1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 404: The Gypsy War

November 1478 came quietly with a heavy snowfall, and the northern hemisphere entered a cold winter.

On the Anatolian Peninsula, the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid set fire to the city of Ankara and fled east to Sivas with the gathered nomadic tribes. While asking for help from the White Sheep and Mamluk dynasties, he prepared for the winter. Every refugee who fled here was severely exploited and oppressed, and a large number of Muslim refugees were desperately heading towards death due to famine and cold.

At the northern foot of the Taurus Mountains, Karamanbay Ucan did not have the courage to fight to the death, and watched helplessly as the Roman capital of Konya was quickly conquered by the 30,000-strong army of the Eastern Roman Empire. He wandered between Konya and Karaman with the remaining 10,000-odd troops, and successfully defeated a reckless and aggressive Eastern Roman army with the high mobility brought by his cavalry. More than 1,000 archers and more than 200 members of the reclamation team were massacred.

Despite the cold weather and the brutality of the nomads, the Eastern Roman Empire persisted in advancing deeper into the plateau. The colonial and handicraft systems worked at full capacity to transport shiploads of food, clothing, weapons and coke to the port, which were then delivered to the soldiers by transport teams. The remnants of the Turkic soldiers and Muslim refugees who were fighting guerrilla warfare in the mountains frequently went down the mountains because of the increasingly cold weather, and the Eastern Roman soldiers also gave them the most severe blows on the battlefields.

During this winter, the chaotic situation of the Aq Qoyunlu dynasty gradually became clear. The 8,000 mercenaries of the Mamluk dynasty provided strong support to Jacob. Prince Khalil was trapped in Tabriz and was on the verge of defeat.

In the war of 1478, the extremely powerful comprehensive strength of the Eastern Roman Empire brought considerable shock to the Islamic world. The traditional war model was rewritten, and the traditional scorched earth policy could not prevent the Eastern Roman Empire from being defeated in the wilderness of Anatolia like its ancestors hundreds of years ago. The vigorous vitality brought by colonialism and capitalism soared into the sky and turned into a thick dark cloud, covering the sky over Asia Minor, making Muslims feel a deep sense of powerlessness.

However, for the nomadic tribes in the easternmost part of the Anatolian Peninsula, these things are still far away. Winter is coming, and not all places have the Black Sea warm current like the one near Trebizond. The northern pastures will be covered with snow. They must follow the ancient tradition and take their herds of cattle and sheep to the warm south to find winter pastures.

These nomadic tribes include Turkmen and Kurds in a broad sense. Their winter pastures are mostly distributed on the low plains south of the Taurus Mountains in the southeast, which belongs to the second terrace of the Euphrates and Tigris River basins. There is abundant water and grass here. It was once the birthplace of the Turkmen Aq Qop Dynasty. The degree of urbanization is very low, and only Diyarbakir can be called a medium-sized city. Farming peoples are distributed around the city, and large tracts of wilderness are the homes of nomadic peoples.

In the Euphrates River Basin, on the southwestern foot of the mountains, a small town called Narle is located on the hillside. The Southeast Taurus Mountains in the north are covered with snow, and the gentle mountain road in the west leads to the Cilician Plain.

This land belonged to the Dulkadir Bey State, a Turkic Bey state sandwiched between the White Sheep Dynasty and the Mamluk Dynasty. It was once destroyed by the Ottoman Empire, and then was incorporated into the White Sheep King Uzum Hassan. Not long ago, the White Sheep Dynasty was in civil strife. In exchange for support, Prince Jacob granted Dulkadir Bey autonomy, making it a barrier against Western powers again.

After the fall of the Ramazanbeyi State, the Eastern Roman Empire carried out forced baptisms on the Cilician Plain, using violent means to force Muslims to convert to Orthodox Christianity. However, only about one-tenth of Muslims agreed to convert, or expressed their willingness to convert and were given a period of consideration. The remaining Muslims were either captured as slaves, massacred, or had to flee in all directions.

