Leaving the pier, Michael wandered around the market, looking at the products from Persia, India, and East Africa.
The purchasing power of the local people is limited, so the quality of the goods is very poor and the quantity is small. The merchants guard the shops listlessly and are lazy to pay attention to Michael.
After walking around, he came to the open-air market. People were buying food and daily necessities at the stalls. One stall displayed a large amount of smoked dried meat at very cheap prices.
Michael asked the translator to ask, and the answer was whale meat. Last week, a whale stranded on the beach on the west side of the island. The local fishing village turned the excess whale meat into smoked meat and sold it to various settlements on the island.
Not only that, there were several out-of-town businessmen gathered near the stall. They had a fierce argument with the stall owner and wanted to buy the four barrels of whale blubber underneath the stall.
"Samuel suggested that I make money by fishing. Does he want me to operate a whaling ship?"
Michael spent his youth at the seaside and had some fishing experience. After returning to the castle, he made this suggestion to his father and the treasurer, asking to borrow the captured dhow.
Demetrius agreed to this matter and asked Michael to choose sailors from among those Militia.
"Whatever you do, don't blame me if you fall into the sea."
From Demetrius's point of view, Socotra Island's early management is destined to be difficult. The place is so desolate that surrounding forces have no interest in occupying it.
Since the island itself cannot make money, we can only pin our hopes on the country.
Demetrius walked into the study, spread out a piece of letter paper on the table, and said silently:
"Vitus is mean and stingy. He inherited the family's legacy but is unwilling to share it with his brothers. Romanus continues his character and it is meaningless to plead with them.
Theodore has been looking forward to working with Morea for a long time. He has stayed with Cyprus these years, and his relationship with me is average, so the probability of helping is very low.
Thomas is a complete villain and a shameless scum. May his soul fall into hell as soon as possible.
I have no choice but to ask Andronikos and Constantine for help. The former is Antioch Patriarch, and the latter is Border Defense General. Some funds should be allocated to assist my poor brother."
Demetrius took pen and paper in hand and wrote a sincere letter to the two of them, saying that Socotra Island had nothing, and asking them to remember their friendship in the past and help their brothers.
After sealing the letter with wax, Demetrius suddenly felt a sore nose and raised the back of his hand to wipe the corners of his eyes.
In fact, the person most likely to help is the eldest brother, but he has passed away. If the eldest brother had helped to speak, he would not have been exiled from the beginning.
"Michael! Send these two letters to the dock. With luck, a new amount of funds will be remitted next year."
Late August, Eastern Thrace.
The autumn day is high and the air is hot. Constantine and dozens of followers are on their way back to the Blachernae Palace to report on their work.
The main road is wide and straight, extending to the southeast to the end of the field of view. The weather has been dry this year, and the wheat on both sides of the road has grown poorly, and the amount of water in the field irrigation canals has almost bottomed out.
In a wheat field not far away, two farmers were yelling across a ditch, as if they were competing for water. A dozen bored neighbors were standing nearby to watch the fun.
Constantine reined in the reins and asked these people about the prices of wheat and Barley.
Compared with Moesia, the grains of Eastern Thrace are 20% more expensive.
The first reason is this year's drought. Eastern Thrace's summer grain production has been reduced, and the autumn grain harvest is estimated to be 20% less.
The second reason is the agricultural transformation of Eastern Thrace. Some people gave up growing food and switched to crops with higher economic value to sell to the citizens with strong purchasing power.
Constantine feels that the impact of this production cut is limited.
The empire's grain-producing areas are divided into multiple plains, Northern Black Sea Coast, Moesia, Thrace, Anatolia west, and Egypt. If one place reduces production, grain from other areas can fill the gap.
Half an hour later, a branch road appeared ahead, which extended to the northeast. The roadside sign showed the final destination: the military cemetery.
"Golden Horn News" mentioned this place, which was an area specially selected by Central Administration. It used a lot of space to introduce it at that time.
Constantine Traveled along the branch road, bypassing an oak forest, and the scenery suddenly opened up. Not far away was a group of soldier sculptures, standing on the left and right sides of the main road, with a height equivalent to two adults.
The sculptures are in the shape of ordinary soldiers, and they are sorted according to the number of soldiers. Spearmen and Matchlock soldiers have the largest number of soldiers, so their sculptures are ranked first.
Followed by sailors, cavalry, Artillery, engineers, logistics personnel...
The style of these statues is similar to that of the classical period, with clear outlines, but without any paint decoration and deliberately kept in a plain gray color.
