1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 225 Religious Uprising
"Cuman cavalry?"

In the study room in Burgas City, Isaac was flipping through a war report, his brows slightly frowned.

"Yes, my brother. When we were delivering supplies to Earl Yergubai, we encountered a group of Cuman cavalry. Their fighting power was not too weak, and they came and went like the wind."

Manuel and Alexios sat on one side, each holding a cup of coffee.

"They may have never encountered pure musket infantry like the Shooting Corps before, and were defeated by our army in a hurry."

Manuel took a sip of his coffee.

"If they change their tactics and no longer aim to destroy the troops, but instead focus on harassment and looting, then it will be difficult for us to counter them."

"The Cumans... Is it possible that Matthias of Hungary is going to break the treaty between us?"

Isaac was feeling a little upset.

"Maybe not. You should take a look at this report. When we arrived, we happened to meet the Chief of Staff Mehmet. He compiled it."

Manuel handed another report to Isaac, who opened it and quickly read through it.

"According to intelligence, in order to alleviate the huge gap in military strength between us, Mahmoud sent people to various European countries to desperately recruit mercenaries. Not only the Cumans, but also many Bohemians, Germans, Poles, Lithuanians and even Russians entered Bulgaria as mercenaries. The total number is about 10,000 to 20,000."

Manuel continued to explain.

"Mahmoud certainly didn't have that much money to hire them. Instead, he found another way to lure them with the territories under his control and the taxation rights in the territories."

"In short, in order to resist our attack, Mahmoud sold most of Bulgaria, everything he could sell."

Manuel spread his hands.

Isaac finished reading the report and a wry smile appeared on his face.

It seems that his tens of thousands of troops did bring great military pressure to Mahmoud, and even made him think that there was no possibility of winning. This forced him to "sell his country in exchange for soldiers", burn his boats, and perish together with the enemy.

This kind of thing is actually not uncommon in Europe. In the civil wars of many countries, the side that knows it has no hope will often resort to this desperate measure and take risks in order to gain a chance of survival.

In the Civil War between the Two Johns, which completely destroyed the last period of the Eastern Roman Empire's national destiny, both sides of the civil war also adopted this kind of "treasonous" means, using taxation power and even territory and people to attract various foreign forces into the country, just for their own glory and wealth.

This method has many disadvantages. It is easy to invite a god but difficult to send him away. Even if one side in a civil war wins the war, it will lose the favor of the lower-class people and will have to continue to rely on foreign mercenaries to maintain its rule, forming a vicious cycle. With nothing to gain, it will eventually lose all its wealth.

How come Mahmoud, an Ottoman, learned the rogue tactics of the previous Eastern Roman emperor?
"Well, you are indeed a descendant of the Angelos family. You have no sense of guilt when doing such a thing."

Isaac sneered.

"Perhaps in his opinion, it is better to fight to the death and let foreign mercenaries destroy Bulgaria and cause trouble for us than to leave it to us."

Manuel also smiled bitterly.

"What is the specific composition of these more than 10,000 mercenaries?"

Isaac asked.

"It's mainly Cuman cavalry, about 10,000 of them, mostly from Hungary, with a few from Wallachia."

“Mahmood promised the Cumans the entire central lowlands, which would bring them directly to our border.”

Manuel continued.

"In the eyes of the Cumans, the Central Lowlands are now theirs. Every time we occupy a piece of land, we are cutting into their flesh."

"So, their will to fight is also the strongest."

"Among the remaining scattered mercenaries, Polish and Lithuanian mercenaries have the largest number, approximately several thousand people."

"Why are there so many?"

Isaac was a little surprised.

"Their war with the Teutonic Knights has come to an end and they are now in the final negotiation stage. A large number of soldiers have nowhere to go, so they just happened to come to us."

"A large number of idle soldiers left in the country is a disaster. Casimir IV may also want to divert conflicts and stabilize domestic affairs in this way."

"Not only that, many Lithuanian nobles are still resentful of our previous actions in Crimea,"

Isaac nodded, lost in thought.

"Haji Glei is a close force supported by the Lithuanians on the steppes of Eastern Europe. The purpose is to weaken Jochi Ulus and thus reduce their own military pressure."

Isaac spoke up.

"Not long ago, Akhmad Khan of the Jochi Ulus took advantage of Haji Gelai's attack on Mangup to advance westwards and achieved considerable success."

"Akhmad Khan was the most energetic Khan in the late Jochi Ulus period. He was also one of the few descendants of Genghis Khan who regarded the reconstruction of the Great Ulus as his mission. He was quite capable."

