Late at night on July 4th, a report about Boranov was sent to Cabinet.
The person in charge of the night watch was Minister of the Navy Ilya. After being woken up, he took the report and read it quickly.
"It's a good thing this guy isn't a Marine."
Ilya feels that this matter is either big or small, and does not reach the level of "need to wake up the crown prince and convene an emergency meeting."
He is a native of Constantinople. He grew up in Ninth District in the south of the city, located south of Theodosius Square and adjacent to Sea of Marmara. He is called Emilian District by the locals.
Overall, the situation in District Nine is better than the above and is at a medium level. Julian Harbor and Naval Cathedral are located here, and the public security situation is acceptable.
At the beginning of the 15th century, the population of Constantinople shrank to 50,000, and large areas of the city were abandoned.
The western urban area is close to Theodosian Walls. Facing the attack of Ottoman, most residents have moved to the east.
As the empire turned its back on danger and Constantinople's population recovered, many rich mansions were built in the northwest city near the palace.
The southwestern part of the city is far away from the palace and the main business district, and has received the least attention. It has gathered a large number of immigrants, and its public security and health conditions are at the bottom of Fourteen Districts.
Every one and a half years, City Hall will apply for the City Defense Army's assistance and go to places such as the southwest coast and Galata in the north of Golden Horn to clean out shacks and search for prisoners.
In Ilya's perception, this is like cleaning dust. Every time you clean it, as time goes by, some new dust will accumulate in the house.
He handed the report to the sleepy Inner Palace Directorate Eunuch. After reading the report, the other party had the same view as Ilya: "Let it go for now and leave it to the crown prince and Cabinet tomorrow."
The two signed the end of the report and left a record in the night watch book. After finishing everything, Ilya returned to the small room on the west side of the courtyard.
All the windows in the house were open, a mosquito net was hung on the bed, and the insect repellent incense in the corner was about to burn out, so he lit a new one.
"Why is it so hot tonight? Before midnight, the ice in the ice bucket has completely melted."
Ilya got into the mosquito net and lay on the reed mat. The texture of this mattress is relatively hard. But now is the hottest month of July, and Constantinople residents have no choice.
"In the middle of summer and in the cold winter, the most unpleasant thing is to stay on duty during these two seasons."
It is Central Administration's custom to stay on night duty, and the three Chancellors take turns doing it with the ministers, but some ministers are old and can be exempted from this drudgery. There are only eight relatively young ministers left who need to stay on night duty, and Ilya and Tucha are among them.
He leaned on the pillow and looked out the window at the stars in the sky, his consciousness gradually blurring.
Early the next morning, Ilya's night watch ended.
He put the Boranov report on the top of his desk and immediately went to the cafeteria for breakfast.
"Speaking of which, this guy is quite good at fighting. He rushed into the seaside shack with a wooden stick and knocked over eight young men in a row.
The local poor people thought that this Rus man was here to grab territory, and there were people on the spot who were willing to work with him."
Ilya pierced a piece of golden and crispy sardine with a dining fork while thinking about the person who was the most capable in his mind.
The ones most respected by the previous generation were Black Knight Zawisza and Ilya. I have never met him, but I just feel that some of his deeds are too bizarre.
"Boranov launched a hasty raid, rushed into the group's shack and started fighting. Several people were knocked down without even reacting. His skills are good, but not at the top level."
"Tucha prides himself on being brave and often brags about his deeds in Galatia's suppression of bandits. If he and Boranov fight, the only event that Tucha can win is mounted archery."
"Last autumn, one of our Cruiser captured the Portugal battleship. The report mentioned that a candidate officer rushed into the enemy captain's room and chopped down six enemies, including the captain. He was stronger than Boranov."
"Last year's Constantinople Late Autumn Competition, the Blunted Sword Combat champion was a Armenia man, a noncommissioned officer from the Eastern Frontier Army, who is now a Court bodyguard. Well, he should be the one who can fight best."
After eating the last piece of fried fish, Ilya ended this boring combat strength evaluation session.
Nine o'clock in the morning, Cabinet.
Romanus picked up this case report. The cause of the matter was that the textile merchant had no money to pay for the wool, and when he learned that the creditor was coming to collect debts, he paid someone to assassinate him, pretending to be a drunkard who slipped and fell into the sea.
His tone was quite helpless. "This kind of trouble will never end. After a wave is wiped out, new underground forces will appear after a while. Notify the municipal adjutant and ask him to maintain order in the city as soon as possible."
According to tradition, the title of mayor of Constantinople has always belonged to the crown prince.