The attack of the Eastern Roman Empire reduced the three major cities in the Cilician Plain to ruins, and the towns and villages near the cities were wiped out in the subsequent sweeps. The successive massacres and slave hunts caused the population of Cilicia to decline rapidly. About 50,000 people fled into the mountains and continued to migrate to Dulkadir in the east and Mamluk in the south.

The Dulkadirs and Mamluks generally welcomed these Muslim refugees. They were both Sunni Muslims and could integrate into the local society after a period of transition.

As for the nomadic tribes, the situation in eastern Asia Minor was rather special. The two production modes coexisted on the same piece of land, and there was no clear boundary between the nomadic area and the farming area. The nomadic tribes were not so hostile to the settled villages and often regarded them as food reserves during the cold winter. When the nomadic tribes had a hard time, they would rob the local villages, eat their food, and burn their firewood.

However, when groups of refugees fled from the west, huge pressure of survival immediately emerged. It takes time to reclaim wasteland, and the food on the market soon became insufficient. Some citizens united to block the refugees outside the city gates and refused to provide them with any help.

The Mamluk Sultan Qiyitbay was a man with vision. He set up resettlement institutions for refugees in the area bordering the Cilician Plain. Scholars and craftsmen were treated well, riders and warriors were promoted, and the rest of the ordinary people were relocated to the south and settled in the Levant and Egypt, reclaiming the land that had been deserted due to years of war.

To the north of the small town of Narle, a camp is stationed in a sparsely populated valley. The camp is surrounded by dense forests. Simple tents are arranged crookedly, and simple beds made of hay and branches are placed under the tents. Dozens of tents surround a caravan, which is filled with simple furniture and various gadgets. There is even an Orthodox cross inside the caravan.

Obviously, this is a refugee camp belonging to a free people group that is always on the road, the Gypsies.

It was evening, and the stew pots on several campfires were bubbling. The gypsy tribesmen sat together in groups of three or four and began to enjoy the night's food. The priest of the camp led everyone in prayer, thanking God for his grace.

Some had pious looks on their faces, some had expressionless faces. The children listened absentmindedly to the long Greek prayers and secretly glanced at the simple stables in the camp, where several majestic horses were snorting.

After the prayer, everyone started to eat. The quiet atmosphere was swept away and joyful conversations rang out in the camp. The children finished their meal quickly, ran to the stables, and stuffed the grass they had picked into the horses' mouths. The horses also gently licked the children's palms, making them laugh.

"Assholes, the rest of you should go somewhere else and don't disturb the Red Cavalry's rest!"

The gypsy commander popped his head out of the caravan and yelled at the children.

"They're going out tonight!"

The children complained a few times and fled in a hurry. Next to the stable, several Slaves cavalrymen disguised as Muslims grunted a few times, turned over, and continued to sleep.

The commander watched the children run away angrily, then sat back in his seat in the caravan, poured himself a glass of vodka, and took a few sips. A fire ignited in his abdomen, making him feel warm.

Exhaling a breath of alcohol, the commander looked at the cross on the innermost side of the caravan, his mind a little confused.

The commander is named Munda, the leader of this gypsy camp. Five years ago, Munda's father died in the cold winter. He took over his father's position and continued to lead this gypsy tribe.

By the end of the 15th century, Gypsies had traveled across half of Europe, from the steppes of East Europe to Great Britain, from Iberia to Bulgaria. Only Northern Europe, which was too cold, had no trace of Gypsies.

As an alien ethnic group, the Gypsies suffered discrimination in a foreign land. They stubbornly preserved their own traditions and were unwilling to settle down or engage in animal husbandry or farming. The settlers believed that they were lazy, idle, liars, and stealing, and were "parasites" of cities and villages.