Isaac opened the map of Eastern Europe and observed the political landscape.

"The conflict between us and Haji Glei cannot be eased. As long as we try to revive the Black Sea trade route, we will inevitably intervene in the Eastern European steppes."

"Hadji Glei did have a good relationship with the Lithuanians, but his descendants were not like that. When Crimea's power expanded to a certain extent, the fragile alliance between the two sides would soon break down."

Isaac remembered that soon after Haji Gera's death, his successor Mingli Gera completely broke off relations with Lithuania and instead formed an alliance with the emerging Moscow.

The Lithuanians were not willing to be outdone, and they turned to the Golden Horde again to jointly contain Crimea and Moscow.

In just over a decade, the relationship between enemies and allies has undergone a 180-degree turn. This is the cruel grassland, this is the cruel politics.

"How about this, we send diplomatic envoys to Budapest, Batu Sarai and Moscow respectively.

"First, ask Matthias I to abide by the agreement between us and restrain the Cuman Rangers under his command."

"Second, we strive to reach a diplomatic agreement with Jochi Ulus regarding Crimea and at the same time form an alliance with Moscow."

"Is this...is this okay?"

Alexius asked.

"As long as there are common interests, there is the possibility of reaching a diplomatic agreement. Ahama Khan is not a fool. He knows Haji Glei's ability and also understands Haji Glei's ambition."

"As for Moscow, in the long run, it is not a bad thing to form an alliance with them. Anyway, I will not send troops to help him fight against the Tatars, and he is unlikely to send troops to assist me in attacking the Ottomans."

Isaac looked at Manuel.

"Manuel, I'll leave this matter to you. Tell the Minister of Foreign Affairs my opinion, negotiate with them, and then give me the final plan."

"Yes!"

Manuel nodded excitedly.

"The combat effectiveness of these mercenaries brought by Mahmoud varies. They may cause us some trouble, but that's all."

A sarcastic smile played on Isaac's lips.

"Giving so much land and privileges to outsiders... Haha, the lower-class Bulgarian people, the clergy and the nobles will probably be furious."

"He acted so decisively, even at the cost of destroying the foundation of his own rule. He must have a bigger plan."

Manuel said.

"Well said. If we handle this properly and fail to let Mahmoud's plan succeed, this incident will have a considerable backlash and may clear up a lot of trouble for us to further rule Bulgaria."

Isaac approved.

"Manuel, go to the marching command post again and ask Mehmet to make some strategic adjustments on my behalf."

"The Southwestern and Western Fronts have slowed down their movements, taking each step carefully to lay a solid foundation."

"The mountain hunters must speed up their activities. Now they can move from behind the scenes to the front stage and call on the lower-class Orthodox people to jointly overthrow the rule of the Turkic colonists and Bulgarian tax farmers."

"Yes!"

Manuel bowed and left, heading straight for the march command post.

"Father, what about me?"

Alexius asked quietly.

“We have never been able to run into Mahmoud’s main force, which is always a hidden danger.”

Isaac groaned.

"I am going to go to Varna myself, and you will come with me."

"it is good!"

Alexius picked up the sword and said happily.

……

In the late autumn of 1464, as the war situation changed, the Eastern Roman Empire changed its war strategy. It no longer excessively pursued the rapid occupation of large tracts of land. It deliberately slowed down its pace of advance, gradually stabilized the towns and villages that had been occupied, established administrative agencies, built supply hubs, and improved transportation networks.

The Southwestern Front had the smallest number of troops and made the most limited progress. After capturing the city of Haskovo, it immediately stopped moving northward, dispersed the army, and gradually captured the towns and villages on the south bank of the Maritsa River.

The Western Front spent some time in the city of Yambol. After capturing the city of Yambol, it stopped moving westward and turned northward to attack the city of Sliven and consolidate the occupied area on the east bank of the Denza River.

The two major fronts in the west were not far apart and supported each other. They sent cavalry into the central lowlands from time to time to fight with the Cuman cavalry.

The Northeastern Front encountered the first tough nut to crack since the war began. It had been delayed for several months outside the city of Varna and still had not made any significant progress.

Simeon, the defender of Varna, was an old veteran with an extremely strong will. He cared a lot about his bloodline and had always been the most staunch opponent of the Eastern Roman Empire. He promoted hatred theories among the lower classes, comparing Isaac to a "butcher" like Basil II, and called on the Bulgarian people to unite and resist foreign aggression.

