1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 166 The Place of Exile
"Hello, Mr. Willy Angelos."

Sofia, Sofia Basin, Iskar River, Bulgaria.

The Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, the Vizier with the Sword, and the Governor of Rumelia, Veli Mahmud Pasha sat at his desk, looking over the letter in his hand over and over again.

On the envelope, a golden and red double-headed eagle spread its wings and flew.

“By the time you read this letter, I will have finished meeting your mother and brother and will be on my way to Skopje.”

"Your mother is a pious and kind lady. With the blessing of the Holy Father, the disease did not take her life. May God grant her eternal health."

"Through the conversation, I learned that Madam has always wanted to serve our Lord devoutly, and her greatest wish is to go on a pilgrimage to Constantinople."

"I granted her a house near Hagia Sophia and the surrounding land, and gave her three maids and five servants."

"The old lady is doing well now, I hope you don't have to worry about her."

"Along with this letter comes a letter from home, all written by the old lady herself. It is full of true feelings. I hope you will think deeply about it."

Mahmoud took out the letter from his mother, quickly read it, and sighed.

He knew that what Emperor Isaac said in the letter was true. The Ottoman Empire's Devshirme system separated him from his mother and brothers and caused him to convert to Sunni Islam, but he respected his family's beliefs and did not force them to abandon Jesus Christ.

Mahmoud's mother was indeed a pure Greek Orthodox Christian. Many years ago, she left Constantinople and followed her father westward to seek refuge, and settled in the Kosovo region of Serbia.

Making a pilgrimage to Hagia Sophia was indeed my mother's long-cherished wish.

"There was unrest in Serbia, so I sent someone to bring your brother, Mihajlo, who is also from the Angelos family, from Kosovo to Constantinople in the hope of reuniting mother and son."

"He is also a devout Orthodox Christian, brave and good at fighting. I have appointed him as the commander of the newly formed Fourth Legion of the Purple Guards. He is currently training the army in Constantinople."

"I have protected your father's tomb in Kosovo and assigned someone to guard it. The local lords dare not disobey my orders, so please don't worry."

Mahmoud's mind unconsciously recalled his father, that mediocre but kind man.

His father was also an Orthodox Christian, a descendant of the Angeloid dynasty of the Eastern Roman Empire and the daughter of Alexius the Great.

Since the Angelos dynasty had a bad reputation, their father had always regarded himself as a descendant of Alexios the Great since they were young. Whenever he was drunk, he would always pull the two brothers aside to sigh that the world is impermanent and human nature is hard to change.

Now, his father's wife and second son have returned to Constantinople, and he must be very happy to restore the family's glory in the new dynasty.

Mahmoud put all the distracting thoughts out of his head and looked back at the delicate paper.

"Some time ago, I used the enemy's sword to forge a monument and placed it outside the Golden Gate. The names and family emblems of the first citizens and emperors of all generations were engraved on the sword. Several of your ancestors were also engraved on it, for people to see and admire."

"Caesar, Octavian, Antony, Trajan, Aurelius, Constantine, Justinian, Heraclius, Basil, Alexius, Michael..."

"For thousands of years, they have never left, always guarding Rome and the Roman people, and their descendants."

Mahmoud smiled disdainfully.

This Greek emperor is really good at understanding people's hearts!
"It is said that you are not married yet. My cousin Zoe is in her prime, talented and beautiful, and can write good poems. She may be a good match for you..."

Mahmoud didn't want to read any more pleasantries and skipped to the last line.

"Mehmed II is deep and suspicious. He cannot treat a servant as his confidant for a long time. You hold a large army and control a place. As long as he quells the unrest in Anatolia, he will definitely not allow you to continue to control the Bulgarian military and political affairs alone. He will place spies in your place or even directly deprive you of your power. It is very likely that this will happen."

"You are a descendant of the royal family, and grew up under the bells of the Orthodox Church. You were forced to abandon the light and join the dark due to the situation. You are fundamentally different from Khalil and others. You don't need to be loyal to the Ottoman family until death."

"You have gone against the current twice and turned the tide twice. Your bravery and loyalty are rare in the world and you deserve the Sultan's appreciation."

"The Osman family is now on the verge of collapse. It's a good time for you to get out of this vortex."

Mahmoud Pasha was silent for a moment and continued reading the letter.

"Your political enemy, Khalil Pasha of the Chandarli family, has served as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire for generations and has made great contributions to the empire. He is indeed loyal, but what can we do about it?"