In the original time and space, Europeans' discrimination and prejudice against Gypsies came from multiple factors, including discrimination based on skin color and race, moral and cultural disgust, conflicts between settlers and vagrants, and religious and political distrust.

The Eastern Roman Empire was the first European civilization the Gypsies encountered on their westward migration. Whether in the Greek Peninsula, the Anatolian Peninsula, Bulgaria or Serbia, there were considerable mobile Gypsy populations. In order to manage these wandering tribes and prevent them from causing trouble for urban development, the Eastern Roman Empire spent a lot of effort over the past decade.

History has proven that the Gypsies cannot be driven away or killed off. They have spent hundreds of years living under the exclusion and suppression of Europeans, and their population is still growing. There are countless powerful monarchs who wanted to solve the Gypsy problem once and for all, but without exception, they never achieved real success.

Thanks to his historical foresight, Isaac never thought of exterminating the Gypsies from the beginning. Their loose organizational model made it impossible for them to seek national independence or split the land to establish a country. Their pragmatic religious thinking and excellent language learning ability allowed them to at least reach unity with ordinary Romans in faith and language. As long as they did not cause trouble, they could not pose any threat to the Eastern Roman Empire.

In the last Bulgarian War, some Gypsies provided assistance to the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Ottoman general Veli Mahmud was defeated and killed, which marked a good start for cooperation between the Romans and the Gypsies.

After the war, Isaac summoned the Bulgarian Gypsy tribes to a meeting in Varna and reached an agreement with them. On the premise of allowing them to migrate freely, he required them to abide by Eastern Roman laws and provide intelligence support to the Eastern Roman Empire.

However, the Gypsies are too loosely organized. They have always lived independently in small tribes of dozens or hundreds of people. The tribes do not interact closely with each other, and they do not have much contact with each other. After all, only a few of them came to visit Isaac and sign an agreement with him. A large number of small Gypsy tribes are still hiding on the edge of human society.

After the expansion of the administrative structure, the voice from Constantinople could spread across the country. A normalization campaign against the Gypsies was carried out in the core territories. Citizens living in towns and villages were required to report any traces of Gypsies immediately. Administrators and clergy, accompanied by the Royal Mounted Police, would find Gypsy camps one by one, register them, and require them to go to the nearest large city to obtain legal passes that could only be issued by regional governments.

In order to ease the conflict between the Gypsy tribes and the Eastern Roman citizens, the Eastern Roman Empire's Institute of Humanities and Propaganda Department also carried out targeted propaganda at the request of the central government, trying to clarify the mainstream society's unwarranted suspicion of the Gypsies.

The first is the origin of the nation. Based on the high similarity between the Gypsy language and Indian Sanskrit, humanists have inferred that the Gypsies originally came from India. They must be the product of Alexander's Eastern Expedition and the Hellenistic era. They are the survivors of Greece and have the same ancestors as the Eastern Roman citizens.

The second is religion. Unlike the Hebrews, the Gypsies have a very casual attitude towards religion. They believe in whatever religion they choose wherever they go. The Gypsies in the Eastern Roman Empire basically all believe in Eastern Orthodoxy. They are fellow brothers belonging to the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, so there is no such thing as heresy.

As for the so-called divination, astrology and other occult "witchcraft", such things can be big or small. The most noble monarch in Western Europe, Frederick III of the Holy Roman Empire was obsessed with this theory. It is impossible for the Vatican to lead the Crusades to attack Vienna. If you don't take it seriously, basically no one cares.

Then came the name. Humanists believed that the Gypsies' self-proclaimed "Roma" must have an inseparable connection with the Roman Empire, and suggested that people should respect them and change the discriminatory name "Aginganos" to "Roma".

Finally, there is the issue of morality. Farmers and citizens often accuse Gypsies of stealing. Some of these accusations are certainly well-founded, but most of them come from deep-rooted prejudices in people's minds. Whenever there is theft, everyone will blindly pin the blame on the Gypsies who are on the margins of society, regardless of whether they are willing or not.

