1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 84 Queen's Harbor

boom!
A burst of smoke dissipated, and behind the smoke, a delicate and pretty face appeared.

"I'm hit!"

In the shooting range outside the Black Castle, Leonor looked at the straw man with a big hole in it and a joyful smile appeared on her face.

Isaac, who was standing by, also held a musket and looked at the intact straw man in front of him, his eyes darkened.

A month ago, Isaac proposed to Leonor through Prince Enrique and wrote a letter to express his feelings to her.

After gaining the support of the King of Portugal and the King of Aragon, their marriage has been basically confirmed.

Leonor left Napoli and headed south to Birinci.

As a princess who is regarded as a tool for marriage alliances by many countries, it is a great fortune for her to be able to marry someone she doesn't hate.

Meeting again as an engaged couple, they were a little nervous.

There were no bards, no musicians, and no jesters in Isaac's black castle. The two of them just stared at the cold stone walls.

In order to ease the embarrassment, Isaac suggested taking his fiancée to inspect the military camp.

Under Isaac's plan, the First Legion of the Guards was stationed under the Black Castle, and their families lived in the city of Bilinchi as the most loyal guards.

The Purple Guards are divided into two groups, stationed in Beda and Derna respectively, and their families live in Bilinchi.

The Ouk regiment is stationed in several towns in the Ajdabiya region, and its families live in Birinchi.

The Second Guards Legion and the Third Guards Legion, which is being formed, are stationed in various parts of the Principality of Surt, and their families all live in the city of Surt.

After the 2nd Guards Army went to Kruje to participate in the battle, part of the defense of the Principality of Soult was taken over by the Dobruja auxiliaries.

As for the Slavic Legion, it was actually more like the Tima Turkic cavalry in Asia Minor, nomadic in peacetime and recruited in wartime.

The First Legion of the Guards was composed of old comrades who were loyal to Isaac. They followed him in battles and established a great reputation.

When Isaac appeared in the military camp with Leonor, the soldiers cheered, raised their swords and shouted "Long live!"

The double-headed eagle flag flutters in the wind, and the crowned lion rustles in the wind.

At that time, Leonor was really shocked.

She came from a prominent family and had certainly seen more elite troops.

Not to mention foreign countries, the infantry knights of the Order of Aves and the Order of Christ in Portugal alone are more powerful than these heavy armored infantry.

However, she could feel that these people had a heartfelt respect and fanaticism for their emperor, which was unmatched by several powerful armies in the country.

After all, an inherited army is not as loyal as the one you built yourself.

The soldiers looked at their emperor and the beautiful princess beside him with enthusiastic eyes.

Leonor knew very well that these people didn't care about her identity and appearance at all, they were simply happy that their emperor was about to get married.

Getting a wife means having children, having children means heirs, and heirs mean stability.

Then, Isaac took Leonor to try out the newly sent muskets from the city of Alagaei.

With Isaac's occasional suggestions, Metz at the firearms factory made dozens of modifications and finally produced a new musket that met Isaac's requirements.

At Isaac's request, Metz shortened the axis of the musket and moved it significantly backward, which saved costs and made it easier for the shooter to shoot.

The new musket is also equipped with a hardwood cheek rest to further improve the shooting experience, while also having a certain close combat capability.

In addition, Isaac also put a lot of effort into the assembly of gunpowder. He determined in advance the optimal amount of gunpowder needed to launch a projectile. Before the battle, he wrapped the gunpowder in paper according to the optimal amount and poured it directly into the front chamber when using it to increase the firing speed.

Isaac had no problem with this common-sense little innovation that didn't involve any technical content.

At present, Isaac has organized a musketeer team of 300 people and sent it to the battlefield of Cruye for actual combat testing. In addition, the Colonial Secretary William has also asked for a lot of newly made muskets.

Leonor couldn't let go of this new type of musket. She spent an entire afternoon shooting at it until her little face was blackened by the smoke.

While Leonor was taking a shower, Isaac met with Foreign Minister Anderson.

He was about to travel to Constantinople to represent Isaac in the marriage negotiations between the Eastern Roman Empire and Portugal.

The ministers of Constantinople and Birinci took the marriage negotiations very seriously, hoping to gain benefits through this means.

