1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 406 Watt Alheim
The midday sun was high overhead and a light breeze was blowing from the ocean to the land. In the Cilicia province of the Eastern Roman Empire, a galley filled its sails and sailed north along the Sayyhan River.

The Cilician Plain is located on the Mediterranean coast and has a very distinct Mediterranean climate. The mountains in the north block the cold wind, and the two large rivers bring abundant water resources. The temperature remains around 10°C, and there is no wind, frost or blizzard, and no severe cold or drought.

Inside the cabin, slave rowers were struggling to speed up the sailboat, the drunken first mate was fiddling with the rudder with squinting eyes, and the boatswain was scolding the sailors who were still chatting, ordering them to prepare ropes and anchors and get ready to dock.

The city of Adana was just ahead. The roads on both sides of the river were gradually becoming populated. The newly arrived immigrants were repairing the dilapidated villages and clearing the blocked roads. Some farmers were organizing slaves to cultivate the farmland in preparation for next year's sowing.

The wounds caused by the war were gradually healing, but the province of Cilicia had not yet ended its martial law. There were still a large number of troops stationed near various important cities, who would go out to raid and capture Turkic Muslims roaming in the mountains from time to time.

In a luxurious cabin on the upper deck of a sailboat, a middle-aged man sat quietly in front of a navigation table. On the table was a detailed map of Asia Minor. Cities, fortresses, resources and minerals were densely marked on the map. Each key location was connected by black lines of varying thickness. The lines were dense along the coast and sparse inland.

The sailboat is about to arrive at the destination. The middle-aged man has changed into official uniform. The monk seal necklace on his neck shows his family origin. The carefully tailored purple-black suit is slim and symmetrical. The precious fabric is embroidered with intricate patterns. On the left chest of the suit is a silver double-headed eagle brooch, and under the double-headed eagle's claws are winged shoes - one of the symbols of the ancient Greek god Hermes, symbolizing the authority to control transportation.

This is Jerome Sfrangis, the patriarch of the monk seal branch of the Sfrangis family, a political family in the Eastern Roman Empire. He is currently the Minister of Transport and a member of the cabinet.

Jerme was the first Minister of Transportation since the revival of the Eastern Roman Empire. He presided over the construction of the North African road network and the Bulgarian road network. He had an active mind, clear ideas, was good at applying new knowledge, and was good at adapting to local conditions. He had been immersed in transportation affairs for many years and had rich experience.

After the First Great Turkish War, Jerome, who had just finished his Bulgarian affairs, had no time to rest before he was immediately sent to western Asia Minor to organize the construction of the Anatolian road network. For four years, he traveled to almost every city on the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea, and led the backbone of the Ministry of Transportation to carry out various tasks, surveying and mapping, repairing roads, regulating materials, and negotiating with local governments...

In four years, with the unconditional material support from the central government of the empire, the transportation network on the east coast of the Aegean Sea has been basically completed. Roads have been repaired, rivers have been widened, bridges have been built... The ocean, rivers and roads of all levels have connected cities, villages, pastoral areas and mining areas. Large cities near rivers and seas have been able to quickly recover and immigrants have been better resettled.

However, Jerme still cannot achieve perfection. The development of the capitalist commodity economy has brought about a large amount of demand and promoted various advances. The barren mountains that were uninhabited the day before may suddenly become a chromite producing area, and natural asphalt may suddenly be discovered in the meaningless swamps the day before. Jerme is running back and forth, but the speed of infrastructure construction still cannot keep up with the speed of development.

In 1478, the Second Great Turkish War broke out, and the Eastern Roman Empire's massive eastward movement officially began. At the emperor's call, Jerome could only hand over the remaining work to his subordinates, and go to Cyprus to stand by, ready to start transportation construction on the southern coast of Asia Minor at any time.

In the strategic planning of the Eastern Roman Empire, the province of Cilicia was a very important part. Not only did it have fertile land and excellent farming conditions, it also controlled many important mountain passes and was the best bridge to the Levant. It was a province that must be stabilized as soon as possible and turned into a core area.

A series of creaking sounds reached Jerm's ears, and the chain floodgates of Adana City opened. This was the first city defense building built after the Eastern Roman Empire captured Adana City. The predecessors' lack of attention to the river led to the fall of the city, and the Eastern Roman Empire would not repeat the same mistake.

Then, the paddle boat entered the city of Adana. The river here had been widened and the water flow was much smoother. Jerme heard the hawking and the sound of horse hooves, and the bustling atmosphere of the city was in his face.

