1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 65 Banquet
With gentle breeze and drizzle, the spring of 1449 came to the world unknowingly.

The heavy rains at the end of last year washed the city, washing away a whole year's violence and bloodshed.

After repeated rebellions, suppressions, exiles, and migrations, the city has basically stabilized in Isaac's hands.

Even under Yusuf's rough ruling style, this big city once had a population of more than 30,000, most of whom were Muslims, with a few Christians living in the Christian community.

During Isaac's siege of the city, about 8,000 people escaped from the harbor. After Ya'gubai surrendered, the people of the entire city were "voluntarily" baptized and became Orthodox Christians.

At the enlistment of Count Yergubai of Bairdi and Baron "Kanbut" Marzia, about 8,000 residents were willing to follow the Balsbe family and live in the Bairdi area.

"These unruly people are not very loyal to the Balsbe family. They just don't want to live under the rule of Christians."

Isurt, who had just been promoted to Chief Minister of the Kingdom of Cyrenaica, said so.

Currently, Bilinchi has just lifted military control, and the newly appointed administrative officials are registering the remaining residents in the city.

A large number of local people have moved out, and the Orthodox residents who were planned to move in are still on the way, which has left most of the city empty.

Outside the city of Bilinchi, in the Black Castle, Isaac was meeting with the envoy from Genoa.

The castle was built during the ancient Greek colonial period as one of the fortresses to protect the city.

After the rise of Islam, this place became the administrative center of Birinchi, and successive governors lived in it and repeatedly reinforced it.

Yusuf was a special case. He hated the gloomy atmosphere and dark color scheme of the place and moved into a luxurious city, leaving the castle to fall into disrepair.

After the establishment of the Principality of Cyrenaica, Isaac renovated the castle and used it as his family castle. He set up a manor and hunting ground nearby and named it "Black Castle".

"Your Highness, the Governor General was very happy to hear about your great victory in Cyrenaica and immediately ordered me to come and congratulate you."

The envoy sent by Genoa Governor Adorno was Isaac's old acquaintance, the merchant Nicolo from the Scorpia family.

"It's nice to see you again, dear Nicolo."

"I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore."

Isaac said lightly.

Nicklo was a little embarrassed.

On the eve of the War of the Milanese Succession, Isaac sent Captain Fidel to Corsica to negotiate with Nicolo about continuing to purchase large ships, but was turned away.

"I was wrong last time. I shouldn't have rejected your proposal. Now... we have brought a new agreement..."

Nicolo handed Isaac a document with the Genoese griffin and the cross of St. George.

"This document represents the Governor's Office of Genoa and all the people of Genoa. Please read it carefully."

Nicklo's expression turned serious.

Isaac picked up the document and read it carefully.

The document is written in both Latin and Greek and is easy to read.

Halfway through, Isaac understood.

This is a commercial treaty with military implications.

Simply put, the Republic of Genoa was jealous of Isaac's share of trade in North Africa. In addition, it was somewhat wary of Monferrato, which was quietly rising nearby, and wanted to regulate the tripartite relationship through an agreement.

From the documents, Isaac could also read some concerns about Venice and the Ottoman Empire.

Isaac saw the coat of arms of Monferrato, Duke John IV of Parma, at the end of the document, which he had apparently read and signed.

Nicklo handed over John IV's letter in due time.

"The Duke of Parma wrote you a letter and asked me to bring it to you."

Isaac opened the letter, glanced at it, and formed an idea in his mind.

"Genoa is in a bad situation recently."

Isaac put down the letter, poured wine for Nicklo, and motioned for him to sit down.

Many people in later generations confused Genoa and Venice, which is very incorrect.

Venice is a typical oligarchic country, with power concentrated in the Grand Council composed of nobles, and the Doge also comes from among them.

But it is such a country that can unite all its citizens closely when dealing with the outside world. Every Venetian is proud of his or her identity, and nationalism is prevalent.

I am a Venetian first, and a Christian second.

Enrico Dandolo's words are regarded as a guiding principle by many Venetians.

In Genoa, the situation was just the opposite. Although the governor was nominally elected by the entire people, the people had little affinity for the country.

The Genoese admired personal heroism and were keen on adventure and war. They hoped to spread their names far and wide like St. George rather than fight for their country.

Later, many famous adventurers came from Genoa.

