1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 233: Mountains and Rivers
The north wind was still howling, blowing the snowflakes. Thick black clouds covered the earth. The Danube River flowed slowly into the distance.

This is the Danube ferry. A week ago, Mahmud's army crossed the river here. The vanguard cavalry never returned, and the following infantry were scattered by the Cossack cavalry. The blood seeped into the cold soil, dyeing the nearby ground dark brown, which looked particularly creepy.

After the victory, Justinian led his Cossack cavalry to continue to sweep away the remaining enemies, gather the remaining soldiers, set up camp here, and wait for the arrival of the imperial army.

Outside the camp, more than 2,000 Cossack cavalrymen lined up in the wind and snow, and the defeated soldiers stood dejectedly aside, waiting for the judgment of the victor.

"Your Highness, all the Cossacks have been assembled, a total of 2,233 people, and some of the wounded are still resting in the barracks."

Beside Justinian, Timur Tash reported in a low voice.

"Where are the prisoners? How many are left?"

Justinian asked.

"There are nearly a thousand left, Turks, Bulgarians, and Wallachians."

"Where is Vlad III? Have the envoys we sent to the other side received any news?"

Justinian pointed to the Danube.

"Your Highness, Vlad III refused to accept the ransom we offered and beat up our envoy."

Timur Tash frowned.

"According to the messenger's report, if he had not been a priest, he would not have returned alive."

"Then forget it. Sell all the Turks and leave the Bulgarians and Wallachians to my father."

Justinian waved his hand.

"Oh, right, tell the Cossacks to cheer up. This is the first time you're meeting your father, so you must leave a good impression on him. Put away your arrogance!"

"Don't worry, Your Highness, all the instructions have been given."

Justinian nodded, and the two of them stopped talking and stared at the land in the distance.

The Cossacks had been waiting for a long time and gradually became impatient and began to whisper to each other. The horses seemed to sense their masters' mood and pattered the ground restlessly.

The earth trembled slightly, and the dull sound of horse hooves came from the wind and snow, coming from far away.

Timur Tash saw this and looked towards Justinian.

"Your Highness, the Emperor seems to be here. I will go and reorganize the troops and make them behave themselves."

"Need not,"

Justinian's mouth curled up slightly.

"I have heard this kind of horse hoof sound since I was a child. I know what kind of army it is. Let the Cossacks wait."

The heavy sound of horse hooves echoed between heaven and earth, like heavy hammers hitting iron ingots; even the whistling of wind and snow became their background sound.

A group of heavy cavalrymen wearing dark purple robes and full body armor climbed over a hill, with the leading cavalry holding high a large flag with a golden and red double-headed eagle.

Their men and horses were well-equipped, and the rhythmic sound of their horses' hooves made it clear that they were an elite force that had fought in many battles.

When the Armored Paladins were fully displayed before the Cossacks, they had already fallen into silence. Their previous restlessness quickly disappeared, and they all lowered their brows, not daring to look them in the eye.

They knew very well that if they encountered this armored cavalry head-on, they would be unable to fight back.

Justinian dismounted and trotted a few steps to Isaac.

"Long time no see, father."

Justinian bowed and took Isaac's horse by the reins.

Isaac smiled and nodded, looking his eldest son, whom he hadn't seen for several years, from head to toe.

Jumping off his horse, Isaac gently hugged Justinian and patted his shoulder.

"Grown up, taller."

"No, it's different now that I'm an adult."

Justinian said with a smile.

"You know you're an adult now. Do you have a crush on any girl? When are you planning on getting engaged?"

Isaac rolled his eyes at him.

"Father, there is no rush. I have my own considerations."

Justinian scratched his head and looked to Isaac's side.

"Uncle Manuel, Alexios, long time no see."

Alexius and Manuel, who were following Isaac, also jumped off their horses, walked forward with a smile, and hugged Justinian one by one.

Justinian waved his hand, and Timur Tash behind him presented a gorgeous package.

Justinian first took out an exquisite scimitar inlaid with rubies and a thick and ancient book from the package.

"The Mongolian scimitar is said to have been collected by Batu Khan. I don't know if it's true or not. I'm giving it to you."

Alexius took the scimitar, stroked the round handle and fur, and smiled.

"Thank you, brother. When you go back, if mother blames you for not being home for so many years, I will speak up for you."

Justinian tapped his second brother's head and handed the book in his hand to Manuel.

"The Life of Yaroslav. Although it's not the original version, it's still a very old copy. I knew you liked it, so I paid attention to it."

Manuel took the book and couldn't put it down.

"Thank you, I like it very much."

"What about mine?"

Isaac said unhappily.

Justinian smiled mysteriously and took out a crown of thorns from the package. The crown of thorns was mixed with many unknown materials and was a dark crimson color. There was an relief of a double-headed eagle of blood and fire on the crown.