Varna was also the first hostile city that the Eastern Roman Empire encountered that was converted into a bastion. The Spartan heavy artillery that had been invincible in Albania and Crete was unable to break this fortified city in a short period of time.

At present, there are still more than 8,000 soldiers in Varna, of which 2,000 are trained semi-professional troops and 6,000 are militia inspired by hatred. Although their combat effectiveness is limited, they can be fully utilized in the battle to defend the city.

Of course, the city of Varna has been surrounded by the Eastern Roman Empire from both the sea and land. If Isaac can wait and delay it for another half a year, even if their food can hold out, their morale will not.

On October 1464, 10, Isaac and Alexios boarded the carrack Constantine the Great and set sail from the port of Burgas with the transport fleet, heading north to the city of Varna.

At the same time, when the two western fronts tended to be conservative and the northeastern front was caught in a tough battle, the mountain hunters far away in the southwestern mountains of Bulgaria made rapid progress, their range of activities was greatly expanded, and the number of troops was also increased to a certain extent.

This is a small town along the Struma River, separated from the core area of ​​Bulgaria by thousands of mountains. It has always been on the edge of rule. The local lords act on their own, collecting a large amount of taxes in the name of the central government, but only sending a small part of them to Sofia, and using the rest of the money to satisfy their own extravagant life.

But at this time, all the townspeople gathered in the large square in front of the lord's mansion, watching everything that was happening before their eyes with anxiety.

The once high and mighty lord knelt at the door, and all his remaining family members and close associates knelt beside him in shackles.

On one side of the square, the food and money collected by the lord were piled up like a mountain, displayed in front of the townspeople.

Torosi had one foot on the lord, fully armored, and the sword held high in his right hand exuded a bloody aura.

To Torosi's left stood the town priest, and to his right stood an officer in a sailor's uniform.

Behind them, dozens of hunters drew their swords and looked around at the crowd with eager eyes.

The crowd in the square grew larger and larger, and Torosi and his companions waited quietly.

"Lord Canute, thank you very much this time. Without the help of your navy, we would not be able to complete the raid on the town in such a short time."

Torosi looked at the sailor officer beside him, smiled and nodded.

"Mr. Torossi, please don't call me that."

Canute shook his head quickly.

"You are a baron conferred by His Majesty, and it is a military title. Under normal circumstances, I would still have to bow to you when I see you."

"Besides, we no longer belong to the navy. I belong to the inland fleet now."

Canute pointed to the azure badge on his chest and nodded at the three small ships docked on the river.

"I've heard of the Inland Fleet before, but I never paid much attention to it until today when I saw your capabilities."

Torossi said with a smile.

"Yes, we were originally useless sailors laid off by the navy. Although we have had an inland fleet for a long time, we have never had much room to develop. We can only guard a few broken ships to make a living."

Canute also smiled bitterly.

"The empire's current rivers are not suitable for navigation. The Struma River is a rare exception, but we can only sail here in the end."

"Further north, the altitude difference is too great. Although we can still sail upstream with the help of trackers, it is no longer meaningful."

"It's okay. There will be opportunities for you to shine in the future."

Torosi consoled.

"The Maritsa River, the Danube River, and later the Don River and the Dnieper River are all large rivers. When the time comes, the inland fleet will definitely expand. You will be busy."

"Yes, I can sense that His Majesty has also begun to pay attention to the inland fleet."

Canute nodded in agreement.

"Look at our new ship. It was built by designer Mansreti of the Carthage Shipyard specifically for inland shipping. The main structure was based on the inland transport ships commonly used in Germany, but some other designs were also added."

"It is a brilliant idea to install small organ cannons on inland ships. On the one hand, it can make up for the regret that inland ships cannot carry large artillery. On the other hand, it can maximize the power of short-range weapons such as organ cannons."

"In yesterday's battle, the Bulgarian troops thought we were an ordinary transport ship and rushed over to seize it, but we beat them." "Look at her, what a beautiful ship! We call her "Cleopatra". In the hearts of the sailors, she is closer to them than their mistresses!"

Canute looked at the Cleopatra with a look of intoxication in his eyes.

"It is indeed a beautiful ship. When this war is over, we deserve a drink in her honor."

Torossi also smiled and nodded, obviously very happy.

"By the way, who came up with the plan to lure the enemy to the river and lure them in with ships full of food?"

Canute asked curiously.

"It's a hunter named Allen."

Torossi said.

"This kid asked around and found out that the lord of this town had a very strange habit, so he designed a plan to take advantage of it."

"Strange hobby? Like food?"

Canute looked strange.

