1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 342 The End of the Latin Colonial Era

On the sea south of the Iberian Peninsula, a sailboat was slowly moving northwest. The sailboat was not large, but it used more advanced broadside gun modifications and lengthened sails, which gave it excellent firepower and better maneuverability, and gave it good combat capability in the Mediterranean.

A white cross with a red background was painted on the mainsail of the sailboat, and the Latin words "St. Lawrence" were engraved on the hull.

Apparently, the ship was the St. Lawrence, a small carrack belonging to the Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem and Rhodes, the flagship of the Knights Hospitaller.

Rhodes Island and the Twelve Islands have small land areas and relatively scarce supplies. Although the Knights Hospitaller have carried out a lot of construction in Rhodes City, built a very good ship repair factory and even have certain shipbuilding capabilities, the Knights Hospitaller generally do not use ships built on the island, but place orders with well-known shipyards in other countries.

The construction plan of the St. Lawrence had been established long ago. The Knights had originally intended the Genoa Naval Shipyard, but with the decline of Genoa, a large number of talents flowed out, the Genoa Naval Shipyard declined rapidly, and the Venetian Arsenal was not good at building carracks. The order for this warship eventually fell into the hands of the Constantinople Shipyard.

The Constantinople Shipyard was one of the two major shipyards in the Eastern Roman Empire. With the fall of the Venetian Arsenal, it had become the second largest naval shipyard in the Mediterranean, capable of building all kinds of ships, from civilian to military.

After the Eastern Roman Empire carried out liberal reforms, the emperor transformed the "state-owned assets" at hand, issued stocks to the outside world, and adopted a "public-private partnership" distribution model. The emperor and the government changed from operators to orderers and dividend recipients. The imperial navy received funds from the emperor and then issued order applications to major shipyards, which then bid for production.

At the same time, the government no longer monopolizes the production rights of large ships, and opens them all to private capital. After obtaining qualified certificates, any private capital can legally produce and sell them.

The Spanish precedent in the original time and space tells the world that monopolizing the right to manufacture warships in the hands of the government is an absolute stupid move. Setting too many obstacles to private capital will only seriously slow down the development of the shipbuilding industry and the advancement of shipbuilding technology. In order to quickly develop the great voyages of discovery, the shipbuilding industry must be given top priority, and every effort must be made to increase the overall number of ships owned.

The Knights Hospitaller paid a considerable sum of money for the St. Lawrence carrack, and the Constantinople shipyard made a profit four times the price of the raw materials, with everyone from the emperor to investors and shipbuilders receiving dividends.

On the deck of the St. Lawrence, the gray-haired Vicario stood with a sword in his hand, his sturdy body shrouded in a robe with a cross pattern on it.

Looking ahead, the port of Malaga is just around the corner.

"Nice port, Brother Vicario."

A young knight came up to him and spoke slowly.

"It would be better if there weren't those pesky Saracens."

“Without them, what is our role?”

Vicario smiled faintly.

"We still have to rely on them for tax collection, farming and construction. The Eastern Empire's army did not kill or transport all the Saracens in this city. This was also the request of the Grand Master."

"Brother Klein, you are too young."

Klein curled his lips and said nothing.

Vicario and Klein were both members of the Knights Hospitaller, Vicario being a Spanish knight and Klein being a German knight.

This time, at the invitation of the Eastern Roman Emperor, Giovanni, the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, sent two men across the sea to Iberia to discuss relocation and land exchange.

In the Great Turkish War that had just ended not long ago, the Eastern Roman Empire recovered the western coast of Anatolia and held talks with the Knights Hospitaller who still occupied Rhodes, proposing to exchange the land of the Kingdom of Granada for the recovery of Rhodes by peaceful means.

Now, the army of the Eastern Roman Empire has occupied half of the southern part of the Kingdom of Granada, and the second largest city, Malaga, has been declared fallen. The issue of land exchange has been put back on the agenda. The Eastern Roman Emperor will grant the city of Malaga and the surrounding villages to the Knights Hospitaller in the name of his grandson Carlos. The Knights Hospitaller need to hand over Rhodes and the Dodecanese to the Eastern Roman Empire intact, including all buildings and Orthodox population.

