December 20, Constantinople, Hippodrome.
It was a warm winter day, and the cold wind was blowing the flags. Romanus was sitting in the stands on the west side of the square, with a solemn face, watching the lance contest that was being held.
Woo~
The horn sounded, and the knights on both sides of the field suddenly clamped their horses' bellies, allowing the horses to accelerate to their highest speed in a short period of time, and then leveled their lances.
Click!
The two lances broke almost at the same time. A knight fell to the ground amidst the exclamations of the arena audience and rolled several times on the cold ground along with the inertia. Half a minute later, the knight struggled to get up from the ground and left the venue with the help of his attendants.
The next moment, the attendants in the stands loudly announced the name and origin of the winner. The winner took off his mask and bowed to the crown prince in the stands.
Romanus forced out a genial smile and watched the winner leave, complaining crazily in his heart:
"It's already the third day, why isn't this game over yet?"
This summer, the news of the emperor's defeat of Uzon Hassan spread to the West, and the outside world believed that his next target was Mamluk. Some nobles took the initiative to go to Constantinople, requesting to join this sacred and glorious war.
Starting from October, more and more Western knights gathered in Constantinople. Some knights asked the crown prince to hold a tournament in order to promote their reputation.
Romanus didn't want the outside world to slander the royal family as "stingy and stingy", so they had no choice but to pay for this competition.
Click!
There were two more crisp sounds, and a knight fell to the ground. He angrily opened his mask and demanded an infantry duel.
"As you wish!"
The opponent jumped off the horse, asked the attendant for a long sword, and then competed with the fallen knight in swordsmanship. Both sides were skilled in martial arts and used sword moves such as Fiore Half-Sword Technique and Master Strike from time to time.
Romanus's reaction is still dull, he just wants this game to end as soon as possible.
Romanus I heard my father mention the battle of Thrace many times. Those western knights charged without authorization, which caused the war situation in the south to become anxious. Forced to have no choice, my father led the guards to push the artillery to the front line and bombard the area where the Sultan flag was...
Nowadays, the Western Europe heavy cavalry is slow in movement and has long been eliminated by the Rome army, replaced by the lighter medium cavalry.
During field marches, medium-mounted cavalry moved faster and occupied fewer supplies and handymen.
For the traditional Western Europe cavalry, a combat team of one thousand people is usually equipped with two thousand auxiliary personnel and two hundred carriages.
Now, all countries are absorbing advanced tactical concepts, and the infantry's ability to counter cavalry has been strengthened.
Western Europe knights are expensive, consume a lot of supplies, and are less and less effective. Rome Spending a lot of money to recruit Western Europe knights is like purchasing a set of flashy tableware, with low practicality.
However, the size of the medium cavalry can be expanded.
Romanus had read the battle reports from the front line. His father threw in a Heavy Cavalry Brigade and a Light Cavalry Brigade at the critical moment, quickly disrupting White Sheep's infantry formation.
"A brigade only has two thousand combat cavalry, which is a bit small. We will form another Heavy Cavalry Brigade after Finance is sufficient..."
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the final winner was decided at the competitive meeting.
Romanus stood up with a smile, personally announced the name of the champion knight to everyone, and rewarded the opponent with three thousand Florin.
Then, Romanus announced the good news with Latin:
"Father sent a letter from Lycia. He is looking forward to the help of the knights of Western Europe. The navy will arrange ships to send you to Lycia in a while. The mission of recovering Jerusalem depends on you."
His words sparked cheers from the knights.
"U vult!"
"Uynn! ant!"
At the end of the ceremony, Romanus walked down the stand with relief and took a carriage back to the palace.
"Haha, I finally got rid of these troubles."
During this time, the people in the city were fed up with these foreign knights, who felt they were noisy and unhygienic. Almost every day, people complained to Romanus, urging the crown prince to learn Komnenian Dynasty's lessons and not get too close to Latins.
With the departure of the Western Knights, Romanus focused on handling government affairs. Near the end of the year, various affairs were complicated. He and Cabinet were busy for more than half a month, and held the annual meeting on January 10, 1451.
The first topic is Finance.
The total income in 1450 was 2.7 million Florin (including Venice compensation), and the total expenditure was 2.9 million, resulting in a Finance deficit of 200,000.
"Treasury's savings are full, and the church has provided an additional donation. This war can continue."
