kingdom of nations

Chapter 230 Dandolo (Part 2)
Geoffrey almost whistled, but thankfully he remembered what kind of person he was dealing with. Since they had been friends, even if not close, they still knew each other to some extent.

Dandolo was a peculiar man. In some ways, he was extremely demanding, but in others, he was quite lenient. This greatly limited the power of Venice as a republican dictator. Otherwise, Dandolo would have been very suitable to be a king.

Froy had seen many rulers who were high above others, always setting all sorts of laws for others to obey, but not necessarily for themselves. Sometimes they could even violate doctrine and morality.

However, Dandolo was someone who could always surprise him. For example, after chatting with him for a while, Dandolo suggested going to the Cathedral of St. Lazarus.

"Are you going to offer a prayer?" Geoffroy asked casually.

That's normal. Sea voyages in that era were not as safe as they are in later times. Everyone who was able to step off the deck should pray to God to thank Him for His protection.

But in addition to prayer, Dandolo also paid the bishop of the Cathedral of St. Lazarus to hold a requiem mass for Anna, the princess of the Byzantine Empire. This surprised even Geoffrey.

Centuries later, when readers peruse the legends and stories created by people at that time, they are always puzzled as to why every story inevitably features a dull husband and father, and an evil and wicked stepmother and step-wife.

This is closely related to the primogeniture law.

According to the law, in a family, even if the children are born to the same mother, only the eldest son can inherit everything from his father: castles, lands, subjects, titles, property—at least most of the property.

His children, however, only received meager amounts of money and connections.

This practice certainly ensured the integrity of the territory. However, it inevitably led to a difficult situation for the children other than the eldest son. For example, the Duke of Normandy had more than twenty sons with several wives, so that all the sons except the eldest had to go out and make a living as mercenaries.

Therefore, a woman who is a stepwife and stepmother must treat the children left by her ex-wife harshly—if her husband does not manage to declare the previous marriage invalid and the previous children are all considered illegitimate—even if she is kind-hearted, even if it is for her own children and her own family, she will try every means to get rid of these children who have become obstacles.

Consequently, their families would also become hostile to each other and wary of one another.

After all, every marriage contract is followed by an alliance between two families. If one cannot benefit from the marriage, then what is the point of continuing it? And the wife's family is essentially wasting a good candidate for a marriage alliance.

If you're talking about daughters, their dowry is also a big issue.

A daughter's dowry generally depends on her fiancé. To put it another way, if a viscount's daughter, who owns only a small woodland, suddenly gains the king's favor, he wouldn't dream of her becoming queen, because he couldn't afford the dowry a queen should have. Even if the king insisted on the marriage, his ministers and other members of the royal family would do everything in their power to stop it.

If this cannot be stopped, the king may even be deposed, a situation that has occurred even in extremely enlightened times.

Princess Anna has another reason to be hated by Dandolo: her father, Manuel I.

It was Manuel I who expelled and killed tens of thousands of Venetians, and who tortured and drove Dandolo, who was then the Venetian ambassador, out of Constantinople.

It could be said that Dandolo's decision not to dance at her grave was a testament to his high moral character.

Now he even repays evil with kindness, treating her as if she were his own daughter...

"What's with that expression?" Dandolo glared at Rofrue. It was a strange feeling, because Rofrue felt that Dandolo was looking at him, yet it was also as if he wasn't. People often say that eye contact is something that cannot be touched, but can certainly be sensed.

But now, when Froe looked over, he couldn't meet Dandolo's gaze, yet he could indeed feel a stinging pain, as if he were being pricked by needles.

"It seems you came prepared."

“When have I ever acted rashly?” Dandolo retorted.

If one had to name one instance, it was when he stood before Manuel I and accused him of treachery, and he paid the price for it.

You said his opinion of Anna wasn't good, except that she was Manuel I's daughter, and also because of that short-lived marriage that lasted only one night.

But she must have left an indelible mark on that young knight. Even a cold-hearted person like Narcissus would shed tears for such an incredibly generous gift. Not to mention that the dead always have an edge over the living, and her existence might have cast an indelible shadow on his granddaughter's marriage...

He wasn't sure if Portia would allow this past to be buried six feet under with Anna, so he not only added weight to the scales but also tried to move Cesar with emotion—if he was indeed a sentimental and grateful boy, Dandolo's approach was undoubtedly quite effective.