"I still don't want to leave Rhode Island. It's a great place."

Klein couldn't help but speak out.

"We have been operating on the island for more than a hundred years and have built so many economic buildings and defense facilities. Even in ancient Rome, Rhodes has never been so vibrant."

"But it is only an island after all, and an island that the Eastern Empire is destined to take back."

Vicario said.

"If we add up all the islands we control, the total population is only 10,000 people. There are tens of thousands of people in Malaga and its surrounding territories alone."

"The Orthodox don't like us, the Saracens don't like us, it makes no difference."

Klein remained silent and looked at Vicario.

"I remember you said before that the Orthodox Christians on Rhodes Island did not raise any major doubts about our rule. They also fought against the Saracen invasion together with us."

"Yeah, but that was a long time ago."

A flash of reminiscence came into Vicario's eyes.

"At that time, the Eastern Empire was on the verge of collapse. The Venetians were the mortal enemies of the Orthodox Christians and were always flirting with the Saracens. We were the only ones in the Aegean Sea who dared to challenge the authority of the Saracens. The Orthodox Christians on the island were forced to stand with us for the sake of their beliefs and survival."

"But now, the Eastern Empire has revived, the Saracens have been defeated, and Emperor Isaac has provided such good living conditions for his people. Even the Russians are scrambling to become Romans. No matter how you look at it, the Orthodox Christians on Rhodes have no reason to continue to support us."

Vicario paused.

"Besides, this exchange is also a step given to us by the Eastern Empire. If we refuse to agree, we will have to face war."

Vicario sighed.

"It's hard to say what the process was like, but the ending is obvious. That is, they were driven out of Rhodes Island, fled in disgrace, and wandered around."

Klein pursed his lips, seeming to disagree.

"But, Your Holiness—"

"Don't mention the Holy See. The Vatican is no longer what it used to be."

Vicario interrupted Klein.

"The current Vatican can't even control the Western world, let alone the Eastern Emperor."

"At this critical moment, will the Holy See risk everything to support us? More than a hundred years ago, the Knights Templar set the best precedent for us."

Klein was shocked by Vicario's "rebellious" attitude, but he had to admit that he was telling the truth.

As time goes by, the influence of the Holy See will only become weaker and weaker, but they are desperately trying to maintain their privileges, and the exploitation and oppression of Catholic people are becoming more and more severe, which will lead to dissatisfaction and hatred, and ultimately cause a wave of revolution.

"Malaga is a good place, much better than Rhodes Island. There are many Saracens here, and we have a lot to do. We will be busy for the next few days."

As they approached the port, Vicario prepared to end this meaningless conversation.

"In any case, this replacement is the final result of the high-level meeting and the most honorable way for us to withdraw from the Eastern Mediterranean."

Klein nodded and said nothing more.

The port of Malaga was almost in ruins. During the siege, hundreds of artillery pieces of the Eastern Roman Empire continuously bombarded this fortified city, leaving broken walls and traces of artillery fire everywhere.

After capturing the city and the castle, the garrison commander of Malaga led the last soldiers to flee to the northern mountains. General Gonzalo fulfilled his promise and slaughtered all the people in the several districts that resisted most resolutely. The remaining people were put into concentration camps and left to the Knights Hospitaller who were about to arrive here.

At this point, Gonzalo has led his army eastward to continue attacking the remaining towns on the southern coast of Granada, while co-emperor Justinian is stationed in Malaga, with orders to make the final handover with the Knights Hospitaller.

A brand new flag was fluttering in the sky above the port of Malaga. There were five elements on the flag. The castle symbolizing Castile was located on the upper left, the lion symbolizing Leon was located on the upper right, the pomegranate symbolizing Granada was located on the lower left, the cross symbolizing Asturias was located on the lower right, and the Vallejo royal pattern was located in the center.

This was the personal flag of Prince Carlos, and would later become the flag of the Palaiologos dynasty of the United Kingdom of Castile and Granada.