Isaac had no such luxury.

It was already the end of the Middle Ages, and it was basically wishful thinking and impossible to acquire land through marriage like in the heyday of the Middle Ages.

Unless all the male members of the Aviz family died suddenly, Leonor would become the only heir to Portugal and accidentally fall off a horse and die after giving birth.

So, Isaac only gave Anderson a few instructions on the issue of West African trade and sent him away.

In the evening, at Leonor's strong request, the Black Castle held its first formal banquet.

"You may be able to make them surrender temporarily by using strong force, but you will never be able to make them truly loyal to you from the bottom of their hearts."

“You must let these local gentry and nobles know that you are their lord, not a sword hanging over their heads.”

"If you are worried about the expenses, you might as well swallow your pride and invite businessmen. Believe me, they will definitely scramble for a spot just to send expensive gifts to your desk."

After discovering that Isaac was not keen on this kind of aristocratic social interaction, Leonor raised her own protest.

"Holding more banquets will make them loyal?"

Isaac raised an eyebrow.

“This is just one step.”

Leonor pointed to the generals who were testing new guns in the open space outside the window.

"You have gathered them together, but where are their wives? Where are their children?"

"If you allow them to bring their families into your castle, then for these generals, this will not be a mission, but a leisure."

"In addition to banquets, hunting, competitions, and parades are all ways to strengthen your control over your territory."

Leonor winked playfully.

"I told you long ago that your territory is in need of a mistress."

……

The weather in the Greater Bay Area of ​​Guinea is sunny and warm.

On the boundless sea, three caravelles and two transport ships set sail northward with their sails filled.

On the flagship La Palma, the Valleoli family emblem fluttered in the wind. Under the sail, William Valleoli, with his chest open, looked into the distance, holding a nautical chart in his hand.

After a few years, the second son of Monferrato transformed from a dandy boy into a qualified ocean-going captain and made a name for himself in the Atlantic.

However, he was very clear that his achievements were insignificant compared to those of his cousin Isaac.

The poor distant relative who his father said needed help is now the co-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, the King of Cyrenaica and the Despot of Soult, and has a say in the whole of Europe.

Recently, a piece of news spread rapidly along the coast of West Africa, attracting the attention of all explorers.

Isaac, co-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, and Leonor, princess of the Kingdom of Portugal, are engaged.

Everyone knows very well that the current West African exploration is mainly dominated by these two forces, and the gold trade and slave trade are also monopolized by several companies controlled by them.

Among the several maritime powers in Western Europe, France continued to fight with England, Castile was deeply involved in court struggles, and Aragon shifted the focus of its rule to Naples. None of them had time to systematically intervene in the colonization of West Africa and break the two-power pattern.

As for the commercial republics in northern Italy, Venice firmly holds on to the eastern Mediterranean trade, Genoa is unable to take care of itself, and the other small countries have no capabilities.

After the marriage between the Eastern Roman Empire and Portugal, the colonial structure in West Africa will probably become more stable and it will be difficult for outsiders to interfere.

Suddenly, William was a little emotional. When everyone was pessimistic about the adventure in West Africa, Isaac took a gamble and went to the coast of West Africa with all his belongings to open up a route to gold.

Later, they creatively combined colonization with trade plunder to seize a huge amount of wealth from this land.

From the recent navigation drugs, allicin, to the new muskets, it seems as if this cousin has received help from God. Not only does he have a forward-looking strategic vision, but he also always has some very useful ideas.

Whenever William thought of this, he always felt inferior.

William stopped daydreaming and focused his attention back on the chart.

At Isaac's strong request, all ships belonging to the Greek Guinea Trading Company must hand in the drawn nautical charts after a successful expedition, and the charts will be collected and handed over to professional cartographers.

This nautical chart is the result of years of work by navigators.

A map of the coast from the coast off Morocco to the Great Gulf of Guinea.

There is a circle drawn in the middle of the map, and some crooked Greek words written on it.

Golden Country.

The Land of Gold, this is what Isaac called this land when he handed the chart to William.

"There are countless gold buried here, some deep underground, some right at your feet, and some hung on the bodies of the locals."

"If all the gold here were dug out, it would be enough to fill the entire Golden Horn."

