kingdom of nations

Chapter 215 Seven Days of Mourning (Part 2) - Two chapters combined
Contrary to popular belief, César did not spend that day and night merely standing in vain beside the princess's coffin, praying and mourning for her. Or rather, he did pray and mourn, but in a different way.

While he and Baldwin were still taking classes in the tower of the Castle of the Holy Cross, their teacher Heraclius explained the Byzantine Empire's military district system to them in great detail.

This system evolved from the professional army system of the ancient Roman Empire. Initially, the salaries of professional soldiers were paid by the state or the emperor. At first, this policy could be considered effective. Generals did not have ownership of the army. They led soldiers into battle and had to return power after their victories.

In return, the land, slaves, and money obtained after the campaign would be distributed as spoils to the generals and every soldier, and the emperor, the Senate, and the priests and clergy in Rome would also benefit from it.

However, this virtuous cycle was interrupted after the Roman Empire expanded repeatedly. The reason was that after occupying too vast a territory, it was difficult for the emperor's decrees to reach places thousands of miles away in a timely manner, and news from remote areas would also be subject to strong delays.

This resulted in many messages being outdated by the time they reached Rome. The plague might have subsided or worsened, the riots might have been quelled or expanded, or the famine might have spread to several provinces or suddenly disappeared. But after handing power over to the governors of the provinces, the Roman emperor also faced a thorny problem: these governors could easily be emperors in their own provinces, so why would they be willing to return to Rome and become senators or ministers at the mercy of others?

Not to mention that after Augustus's bloodline was completely wiped out by the long river of history, the position of Roman emperor became the one held by the virtuous, or rather, the wealthy, and every ambitious person could try to touch that coveted throne.

Later Roman emperors, in order to defend against these attacks, whether external or internal, had to strengthen their army, the Praetorian Guard. However, if they poured all their resources into the Praetorian Guard, the troops in remote areas would lose the emperor's support. No matter how loyal a soldier, he still needs to eat. When they receive their sustenance from their generals, not the emperor, you cannot expect them to remain loyal.

The Byzantine Empire today faces the same problem.

After the division of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, the original territory of the Byzantine Empire was more than sufficient to support its claim to the title of successor to the ancient Roman Empire. Even though the Western Roman Empire had been destroyed by barbarians, it was still surrounded by several kingdoms that, while not exactly friendly, maintained a degree of rapport. The Byzantine emperors had always tried their best to maintain good relations with these kingdoms, hoping they would serve as a buffer zone between themselves and the barbarian states that had destroyed the Western Roman Empire.

But this balance was eventually broken. No one can deny that Justinian the Great, a brilliant and ambitious emperor, was a great monarch who conquered several neighboring countries during his reign, almost turning the Mediterranean Sea back into Rome's inland lake. However, the rapid expansion of the empire also made it difficult for this bloated ship to navigate the Anatolian peninsula as freely as before. Thus, the military district system, which replaced the provincial system, was born.

Soldiers were no longer professional soldiers; they were both soldiers and farmers, ruled by the governors of military districts. Each military district was granted corresponding land, establishing a military settlement system. These soldiers were required to pay land and poll taxes to the state, but were exempt from public service. In return, they were required to fight for the empire.

The governor in charge of managing these soldiers paid them with large amounts of land—after all, the Byzantine emperors at that time had vast new territories and not much money—which significantly reduced the empire's financial expenditures.

But the Byzantine emperors should have realized that just as people were greedy centuries ago, so too are people today. Governors and generals would crave more money and power, which meant that their swords might not always be aimed at the enemy.

Moreover, the empire's overly rapid pace of conquest brought about a new problem: the original buffer zones had disappeared, and their new neighbors would not negotiate or make peace with them, but would launch attacks and plunders again and again with incredible speed. In order to maintain these hard-won territories and use them as a stepping stone to reintegrate the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, the emperors had to repeatedly tilt their policies toward these remote provinces, which in turn led to the governors of these remote provinces becoming increasingly powerful.

After expanding their power, the glory and shadows of the ancient Roman Empire seemed to once again cover this land, and they also challenged the position of the Byzantine emperor.

Later generations often refer to Byzantine intrigue as political struggles that are utterly shameless and willing to destroy everything. But initially, the emperors of the Byzantine Empire were not like that. They may not have all been Alexander the Great or Justinian, but they were at least competent monarchs.

As for why things eventually turned out this way, it's because they discovered they could no longer conquer those eager subjects and generals with their personal military strength and prestige. They had to resort to methods they had previously looked down upon, such as sowing discord, power grabbing, assassination, and moral corruption...