"With a defeat and a piece of paper, the Chandar family, which had dominated the political arena for more than a hundred years, was wiped out and became the scapegoat of the Sultan."

"On the contrary, after leaving the control of the Ottoman Sultan, Grand Duke Skanderbeg and Grand Duke Vlad, who are from the same lineage as you, became local lords, and they had the final say and were the leaders of their own factions."

"Bulgaria is also a fertile land, surrounded by mountains and rivers, with obedient people and the natural barrier of the Black Sea. It is a place where a king can establish his hegemony."

"Now that I have said this, I hope you will consider this."

After reading the letter, Mahmoud Pasha remained silent for a long time, then picked up the letters from his mother and brother and read them several times.

Apparently, the Machiavellian Emperor Isaac tried to persuade him to abandon the Sultan and establish his own regime.

To be honest, Mahmoud Pasha has been in a political whirlpool and has been feeling uneasy in recent months.

After Mehmed II evacuated Europe, the Black Sea Straits were occupied by the Greek emperor and the Black Sea was filled with patrolling Christian ships. Envoys from Bursa even had to hide on merchant ships of the Komnenos and Gavras families in order to safely reach the Bulgarian ports.

Now, Mahmoud Pasha is the only king in this isolated territory overseas.

He had two main military forces at his disposal, namely the remnants of the Ottoman Empire's Rumelian Legion and the local Bulgarian vassal army. If he tried his best to recruit them, he could mobilize up to 35,000 troops, which was a considerable strength.

Correspondingly, Bulgaria's political forces are mainly divided into two factions.

One faction was the migrated Turkic tribes who believed in Sunni Islam, were highly loyal to the Ottoman Sultan, and advocated obedience to the orders of Mehmed II.

The other faction was the local Bulgarian forces, who believed in Orthodoxy, had low loyalty to the Ottoman Sultan, and advocated breaking away from the control of Mehmed II.

The good news is that both the Turkic tribes and the Bulgarian landlords had a deep hatred for the Eastern Roman Empire and were very resistant to Emperor Isaac's expansion.

Of course, there is no consensus within the two factions, and their political propositions are also very different.

Obey, but to what extent? What if the Sultan ordered the Turkic tribes to return to Anatolia and use them as cannon fodder on the battlefield?
How to establish yourself? Bey, Emir, or Sultan? Or simply convert to Orthodoxy and proclaim yourself the Tsar of Bulgaria?

Mahmoud Pasha frowned.

Mehmed II had indeed been very kind to him in promoting him, and if possible, he would be willing to be a pioneer in order to repay the kindness.

He had done so before.

However, as stated in the letter, Mehmed II was a suspicious man, and when he led a large army to garrison Bulgaria alone, the originally harmonious relationship between the two was bound to be cracked.

The butt determines the head, not the other way around.

Mahmud Pasha instinctively did not want to be an enemy of Mehmed II, but he also did not want to be like Khalil, who depended on the whims of others for all his wealth and glory.

Just a few days ago, Mahmud Pasha received a letter from Mehmed II, which was very gentle in tone. It not only formally granted him the position of Grand Vizier, but also proposed to marry him another Turkic noblewoman.

However, at the end of the letter, the Sultan also casually mentioned that Karaman Bey Ibrahim II had died, his sons were fighting for the throne, and civil strife was imminent. He hoped that he could send part of the army to Anatolia with the transportation of the Venetian fleet to participate in the expedition against Karaman.

In addition, the Sultan also tried to send Prince Bayezid to Bulgaria to ask him to teach him carefully.

As a political creature, Mahmud Pasha immediately became alert and rejected the Sultan's proposal on the grounds of the dangers of the Black Sea and the war in the south, while strengthening his control over the army.

Loyalty aside, Mahmud Pasha would not be foolish enough to lower his power and follow in the footsteps of Khalil Grand Vizier.

He has been able to get to where he is today thanks to his military talent and high prestige in the army. Without the army, he would be worse than Khalil.

In his view, blindly following the Sultan would lead him into the abyss, and surrendering to Emperor Isaac would directly make him alienated from his friends and relatives. Both were undesirable.

The best option was to retain their own military and political power while remaining loyal to the Ottoman Empire and to establish a new relationship centered on the need for each other.

Thinking of this, he rang the bell on the table.

"Aga, what do you want?"

"Go tell the Bulgarian landowner that I have accepted his proposal and will marry his daughter in a week."