The decoration inside the cemetery is equally simple, with a very small number of graves containing people, and a uniform and simple stone tablet erected in front.
Constantine recalled the description in the newspaper that this place was used as a cemetery for fallen soldiers or retired personnel, and there was no charge for it.
"Central Administration's idea is very good. However, after a war, it is impossible to transport all the remains back for burial. We can only choose a cemetery near the battlefield. After the death of other Province retired personnel, it is impossible to specially transport the remains here. In the future, the scale of this place will not be very large."
He walked around the cemetery, made a donation at the ancillary church, and then returned to the main road.
As time goes by, both sides of the road gradually become lively, with some farmhouses, workshops, and spontaneous markets scattered around.
"Come and see, the new drink the emperor brought back from Africa is delicious and makes you hungry. Have a drink when you feel sleepy and it will keep you energetic."
The vendor's cries attracted Constantine's attention. He came to the open space on the right side of the road and saw many dark brown coffee beans on the stall. On the right was a briquette stove.
The sign on the left lists the prices of coffee beans and freshly brewed coffee. If you need to add milk or sugar, the price will be more expensive.
"Give me a cup, with milk and sugar." Constantine has recently become accustomed to drinking coffee. This drink has a better refreshing effect than tea.
Another advantage of coffee is the price.
Its origin is in the south of East Africa and Arabian Peninsula, while the origin of tea is far away in the Great Ming Empire. Obviously, the former has lower transportation costs and is more suitable as a daily drink among the people.
Soon, the vendor brought a cup of hot coffee, Constantine blew the hot air on the surface, and observed the barbecue stalls, bread stalls, and fried Fish Stall not far away, and felt that this messy scene was quite good.
In the evening, Constantine returned to the Blachernae Palace. After enjoying a sumptuous dinner, he was left by Vitus in the restaurant to discuss the situation in neighboring countries.
"I'm on the road today and will attend Army Department's debriefing meeting tomorrow. Can't you let me take a break?"
Constantine complained a little and asked the servant to fetch the documents he had brought and spread them on the dining table that had just been cleaned.
"First is Kingdom of Hungary. Their situation is stable. In the north, Jagiellon Dynasty has occupied the entire territory of Teutonic Knights. Central Administration should have received this news.
The destruction of the Knights means that Jagiellon Dynasty has solved the crisis in the north and can concentrate on dealing with internal affairs as well as external expansion.
I guess that their primary expansion direction is Bohemia. However, they may also intervene in the Balkans situation."
Constantine took out the second document, which recorded the relevant report of Serbia.
Despot Djuradj of Serbia is seventy-five years old this year. He did not violate the tradition of primogeniture and raised his eldest son Grgur as the next Despot.
As long as the local nobles do not rebel and external powers do not interfere, Grgur should be able to successfully succeed to the throne.
The problem is that foreign powers will definitely interfere.
Hungary regards Serbia as a vassal and power buffer, and so does Eastern Roman Empire.
Over the years, Djuradj has resolutely refused to take sides, always maintaining a balance between the north and the south, suppressing local nobles at the same time, and doing everything possible to maintain domestic stability.
Grgur has a different personality. He focused most of his energy on the military and formed a 4,000-man New Army, half of which were close combat infantry and half of which were Musketeers.
Recently, I heard that Grgur is considering taking back some of the privileges of the nobility. The biggest support is this New Army.
Constantine: "This month, Uroš wrote to me like crazy. You should have received it too. Alas, our cousin is really making a fuss. He became so anxious when he heard the slightest news."
(Uroš·Dragases, the family territory is in the south of Serbia, adjacent to the border of Macedonia.)
Taking back the privileges of the nobility is beneficial to the country. Most monarchs have this idea, but it is difficult to implement it.
Constantine doesn't think Grgur's plan will succeed.
At this time, Eunuch took a more detailed map from the emperor's study, which introduced the distribution of Serbia's territory. Some territories also marked the approximate number of troops and population size.
Dragases was not the only one who secretly contacted Eastern Roman Empire. Vitus also received letters from other nobles. Although they did not give a clear commitment, they inadvertently revealed some valuable information.
Among the senior executives, Djuradj's wife Irene·Kantakouzenos had the worst impression of the Eastern Roman Empire.
During a banquet, she confessed her true feelings while drunk, saying she would rather take refuge in the Jagiellon Dynasty than the treacherous Palaiologos.