"In the name of God and the Emperor, this place belongs to Rome."

"Go, find this place for me, and you will share the glory and gold with me."

William was immediately attracted by the picture Isaac sketched.

Such a rich land actually exists and has no owner?

Intolerable!

"My Lord Count!"

"I told you to call me Captain when we're on the ship!"

"Captain, there is a local tribal gathering on the coast ahead!"

"Are we docking?"

Overhead, the lookout shouted downwards.

William climbed up the mast and looked at the large village on the distant coast, feeling hesitant.

The nautical chart that Isaac gave him only showed the approximate scope of the Golden Kingdom. A small section on the map reflected a large coastline in reality.

There was no other choice. In order to fulfill the emperor's instructions, Colonial Secretary William took the exploration ship and headed north along the coast from the Governorate of St. William.

Along the way, William has encountered countless similar villages. Every time he went to explore, he would return disappointed.

It’s not that there is no gold in these villages, but the quantity and quality are very small, which is seriously inconsistent with the golden kingdom described by Isaac.

You know, exploring the village is not without cost. Sometimes, careless sailors would fall into the poisoned traps set by the local tribes and die before they could be carried back to the ship.

In addition, there are terrible diseases and highly poisonous snakes and scorpions that can easily take the lives of explorers.

Therefore, the task assigned to William two years ago has been carried out intermittently and has not been completed until now.

However, the two years of exploration were not in vain.

William took out another nautical chart, which was densely packed with records of the coastal gathering places they had visited.

"Divide the gold reserves in the village into 10 levels and record them on the map. They will be very useful in the future."

On the nautical chart, starting from the port of St. William, after a series of "1" and "2", "3", "4" and "5" representing larger gold reserves began to increase.

Then, larger numbers began to appear, and then began to decrease again until they reached zero.

"In this way, we can gradually narrow the search area step by step until the end."

The emperor gave these instructions in the letter.

William took out a compass and compared the directions.

"Go and see!"

The three caravels turned and headed for the large village on the shore.

"Count! The water conditions here are good, there are no large reefs, and we can even dock here!"

The first mate ran over excitedly and shared the good news with William.

As the fleet got closer, some of the natives on the shore knelt down and begged for mercy, trembling on the spot, while others began to flee in fear.

They were not aware of the terrifying nature of the ship, but they were instinctively afraid of the giant creatures.

"Lower the boat, let's go ashore!"

William picked up a naval knife, picked up a latest-model musket, and jumped onto the boat first.

Under the whipping, the natives on the shore began to line up in fear, holding slings and simple wooden spears, waiting for the enemy's attack.

William looked intently.

A fat figure was slumped over a sedan chair carried by six people, his short, fat hands wielding a whip, shouting at the terrified tribesmen and pointing in the direction of the sailors.

The tribal chief was used to being domineering and had no fear at all.

This was commonplace, and the colonists were used to it.

but--

As the distance got closer, the full appearance of the tribal chief was exposed to everyone.

Everyone gasped.

Golden clothes, golden scepter, and a golden sedan chair that had turned black due to long-term use.

Beside him, there were a dozen panicked-looking women and children, also wrapped in gold, making it impossible to take your eyes off them.

Suddenly, everyone's eyes were focused on the chief and his family, staring at them intently.

The chief turned around and saw this scene. He thought that his aura had intimidated the uninvited white monkeys. He laughed happily and waved his gold-plated scepter at the sailors.

"Everyone,"

William took a deep breath, turned his head, and spoke to the sailors beside him, trying his best to control his trembling voice caused by excitement.

He took out a nautical chart and wrote a big "10" on it.

"I think our achievements today will go down in history."

"I declare, in the name of God, that this place belongs to the Roman Emperor."

"For the glory of the Lord and the will of the Emperor, fire!"

After a burst of gunfire, only blood and smoke remained on this rich land.

On May 1450, 5, Earl William led an Eastern Roman expedition to discover the Golden Kingdom in the Gulf of Guinea. They occupied a bay along the coast and built a simple dock using existing local facilities.

To commemorate the upcoming wedding, the sailors named this port full of beautiful gold after Leonor, calling it "Leonora".

Also known as Queen's Harbor.

(End of this chapter)