Romanus took out the report from the Army Department, which recorded the materials and soldiers that needed to be transported to the front line.
Last year, the army went deep into Armenian Highlands, and the pressure on logistics and transportation was great.
Next, attack Mamluk. The army will fight along the coastline, which will help the fleet transport supplies. The proportion of material loss will be reduced, and the overall combat expenditure will also be reduced.
Prime Minister reminded the crown prince, "There is a new large expenditure this year - the construction of the eastern defense line. I am worried that the Finance deficit will further expand."
"If there is really no other way, let Finance Minister borrow money or impose war taxes." Romanus's first priority is to supply supplies. As long as the front line is won, everything will be easy.
The second topic is the matter of Armenian Highlands.
Administrative Department door submitted a report, the total population of two Borderland Region and two Province is about 3.3 million.
The rules of Borderland Region are loose, and the number of civil servants sent by Central Administration is very small. Most affairs are handled by local lords and local churches themselves.
The advantage of this approach is low administrative costs, but the disadvantage is that the taxes received are very low and the control over the region is insufficient.
Province The implementation of Roman Law requires the dispatch of a large number of civil servants and clergy.
Last year, the emperor promised not to enforce church integration. However, with the immigration of western immigrants and the establishment of Garrison District, Province needed to recruit a new group of clergy to meet the religious needs of the new immigrants.
This approach follows the tradition of the Macedonian Dynasty period, in which the Eastern Orthodox Church and Armenia apostolic churches did not interfere with each other and each went his own way.
"Building two Province administrative and church systems is another huge expense."
Romanus plans to write a letter to Lycia, suggesting that the emperor should not establish Province in Levant, Egypt and other places. It is more appropriate to establish Borderland Region and vassal regimes.
Cabinet also has the same view.
As the empire's territory approaches Macedonian Dynasty's heyday, Central Administration faces increasing administrative pressure.
After recovering Armenian Highlands, the total population of the empire exceeded 11 million.
Among them, the total population of Greece descendants and those who accepted Greece culture (Rus immigrants and some other immigrants) is about 4.5 million, the population of Bulgaria, Armenia, Don River Tatars who share the same religion is about 2.5 million, and the remainder are pagan residents and nomads.
Although the emperor initiated Civil Service Examination System, innovated internal affairs, and greatly improved administrative efficiency, there was a limit to it after all.
If Levant and Egypt are brought under direct jurisdiction, administrative Central Administration will inevitably be paralyzed.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the meeting was about to end. Prime Minister submitted a document, which involved Demetrius.
The document came from Macedonia Province. The local civil servants did not dare to deal with it and could only report it to the higher level. Cabinet received the news this morning. It was not convenient for Chancellor to handle it, so they handed over the trouble to the crown prince.
Romanus and Demetrius have only known each other for a short time. They only know that the other is the most incompetent elder and will cause trouble every once in a while.
After reading this document, Romanus said slowly, "Let people keep an eye on him and send this document to Lycia."
After the meeting, Romanus's work was not over yet. Eunuch sent many letters from well-known scholars from all over the world.
Recently, there are rumors everywhere that the emperor intends to compile a large-scale history book, and scholars have recommended themselves to win this job that will be famous for future generations.
"I'm not good at history, so how do I know which people to choose? Also, how do I write about the usurpation of the throne by Michael VIII and the civil war between the two Andronikoss? How do I write about the civil wars between John V, the Empress Dowager Savoy's Anna and Kantakouzenos... This, the previous emperors really hurt me."
Romanus struggled for a long time and decided that the task at this stage is to collect information, not to set up a specific editing plan, and to wait for the emperor to come back to deal with this big trouble personally.
February 1st, Lycia coastal city, Mersin.
Vitus was working on documents in the study when he suddenly received a request for an audience from the messenger Georgia. He was surprised in his heart:
"When the boundary was demarcated last year, both sides made it very clear. What are they going to do?"
The agreement reached by the two monarchs was that Georgia's territory extended eastward to the Caspian Sea, occupying most of Shirvanshah (later Azerbaijan).
This area accounts for nearly 40% of the plains, with the Kura River infusing Caspian Sea from west to east, and the agricultural conditions are good, which exceeds Georgia's contribution in this war.
Vitus believes that he treats his allies with utmost benevolence and does not want to grant the other party more territory.