"This is a crown made for me by several Cossack tribes. It is not made of any precious metal, but in their hearts, it symbolizes supreme authority."

Justinian knelt on one knee and raised the crown above his head.

Isaac gently took it and placed the crown of thorns on his head.

"What are you standing there for? Salute!"

Justinian shouted to the Cossacks behind him.

"Long live!"

cried the Cossack, giving a Cossack salute from his horse.

Isaac looked at the well-behaved Cossack, nodded slightly, took off the crown, and put it on his eldest son's head under the Cossack's gaze.

"From now on, you are their king. I allow you to form your own Cossack cavalry, your own fleet, and to capture the territories on the steppes of Eastern Europe."

Isaac drew his sword, placed it on Justinian's shoulder, and nodded three times.

"In return, in times of war, you must answer my call, lead the army, and fight for me."

"It's a matter of course, no need to say more."

Justinian looked excited.

"But I won't provide you with a penny. You are an adult now. From now on, you have to earn your own military expenses. You have to pay for the ships in the shipyard and the equipment in the arsenal."

"Yes!"

Justinian nodded heavily.

Isaac silently watched Justinian, who had grown into an adult, with mixed feelings.

"What's the matter with the wound on your left arm?"

"I was slashed by a Janissary, and then shot by a Cuman ranger. The arrow didn't penetrate the bone, just a superficial wound."

Justinian waved his left arm to indicate that he was fine.

"The Cumans? How did you run into them?"

Isaac frowned.

"Alas, it's all my own fault. Let's talk about it when we get back to the camp?"

Justinian asked with a wry smile.

Isaac nodded and waved his hand, and his guards brought in a few boxes.

"Give some of my gifts, wine, and gold to your subordinates to reward them for their blood and sweat in the war."

"Timurtash! Collect it quickly! Let them drink a few more cups tonight, just for the health of our father!"

Justinian said this to Timur Tash, then brought Isaac and a few others to his own tent.

The cheers of the Cossacks could be heard outside the camp. There was a fire burning in the camp, and warm air blew towards us.

Isaac took a sip of the hot kumis, tasted the roast meat coated with honey, and looked again at Justinian who was dividing the meat among Alexius.

"Tell me, what's the matter with the Cumans?"

Justinian looked slightly embarrassed.

"Well... after we wiped out some of the infantry crossing the river, we discovered that there were some Turkic towns around. We couldn't help but lead our men to kill them."

"And they defeated us?"

Isaac snorted.

"No, it's just that we ran into a group of greedy Cuman cavalry on the way back. They also set their sights on these villages and towns. They were furious when we got there first, so they rushed over without saying a word."

Justinian cursed.

"We lost a lot of men and horses, but fortunately we managed to save most of the goods. The Cossacks value money more than their lives. They would rather fight the Cumans than give up their hard-earned wealth."

"How many Kuman Rangers are there?"

Isaac asked.

"A few hundred people are just a small force. If I had brought enough soldiers, I would never have let them run wild like this."

Justinian sighed.

"Okay, I'll take care of the Cuman issue, you don't have to worry about it."

Isaac groaned.

"Mahmoud has died in battle, and his elite troops were wiped out. The foreign mercenaries he recruited before his death are no match for us, and they can only cause trouble."

"I will ask Matthias I to find a way to withdraw the Cuman tribe back to the country. If he is unwilling, then we should not care about our reputation and just eat the invading Cuman cavalry and see if he will feel the pain."

"Father, Hungary is not Bulgaria. Their military strength is equally strong. Will Matthias I take this opportunity to march into Bulgaria and compete with us for land?"

Justinian asked.

"Probably not. Matthias doesn't have the time for that."

Isaac shook his head slowly.

"Last year, he continued to attack Dalmatia. He failed to completely destroy Colleoni, but he did achieve considerable success. He captured several coastal ports, thus completely opening up the road to the Adriatic Sea."

"Will he continue to fight?"

"probably not."

Isaac looked at Justinian.

"You may not know that just last year, the regime in Rome changed. Pius II died, and the new Pope was Pope John IV's nephew, Pope John Paul II."

"Paul II?"

Justinian searched his mind for memories of this man.

"Paul II was a relatively conservative pope. Unlike several previous popes, he did not like the humanistic movement and was resistant to new things."

Isaac explained.

"So what does this have to do with Hungary?"

Justinian was somewhat puzzled.

"This has nothing to do with Hungary, but it has a lot to do with Hungary's neighbor Bohemia."

Isaac sipped his wine. "King Jiri Podebrad of Bohemia is the leader of the Holy Grail sect and a sympathizer of the Hussite movement. He has always advocated Bohemian nationalism to resist foreign interference."

