1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 253 Hebrews
Constantinople on the Black Sea.

In a peaceful atmosphere, the bells of Epiphany rang, and Orthodox Christians across the empire immersed their bodies in freezing cold water and performed holy water ceremonies to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River.

This was the first important festival in 1467. All major cities held corresponding celebrations. After the necessary religious ceremonies were completed, citizens took to the streets to celebrate last year's harvest and look forward to the near future.

The winter in Constantinople was not very comfortable, being much colder than the cities along the Mediterranean coast. Many nobles and wealthy businessmen began to take boats to the south for vacation, while middle-class citizens lit fires and hid in beds.

In recent years, a number of coal fields have been discovered in various parts of the empire, and farmers and citizens with difficult lives have obtained cheap fuel and no longer have to endure the bitter cold in winter.

It tastes awful, but it's better than nothing.

As heavy snow fell and the temperature dropped sharply, major churches in Thrace, North Macedonia and Bulgaria began to distribute porridge to provide poor Christians with the most basic living security.

The obligation of the nobles was to guard the border and fight wars, and the obligation of the church was to do good and accumulate virtue. According to the decrees of the central government of the empire, each parish had to make its own contribution in relief, education and medical care. The more the contribution, the more tax-reduced land it was allowed to retain, and vice versa.

With the dual guarantees of policies and materials, Constantinople spent another peaceful winter, and no citizens died tragically from cold and hunger.

Since the wedding in the Mediterranean, Isaac and his family stayed in Constantinople for a while, accompanying Constantine XI to spend the cold winter together.

As soon as he returned to the Grand Palace, Isaac was immediately held back by the mountain of government affairs. He spent several days in his study, reviewing documents, marking memorials, writing down his own opinions, and sending them to the prime minister and ministers.

There was a fire burning in the study, and the burning fruit wood gave off a faint fragrance. The temperature was just right, neither too cold nor too hot, but the middle-aged man in front of Isaac was sweating profusely, waiting anxiously for Isaac to speak.

There was a young man standing next to him. The two of them had some similarities in their eyes and eyebrows, and were obviously father and son.

The son's expression was not so nervous. He stood aside with his lips pursed. He looked around and saw that the decorations were not very gorgeous. There was a hint of disdain in his eyes.

Both father and son were wearing luxurious clothes that wealthy businessmen liked to wear, and had small round hats on their heads.

Obviously, they were all Hebrews.

Isaac sat at his desk, holding in his hands the letter presented by the Hebrew father and son.

After reading the letter, Isaac remained expressionless and threw the precious paper aside casually.

"His Majesty……"

When Isaac finished reading the letter, the Hebrew father quickly spoke.

"Don't worry, sit down first."

Isaac pointed to a chair nearby, and the two men sat down obediently. The guards standing beside them served them coffee.

After searching on his bookshelf, Isaac pulled out a document, turned to a page, and began to read.

"Joshua Morgan, a Hebrew, was a Hebrew elder in Thessalonica. His ancestors were originally Venetians. After Venice captured Thessalonica, he responded to the call and moved here, where he has lived until today."

"Solomon Morgan, the eldest son of Joshua Morgan, was a merchant in Thessalonica, and a moneylender."

Isaac smiled faintly, ignoring the awkward looks between the two, and took out a report from the governor of Thessalonica.

"At present, according to incomplete statistics, there are more than 30,000 Hebrews in the entire empire, most of whom live in large cities in the Balkans, especially in the former Venetian colonies, including Thessalonica, Euboea, Naxos and Crete."

"The Hebrews do not engage in production, but mainly engage in commerce and finance. As the empire's trade prospers, they also gain a lot of benefits. The most prestigious elder in Thessalonica is a flour merchant named Joshua Morgan. In addition to general business, the Morgan family also secretly lends money at high interest rates to citizens to make ill-gotten gains. I hope Your Majesty will investigate this matter."

"Morgan Family... I seem to have heard a lot of unfavorable rumors about you. Is there a large number of people in your family?"

Isaac looked at Joshua with a smile.

