1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 368 Pearl covered in dust
The Mediterranean is calm and peaceful in spring. The heavy rains of winter are about to pass, the scorching heat and diseases of summer have not yet struck, and the storms from September to October every year are far from coming. At the beginning of 1476, the Mediterranean trade, which had been slightly suspended due to war or weather, began to prosper again.

In the western Mediterranean, a fleet sailed slowly northwestward against the wind and waves. The fleet was of average size, but they were all dual-purpose military and commercial ships. Compared with ordinary European sailing ships, these ships retained relatively strong warfare capabilities while sacrificing part of their cargo capacity.

The flags hoisted by this fleet were varied, all from major merchant groups in the Eastern Roman Empire. Some belonged to the royal family, some to the commercial aristocracy, and more to the recently emerging civilian capitalists.

After the rise of Latin pirate forces in the western Mediterranean and the Atlantic, the maritime trade of the Eastern Roman Empire suffered a considerable blow in the initial period. The chambers of commerce reflected calmly and began to seek new ways of navigation. Some chambers of commerce began to work together in various ways, uniting to form large fleets to reduce escort costs and the risk of attacks.

Although countries such as France and the Netherlands had begun to learn how to build galleons, it was still a short time ago, and the shipbuilding technology of the Eastern Roman Empire was still ranked first in the world. When these scattered merchant ships united, the Latin pirates could not use the wolf pack tactics to defeat the advanced three-masted sailing ships with the old-fashioned paddle boats.
On the large ship in the center of the fleet was a broad sail with a golden elk painted on a blue background. This was the family emblem of the Fugger family, designed by the emperor himself, symbolizing the highest grace.

Since moving his family to Constantinople, the Fugger family's various industries have experienced a boom. They obtained the mining rights of a large number of idle mines from the Eastern Roman government and the Eastern Roman royal family at extremely low prices. From Elysium to the Balkan Mountains, from New Thrace to the Greater Caucasus, wherever the flag of the empire was raised, the Fugger family's industries expanded. Due to their large family and great business, they were not afraid of failure and often took on the important task of pioneering for the royal family.

I rent remote mines that others dare not rent, I mine deep minerals that others dare not mine, I invest in venture capital that others dare not engage in. Relying on this concept, the Fugger family made a fortune through repeated capital expansions, and in a very short period of time became the number one capital family in the Eastern Roman Empire except for the royal family. In some of their industries, an early monopoly system began to take shape.

At present, the helmsman of the Fugger family is Ulrich, who was recently promoted to Minister of Commerce. Having traveled all over the world and being knowledgeable, he successfully introduced the advanced business model and advanced mining technology born in Italy and Germany into the Eastern Roman Empire, and promoted and expanded them, thus making a crucial update and iteration of the old business system of the Eastern Roman Empire, which was obviously lagging behind Western Europe.

As the demand increased year by year and Germany's new technology provided a good soil, Ulrich naturally set his first target on the mining industry, but in addition to mining, he also picked up the old family tradition and invested heavily in the textile industry. He built more than a dozen textile workshops in major cities such as Constantinople, Thessalonica, Adrianople and Carthage. It took him five years to get the Fugger Textile Group on the right track and handed it over to his nephew Jacob to manage.

The rise of the Fugger family naturally aroused resentment among many people. They repeatedly searched for evidence of the Fugger family's corruption and abuse of power for personal gain, but in the end they found nothing and the matter ended in nothing.

Ulrich was very disdainful of these little tricks. In his opinion, these people did not understand the relationship between power and capital at all.

Truly wise senior officials never need to engage in corruption. Just by being one step ahead of others in terms of information, they can identify trends and make a fortune.

Because the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire was developing so fast and the business prospects were so good, the Fugger family, which was once a little reserved, was now trying every means to erase the shadow of the German past and speed up the process of localization. Not only did they send several young members to the University of Constantinople, they also fully abided by the laws of the empire, for fear of being caught or spread of gossip.

Wages in Fugger enterprises were always paid on time and in full, Orthodox Christians were always able to serve as senior craftsmen, slave laborers who wished to convert would not be hindered in any way, all statutory holidays were observed, and except for stubborn Muslims, other employees loved their jobs very much.