There are not many ships traveling to and from the port. The once prosperous port is left with only a few scattered warships and transport ships. Most of the navy of the Eastern Roman Empire was taken to the eastern Mediterranean by the emperor and has not returned yet.

During this period, due to the early preparations and later finishing steps for conquering Venice, almost all naval ships were tied up, and the trade and transportation routes in the western Mediterranean were temporarily left unprotected. The pirates were overjoyed without their powerful enemies, but they did not know what would be the end that awaited them after the fall of Venice.

The morale of the soldiers stationed at the port of Malaga was very good. Although the transportation routes were temporarily interrupted, the Eastern Roman Empire had already stockpiled a large amount of military supplies in the British Fortress in advance, enough to sustain it for a long time.

Under the guidance of the pilot, the St. Lawrence slowly approached the shore. The officer in charge of the dock area checked the identity documents of the two Hospitallers, brought war horses for them, and led them to the Gibralfaro Castle on the mountain.

Gibralfaro Castle is also an important part of the defense system of the Port of Malaga. After the city fell, the Muslim defenders retreated here and continued to resist for nearly twenty days before they were completely defeated due to the collapse of the city wall.

Klein and Vicario walked and looked, assessing the various values ​​of the Port of Malaga. Seeing that although the city was dilapidated and desolate, its infrastructure was very complete, their faces became better and better.

Climbing up the castle and coming to the open-air stands, the Eastern Roman officer quietly left, and the two knights saw the back of a figure in a purple robe.

"Welcome, two pious knights, the sharp blade of Jesus Christ."

Justinian turned around and nodded slightly to the two of them.

"I am glad to see you in this desolate city, and to see Christians again in this land that has been occupied by Saracens for eight hundred years."

"Respected co-ruling emperor, we are also happy to be here to witness your martial arts."

Vicario and Klein bowed.

"We took a quick look along the way. Malaga is a very good city. Although it is a little run-down, it is a good port after all and will definitely develop."

"Yes, this city is so good that I really don't want to give her to you. I want to leave her to my son."

Justinian's mouth curled up slightly as he examined the two knights.

"However, since it is the emperor's intention and we have signed the agreement, I will respect it and will not raise any objections."

Justinian waved his hand, and the clerk standing beside him handed a stack of documents to Knight Vicario.

"The territory that the Kingdom of Granada gave to the Knights Hospitaller includes the city of Malaga, three surrounding towns, and a dozen villages. According to the agreement, the Knights Hospitaller will defend Carlos Valleoliu and his legitimate successors' absolute ownership of the Crown of Granada."

Justinian looked at the two of them.

"I know you only pledge allegiance to the Holy See, but this is what the Holy See means, and it is also one of our conditions."

"You are not vassals of the Kingdom of Granada, but collaborators and allies. If you break the agreement and betray the crown that belongs to the Palaiologos family, Constantinople has the right to intervene."

"No problem. As long as King Carlos continues to stand on the side of Jesus Christ, defend the sacred territory, and protect the blessed people, we will be eternal allies."

Vicario took the document and nodded. "There is also some information about the city of Malaga, including farmland, population, taxes, and commodities. I asked the clerk to compile a simple summary report. You can take a look at it."

Justinian said as the clerk handed another document to Knight Klein.

Klein quickly took it and flipped it over on the spot.

After flipping through the pages for a while, Klein frowned and looked up at Justinian.

"Your Majesty, the taxes on these goods..."

"The taxes on these goods belonged to the ruler himself during the Saracen period, and will be inherited by my son after the establishment of the Kingdom of Granada."

Justinian said simply.

"Other than that, the share of customs duties remains the same."

Seeing Klein's grim expression, Justinian glanced at him.

"If you have any questions, please report them to the Knights' upper echelons."

"No problem, Your Majesty, that's all."

Vicario said directly, interrupting Klein's unspoken question.

"I just hope that trade from Carthage to Malaga can continue normally and that goods can be sold at reasonable prices."

"It's natural."

Seeing that Vicario had no objection, Justinian smiled and nodded.

"Since you are satisfied with this place, I have another suggestion. Are you interested?"

"Please speak frankly."

Vicario said.

