

Among the ten provinces, the Central Province is of course the most special one. It is responsible for coordinating the Direct Control of Constantinople, the Thrace Region and the Bithynia Region. It has the most important cities and is the richest. The highest chief is led by the emperor himself, and his adjutants are responsible for assisting him.

The two provinces in North Africa were Africa and Cyrenaica, with Carthage and Birinci as their capitals. Both were political provinces, but they also covered the function of governing the subordinate tribes in the southern desert.

Due to the special nature of the North African territory, the administrator of the Carthage province was also called the Minister of Carthage. He was appointed by the emperor himself without going through examinations or selections, and was responsible for assisting the prince guarding Carthage in managing the North African territory.

In the city of Carthage, on the rooftop of the royal palace, Isaac and his third son Basil stood side by side, gazing at the prosperous city.

Behind them, the new Carthaginian garrison minister, the Carthaginian provincial governor Aeneas, and the provincial tribune Yergubai stood respectfully.

Ainis was very young. He was from Ajdabiya, of Greek-Berber descent, and one of the first North African Orthodox Christians to grow up under the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire. He had previously served as the chief justice of Carthage. After Basilius was promoted to vice-chancellor, he took over the position of minister in charge and began to manage provincial affairs.

Yergubai was Isaac's former captain of the guard. He previously served as the tribune of the Carthage region and was now promoted to the tribune of the province. He was a loyal supporter of the Palaiologos family and the person in charge of the Carthaginian faction in the military system.

"I haven't been here for many years. Carthage has developed quite well."

Isaac gazed at the first large city he had conquered and nodded slightly.

"It seems that you did not disappoint me."

"Father, I didn't contribute much to the current state of Carthage. The former garrison minister Basilius made great contributions."

Basil looked at Isaac.

"I know, otherwise he wouldn't have been promoted to deputy prime minister."

Isaac patted his son's head.

"However, he has an extreme personality. He is relatively good at educating the people and managing domestic affairs, but his economic vision is far from perfect and is still stuck in the past few hundred years."

“I have no interest in capitalism, nor do I like it very much.”

"Just let him go to Anatolia to oversee the administrative setup and comfort the refugees. I will have to take care of the economic matters myself."

Isaac took out his pocket watch and looked at it.

"Today's Carthage is far superior to any time in history. This is not because of any special products of the city itself, nor because of the policies of individual ministers, but simply because of its good geographical location, which makes it suitable to serve as a commercial hub."

Isaac continued.

"North Africa is barren and its own output is limited. Our income here mainly comes from the gold and salt trade and ocean trade, rather than local output."

"So, as long as these two trade routes are open, Carthage can continue to prosper, and the North African coast can also benefit from it. This is crucial."

"Maybe, but these things probably have nothing to do with me anymore."

Basil smiled.

"Now that you are here and the teacher has gone to Constantinople, what are you going to do with me?"

"I don't want to stay here and get entangled with those plantation owners and slave owners. I'm not very good at this."

Basil sighed.

"I can feel that they don't like princes like me. They like my brother."

"I heard from the servants that the owners of the manor seemed to think that I was too aloof, had read a few books, looked down on them, liked to hang out with scholars, and was unwilling to integrate into their circle."

"That's nothing. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. The most important thing is not to conform to others, but to know yourself."

Isaac looked at Basil.

"The reason why your brother is supported by most people is not because he is good at anything or likes anyone, but because he is good at pretending and acting. He can always make people feel that they are valued and that they have received great favors from the prince. He can always make people feel grateful and repay his kindness with their own death."

"He was very clear about his own abilities. When it came to government affairs, he relied on his wife. When it came to military strategy, he relied on his confidant Gonzalo. He never interfered too much. He liked to pick weak enemies to fight, and used diplomacy to stabilize strong enemies, fearing that mistakes would affect his prestige."

"This is one of the reasons why I chose him as my successor. Although the empire seems to be flourishing, its internal conflicts cannot be ignored. We need someone like him to reconcile the various interest groups."

At this point, Isaac paused.

"I spent the first half of my life busy with affairs and running around everywhere. You kids basically grew up on your own. I didn't interfere too much. You grew up with scholars and didn't experience those dark years or the baptism of war. I'm not surprised that you grew up like this."

