1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 267: High Ambition
Eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople, Great Palace.

The Imperial Chancellor Isult slowly stepped down from the carriage and gazed at the magnificent buildings.

The Great Palace was the largest palace complex in the entire Eastern Roman Empire. It was solemn, magnificent, and splendid. It once represented the power of the Eastern Roman Empire and symbolized the emperor's wealth.

After the great disaster of 1204, the Grand Palace lost its prosperity. The Venetians stole many treasures, and subsequent emperors sold all the remaining valuables due to financial constraints.

Twenty-five years ago, the Grand Palace during the reign of Ioannis VIII was already in a state of decay. The emperor had no extra funds to support the court, and large areas of the palace were idle and covered with dust.

For twenty-five years, under Isaac's leadership, the Eastern Roman Empire continued to prosper, its military became stronger, its treasury was full, the Grand Palace was renovated, and more and more family members moved into the palace.

In order to save as much money as possible and to increase popularity, the emperor rented out most of the unused palaces in the Grand Palace to government departments, which could be used after a little repair, without having to build new palaces.

The Imperial Administrative Palace, the Imperial Diplomatic Office, the Imperial Court, the General Staff Office, the Senate, the Three-Level Council, the Royal Academy of Sciences Headquarters, the Office of Indian Affairs...

Isurte walked into the administrative palace and the Varangian guards on duty saluted him.

Stepping onto a corridor, on the walls of the corridor hang portraits of famous ministers and generals of the Eastern Roman Empire, including Belisarius, Narses, Uranus, Sifias, the two Bardas, Aksukh...

The latest one apparently came from the former chancellor, Lucas Notaras, a strong and stubborn nobleman.

Iseult looked at Lucas's portrait and made the sign of the cross on his chest.

Perhaps, in a few years, his portrait will also be hung here for future generations to admire.

When they arrived at the meeting room, the cabinet ministers were chatting. When they saw the old prime minister coming, they bent down and saluted him.

"No need to be polite. Your Majesty has just returned from Adrianople. Please be mindful of your appearance."

Isult nodded slightly, motioned to the cabinet ministers, walked to his seat, and waited quietly.

After a while, the door opened again, and Isaac and Leonor dressed up and sat on the throne at the top.

"Everyone is here, that's great."

Isaac looked around and nodded slightly.

"Prime Minister, please preside over the meeting."

Isurte nodded and opened his record book.

"First, about how to deal with mixed-race Romans."

"Over the past decade, with the rise of colonial trade, many Romans went to West Africa and South Africa to do business or settle down, married with indigenous women, and gave birth to many mixed-race illegitimate children. In recent years, many mixed-race Romans have come to the empire to study, and many of them are even unwilling to return to their hometowns and have stayed here."

"Your Majesty, we should come up with a solution."

Iseult looked at Isaac.

Isaac thought about it and spoke.

"I have said before that as long as one of the parents is Roman, their children are full Roman citizens, provided they speak Greek and believe in Orthodox Christianity."

"The first generation of mixed-blood Romans have grown up, and their descendants are also Romans."

"My rules are very clear. As long as they have a direct relative who is Roman, they can be accepted by us regardless of their skin color or appearance."

"Constantinople is one of the richest cities in Europe. It is certain that they want to stay here. In the future, there will be more and more of these people, even some people without Roman blood will come here."

"As long as these people live the same way as us, speak the same language, and believe in the same God, they are Romans."

Isaac said.

"When we invite the mixed-race Romans to come and receive education, we can first sign an agreement requiring them to return to the colonies to serve as officials after they finish their studies. If they insist on staying in Europe, we don't need to forcibly drive them away. We can separate them and not let them live in groups. We can just separate them into different cities and villages."

"Anyway, I didn't give them any special privileges, nor did I give them much scholarship to study abroad. When they find that they can't make it in Europe, they will return to the colonies to become local officials."

"Well, you have the final say. I will ask the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Colonies to make plans."

Iseult made a mark on the book and turned to the next page.

"The second thing is Sunday School."

"In recent years, Sunday schools have been established in various parts of the empire to provide charitable education for the people, improve the quality of the people, and strengthen cultural assimilation."

