1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 347 Sicily Planning

Malta Island in the heart of the Mediterranean.

On the rooftop of the City Hall, Isaac narrowed his eyes and looked at the sailboat gradually disappearing on the sea.

There were the sounds of footsteps, and Military Minister Ibrahim came to Isaac's side.

"Your Majesty, I'm here."

Ibrahim gasped.

"They left?"

"Ah."

Isaac said calmly.

"This group of Sicilian mafia is very unruly and has little centripetal force towards the empire."

"We invited more than a dozen people, but only three showed up, and they all had their own agenda. I'm afraid they just wanted to use the power of the empire to strengthen their autonomy and improve their family's status."

"Oh? Do you agree?"

Ibrahim asked.

"Of course I agree. For the Empire, the entire Sicily is not valuable. I just want the coastal ports. They want autonomy, so just give it to them."

Isaac smiled and shook his head.

"They have lived under foreign rule for so long that they have forgotten their homeland and themselves. They can accept our rule on the premise that we respect their so-called freedom."

"There are actually some Orthodox communities on the island, but their numbers are quite small. After so many years, they probably don't have much in mind for the Empire. But the same faith makes them close to me."

"Humph, they are just a bunch of people who have forgotten their roots. When I was fighting in Granada, I found that they were still using the ancient Roman water conservancy projects and road systems, and even a lot of the ruins were still preserved."

Ibrahim snorted.

"Also, judging from their appearance, even in Granada, there aren't many people who look like real Arabs. Many of them look a lot like the Latin Romans in Italy, with black hair, black eyes, and dark skin."

Hearing this, Isaac felt a little embarrassed.

“Bloodline is not important, appearance is even less important, thoughts and identity are what are important.”

Judging from appearance alone, the Palaiologos family at this time was quite different from the ancient Romans. Isaac had traditional Greek brown hair, Justinian also had brown hair, Alexius and Constantine the Younger had blonde hair, and their skin color became lighter because they had too much northern blood.

Even those Greeks who identified themselves as Romans looked different from the orthodox ancient Romans.

Besides, the Romans never cared about this.

"Is the war going well in Granada?"

Isaac changed the subject.

"It went well, Your Majesty."

Ibrahim bowed his head.

"Prince Justinian and General Gonzalo are leading a large army to besiege the city of Granada. Duke Abel of the Western Frontier Legion is also there. I followed your orders and led some troops here."

"Okay, our war with Aragon is all-round, and our next target is their island of Sicily."

Isaac patted Ibrahim on the shoulder.

"This war is more important and requires a trustworthy general to lead it. I hope you will be the one to command it."

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I will definitely take this island for you!"

Ibrahim shook off his armor, grinned, and looked a lot more relaxed.

For thirty years, this army of the Eastern Roman Empire was formed by Isaac himself, so he naturally had the final say. However, as the army lasted for a long time and the number of soldiers increased, factional struggles naturally arose.

Among these factions, the most intense conflicts are between the Eastern faction composed of naturalized Turks and the Western faction composed of Latin Romans. Ibrahim, who has worked diligently for nearly 30 years, is the spokesperson for the Eastern faction, while Gonzalo, who has recently gained fame, is implicitly becoming the spokesperson for the Western faction.

Due to their bloodline and cultural inclinations, the Eastern and Western systems have very different attitudes towards Muslims and Catholics. The Western system advocates the extermination of Muslims and the acceptance of Catholics, while the Eastern system advocates the use of gentle means to naturalize Muslims and suppress the rapid growth of the Latin group.

As a monarch, Isaac was well aware of these phenomena. He was not surprised, nor did he try to stop them. Appropriate competition was not a bad thing, and a situation in which his subordinates were in harmony was not what he wanted to see.

Whatever you think, the final decision is mine, and that's what Isaac stands for.

During the Granada War, serious differences arose between the two commanders, Ibrahim and Gonzalo. Ibrahim was very dissatisfied with Gonzalo's religious extremism and did not like his aggressive military style. He repeatedly asked the central government to restrict him, treat the local governments leniently, handle the military affairs prudently, and take one step at a time.

Prince Justinian was very annoyed by the dispute between the two men, so he went to the military camp and successfully resolved the dispute between the two men to a certain extent. He directly took control of the military power, suspended large-scale military operations, began to play power games and diplomacy, used the intelligence department to plan the rebellion of the Hebrews and the defection of Prince Abdul, and broke through Granada's tightly defended line from the inside.

In the letter, Justinian also said that he had planted his own spies among the Hebrew community, sending them all to England to hide and wait for the future.

Now, Isaac transferred Ibrahim here, partly because of the war in Sicily, and partly to relieve the worries of Justinian and Gonzalo.

The Iberian Peninsula was never an important interest of the Eastern Roman Empire. All Isaac wanted was a declining bulk Iberia. He had no intention of gaining much profit from it and would not invest in its construction. In this case, it would be better to let Gonzalo do what he wanted.

"How many troops did you bring with you?"

Isaac looked at Ibrahim.