"Your Majesty, our family does have some branches. There are still many Morgans in Western Europe, some are rich, some are poor. We don't have much contact with each other."

Joshua quickly put down his coffee and defended himself.

"Our family has always been a legitimate businessman. These illegal activities are likely to be someone impersonating us to deliberately discredit us."

"Alright, I know all about your activities. If anything goes wrong, just blame it on the scapegoats below. No need to say more."

Isaac shook his head and pointed to the letter on the table.

"Your letter is vague and full of lies. Why don't you just tell me why you came to see me?"

"Your Majesty, this is the case. Under your governance, the empire is becoming increasingly prosperous and business is developing. After seeing the prosperity and wealth of the empire, many of our fellow countrymen in Western Europe and Italy want to come here to develop and contribute to your empire."

Joshua explained.

"However, many citizens have deep prejudices against us, and many officials have also openly or covertly restricted our normal business activities, which has caused many brothers to be very dissatisfied."

"We like to live in groups and have our own living habits. We hope you can allow us to build a few small churches for daily prayers."

Isaac took a sip of his coffee and nodded casually.

So many people don’t like you, why don’t you look for the reason within yourself?
"I know what you want. Why didn't you contact me before?"

Joshua smiled awkwardly and did not answer.

This kind of prejudice and exclusion certainly existed before, and the Hebrews certainly established their churches and communities privately, but in recent years, as the legal system and law enforcement agencies have continued to improve, they immediately felt the crisis.

No matter how wealthy a businessman is, he cannot withstand the guns of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

There were indeed many Hebrew communities in the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire, most of which were introduced by the Republic of Venice. Under the rule of Venice, these Hebrews enjoyed a high degree of autonomy, had their own settlements and Hebrew churches, and in return, they would pay taxes to the government.

After the Eastern Roman Empire defeated Venice and took back its colonies, in order to quickly restore the local economy, Isaac temporarily did not take action against these people and acquiesced in their existence. As before, they still paid taxes to Isaac in exchange for a certain degree of autonomy.

However, in recent years, as the Eastern Roman Empire prospered and Venice declined, many Hebrews began to call their friends and move their families to their settlements within the empire, becoming heavily involved in the empire's commercial activities.

They are a nomadic group. The better they are treated, the more people will move here.

"Then what do you want to do?"

Isaac asked.

"Your Majesty, we would like to ask you to pass a law to stop the persecution and allow us to trade freely. It would be best if we could expand the settlement area in the city."

Joshua watched Isaac's face carefully.

"Although we are a minority, we can still pay taxes to you. I can guarantee that if you are willing to accept us, we can bring you a huge amount of money every year, which is definitely beyond your imagination."

"Minority? There is no such term in the Empire."

Isaac frowned slightly.

"There were only two kinds of people in the empire: Romans and slaves. There were no ethnic minorities."

"What kind of person do you want to be?"

"This... Your Majesty, as long as you are willing to respect us, we can also be Romans. The Hebrews in the empire can't even speak Hebrew properly. They all speak Greek."

Joshua said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Okay, you can convert to Orthodoxy. After converting to Orthodoxy, you will be complete Romans, enjoy all citizenship rights, and will not be discriminated against by anyone."

"Of course, you must completely abandon your original bad culture. Things like circumcision, round hats, and Presbyterianism are all prohibited. Once discovered, it will be considered a crime and you will be exiled to the frontier."

"Also, you cannot stay together. You must live together with the Orthodox Christians and you must be allowed to intermarry."

Isaac said this with a smile on his face.

The Hebrews are a famous nomadic people. During their more than one thousand years of wandering, they lived in the lands of other ethnic groups, intermarried with people of various ethnic groups, and were no different from the locals in appearance and language, but their religious beliefs remained unchanged.

It was precisely because of their common fanatical beliefs that they retained their national independence and determined their national identity by religion rather than blood. Only Hebrews were true Hebrews.

As for those Hebrews with relatively pure blood, they converted to Islam in the Levant and integrated into Islamic civilization, but they were not recognized.