"Since you like reading, you might as well go to university, the University of Constantinople, the Imperial College of Science and Technology, the Imperial University of Law, whatever you want."

"Then I'd better go find Mr. Basilius and finish my studies, and then go to college when I'm an adult."

Basil nodded.

"I have more resources, so there's no reason for me to lose to others. Aren't all the universities open for examinations? I don't want your recommendation, I'll take the exam myself!"

"By then, maybe I'll be number one?"

Basil looked at Isaac with longing.

"Impossible, because even if you got first place, I would put you at the back to avoid people's doubts."

Isaac chuckled and put his arm around Basil's shoulders.

"Then who will take over this position when I leave?"

Basil thought Isaac was joking and didn't take it seriously.

"When your brother finishes fighting in Crimea, I'll have him come over."

Isaac said.

"The war is imminent, and both he and Isabella will have to come over then."

"A big fight? Who are we going to fight again?"

Basil frowned.

"We just fought a war. Does your treasury have enough?"

"Of course it will be enough. If Columbus and George haven't conquered Tenochtitlan by then, they should be removed from office."

Isaac said calmly.

"There are also war clouds in the East Indies, but the Arabs are so weak that I am not too worried."

"Once these two fronts are successfully fought, our war machine will start moving again."

"I am 41 years old. Before I meet God, I will do my best to put the country in order and defeat the foreign enemies."

"You are still young, you can definitely do it."

Basil nodded heavily.

"Yes, I am confident that no one in Europe can stop me. The only thing that can stop me is time."

Isaac said.

"Give me two hundred years, and I will make all of Europe crawl at my feet."

"If it's twenty years, then we can only trust in the wisdom of future generations."

Seeing that Basil remained silent, Isaac also put aside his thoughts.

"Basil, go back and rest. I need to arrange some matters with the two ministers. Abel from the Western Border Region will also be here in a while."

"Yes, Father."

Basil left, and Isaac turned around and looked at the two people standing behind him.

"His Majesty."

The two men stepped forward and bowed.

"I came here for three main reasons."

Isaac got straight to the point.

"The first thing is about civil service reform and provincial restructuring. This is an important part of the integration of North African territories into the empire, and there can be no mistakes."

Isaac said.

"In the future, the education department will open a large number of schools in the two provinces of Africa and Cyrenaica to promote ethnic assimilation and integration. You are responsible for providing support."

Isaac looked at Ennis.

"There is also a civil service exam. The people here are also Romans, and they can take the exam to become officials. The next exam will be held in Carthage, and the exam site must be set up in advance. I need you to provide the best treatment for the students taking the exam, and provide them with various benefits, including accommodation, food, and entertainment. I need the people to know that being a civil servant of the empire is an honor."

"Yes."

Ennis agreed.

"I will make arrangements with the education officers."

"Africans value the use of force, so it would be a good thing to let them be influenced by civilization."

"The Vice Prime Minister built a large library here. How about building the examination hall next to the library?"

"Yes, you can do whatever you want."

Isaac nodded.

“The second thing is about the technological revolution.”

Isaac took a document out of his pocket and handed it to Ennis.

"Recently, my intelligence officers have brought back a lot of advanced technologies, including Saxony's early pedal-operated spinning wheels, large multi-spindle spinning wheels from the East, light plows, and seed drills."

"The East India Fleet also bought a good agricultural book from a Southeast Asian merchant. It is the Book of Agriculture from the Yuan Dynasty. I will ask the Translation Bureau and the Printing Bureau to distribute the Greek version to the agricultural officials so that they can study it."

In fact, Europe at that time was very primitive in many technologies, including the most important agriculture and textile industries. There had been no improvements at all over the centuries, and the few improvements were brought by the Mongols and Arabs.

Of course, the shipping industry was indeed far ahead, and this was the technology that truly enabled Europe to advance by leaps and bounds. With ships, they could travel to any corner of the known world and absorb advanced knowledge from other civilizations through constant exploration and discovery, such as the "Dutch plow" that the Dutch brought from Southeast Asia and the textile tools introduced from the Eastern dynasties.

The textile industry is the mother of industry. If the Eastern Roman Empire could lead Europe in the textile industry, the future benefits would be immeasurable.