The local capital in Constantinople called them outsiders and tried to use national and religious sentiments to induce the people to boycott Fugger products. But in fact, it was precisely because of these difficult-to-explain "stains" that the Fugger Group strictly controlled compliance with laws and regulations, personnel treatment and product quality. This was not out of more kindness than the old Roman merchants, but out of deeper fear than the old Roman merchants.

Of course, unlike other early capitalists, Ulrich, under the Emperor’s guidance, had some deeper understanding of the capitalism that was thriving, which was one of the reasons why he gave up on exploiting his Orthodox employees:
Capital development is not only related to production, but also to consumption. If the capitalists of a country turn everyone into poor people who work all day, leaving everyone with neither time nor money to consume, then the capital economy of this country will not continue to develop, but will fall into recession and stagnation.

Social welfare, labor security, holidays... On some level, these things are quite in line with the interests of the bourgeoisie. If a capitalist does not even understand these simple truths, or turns a deaf ear to them, then he is just a qualified exploiter, not a far-sighted entrepreneur.

However, due to the limitations of the times, the vast majority of current capitalists belong to the former. They are blind and superficial, and will not change easily without experiencing one or two economic crises.

In addition, as in the original time and space, the Fugger family also carried out a considerable amount of charitable work, including the Fugger Foundation, which provided free scholarships to poor students, and the Fugger Courtyard, which provided poor citizens with only symbolic rent.

It is true that most of what Ulrich did was for himself, for his good reputation among the people and the church, but this kind of thing is not about intention but about deeds.

During the Iberian conflict, the emperor was unwilling to use taxpayers' money for a family war, and almost all the war funds came from the royal family. Crown Prince Justinian was unwilling to leave a Castile full of loopholes for his son, and the funds given by his father were not enough. The large amount of money needed to play diplomatic games almost all came from loans from the Fugger family. Justinian mortgaged a mountain gold mine in the Circassian Kingdom and several shallow coal fields in the Cossack Kingdom.

Ulrich believed that Justinian might not want to pay back the money at all. Although the mineral resources he mortgaged had some potential, no one was developing them for the time being, and they were originally intended to be handed over to domestic big capital for independent development.

Although many people in the family thought that Ulrich had suffered a great loss, he was still happy to sign the loan documents and obtained the development rights of these mines.

Ulrich scoffed at the short-sightedness of some family members. In his opinion, since the royal family has begun exploring the coal resources in the Donbas region, it must be profitable here, and the gold mines located deep in the mountains and forests have become dispensable.

The sea breeze grew stronger. Ulrich stood at the bow, touching the sky with great passion, a satisfied smile on his face.

Capital is a magical thing. It can slowly and steadily destroy the bloodline and family concepts of the past hundreds or thousands of years. In the past, without extremely good luck and excellent opportunities, ordinary people without prominent backgrounds had almost no possibility of crossing classes. But now, the self-satisfied land aristocrats have become paupers, more and more ordinary people have become rich, and the urban class has gained more rights and has made full use of them.

Of course, ordinary people who successfully cross the class have become the new beneficiaries. They will also pass on wealth and power from generation to generation, will also attach importance to bloodline and family, and will also block the upward channels for others. This is the bad nature of human beings, and the dragon slayer will eventually become a dragon.

Throughout all of human history, no country, no nation, and no regime has ever truly and perfectly solved this problem, and the Eastern Roman Empire was no exception.

But no matter what, at least in this era, everyone has a bright future.

It took the Fugger family only two generations to transform themselves from ordinary workers with no pedigree to capitalists as wealthy as a country, and some Eastern Roman capitalists only a few years. This is the charm of the times.

"Lord Ulrich, we are almost there."

A young man dressed as a businessman came up to Ulrich.

The young man was very tall, with blond hair, pale complexion and thick hair, which made him stand out from the bronze-skinned sailors around him.

"The port of Almeria is not very big. It was destroyed by pirates once before. Our fleet may not be able to stop there."

"It's okay. Some of the ships are bound for Malaga Port. Let them go first. When I finish my mission, I will take the rest to join them."

