On September 25, the main force of the Eastern Roman Empire came to the outskirts of Tabriz.
Vitus sent people as usual to persuade them to surrender. After being refused, he sent troops to dig trenches and prepare for a long siege.
Tabriz is an important town in the northwest of Persia, guarding the key channel from Persia to West Asia and Caucasus. In Vitus's vision, the future Eastern Frontier Army headquarters will be located here.
Three days later, Georgia Army left the mountainous area and rushed to the camp on the outskirts of the city to meet up.
Vitus did not blame the king for his conservative tactics. After a brief conversation, he transferred this friendly army to the east to attack the weakly defended towns. The remaining auxiliary troops were transferred to the south, also to occupy the towns and expel White Sheep's remaining reconnaissance troops.
As time passed, reports came from auxiliary troops from various towns: Uzong Hassan withdrew to Basra in the south ahead of schedule, and there were no large-scale enemy forces around Tabriz.
"Basra?"
Vitus looked at the map and saw that this city was adjacent to Persian Gulf, and lost the motivation to continue the attack.
If Uzong Hasan retreats to Baghdad in the middle reaches of the Tigris River, Vitus may consider pursuing it and visiting the historical city Ctesiphon.
I just didn't expect that the opponent would retreat so quickly and run thousands of kilometers in one breath. How should I pursue him?
Winter is approaching, and Vitus doesn't want to waste time on Central Asia. Occupying Tabriz is the limit of the Eastern Roman Empire's ability. Even if it conquers more territory, it will be difficult to rule for a long time, so it is better to stop as soon as possible.
Now, White Sheep occupies the southwest of Persia, and Timur Empire occupies the east of Persia.
The advantage of White Sheep is that it is a powerful monarch, but its disadvantage is that its foundation is unstable. It faces pressure from Rome and Timur Empire at the same time.
Timur Empire As long as we act steadily, we can maintain our current territory.
In the future, with the two sides restraining each other, Eastern Roman Empire can concentrate on building Trace Italienne and rebuilding the eastern border defense during Macedonian Dynasty's heyday (867~1056 AD).
Macedonian Dynasty For most of the time, the empire's eastern frontier enjoyed a period of significant stability, and it was sometimes possible to regain lost ground eastwards.
Among them, the military district system played a significant role, providing a large number of peasants and soldiers for the front line.
In the late Macedonian Dynasty period, the inherent shortcomings of the military district system were undoubtedly exposed. Senior officers used their power to annex land and then launched rebellions, such as the George Maniac rebellion in 1042, the Leo Tornikios rebellion in 1047...
In 1071, after the disastrous defeat of Manzikert, the empire's eastern defense line collapsed.
At this time, Anatolia still had some remaining troops, but the surviving generals did not unite to fight against the enemy. Instead, they fell into a full-scale civil war to compete for the throne and allowed the Seljuk Turks people to penetrate into the interior, causing the situation to further collapse.
"In the final analysis, the power of the military region system is too concentrated. The generals control the command, administrative power and justice, just like the Jiedushi in the late Tang Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty's garrison system was good. It lasted for nearly three hundred years, and there was no rebellion by the garrison officers."
Vitus feels that the current Garrison District system is perfect, hereditary officers are strictly constrained, and each Garrison District has checks and balances from civilian officials and clergy.
The most important thing is that he assigned the real seven top executives to the Aegean Sea island.
If Marcus and others are sealed in Anatolia, these families can purchase land and gradually accumulate 100,000 or even hundreds of thousands of acres of land after several generations of accumulation.
Now, the hereditary nobles are based on the Aegean Sea island. They own many industries on the mainland, but they are far away and can only appoint some stewards to run them on their behalf.
Over time, the hereditary nobles' control over out-of-town properties and tenants has been severely weakened, and stewards have become the actual controllers of those properties. If the nobles try to remove a steward, the next steward will most likely continue the tradition of the predecessor...
"The Garrison District system can last at least a few generations. In another 1 to 2 centuries, the steam engine will appear, and with the railway and Telegraph, Central Administration's control over local areas will be greatly improved, and field troops can quickly reinforce the border. At this point, Garrison District's mission should be over."
In late October, Mortar from the Eastern Roman Empire army began bombing Tabriz without any pause from morning to night.
After a week of bombardment, the garrison officers gathered together to discuss the situation.
Sultan took the core troops and fled to the south. Tabriz will fall sooner or later. It makes no difference whether the defenders hold on for twenty days or two months. Instead of delaying it until the end, it is better to surrender as soon as possible and find a way for the brothers to survive.