Civilization develops in communication, ideas collide in communication, and one makes up for one's shortcomings in communication. It is meaningless to be self-admiring, and it is extremely foolish to close the country to the outside world.

As for the "Book of Agriculture" of the Yuan Dynasty, Isaac had actually obtained a copy from a Persian merchant before, but it was incomplete. The one in Southeast Asia was obviously better, with all kinds of agricultural tools and farming methods, rich illustrations, and easy to learn.

The Ming Dynasty was not the Qing Dynasty, and it did not have such a strong sense of self-centeredness. In the future, I may have the opportunity to refer to history, communicate with them, and acquire some more advanced technical knowledge.

It was unique in the Eastern dynasties that a Christian served as the second-in-command of the cabinet.

"Okay, Your Majesty, although I know nothing about this, I will definitely complete your order!"

Ennis assured.

"Okay, you are just experimenting here. The soil in Bulgaria is more in line with Eastern standards. I think the effect there will be better."

Isaac nodded.

"The third thing is to prepare for war."

Isaac's expression grew serious.

"According to intelligence, King Enrique of Castile is in poor health and will not live long, perhaps until next year."

Isaac looked at Yelgubai.

"I will launch an attack on Granada at the beginning of next year and use it as a springboard to claim the throne of Granada and Castile for my grandson Carlos. There will be a big battle then."

"Due to the close distance, the Province of Africa will serve as the initial logistics headquarters for this military operation. You need to be prepared."

Ennis nodded, and Yergubai was beaming with joy.

"No problem, Your Majesty. The military strength of Castile and Granada is very weak. They will not be our opponents!"

"Don't underestimate the enemy. Aragon will certainly intervene, and France is likely to do the same, but I will also make diplomatic efforts."

Isaac smiled and patted Yergubai on the shoulder.

At this time, the sound of heavy horse hooves was heard outside the palace. After a while, a tall giant squeezed through the wooden door, walked over, and knelt on one knee.

"Your Majesty, I'm here!" Abel said in a muffled voice.

"It's been a long time since we last met. You are still so... so heroic!"

"When did you learn to suck up to people, huh?"

Isaac helped Abel up and looked closely at the warrior who had followed him since the Battle of Constantinople.

"You are already a duke, why are you still so reckless and going to the battlefield in person again?"

Isaac looked at the scars on Abel's face, both new and old, crisscrossing each other.

"Yes, Your Majesty, there is really nothing we can do."

Abel stood up and sighed.

"I failed to live up to your expectations. I failed to take Oran, failed to take Tlemcen, and failed to destroy the Zayanid dynasty."

"Please punish me."

Abel knelt down again.

"There's nothing to punish you for. You can tell from the military report that you wrote it yourself. I can't understand it at all. It seems that you didn't study hard enough."

"Since you are here, tell me in detail."

Isaac consoled.

Abel stood up, looking a little depressed.

"There are still too many Saracens in the western border area, and the nomadic tribes in the Atlas Mountains are endless. I can defeat them on the front battlefield with superior forces and advanced weapons, but I can never wipe them out."

"The Saracens are untrustworthy liars. Some tribes promised to pledge allegiance to us, but they still betrayed us. They came down the mountain to plunder when I was advancing westward, and when I withdrew my troops and returned, they hid in the mountains again."

"I briefly fought to the gates of Oran at the beginning of this year, but my rear was left empty and the Saracen tribe attacked Algiers, so I was forced to withdraw."

Abel's face looked very unhappy.

"However, there is good news. Just as we expected, the Saracen tribes treated the farmers at the foot of the mountain equally and did not let go of the villages made up of Saracen farmers. The Saracen farmers also hated them and moved closer to us."

"Yes, this is an inevitable conflict between nomads and settlers, and it will not change because of the same religion."

Isaac groaned.

"How many people are there in the Western Border Region now?"

"The archbishop made a rough calculation and found that there were more than 3,200 Latin-speaking Romans, more than 300 Greek-speaking Romans, and more than 80,000 Saracens who surrendered to us."

"Among them, the Latin-speaking Romans came mainly from Italy, especially Milan."

Abel said.