"Pope Paul II is very dissatisfied with this and is secretly contacting the nobles to prepare to oppose Iran's rule."

Isaac paused.

"I heard that Pope Paul II was even prepared to excommunicate King Iran and dethrone him."

"Matthias was once humiliated by Iran and Japan, and Hungary is the closest powerful country to Bohemia. It is reasonable for him to use military force against Bohemia in the next few years."

"So I say that Matthias's future focus should be on the weaker West, rather than the tougher East."

"That too."

Justinian smiled.

"If it were me, I would make the same choice."

"By the way, what's the military situation like?"

"Very good. There is no resistance left in Bulgaria. Three fronts are advancing into the heart of Bulgaria."

Isaac stroked his beard.

"In another two years, Bulgaria can be basically pacified."

Justinian nodded and hesitated for a moment.

"What are you going to do with Bulgaria?"

"Bulgaria will be fully incorporated into the core territory. The Kardzhali Military District that was originally used to defend Mahmoud can be disbanded. I plan to create a new Dobruja Military District and let Salmon move to another place and continue to serve as the general of his military district."

Isaac said.

"The rest of the country will still be divided into regions and administrative districts according to the old rules, and the central government will be responsible for sending officials there."

"Also, except for Sofia, the production methods of the whole Bulgaria are mainly agriculture and animal husbandry. I plan to gather all the craftsmen in Bulgaria, send some to Sofia, and send the rest back to Constantinople and Carthage."

"Although we have used religious sentiment to stabilize the Bulgarian people, this is only temporary. There is still a deep gap between them and us, and it will take a lot of time to complete assimilation."

"As long as they can keep a firm grip on the source of weapons, equipment, farm implements and tools, even if they want to revolt, it will be difficult."

“That’s a good idea indeed.”

Justinian laughed.

"What about Wallachia? How are you going to deal with Vlad III?"

Isaac thought about it, stood up and looked at several people.

"Come with me, let's go for a walk outside."

Several people walked out of the warm tent, rode on their horses, and came to the Danube River.

The river flows quietly. The winter precipitation has caused the water level to rise a lot, and the cold brought by the north wind has caused a thin layer of ice to form on the shore.

The Andalusian horse under him stepped on the broken ice, lowered its elegant head, and quietly drank the cold river water.

"The Danube is the largest river in the Balkans. It is wide and has a gentle flow in the middle and lower reaches, making it suitable for navigation."

Isaac spoke to himself.

"More than a thousand years ago, Trajan led his army across the Danube, destroyed Dacia, and established the Dacian province on the original Dacian territory."

"However, Rome was unable to rule the land north of the Danube for long. The northern barbarians ravaged the land time and time again, and the emperor had to withdraw his army to the south of the Danube to defend it."

"Later, the Eastern and Western Roman Empires were divided, and the Eastern Empire mainly used the Danube River as its northern border."

"It can be said that the Danube River is the natural border of the Eastern Empire in the north."

"You mean... if we make peace with Vlad III, the two countries will use the Danube as the boundary?"

Manuel asked.

"Yes, I am not going to take action against Wallachia so soon. We need to continue to deepen our rule in Bulgaria. Expanding too quickly is not a good thing."

Isaac nodded slightly.

"Looking at our Balkan territories, mountains, rivers and oceans together form a natural defense line. With their existence, our military pressure will be much less, and we can draw more troops to retake Anatolia."

"Once we conquer Serbia, this line of defense will be more solid. Even if Hungary attacks with all their might, they won't gain much advantage."

Isaac smiled at Manuel.

"Father, forgive me for being blunt. Needless to say, the mountains and the ocean are naturally solid barriers, but you cannot rely too much on the Danube. The water here flows slowly and sometimes freezes. It is really not a natural barrier."

Justinian spoke truthfully.

"Of course I understand that the Danube River cannot stop the nomadic tribes from moving southward, and the previous emperors of the Eastern Empire were unable to rely on it to build an indestructible line of defense."

"However, compared to the past, the military pressure we face in the Danube direction is much less. At least we don't have to worry about the nomadic tribes invading from the south."

Isaac stared at the dark river.

"Moreover, the Eastern Empire did not rule Bulgaria deeply at all, and this large area of ​​plains and lowlands was abandoned, resulting in very weak defenses here."

"If there were a sufficient population here, and if these people had a strong sense of loyalty to the empire, it would not be so easy for foreign enemies to invade, and the fortress here would not be isolated and helpless."

"Are you planning to vigorously develop the Danube coastal plain? This is not an easy task."

Justinian kicked the icy ground under his feet and shook his head.

"The river here is gentle and looks like a fertile land, but in reality it is difficult to develop. Otherwise, the previous emperors would not have let it go to waste."

“Swamps, flooding, cold winters, these are all issues that need to be addressed.”