In fact, the more people exclude the Gypsies, the poorer they become. The poorer they are, the more frequent theft occurs, and even some Gypsy tribes that originally did not like to steal are forced to the opposite side, eventually creating a vicious cycle.

In fact, the Gypsies are not a united group at all. The differences between two Gypsy tribes in different regions may be greater than the differences between the people of Constantinople and Carthage.

As for other accusations made by Western Europeans against the Gypsies, such as carrying the plague and acting as spies for Eastern Muslims, these are of course nonsense. The urban health regulations of the Eastern Roman Empire were extremely strict, and a large-scale plague had not broken out for a long time. Eastern Muslims were defeated by the imperial army, so how could there be any talk of plague and spies?

After a series of propaganda, the discrimination against Gypsies by Eastern Roman citizens was slightly alleviated, and the Gypsies could also feel the goodwill released by the central government of the empire. Under the persuasion of the central government of the empire, some Gypsy tribes in Bulgaria began to settle around the city. At the same time, they were no longer conservative and stubborn, and allowed tribal members to marry Eastern Roman citizens.

However, the vast majority of gypsy tribes still maintain their own traditions and would rather live in the open air while wandering freely than live a life of plenty under the blue sky of the city.

Therefore, the Eastern Roman Empire continued to issue policies, hoping that every Gypsy commander would send one of his sons other than his heir to the seminary for short-term study, and after returning to the tribe, serve as tribal priests, organize daily religious activities for members, and provide children with the most basic theological and Greek language education. At the same time, they would thoroughly bring Orthodox moral concepts into the Gypsy group, making them feel ashamed of possible theft.

Do you want to preserve your traditional culture? Do you not want to be completely assimilated by Eastern Roman society? That's fine. You don't have any ambitions anyway. It doesn't matter.

However, if you are unwilling to accept even the most basic religious assimilation, then you are not giving face to the Eastern Roman Empire. Since the revival of the Eastern Roman Empire, any ethnic group that dared not give face to the empire has mostly ended up in a bad way.

Under the semi-coercion and persuasion of the Eastern Roman Empire, most of the Gypsy tribes accepted this request. The tribal commanders honestly sent one of their sons to the seminary and accepted them as tribal priests after they returned from their studies.

In order to give the more docile Gypsy tribes some sweet benefits, the Eastern Roman Empire began to divide the passes into three levels, granting them various rights according to the degree of loyalty of the Gypsy tribes to the Eastern Roman Empire.

The lowest-level passes were issued to tribes that were willing to register but unwilling to accept religious management. They could only camp in rural areas and around small towns and were not allowed to wander around large cities such as administrative district capitals. Once discovered, they would be immediately driven away.

The second level of passes is the most common and is also called the "church pass". It is issued to tribes willing to accept religious management. They can camp around large cities and are allowed to sell goods and operate stalls.

The highest level pass is called the "Royal Pass" and is issued directly by the emperor, crown prince or crown grandson to gypsy tribes willing to serve the empire and undertake tasks such as observing local areas and gathering intelligence. They can even be stationed in designated locations within large cities and receive special symbols of power from the royal family, giving them the right to properly manage other gypsy tribes around them.

Since the Gypsies are not productive, they must rely on rural areas or towns to survive. High-level passes are very attractive to the Gypsy tribe. Under the premise of guaranteeing freedom of migration and ethnic traditions, the pursuit of a better life is the innate nature of human beings, and the Gypsies are no exception.

Over the past decade, the Eastern Roman Empire's gypsy policy had achieved fairly good results. There were mobile camps of gypsies around every major city. They did not engage in farming or animal husbandry, but they did not get something for nothing. They were engaged in divination, potion making, lock repairing, metal processing, animal training, singing, dancing, and selling small commodities... Educated priests brought basic Christian morals to the gypsy tribes, and the rapidly developing economy allowed every city to support such service industry personnel. Even a little bit of oil and water flowing out of Constantinople could support dozens of gypsy tribes.