"We only counted the coastal areas under actual control. I guess there are still many Saracens inland."

"Because of the large population loss in the previous war, there was still enough land to be divided, and everyone was relatively poor, the Christians and Saracens maintained a delicate peace, and neither wanted to kill each other."

"I feel that the relationship between the Western Border Region and the local people is very special. It's not like a country and its people, but more like protector and protected, just like..."

"Like a Mamluk."

Isaac commented.

"Yes, just like the Mamluks, the Saracen peasants paid us taxes, and we protected them from raiders. For them, even though we collected twice as much, it was still not high, even less than the previous Zayanid dynasty."

Abel shook his head with a smile.

"Last time, I met an Islamic scholar, the orthodox school of Islam that you appointed, the mystical Kairouan school, the one that advocates collective atonement without asking about the real business!"

Abel said.

"He wanted me to restrain the slave traders and told me that we were all peasants at the bottom of society and that those who dared to resist had died. The remaining ones were spineless and would not cause us any trouble."

"Well, then what?"

Isaac asked.

"Then, I did prohibit slave traders from harassing the surrendered peasants in the Western Border Region. I signed an agreement with them and sold the captured nomadic prisoners to them."

Abel thought back.

"Perhaps we were too ruthless before and frightened them. The Saracen farmers are relatively obedient. Some villages even voluntarily organized militias to assist us in fighting against nomadic raiders."

"There are too many Saracens there. I think we need to divide and win them over to a certain extent. If you agree, I can adopt some tolerant policies and even form a Saracen vassal army."

"Yes, your idea is good. The Western Border Region can be more tolerant of those honest and obedient Saracens. I don't have many immigrants to give you, and the Latins who migrated here will never be able to surpass the local Saracens."

Isaac nodded.

"This method is feasible for the time being, but once the population increases and the land is divided, the Saracens and Christians will still fight each other. There is no way around it."

"The missionary work must also be carried out at the same time. The Western Border Region prohibits the entry of Islamic scholars without permission. Over time, their religious sentiments will fade."

"Okay, Your Majesty, I'll go back and try."

Abel was relieved to see that Isaac had no intention of objecting.

"Your Majesty, what should we do next?"

"Continue to fight guerrilla warfare against the remnants of the Zayanid Dynasty?"

"No, let's consolidate the coastal cities first."

Isaac commanded.

"The Iberian War is imminent. Algiers will serve as one of the transit points for supplies. You must be prepared."

"Since the terrain and climate are very similar, your Western Border Legion will participate in the war. You need to prepare for war in the next two years and try to resolve the issue of the nomadic tribes."

"I won't hide it from you. The empire has recently been reformed and has started a large-scale construction. I am running out of money again. Once the gold and silver from Tenochtitlan and the spices from the East Indies arrive, I will send a group of engineering teams to build a series of castles at the northern foot of the Atlas Mountains to stop the nomadic tribes from looting, just like our ancestors did."

"There are many of these castles, but their quality will not be very good. They don't have muskets and cannons, so they can't use them."

Isaac groaned.

"The further west our territory in North Africa goes, the closer we are to Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean, and the safer our trade routes will be. You have to remember this."

"Yes, I know."

When Abel heard about the emperor's allocation of funds, he laughed.

"I will prepare for the reorganization of the army. Africans are warlike, and there have been a lot of high-quality soldiers recently. We will be able to replenish them soon."

"Oh?"

Isaac raised an eyebrow.

"I have just arrived in Carthage and have not yet met with the local gentry or observed the people's sentiments. What is going on?"

"Your Majesty, let me tell you about this matter."

Ennis took a step forward.

"As you know, most of the Carthaginians nowadays are Berber converts who migrated here. Whether they are mixed-blood or pure-blood, they all love to fight and are brave and aggressive. They like to solve problems with duels."

Ennis smiled bitterly.

"Among all the major cities, only the Carthaginians are so warlike. In the previous war, the overall quality of the Carthaginian archers was second only to that of the Bilinchi."

"The former Minister who stayed behind, Basilius, left me some manuscripts that described the situation in detail. According to him, in the new cultural and sports district, almost no one went to the Great Library, but the Colosseum and the Arena were packed."