"As of the last statistics, there are 63 Sunday schools in the entire empire. All of them are charity schools. Each parish is responsible for providing teachers, and many nobles and wealthy businessmen provide them with books, paper, pens and classrooms."

"Among them, there are 38 schools in the Balkan Peninsula and 25 in Africa, with a total enrollment of more than 3,000 students, and the scale is still expanding."

"A student attends class once a week. Although the teaching time is not long, it is not difficult for him to learn simple Greek words and theological concepts."

Isurt looked at the Minister of Education, Balsamon.

"Mr. Balsamon, you put forward some suggestions about Sunday school in your report. Please explain your views clearly in front of His Majesty for the reference of His Majesty and the ministers."

Balsamon stepped out and saluted.

“Your Majesty, in my opinion, Sunday school is a grassroots education method that is very suitable for the current situation, but there is still room for improvement.”

"Tell me."

Isaac said.

"First, a Sunday school is very small. If we want to achieve the effect of educating the people, we must increase the number of schools and further increase the enthusiasm of the nobles and wealthy businessmen to donate."

Balsamon said carefully.

"You established the title of Lord in the Empire, which is mainly used to confer it on social celebrities who have no military merit. Those who are awarded the title of Lord can sit in on parliament and serve as jurors in court. They don't have much actual power, but their social status is still relatively high."

"I suggest that you set a threshold for this title and link it to charity, so that people who have made outstanding contributions to Sunday schools will have priority in obtaining this title."

"It doesn't cost them much money. A temporary classroom space and some pens, ink and paper are not too expensive. They can totally afford it."

"Very good, good suggestion. We can submit this proposal to the Supreme Court."

Isaac nodded.

"Go on."

“Secondly, I think you can merge some smaller Sunday schools to form some large schools with several hundred students and set up an examination system. Those with poor grades will be ignored, but those with good grades can be promoted to higher education institutions and receive better education, or even enter the administrative department.”

"You can also provide scholarships to ambitious children so that they don't have to give up the opportunity to study further because of their family circumstances."

"Very good, absolutely. I will set up a royal fund to help students from poor families."

Isaac nodded.

"Third, I think Sunday schools can be promoted in all major colonies, so that those foreign children can learn Greek and believe in Orthodox Christianity, thus laying the foundation for your rule."

Balsamon closed the book and looked at Isaac.

"That's fine too. The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Colonies and the Church can sit down and discuss it. This is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. They won't be dissatisfied."

Isaac said.

Balsamon bowed and returned to his seat.

"Very good. The third thing is the incident in the Near East."

Isurte turned to the ministers.

"According to the spy report from the Near East Affairs Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the massive expansion of the White Sheep King Uzon Hasan has caused panic among the surrounding forces. Busayin of the Timurid Dynasty has accepted the invitation of the Black Sheep King Hasan Ali and raised an army to attack the White Sheep Dynasty."

"The White Aries King Uzon Hassan is inferior to Busayin in military strength and has now retreated to Karabakh. We estimate that the two armies will have a decisive battle at the end of this year or the beginning of next year."

"We cannot predict the outcome of the decisive battle for now. I wonder what the ministers think about this."

“I think, from our point of view, it is better for us if Uzung Hassan wins.”

Army Minister Ibrahim spoke up.

"Tell me why."

Isaac looked at Ibrahim.

"Your Majesty, the Timurid Empire is a very unstable regime. The current leader, Busayn, is already a very capable monarch, but he still uses the feudal system. As long as he is defeated and loses prestige, Timur's descendants will immediately rise up in rebellion, and the Timurid Empire will surely fall apart again."

Ibrahim pondered.

"If the Timurid Kingdom falls apart, the White Sheep King Uzon Hassan will be able to solve the Persian problem in a short period of time, and his power will expand rapidly."

“By then, even if Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II still believes in Uzung Hassan’s credibility, he will certainly deploy a large number of military forces in the east.”

"By then, the Ottomans will not be able to place most of their main forces on the Aegean coast as they do now, and our opportunity will come."

"You are right. There will be no long-term peace between Mehmed II and Uzung Hassan. Even if there is peace, Mehmed II will not be able to remain on guard."