When he arrived in Nicosia, five miles from the city, Cesare led his knights to greet them. When the two met, the old fox even noticed a hint of apology in Cesare's eyes, which was exactly what Dandolo wanted.

Dandolo had seen portraits of César painted by others, a practice that was not uncommon.

When two countries or two lords were to enter into a marriage contract, except in some special circumstances, the newlyweds would exchange portraits before the wedding. However, at this time, the portraits could not fully reproduce the posture of a living person, because in the twelfth century, painting still served religion—the portraits that painters most often painted were of God, the Virgin Mary, or saints.

Often, the employers who pay for the paintings will ask them to be painted next to the saints for protection, as if they could share in some of the saints' glory in the process.

This has led to a situation where, apart from some obvious features, it is difficult for people today to discern the beauty or ugliness of the employer in these portraits. Sometimes, even gender and age can only be determined from clothing.

The painter sent by Dandolo was supposed to finish the work within a month, but he dragged his feet and was urged by Dandolo several times—both verbally and physically—before finally managing to hand in a piece of work.

He said that when he finished the painting and decided to send it to Dandolo because he thought it was a rare work, he felt as if the painting had been smeared by the devil and had become ugly in an instant, completely unlike the person he remembered.

Dandolo could tell from the painting that the painter had indeed put in his utmost effort. He used the finest brushstrokes to depict the boy, using seaweed powder for his eyes, insect red for his lips, and malachite for his hair. Yet, when Dandolo called him to his side, he still muttered that the painting didn't resemble the man at all.

Dandolo, already impatient from waiting for so long, felt even more justified in ordering his men to beat him up after hearing this.

Now he feels that he must make amends to the painter after returning to Venice, as he had indeed made things too difficult for him.

At the same time, another worry arose in his heart. Although he raised his little Portia in the same way he would raise a boy, Portia was, after all, a woman. Dandolo had never had the idea that women should be content with their lot and have no desires.

In his view, there is no difference between women and men; both have ambitions for power and a pursuit of beauty. The only difference is that the former are easily constrained by the environment and the law, while the latter are suppressed by morality and faith.

If Cesare were just an ordinary Crusader, Dandolo would be confident he could resolve the matter for Portia. But the problem was, Cesare would be Portia's rightful husband, and it's perfectly normal for a wife to love her husband. Dandolo temporarily put this worry aside and then turned to observe Cesare's knights. Sometimes you might not see much from a person in isolation, but by looking at their friends, their subordinates, or even their lovers, you can discern their true nature.

Because in front of these people, they are very likely to drop their pretense.

The first thing he saw was a group of knights with graying temples and weathered faces. They were no longer young; some of them were no longer in their prime and had already passed the most precious age for a knight.

In the armies hired by the Venetians, or in other armies that Dandolo had seen, these people, unless they were friends or relatives of the leader, would either be expelled from the army or relegated to the logistics corps to spend the next few years as craftsmen or grooms.

If blessed by God, a knight's career might continue for some time. But if the other party does not become a leader or a lord, the final outcome is that he becomes a monk in a monastery.

Here, however, they were like those young and vigorous knights, still full of hope and vitality for the future. They held their heads high, wearing gleaming chainmail and brand-new cloaks, and their horses were tall and agile.

The "Blindman's" gaze swept quickly across them, confirming that their physical condition was far better than that of the old men he had seen before; hot blood flowed through their powerful muscles, and they were still capable of fighting.

Perhaps in ten or twenty years, they will be too old to ride horses or wield swords, but even if those well-trained Templar Knights were called upon, they would probably find it difficult to defeat them.

Behind these men were young knights and squires, carrying flags and wearing cloaks that identified them. Most of them were between twenty and thirty years old. When young people gather together, they inevitably whisper and chatter, especially in such a setting, where they must be full of curiosity about these Venetians.

But what the Venetians saw at that moment was a silent and orderly procession. A young knight, seemingly unable to contain his curiosity, spurred his horse forward a couple of steps, wanting to take a closer look at the famous "Blind Man." However, an old knight turned his head and gave him a stern look, and the young knight quietly retreated.