"Don't worry, these problems will be solved."

Isaac smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Such a large riverside plain has a lot of black soil. If it can be cleaned up, it can feed a large population and become a good granary."

"Also, regarding Bulgaria's defense, the formation of a new army and inland navy, I already have some general ideas, which will be implemented step by step in the future."

"Let's go, we've seen what we need to see, let's go back to camp."

A few people returned to the camp, shook off the snow on their bodies, and gathered around the stove.

"Justinian, what are you going to do next?"

Isaac looked at Justinian.

"I haven't thought about it yet, do you have any suggestions?"

"You don't have to worry about the war in Bulgaria. You should have looted enough. I don't intend to recover your spoils."

Isaac took the coffee that Alexios handed over and took a sip.

"Rest for a few more days, then take the Cossacks back to Crimea. After this bloody battle, although your troops have decreased in numbers, their spirit and loyalty will be greatly improved. They have begun to regard you as the true king."

"Take them back and reorganize them, distribute the pastures and spoils, and then hand over the affairs to a few trusted subordinates. Leave the grassland temporarily and go to North Africa and the Balkans to accompany your mother and sister and wash away the bloody smell on your body."

“Walk more, see more, learn more about the social landscape, understand the people’s demands, and understand the human geography and customs and culture of each place.”

"You can conquer the world, but you can't rule it. If you want to be a qualified monarch, you must know how to govern your own territory."

Isaac warned.

"If you always focus on military affairs and strategic planning, and throw all the government affairs to the ministers, they will inevitably have some inappropriate desires in their hearts."

"I understand, Father."

Justinian nodded.

"Timur Tash is a good subordinate. I plan to let him take over the three thousand households on my behalf."

"That's fine, as long as you can trust me."

Isaac looked at him, thought for a moment, and then spoke.

"Haji Glei is going to die soon, and Crimea is about to be in chaos. If you have ambitions, you might as well wait for a while and look for some opportunities."

"I will."

Justinian said.

"You can't live in the steppes for long. If you really get a piece of the Crimean wreckage, what are you going to do with this territory?"

Isaac asked.

"This is not the inherent territory of the Empire. If I conquered this land through my own efforts, then it belongs entirely to me, and the Imperial Government has no right to interfere."

Justinian's eyes flickered and he pointed to the crown of thorns on his head.

"If I can gain a foothold on the grassland, I will pass this crown to my son, and my son to my grandson, and we will rule for generations."

"Nomadic peoples are very concerned about noble birth. Even though the Golden Family has become so corrupt, they still have a high status and are easily supported by the tribe."

"I will gradually strengthen the concept of loyalty to the emperor in the hearts of the Cossacks, and make them worship our blood as a god."

"I will not allow officials to enter here, nor will I Romanize this place. This is our place, the place of the Palaiologos family."

Isaac looked at his eldest son's flushed face in silence, feeling a little complicated.

"Okay, I won't give you much support anyway. How much you can capture depends entirely on your own ability."

"Father, speaking of this, how do you plan to deal with your overseas colonies in the future?"

Justinian turned his head.

"It is said that some blind ministers have suggested that you hand over your overseas colonies to the government. Is that true?"

"If they really care, I don't mind."

Isaac smiled wryly and shook his head.

"I'm just afraid they'll get involved and kill this cash cow."

"I suggest that you firmly grasp the overseas territory and make it our family's direct territory."

Justinian said.

"This way, if there is unrest in the country in the future and they want to overthrow our dynasty, our descendants will have enough bargaining chips to mediate."

"Without our territory, the economy of the entire empire will be cut in half, and they will be cautious when overthrowing us."

"You think far ahead."

Isaac glanced at him.

"Father, this is not what I think. You have great prestige. If we want to change some things, we should start with you."

Justinian stared into Isaac's eyes, then glanced at Alexios and Manuel.

"I'll think about it."

After Isaac finished speaking, he left the tent and stood in the snow.

Justinian came to Isaac and stayed with him in the snow.

"Father, it's late, go to bed."

Isaac nodded and patted his shoulder.

"Leave tomorrow. Your mother misses you very much."

"I understand. I'll get ready."

Justinian was about to leave, but Isaac grabbed his hand.

"Something has happened in Castile. The situation is under control for now, but there's no telling when a civil war will break out."

"If you want to marry Isabella, you must improve your strength as much as possible. As a monarch, I must prioritize state affairs. I cannot send a large number of soldiers to help you snatch someone away."

Isaac paused.

"Of course, you don't have to be too stressed. As a father, I will definitely not sit idly by and watch my eldest son being bullied by outsiders."

"Always remember that life comes first, and don't always put yourself in danger like you did before."

Justinian looked at Isaac, a smile appeared on his face, and he nodded heavily.

(End of this chapter)