For more than ten years, Romanus has thought of many ways to improve public security, but with little success.
He asked his attendants to check the information and found that this phenomenon also existed in Rome from the classical period and Constantinople in the early and middle stages of the Eastern Roman Empire, and it was more serious.
Rome The most chaotic period was in the first century BC, when the population exceeded one million, and street security was extremely poor. Assassinations, robberies, and fights were common.
Some people are aware of this problem and want to solve it, but there is a deep-rooted "ancestral system" in the Rome Republic:
Troops are prohibited from stationing within the sacred borders of Rome.
Once a senator proposes to form a full-time security force, his political opponents will accuse him of "trying to form a private army."
The environment in the city is chaotic and disorderly, giving some people ample space to move around. The one who makes the most noise is Clodius.
This man was the leader of the populist faction. He had a strong appeal in the civil guild (collegia) and often summoned a group of poor people to fight. In his heyday, he expelled Cicero, intimidated Pompey, one of the three giants, and sent people to beat the consul Gabinius in the street...
The current urban and suburban population of Constantinople is nearly 400,000, making it Europe's largest city, and chaos has ensued.
With such a huge population, there is always a small group of restless people who engage in deception, abduction, and bullying of men and women.
Romanus admitted that this phenomenon is difficult to eradicate and can only be cleaned regularly to maintain the normal operation of the city. He wrote a paragraph at the end of the report, and then signed and sealed it.
It was during the war, and Romanus's idea was to keep Boranov in his original position.
However, when it comes to military affairs, the emperor must make the final decision on this matter.
At noon, Romanus left Cabinet tiredly and saw the little guys playing around Leo.
Romanus asked his brother, "You didn't go out to play today?"
"I just woke up and went to town to buy some things in the afternoon."
The group of people walked to Romanus's residence, and the servant brought bread, rice and ten dishes. It was lunch for Romanus and breakfast for Leo.
Leo played too indulgently yesterday and had a good appetite. He ate two pieces of bread and almost a whole stewed chicken and left burping.
"You guys eat slowly, I'm leaving first."
Eight-year-old Manuel poked the carrots in the bowl with tableware and asked his parents, "Why does Uncle Leo play around all day long? Doesn't he need to work? Why do I have to study every day? Uncle Leo seems to be very rich. He said he would give me a Arabian horse colt. Why don't you agree?"
In response to this, Anna's answer was stern and undeniable, "Where are there so many and why? Hurry up and eat! Don't think about getting away with it, let alone give the carrots in the bowl to your brother."
Romanus's tone was quite helpless. "I had a similar problem when I was a child. Why can Thomas and Demetrius play all day long, but I have to bear heavy academic pressure? Well, you will understand when you grow up."
He ignored the dejected eldest son and turned his attention to the five-year-old John and Nikephoros in the cradle. He did not look back for a long time.
Talk.
After leaving the palace, Leo came to Golden Horn pier and took a boat to Galata District on the north side of the bay.
The sun was blazing, and the blue sea surface reflected dazzling light spots. The oarsmen shouted slogans and rowed, and the ship's hull shook slightly. The captain stood behind and controlled the rudder to avoid the passing merchant ships.
During the voyage, Leo's eyes were attracted by the huge round stone tower in the hills on the other side. It was called Tower of Christ, about forty steps (67 meters) high, and was built in 1348.
For a long time, this stone tower was the tallest building on both sides of the Golden Horn, overlooking the entire Golden Horn like a silent Sentinels.
In 1261, Michael VIII·Palaiologos awarded Genoa Galata on the north shore of Golden Horn in order to regain Constantinople.
For nearly two centuries, this area was ruled by the Genoa people, and many merchant ships chose to dock in Galata on the north coast instead of the main city of Constantinople on the south coast.
Over time, the number of merchant ships in the two places waxed and waned, and Galata's customs revenue eventually reached 6 to 7 times that of the main city.
During the John VIII period, Genoa was captured by the French Army. John VIII took the opportunity to take back many Genoa controlled areas including Galata and Lesbos Island.
"Your Highness, we are here."
Galley docked at the dock, and Leo did not enter the city, but went straight to the shipyard in the west.
Returning to Constantinople this time, he needed to purchase many goods, including cotton cloth, mosquito nets, mats, insect-killing incense, gifts for his family, and a fishing boat order that Borderland Region urgently needed.
The fishery resources near Tripoli are rich, but there are no forests in the area and ships need to be imported.