Ulrich said, thinking for a moment and looking at the young man.

"By the way... Thor, you——"

"My Lord, I am indeed a Nordic, but my name is not Thor."

The young man spread his hands helplessly and spoke in German.

"If you still can't remember my name, just call me Visby."

"Oh, yes, Visby... you're from Gotland."

Ulrich nodded.

"I'm old, and my memory is a little bad."

Ulrich looked at the port getting closer and closer, and then looked at Visby again with a serious expression.

"Visby, what is the current situation in Gotland?"

"There is no Gotland any more, my Lord."

Visby said with some sadness.

"The peasant autonomous region and Hanseatic trading city of the past were wiped out with the invasion of the Danes."

"If Gotland could still be as prosperous as it was in the past, if the Hanseatic League could still be as prosperous as it was in the past, my ancestors would not come to the south to do business."

"Valencia is not bad, but the competition is fierce, especially recently, there is chaos everywhere."

Visby sighed.

"My father is ready to join the Eastern Empire with his family property. We are planning to settle in Carthage. I heard that they are planning to build a silk exchange there. The specific layout is exactly the same as the Silk Exchange in Valencia. Is that right?"

"Haha, that's about right. Those guys are ready to go against the Valencians."

Ulrich laughed.

"But we won't be as hasty as the Spanish. If we are going to repair it, we will repair it thoroughly."

"Although I was not born in the Eastern Empire, I have some knowledge of basic history. It is a historical tradition for the Gotlanders to come to the Eastern Empire to do business. I hope you can have a good ending."

"That's right. My family still has some Eastern Empire gold coins left by our ancestors. They seem to be from the time of Leo VI."

Visby said.

"There may still be churches like the ones we built outside of Constantinople today, just outside the Theodosian Walls. Have you seen them?"

"No, perhaps it was destroyed by the Ottomans."

Ulrich shook his head.

In the entire Nordic region, Gotland Island is a very special existence. It used to be a civilized country of freedom and trade. Compared with the Viking pirates around them who only knew how to fight and kill, the Gotlanders preferred development and business. Their footprints were all over the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Mediterranean, and they had close trade relations with the Eastern Roman Empire several centuries ago.

Unlike Arabia, Persia, India and China in the East, perhaps because of the large number of ethnic groups and geographical divisions in Europe, the Christianity generally believed by the residents has more or less some advanced ideas of "everyone is equal under God". Ancient Christianity also has remnants of communal thinking. Autonomous regimes established entirely by peasants have existed long before the Renaissance and the great voyages of discovery. The most famous one is the Dithmarschen Peasants' Republic that has been maintained to this day, and the once glorious Gotland Peasants' Autonomous Region can also be regarded as one of them.

Not relying on emperors or kings, but relying on hard-working hands and wise minds, both men and women participate in labor, which is unique in the whole world.

Visby, the capital of Gotland, was once the most prosperous trading city in all of Northern Europe and a member of the Hanseatic League. However, since the Danish king completely conquered it, all equality and freedom no longer existed and the trade network was almost severed.

Under such circumstances, many Gotland merchants left their hometown and moved to other cities of the Hanseatic League, but the Hanseatic League was increasingly unable to adapt to the trend of the times, and some German merchants began to continue moving south.

Valencia in the Kingdom of Aragon is the Mediterranean city with the largest number of German merchants. The "German merchants" often referred to by Valencians of course do not only come from the German nation, but also include Hanseatic merchants, Dutch merchants and Northern Italian merchants.

After the decline of Genoa and Barcelona, ​​Valencia became the most important international trade city in the entire western Mediterranean, mainly developing silk and wool trades, attracting merchants from various Western European countries. Capitalism has begun to take root here.

The greatest jewel in the crown of Aragon, such is the importance of the city of Valencia.

However, unfortunately, as the influence of foreign business owners grew, the internal conflicts in the city of Valencia became increasingly irreconcilable.

There are currently three major industrial and commercial forces in the city of Valencia, namely, native Spanish Christians, native Mudejar Muslims and foreign German groups. The most embarrassing thing is that the native Spanish Christians, who should have occupied a dominant position, are the weakest one, while the last one has a stronger momentum because it has more capital.