"Yes, this Bulgarian lord is also a miserable man. He was imprisoned since he was a child and grew up hungry. After he outlasted his brother and became the lord, his greatest pleasure was to collect food and store it in the warehouse he built specially. The first thing he did every morning was to inspect the granary. He was very happy to see the food piled up higher and higher."

Torossi also found it very funny.

"The grain in that granary was only used to satisfy his own addiction. He didn't eat it himself, didn't let his family eat it, and didn't let others sell it. He would rather wait for the grain to rot."

"It's a pity for this piece of land. It originally had good agricultural qualities and was irrigated by the river. If it was managed and rectified a little, it would be a land of fish and rice."

"This lord is so greedy when he sees food that he imposes extremely heavy food taxes every time. All the free people who have a little more money have moved away, leaving only the poor tenants with their families."

Torossi was somewhat emotional.

"This lord is not good at raising troops. Even if we fight head-on, he has absolutely no chance of winning."

"However, Alan's little trick still saved us a lot of trouble. After the war, I will ask for credit for him, and you too."

Torosi raised an eyebrow at Canute.

"Thank you very much, Baron!"

Canute smiled broadly.

The square became increasingly noisy. The skinny and pale townspeople looked in shock at the huge amount of food hoarded by the lord. Besides being shocked, anger and dissatisfaction began to ferment.

Some bold townspeople had already begun spitting and throwing stones at the lord and his family, and the hunters who were there to maintain order did not stop them.

"Seeing them like this, I deeply realized how true the words His Majesty often said were."

Torosi sighed.

"What?"

Canute was curious.

"Your Majesty often says that as long as the people above do not mess around, the people can live well on their own and they will find a way of life that suits them."

“Return the fields to the farmers, the lakes to the fishermen, the grasslands to the herdsmen, and the mountains to the hunters.”

"How does population come? How does rural prosperity come? This is how it comes."

Torosi spread his hands.

"That's because Your Majesty has reconquered these lands and has enough prestige and military power to redistribute them."

Canute smacked his lips and shook his head.

"Just wait and see. In less than fifty years, there will still be landlords, tenants and serfs."

"In order to develop productivity, almost every capable monarch has done the same thing as Your Majesty. Even the Ottoman leader Mehmed II did not pay much attention to protecting the lower classes and even went so far as to make enemies with the traditional nobles."

"But they can only take care of things temporarily, not permanently."

Torosi looked at Canute in surprise. He never expected that this crude sailor could have such knowledge.

"Don't look at me like that, Baron. I am also a student at the University of Constantinople. If my family hadn't fallen into poverty, I wouldn't have fallen to this point."

Canute waved his hand and said with a smile.

"But then again, Your Majesty is different from them. With so many overseas colonies, the people will have more choices than before if they can't survive."

Torosi nodded, and his opinion of Canute improved a little bit.

"But no matter what, whether for the sake of interests or conscience, these old landlords who are causing trouble to the village must be eliminated, otherwise the population will not increase, culture will not spread, and talents will not emerge."

"If you don't sweep them into the garbage dump and keep them to enjoy the delicious food and drink, what will Your Majesty eat and drink?"

"Your Majesty can't even protect his own interests, let alone people like us."

Canute nodded slightly, but still couldn't help but mention it.

"My Lord Baron, you also have to be careful about your methods. The old Bulgarian forces control almost all the local population, resources and production tools. You can't force them all to join the same front."

"Don't worry, we certainly know."

Torosi patted his shoulder.

"For example, this priest next to us is protected by the lord, but he also oppresses the common people, collects wealth, and occupies a lot of land. Don't I know that?"

"Uniting the Orthodox Church and opposing the old nobility is what Your Majesty wants, and I think it's the best way."

"However, if you ask me, we still need to deal with a group of priests to prevent them from being too arrogant."

The priest standing next to Torosi turned around and glanced at the two of them.

"grown ups……"

"Ok?"

"If you want to be a priest in the Orthodox Church, Greek is a must. I can understand it..."

"I know, I'm telling you this!"

Torossi waved his hand impatiently.

"His Majesty's army of 300,000 is heading north, and he is willing to favor the Orthodox Church. This is also your chance."

"You are a smart person, otherwise you wouldn't be the first to come and show your loyalty. You should know what to do."

"It's natural."

The priest nodded quickly.

Seeing the crowd growing larger and larger and the noise becoming louder and louder, Torosi cleared his throat.

"Everyone!"

Torosi shouted in Bulgarian, and the crowd immediately quieted down.