Dandolo paid close attention to the young knight's expression, watching to see if he would become angry because of the other's obstruction and reprimand. But he didn't. He even looked around somewhat guiltily, and straightened his posture again under the predictable mocking gazes of his companions, as if nothing had happened.

The old knight quickly turned back, his expression indifferent, as if it were nothing of great importance.

Could this young man be the old knight's nephew or niece? Dandolo wondered, but he quickly realized he was wrong. The young knight bore the crest of his own family, while the old knight bore the crest of another. In other words, they were not related.

César, however, noticed his doubts. “These are knights who once served my grandfather Joseph II. After learning that I had come to Cyprus, they came to swear allegiance to me, hoping to continue serving me as they did my grandfather.”

I kept them, and now they will train the other knights—some I recruited, some who came on their own, and some who were assigned to me by Baldwin—with their consent, of course.

"So how many knights do you have now?"

One hundred and three.

In fact, this number is already quite large. When Baldwin I ascended the throne, the Knights Templar only had three hundred knights—this refers to the Alassane Road. In the following decades, they expanded to six hundred. After the previous failed expedition against Murray, they recruited new blood in Frankish territory, so their current number is probably between eight and nine hundred.

However, Cyprus is ten times the size of Arrassa Road, and it is an island, meaning it is vulnerable to attack from any side.

This is why Cesar had to cede a portion of the coastline, ports, and cities, not only because he was a member of the Crusaders, but also because he was simply not strong enough to defend the entirety of Cyprus.

Therefore, the dowry that Dandolo brought to Portia was not only expensive, but also very timely.

After a simple welcoming dinner—neither Dandolo nor Cesare were the type to care about formalities—Dandolo produced scrolls of documents and contracts. Therefore, compared to his in-law, the Doge of Venice could only be described as short-sighted and useless.

His messengers didn't even mention which ships the Venetians had promised to build for Cyprus...

This is not surprising, since Venetian law stipulates that Venetians are not allowed to sell any ships to foreigners except for old and dilapidated vessels, and the merchant ships or warships used by Venetians must be built by Venetians.

They always thought that the next step of negotiations, to determine how much leverage Venice should offer, could only be carried out after the marriage was settled or even after a treaty was reached.

As Geoffroy said, Dandolo was much more generous. He promised that the thirty ships reserved in the dowry would be allocated from his private fleet, and the three Galli-class galleys were gifts he gave to the Cypriot lord in his personal capacity and were not included in the dowry.

In other words, even if the marriage fails, the three Galil warships already docked in Larnaca's port, along with the sailors and soldiers on board, now belong to Cesar.

Those thirty dowry ships were not small sailing ships like the "Kriti". The "Kriti" sailing ship only had one bridge and a shallow draft, making it unsuitable as a warship and only suitable for short-distance transport.

Dandolo offered twenty round ships, capable of carrying large quantities of cargo or horses, and ten longships for military use.

Round ships were designed to carry a load of 500,000 pounds each, while long ships were designed to be between 120 and 150 feet long. They were powered by five oars and were therefore also known as five-powered ships.

“I know the governor’s envoy presented you with a golden ship at the previous banquet,” Dandolo said with a smile. “I have no gold here, only wood.”

He did indeed take out several ships from the box, not real ships, but models, of course. This was for Cesar to see, and also as a witness, to ensure that the bride's dowry would not contain anything of inferior quality or fake.

Such wooden ships are undoubtedly more precious than gold ships. Cesare picked up a ship and examined it. By this time, shipbuilding technology had greatly advanced in the shipbuilding process of the Byzantine Empire. People no longer fixed the ribs to the hull, but instead built the keel first and then fixed the planks to the keel.

He could even open the deck, lift the fore and aft towers, and see the internal structure.

Nowadays, shipbuilding no longer uses mortise and tenon joints or wooden nails, but instead uses iron nails, which appear as tiny black dots on the template.

Dandolo explained to him that these ships were built using iron nails instead of copper nails. Iron nails were undoubtedly much more expensive than copper nails, but the advantage was that copper nails required drilling holes first—just like wooden nails—while iron nails could directly fix the planks to the keel, making them far superior in terms of strength and durability.

This ship was built using the latest technology and obviously could not have been completed in just a few months.

“May I ask?” Cesar asked, “when did construction of these ships begin?”

Dandolo glanced at him and replied with a half-smile, "The end of 1171."

(End of this chapter)