1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 43 Recruitment
For the people of Milan, the autumn of 1447 was undoubtedly cold.

Although the Duke of Visconti did a lot of bad things to exploit the people during his reign, the people of Milan lived a relatively good life because God was so kind to them.

Visconti himself was an extremely powerful monarch. During his reign, he launched campaigns to the east and the west, won over mercenaries, foreign forces dared not invade, and domestic mercenaries behaved themselves.

With the passing of this monarch, everything changed.

No one in Milan, from top to bottom, wanted a mercenary leader to be their duke, and no one was willing to submit to the iron hoof of outsiders.

However, the Italians, who had enjoyed peace for a long time, were unwilling to take up arms to defend their homes.

They squeezed into the city from the burned-down countryside, and if they couldn't squeeze in, they went to the next city.

With Isaac's deliberate promotion, this war of succession gradually turned into a war of aggression.

On October 10 alone, the refugee camp of the First Guards Corps received 11 people.

They will be screened, and different refugees will have different fates.

According to Isaac's criteria, all refugees were divided into four categories.

The first category includes farmers who have been cultivating the land for generations, herders who have been raising livestock, and fishermen who have been fishing.
The second category is craftsmen with civil value, such as tailors, leatherworkers, carpenters, stonemasons, and workers in various small workshops;

The third category is artisans with strategic value, such as blacksmiths, shipwrights, glassmakers, and cannon makers;
The fourth category is talents with innovative capabilities, such as weapons designers, construction engineers, ship designers, etc.

It can be said that the entire northern Italy region is currently the place with the most talents in the world. We must take advantage of this great opportunity to make a fortune.

There is a shortage of talent in his own territory, people's livelihood projects are slow, and labor efficiency is extremely low.

“Are these all the refugees we received in this week?”

Isaac sat at the table, lit a candle, and looked at the long list.

“Is this all the high-level talent?”

Mikhail, who was sitting below, felt a little embarrassed.

He had no choice. Nowadays, talented people can find jobs anywhere and there is no surplus at all.

The entire piece of paper records that more than 1,400 refugees were accepted, and more than 1,100 of them were the first type of people, simple-minded farmers and herdsmen.

The second category consists of about 200 people, all of whom are small craftsmen.

The third category consisted of only forty-six people, most of whom were blacksmiths, and a small number were shipbuilders and cannon makers.

There were only two people in the fourth category, one of whom was an old acquaintance of Isaac, Martinez, a firearms engineer from Italy.

Another is said to be a ship designer who has been excluded from the courts of various countries due to his religious beliefs.

Isaac looked at Mikhail who was feeling very uneasy.

"Guards, have Martinez and the ship designer come to see me."

After a while, Isaac's old acquaintance Martinez appeared in front of Isaac.

Compared to the high-spirited man a few years ago, he now looks old and haggard.

He saw Isaac and was visibly surprised.

"Hello, dear Martinez, it's nice to see you again."

Isaac said to him with a smile.

Martinez quickly recovered and bowed deeply, without his former sharpness.

"When I was walking outside just now, I was wondering whose army was so neat and majestic. I didn't expect it to be His Highness Isaac."

"Martinez, what happened to make you so depressed?"

"Your Highness, the Venetians destroyed my musket factory and cannon factory in Breno. My workers were killed by them, my drawings were burned by them, and my products were forcibly taken away by them."

"Now, I have nothing."

The old man spread his hands and smiled bitterly.

"I can give you a factory, a research laboratory, and a group of hardworking workers again."

"I have a territory in North Africa and I need people like you."

"I can support you until you can get back on your feet."

"I heard that you have a son and a daughter. They can also live in my territory. I can ensure that they receive a good education."

Hearing this, Martinez was finally moved.

He raised his head.

"If that's the case, I'd like to be of service to you."

"I have several former apprentices who have not been reused for various reasons. I can write to ask them to come and serve Your Highness."

"So good."

Isaac nodded in satisfaction.

Then, the ship designer Mansreti walked into Isaac's tent.

He was wearing a cloak and was not clearly visible, and he was holding a huge Bible in his hands.

"I heard you call yourself a ship designer?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"I heard that you claimed that you were ostracized because of your faith. Is that true?"

He was silent for a moment.

"I am Dutch and I learned shipbuilding from my father when I was young,"

"I was very smart. By the time I was twelve, I had completed all my father's blueprints for both civilian and military ships."

"After designing and building a large galley, my father finally admitted that he had nothing more to teach me."

"So, I proudly began to travel across the empire, and finally, I came to Prague."

Isaac and Mikhail listened to his story in silence.

“I made the best decision in my life by attending Professor Hus’s lecture under the persuasion of my friends.”

"You all know what happened next. We were defeated. The traitors of the Holy Grail Party betrayed Huss and the revolution."

When he said this, Mansreti hugged the Bible tightly, as if trying to draw some strength from it.

"So you are the most radical Taborite among the Hussites?"

Mikhail on the side asked curiously.

Mansreti ignored him.

"I saw my best friend die at the hands of a German knight, and I fled like a coward."

“I returned to my hometown, only to find that my father had already died.”

He smiled sadly.

"I have neither been able to carry forward my father's craft nor to uphold my own beliefs."

"Since then, my hair has turned white day by day. It seems like this is God's punishment for me."

