July, Danube South Bank, Ruschuk (later Ruse).
This city is the headquarters of Balkans Frontier Army. The main forces of Constantine and First Legion are stationed here all year round to be wary of the Jagiellon Dynasty in the north.
The war is approaching and the situation is gradually becoming clearer. Most of the forces such as France, Holy See, Austria, and Milan are unwilling to participate in the war and openly declare neutrality.
The positions of Florence and Montferrat are in favor of the Eastern Roman Empire, but they each have their own concerns and are unwilling to end easily.
Now, only Jagiellon Dynasty's attitude is unclear.
At the beginning of the year, Venice and the Hungary noble council reached a reconciliation. Venice was willing to return most of the Dalmatia coast. It is said that the envoy also provided many generous conditions. The most important one was to support Hungary in occupying Constantinople...
"It seems the enemy has panicked."
He came to North Wall in Ruschuk, and there was a wide gray river in front of him. The river water carried a large amount of sediment and flowed slowly, and was generally light gray in color, glowing with a dazzling luster in the afternoon sun.
Occasionally, the clouds cover the sun, and the color of Danube suddenly becomes darker, and you can vaguely feel the undercurrent surging under the river surface.
Far away on the north bank, the forest along the river shrank into a thin dark green line, floating in the steaming water vapor, like a mirage mentioned in books.
Constantine took out his telescope and looked at the other shore, but found nothing unusual. At this time, a two-masted cargo ship came upstream, with a deep draft, and cargo boxes and barrels piled on both sides of the ship. The sails had been lowered by half, and the crew were busy on the deck, preparing to dock at the dock of Ruschuk.
"Vidin Grain brought from the city?" He felt sleepy due to the warm sunshine, leaning casually on the battlements, overlooking the cargo ships moored near the dock. Suddenly, there was the sound of armor coming from the stairs, and it was his subordinate and friend, Giovanni Giustiniani.
Giovanni Giustiniani is a Genoa native, born Chios Island in Aegean Sea Islands, and his family owns a Olive Grove.
After Chios was recaptured by the Eastern Roman Empire, Giovanni became an imperial citizen and served in the First Legion for a long time.
At this stage, there are more than 40,000 Genoa people in the Eastern Roman Empire. Lesbos Island and Chios Island, who are distributed in Northern Black Sea Coast, Constantinople, and Aegean Sea, are not as loyal to Palaiologos as the Greece group and Rus group, and they are at a medium level.
Giovanni endured the dazzling sunlight and reminded, "This is a letter from the Queen Mother to you. In addition, Cabinet, Army Department, and Privy Council jointly sent an official document. I have sent someone to summon the top leaders of the legion, and the meeting will begin soon."
According to convention, official documents sent by Central Administration cannot be opened alone, other senior officials must be present. Constantine nodded slightly, and then opened the personal letter sent to him by the Queen Mother.
Constantine guessed right, the Queen Mother is urging him to marry another wife. If he is not free, the Queen Mother can help find a candidate.
"It's the same thing again."
Constantine's first two wives both died of illness, and now they are getting married again. He really doesn't know how to respond.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Constantine returned to his residence and command post in the east of the city. Witnessed by the senior leadership of the army and City Official, he checked whether the seal of the official document was intact, then opened the seal and asked the financial officer to translate Ciphertext into readable content.
Constantine read aloud, "Central Administration requires us to report all information, including staffing, equipment lists, and the status of various fortresses. From now on, Frontier Army will enter Level 2 preparations to deal with possible raids from the north."
The higher-ups of the legion were somewhat disapproving of this. Kingdom of Hungary The power structure is decentralized, and Black Army has been suppressed to less than ten thousand people for a long time, and the number is limited.
If they want to launch a large-scale attack, they must recruit noble troops. This process involves too many people and the news cannot be concealed. Rome has enough time to respond.
"Quiet!" Constantine couldn't stand this kind of lax scene, and scolded everyone to cheer up.
"I immediately sent someone to notify the following, urging all troops to report the news as soon as possible. Don't be idle during this time, inspect the important strongholds in Moesia, check the defense facilities and material reserves of the strongholds, and write a detailed report.
In the follow-up, I will personally inspect the following strongholds. If certain problems are found and there are no records of this in your report, the relevant personnel will not be able to escape responsibility."
After the meeting ended, the top brass of the legion left one after another. Constantine picked up a glass of light beer to moisten his throat.
In fact, he didn't think that his northern neighbor could launch a surprise attack. He just deliberately pretended to be tough to prevent his subordinates from becoming lax.
Jagiellon Dynasty is a loose confederation of Feudal System co-owners. Venice returned the Dalmatia coast, and some of the Hungary nobles benefited.
The nobles Poland and Lithuania have not received any benefits, so why should they participate in this war and help Venice and Hungary fight?
"Next, there is a high probability that we will go to war alone with Venice."
After a short rest, Constantine left the command post and headed to a closed area in the southeast of the city. Poachers, smugglers, and thieves sent from Moesia from various places were housed here. According to Roman Law law, they would be exiled to Cappadocia and become military households or ordinary farmers.
Constantine frowned and inspected these courtyards with poor sanitary conditions, then ordered the exiles to gather in the open space and count them one by one according to the roster. Soon, he confirmed that all the people on the roster were present, a total of 905 people.
"Cappadocia has urged me many times, don't waste time, tell the fleet to send people over quickly."
From Moesia to Cappadocia, most of the journey is by boat.
First, the exiles took a river boat at the dock, went down the river to the Danube port, and then transferred to a sea ship to the coast of Trebizond, and finally entered the inland area.
Constantine left the relevant trivial matters to his subordinates, quickly walked out of this smelly area, and went to the eastern suburbs alone to relax.
There are endless fields of farmland in the suburbs, and numerous waterwheels of different sizes have been built along the river. They rotate slowly, introducing the slightly turbid river water into the irrigation canals to nourish the growing crops.
Constantine has been stationed at Moesia for a long time and is used to the scenery in front of him. He is paying attention to a dozen figures in the southeast.
This group of people are agricultural and animal husbandry officials sent by Central Administration. They are busy traveling around Moesia. They have not left yet, and people will be sent to stay here for a long time in the future.
It is said that they are collecting information on agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry and other aspects of Province, and are also promoting new crops and farming techniques. For example, Rice, which is very popular with the upper class, and eggplants and taro brought by Eastern merchants.
Constantine does not exclude such oriental crops. Some wetlands are not suitable for growing wheat and are more suitable for rice fields. The domestic population is gradually growing and the area of cultivated land can be expanded, which is always a good thing.