As long as the Hebrews in the empire were willing to give up their religious beliefs, Isaac was fully confident that he could assimilate them, and in two or three generations they would become real Romans.

Of course, the Hebrews were too proud of their faith to give it up easily.

Without faith, they would lose all the cohesive force necessary to maintain national unity.

"Your Majesty, you are a little..."

Joshua's face turned grim.

"From what I understand, you seem to have issued a decree that merchants, doctors, craftsmen, scholars, and writers enjoy a certain degree of freedom of belief. There are no compulsory requirements. Even Saracens can engage in these jobs in your territory."

“Why do you ask us to convert?”

Isaac thought about it and realized that this decree really existed. It was specially used by Isaac to attract Arab talents. He did not expect that this group of Hebrews would take advantage of it.

"Oh, I'll change it tomorrow."

Isaac said casually.

"Don't you agree with the decree you issued?"

Young Solomon suddenly asked.

"My power as Roman Emperor is unlimited and my word is law."

Isaac said noncommittally.

"Your Majesty, you tolerate the Aginganos, why won't you tolerate us?"

Joshua looked at Isaac.

"You know, although the Aginganos also believe in Christianity, they still retain their old customs, and you didn't ask them to live completely like the Romans."

"You are different. You are so united, so proud, and have always looked down on Christians. Yet you are good at business. You are not like the scattered Akinganos."

Isaac shook his head.

"Humph, how can the Akinganos compare with us? They are just a bunch of wandering thieves, and we are God——"

Joshua slapped his son in the face, interrupting him abruptly.

"God's only chosen people, eh?"

Isaac stood up angrily and looked at the father and son coldly.

"You are God's only chosen people, so what am I? In your eyes, you are the only ones who are qualified to believe in God, and you look down on everyone else. Is that right?"

"If you still hold such thoughts, you deserve to be hated by everyone, and be driven out and persecuted by them."

Hebrewism is a very conservative religion that prohibits outsiders from converting casually. It only recognizes the Old Testament and not the New Testament. It firmly believes that it is God's only chosen people and is naturally superior to others.

"I can clearly say that many officials have reported your illegal behavior to me. I will never allow you to continue to suck blood from the big tree of the empire."

"You said you are God's only chosen people, but I don't believe it. How about I send you to ask Him?"

Isaac glared at the two men fiercely.

"Even if you don't come to me today, I will find you sooner or later."

"Before this, I have discussed with many people how to deal with the Hebrews, and no one wants you to stay in the empire."

"My daughter-in-law Isabella suggested that I set up an Inquisition, modeled after what the Roman diocese did centuries ago, to try heretics who refused to convert. What do you think of this method?"

When Joshua heard the name of the Inquisition, he shuddered, sweat broke out on his forehead, and he bowed to Isaac again.

"Your Majesty, we definitely don't mean to look down on you. If you are willing to accept us, we will give you a lot of rewards, a large sum of money every year!"

"Money? Do I look like I'm short of money?"

Isaac was amused.

"Your Majesty, it's not just about money. We Hebrews have our own communities all over the world. For example, our in-laws, the Sassoon family, have a lot of influence there after they moved from Iberia to Baghdad. You may be able to use them in the future!"

Joshua said urgently.

"No need! Know your position and don't get involved in things that are not your business!"

Isaac yelled at Joshua.

"Western Europeans don't like you, and don't you think about why?"

"Did I treat you too well before, causing you to have some inappropriate fantasies?"

"Remember, Rome can destroy you once, and it can certainly destroy you a second time!"

After these words were spoken, Joshua fell silent, and only spoke slowly after a long while.

"Your Majesty, we were wrong. Please forgive us for our transgression. We will go back now."

After saying this, Joshua turned around and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute."

Isaac looked at his back and spoke.

"I have a plan, do you want to hear it?"

"Please say!"

Joshua turned his head quickly.

"Since you are not welcome everywhere in the world and you are so united, how about I give you a piece of land and you settle there and establish a Hebrew autonomous region?"

Isaac asked.