With higher incomes, better lives and higher morals, the crime rate in the Gypsy tribes has plummeted, and their image in the minds of Eastern Roman citizens has also improved. After seeing the prosperity of big cities, some Gypsy tribes have begun to have different ideas, hoping to gain a place in the city rather than wandering around.

Of course, the decline in the Gypsy crime rate is also closely related to the laws of the Eastern Roman Empire. It is difficult for ordinary Gypsy tribes to enter towns, while farmers and ranchers in the vast rural areas enjoy absolute right to self-defense on their private land. If a Gypsy thief dares to break into private territory without permission, the owner can use lethal weapons including muskets and crossbows to defend his private property after persuasion fails. If the Gypsy tribe is ready to retaliate, the Royal Mounted Police will defend the taxpayers of the empire to the death.

Some gypsy tribes that obtained royal passes gradually developed a sense of ownership of the country. They were relatively powerful and would consciously restrain other tribes around them, prohibiting them from breaking the law, damaging the reputation of the entire ethnic group, and destroying the hard-earned peaceful life.

In the early 15th century, Sigismund of the Luxembourg Dynasty provided protection to a group of Gypsies and allowed them to move freely on his land. The Gypsies took this opportunity to expand their activities to half of Europe, but the monarchs did not really take the Gypsy issue seriously. They let it go, and when the situation became uncontrollable, they began to persecute them on a large scale.

At the end of the 15th century, the Gypsies’ golden age of less than a century had come to an end. Frequent plagues, poor harvests, cold weather and the rise of witch-hunting led to a wave of persecution of Gypsies in Western European countries. The Eastern Roman Empire’s generous treatment of Gypsies led many Gypsy tribes to return to Eastern Roman territory. By the end of 1478, the number of Gypsies living in Eastern Roman territory had exceeded and was still increasing.

Because the policy was introduced only recently, although they believed in Eastern Orthodoxy and spoke Greek, most Gypsies did not consider themselves as Romans. For them, the Eastern Roman Empire was a warm and comfortable haven. Apart from the Eastern Roman Empire, no other country had such a developed urban cluster, and no other country was willing to treat them as normal people, so a sense of closeness naturally arose.

They were willing to maintain the current peaceful order and provide all possible assistance to the Eastern Roman Empire. The large tribes with royal passes listed all royal members as "foreign brothers" and even offered to fight for the emperor, just as they stood by Sigismund in the past.

Because of their love of mobility, the Gypsies were deeply involved in the expansion of the Eastern Roman Empire. From Anatolia to Africa, from Elysium to New Thrace, wherever the Eastern Roman Empire went, the Gypsies were rampant. They provided a lot of help to the local government. They reported the rebellion of nomadic tribes and the planning of slave riots. They could not escape the eyes of Islamic scholars who fled to the newly occupied areas. Before the Muslims who "pretended to convert and regretted it later" could start a rebellion, the Gypsies brought the mounted police to kill them all. The Gypsies were not very willing to participate in the fights of "foreigners". They just cherished the peaceful life in front of them too much.

The citizens of the two North African provinces are the most friendly to the Gypsies. As the product of more than 30 years of religious assimilation, their Roman citizenship identity is largely based on common beliefs. They have strong religious fanaticism and universalist tendencies. They tend to be conservative politically, but are more open than Greek citizens when dealing with other Orthodox Christians of different cultures.

The medical school in Carthage openly invited the famous gypsy wandering doctor to teach veterinary courses to students. The zoo in Ben Arus also hired some gypsy animal trainers as keepers. The landowners were very willing to get along with the nearby gypsy tribes, hoping that they could arrest the Muslim slaves who escaped in groups.