Under the emperor's instigation, the relationship between the governors of the various provinces was not harmonious, or rather, they were unable to achieve harmony.

If they want to maintain their current status or rise in rank, there are only two ways: one is to expand outwards. But regardless of whether the emperor allows it, even if the emperor allows it, this new territory may not belong to them. Similarly, they will have to accept the huge losses brought about by the war, and their colleagues may take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack on them.

It is also possible that, once he loses his sufficient threat, the court in Constantinople will turn against him.

What astonishes later generations is that in the Byzantine Empire, there were indeed instances where governors or generals who lost battles (whether on the battlefield or in politics) had all their power and property taken away, and all their children and relatives were executed or exiled. The soldiers who fought alongside them were also stripped of their land ownership and enslaved.

This situation is awkward. After all, the reason why the military district system was initially popular and indeed stabilized the foundation of the empire and was able to defeat powerful enemies like the Sassanid Persians was precisely because the generals and soldiers were protecting their own land. But now it has been proven that the right to use this land can be taken back...

After careful calculation, a military governor or general would find that if he took control of all, or most, of the land in the military region, his wealth would increase to a terrifying figure. He would not need many soldiers, only farmers and artisans. Moreover, it would be more profitable to use a portion of the taxes to hire Turks, Franks, or even Hungarians than to keep the land in the hands of soldiers.

And they couldn't very well use a soldier to bribe the ministers in Constantinople, but gold could.

So, another method was much simpler: simply buy land from the soldiers—while their land was hereditary, it could be freely bought and sold. But this led to a familiar term—"land annexation"—and these governors and generals, after acquiring vast amounts of land, wouldn't, as people expected, fight the barbarians; instead, they would turn their swords towards Constantinople…

Compared to the original virtuous cycle, this is undoubtedly a vicious cycle.

The emperor, at such an advanced age, still decided to personally lead the expedition, but after encountering setbacks, he became discouraged and cowardly. Perhaps it was for this reason that no one could defend their own vulnerable back while facing a powerful enemy.

The Crusaders may laugh at the emperor's cowardice and incompetence, but if they were in his position, even if they could compare to Justinian the Great, they would hardly achieve anything unless he was willing to shed his layers of robes and cloaks, cast aside his crown, and appear on the battlefield as a soldier, not an emperor. Only then could the glory of the Byzantine Empire be salvaged.

Cesare had no idea that three hundred years later, a Byzantine emperor would indeed exercise this power in a truly heroic manner.

His gaze fell on the list. There were reasons why the military governor of Cyprus always arrived and left in such a hurry, and why, in recent years, some people had even been declining the position.

Cyprus became a trade and transshipment center in the eastern Mediterranean as early as the 10th century BC. It was conquered by the Assyrians in 708 BC, and subsequently invaded by Egypt and Persia in 560 and 540 BC respectively. In 333 BC, Alexander the Great of Macedon became its ruler. From 294 to 58 BC, Cyprus belonged to Egypt, until it was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 58 BC…

After so many dynasties and monarchs, Cyprus has been almost completely divided up by various powerful families...

Cyprus hoped for imperial aid to help them resist the Saracens from Egypt. However, several large families and dozens of smaller families had been operating on the island for centuries, and they would never agree to relinquish their land if asked by a foreign governor. Furthermore, the taxes they paid were far from sufficient to build a strong army.

Even towards the eldest prince, they weren't entirely convinced of his worth or subservientness. The eldest prince couldn't gain much from them; otherwise, he wouldn't have used a box of counterfeit Greek fire to swindle ten thousand gold coins from that Cypriot nobleman.

Kostas was skeptical of the plot from the start. Even without the marriage of Princess Anna to Cesar, Cyprus had not become part of the princess's dowry and attracted the Crusaders. He did not believe that the people who were tearing each other apart like crabs in a basket at the time when they should have been united could really put the eldest prince on the throne of the Byzantine Empire.

Therefore, when he decided to betray others, he felt no burden in his heart. However, he did not expect that it would only take three days to completely subjugate Cyprus.

This record seems impossible to later generations. Even just riding a horse, it would take a full day and night to travel from Larnaca in Cyprus to the Cresces Islands. The palaces and fortresses built by some families were no less impressive than the emperor's fortresses. Some fortresses were even built on protruding sea cliffs, giving them a commanding position and the advantage of defending against enemies.