"Okay! Which piece of land are you going to give us?"

Solomon immediately asked, fearing that Isaac might have changed his mind.

Isaac pulled out a map and spread it out in his hands.

"There are two places for you to choose from."

"First, the land north of New Thrace is rich in diamonds. The locals call it Namibia."

Isaac pointed to a large area of ​​land in southwest Africa, looked at the father and son, and seeing that they said nothing, he smiled contemptuously.

Although the land area here is vast, the coastal areas are all uninhabited deserts, known as the "Devil's Coast".

"Second, the East African Plateau has good land conditions and the indigenous people are very backward. You can also move there with your entire family."

"Your Majesty, the East African Plateau does not seem to be under the rule of the Empire? The Arabs are still very powerful. How can we go there?"

Joshua's eyes dimmed a little.

"Besides, the Hebrews are mainly engaged in business. The two pieces of land you gave us are too far away from the traditional trading areas. We can't survive there."

"Your Majesty, can't you give us some land in Bulgaria? We can buy it!"

Solomon spoke again eagerly.

"Oh? How much can you offer?"

Isaac watched him with interest.

"If you are willing to give the Vidin area to the Hebrews, our entire tribe can give you 100,000 solidus, and the annual tax will never be less than 20,000 solidus!"

Seeing that Isaac was interested, Solomon continued to increase the stakes.

"Your Majesty, although my family cannot afford this money, as long as you agree, there will definitely be many brothers willing to move to Vidin. The taxes alone will greatly enrich your treasury!"

"With our participation, your business profits will surely grow rapidly, and the empire will become more prosperous!"

Isaac smiled slightly and looked at the two of them thoughtfully.

"Where does your money come from? Don't I know it?"

"Smuggling, loan sharking, forcing purchases by bribing officials, manipulating the market, bankrupting other merchants, and taking advantage of the opportunity to acquire their land and chambers of commerce."

"You have become rich, what will the Romans do?"

"Now that you have become rich, will you be willing to pay taxes to me instead of thinking about complete independence?"

"Besides, you reminded me of something."

Isaac shook his head and smiled, revealing his sharp white teeth.

"So you guys are so rich!"

Joshua saw that Isaac's eyes were not right, so he said goodbye quickly and ran to the door with his son, but was pushed back by the heavily armored guard on duty.

Turning around, Isaac had already smashed a document on his head.

"Before, I was fighting outside and didn't have the energy to take care of you. Now it's different."

"The days when the Hebrews were unregulated are gone, and there are only three paths before you."

Joshua picked up the document and flipped through it roughly, his eyes full of regret and fear.

The emperor of the Eastern Empire was very fond of merchants, and one might have thought that he would treat the Hebrews well because of this, but unexpectedly, he was no different from the monarchs of Western Europe.

"First, you all must convert to Orthodoxy, abandon your Hebrew faith, and completely join Rome. You are forbidden to speak Hebrew, hold Hebrew rituals, perform circumcision, live in groups, and wear ugly hats like these on your heads." Isaac's cold voice sounded slowly, and every word was like a heavy hammer, hitting the two men's hearts hard.

"Second, settle in the two places I mentioned. You are not allowed to come back without orders. You have to buy the land with money."

"Third, remain as you are and continue to believe in your Hebrew religion."

"I choose number three!"

Joshua said quickly.

"Okay, I just said that there are no minorities in the empire. You either become a Roman or a slave."

Isaac smiled and nodded.

"If you don't want to change your faith, then go to God."

Joshua's face was pale, he clenched his fists tightly, and tried to stay calm.

"Your Majesty, aren't you afraid of riots?"

"Riot? It's up to you. When we took over Venice, we already started investigating your population, wealth, and private armed forces. We already knew everything clearly."

Isaac walked to the desk and threw a piece of paper to Joshua. The densely written words were all relevant records.

"When you arrived, I had already sent people to your various settlements and mobilized the shooting army to surround your settlements."

Isaac looked at his shaking hands expressionlessly.

"So, do you still want to take the third path?"