"More than 8,000 people are still at sea. This is definitely not enough."

Ibrahim said matter-of-factly.

"I have read the intelligence provided by the shogunate on the ship. If we want to attack Sicily, we will need at least 40,000 men."

"If it's more, I will only transfer another 12,000 to you to make up 20,000."

Isaac rejected Ibrahim's proposal.

"Tell me why you think the war against Sicily is so difficult."

"First, Sicily is almost entirely populated by Catholics, and civil organizations are powerful. They may not have much affection for the Spanish, but their attitude toward us is definitely not good either."

Ibrahim thought.

“Even if you are willing to give those civil organizations a lot of autonomy, you should not forget their nature: violent criminal gangs that oppose the government.”

"They hate the nobility and the monarch, which will bring considerable obstacles to our rule."

"No, I don't plan to forcibly promote the administrative system of the empire in Sicily in a short period of time, and all government employees will be Sicilians."

Isaac said.

"As for hating the nobility and the government...what if those civilian party leaders themselves become nobility and become part of the government?"

Isaac smiled.

"After the war, I will grant noble titles to those local bosses who have performed well, pull them into the government, and give them real power instead of empty titles."

Seeing Ibrahim frown, Isaac stared at him.

"Ibrahim, in your opinion, why do the people of Sicily, including Naples, unite under the banner of civil power and are so hostile to foreign governments?"

"I'm a soldier, I don't know."

Ibrahim said generously.

“Maybe they are born that way.”

"No, no one is born this way. What kind of adult a child grows up to be depends entirely on the external environment he is exposed to."

Isaac's eyes flickered.

"The external environment in Sicily is very bad. Officials and nobles who are rentiers have not fulfilled their obligations as administrators. Ordinary people do not feel cared for and protected by this order. Over time, trust will melt away and exclusion will breed."

"Now, I have made the leaders of those local forces rentiers and managers, giving them real power. They have two choices before them."

"First, they need to reform the nature of their organization, truly protect the people and win their support. In this way, their violent nature will gradually dissolve, and they will change from criminals to members of the ruling class, because now they represent the government."

"Second, if they continue to go further and further down the path of violence, turning their jurisdiction into a criminal empire and using their power to exploit people crazily, people will know that they are the real source of instability, and they will not be able to get the support of the people as before."

"After all, Sicily is just an agricultural island, and most people are honest farmers. If they have a choice, they still prefer to live a peaceful life."

Ibrahim seemed to understand somewhat, but he still had concerns.

"What if those family groups don't accept your canonization?" "Don't accept? OK."

Isaac sneered.

"Then I will grant power to their enemy families and make them uneasy."

"Don't worry about these things. I have made arrangements. According to my guess, the civilians in Sicily will probably play the role of spectators in the war. Not many people are willing to sacrifice their lives for the Spaniards."

"I feel relieved when you say that."

Ibrahim thought about it.

"The second problem is Sicily's poor transportation system. They basically have no official roads. The terrain is rugged and the roads are poor. It is also the rainy season. We estimate that we will be delayed for a long time and lose many soldiers."

Hearing this, Isaac nodded slightly.

The roads in Sicily are indeed extremely poor. From ancient times to the present, the economic value of this island has not been very high. The ancient Romans did not build many roads here, let alone the Western Europeans who did not care about the construction of people's livelihood.

After the rainy season, the traffic conditions in Sicily and Naples are simply a nightmare. In the original time and space, the Allies in World War II lost countless soldiers' lives here in vain.

Compared with Sicily, Anatolia's road system can be considered complete. In addition to the accumulation of ancient Rome and Eastern Roman periods, the Ottomans also put a lot of effort in this regard.

Furthermore, Sicily has a rugged terrain, with extremely scarce coastal plains and many coasts covered with cliffs, making it impossible for the fleet to anchor, and relying solely on sea transportation is absolutely impossible.

"I have also made arrangements for this. We will send an engineering corps to accompany the army to build roads through mountains and bridges over rivers. Wherever the Roman army goes, the Roman roads will be paved."

Isaac waved his hand, signaling Ibrahim to follow.

After a while, the two came to a backyard where a pile of grayish-white powder was piled on the ground, and next to it was sticky gray mud.

"You have been fighting outside these days, so you may not be familiar with the technological innovations within the empire."

Isaac pointed to the off-white powder.

"This is cement powder that we made based on the experience of the ancients. The main raw materials are limestone, clay, gypsum and slag."

"In addition to this gypsum cement, we also have volcanic cement, which is the cement used by the ancients, and volcanic ash is one of the main materials."

"Cement has a very long history, but the use of cement by ordinary people is still at a very primitive stage, and it is only used as a building adhesive."

Isaac pointed to another pile of sticky mud.

"This is a building material derived from cement. I call it concrete. Its main ingredients are sand, cement and water."

"Compared to cement, the advantages of concrete are high strength and durability, and the price is still not high, and the production method is still not difficult."

