1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 54 Slave Codes and Medical Schools
After bidding farewell to Count Adnan, Isaac left Ugu with satisfaction and headed for Jufra.

The count was too intelligent to entertain unrealistic fantasies.

In fact, Isaac stationed more than three thousand troops in the cities of Alagheh and Jufra. If Adnan had any intention of rebelling, he would be directly wiped out.

The city of Jufra was once the ruling center of the Fezzan central government in the Jufra oasis area, and was governed by the king's trusted confidants.

After the Battle of Saint Jossram, Adnan Sheikh surrendered to Isaac, and the northern gate leading to the city of Jufra was opened, causing panic among the locals and civil unrest broke out.

The local forces expelled the governor sent by the Fezzan central government and surrendered the city to Isaac.

"Your Highness, thank you for taking the trouble to come here. Please go into the city and rest."

Maurice Kleipas, the governor of Jufra, accompanied by the tribune Paparo and the judge Christian Guttenberg, welcomed Isaac into the town hall.

Isaac reformed the local administrative system of the former Eastern Roman Empire and decentralized power.

The highest official of an administrative district is called the consul, who is in charge of all administrative affairs.

Under the consul were the tribunes and district judges. The tribunes were mainly in charge of household registration and public security, and in time of war they were in charge of the militia and city guards.

District judges are responsible for judicial and supervisory functions.

These three chief officials were directly appointed by the Surt Central Government and needed to hold documents jointly stamped by Isaac and Interior Minister Isult before they could take office.

The financial and taxation system was separated from all governing districts, and Finance Minister Riedel recommended personnel to go to local areas to exercise the power to collect taxes and tributes.

Other local subordinate officials are decided by the three chief officials, reported to the central government, and approved by Isaac.

The laws of the Principality are currently based on Eastern Roman Empire law, with some local flavor added.

The principality's central government holds legislative power, and the city councils of each governing district can provide advice.

Along the way, Governor Maurice introduced to Isaac the changes that had taken place in Jufra during this period, and directly praised his own contributions.

This consul Maurice had a rough background. His ancestors were Turkic military nobles during the Komnenos period. During the Andronican Civil War, his family moved from Thessalonica to Theodore.

Before Maurice was born, the Kleipas family fell into poverty and were robbed by Tatar nomads and sold into slavery when he was young.

He was very lucky to find a good master, George Sfrangis.

In the Sfrangise family, Maurice was redeemed as a free man because of his intelligence and strong learning ability, and followed the young people of the family to learn culture and martial arts.

After Morris became an adult, he led the family chamber of commerce to travel around, visited many places, and met all kinds of people, until he was recommended by George Sfrangis and became Isaac's subordinate.

I know three languages ​​and have strong communication skills.

Isaac chose him as the governor of Jufra because of his ability to adapt to complex environments.

The tribune Paparo came from the local power and had a quarter Greek ancestry. He was the result of a compromise between Isaac and the local power of Jufra.

The local judge Christian was the son of Gutenberg, graduated from the University of Florence, and was well versed in various laws.

Isaac listened to Morris's introduction in a disjointed manner, paying close attention to the situation in the market and the composition of the citizens.

To be honest, the situation did not satisfy Isaac.

Compared to the vibrant city of Ugugu, Jufra has a larger population and a larger market, but the number of free citizens is significantly smaller.

There were many slave trading gangs, openly standing on the streets and selling their slaves.

Here, the slave economy controlled by the sheikhs of each tribe still dominates.

Isaac was not a saint and did not oppose the slave trade, but the prevalence of the slave economy around Jufra could only mean one thing: the tribal sheikhs here still had considerable power.

In terms of ethnic composition, Berbers make up the majority, with a small number of Greeks and Italians serving as senior craftsmen and government employees, and many military families living in military areas.

There is no way around it, because the city of Jufra was not conquered by Isaac alone.

Accepting the surrender of local forces is tantamount to tacitly approving their special powers in the local area.

However, as the political situation stabilizes, there are ways to reduce their power.

After walking around the city, Isaac had no interest in visiting the church that was converted from a mosque, and went straight to the military camp near the city wall.

The Second Legion of the Guards, which was on duty in the city of Jufra, welcomed Isaac into the camp with cheers.

Currently, the Guards Corps has more than 2,000 people, all of whom are Greek Orthodox Christians.

Count Mikhail, commander of the Grand Guards, led the First Legion himself, while Nikephoros was the commander of the Second Legion.

Nikephoros was also a member of Isaac's old guard and a staunch loyalist.