Yesterday, Leo visited the shipyards on the south coast of Golden Horn. The three shipyards were busy building warships or transport ships and engaged in maintenance work. There was no excess production capacity allocated to fishing boats.
The shipyard on the north shore of Galata is smaller and cheaper. Leo's idea is to order fifteen fishing boats and complete delivery within two years.
Later, when the situation at Sicily Island is stable, Leo can place orders with nearby ports such as Syracuse.
Borderland Region's Finance official did a calculation.
Tripoli Borderland Region has a population of only 130,000 and limited fish consumption capacity. The city can only maintain dozens of fishing boats. The excess fish cannot be sold and can only be made into fish sauce and salted fish.
Leo has thought about exporting fish sauce and salted fish to other places, but the potential income is extremely low. Greece, Anatolia, and Levant have long coastlines. Why do local people go far away to buy North Africa fish sauce?
"Your Highness, this is the best-selling large fishing boat in our shipyard. It requires thirty-two crew members. During fishing, the crew can preliminarily process the fish on the deck and turn them into salted fish that can be stored for a longer period of time."
The technician from the shipyard took out a ship model and tried hard to sell it to the big customer Leo.
Generally, larger vessels are more efficient at fishing.
Moreover, larger ships can carry more supplies and support longer voyages, thereby chasing fish schools in the distant sea.
The larger the hull, the better the resistance to wind and waves. Some weather conditions are not suitable for small boats to go to sea, but large ships can continue to operate and have longer working days per year.
Nowadays, the fish meat in cities such as Constantinople mainly comes from Fisheries Companies. The reason is that the company's large fishing boats are more competitive, squeezing the living space of small fishing boats.
However, there are many shoals and reefs on the coast of North Africa, and large ships have a deep draft, making it difficult to enter the shallow water fishing grounds near the coast.
Leo only ordered three large fishing boats, and the remaining twelve are medium-sized fishing boats, which will be operated in a unified manner in the future.
He purchased an additional batch of ship boards, masts and canvas, assembled them into small fishing boats at Tripoli, and sold them to fishermen in rural fishing villages.
"That's all for now."
Leo asked his staff to draft a business contract, then sign his name and pay a deposit. His identity was different from that of an ordinary businessman, and he had no worries about the other party daring to play tricks.
After talking about business, Leo visited Galata District, who had not been here for a long time.
The city wall here is only two meters thick and about eight meters high. Artillery cannot be placed on the top of the city wall, and the overall defense capability is not as good as Theodosian Walls in the main city.
The streets inside the city wall are regular, with stone buildings on both sides. Most of the windows are pointed arches. The church also adopts a pointed arch design and is inlaid with colorful glass.
Today, Galata still has more than half of its Latino residents, mainly of Genoese and Ragusa descent. Walking through the streets, Leo felt like he was in a northern Italian city.
"Over the years, the street scene here has hardly changed."
Leo came to the front of the former Municipal Palace. This building is said to have copied the design of the local Saint George Palace. It is four stories high, has pointed arches and stone double windows, and is a typical Gothic style.
There was once a stone slab embedded in the outside of the Municipal Palace, engraved with the family coat of arms of Genoa and City Official Marini at that time.
At present, this stone slab has been removed and stored in the newly built museum in the main city. A new marble slab has been inlaid in its original position, with a series of simple characters engraved on it:
Thirteenth District, Galata.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Leo arrived at the top of the hill and climbed up the narrow spiral staircase to the top of the stone tower.
At this moment, the field of vision becomes wider, and the grand panorama of Constantinople unfolds in front of you. You can clearly identify the dome of Hagia Sophia, Blachernae Palace, and the even taller Golden Horn Clock Tower standing on the south shore of the bay.
The design of Golden Horn Clock Tower is a reference to Giotto's Campanile from Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, which is a tall square stone tower.
Its appearance is more gorgeous, with patterns made of marbles of various colors. Its main purpose is to show its height. Ringing the bell and telling the time are secondary functions.
Leo I remember that my father opposed the construction of the clock tower because he was worried about the project cost overrun.
Later, an official and the church persuaded the uncle (John VIII) and proposed that the church fund the project, and the project was officially launched with a budget of 60,000 Florin.
Not surprisingly, the project went over budget and ended up costing 100,000, with the excess funds borne by the royal family.
After a gust of hot air, Leo returned to the ground and continued to eat, drink and have fun in the city.
After these two days of shopping, Leo didn't have much money left, so he thought to himself, "If I ask Romanus for help, I will definitely be squeezed by this guy. It's better to play for another half month, and then go to the palace to ask my mother for money."