Mansreti lifted the hood of his cloak, revealing his graying hair. "For a while, I tried to fit in with the world, seeking a position at the court of the Elector of Brandenburg and then the Duke of Provence."

“They recognized my talent but hated my beliefs.”

“They kicked me out.”

"After that, I wandered around the world until now, when I encountered war."

He raised his head and looked at Isaac.

"Since you believe in Huss and like to build warships, why don't you go to Prague to apply for a job? They should be very sympathetic to you."

Mikhail asked doubtfully.

After these words were spoken, everyone was silent for a while.

"count……"

"Ok?"

"Go and preside over the relocation of the refugees."

"Oh."

Mikhail strode away.

After sending the silly Mikhail away, Isaac thought quietly for a while.

Hus's followers were divided into two main factions, the radical Taborites and the more moderate Grail Factions.

The Taborites advocated that the Bible is the only belief, advocated the abolition of the hierarchy, the establishment of public ownership of believers' property, and advocated that everyone is equal and treat each other as brothers and sisters.

The Holy Grail sect is much more moderate and advocates limited reforms to existing doctrines.

In fact, this Taborite ship designer should also thank the moderate Holy Grail Party.

If the Holy Grail Faction had not reached a compromise with the Pope and protected the remaining Hussites, this Mansreti would not have been simply expelled from the court.

"What do you want from me by saying this?"

Mansreti bowed.

"I heard that you are recruiting talents. I hope to serve you and build warships and merchant ships for you. I hope to carve my name on the waterline of your warships."

Isaac pondered.

Mansreti's raised head gradually lowered, as if he was ready to be driven away again.

"can."

"But you have to agree to my conditions."

"You say."

Mansreti said quickly.

"First, I don't care about your own beliefs, but I will never allow them to be spread in my territory."

Mansreti laughed at himself.

"After I abandoned my comrades, what right do I have to spread it?"

"Second, you must do your best to design ships for me. You must also serve as a teacher at the navigation school and teach ship design."

"It's natural."

Mansreti nodded.

"Then, you are now my ship consultant. You can receive a salary from me that matches your status every month. Congratulations, Mr. Mansreti."

Mansreti stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

Isaac slowly lifted him up.

"That Count Mikhail was the captain of a 20-man guard three years ago."

"The Governor Ghazi you met before was the son of a tribal leader on the verge of extinction two years ago."

"Go ask around outside. Among my subordinates, which one have I ever let down?"

Isaac patted his shoulder.

"I don't care about your past. Just follow me and you may be able to have a wife and children with honors in the future."

For the next few weeks, Isaac stayed quietly in the military camp, recruiting refugees and reorganizing military affairs.

Isaac focused his main attention on the Slaves Legion.

Isaac regarded this legion as his own slave soldiers, similar to the servants kept by the Sheikhs in North Africa.

They usually graze near grasslands and oases, do not pay taxes, and their income belongs to themselves. They can buy slaves to help them manage pastures and oases.

But they had to buy the necessary equipment themselves and go into battle with Isaac in times of war.

The entire legion's direct territory has a total of more than 7000 people, including 2500 combatants and the rest are their families, children or slaves.

Isaac divided them into three companies of thousands, totaling twenty-five companies of hundreds.

The legion commander Erdosh led the 1,000-man team, which was composed of ten centuries. The other two captains of the thousand-man team were appointed by Isaac and were all Berbers who converted to Orthodox Christianity.

After the disobedient tribes are dealt with, their people and territories will be incorporated into the Slaves Legion.

During this looting trip, the Slaves Legion attacked everywhere in units of hundreds of men and gained a lot.

As before, they plundered food from the enemy's territory, brought back cattle and sheep, captured prisoners, and presented the spoils to their masters with loud conversation and laughter.

At such times, Isaac would play the role of a good sheikh and distribute the spoils fairly to every warrior who participated in the battle, giving the best sword to the bravest warrior and the best horse to the best rider.

Isaac would talk and laugh loudly with them, eat uncooked meat with big mouthfuls, and distribute beautiful women and strong slaves to him and her.

These tribesmen, who have been oppressed by the tribal shahs for many years, are very simple. As long as you treat them with sincerity, they will be loyal to you.

As for the recruited infantrymen from the affiliated tribes, Isaac didn't have any extra thoughts about them and just used them as fill-in babies.

Isaac spent the whole month of October in such days.

John IV and his vassals were busy dividing up the territory while wrangling with the various forces in Pavia.

Isaac did not get involved in their affairs.

Under Isaac's encouragement, Sforza, who had originally hoped for a peaceful evolution, began to get anxious. He gathered his troops and marched northward.

The Venetians also captured several cities in the east, but encountered strong resistance.

The hostile relationship between Milan and Venice is not a one-day thing. It is still okay among the common people, but the ruling classes of both sides have developed a strong distrust, so it is difficult to persuade them to surrender.

After Sforza's strong entry, Monferrato and Venice accelerated the pace of dividing Milan.
On November 11, at the suggestion of Isaac, the Monferrato army surrounded Piacenza. After a week of siege, the nobles in the city launched a coup and surrendered to John.

This was once the territory of Monferrato, and they responded calmly to John's occupation.

On November 11, Sforza invited the four parties to start negotiations, but was rejected by the Ambrosian Republic.

On November 11, the three forces reached a temporary agreement, joined forces, and headed north to the city of Milan.

The Siege of Milan breaks out.

(End of this chapter)