Legion commander Nikephoros claimed to be an illegitimate son of the Phocas family, a descendant of Nikephoros II, the "Pale Death of the Saracens" of the Macedonian dynasty, and was well-versed in the famous military books passed down by his ancestors.

Some of the twenty cavalrymen who had followed Isaac had died in battle, but those who survived had become important military and political figures. Mikhail and Nikephoros were their leaders.

"Long time no see, dear Nikephoros!"

Isaac stepped forward and supported the legion commander who was about to salute.

"Your Highness, it's been a long time since we last met. I am sincerely delighted to hear about your great achievements in the north."

Nikephoros was a short, strong, middle-aged man with thick arms who could wield a long-handled axe and a war hammer. He was a general with both wisdom and courage.

Under the leadership of Nikephoros, Isaac reviewed the Second Legion, which had been formed for nearly two years.

With the successful graduation of the first batch of sergeant students from the Royal Knights Academy, the officer system of the Second Corps of the Guards has finally been completed and is undergoing intensive training to gradually build up combat effectiveness.

The new recruits of the Second Legion had never seen Isaac before, but had only heard of this ambitious Roman prince from the veterans.

Their army was established too recently and they had not experienced any major wars. Every time they conducted joint exercises and training with the First Legion, they could only watch with envy as the veterans of the First Legion showed off the Isaac swords on their waists.

Of the entire Second Legion, only the legion commander Nikephoros and several officers from the First Legion received Isaac's reward.

When they met for the first time, Isaac distributed rewards as usual and asked the cook to make soup with a few rabbits that had just been shot outside the city and share it with the soldiers.

After a period of running-in, the infrastructure of the military camp has become relatively complete.

Blacksmith shops, brothels, taverns, and even gambling tables were opened directly next to the military camps to provide services for the soldiers.

Maintaining military discipline is not easy these days, and it is very important to allow soldiers to have necessary leisure.

On the one hand, these facilities can enhance the soldiers' sense of happiness and cohesion, and on the other hand, they can put the soldiers' newly paid salaries back into Isaac's pocket.

Of course, during wartime, anyone who dared to disobey military discipline and drink alcohol or visit prostitutes would be executed immediately.

In the afternoon, Isaac watched the exercises of the Second Guards Corps.

The sun was blazing and the soldiers were sweating profusely.

They wore gray linen uniforms embroidered with the emblem of the Second Legion - a desert fox.

Form alliances and make sure to advance and retreat in moderation.

The cooperation between musketeers and melee infantry is also good.

It can be seen that Nikephoros and several first-term students of the Royal Knights Academy have put a lot of effort into battle formation training, and they even did better than the First Legion.

But Isaac was sure that if they were taken to the battlefield, they would not be a match for the First Legion.

Question: How can we train a truly strong army?

Answer: Fight more battles.

From the initial Battle of the Wall of Corinth to the Battle of the Founding of Soult, the Battle of St. Joseph, the War of the Milanese Succession, and finally the Siege of Soult, the First Legion of the Guards participated in almost all the wars commanded by Isaac.

The quality of the army has also been continuously improving with each war.

In the era of cold weapons, experience, courage, morale, these intangible things are sometimes more important than discipline and equipment. "Nikiphorus, what do you think is the biggest problem of the Second Legion at the moment?"

Isaac wanted to test the new legion commander.

"I have never killed anyone."

Nikephoros didn't even think about it.

"Soldiers who have never seen blood are nothing more than honor guards no matter how hard they train."

“A truly strong army is never built on a training ground, but matures step by step through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.”

Isaac nodded, agreeing with him.

It seems that this commander from a prominent family is very clear-headed and is not fooled by the appearance before him.

"There's going to be a war soon, so behave yourself."

……

On May 1448, 5, Isaac bid farewell to the city of Jufra and headed north to Fort Narcissus.

Since most of the original tribes followed Count Adnan south, Fort Narses and several surrounding oases have now been completely Hellenized. Among the more than 10,000 people in the entire administrative area, the vast majority are Greeks and Slavs.

This was originally the base of the Black Legion. As Baron Maruna went to Albania to participate in the war, the defense of Fort Narses was taken over by a part of the Purple Guard and the City Guard.

Looking at the obvious Greek-style buildings and hearing the familiar Greek language, Isaac felt very happy, as if he had returned to Mystras after a long absence.

After returning to the city lord's palace, Isaac wrote a letter to Surt, asking Interior Minister Isult, Executive President of the United Chamber of Commerce Urda, and Archbishop Elster of Surt to come as soon as possible.