Therefore, the popular ballad is called "Seven Days of Mourning," not "Three Days of Mourning." When people talk about this campaign to quell the rebellion, they always subconsciously include the first and last four days.

But César has made it clear that the number of Cypriots he needs to deal with is not as large as people think.

Most of the families involved in the rebellion were located north of Cyprus, facing the Byzantine Empire, the Turks, and the Armenians. They were less frequently attacked by the Saracens of Egypt. Further east, due to the greater distance and the possibility of being attacked from both sides by Christian countries, the Saracens rarely chose to land there.

The most dangerous are the several powerful families in the southwest. They have long hoped that a strong-willed lord, favored by God, would rule them. This young lord, aside from other factors, at least has the King of Arazarus on his side, and as far as they can see, the grandmasters of the other two major knightly orders also look favorably upon him.

His only shortcoming was a lack of resources, but sometimes this lack of resources is a good thing. The Crusaders could invest with their knights, while the Cypriot nobles could invest with their money. These were the very nobles who had arrived with Cesare and his party before the wedding. Most of the families that arrived later were from the eastern part of Cyprus. Among the families caught up in the conspiracy or those who remained neutral (they may have known but didn't betray him), some came to submit to Cesare and apologize. Cesare's attitude towards them was firm: hand over the ringleaders, and the others would be exiled or banished. Their lands, property, and homes would be confiscated, and caravans and fleets would be treated the same way.

Although for them this was tantamount to the complete destruction of their business empire in Cyprus, at least they survived. If they and their descendants were content to be ordinary merchants, then it wouldn't be such a great loss.

To their dismay, Cesare had conscripted their army, both their own men and hired soldiers. However, since they had already decided to submit to Cesare, it was their duty—almost ironically, when they arrived at the first palace, they found it deserted. The people inside had neither submitted to Cesare nor intended to fight him; they had fled, leaving behind only servants and slaves.

They stared dumbfounded at the people who rushed in carrying torches, and some even greeted them with obvious delight. Heaven knows they had once been very close, and their servants certainly knew each other, including many men and women with whom they had had fleeting affairs.

This situation relieved those people. If possible, they would not want to fight against fellow Cypriots, or even their friends and in-laws. However, such a hope was shattered the moment Cesar ordered them to go to another place.

The owner of this fortress was extremely stubborn and the most radical member of this small conspiratorial group. He showed no intention of backing down or hiding. When the army arrived at his fortress, they could see, beyond the towering walls and dense trees, that the terrace facing the sea was brightly lit and people were singing and dancing.

Unfortunately, his loyalty to the Byzantine Empire, or his concern for his own status, could not lead him to reinforce the city walls or increase the garrison. The garrison, consisting only of his family members and mercenaries, was easily defeated. In particular, the mercenaries readily surrendered to the Crusaders' swords. They even turned on their employers, killing their men and women, looting their rooms, and fleeing quickly.

In the end, the poor fellow could only set fire to the terrace, burning himself, his family, and the palace to the ground. The scene of people dancing and wailing in the flames would move anyone.

A Cypriot nobleman even fell off his horse, staggered toward César, knelt at his feet, and grabbed his stirrups, as if to beg him for something. But all he saw was the handsome young lord, as if kissed by the moon goddess, bending down and saying to him, "Hurry up and get on your horse, we still have many places to go."

Two of his family members rushed over, pulled him to the front of the horse, and pushed him onto it.

They had already witnessed the destruction of one family and were unwilling to let their own family suffer the same fate.

They destroyed several places in succession. Cesar assessed and weighed the military strength of these nobles. He already knew about their conspiracy, and of course, he also knew that the eldest prince had once thought of detaining the king and patriarch of Arrassal under the pretext of expelling outsiders after ruining the marriage, and extorting a ransom from the Crusaders.

Is it possible for this plan to succeed?

It is indeed possible, if these Cypriots can truly work together.

Compared to the Cypriots' grief, the Crusaders were jubilant. They hadn't had such a cathartic outburst in a long time. The repeated defeats on the Syrian and Egyptian fronts in recent years had indeed taken a toll on their morale.

Even without the generous rewards promised by Cesar, they were quite willing to follow the new ruler of Cyprus in suppressing these heretics. Some crusaders even said, with less than satisfied tone, that fighting the Saracens was like lions encountering a pack of wolves; while these Cypriots were adept at cunning and intrigue, they were no match for horned goats in actual combat.

However, these arrogant fellows soon encountered the biggest obstacle they faced in Cyprus.

That wasn't a palace or a fortress, but a real castle. It belonged to Pendea and faced Morfu Bay; it was a port city.