Isaac nodded.

"When the time comes, the Ottomans will be at a loss, and this will be our chance."

The White Sheep King Uzond Hasan was a very powerful monarch. In the original time and space, he defeated the equally capable Black Sheep King Jahan Shah and Timurid King Busayin successively, and each time he defeated them with one fatal blow, leaving them no chance to regroup.

In the original history, in just four years, the territory expanded by the Aries King Uzung Hasan far exceeded Isaac's twenty-four years of hard work, which can be called a legend.

Of course, the Aries Dynasty was ultimately a tribal alliance that rose quickly and fell quickly.

Iseult turned the book to the next page and looked at Isaac.

"If the White Aries King Uzon Hasan can really defeat Busayin, then his influence will extend from Asia Minor to central Persia. Although it will indeed tie down the Ottoman forces, it is also likely to cause considerable difficulties for our Anatolian recovery campaign."

"If we don't curb his power, he could easily march into Anatolia while we're fighting the Ottomans."

"He is a Sunni Muslim and faces far fewer obstacles in advancing into Anatolia than we do. We cannot change that."

Isurt said.

"Your Majesty, according to intelligence, the alliance between the White Sheep King Uzon Hassan and the Safavid Order is not favored by all Saracen sects. They have gained benefits, and naturally some people have lost benefits. Many tribes are resentful about this."

"We believe that we can provide some support to these frustrated people and help them, so as to prevent the Aq Qoyunlu or Safavid sect from losing control and growing wildly."

"Okay, you guys will be responsible for this. Come to me if you need money."

Isaac said, opening a letter.

"I rushed back today and have two main things to announce to you all."

"First, Justinian and Gonzalo have defeated Hajigrat's son Haidar and occupied the Don Delta. They plan to build a fortress here and then develop it into a city."

"This city is called Constantine-on-Don and will be part of the Cossack territory." "Currently, Justinian is negotiating with the Circassian tribes at the northern foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, trying to make them submit to the empire."

Isaac looked at the ministers.

"Establishing Constantine on the Don and taming Circassia are only part of our Caucasus strategy. The Kingdom of Georgia has always been a vassal of the empire and a relatively powerful force in the southern foothills of the Caucasus. However, it completely collapsed two years ago and no longer has a central government."

"If we can use the appeal of the Eastern Church's only empire to reunite the broken Georgia and support the pro-Roman kingdom regime, it will be much easier for us to face the Aq Qoyunlu and the Safavid Order."

"Anatolia can only belong to us, and outsiders are forbidden to interfere."

Isurt was stunned and thought for a long time.

"Your Majesty, in this case, will the White Aries King Uzon Hassan join forces with the Ottomans to deal with us? Instead of tying down the Ottoman forces, will he attack Georgia?"

"No, the possibility is extremely low."

Isaac shook his head.

"The worst thing a nomadic regime like the Aq Qoyunlu can do is something that is thankless. Attacking Georgia, which is surrounded by mountains, is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and will not bring much benefit to the tribes. Uzung Hassan will not do something that will damage his prestige."

"As long as we launch a large-scale attack on the Ottoman Empire, the Aq Qoyunlu will definitely get involved, and their speed of conquering cities will definitely be much faster than ours."

"Georgia may be able to tie down some of Uzung Hasan's troops, and may be able to shelter some Saracens who are unwilling to obey Uzung Hasan, but that's all it can do. It won't cause much trouble to the Aries Dynasty in the short term."

Isaac spread his hands.

"Besides, Georgia is still a fragmented country. It will take us at least several years to integrate it."

"I have sent Prince Alexios of Sparta to the Georgian principalities to try to find him a princess from the Bagration family in marriage."

"The control over Georgia is mainly through diplomacy and religion, and not much direct military involvement."

Seeing that the ministers did not react, Isaac took out the next letter.

"There is one more thing. Just a week ago, Count Abel of the Western Border Region, with the assistance of Spartan heavy artillery and the Western Mediterranean Fleet, captured the city of Algiers and forced the surrounding Sunni princes to pledge allegiance to the empire."

Isaac flipped through the letter.