"Your Majesty, please have some mercy, we can leave!"

Joshua looked at Isaac pleadingly.

"All right! Hand over all your property, and each of you will be a debtor for fifteen years to pay for your blasphemy."

"After fifteen years, leave the empire immediately and go wherever you want."

Isaac said stiffly.

Are you kidding? How could they just let go of a large group of merchants full of hatred? Isn't that laying a mine for the empire?
Although the Hebrews and Christians hated each other, many monarchs would still borrow money from them because they were short of money, and were subtly controlled by them.

There were also many nobles who used them as white gloves and did all kinds of shameful things in order to make money.

However, Isaac was neither short of money nor did he want to exploit his people.

Isaac always believed that the Hebrews were just an ordinary nation and had no hostility towards them.

However, any normal person would not like the Hebrew religion's self-centered and extremely exclusive ideas.

Seeing Joshua slumped on the ground in despair, Isaac began to persuade him patiently.

"I am not an executioner and I have no intention of killing anyone. As long as you are willing to convert to Orthodoxy sincerely, the door of the empire will always be open to you."

"Your Majesty... can you give us some time to think about this? This is a big matter, I need to discuss it with other elders..."

Joshua said in a low voice, his eyes flickering.

"Okay! All up to you! You can stay here for the time being. I've also invited the other elders, and they should be on their way now."

Isaac nodded.

"Once you have finished your discussion, I will baptize you in Constantinople. You must publicly declare your conversion to Orthodoxy, join the Empire, and pledge allegiance to me."

"You must also publicly declare Hebrewism a cult, publicly abuse other Hebrews who refuse to convert, disband the Council of Elders, and set fire to your Hebrew churches with your own hands."

"I believe there must be some Hebrews who would rather die than surrender, and you will execute them yourself. I have a kind heart recently and cannot bear to see this."

Isaac crossed himself.

"I think, since you have all been baptized and become devout Christians, these things should not be difficult to accept, right?"

Joshua's face turned even paler, and he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.

If they had done so, even if they wanted to change their mind later, they would never be accepted by other Hebrews.

"In a few years, there will be a war in the empire. Before that, I must stabilize the country."

"Before you make a decision, my army will control the Hebrew gathering area. The shooting corps and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are not good people. You have to hurry up."

Isaac glanced at Joshua, who was kneeling on the ground.

"The road is right under your feet, think about it carefully."

After saying this, Isaac walked out of the study. The guards rushed over and took the two men to their place of house arrest.

After solving the Hebrew problem, Isaac felt much more relaxed and walked towards the lounge in the palace.

It was already evening, and Isaac's family still followed Constantine XI's wishes and gathered in the lounge to read books and chat.

As soon as Isaac walked in, he immediately attracted everyone's attention. The younger generations stood up and greeted Isaac.

Isaac waved his hand, signaling them to stay calm, sat back in his seat, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Father, is the matter resolved?"

Isabella, who was sitting next to Justinian, looked at Isaac and asked.

"It's almost time. We can't delay any longer."

Isaac nodded.

"In the past few years, the power of the Hebrews has expanded greatly. They have begun to extend their hands to officials and nobles. If we continue to wait, their network of relationships will be very large."

"It's my fault too. The expansion was too fast, and the administrative and law enforcement agencies couldn't keep up, which led to their barbaric growth."

"As for the Inquisition you mentioned, I think it's better to forget about it. Not only is it easy to get out of control, it will also lead to the church becoming too powerful, which is not good."

"Father is right. I didn't think it through."

Isabella nodded slightly.

Isaac looked around. Everyone was there except his wife Leonor and his youngest son Anastasius.

"Anastasius is sleepy, and the Queen Mother has taken him to rest."

Salonika said.

"Well, let them go. Children should get more sleep."

Isaac said with a smile, pulling his daughter into his arms.

Salonika rubbed Isaac's chest and threw a smug look at Isabella.

"Father, I am going to rest now. I will return to the Royal Reclamation Area early tomorrow morning. The third batch of fields will be divided, and I cannot be absent."