The Black Death, the defeat of Chioggia, the rise of the Ottomans, deflation, shortage of precious metals... one disaster after another befell Genoa, the West Water Griffin, and hit it hard.

Now, Genoa's days as the hegemon of the Mediterranean were numbered - it survived only five years longer than the Eastern Roman Empire.

After 1458 in the original time and space, Genoa has been wavering between the control of the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire, and has never regained its former glory.

"Your Highness, I will not hide it from you. The situation in the country is very bad. The people are rioting. The governor is overwhelmed, and the nobles are just standing by and watching."

"It's not a secret. You'll find out once you check."

"Does this have anything to do with our agreement?"

Isaac drank his wine and spoke slowly.

"North Africa is an important part of our trade. We hope you can give us trade preferences like Yusuf and Abdullah did before."

Nicklo pointed to a clause in the trade agreement.

Isaac nodded and said that this could be discussed.

"Besides that, we hope to use your fleet and commercial port to bypass Venice's blockade and jointly deal with the threat from Venice."

“That doesn’t seem to be in the protocol.”

"I believe you have already seen that these Venetians do not take you seriously at all. They are our common enemy."

"Even if we are combined, we are no match for the Venetians."

"It's enough to make them afraid to act rashly."

"What good will it do me?"

Seeing Isaac give in, Nicklo finally relaxed his frown.

“We need to have a good talk about this.”

……

On February 1449, 2, envoys from Copenhagen and Berlin arrived in Birinci one after another.

At the request of Pope Nicholas V, almost all European Christian countries sent envoys to witness the birth of a new crown.

Isaac didn't care that Venice and Milan didn't send anyone.

Several diplomatic officials and nobles under Isaac were busy serving the envoys who came from afar.

Anderson and Isurte hadn't had a good rest for several days. They looked at Isaac with resentment, with dark circles under their eyes.

There's no other way. There's no housewife at home, so they have to do it for them.

The messengers brought gifts of various sizes, usually small gadgets that were not particularly valuable.

The Portuguese royal family, who had the best relationship with Isaac, sent him a jewel-studded sword estimated to be worth five hundred ducats.

Skanderbeg sent a fine bear skin that could be made into a soft rug.

Isurt had also prepared corresponding gifts, mostly handicrafts from West Africa and local specialties of Cyrenaica.

The nobles gathered together, talked loudly, ate and drank to their heart's content, and fought with swords to win the favor of a female guest, making the entire territory a mess.

Overall, they were quite satisfied with Isaac's hospitality.

On February 2, Isaac hosted a banquet for the envoys, and all the nobles gathered in the banquet hall of the Black Castle. The nobles wore gorgeous dresses, precious jewelry, and decorative rapiers on their waists, and walked into the banquet hall with their heads held high.

Isaac and several of his vassals stood in the banquet hall, greeting the guests.

Son of Count Celje, brother of Count Hesse, nephew of the Elector Palatinate...

Isaac repeated his welcome and praise over and over again with a stiff smiling face.

Even though I don't know any of them, I always pretend to be old acquaintances.

"The Portuguese envoy, Henry, Duke of Viseu from the House of Avis!"

Isaac finally saw a familiar face and a natural smile appeared on his lips.

"Enrique, long time no see!"

Isaac hugged Enrique and looked at his gloating face.

"Just bear with it. I went through this myself back then."

Compared with socializing with nobles, Enrique preferred to stay with sailors, listen to their stories at sea, and drink fine wine with them.

Isaac smiled bitterly.

Enrique turned around and pulled out his little niece who was hiding tightly behind him.

"This is Joana, Alfonso's sister, she... uh,"

"He's looking at my sister!"

Joana shouted angrily.

"Greetings, noble Despot of Surt, King of Cyrenaica, Prince of Constantinople, to the deceased Isaac."

A beautiful girl in an elegant dress bowed gracefully to Isaac.

She was wearing a Portuguese-style French skirt, and the petticoat made of whalebone set off the girl's youthful and elegant figure beautifully.

The dress is embroidered with a pattern of lavender, the national flower of Portugal. It is not too complicated but adds elegance.

Her hair was tied into a rose shape and topped with a white scarf.

A pair of deep and bright eyes were half covered by the hanging veil, the long and curved eyelashes fluttered, under the upright nose, the rosy lips were pursed together, and the corners of the mouth were raised in a beautiful arc.