Justinian asked for a map of Granada and spread it out on the terrace table.

"Granada has countless hills and mountains, and from ancient times to the present day there are many castles and manors used for defense and residence."

"I can grant some of the castles and estates to the Hospitallers in Carlos's name, just as other monarchs in Europe have done to you."

"What about the conditions?"

Vicario asked cautiously.

"That was not in the original agreement."

"The condition is that you must send troops to help in the upcoming Granada Crusade and the War of the Castilian Succession, and help my son seize the throne of Castile and Granada."

Justinian said directly.

"If you perform well, you will get more rewards."

Vicario was silent for a moment, looking at the map on the table and then at the beautiful mountains and rivers outside the terrace.

"Supporting jihad is the duty of every Christian, and we can participate in the jihad in Granada."

"As for the War of the Castilian Succession, I have no say on this. This needs to be discussed internally."

"Yes, sure. We still have plenty of time."

Justinian smiled, picked up the bottle on the table, and poured Malaga wine for the two of them.

"I wish the holy war goes well, and I wish us a happy cooperation!"

……

The northern end of the eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean Sea.

The Aegean Sea is a sea of ​​thousands of islands, with more than 2,500 islands scattered on the sea. More ports, more sailors, and stronger maritime traditions all provided excellent soil for the development of the ancient Greek and Roman shipping industries.

During the Eastern Roman Empire, the focus began to shift to the mainland, but the role of the Aegean islands cannot be underestimated. In the south of the Aegean Sea, the island chain consisting of the Peloponnese Peninsula, Crete, Naxos Islands and Rhodes formed a perfect arc-shaped defense circle, which firmly guarded Athens, Smyrna, Thessalonica and Constantinople in the north. As long as the emperor of Constantinople could maintain a good navy, he could rely on a series of islands to block and delay powerful enemies crossing the sea.

However, for various reasons, many Eastern Roman emperors did not realize the importance of sea power. They were too superstitious about the Theodosian Walls on land and the iron chains of the Golden Horn. Some incompetent rulers even disbanded the imperial navy directly. As a result, of the few times Constantinople fell in history, the first was entirely from the ocean, and the second was also closely related to the loss of land navigation and sea power in the Golden Horn.

Whoever controls the ocean controls the world. This statement by the ancient Roman philosopher Cicero has long ago put forward a practical program for the rise of a powerful country.

For thirty years, under the leadership of Isaac, the Eastern Roman Empire rediscovered the traditions of its ancestors and placed sea power at the top priority. The Aegean Islands in the south and the Danube Defense Line in the northwest were the focus of local defense. As long as the naval fleet still maintained a certain strength, the core provinces along the Aegean coast would never be lost.

Now, the Eastern Roman Empire's water defense circle has almost taken shape. Belgrade, which is missing from the Danube defense line, is difficult to recapture for the time being, but Rhodes, the only remaining island on the Aegean Sea defense line, is within sight.

To the north of Rhodes Island, above the city of Rhodes, the cross flag of the Knights Hospitaller fluttered in the wind. The sea defense chain modeled after that of Constantinople had been fully opened. The knights of the order stood on the dock in neat rows, and the Orthodox people in the city also crowded on both sides of the dock, gazing at the blue ocean with anticipation.

At the front, a middle-aged man looked straight ahead, oblivious to the noise and bustle behind him.

His name is Giovanni Battista Orsini, an Italian knight and the current Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller. Two years ago, he reached a verbal agreement with the Eastern Roman Emperor under the tomb of King Mausolus to discuss a feasible plan for the peaceful unification of Rhodes.

Over the past two years, this agreement has been continuously negotiated and revised, and finally a proposal that both parties could accept was reached not long ago.

"Grandmaster, they are coming."

A knight beside Giovanni whispered, pointing to the sea in the distance.

On the sea, a brand new warship was sailing towards the wind, with the golden and red double-headed eagle flag visible in the distance.

"Do you want to follow their instructions?"

"Just do it. We're leaving anyway."

Giovanni nodded.

The knights gave orders, and soon, military music sounded, cannon salutes rang out, and colorful fireworks rose into the sky from the mountains, brilliant and colorful.

