1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 37 Rest and Recuperation
Isaac pacified the Jufra oasis group and initially established order.

The entire Jufra Oasis was divided into three administrative districts by Isaac, with Narsis Castle, Jufra City and Alagaeh City as the administrative centers.

These cities were directly under the principality government and governed by archons sent by the principality.

Outside of the three large settlements, there are many active tribes affiliated with Isaac.

All the heroes who followed Isaac in his campaigns also received their own fiefs.

Mikhail was named Count of Trisan, with his fief in the Trisan Oasis.

Conti formally declared his allegiance to Isaac and was named Baron of Shuy with his fief at Shuy Well.

Commander Maruna formally pledged allegiance to Isaac and became a member of his vassal corps, being named Baron of Cherle.

Ibrahim and Mehmet were both made barons.

Isaac encouraged them to invest in their own fiefdoms and required them to use their own money to relocate refugees and open up farmland.

In exchange, they could nominate family members to assist in the administration of the fief.

Everyone was grinning from ear to ear, and Mikhail, who had the largest fiefdom, couldn't stop smiling for several days.

His son was not interested in military affairs, so he could be sent to assist in the management of territorial affairs.

Even after he passes away, his family will not decline.

In addition, Isaac formed the Slaves Legion with the slave tribe led by Erdosh as the core, and incorporated war slaves and captured women to graze in the area around the Dafilai Spring. Five nearby springs and an oasis belonged to them.

The Slaves Legion is independent of the entire administrative system, is not under the jurisdiction of any military commander, and is directly under Isaac himself.

At this point, the entire principality was temporarily divided into two major regions, one legionary area and several fiefdoms.

The Sirte region includes the capital port of Sirte and the administrative district of Saint-Josephal.

The Jufra region includes the Narsesborg governorate, the Jufra city governorate and the Alagai governorate.

"That's it for now."

Isurt closed the plan and looked at Isaac who was tasting the desert mead.

"Yes, once you have decided on the candidates for the Archon and the Steward, I will interview them personally."

“There are several things besides administrative planning.”

"You say."

Isurte straightened his clothes and started writing.

"First, you should coordinate with Urda to establish the Surte United Chamber of Commerce and encourage all tribal sheikhs and nobles to join."

"The Chamber of Commerce has established branches in several major cities. The goods of the subordinate tribes are gathered at several trading points and then directed to the capital, Surte Port. Finally, they connect with the Monferrato Trading Company to complete the export and import of goods."

"Don't underestimate the Chamber of Commerce. It is the rope that ties the tribal sheikhs. When they can enjoy the dividends from the Chamber of Commerce every year, they will naturally be drawn to the Principality."

"Second, send diplomatic envoys to Fezzan and try to reach an armistice agreement. Once we have successfully digested the occupied territory, we can continue our southern expedition."

"Third, allow Baron Maruna to go to northern Italy to recruit mercenaries to join the Black Legion. The number of Black Legion members will be increased to 2000."

"The Purple Guards are stationed in Jufra City, the Royal Guards are stationed in Fort Narsis, the Black Legion is stationed in Alagai City, and the Oak Legion is stationed in Surt Port."

"Fourth, we will gradually establish city guards in each city. We will give priority to Greek Orthodox Christians who are proficient in Arabic as officers. At the same time, we will also establish city councils in each city. We can refer to the port of Surt."

Isaac looked at the tip of Isurt's pen rustling across the parchment, and at his red eyes and big dark circles, he suddenly felt a little complicated.

"Anything else, Your Highness?"

"Fifth... Have a good rest, my dear lord."

Isaac patted Iseult on the shoulder and poured him a glass of mead.

After seeing off Isurte, Isaac welcomed Finance Minister Riddle.

This is a fat, bald, middle-aged man of half Slav descent. It is said that he was once the financial officer of a nobleman of the Golden Horde.

He was dressed in finery, and carried a scimitar—

After the Battle of St. Joseph's, Isaac issued a new batch of scimitars, totaling 100.

This time, the recipients of the honor are no longer limited to the military, but civilian officers who have made outstanding contributions can also receive it.

Due to its exquisite craftsmanship and fine texture, it received a good response in the army and was called "Isaac Knife" by the soldiers.

It is a great honor for a soldier to own an Isaac knife.

"What is it? My chancellor?"

"Your Highness, I am very sorry to tell you that if you continue to wage war, you will go bankrupt next month."

Riddle spread out the financial report in his hand and showed Isaac the territory's income and expenditure.