"Your Majesty, we are here."

A sailor knocked on Jerome's cabin door and reported respectfully.

"There are two river ports in Adana. Are you going to the commercial port or the military port?"

"The naval port, it's closer to the city hall."

Jerome said, throwing a silver coin to the sailor.

"After we dock, go to the City Hall to find Deputy Prime Minister Basilius and tell him I'm here."

The sailor took the silver and left happily. Jerome tidied his clothes and prepared to get off the ship.

Walking out of the cabin and onto the deck, Jerome looked around the city of Adana and nodded slightly.

The streets have been cleared, houses near the river port have been occupied, there are many soldiers on leave on the streets, and the first batch of immigrants have begun to run service industries and commerce.

The ship passed the relatively busy commercial port and entered the northern part of the city. On the west bank of the river was the half-destroyed city hall, and on the east bank of the river were the military port and warehouses.

Further north of the City Hall and the Naval Port, black smoke was already rising from the workshop area, which was divided into two parts, west of the river and east of the river. The east of the river seemed to be a cement and concrete workshop, while the west of the river was a large newly built iron smelting park.

After the recovery of the province of Cilicia, various materials previously stockpiled on the island of Cyprus were quickly transported to the northern continent. Greek immigrants from within the empire were also given priority to be resettled on vacant land in Cilicia. A large number of ships carrying machine tools, tools, craftsmen and building materials entered several major cities in Cilicia through rivers, and various war-related handicraft workshops immediately began production.

Of course, since the province of Cilicia had just been recovered, domestic investors were still in a wait-and-see state. Most of the wartime workshops that moved to Cilicia were royal industries. The Eastern Roman royal family offered higher wages and better treatment to those craftsmen who were willing to settle in Cilicia during the war, and used a lot of money to build a fairly good wartime production system in a short period of time.

The military orders generated huge profits, and the royal guidance also dispelled the doubts of many Eastern Roman investors. The handicraft industries in the provinces of Cyprus and Cilicia flourished rapidly in the past six months.

The ship was docked in the naval port, and Jerome's attendant was checking official documents with an officer. To the north of the naval port was an ancient stone bridge that connected the two sides of the river. This was one of the landmarks of the city of Adana and a cultural heritage left by Emperor Hadrian to future generations. In order to preserve it, the Seyhan River waterway of the Eastern Roman Empire ended here.

The urban area further north of the stone bridge was still in ruins. Ramazan's army had once resisted there, but the naval guns of "God of the South Wind" and subsequent army artillery bombarded it for four days, basically destroying it.

Jerme looked up and saw a conspicuous castle on the mountain peak northeast of the city. It was the Snake Castle built during the Cilician Armenian Kingdom period. It could monitor the entire city of Adana and now it belonged to the Palaiologos royal family.

After the negotiation, Jerome stepped onto the land of Adana City accompanied by his guards. The sailor responsible for delivering the message ran to the city hall, while Jerome walked slowly along the river bank, scanning the workshop area that had risen from the ruins.

This was Jerem's habit. Whenever he needed to build a transportation network, he would first examine the local conditions and determine the level of infrastructure based on strategic and economic value. If both values ​​were not high, there would be no need to build advanced roads.

The two workshop areas are located on both sides of the stone bridge, with convenient communication. The cement workshop area is very ordinary, and is also equipped with a river sand collection site. It was obviously forced to move here by the emperor to supply military projects.

The iron smelting workshop area is quite peculiar, and it generally presents a beautiful triangle. The largest one is the ironworks located in the west. Blast furnaces and block furnaces smelt iron ore into pig iron or wrought iron. White pig iron is sent to the steel-making plant, gray pig iron is sent to the foundry, and wrought iron is sent directly to the advanced weapons workshop, which produces refined swords, forged muskets, cast iron hammers, cast iron plows, cast iron stew pots, carbon steel cannons and carbon steel bars, forming a steel complex with a wide variety of products from civilian to military, from sophisticated to crude, with various workshops working together in an orderly manner.

The ironworks, which was the beginning of the iron age, is quite different from the ironworks in Adrianople. Some special components are obviously designed for desulfurization and carburizing. The hydraulic blower is also very conspicuous, with strong German and Nordic characteristics.

Seeing this, Jerome understood. He had visited major cities in the Eastern Roman Empire for many years and had some understanding of the iron industry.