"Our rule in the Western Frontier Region is mainly concentrated in the coastal areas, and the rest are left alone. I plan to enthrone these Sunni princes as emirs and grant them complete religious and economic autonomy. I just hope they won't cause trouble for the time being."

"After the capture of Algiers, we are very close to the Strait of Gibraltar. It is time to rush out to the Atlantic Ocean."

"We don't need to occupy much land, just build a fortress port."

In fact, the Strait of Gibraltar is not narrow at all and is not comparable to the Bosphorus Strait. In the age of sail, no country had the ability to blockade the Strait of Gibraltar, and ships in the Mediterranean could sail freely.

However, before the opening of the Suez Canal, the Strait of Gibraltar was the only passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and its strategic location was always important for the current Eastern Roman colonial empire.

Taking advantage of the civil unrest in Iberia, using the claims brought by Isabella to seize Gibraltar and establish a permanent military fortress was a crucial part of Isaac's colonization plan.

The distance between the British Empire and the Strait of Gibraltar is much farther than that between the British Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. They were able to occupy the country for hundreds of years with the world's best navy, and the Eastern Roman Empire might be able to do the same.

As for the modern times, it will be lost if it is lost. By then, the Suez Canal will bring new prosperity to the eastern Mediterranean.

"Since everyone agrees, it's settled. Our war of revenge against the Ottomans is expected to begin in three to four years. During this period, I will do my best to resolve the empire's worries. You just need to help me develop production and maintain public order."

"Gibraltar is of vital importance. I will lead the army to Algiers in person. During this period, Queen Leonor will serve as regent. Do you understand?"

"understand!"

……

On the vast plain, an envoy was traveling eastward, carrying letters from the Eastern Roman Empire and numerous precious commodities, including Bulgarian perfumes, spices from East India, amber from Burgas, fennel wine from Athens, precious silk from Constantinople... There were many kinds, and it was obvious that they were full of sincerity.

This is Georgia, a country surrounded by mountains.

In the delegation, Alexius looked at the endless Caucasus Mountains in the distance and was amazed for a moment.

"Carlo, the scenery in Georgia is really beautiful. God must have put a lot of effort into creating this place."

"Haha, places with beautiful scenery are often not suitable for human survival. Look at those mountains, they are deserted and uninhabited. God must love Constantinople the most."

Carlo Toco looked at the snow in the mountains and smiled casually.

"The Georgians don't farm there, and their land isn't entirely mountainous. Look at us, it's mostly plains and lowlands."

Alexius turned his gaze closer and pointed to the nearby farmland.

"Forget it, maybe. Anyway, you will probably be Georgia's son-in-law in the future, and you will definitely speak well of this country."

Carlo said without comment, and then chuckled.

"By the way, I have found portraits of almost all Georgian princesses. You must take a good look at them later. Some of them are quite beautiful."

"I asked you to collect intelligence on Georgia, and this is all you found for me?"

Alexius glared at Carlo.

"Besides, I am only here as an envoy. I have never said that I really want to marry the Georgian princess."

"It's hard to say. Everyone knows what your father means. He probably wants you to marry the Georgian princess so as to strengthen the empire's control over the Georgian states."

Carlo looked at Alexios.

"Besides, if you stay in the empire, you will probably end up being an idle prince. Georgia has just experienced a great turmoil and there is a lot of work to be done. It is a good place to make achievements and start a career."

Alexius was silent for a while, then took out the map and began to read it.

Georgia is surrounded by the Greater Caucasus Mountains and the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. It has a large coastal plain to the west, scattered farming areas between the mountains, and several long rivers running through the mountains.

Tbilisi, the capital of the Kingdom of Georgia, is located on the banks of the Kura River. The surrounding terrain is relatively flat, with abundant water resources, making it suitable for farming.

The Kura River is the longest river in the southern foothills of the Caucasus. It originates from the Armenian Plateau and flows through the low-lying areas in central Georgia. It gathers many tributaries along the way, then flows into the Shirvan Plain and flows into the Caspian Sea from the Azerbaijan region.

Looking at the jagged spheres of influence marked with different colors on the map, Alexius sighed.

"How did a great country end up like this?"