Under the slender neck, a touch of white is slightly raised, faintly visible.

Isaac was stunned for a moment.

"My name is Leonor Avish, and it's a pleasure to meet you, your highness of great reputation."

Seeing that Isaac didn't respond, Leonor continued.

"Well, welcome, distinguished guest, I hope you can feel the warmth of home here."

Isaac came to his senses and felt a little embarrassed about his own faux pas.

Leonor Avis, a Portuguese princess, was a young and beautiful woman of noble birth. She became famous far and wide when she grew up and was the dream lover of European aristocrats.

The King of Portugal was her brother, the King of Aragon was her uncle, the nobles of England and Burgundy fought for her, the Dauphin of France and the Holy Roman Emperor vied for her favor.

Ultimately, the White Swan married the more highly titled Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, a decision she would regret for the rest of her life.

Historically, she had a very famous son - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Burgundy, and the pioneer of the Habsburg strategy of conquering the world with the lower half of the body.

Of course, this is all later story. Now she is still a fourteen-year-old little princess.

Legend has it that when the honest Frederick III saw his wife for the first time, he stood there in a daze, unable to speak for several minutes.

Looking back now, it is not an exaggeration.

The more beautiful a woman is, the more dangerous she is.

Isaac reminded himself.

As the guests gradually arrived, Isaac took the seat of honor under everyone's gaze and announced the start of the banquet.

The dishes were very rich and there were a wide variety of drinks. The eyes of several nobles from small places were shining.

Burgundy red wine, Saint William sugar, Wallachia roses, Swiss black truffles, Iberian beef... everything is available.

Isaac's heart bled as he watched these nobles eating and drinking so much.

According to his idea, everything should be kept simple, but Isult insisted on doing so, under the pretext of leaving a good impression on European countries.

At the beginning, they were respectful and did not use Isaac's territory as a place to show off their masculine power.

However, when they were half drunk, the cups and plates were in a mess, and under the influence of alcohol, many people began to behave unrestrainedly.

As the nobles drank and ate meat, they took off their usual hypocritical disguises and began to reveal their rude natures.

The men had finished talking about national affairs and began to cast their unbridled gazes over the women's exposed breasts and arms.

He brags, teases, makes eyes at the woman he likes, and makes eye contact with married women.

Isaac saw with his own eyes that a bishop took the opportunity of changing the candles to hug the countess beside him, and the countess giggled and tried to resist.

Her husband was telling a joke, and the Duke's daughter was laughing so hard that she was shaking with laughter.

If we don't take any action now, I'm afraid some things that the people will like to see will appear.

Isaac sighed and stood up.

"Everyone, there is a good hunting ground in the hills behind the Black Castle. Why don't we let Count Mikhail take everyone there to hunt?"

Hunting after dinner is one of the favorite sports of European aristocrats.

The bishop took the countess with him, the count picked up the duke's daughter, mounted their hunting horses, took their hunting dogs and falcons, and went into the forest to search for traces of prey.

Isaac was sure that many people would look for a clearing in the woods for a collision of spirit and flesh.

Go ahead, just don't bother me here.

The last sound of horse hooves faded away along with the sweet laughter. Isaac finally breathed a sigh of relief, went to his own garden, picked up a glass of milk wine and drank it slowly.

"In general, at aristocratic banquets, women would sit together and chat about family matters and clothes, children and love affairs,"

Isaac turned around and saw Leonor walking towards him with a voice as clear and pleasant as a silver bell.

"When men get together to drink, they talk about war and politics and brag about their exploits."

"In your castle, they are all in chaos."

"You are unqualified as a noble."

"so what?"

Isaac said unhappily.

"Your castle lacks a mistress."

"Why, you want to recommend yourself?"

Isaac was calculating how many soldiers this meal could feed and was too lazy to pay attention to her.

A blush flashed across Leonor's face, and then her expression immediately turned cold.

"I thought that the famous holy warrior, Isaac the Dead, would be an elegant and polite nobleman."

Isaac pouted.

"Most of the disputes in this world are caused by nobles and extinguished by nobles."

"Don't underestimate the interactions among these nobles. Sometimes, they can be as powerful as a million soldiers."

"That's why in a country, the foreign minister always has a higher status than the military minister."

Isaac knew she was right, but he was still a little annoyed.

"How about this, I'll lend you a horse and you can go hunting?"

(End of this chapter)