As far as he knew, due to the increasing demand for iron in the Eastern Roman Empire, in addition to Adrianople and Constantinople, the steel industry flourished in many large cities, including Mystras in the Morea Region, Smyrna in the Province of Asia, Sakarya in the Province of Paphlagonia, and Port Victoria in the Cossack Kingdom... Because of the advantages of both coal and iron and their extremely high quality, Port Victoria attracted many Greek immigrants, and the iron smelting industry in Victoria was catching up.

Since there were not many high-quality iron ores in the core provinces of the Eastern Roman Empire, only in western Thrace and the Morea Peninsula, the newly appointed Minister of Mines tried his best to make use of those not-so-good iron ores and learn advanced technologies from all over the world, such as cast iron and blast furnaces from the East, hydraulic blowers from Germany, and bone meal lime desulfurization carburization from Northern Europe...

A long time ago, the Eastern Roman Empire once possessed some of the best iron smelting technology in the Mediterranean world, but the wars and decline from the 13th to the 15th century caused this ancient country to miss many opportunities for development. The technological progress made by Western Europeans in the past fifty years has exceeded that of the past five hundred years, not to mention the Eastern dynasties that have always been at the peak of iron productivity. Talent cultivation and technological innovation are not achieved overnight. At least before the 16th century, the Eastern Roman Empire had to implement the "take-it-as-it-is" approach to the end.

Just three years ago, a Swedish iron smelter operator arrived in Belisariupolis in North Africa via the Hanseatic trade route, and then arrived in Carthage. Based on the Hanseatic League's iron smelting model of "Sweden smelting rough iron ingots and Germany continuing with fine processing", he conceived a new production model. On the basis of the original Eastern Roman Empire, he further developed the idea of ​​"division of labor, cooperation, and group production", bringing together scattered small workshops to form a steel complex.

The gray cast iron that military workshops look down upon can be used to make iron ingots, plows, shovels and stew pots. The scraps left over from casting cannons using the pouring steel method can be recast into carbon steel bars. The originally high-quality magnetite and hematite are used for high-grade ironware, while the widely distributed but low-quality limonite and siderite are used for low-grade ironware. This model greatly improves the utilization rate of iron ore and increases production efficiency.

Due to the uneven quality of the Atlas iron ore near Carthage, the Swede's ideas soon gained the favor of the managers of the Carthage Royal Iron Works, and they began to improve the iron smelting workshop according to his ideas. Three years later, Carthage's iron output increased significantly. Although it still could not be compared with Adrianople and Constantinople, it could at least meet the most basic needs of farming tools.

The Swede became a senior official in the government department based on his contributions. He called the steel complex improved by himself "Vatalheim", the residence of dwarves and dark elves in Norse mythology, and the kingdom of craftsmen.

Cilicia is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and there are many swamps and wetlands inside the plains. The surrounding mineral resources are abundant, mainly lead, zinc and other minor metals, coal and iron, but the reserves are relatively small. Iron is the worst limonite and siderite, and coal is the worst lignite. This "Wat Alheim" located in the north of Adana was moved here from Adrianople at the emperor's compulsory request. The locally produced iron ore is barely enough, but successive rulers have never developed coal resources and can only use rich forestry resources to burn charcoal.

The workshop areas on both sides of the river were still under expansion. Overseers whipped a large group of slaves, forcing them to clean up the ruins, repair houses, and dig canals. Some far-sighted Eastern Roman investors saw the advantages of the cotton industry in the Cilician Plain and began to invest in the construction of cotton textile mills in Adana. This city had extraordinary potential.

Jerome took a quick look and nodded slightly, already having an idea in his mind.

"Let's go, we've seen enough."

Jerome said to the guard, mounted a horse and headed towards the town hall.

The town hall was half destroyed in the previous war and was also under repair. Jerome bypassed a construction site, walked up the relatively intact stairs, and knocked on the door of the office.

"Please come in."

In the office, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Basilius was writing at his desk with great concentration. He had obviously just returned from a business trip and looked exhausted.

"Please take a seat, Jerome."

Jerome bowed slightly and sat down expressionlessly.

Basilius was born into a branch of the Angelos family, which was also a traditional Eastern Roman aristocratic family. However, due to his eccentric personality, excessive seriousness, and the fact that he never worked for the benefit of his family, the other branches of the Angelos family all disliked him and directly nominated Mihajlo, the brother of the Ottoman general Mahmoud Angelos, as the patriarch. The latter is now the deputy commander of the entire Purple Guard and is also a powerful person.

Seeing that Basilius ignored him and had no intention of offering drinks or cigars, Jerome just sped up the processing of documents and his expression became a little stiffer.