Alexios stood up and took leave of Isaac and Constantine XI.

"Leaving so early? It's snowing!"

Constantine XI was very reluctant to leave and held Alexios' hand.

"I'll come back to see you when the spring planting is finished."

Alexios smiled, hugged Constantine XI, and left.

After Alexios left, Isaac looked at his eldest son, Justinian.

"Justinian, when I came in just now, I saw you talking happily. What are you talking about?"

"It's about Crimea. Didn't we talk about it yesterday?"

Justinian sipped his rooibos tea slowly and poured a cup for Isaac.

"Timurtash told me that the situation in Crimea is chaotic now. The Cossacks haven't been out fighting for a long time and they are all looking forward to my early return."

"My prestige has not yet been fully established. I still need to lead them in a few more battles."

"Can you guarantee that you will win every time?"

Isaac glanced at his eldest son, who was in high spirits.

"No, but I never fight strong enemies. I always stay on the riverbank and the coast. Once I encounter an enemy I can't defeat, I immediately retreat to the boat."

Justinian smiled.

"As long as I have enough ships, those Tatars can't do anything to me."

"Okay, pay attention to your own safety and don't underestimate the enemy."

Isaac warned.

"The civil unrest in Crimea will take some time to ferment. Before that, you must stay in Constantinople obediently, at least until Isabella's delivery is over."

Isaac pointed at Isabella's slightly bulging belly.

Four months had passed since the wedding in the Mediterranean. As expected, Isabella had successfully become pregnant and was quietly waiting for delivery in Constantinople.

This child would be the grandson of Isaac, the great-grandson of Constantine XI, and a member of the new generation of the main Palaiologos branch.

Constantine XI was overjoyed at his granddaughter-in-law's pregnancy. He went to sit in front of Manuel II's tomb and stayed by her side all day, not allowing anyone to approach easily.

Now, the new member of the family, Isabella, has been treated as a treasure by everyone, and even Thessaloniki no longer deliberately goes against her eldest sister-in-law.

"From what I have observed, your way of managing the Cossacks is still rather crude. When the territory expands and the number of people increases, problems will definitely arise. Improvements must be made."

Isaac groaned.

"Have you thought about how to change it?"

"Father, I have had a lot of contact with nomadic tribes in Eastern Europe, and I found that they care a lot about noble blood. Even though Genghis Khan's descendants have become so rotten, only members of the Golden Family can sit in the position of Khan."

Justinian said.

“Even someone as powerful as Timur the Lame remained a king, not a Khan, throughout his life.”

"I think we can establish an unshakable prestige through a series of wars, firmly plant our shadow in their hearts, and shape a new Golden Family."

Justinian pondered.

"The Cossacks were originally composed of Russian escaped slaves and nomads who were dissatisfied with the Tatar nobles. They have no good feelings towards the so-called Golden Family. This is our opportunity."

"If we succeed, we only need to send a capable prince to guard the grassland in the future to gain their support."

"Yes, but it's not safe. We need to do other things."

Isaac nodded slightly.

The herders on the prairie are very superstitious and care a lot about family and bloodline. If the Palaiologos family can be successfully sanctified on the prairie, it can indeed eliminate a lot of opposition voices.

The Russian Tsarist Empire in the original time and space also borrowed this method when ruling the grasslands and achieved certain success.

"I think so too. We were just discussing other solutions."

Justinian nodded.

"What did you discuss?"

Isaac asked.

"Isabella did come up with a very creative solution."

Justinian smiled and smoothed his wife's hair.

"That's right, Father."

Isabella cleared her throat and explained.

"I got the inspiration from you. Since you incorporated the priests into the administrative system and various armies, why can't we bring this system to the grassland?"

Isabella pondered.

"I think we might as well do a big missionary work on the prairie and divide the land and population among parishes instead of tribes."

"Furthermore, we can also establish an ascetic order, requiring every Cossack family to send a male to serve as an ascetic, and prohibiting marriage."

"In this way, we can speed up the process of proselytizing and sanctifying the family, and effectively control the population of the Cossacks to prevent them from becoming too powerful."