Two days later, Isaac met with the two men.

"Your Highness, have you completed your inspection of the territory? What problems did you find?"

Isurt asked bluntly.

He now knew the Duke's character very well.

This time, he summoned representatives from the political, business and educational circles right after returning from an inspection tour. There must be something big to announce.

Isaac did not answer, but handed a report to the three people for them to circulate.

"This is the report submitted by Morris, the governor of Jufra City. I have checked it with Riddle and there is no problem at all."

After reading it, the three of them had a general idea in their minds.

"Your Highness, are you going to take action against the slave trade?"

The three of them looked at Isaac, and Urda's eyes were obviously worried.

"The slave trade was a lucrative business that involved a lot of killing,"

“This is something God does not want to see.”

Isaac looked at Elster, and the Archbishop nodded quickly.

"I have decided that the Principality should officially issue a slave decree to regulate the slave trade."

When Urda saw that Isaac was not going to abolish the slave trade across the board, he already had an idea in mind.

This is an attempt to increase taxes.

"I have the following requests regarding this decree,"

"First, to protect civilians, the tax rate on the slave trade must be raised to prevent people from taking the risk of selling civilians into slavery."

"Second, all slave traders must register with the finance department. If they are found selling slaves privately or evading taxes, they will be beheaded and their property will be confiscated."

"Third, regarding tribal slaves, they are also lambs of God. They must be allowed to redeem their freedom through labor, and tribal nobles must not prevent them."

Urda thought about it for a moment and thought that it was probably acceptable.

"The three of you can use your influence in politics, education, and business to ensure the implementation of the law. Can you do it?"

The three of them looked at each other and nodded.

Isaac's move was just right. It not only cut a piece of the huge cake brought by the slave trade, but also directly struck a blow to the power of the southern tribe Shekh.

The most important thing is that this level of tax increase can be accepted by slave traders.

These slave traders who pursue huge profits are both brutal and compromising. As long as they don't go too far, they generally won't cause trouble.

They used to earn 100 ducats, but now they can only earn 80, and they will swallow this bitter fruit silently.

If it was too much, and they were not allowed to earn even fifty ducats, then there was no doubt that they would attempt an armed resistance.

"And one more thing."

The three people who were about to leave stopped.

"In response to war and disease, I plan to establish a medical school at Fort Narses."

"Both traditional Christian medicine and the more advanced Arab medicine of the East must be added to the educational curriculum."

Isaac turned his gaze toward Urda.

"Urda, I know you still have a lot of old connections in the Islamic world. Try to invite Islamic doctors to teach through them."

"I can make an exception by allowing them to keep their beliefs."

"I can allow them to buy black slaves for dissection, and the church cannot stop them."

"From professors to students, no prejudice or discrimination is allowed. Do you understand?"

When reviewing the battle reports, Isaac was deeply saddened to discover that due to the poor medical conditions on his side, the survival rate of the wounded was extremely low, and many veterans who should have continued to shine had died.

It is urgent to establish medical institutions.

Throughout May, Isaac had been running around in the territory, on the one hand strengthening his control over the territory, and on the other hand conducting macro-control of the problems that arose in the territory.

On May 5, after more than ten days of negotiations, the "Slave Decree" was officially released, announcing the standardization of the slave trade in the Grand Duchy of Soult.

It is worth mentioning that the decree stipulates that black slaves must be castrated before they can enter the principality and perform heavy physical labor that white slaves cannot bear.

On May 5, the Narses Medical School was officially established in Narses Castle. The dean was a Shiite scholar, and the school planned to initially recruit 24 students.

On June 6, news came from the western border that Erdosh led the Slaves Corps to loot near Misrata, looting thousands of people.

After seeking help from Tripoli to no avail, Misrata finally agreed to pay Isaac 20,000 ducats as war reparations and allowed the use of livestock and people to pay off the debt.

On June 6, Bilinchi's spies reported that the sheikhs of the original tribe released by Isaac had instigated tribal infighting. Yusuf was unable to intervene, and the entire area was in chaos.

On June 6, reinforcements from John, Duke of Parma and Constantine, Grand Duke of Morea all arrived in Soult.

All is ready except for the opportunity.

I have something to ask you:
How many words do readers prefer in a chapter?

I usually write about 4,000 words per chapter, one or two chapters a day

I looked at other authors and found that many of them wrote 2,000 words per chapter, two chapters per day

Others have 110 chapters for 200,000 words, but I only have 50 chapters


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(End of this chapter)