More than a decade ago, when both were in North Africa, they were considered good friends. Basilius's promotion was inseparable from the support of the Sfrangis family. The late Foreign Minister George saw his talent in government affairs and hoped to make political investment by providing him with help. When Basilius had a conflict with Crown Prince Justinian, George had said a lot of good things about him.

But the final result was that the Sfranchis family did not get the due rewards. Basilius was willing to provide the Sfranchis family with living assistance, but he always refused to abuse his power for the so-called political friendship, even if it was not illegal.

As the first political family in the empire below the royal family, the Sfrangise family naturally participated in the wave of capitalism. Jerome disdains corruption, but he occasionally uses information asymmetry to gain some benefits for his family: a third-level national highway leading to a mining area is to be rebuilt into a first-level highway, making transportation more convenient. He can instruct family members to invest in the mining area before others and make a profit from the information difference. He will not pay less taxes, and will never take more of the share that should be left to others.

For political families, these little ways of making money were simply too common and not really illegal. From the emperor to officials at all levels, everyone knew all about it and adopted a tacit attitude.

However, Basilius was opposed to it. Not only did he refuse to provide such help to Sfrancis or Angelos, he also had a quarrel with the Minister of Commerce Fugger in public. This was because Fugger took advantage of the vacuum period of tax rate adjustment to acquire several not-so-large textile workshops. The two almost fought in front of the Crown Prince Constantine. In the end, the matter ended with the Fugger family's compromise and the revision of the commercial law.

After several requests for help came to no avail, the relationship between the Sphrancis family and Basilius turned cold. When the latter wrote to the emperor on the same day he became vice prime minister, saying that Sphrancis "had three cabinets from one family, his students and old friends were all over the world, and his power was too huge, so we should be vigilant", the relationship between them dropped to the freezing point and basically there was no contact. In addition, Basilius also questioned the expansion policy, foreign policy, development policy, business policy and immigration policy of the Eastern Roman Empire. He advocated agriculture-based, local-oriented, protecting the rights of the lower classes, curbing the development of aristocratic families, assimilating Muslims through cultural education, and using their power to rectify Anatolia as soon as possible, rather than wreaking havoc and dying in harmony with the enemy.

Because of his violent and impartial character, opposition to authority, protection of the weak and the idea that the monarchy should be granted by the people, although Basilius was well-educated and had served as a teacher to many princes in Carthage and Constantinople, he only maintained a good relationship with the tolerant and honest third prince Basil. The other princes did not like him, each for their own reasons.

Starting in 1474, Jerome was in charge of the transportation network on the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea, while Basilius was in charge of the establishment of local governments. The two only had work-related communication and never even had a meal together.

"In last year's official inspection, the comprehensive scores of the provinces of Asia and Paphlagonia were both in the top five. Congratulations."

Jerome searched for a topic of conversation.

"In four years, the government framework of western and northern Asia Minor has basically taken shape, and this is thanks to you."

"This is a credit to my colleagues at all levels, including you."

Basilius continued writing, speaking calmly.

"There are no local forces in the newly recovered territories, so it is easier to organize. Fortunately, His Majesty has reformed the official selection system. The civil servants who have passed the examination and entered the government are obviously of higher quality than those military nobles and retired officers."

"Look at North Africa. It has almost become a preserve of the military nobility. They only recognize the emperor, not the civil officials. They are always hot-blooded and clamor to burn down the Grand Mosque in Mecca."

At this point, Basilius paused.

"I know that it was difficult for His Majesty to start a business, and there was really no better way at the time. In addition, he has always attached great importance to industry and commerce, and he never wanted to turn Africa into a large granary like in the classical era. In fact, it is understandable."

"But Anatolia cannot be like that again. Officers cannot always think about obtaining titles and land through war. If they continue like this, no matter how much land they have, it will be divided up. They will think about continuing the war again, and together with the capitalists who are eager for raw materials and commodity markets, they will push the empire into the abyss of endless war."

"This has nothing to do with me, but hasn't His Majesty already started the reforms?"

Jerome frowned.

"Now, officers who have made meritorious service have more options, such as high-end residences in big cities, fiefdoms in colonies, and interest-free loans for opening workshops... It's not as serious as you say."

"As for the capitalists, there are so many vast tracts of land overseas that have not yet been planted under the banner of the empire. It is a good thing to want to expand. If we can't even defeat the natives, then we have no right to call ourselves Rome."

"Your Majesty has arranged everything clearly, why do you always raise objections?"