On the Greek peninsula, Greek citizens have gradually adapted to the presence of gypsies. The Athena Golden Hall in Athens once invited gypsy dancers to perform, and the St. Nicholas Mall also set aside designated stalls for the gypsy tribe, allowing them to sell strange little gadgets.

In any case, everything is progressing slowly. The fast-growing economy has brought about an enlightened social atmosphere, and all contradictions have been curbed invisibly.

In the summer of 1478, some Gypsy tribes hoping to obtain royal passes received a secret mission. They arrived in Cyprus on a large ship and then landed in Anatolia after the Eastern Roman Empire reconquered Cilicia. They met the emperor in the city of Adana and learned more details of the mission.

"Commander, are you there?"

A voice interrupted Munda's thoughts. He raised his slightly drunken eyes and looked at the tribal priest in a black robe.

This is his younger brother, who responded to the empire's call five years ago and went to the Constanta Seminary for a year of training. Now he is a fairly qualified clergyman, proficient in ecclesiastical Greek, can write Greek, and has some knowledge of Latin.

Monda felt mixed emotions as he looked at his brother who looked like a devout believer.

In fact, the tribe led by Munda originally lived in Anatolia under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. In order to better interact with the settlers, his ancestors naturally adopted Sunni Islam as the belief of the entire tribe. It was not until the Eastern Roman Empire regained the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea and wiped out Muslims that they immediately converted to Eastern Orthodoxy.

In Munda's mind, faith is flexible and adapted to local conditions. They are free wanderers and do not have to serve God wholeheartedly like those Europeans.

Munda's father obviously thought the same. He led the tribe to convert to Orthodoxy, but did not strictly abide by all the laws and customs of Orthodoxy. They even rarely went to church or listened to sermons.

After the Eastern Roman Empire's gypsy policy began to be implemented, Munda's father was of course very happy. He did not want to fight with the settlers, but he was also reluctant to send his son to the seminary. He only held a lowest level pass and allowed the tribe to migrate freely on the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea.

However, a severe cold snap five years ago changed all that. While citizens and villagers stayed at home, enjoying warm charcoal fires and food, a large number of gypsy tribes were wandering in the wind and snow. They had no extra food and no permanent shelters, and often migrated in winter like nomads. If the warm south also began to get cold, they would have no way out. If they were lucky, they might be able to survive, but if they were unlucky, it was very likely that more than half of them would die.

However, in that winter, from Constanta to Mystras, from Chalcedon to Bodrum, the cathedrals of the Eastern Roman cities north of the Mediterranean opened their doors to all the Orthodox Gypsies. Under the sacred mosaics of the Chalcedon Cathedral, the Munda tribe felt the warmth of the cold winter for the first time, the red-burning charcoal, the bubbling hot soup, the fragrant baked bread...

The gypsies knew that the priests actually didn't like them very much. The reason they did this was entirely because of an order from the Grand Palace. It was this order that changed the fate of countless people.

Despite the best efforts of the priests proficient in medicine to rescue him, Munda's father still died of severe frostbite infection. Before his death, he announced in the name of the commander that he accepted the emperor's request to send his second son to the seminary. At the same time, he listed the emperor and his descendants as outsiders and brothers. As long as the Grand Palace treated the tribe well as always, the tribe would obey the orders of the Grand Palace from that winter until the destruction of the world.

"Kind and kind, Emperor Isaac is such a good man..."

Before my father died, he was still muttering to himself as he looked at his fellow tribesmen who had eaten their fill.

Later, most of the Gypsy tribes rescued by the church came under religious management. The Gypsies who had received training in seminaries became the Orthodox Church's tentacles reaching out to nomadic peoples. After seeing the prosperity of big cities, some priests would take the initiative to persuade their brothers or fathers to stop wandering and settle down.

"Commander, where is our next stop?"

The priest stated his purpose directly.

"The church also wants us tribal priests to take on the responsibility of spreading the faith. I want to see if I can persuade some Muslim refugees to convert to Christianity."