In the afternoon of that day, the defenders sent a messenger and proposed many conditions to Vitus.
Vitus told the messenger, "I allow everyone in the city to evacuate with their property. This is the final condition. Whether you accept it or not depends entirely on your wishes."
After receiving the reply, the defenders fell into a dispute and discussed it for a long time without any results.
October On the 30th, the defenders at the West Gate surrendered spontaneously, and the Rome army broke into the city. Seeing that the situation was over, the remaining defenders gave up resistance one after another.
Since the defenders took the initiative to open the city gate, the main structure of the Tabriz city wall was generally intact. Vitus left behind the Tuna Legion, Konya Legion, and some auxiliary troops, letting Marcus serve as Border Defense General, with the headquarters located at Tabriz.
Marcus asked, "Your Majesty, when you attack the Mamluks next year, will you only use the two field legions of Attica and Sakarya?"
Vitus nodded. "Mamluk has a stronger population and financial resources than White Sheep, but its combat effectiveness is weaker. As long as there are no problems with the eastern border defense, next year's war will be particularly easy."
Before leaving, Vitus summoned many Armenia squires. Feeling the excitement and restlessness of everyone, he said in a calm tone, "As promised, I will give you two Borderland Regions."
Vitus asked Eunuch to read out the edict drafted in advance.
The content of the edict is very long. It first introduces the division of administrative regions on the plateau.
Two new Provinces have been added to the west of the plateau.
The north is Theodosiopolis, and the capital is Theodosiopolis (Erzurum).
The south is Melitene, and the capital is Amida (Diyarbakir).
The eastern part of the plateau is divided into two Borderland Region.
Armenia Borderland Region, the capital is Yerevan.
Sophene Borderland Region, the capital is Tabriz.
Subsequently, Eunuch recited each lord's family name and territory scope, and needed to provide a certain number of soldiers and symbolic taxes every year. The specific amount was based on the status of the territory.
After the recitation, someone asked, "Your Majesty, what should we do with the territory we have left in the west Province?"
This question attracted the attention of some squires, including George·Kamsarakan. He held his breath and waited quietly for the emperor's reply.
"I know what you want to ask.
First of all, there is no serfdom in Rome Province, and tenant farmers can migrate to cities or other villages.
Second, the real estate you leave inside Province must pay taxes, without any exceptions. If problems are found by the civil service system, you will bear the consequences on your own.
Third, you are the Borderland Region lords and have no right to maintain private soldiers in Rome Province. Move them to the eastern Borderland Region as soon as possible."
Hearing the emperor's words, some lords with rebel origins didn't care. In the past, they were Miner, tenant farmers or small traders, without real estate, and these rules had nothing to do with them.
There are also some lords who were born in the east, and their original territory is located in Borderland Region. The above rules have no impact on them.
George and others looked at each other and found that their group was only in the minority. They did not have the courage to stand up and refute, so they could only accept these rules.
Soon, the lords swore one after another, "My family will always be loyal to Palaiologos and will never be afraid of bloodshed..."
Vitus replied with a smile, "The war in the east has subsided, so there is no need for you to bleed for the time being, but sweating is inevitable."
In his vision, the Eastern Borderland Region will build at least twenty Trace Italienne in the next four years.
There will be a second and third phase of the project later, and we will strive to have a fortress in every territory.
The best way to attack Trace Italienne is the trench siege method, which requires two conditions:
1. The commander has excellent tactical literacy. He plans the layout of the trenches based on the firing range of the defenders' artillery to reduce losses during the trenching phase.
2. The attackers have sufficient firearms. In the trench-digging stage, siege artillery suppresses the defenders' artillery on the city wall from a long distance. After the last trench is completed, Mortar shoots at the defenders on the city wall. The entire Siege Warfare requires a large amount of gunpowder consumption, and many muskets and artillery are scrapped, so the rear requires continuous replenishment of firearms.
Persia's firearms technology was backward and difficult to meet the second condition. Until the Nader Shah period (1688~1747), the Persia army was still suffering from insufficient artillery and poor attack capabilities.
One day, a powerful monarch will arise in Persia. When he leads tens of thousands of troops to march westward, these bastions can delay him for a long time, draining his manpower and elites.
The first is Trace Italienne of Borderland Region, followed by Garrison District Trace Italienne in the west of Armenian Highlands, and finally the existing Trace Italienne of Cappadocia.