"No matter how powerful His Majesty is, he is still a human, not a god, and he cannot resolve all conflicts."

Basilius wrote the last few words and shook his head.

"However, he always had some very magical ideas that amazed people. For example, when it came to the Muslim issue in central and eastern Anatolia, he did not try to resolve the conflict, but tried to use money and materials to eliminate all those who created the conflict."

"what is that?"

Jerome didn't dwell on the previous topic any further and pointed to Basilius's documents.

"Is it related to Cilicia?"

"No, it's this diplomatic report."

Basilius shook his head.

"You should know that the emperor sent a number of envoys to the East a few months ago to contact various ethnic groups. I am responsible for this matter."

"I don't know what the emperor's plan is, and I can't tell you what the results of this operation are."

After saying that, Basilius put the documents away and looked at Jerome.

"Okay, let's get to the point. Are you here for transportation matters in Cilicia?"

"Yes, it was the order issued by the Crown Prince."

Jerome nodded, pulled out a map of Anatolia and a detailed map of Cilicia from his pocket, and handed them to Basilius.

"I know the governor of the province of Cilicia has not yet arrived. You are in charge here now."

"Your Majesty is not going to make a big deal about the provinces of North and South Galatia, and the province of Pisidia will be put aside. The most important province is Cilicia."

"Before coming here, my subordinates and I have made certain plans based on the intelligence we have. I also need the basic information about Cilicia that you have now, including population, resources, specialties, and military fortresses."

"By the way, I heard that there may be natural asphalt in the swamps of Cilicia. I need you to develop it as soon as possible. I will consult with officials from the engineering department and start the construction of infrastructure immediately."

Jerome spoke bluntly, knowing that Basilius disliked long, meaningless official language.

Basilius took the map and looked at it carefully.

"Very good, I will arrange this matter tonight, and someone will deliver all the information you need to your residence by then."

"Also, I suggest you contact the military personnel. His Majesty has issued a transfer order. A large number of elite troops from Gonzalo and Mehmet are entering Cilicia through the mountain roads. They have a number of engineering corps, and all military-related infrastructure can be handed over to them."

"Then there is the navy. The two rivers in Cilicia are very valuable transportation routes. If we can use the navy's ships, the construction speed will be much faster."

Jerome listened and took note in his heart. Although he did not like the ungrateful Basilius, he had to admit that he could sit in his current position partly because of the support of Sfrangis and partly because of the emperor's need to check and balance the aristocratic families, but it was also related to his own ability.

Another half an hour passed, the work was handed over, the winter night came quickly, the servant of the town hall brought dinner for one person, Jerome stood up to say goodbye, and Basilius did not keep him.

"I heard your sister is getting married."

When they reached the door, Basilius called Jerome.

"After finishing your business in Cilicia, you will probably go back, right?"

"Yes, I think I have the right."

Jerome said calmly.

"My uncle passed away and I am now the head of the clan."

Basilius was stunned when he heard this.

"Since you are going back, do me a favor and put a bouquet of flowers on your uncle's grave."

Basilius looked at Jerome, with a flash of reminiscence and remembrance in his eyes.

“Thank you for everything he has done for this country.”

Jerome nodded and was about to say something, but Basilius had already picked up the bread and continued to look through the map that Jerome brought while eating it.

Jerome snorted and went downstairs.

Under the gloomy sky, the lights were still on in Wat Alheim in Adana. During the war, these workshops worked day and night in three shifts.

On the Ceyhan River, ships loaded with supplies began to unload in the evening. There was a sound from the city gate in the distance. The army coming from the west was entering the city one after another. The Eastern Roman immigrants at the city gate cheered, and the former Muslims who had managed to save their lives by converting to Islam shrank their heads, as if they were afraid, and as if they were grateful for their choice.

Several fast horses came galloping from the south. The riders seemed to be carrying some important information. They passed by Jerome and headed straight to the northeast, looking for the emperor's camp.

On February 1479, 2, after several months of siege, Tabriz, cut off from food and supplies, surrendered to Prince Jacob of the White Aquarium. Khalil was defeated and killed, and Jacob, the son of Uzum Hassan, ascended the throne in Tabriz, ending the White Aquarium Civil War.

On February 2, a delegation from Cairo bypassed the famine-stricken areas and headed north from the Mesopotamian Plain to Tabriz, where they were received by King Jacob the White Sheep. The two dynasties of Sunni Islam quickly came together under strong external pressure, and a new war alliance was taking shape.

(End of this chapter)