This model was extremely disadvantageous to the Kingdom of Aragon. It was difficult for them to promote mercantilism, which was becoming the mainstream thought in Europe, in Valencia, one of the most important financial and tax bases. Foreign merchants demanded tax reductions and exemptions, the removal of barriers and free trade, which was seriously inconsistent with the interests of the Aragon royal family. The royal family became increasingly wary of them.

From a grassroots perspective, Christians in Valencia get along very well with Mudejar Muslims, and Spanish Christians basically regard them as their own people. However, the German group has a bad relationship with Muslims, and from time to time they use the name of religion to stir up trouble and intensify conflicts.

Valencia is perhaps the city with the largest Muslim population in Europe. More than one-third of the permanent population are Mudejars, and even more if Sephardic Hebrews are included. These people have a relatively harmonious relationship with the Christian residents, and the king and the nobles also allow them to retain the maximum degree of autonomy. Since Queen Isabella proposed the Inquisition last year, the German group in Valencia was jubilant and immediately contacted the Vatican, asking them to send priests to Valencia for trial.

Piety? Interest.

In order to avoid forcing the Vatican into opposition, Prince Fernando temporarily allowed their "guidance" review, but actually provided considerable assistance to the Mudejar people and asked them to provide money and troops to help him complete his plan of sneaking across the Tagus River.

The actual situation was beyond the expectations of the Holy See. When the Vatican priests came to Valencia, almost no one was willing to support them except the German group that intended to make profits. From the king to the nobles to the common people, many people were willing to provide help to their friendly Muslim neighbors and resisted the interference of the Holy See with silent silence.

Perhaps, in their hearts, these gentle, kind, and business-savvy Spanish-speaking Muslims are more like their compatriots than the greedy and cunning German Christians or the blood-sucking Vatican priests.

In the Battle of the Tagus River, Fernando lost a lot of his family fortune and fled all the way back to Aragon from Madrid. Still unwilling to give up, he gathered up the remaining soldiers and continued to levy taxes in an attempt to reorganize the army. The first to bear the brunt was Valencia, an important financial and taxation center.

However, Fernando was now caught in a dilemma. He thought that the Eastern Roman army, which had fought hard for several years, had basically lost its former superb combat effectiveness, so he chose a desperate sneak attack. On the one hand, he promised freedom to the Mudéjars in order to obtain their money and manpower, and on the other hand, he obeyed the wishes of the German group, allowed the existence of the Inquisition, and pretended to put the Mudéjars on the review list.

If the war had been won, Fernando's reputation would have reached its peak and there would naturally be no problem, but he failed.

After the Battle of the Tagus, Justinian collected a large number of Mudejar captives and corpses, and asked his clerks to write a long article in the most touching words, submit it to the Roman Curia and the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and publish it briefly in major newspapers, asking the imperial merchants to spread the main ideas of the article to all parts of the Mediterranean.

The article enumerated ten charges against the royal family of Aragon, tearfully accusing them of harboring pagans, persecuting Christian brothers and deceiving the Roman Catholic Church. It also exposed their past support for the false pope of Avignon during the Great Schism of the Catholic Church.

The Roman Curia was filled with a bunch of selfish old foxes, who probably wouldn't be angered by something with ulterior motives, but the German group in Valencia could no longer sit still. They had not supported the Carlists in the civil war before, and they obeyed Fernando's wishes in everything, giving him money and equipment with only one condition, which was to fundamentally agree with the purpose of the Inquisition and eliminate the Mudejar industrialists and businessmen.

I thought you just wanted to take a break from the war, but I didn't expect you had no intention of eliminating them at all?

If you don't eliminate them, do you want to eliminate us?
In fact, the Aragon royal family had long wanted to take action against foreign merchants in Valencia. While they brought in a lot of tax revenue, they were not conducive to the long-term development of local industries. A Mudejar could be basically assimilated into a member of the Spanish nation after a few decades, but it was very difficult for these wealthy and knowledgeable foreigners.

In the original time and space, the Kingdom of Aragon had been gradually taking back the trade privileges of foreign merchants in Valencia, and even this took a long time. However, the entry of the Habsburg world dynasty instead strengthened the power of foreign capital in Valencia, and a hundred years of achievements were almost lost.