"It's not up to me to decide where the next stop is. It depends on the Red Cavalry."

Monda spoke slowly, took out a box of Roma cigarettes and gave one to his brother.

"Why, you're taking on the role of a missionary so quickly?"

"Brother, I'm not here for the camp."

The priest declined the cigarette and sat down next to his brother.

"Isn't this caravan pretty good? If I hadn't asked for this opportunity to carry out the mission, we wouldn't have been able to get it with the strength of our camp."

Monda curled his lips, but couldn't find any room for rebuttal.

This caravan comes from the royal carriage workshop and is a primitive "motorhome" designed by the emperor specifically for gypsies. The most eye-catching thing in the caravan is the cross placed on the innermost side, which enables the caravan to serve as a chapel and meet the religious needs of nomadic people.

The four-wheeled carriage is very expensive and is difficult to obtain for most gypsy tribes. Munda's caravan is even more precious. Only tribes with royal passes can obtain it. It is equivalent to a symbol of power and favor.

After the caravan was launched, it immediately received unanimous praise from the gypsies. Some gypsies even judged the strength of the tribe based on the number of caravans.

"Brother, do you know what mission they are carrying out?"

The priest thought for a moment and looked at Munda.

“It always feels mysterious.”

"I don't know."

Munda shook his head and exhaled a puff of smoke.

"But as far as I know, there are dozens of Roma tribes involved in this mission. We are only responsible for providing accommodation for the Red Cavalry and Cappadocian riders and helping them cover up."

"There are so many Roma tribes and they are so common that Muslims are used to our presence and don't have any doubts at all."

"As for the specific mission, I won't care, and I suggest you don't care either."

The priest nodded and pursed his lips.

"Brother, once the Red Cavalry have completed their mission, I suggest you move the camp as soon as possible."

"The weather is cold and there is not enough food. The refugees have started to chew on tree bark. The next step is to eat people."

The priest raised his head and looked at his brother.

"If they find us, it might cause unnecessary trouble."

“A lot of people are going to die this winter.”

"The dead have nothing to do with me. I am just the commander of this camp..."

Munda grumbled, thinking that there was some truth in what his brother said.

"Don't worry, I will tell the Red Cavalry about your concerns. I'm sure they don't want to be discovered by the Saracens."

As the two men were talking, there was a commotion among the children in the camp, and the Red Ranger woke up.

When Munda and the priest walked out of the caravan, a squad of Slaves cavalry had woken up from their sleep. They rode carefully selected fast horses, and each of them had two large bags slung across their saddles. The bags were bulging with stuff, but no one knew what was in them.

"Greetings, Commander."

Captain Slavis distributed candies to the children and smiled at Munda.

"The cold night is coming, and it's time for us to set off."

Munda looked at the cheering children, then looked up at the dark sky and nodded.

"Whatever you are doing, I wish you success."

The commander crossed himself.

“May the Lord of hosts bless you.”

The captain nodded with a smile. Their Arab features and Islamic clothing made them look no different from the Muslims nearby.

Under the watchful eyes of the gypsies, the Slaves team followed the trail out of the mountain. They ran from the uninhabited forest to the open fields, to the sleeping pastures and fertile fields, bringing the warning of death to the Muslims.

At the same time, in the dark night, many horsemen rushed from many gypsy camps to the winter pastures of nomadic tribes, sprinkling the Punic salt in their saddle bags on this land cursed by the gods.

At the end of 1478, in the midst of heavy snow and wind, the nomadic people moved their tents to the south. The children were dreaming about the birds, beasts and warm sunshine in the south, the women were chatting about the cloth and fabrics in the south, and the leaders were busy counting the tribe's property, seemingly full of hope.

However, their hopes are ultimately difficult to realize, as their fate has long been controlled by others. After arriving at the long-awaited winter pastures, all they will get is a world of withered trees.

(End of this chapter)