On the sea, the Eastern Roman warships also responded with salutes, drifting straight towards the port with an uplifting and noble momentum.

"The Colossus of Rhodes."

Giovanni read the Greek words on the hull and curled his lips.

The Colossus of Rhodes was once a representative building of Rhodes and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient Western World. It was a symbol of the unity and victory of the people of Rhodes and their resistance to foreign aggression. It was 33 meters high and was destroyed in an earthquake. Today, only some of the Colossus's wreckage remains on Rhodes.

Naming the ship after the Colossus of Rhodes represents the Eastern Roman Empire's extremely firm attitude to retake the Island of Rhodes.

The Colossus of Rhodes was not very big. It was a modified small caravel newly launched at the Constantinople shipyard. It was also the last caravel officially funded and built by the Eastern Roman government. From then on, the Eastern Roman navy would fully enter the era of galleons.

As the Colossus of Rhodes came closer, the cheers of the citizens of Rhodes Island grew louder and louder. They looked at the mighty and beautiful warship with admiration, and some brave souls even broke through the blockade of the Knights and threw flowers at the sailors on the deck.

The ship docked, a Varangian Guard walked down the deck, and the Knights Hospitaller stepped aside, giving up their duty positions.

The Varangian guards stood on the left and right, leaving a passage in the middle, and struck the ground heavily with their halberds.

After a while, a young man in noble clothes stepped onto the dock and walked towards Grand Master Giovanni with a friendly face.

"Welcome, Prince Basil, His Royal Highness Prince Corinth."

Giovanni bowed slightly in respect.

"As you can see, Rhodes Island and the Twelve Islands are safe and sound. Everything is intact. The household registers and maps have been sorted out and are waiting for your review."

"No need. I am only taking over Rhodes Island on behalf of my father. These matters are not within my scope of responsibility."

Basil said gently.

"However, I am still very happy to see such a beautiful Rhodes Island. Thank you for the contribution of the Knights of St. John over the past hundred years. Thank you for blocking the iron hoof of the Saracens and creating a safe haven for the Christians on the island."

Giovanni nodded and was silent for a moment.

"Your Highness, if that's the case, let's exchange the treaty."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Giovanni handed Basil a document with complete seals, and the latter handed him a document with a golden and red double-headed eagle printed on it.

These things have been prepared long ago, and I came here today just to go through the motions.

There was another round of salutes and military music, and amid the cheers of the citizens of Rhode Island, the flag of the Knights Hospitaller slowly fell and the flag of the Eastern Roman Empire slowly rose.

On June 1474, 6, with the end of the Battle of Malaga and the Battle of Venice, there was no longer any obstacle to the land exchange between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Knights Hospitaller. The Eastern Roman Empire proved its strength with iron and blood, and used a special exchange method to preserve the face of the Knights Hospitaller and the Roman See. It successfully recovered Rhodes, which had been lost for more than a hundred years, through peaceful means, and more than 5 Greek Orthodox Christians returned to the embrace of their motherland.

For the entire Mediterranean world, the recovery of Rhodes was not a very important event. The national strength of the Eastern Roman Empire was enough to wipe out any enemies in the eastern Mediterranean, and the withdrawal of the Knights Hospitaller was a natural thing.

However, for the Eastern Roman Empire, the recovery of Rhodes was of great significance. The ruts left behind by the Crusades for three hundred years finally evaporated like water stains under the scorching sun. At that time, the Latin colonists gnawed off piece after piece of flesh from the Eastern Empire, believing that this would allow them to crush the other side in religion and secularism, and that the Catholic world would be forever secure.

Now, people know that the era of Latin colonists has completely ended, and neither Venice, Genoa nor the Knights Hospitaller have any connection with the Eastern Mediterranean anymore.

Now, the last Crusaders boarded the ships heading west. They came from the sea and left from the sea.

Now, the revived Eastern Empire has boarded a ship sailing to the world. They have lost all the glory of their ancestors at sea, but they have picked up this eternal glory again at sea, carried it forward, and passed it on to future generations.

(End of this chapter)