In other words, this monarch needs to conquer numerous mountain fortresses, defeat the Eastern Roman Empire field army, and penetrate three lines of defense in a row before he can threaten the Anatolia hinterland.
In Vitus's impression, Safavid Dynasty and Afsharid Dynasty of Persia all had wars with Ottoman, and they were never able to occupy Armenian Highlands, let alone the inland Anatolia.
Suddenly, George·Kamsarakan asked, "Your Majesty, the amount of construction work on Trace Italienne is too large. Can it be extended for some time?"
Vitus responded with a smile, "Army Department and Privy Council are responsible for this plan. They will arrange a reasonable construction plan that will not exceed the capacity limits of each territory.
In short, you need to understand one thing: these fortresses are for you.
History has proven that as long as a powerful regime rises in Persia, it is destined to expand to Armenian Highlands. The two Borderland Region are the barriers to the plateau.
A word of warning in advance, if your Trace Italienne lasts less than fifty days and does not cause too much damage to the enemy, and the war ends, Rome will change another family to take over your territory.
My goal in setting up Borderland Region and canonizing lords is defense. If some people can't even do their jobs well, then there is no need to exist."
Vitus's speech ended, and the lords present accepted the canonization one by one. The ceremony lasted until two o'clock in the afternoon.
After the meeting, George walked out of the mansion among the crowd, holding the edict with a gold seal in his right hand, looking at the gloomy sky and taking deep breaths repeatedly to suppress his inner excitement.
From this moment on, Kamsarakan Family broke away from the squire class and returned to the ranks of the nobility. Although the edict was written for the lord Borderland Region, George felt that since it was hereditary, he was actually a noble, but his status was slightly lower.
His territory is located in Goris in the southeast of Lake Sevan. To the east is the steep Lesser Caucasus Mountains, which can block the invasion of Central Asia nomads, so the territory is relatively safe.
"I heard that Army Department and Privy Council personnel have arrived and are surveying and mapping various places to plan the location of Trace Italienne. Hmm, I wonder what structure they will design?"
George does not want Trace Italienne's structure to be too complex and its floor space to be too large, which will increase the amount of work and consume his wealth.
According to the emperor's introduction, Army Department and Privy Council are responsible for planning and acceptance, the lord will bear the construction costs, and the empire Finance will subsidize part of the expenses as appropriate.
George I heard that the empire had long-term loans to fight the war and owed a lot of debt, and the subsidy funds were estimated to be limited. During the construction period, he would most likely have to use his family savings, and he might even ask others to borrow money.
On the other hand, George does not want the scale of Trace Italienne to be too small, as this will reduce the defense power and is not conducive to the family's resistance to nomadic attacks.
"It would be better to design a Trace Italienne with moderate cost."
He thought for a long time and suddenly thought of a grim fact:
After building Trace Italienne, we still need to purchase muskets and artillery.
Firearms are consumables. During normal hunting and dealing with small-scale conflicts, losses are inevitable, which is another huge expense.
From the perspective of economic benefits, the taxes received by the lord are used for various expenditures, making it difficult to save savings.
In times of disaster, lords could only borrow money to survive, or pray for Central Administration to allocate relief.
What really makes money is the real estate awarded to Greece officers by the emperor. Although the area is smaller, they are distributed in safer Provinces. The owners only need to pay taxes and do not have to build Trace Italiennes or purchase firearms.
"The price for a family to become a hereditary lord is to bear a continuing expense. Although their status has been improved, their financial situation is not as good as that of the wealthy squires in the interior, so they can only live on a budget. Who gave the emperor this idea? It's so treacherous."
George mentally cursed a certain civil servant who came up with the idea, and the previous excitement was gradually replaced by worry.
Two days later, the financial officer of Auxiliary Brigade found George·Kamsarakan.
"Your territory has been surveyed and mapped. Next, you take over the territory with those Militia who voluntarily followed. This is Lord Army Department, and these three are Tuna Legion's staff. After arriving at the territory, they will introduce the exploration results to you."
So fast?
George went to Brigade Headquarters to complete the procedures and hand over the army's accounts and roster.
After finishing, George summoned his subordinates Militia, explained the situation to them, invited Militia to settle down at Borderland Region, and ensured that everyone would be allocated enough land.
After some encouragement from George, eighty Militia were willing to follow him, most of whom were tenant farmers from his hometown who followed him on the expedition half a year ago.
At the urging of the Army Department civil servants, George led Militia all the way north to his territory Goris.