"In addition to these, we must also develop commerce, which is also a means of controlling the Cossacks. When they become heavily dependent on our goods, they will not rebel so easily."

"The most critical thing is the handicraft industry. We must relocate most of the craftsmen to the areas under actual control and strictly limit the amount of ironware the Cossack tribes can own, especially swords."

Isaac raised his eyebrows, a little surprised.

"These methods are very good and worth promoting. They can also be used in North Africa."

"But this will certainly meet resistance, and we must win a decisive victory to be qualified to implement these policies."

"Okay, Isaac, let Isabella take good care of the baby and stop bothering her!"

Constantine XI said dissatisfiedly.

"Once the baby is born, there will be plenty of time to do these things."

Isaac smiled bitterly and waved his hand, not disobeying his old father.

"We still have a lot of time. The war between the White Sheep and the Black Sheep will take some time. During this time, we can develop our national strength, sort out the surrounding affairs, and then launch a fatal blow to the Ottoman Empire."

Constantine XI thought for a moment and looked at Isaac.

"Since there is no major war right now, why not help your brother? He has been very busy with Serbia's affairs recently, and as the eldest brother, you definitely can't just stand by and watch."

As soon as these words were spoken, Manuel, who was sitting next to Constantine XI, and Lady Mara, who was sitting in the corner, turned their heads and looked at Isaac.

"Manuel, have any Serbian nobles come to see you?"

Isaac asked.

"Yes, my royal brother. The situation in Serbia is too chaotic. Conflicts are breaking out everywhere. Many people are beginning to feel tired and don't want to fight anymore."

Manuel said.

"I am planning to marry a daughter of a Serbian noble family and will be ready to move into Serbia at any time."

Having said that, Manuel quickly waved his hands.

"Of course, if you really can't spare any troops, I should be able to become the Grand Duke of Serbia through my own efforts. You have helped me a lot before. The shares of several companies have brought a lot of profits. My mother also has some, which is enough for me to form a good team."

"What are you talking about? As your eldest brother, I will not let you face the slippery nobles alone."

Isaac's face immediately turned stern.

"I will pay attention to Serbia's affairs and try to help you sit on the throne of Grand Duke as soon as possible."

"Besides, I have been coveting the gold and silver mines in Kosovo for a long time. Although the current output is high, it is still far from reaching the upper limit. We can set up a company and mine together."

Manuel knew that his elder brother had the final say, so he stood up happily and bowed deeply to Isaac.

"Don't worry, my royal brother. If I ever enter Serbia, I will definitely become your most loyal vassal, serving as your vassal forever."

……

In February 1467, the Eastern Roman Empire began to tackle the Hebrew issue and determined the specific policy of "not targeting the people, but only the religion", aiming to completely expel Hebrewism from the empire and disperse and assimilate the Hebrews.

On February 2, three Hebrew elder families headed by the Morgan family announced their conversion, while the other four elders refused to obey and were beheaded by Solomon Morgan himself.

The next day, the shooting army entered the Hebrew communities in major cities and, with the help of several elders, forced the Hebrews to convert. All those who refused to convert were thrown into prison.

A week later, one-third of the Hebrews were willing to convert to Orthodoxy and be baptized, while the other two-thirds of the steadfast believers were deprived of their citizenship and executed by their own compatriots.

After the incident, the three Hebrew elder families received the compensation they deserved, not only retaining most of their wealth but also gaining some business privileges.

However, the other Hebrews were scattered throughout various cities and villages and could no longer be gathered together. Their ultimate outcome was that they were completely assimilated by the Romans.

At the same time, Isaac issued a decree declaring Hebrewism a cult and prohibiting any Hebrew from entering any city in the Eastern Roman Empire, but welcoming Hebrews who converted to Christianity.

This incident did not receive widespread attention, but the Vatican sent Isaac a letter praising his good deed.

In the blink of an eye, winter passed, and the spring of 1467 quietly arrived in the beautiful atmosphere of revival of all things.

(End of this chapter)