"In return, he must provide me with five hundred soldiers and a year's supply of food."

"Also, we will distribute the refugees who have fled from the south to the soldiers of the Rumelian Legion, and give them the vacant land as well."

"Yes."

When the servant came to the door, Mahmoud hesitated for a moment and called him again.

"Let my clerk write a letter to the Sultan, telling him in detail the difficulties we are facing and asking him to forgive me for my presumptuous behavior."

The servant left as soon as he was told, and Mahmoud sat at the table. Outside the window, the sun set, the moon rose, and night fell.

……

The Golden Horn Bay is extremely lively today. Upon hearing the news, all the citizens gathered in several ports along the coast early in the morning, looking forward to the sea in the distance.

At the port of Prousfilion, Constantine XI and Isaac, along with all their families, were waiting at the dock.

Constantine and Isaac, dressed in purple robes, wearing crowns on their heads and holding eagle staffs, stood at the front of the crowd.

Behind the two men, Queen Leonor and Lady Mara stood on their left and right, looking straight ahead.

The seven-year-old Prince Justinian and the four-year-old Prince Manuel stood together, looking around bored.

Justinian saw that his parents and grandfather were not paying attention to him, so he winked at his uncle Manuel, who was three years younger than him, got a piece of cake from somewhere and stuffed it into his hand.

"Dad, Justinian gave me a cake!"

After all, Manuel was a child at heart. He looked at his nephew with gratitude, and then ran excitedly to Constantine to show off.

"Just take it if I give it to you. Everyone is happy today, so you can eat a few more pieces." Constantine XI, whose temples were already gray, touched his youngest son's head with a smile and pulled him towards him.

"Father, it's too boring here. I want to go back to the palace to see my sister."

Justinian saw this and ran up to hug Isaac's thighs.

"No, go back and stand still!"

Isaac said sternly.

“Isaac, there are a large group of us waiting here. Are you taking them too seriously?”

Constantine looked at his grandson and protected him in front of him.

"Only by putting yourself in someone else's shoes and combining interests with emotions can you firmly control the hearts of your subjects."

Isaac ignored Justinian's noise and continued looking at the sea in the distance.

If Thessaloniki was not still small and Alexios had to guard Carthage accompanied by the prime minister, Isaac would have brought them here.

Thinking of this, Isaac turned around and looked at the little boy behind him with a friendly expression.

"Carlo, are you getting used to living in Constantinople?"

"Your Majesty, everything is fine."

Carlo Tocco said respectfully.

Isaac nodded and patted his shoulder.

After the fall of Thessalonica, Leonardo, the despot of Epirus from the Tocco family, came to pay a visit with his younger brother and asked to marry the eldest princess, Thessalonica.

Isaac negotiated with them, and the other party agreed to give the city of Ioannina as a dowry, convert to Orthodoxy, and reaffirm their allegiance to the Roman Empire.

In return, Carlo, the heir of Epirus, would marry Thessalonica and stay with Isaac from then on.

After all, when Isaac paid a visit to Constantine XI, he kept calling him uncle, which reminded the old man of the old times when he and the Toko family had joined forces to fight against the Ottoman army. So Isaac couldn't be too harsh.

Several vassal states of Epirus, including the Counts of Kefalonia and Zakynthos, also pledged allegiance to Constantine XI, offering to open their ports to Isaac's navy as a condition for retaining their territories.

“Isaac, what is the situation in Skopje now?”

Constantine asked.

"Not so good. Many Turks hid in the mountains and became bandits. Some Orthodox tyrants colluded with them and joined forces to seize the farmers' land."

"Don't worry about these things. I will take care of them."

Isaac shrugged.

When the Ottoman army arrived, these powerful people were the first to raise the white flag. After the Eastern Roman Empire rose again, they suddenly changed their ways and became staunchly loyal subjects. Their fickle behavior was truly disgusting.

Later on, Isaac prepared to launch a vigorous anti-bandit campaign in the newly occupied land, and send the remaining Turkic forces and these bandits to the waste paper heap.

"coming!"

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard cheers from the crowd on the distant coast, and two barges, pulling purple ribbons, were gliding slowly on the sea.

Then, groups of ships began to appear in people's field of vision, with eagle flags flying and cannons roaring, creating a spectacular scene.

The fleet of warships was guarding two mottled caravels. On the caravels, sailors in brand new uniforms crowded the decks, looking at the grand welcome ceremony with shock.