Later, when Spanish trade declined and foreign capital could no longer make money, they naturally went to better cities with the proceeds of exploitation and disappeared in Spanish history.

So, when Ferdinand levied taxes again, the Mudéjars continued to support him, but the German group in Valencia began to collectively oppose it. Whether they were Dutch merchants, Hanseatic merchants or Northern Italian merchants, they all banded together to resist taxation. Some radicals advocated using the power of the Holy See to launch a rebellion, while most pessimists tended to flee Iberia with their belongings.

Granada has collapsed. It will be difficult for this former silk capital to regain its former glory. Several major cities of the Eastern Roman Empire are replacing it. If the Kingdom of Aragon chooses to continue its hostility with the Eastern Roman Empire, Valencia's "middleman" business will simply not be able to continue.

Therefore, when the war between Iberia and Sicily was basically settled, Minister of Commerce Fugger took advantage of the business opportunity to come to Iberia, looking for opportunities.

Ulrich remembered that in the letter, the emperor wrote in detail his views on the situation in Valencia. He believed that this group of industrialists and businessmen were unlikely to rebel. They were too weak and compromising, and had no inner centripetal force towards the country of Aragon and the nation of Spain. The first thing they did when they encountered a problem was to think about how to temporarily escape while preserving more property. They would never raise the banner of rebellion unless it was absolutely necessary.

However, by that time, they were no longer strong enough to make the rebellion successful.

Therefore, Fugger's task was mainly to add fuel to the fire. He could provide some loans so that they could buy some weapons and hire an army. If they were really hesitant, he would try his best to persuade them to bring their assets to Carthage to do business, set up workshops, and become Eastern Roman citizens.

Unlike the United Kingdom of Aragon, which had not yet completely broken away from the medieval system, the Eastern Roman Empire's degree of centralization and domestic capital power were not comparable to theirs. In addition, it had a citizenship system, making it easy for foreign capital to come in but difficult to leave, and would not cause much waves. The Eastern Roman Empire might even be able to rely on the network of relationships of foreign capitalists in their original countries to sell goods to more distant places.

The tax department of the Eastern Roman Empire even had the right to apply for the mobilization of the army and fleet. No matter who you were originally, no matter where you were currently engaged in business, as long as you had Roman citizenship, you had to pay taxes to the imperial government. If you dared to break the law, all your property within the empire would be confiscated, and your entire family would be put on the wanted list of the Eastern Roman Empire, facing constant pursuit by intelligence agents.

The fleet slowly approached the port of Almeria in the Kingdom of Granada. Ulrich sorted out his thoughts. The young Visby was still serious and worried.

"Visby, after your family came to Valencia, did it still have any relationship with Gotland or the Hanseatic League?"

Ulrich asked casually.

"There is really no connection with Gotland anymore, it is now part of the Kingdom of Denmark."

Visby replied.

"My family has some connections in the city of Lübeck. I was born in Lübeck and my mother tongue is not Gotlandic, but German."

"Do you or the Emperor have any interest in the Hanseatic League?"

"It's not me, nor the emperor, but a private merchant group."

Ulrich thought about it.

“To be precise, it is a group of merchants who have close ties with Portuguese merchants.”

"The Eastern Empire and Portugal have been cooperating for more than 30 years. Many business groups include both imperial merchants and Portuguese merchants. The Constantinople Stock Exchange and the newly established Lisbon Stock Exchange are permanent partners."

"In the previous division of interests between our two countries, the Eastern Empire got the Mediterranean, and Portugal got the English Channel, the North Sea, and the Baltic Sea. But now, they seem to have lost a lot of their share and have been excluded."

"Well, I know that. Their main obstacle is the Dutch-English business group."

Visby said.

"Crown Prince Joao is a very ambitious man. He is no longer satisfied with transit business and is vigorously developing the handicraft manufacturing industry. However, the Kingdom of Portugal has too small a population and too few resources to compete with the Netherlands, which has been developing rapidly for decades."

"Netherlands' industry and commerce are the common enemy of the Hanseatic League and the Kingdom of Portugal. If you are really interested, I can introduce you to some important people in Lübeck."