"Moreover, the archery slaves are exempted from slavery after they have made military achievements. They don't have any extra money. Even if they did, they are not willing to be farmers. It can be said that they have nothing but martial arts skills."

"After the Great Turkish War, many of the archer slaves who had obtained citizenship came to Carthage. Many of them formed civilian mercenary groups. Some accepted commissions from slave traders to capture slaves in the mountains, while others served as guards for trading companies and went to the colonies to continue fighting."

"This is the origin of the high-quality soldiers that Duke Abel mentioned."

"There are still many people who stay here, which poses a great threat to public security. Before you came, the streets were full of gang fights. In the countryside, many people had nowhere to go and gathered together."

Ennis shook his head.

"This is also what we are trying to solve. We have tried several methods but still can't solve the problem. They don't want to farm, work, or go to school, but they have citizenship rights. Most of them converted to Orthodoxy during the war."

"Those who go to the duel arena to earn money are considered gentle people. At least they won't cause trouble to the locals."

"Is that so? Why didn't I see it?"

Isaac frowned.

"Need I say that? They are afraid of you and dare not cause trouble at this time!"

Abel laughed rudely, but no one paid any attention to him.

"Yergubai, you are the tribune, what suggestions do you have?"

Isaac looked at Yelgubai.

"I suggest you revoke their citizenship and recapture them as slaves."

Yergubai said bitterly.

"They've caused me too much trouble these days."

"No, if we do that, the shooting army will lose motivation and will simply flee or even surrender on the battlefield."

Isaac rejected it immediately.

"Since they have fought for the Empire and proved themselves on the battlefield, redeemed their sins, and converted to the Orthodox Church, we cannot kill them all. On the contrary, it will destabilize the morale of the Shooting Army system."

Isaac thought and looked to the north.

Across the strait is the rich Apennine Peninsula.

Isaac's eyes lit up and he had an inspiration.

"Well, since they want to continue to serve in the army and earn money, then satisfy them."

"I will introduce a law in the near future to regularize mercenaries and attract those shooting troops who have been freed from slavery to join the various mercenary groups. Perhaps this will solve many problems and eliminate destabilizing factors."

"Your Majesty, I remember you told me before that using mercenaries to defend our homeland is not a good idea."

Yeer Gubai frowned.

"No, I'm not going to let them operate on the mainland."

Isaac shook his head.

"The Colonial Company needs combat power, and the Slave Hunting Group needs combat power. This is a demand."

"A large number of old soldiers of the shooting corps have no job and are idle all day long. Africans are brave and aggressive. This is the supply."

"Many times, I can't send regular troops, so mercenaries are the best supplement."

Isaac's eyes moved.

"Italy is going to be in chaos, and there will be a huge demand for mercenaries. We will have a large number of mercenary groups, so we can take advantage of this opportunity to profit from it."

"I plan to establish a mercenary house in Carthage and allow private capital to establish mercenary groups. However, they must register like the Navarra Mercenary Group and the Catalan Mercenary Group and accept some basic management."

Isaac paced.

"The Mercenary House is actually a large company, and each mercenary group is a small company. The Mercenary House is responsible for accepting tasks from domestic and foreign markets and assigning them to each mercenary group according to the difficulty."

"The mercenary group needs to hand over 10% of each reward. In return, the Mercenary House will provide them with the most basic living expenses when they have nothing to do."

"Besides that, I will provide asylum to every mercenary group that comes to Carthage to register. No matter what they do abroad, as long as they come back here, no one can touch them."

"What do you think?"

Isaac looked at the few people.

"It sounds feasible. Mercenaries are not political in nature. This is a good way for us to intervene abroad."

Ennis nodded slightly.

"However, the law must be improved. I will draft a decree and try it out for a while."

Just as they were discussing the details, the sound of horse hooves was heard from the foot of the palace. A messenger hurried up and knelt in front of Isaac.

"what happened?"

Isaac asked.

"Your Majesty, the New World has reported that Elder Columbus led a large army in the Central Valley and defeated the Aztec false king who was proud of his bravery with absolute superiority. The false king fled back to the capital. Our army is heading towards Tenochtitlan and preparing to build simple ships to storm the city in the lake!"

"Your Majesty, the Aztecs are finished!"

(End of this chapter)