"Your Majesty, it seems that this kind of thing you are talking about cannot be used directly in construction, right? It is like the soft mud commonly seen in rural areas, and can only be applied to the surface of bricks and stones."

Ibrahim looked at Isaac in confusion.

“Yes, the use of concrete also requires a frame structure for support.”

Isaac nodded, walked to the yard and picked up an empty flower pot.

“Have you ever planted flowers?”

Ibrahim nodded and looked at the clay pot.

Isaac threw the flowerpot and it broke into pieces.

"His Majesty……"

Ibrahim was confused.

Isaac didn't answer, but picked up another flowerpot and smashed it on the ground.

This time, although the flowerpot also had cracks, it did not break into pieces directly. Through the cracks, Ibrahim saw the iron wire in the clay.

"Do you understand?"

Isaac raised an eyebrow.

"Adding iron wire when making flower pots can greatly increase the strength of the flower pots."

"I see. You mean, we can also use wire to fix concrete, so that high-strength buildings can be completed quickly?"

Ibrahim's mouth gradually widened.

"Yes, but it's not wire, it's steel bars. The structure of steel bars and concrete can effectively increase the construction speed, not only of buildings, but also of roads."

Isaac said.

"Concrete roads are also a good type of road. If quick-drying cement is used, the paving speed is very fast, enough to support our Roman Road plan and provide support for your military operations."

“It’s not as good as asphalt, but it’s perfectly adequate.”

For cars, concrete roads and asphalt roads each have their own advantages and disadvantages, but for horse-drawn carriages, the biggest factor limiting speed is the rugged road. The hard concrete road surface can also cause damage to horse hooves. If cost is not considered, the softer natural asphalt road surface is of course the best choice.

"This was an innovation six months ago. If you go back to Constantinople now, you will be surprised to find that more and more construction projects are using concrete structures."

In fact, the invention of reinforced concrete does not require too advanced technology or laboratory research. It is also a kind of "inspiration" ingenuity. The original inventor was a French gardener who created an era of architecture by coincidence through the study of flower pots.

However, precisely because of this, when the storm of architectural innovation blew from Constantinople to Europe, architects in other countries could easily gain this inspiration; technology cannot be hidden.

After Isaac finished speaking, Ibrahim's eyes became brighter and brighter.

"Your Majesty, what about the steel bars? They should be very expensive, right?"

"Yes, except for military fortresses, our concrete buildings do not use steel bars."

Isaac said.

In fact, most Eurasian civilizations during this period had the ability to produce steel. The Indians' Wootz steel was very famous, and the wise Orientals had the technology of blast furnace ironmaking and carburizing steelmaking as early as the Han Dynasty. By now, the technology has become very mature. Although it is certainly not as strong as industrialized steel, it can still be used.

However, this type of steel requires craftsmen to work for a long time, consumes too much time and energy, and is expensive.

In this era, the advantages of concrete construction are that it is fast and cheap, but in terms of aesthetics it is far inferior to the brick and stone structures of the Renaissance period. The price of steel bars is too high, so this construction model is difficult to enter the mass market.

However, there are other options besides steel bars, namely bamboo reinforced concrete and wood reinforced concrete.

These alternative methods may have originated from the Japanese who lacked steel and even wrote a book specifically for "bamboo reinforced concrete."

It turns out that this alternative method is completely feasible, and at a special period in the Eastern country, bamboo reinforced concrete even became one of the guidelines for rural architecture.

Of course, without steel bars, the strength of concrete would be greatly reduced and tall buildings would not be possible.

However, there is no need to build high-rise buildings in the Eastern Empire today, so it is feasible to use dehydrated hardwood strips instead of steel bars.

Wood with good stability and corrosion resistance, such as pine, is sent to a processing plant, cut into hardwood strips of roughly equal specifications, dehydrated, and then can be used.

It’s not that bamboo ribs are bad, but there is really no bamboo in Europe.

Judging from the early practice, this construction model is quite good. Its biggest advantage is that it is simple and fast, and can build simple houses in a very short time.

This early replacement idea was ultimately short-lived. Isaac had already been absorbing extensively the metallurgical techniques of Eastern civilization, striving to explore a feasible method for large-scale steelmaking as soon as possible.

Admittedly, as a science student in his previous life, Isaac certainly knew the general theories of the Bessemer Process and the Thomas Process, but they were also standing on the shoulders of their predecessors. Without decades of technological accumulation, they could not even produce the necessary tools.

"Your Majesty, since you said so, I think it's no problem. Twenty thousand troops are enough."

Ibrahim said solemnly.

"As long as the navy is strong enough, I am confident that I can take over the entire island of Sicily within two years."

"It's too long. I'll give you half a year. You must take over three important cities. You can ignore other places for now."

Isaac said in a deep voice.

"I'll take care of the technology, supplies, and diplomacy. You just focus on fighting."

"If you complete it successfully, you will be the second most meritorious duke in the empire."

"The initial intelligence infiltration and communication will probably continue for a while. Let the soldiers rest and be ready to land on the beach at any time!"

(End of this chapter)