Kantakouzenos was originally the famous family of the Eastern Roman Empire. In 1341, John·Kantakouzenos launched a rebellion, which was known in history as the "Civil War between John".
More than ten years later, Palaiologos family won with difficulty. Due to various considerations, Palaiologos did not carry out a comprehensive liquidation, but slowly squeezed the family out of the core decision-making level.
In 1414, Irene, the great-granddaughter of John·Kantakouzenos, married Djuradj.
The Thrace war ended and the situation in the Eastern Roman Empire improved. Kantakouzenos was still ostracized by the royal family. The core members moved into Serbia one after another and took a small fiefdom.
In view of the grievances between the two families, it is impossible for both parties to trust each other anymore. Vitus feels that Irene's attitude is in line with common sense.
Constantine noticed his brother's expression and asked tentatively, "Do you want to attack Serbia?"
"If Grgur continues Djuradj's balancing strategy after succeeding, or his position is slightly tilted to the north, I can tolerate it. As long as he does not openly ally with Hungary, everything is easy to say."
Vitus has always avoided expansion on the Balkans peninsula.
If a war is started rashly, it will be very troublesome at the Foreign Affairs level and may trigger an anti-Palaiologos encirclement network.
On the other hand, Skanderbeg and Hunyadi are still alive, and Vitus really doesn't want to meet with two former comrades in arms. The former is good at mountain warfare, and the latter is good at plain warfare, so it's really troublesome to fight.
Constantine advises. "Since you have not made a decision, remember not to show any interest in Serbia's territory.
Over the years, First Legion stayed on the south bank of Danube, watching other troops perform meritorious services and receiving rewards, and became restless. I am worried that if they receive relevant rumors, First Legion will take the initiative to provoke and spontaneously promote this result."
"I understand." Vitus stroked his chin, feeling that what the other party said made sense.
Last year, Levant, First Legion and Balkans, Frontier Army, only a few officers were awarded hereditary military positions, relying on seniority and Constantine's intercession.
Some officers joined the Constantinople City Defense Army in the 1420s and served in the army for thirty years. In the end, they only received the hereditary military position of a hundred households or deputy hundred households, and could not keep up with the Rus officers or Tatars officers with less qualifications.
There is nothing Vitus can do about this.
First Legion is not his direct descendant, and his combat effectiveness is at the bottom among all legions, so of course he will not bring him around to cause trouble.
If the war really starts in Balkans, Vitus is willing to use First Legion, but will not regard this unit as the core.
At the critical moment, the old troops who were brought out by me were still there to rely on.
Late at night, Vitus stayed in the restaurant, scribbling on the map with a ruler and compass, thinking about Balkans's border defense.
Before the Age of Discovery, the greatest threat to the empire came from its eastern borders, such as Sasanian, Arabian, and Ottoman.
After the Age of Discovery, Europe's science and technology developed rapidly, and its productivity level exceeded that of Central Asia. Over time, the gap between the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia will become wider and wider. Persia is no longer an evenly matched enemy and has become a secondary threat.
Benefiting from the wealth of the New World and Africa, with the rise of the Europe country, the empire's defense focus will shift to the west, which is inevitable.
Moreover, the threat is not limited to the Jagiellon Dynasty.
Suppose Vitus defeats the encirclement network and forcibly defeats Jagiellon Dynasty. In the future, House of Habsburg or a certain force will seize the power vacuum and become a new threat to the Eastern Roman Empire.
After staying up until eleven o'clock, Constantine stood up and said goodbye. He was busy traveling during the day and had to discuss military affairs at night, so he couldn't hold on any longer.
Before leaving, he suddenly mentioned Demetrius.
"Estimating the time, this guy should arrive at Socotra Island. No matter what happens, he will definitely write to me, Theodore, Andronikos to complain, and ask for something by the way.
This guy's character is like this. When he got into trouble when he was a child, he always liked to find a place to hide. If he was caught, he asked us to help him to plead for mercy. I remember this time..."
After a long time, Vitus became impatient and put down the ruler tiredly, "I know what you want to say. If you are willing to use your personal savings to fund Demetrius, I have no objection."
However, I will not let Demetrius come back no matter what. I will just let him stay at Socotra Island honestly. He brought all this on himself and cannot blame me."
Vitus thought he was decent enough, but if it were the emperor Eastern Roman Empire in history, Demetrius's end would be even worse.
Sensing his determination, Constantine lost any intention of continuing to persuade and walked out of the restaurant in silence.