His handwriting was like a chicken pecking at rice, and Isaac was completely confused.

"Tell me about it."

"Then I'll make it short."

"Last month, the tax revenue of the Grand Duchy of Surte was only 500 ducats, and that was even when the Monferrato Trading Company focused on purchasing slaves from Surte."

“Does it include the Jufra region?”

"Not included."

“What about other income?”

"The estimated amount of war spoils is 1 ducats, but livestock and other supplies are difficult to cash in."

"Captain Fidel has obtained a total of 6000 ducats from looting this month."

"Profit of the Roman printing house 4000 ducats."

"Monferrato Trading Company's dividend is 3000 ducats."

"Marquis John IV sent the 2000 ducats he owed."

“Tribal taxation was suspended due to the war.”

"The Greek Guinea Company has not yet delivered a new batch of gold."

“And our expenses are…”

Seeing that Riddle was about to continue chanting, Isaac quickly stopped him.

"Just tell me, how much is the deficit?"

"The total deficit this month is 8800 ducats, and there are currently 2400 ducats left in the treasury."

"If you continue your conquests, you'll be forced to borrow money from greedy merchants next month."

Riddle spread his hands.

"So much military spending?"

"This is the rule you made yourself. The post-war rewards, death and injury compensation, and normal wages are all a large sum of money."

Isaac bit his lip.

You can treat yourself badly, but you must never treat your soldiers badly.

"I have sent envoys south. There should be no more fighting. We need some time to digest this."

"Also, there is no need to build the palace that you proposed last time. We can talk about it later."

"Well, my dear prince, the funds requested by Lancelot and Albert can be provided, and the civil works can also be started, which requires, um..."

Riddle began to calculate.

"You don't need to draw conclusions now. Just give me the financial statements every month for review. If other departments request them, please give me the materials for approval."

"It's natural."

Riddle closed the account, bowed and left.

We need to fight a war this month, so the finances are definitely tight. Once the Jufra region starts to make a profit and the Sirte United Chamber of Commerce is established, the financial situation should be better.

It's time to rest for a while.

The next day, Isaac returned to the port of Sirte under the escort of the Oak Legion.

Interior Minister Isult and Finance Minister Riedel remained in Narsesburg.

It was winter, and the dry grassland regained its vitality under the nourishment of rain.

Around the port of Surt, next to the newly built villages, all usable fields were reclaimed, and Greeks and Yugoslavs from the Balkans, Goths and East Slavs from the Black Sea coast lived intermixed on this arid land.

Isaac rode on his horse and looked at the farmers in the fields from afar.

They were very vigilant, each person was equipped with a machete, and there were people standing guard on high ground.

Seeing Isaac's flag, the peasants felt relieved and waved to their lord.

Isaac turned his horse and walked straight to a farmer.

This is a typical Greek peasant, hardworking, humble, and accustomed to bowing and scraping after so many years of oppression.

"Your Majesty."

He knelt down and saluted.

“What are you growing?”

Isaac pointed to the fields. Some green seedlings had already sprouted out, absorbing moisture from the ground and growing upwards desperately.

"Your Highness, I'm planting rye, and there are some onions over there." "The agricultural officer who came to guide the planting last time said that the conditions here are not good, and wheat and oats are also difficult to grow. Rye is slightly better."

“Onions were also grown under his guidance.”

Isaac looked at the field and saw that the rye seedlings were indeed growing normally.

“Can you support yourself?”

"It's OK, Your Highness. Although the land is not good, I have been allocated a lot of land. This is my worst piece of land. All the good land has been planted."

When talking about the land, the farmer smiled happily.

"What's going on over there?"

Isaac asked, pointing to a small green field.

The farmer suddenly felt a little frightened.

He stood up and knelt down again.

"Your Highness, please forgive me. Those weeds were planted by my son himself and polluted your territory."

"Alex!"

Hearing his father's call, a boy in his teens came out from the bushes with a red face.

"Hurry up and apologize to His Highness!"

Isaac stopped the teen.

"Alex, what are you growing?"

"Three...clovers, your highness."

“Why plant these?”

Under Isaac's encouraging gaze, Alex told him the purpose of growing clover.

“I found that the soil becomes fertile when clover is planted.”

“And the sheep like to eat this kind of grass.”

“Most importantly, this stuff is very tolerant of sandy soil and can be grown in a lot of places.”

He excitedly broke up the land where clover had been planted and showed Isaac his discovery.

Isaac looked in amazement at the little boy who became more and more excited as he spoke.

There are many kinds of clovers, and the one this child is planting is probably clover.