"Let's talk about it later. The most urgent task is to resolve this long-lasting war."

Ulrich shook his head and looked toward the sea to the north.

"Everyone says that Valencia is the jewel in the crown of Aragon. Nearly half of Fernando's war funds come from Valencia and the surrounding areas."

"Fernando is at the end of his rope. What will he do if something happens to Valencia again?"

The fleet slowly approached the shore, and Ulrich walked onto the dock, where officials had been waiting for him.

"Ulrich Fugger?"

A local official asked, seeming to be a little unimpressed by Ulrich, and his eyes occasionally glanced at the family emblem on his chest.

"Yes, the Imperial Minister of Commerce, the fifth-level elder of the Senate appointed by the Emperor, the leader of industrial and commercial reforms, and the patriarch of the Fugger family, Ulrich."

Ulrich replied coldly and also looked at the other party's family ring.

Ulrich was too lazy to argue with him. He just patted his expensive velvet coat and took out a mahogany pipe with intricate patterns and the best tobacco from Cuba from his pocket with his hand wearing a gold and diamond ring.

The young nobleman's expression was a little grim, but he calmed down a lot and became serious.

"Welcome to the port of Almeria, one of the territories of the Duke of Cordoba, where the flags of King Carlos and Duke Alonso fly."

"Enough of the small talk. What's the matter?"

Ulrich nodded absentmindedly.

"There is a letter for you, my lord."

The young noble handed Ulrich a letter with a double-headed eagle emblem on it.

Ulrich took the letter, opened the envelope, and read it quickly, with a smile on his face growing wider and wider.

"What's the matter, sir?"

Visby asked curiously.

This was no secret letter, and Ulrich handed it to Visby.

"The city of Palermo fell, the Marquis of Gatis was captured, his mercenary group chose to leave, and Sicily was liberated."

"The Western Mediterranean Fleet is sailing towards the coast of Aragon. Our work must be accelerated."

……

In January 1476, after more than 1 days of continuous bombing, most of the main urban area of ​​Palermo was destroyed, nearly half of the military camps were set on fire by hot shells in the first bombardment, a tower of the Norman Palace collapsed completely, and a warehouse for storing grain was smashed into a hole by shells. The Dick Tudor cannon shattered the fantasy of the Marquis of Gatiss with its unparalleled power.

This giant artillery shell that fell from the sky caused great panic among the Sicilian military and civilians. They believed that they were being punished by God and called this orbital cannon "God's Punishment Cannon". Morale gradually fell to the bottom.

On February 2, the Eastern Roman army launched the final general offensive, advancing both by land and sea. After half a day of street fighting, the Spanish morale completely collapsed, and some captains surrendered directly to the Eastern Roman Empire, demanding a ransom to save their lives.

On the evening of February 2, the Eastern Roman army captured the Norman palace and the Marquis of Gatis was captured on the spot. The Eastern Roman Emperor Isaac III held a grand ceremony here and announced the official establishment of the autonomous province of Sicily.

On February 2, the Western Mediterranean Fleet of the Eastern Roman Empire arrived at the port of Valencia on the coast of Aragon, demanding that the King of Aragon surrender unconditionally to the Eastern Roman Emperor and strictly abide by the principles of the Roman See, eliminate Mudejar industrialists and businessmen, and assign the former Mudejar gathering areas to the jurisdiction of the Knights Templar or the diocese.

Fernando, who was in charge of taxation in Valencia, naturally refused and gave an impassioned mobilization speech in Valencia, calling on the Aragonese navy in the port of Valencia to fight to the death and block the bombing of the Eastern Roman navy with the determination to die.

Afterwards, Fernando slipped out of Valencia under the cover of night. The dozen or so old warships of the Aragonese Navy did not cause much trouble to the dozens of advanced warships of the Eastern Roman Empire. Since the port of Valencia had a large number of coastal defense guns, the Eastern Roman Navy did not land directly, but blocked the route and bombarded across the sea with long-range guns on large warships.

Valencia, the jewel in the crown of Aragon, is finally covered with a thick layer of dust.

(End of this chapter)