"Let the messenger come in."
Not long after, a hurried Georgia noble entered the study and reported the situation of the kingdom to the emperor:
Vakhtang's army encountered an ambush and narrowly won a bloody battle. The troops returned to Tbilisi to rest and recuperate. The king requested to purchase more weapons and, if possible, hoped that the Rome army would provide assistance.
Withdraw Tbilisi?
This is a situation that Vitus did not expect. The equipment level of the friendly forces is an era higher than that of the opponent, but they can still fight such a bad battle?
The messenger hurriedly explained, "Shirvanshah came to White Sheep and surrounding forces for assistance. Some White Sheep officers assisted them in fighting and caused heavy damage to the Georgia Army..."
"I am going to attack Mamluk, where will the army come from to reinforce him?" The emperor asked the envoy to stay temporarily at Mersin and give him a reply after a while.
In the afternoon, a fleet sailed to the dock of Mersin. As the ships docked, more than two hundred knights walked off the pier.
In order to leave a good impression on the emperor, they specially wore a full set of plate armor, with brightly colored robes and cloaks, and helmets with colorful bird feathers, like a group of restless male peacocks.
"Another batch of burdens has arrived."
Vitus squeezed out a smile, greeted these guests enthusiastically, and described his welcome and expectations for them in Latin.
"A clean residence has been prepared in the city, and there will be a banquet in the evening. From now on, my brother Thomas will serve as your commander. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact him."
Some time ago, Constantinople sent 320 Western knights and thousands of attendants. The knights were organized into heavy cavalry battalions and assigned to the command sequence of Thomas.
The knights sent this time can form a new heavy cavalry battalion and put Thomas in command.
"I knew you would do this." While the knights were not paying attention, Thomas whispered in Greek, and his breath condensed into white mist in the cold wind.
As a young man, he would have gladly accepted this assignment.
As he grew older, Thomas gained rich combat experience and began to get tired of this flashy unit.
If given a choice, he would rather replace two heavy cavalry battalions with two Field Gun barracks.
After Thomas left with the knights, Vitus stayed at the port.
The cold wind howled, the gray-blue water continued to lap against the seawall, and the air was filled with a strong smell of fish. Not far away, a treadwheel crane operated slowly to lift the cannon from the cabin to the dock.
In addition to the common standard Field Gun, Arsenal shipped a new batch of Cast-Iron Cannon, and Urban personally came to report the good news, hoping to improve his impression in the emperor's mind.
He excitedly slapped the barrel of a Cast-Iron Cannon gun and boasted of his achievements with a blunt Greek.
"Your Majesty, I have discovered the secret to casting Gray Cast Iron. After dozens of tests, I found the Iron Mine stones that are most suitable for casting iron cannons. They come from two large mining areas in the middle of the Pontic Mountains.
During the production period, I sent the cast cannon into the greenhouse and let it cool down at a very slow speed, and finally got the Gray Cast Iron cannon with better toughness. Its total cost was only 20% of the Bronze Cannon.
During the test firing process, the barrel life of Cast-Iron Cannon exceeded 350 rounds, meeting the acceptance requirements of the Army Department."
When the craftsman was bragging, Vitus patiently observed the three-pound Cast-Iron Cannon and the six-pound Cast-Iron Cannon. The biggest feature was that the pipe wall was thicker.
The toughness of Cast Iron is not as good as bronze, so the walls of the artillery tubes are extra thick to extend their barrel life as much as possible.
Vitus commented. "The maneuverability is too poor and not suitable for Field Gun."
However, Urban has launched a more creative type of artillery: Six-Pounder Cannon with copper-iron composite structure.
To put it simply, on the basis of casting an iron cannon, an additional layer of bronze shell is cast for it. The cost of a composite cannon is only 40% of the same specification Bronze Cannon. It is lighter in weight and has a barrel life similar to that of an ordinary copper cannon.
Vitus asked, "What's the price?"
Urban's tone became hesitant, "The casting process is a little more troublesome. It involves two castings and requires the most skilled craftsmen. The output may be a bit low."
Vitus thought for a moment and decided to sell these new weapons to Georgia and send some officers to observe their battles and collect relevant data.
If the durability of the iron cannon is insufficient, he considers continuing to thicken the tube wall, giving up mobility, and pursuing better durability. In the future, these iron cannons will be placed in the eastern fortress.