Alfalfa is a leguminous plant that is suitable for sandy soil. It is cold-resistant, drought-resistant, saline-alkali-resistant, and hates stagnant water.

The disadvantage is that it is easily affected by weeds and has poor competitiveness.

Alex trailed off as he saw his father's face falling.

"Alex, I think your discovery is very meaningful. Come with me. I will give you a different job."

……

During Isaac's return to Surt, he focused on investigating the conditions in the surrounding agricultural areas.

The advantage is that basically all usable land is utilized.

The disadvantage is that the planting techniques are very crude and the land is not utilized adequately.

dong dong dong-

"Please come in!"

The door opened and a middle-aged man walked in, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Your Highness, are you looking for me?"

"Please take a seat, Mix."

Mixus, one of the talents recommended by George Sfrangis to Isaac, was a former estate steward in Epirus and had extensive agricultural knowledge.

After Isaac established the principality, he hired him as an agricultural consultant to oversee land reclamation and division.

"This is Alex, a young man who loves land knowledge. From now on, he will become your assistant officer."

"Your Highness, you mean..."

A look of surprise appeared on Mix's face.

"I have decided to officially hire you as Minister of Agriculture, in charge of land affairs."

"This Alex will assist you in your work."

"check it out."

Isaac handed Mix the preliminary plan that he and Alex had been working on all afternoon.

"Alex, explain it to me."

Alex stood up and greeted Mix.

"There are two necessary conditions for the implementation of our plan."

“Land and livestock.”

“First, we divide a piece of land into three parts.”

"Plant clover in area one. When the clover matures, it can be used as feed for cattle and sheep. The rhizomes of clover can be turned into the soil after planting."

"District Two is responsible for composting, mixing alfalfa rhizomes and cow and sheep manure into the soil to fertilize the fields."

"If grain crops are planted in the third area, alfalfa and fertilizer will greatly increase grain production."

"After one round, we rotate them. The land that was originally used to grow grain is used to grow alfalfa, the land that was originally used to grow alfalfa is used to make compost, and the land that has been used for composting is used to grow grain."

"This plan will take two to three years to implement initially, and is currently mainly experimental."

Mix looked at it for a long time without saying anything.

This was an agricultural reform plan that Isaac developed based on Alex’s findings and his own later understanding.

Isaac took great pains to balance all these factors.

Some farmers are reluctant to mix manure directly on their crops, believing that this will anger God.

Then I mix the manure and alfalfa together, is that okay?

Some short-sighted farmers are unwilling to grow alfalfa like they grow grain. Then I will let you combine farming and animal husbandry and use alfalfa as feed for cattle and sheep. Is that ok?

Isaac sipped the fruit wine and quietly watched Mix's expression.

"Your Highness, this plan still needs to be tested. If it succeeds, it will have a bright future."

"I'll go prepare the first round of experimental fields now."

Meeks saluted and prepared to leave.

"The details of the plan still need to be finalized. Alex will go with you."

“Don’t be limited by the plan, treat each case individually.”

"It's natural."

Regarding agricultural reform, although Isaac has knowledge from the 21st century, he dare not use it recklessly.

Land is complex and we cannot draw conclusions based on theories.

Every decision you make affects the livelihoods of countless farmers.

For example, the curved plow that has appeared so prominently in countless time-travel novels is simply not suitable for the Mediterranean climate and temperate desert climate of North Africa.

Legumes fertilize the soil, and manure increases yields, and these things are the same on any land.

Farmers may not be satisfied at first, but once they discover the benefits of crop rotation, they will spontaneously and widely use it.

Time will prove everything.

Time passed, and the Easter bells of 1447 rang in the church.

Orthodox immigrants from Europe cheered their rebirth, and some Arab Orthodox Christians also joined in the revelry.

They walked down the street and kissed each other.

“Jesus is born again.”

Everyone was talking happily.

Some of them were once slaves, some were once serfs, and some could not make it in their hometowns and wanted to look for opportunities in new places.

In the port of Surte, the newly opened taverns were packed with people. The Monferrato Trading Company and the Surte United Chamber of Commerce had jointly opened several new markets to provide European and North African goods to local residents.

They sang hymns to celebrate the New Year and rebirth.

Isaac was in his study, writing a letter.

"Dear George Castrioti Skanderbeg, I wish you everlasting health and I will drink to your victory over the Ottomans..."

"As your loyal friend, I have some advice for you..."

"It's not about the brutal Ottomans, but about those greedy merchants, Venice..."

(End of this chapter)