The ships docked one after another. On the Saint-Pierre, a group of sailors walked down the deck, looked around, and marveled.

Isaac and his family came forward to greet them, helped up the navigator who was about to pay his respects, and looked at his weather-beaten face.

"Your Majesties, I salute you, and may God protect you and your people."

Then he took a few quick steps and bowed to Leonor.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, dear Queen and Princess. May you always remain as beautiful as you are today."

Leonor smiled back.

"Long time no see, dear Uncle Dias. Your achievements will be engraved in human history and praised by poets and writers."

Denis Dias was a little embarrassed and looked at Isaac beside him.

"Your Majesty, as the letter said, although we have completed your mission and reached the southernmost tip of the African continent, we have not only lost two ships and many good men, but we have also failed to find Prester John and the legendary kingdom of gold and spices."

"Everywhere we explored was barren. The current near Cape Storm was very strong and we couldn't go any further."

"It doesn't matter. Discovering this sea route to southern Africa is already a great achievement."

Isaac said with a grin, taking off his cloak and placing it over his shoulders.

As a traveler, Isaac knew very well that if he continued to sail north from Cape of Storms, he would cross a long section of the Mozambique Channel. Here, affected by the Agulhas Current, the sea route would become very difficult and he would be overturned by the waves if he was not careful.

Of course, Isaac knew exactly how to deal with this difficulty.

"We drew a sea chart and brought back some rare toys. Several natives also volunteered to come with the ship to meet the Roman emperor."

Denis waved his hand, and the sailors pushed forward several natives tied with ropes and kicked them hard, making them kneel in front of Isaac.

"These four are from the Kingdom of Kongo. Their land is not far from your Saint William Colony. It is covered with bottomless jungles filled with poisonous insects and ferocious beasts."

Denis pointed at four dark-skinned natives.

Isaac nodded and turned his gaze to the other five.

"These are the indigenous people of South Africa. They are even less civilized and still lead a primitive nomadic fishing and hunting life. They have no writing system or beliefs."

These people's skin color is not as dark, they are short in stature, and their facial features are completely different from those of the natives of Congo.

The Khoisan, a dying race.

Their appearance is obviously different from that of the Caucasians and Negroes. Their skin color is yellowish and they have distinct characteristics of the yellow race.

They were once widely distributed in southern Africa and have a very long history.

In the original time and space, long before the arrival of European colonists, the black Bantu people from Central Africa began to expand rapidly, slaughtering people all the way south, and squeezing the Khoisan people into a corner of South Africa, where they barely survived.

Modern South Africa is basically occupied by the Bantu people and their descendants, but they still like to regard themselves as local indigenous people, which is really ridiculous.

"Let's just get rid of the four Congolese. They have too many diseases, and we can't enter their land anytime soon."

Isaac waved his hand and ordered the sailors to drag the four Bantu away.

"As for these yellow people, I will appoint a priest to teach them how to speak. They will be useful in the future."

"Yes!"

Isaac looked at Denis.

"The sea charts you gave me are very useful, but please keep them to yourself."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty."

Dennis nodded.

"I have already picked up the two children and they are on their way now."

"Very good. In addition to the monetary reward, I will also grant you titles and lands."

"If you wish, you can continue to explore the land of South Africa in the future. One third of the colonies you open up will belong to the Dias family, who will serve as hereditary governors."

Isaac made a promise.

Denis thought about it and was not as excited as he had imagined.

Historically, the formal colonization of South Africa by Europeans did not begin until much later. The Portuguese, who first discovered South Africa, saw that there were no precious commodities here and did not want them at all.

But Isaac knew very well that in the long run, South Africa was far more valuable than East Africa, which the Portuguese had always been keen on.

The climate here is Mediterranean and subtropical grassland climate, and some places with high altitudes have plateau mountain climate. Unlike the rainforest, there are no malaria and various tropical diseases, so it can be operated as a core area.

In addition to these obvious things, there are also very rich shallow gold mines in South Africa that can be mined without any technology.

Perhaps, one day, a Roman farmer will find gold everywhere while hoeing the land.

"That's settled then. I will make good arrangements for you."

Isaac smiled widely.

On June 1458, 6, Denis Dias' expedition fleet returned to Constantinople, bringing news from southern Africa.

On July 7, a caravelle fleet carrying 1 criminals set sail from the Golden Horn, following Dinis's chart, heading for South Africa.

They would establish the first true Roman colony on the western coast of South Africa, calling it New Thrace.

(End of this chapter)