Of course, Cyprus has many port cities, but because Morfu Bay is located in the depression of Pendea, many ships take shelter from storms and load cargo here. Taking advantage of this unique geographical advantage, their family accumulated a lot of wealth. They did not use this wealth for short-sighted pleasures, but instead built this magnificent castle in anticipation of the future.

As mentioned before, the castle stood on a sea cliff, with only one very steep passage leading inland. Instead of sending extra soldiers to guard this passage, they blocked the only gate with bricks and stones, seemingly intending to hold their ground. Like Constantinople, one of the most advantageous conditions for the defenders was that they could also receive support from the sea, both in terms of soldiers and food.

“We can use those Cypriot ships to intercept their supplies,” said Templar Walter, his fingers tapping rapidly, clearly showing his enthusiasm. “We can surround them. Even if they've stockpiled enough food, how long can it last? Two months? Or three months?”

“But I don’t want to wait that long,” Cesar said. He had been traveling to so many places and was covered in dust. This smell and color were the ones Walter was most familiar with and liked. However, Walter didn’t dare to approach Cesar easily. He always felt that this young man was like a newly sharpened sword, as if touching him would tear his skin apart.

Let those Cypriot rebels enjoy these things; he should stay away.

“Then I’ll have the siege equipment brought up,” Walter said. He could vaguely see people moving around on the city walls. Although they wouldn’t come out to fight, they would definitely retaliate if someone actually brought the siege equipment down to the city.

“Let the Cypriots go first.” Walter’s plan was quite shrewd, but Cesar simply shook his head. “There’s no need for that.”

He first sent a messenger demanding the surrender of the people in the castle. The people in the castle responded with stones and crossbow bolts. Fortunately, the messenger had been protected by Cesar and kept a safe distance. When he rode back, he was hit by several arrows and was wounded, but his life was not in danger.

"It seems they're determined to oppose you," Walden said with ill intent.

Then he saw Cesar order his soldiers to bring out a siege vehicle—the "turtle" we know, which you can think of as a four-wheeled vehicle with a roof but no bottom, covered with thick cowhide to protect against rolling logs, stones, boiling water and fire from above, and usually concealed underneath is a battering ram, pushed by laborers on both sides.

Although the narrow road was difficult to traverse, with some sections requiring laborers to carry it up on their shoulders, and despite the constant hurling of stones and crossbow bolts from the castle, it arrived at the city gate intact. Walter, an experienced old knight, quickly realized that what was hidden beneath this "turtle" did not appear to be a heavy battering ram. "What is it then?"

Cesar turned his head toward him, and in the bright moonlight, he saw a calm face. The distance was so close that he had no time to process what was happening, as if he had been struck by a battering ram.

The next moment, his mind could no longer hold anything else, because he had already seen it—flames shooting out from under the "turtle".

Emperor Alexius I once equipped his ships with Greek fire. To make his enemies even more terrified, he commissioned the creation of hollow bronze statues in the shape of wild beasts, from which flames spewed forth. It was as if he had summoned demons from hell to fight for him. Wherever the flames went, devastation followed, and everyone was filled with dread.

This scene repeated itself. Although there were no statues of lions or tigers, the flames spewing from the fire-breathing vents were visible to everyone; they were so bright and so scorching. It was as if God had sent down heavenly fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and for a moment the light illuminated the entire city wall as if it were daytime.

The Cypriots on the city walls recognized the flames even earlier than the Crusaders. They cried out in despair, running back and forth on the walls as they watched the sturdy, heavy oak gates turn into charred charcoal in the flames. The metal parts twisted and deformed under the intense heat, and the bricks and stones piled up behind the gates cracked and splintered under the scorching heat. "No! This can't be!"

The Cypriots who witnessed all of this cried out in despair, "How could this be! How could this be!"

This is Greek fire, Greek fire! Even on Byzantine ships or in the army, Greek fire was rarely seen anymore!

The research and production of Greek fire took place deep within the royal palace, with the Galinikos family, who were granted imperial authority and tightly controlled, managing the entire system. If the fire were leaked, even if it was a finished product, both the buyer and seller would be subjected to twelve forms of torture before being executed, and the best outcome for anyone involved would be life imprisonment.

Even the noblest Alexius only brought out a chest of fakes to swindle money...

Walter, standing next to Cesar, was stunned. "My God!" he exclaimed, making the sign of the cross and looking at Cesar with awe. "Is a face really that useful?"

(End of this chapter)