"My name is Torosi Notaras, the commander-in-chief of the Mountain Hunters Regiment of the North Macedonia Military District, and I am a baron bestowed by His Majesty."

"You all know the man I'm stepping on. He's the greedy devil who's conspiring with pagans to plot against Jesus Christ and His followers!"

Torosi kicked hard, and the lord twisted his fat body and groaned.

"Just yesterday, we defeated his troops and officially took control of this town."

"In the name of the Holy Father, this place belongs to Rome and the Emperor of the Romans. Every piece of land, every fork, every fish, every bird and every beast belongs to him!"

When the townspeople heard this, their original passion was mostly extinguished and they looked at Torosi in silence.

For the lower-class people, it doesn’t matter what nationality they are or what country they belong to. What they care about most is having enough food and clothing.

An old lord left and a new one came, but their days were still gloomy.

"However, His Majesty is completely different from other lords. He is willing to give you what originally belonged to him. He is willing to give you the fields, lakes and forests, and he is willing to let you reproduce and thrive on his territory."

"Not only that, his great cities will be open to you, his prosperous trade routes will be open to you, and if you are capable, his wealth will also be shared with you!"

The townspeople's eyes lit up a little, but they still had doubts.

Who doesn’t know how to say nice things?

Seeing this, Torosi pulled out a document from his pocket. On the document was a large gold and red double-headed eagle emblem.

"This is your Majesty's decree, and the Holy Father is your witness!"

"Father, please read it to them!"

The priest took the document, stepped forward and read it aloud.

"I hereby declare that all crimes of Bulgarian civilians will be pardoned, and all grudges will be forgiven. All Bulgarians who believe in Orthodoxy can automatically obtain Roman citizenship. If they join the rebel army and help the royal army kill the Turkish colonists and foreign invaders, their entire family will be exempted from taxes for three years."

"In my territory, there is no head tax, no tax on births, no marriage tax, and no other miscellaneous taxes. Newly reclaimed land will be exempt from tax for one year as long as it is verified."

Next, the priest continued to read one important decree after another, each of which went straight to the heart of the matter.

In this era, the most effective way to increase a country's potential is to increase its population.

If we want to increase the population as much as possible, we must eliminate the burden of importing children from the people. This is much more useful than empty calls.

"All of the above is true, Jesus Christ is the witness."

The priest finished reading the decree and made the sign of the cross on his chest.

"Believers, the Roman emperor is God's spokesman on earth and the protector of all Orthodox Christians. His oath is never false."

"I am standing here today. If you want, I can immediately fill in your name in the register of Roman citizens. Anyone can enjoy this treatment."

"As for these antichrists,"

The priest looked at the lord and his family with indifference.

"God will sentence them to death."

Torosi raised his knife and cut off the lord's neck, and blood flowed all over the ground.

At one moment, more than a dozen heads rolled onto the square. The townspeople were shocked at first, then filled with ecstasy and cheered.

"Everyone!"

Torosi raised the bloody knife and continued.

"Our war is not over yet. Your Majesty has ordered us to form a crusade on the spot. Our goal is to completely overthrow the rule of the pagans and not let Jesus Christ be humiliated!"

"I know you have lived here for many years, and have interacted with people from other towns and villages. You also know many refugees who have fled to the mountains."

Torosi looked at the crowd whose blood was boiling, knew that the situation was already decided, and decided to add fuel to the fire.

“I urge you to go to every corner and tell more Orthodox Christians this news and call more people to join our crusade.”

"I can make a promise here that all believers who are willing to join the holy war will receive extremely generous rewards!"

"If you can bring five people, I will make you the leader of the five."

"If you can bring ten people, I will make you the leader of ten."

"If you can gather a hundred men, I will immediately make you the centurion leader!"

"We don't need sophisticated armor and weapons, our faith makes us invincible!"

"For Jesus Christ!"

Torossi roared.

"For Jesus Christ!!"

The townspeople also shouted loudly.

Seeing that they were overwhelmed by religious sentiment, Torosi smiled.

"If nothing else, open the warehouse and release the grain!"

……

In the early winter of 1464, a religious uprising broke out vigorously in the Rhodope Mountains. Although the rebels were poorly equipped, they were numerous and called on their friends and sang all the way.

In just two months, the rebels moved north along the Struma River, killing Turkish nobles and Bulgarian tax farmers along the way and taking supplies from their granaries.

The rebels were so powerful that they often spread from one point to another, from the mountains to the plains, and from the countryside to the towns.

For a time, it seemed to spread like wildfire.

(End of this chapter)