"Learn from us. You can't learn from others, but you can learn this."

Carlo pouted.

Georgia is a large Caucasian country with a long history and a very rich cultural heritage. It is one of the earliest countries in the world to convert to Christianity, and since its conversion, it has always believed in Eastern Orthodoxy.

Because Georgia is located on the front line of the confrontation between the Eastern Roman Empire and Eastern pagan forces, it is natural for Georgia, which is also an Orthodox Christian, to move closer to the Eastern Roman Empire and be deeply influenced by it in terms of language, culture, politics and religion.

Historically, various dynasties of the Eastern Roman Empire came and went, but for a long time, the rulers of Georgia have always been the Bagration family.

The Bagration family had intermarried with the Eastern Roman Empire many times and had a lot of Eastern Roman blood. Almost every noble could speak some Greek, and Greek books were extremely precious treasures.

When the Seljuks rose and Eastern Roman power declined rapidly, Georgia ushered in one of its rare golden ages. The famous David IV saved Georgia from internal and external troubles and defeated the aggressive Seljuks many times. When the territory was at its peak, it occupied the Shirvan region and some cities on the Armenian Plateau.

Later, his granddaughter Tamara saved Georgia again and pushed it to another peak.

Under the rule of their ancestors and grandchildren, Georgia has become strong, culturally prosperous, and economically thriving, leaving room for self-preservation in the game between great powers.

However, for hundreds of years, nomadic forces from the East have been impacting the Near East, located at the crossroads of the East and the West, wave after wave, including the Seljuks, Mongols, and Timurids...

The nomadic tribes were endless, but David IV and Tamara were short-lived. Georgia lost its ability to survive independently and could only surrender to various major powers one after another, declining step by step.

However, at this time, Georgia still had a central government. Although local princes had considerable power, the king's authority had not completely disappeared.

It was not until the reign of King Alexander I that, in order to resolve domestic conflicts, he followed the ancient Eastern Roman tradition and divided the country among his three sons, creating the so-called "co-ruling kingship."

The sharing of power brought about the division of the country. By now, the Kingdom of Georgia has almost completely collapsed, with princes of all sizes ruling their own territories.

"They had no other choice. The nobles demanded power, and the king had no choice but to resort to this last resort."

Alexios commented.

"No matter what, this is also our opportunity. In recent years, the Safavids and King Shirvan's invasion and looting of Western Georgia have become increasingly serious. Every year, many Orthodox Christians are kidnapped by the Saracens."

There was a flash of anger in Alexius' eyes.

"Those Georgian nobles only wanted to protect themselves and completely forgot their responsibilities and obligations as nobles."

"Only when you lead the people to fight against foreign enemies together will they support you from the bottom of their hearts."

"Don't mess around, life is the most important thing."

Carlo warned quickly.

"Only by surviving can you fulfill your ideal and drive the Saracens out of the land God promised to Christians."

"Don't worry, I will."

Alexius took a deep breath.

"Since my father wants me to marry the Georgian princess, I have no objection. The descendant of Holy Queen Tamara is worthy of me, Alexius!"

"There are many princes in Georgia, and even more princesses. Which one are you going to marry?"

Carlo asked.

"We have to make it clear that I don't have much time to spend with you. The Saltpeter Company is on the rise and I can't leave for too long."

"We just came from the Abkhazian prince's place. It seems that you are not very fond of his daughters and sisters."

"Yes, the Abkhazian prince has no ambitions, is deaf to the suffering of his compatriots, and is only interested in making money. I despise him."

Alexius' eyes flickered.

"Although Prince Abkhazia has the most frequent contacts with the Empire and really wants to marry his daughter to me, from my observation, his so-called princesses are just vulgar ladies who are chasing fame and fortune. I will not marry such a wife."

"Forget it, it's up to you. You are handsome and come from a wealthy family. There will definitely be many princesses who like you."

"Those princes wouldn't dare to do anything to us anyway, the worst that can happen is you just take a look around."

Carlo shrugged.

Alexios ignored him and looked at the mountains in the distance.

"Let's go east, to the mountains."

“We’re going to Tbilisi.”

(End of this chapter)