The war's lingering effects

The effects of war

July, Atlantic Ocean, Black Coral Island.

A Cruiser flying the Palaiologos Flag sailed toward the island's north coast. In the distance, the settlements on the island were still there, not completely destroyed by the fire.

However, upon reaching the shore, the captain noticed the resentment in the residents' eyes. He cleared his throat and announced the good news, "Rome has won once again! His Majesty has driven out the French Army, liberated Sicily and Corsica, and Portugal has recognized our ownership of the entire Black Coral Islands."

There was no cheering from the crowd; most residents responded in silence, while sporadic curses could be heard from the back of the crowd.

"The battle is over, why are you only arriving now?"

"The Navy doesn't care about us at all!"

The captain realized that the area had been looted by the Portugal and defended the navy. "The main force of the fleet is engaged in operations in the Mediterranean Sea and cannot be separated. However, the admiral dispatched several Cruiser to attack the Portugal cities of Ceuta and Sagres with Rocket."

A warship reached Lisbon, but the city was located inside a river bend, making it difficult for Rocket to reach the docks... In short, the losses on the other side were greater than ours.

This explanation failed to quell the residents' grief; instead, it provoked even more curses.

The priest stepped out from the crowd. "We don't care about the kill counts at the front. What's needed here is naval protection, a wall strong enough to hold off the enemy. Has the Cabinet forgotten that there's still a piece of land in the Atlantic Ocean that belongs to Rome?"

The situation was about to spiral out of control when Governor Horace Palaiologos rushed over and instructed the residents to help move the supplies, thus defusing the dispute.

After a busy period, Horace invited the captain for a walk on the beach and told him about his experiences at Black Coral Island.

In 1456, the Eastern Roman Empire went to war with Portugal, and Black Coral Island lost contact with the mainland.

A full year passed without any foreign ships visiting the island, and the people lived in fear and confusion until 1457 arrived.

In the summer, the sails of the Portugal fleet appeared on the sea, and more than 300 soldiers landed on the nearby beach, thus Black Coral Island fell.

After searching the island, the Portugal army found it worthless and withdrew after a week's stay, taking with them weapons, most of the agricultural products, and livestock.

Afterwards, Horace led his men to take stock of the supplies. The caves inland on the island contained more than a hundred bags of grain, which had to be used for planting. The vegetable gardens at the settlement could provide a small amount of fruits and vegetables, which was not enough to meet the needs of the entire settlement.

Before the crops in the fields ripen, the island's inhabitants rely on fishing, bird hunting, and turtle catching for a living.

Although meat was plentiful, there was a lack of sufficient grains and vegetables, leading to malnutrition among the residents. People began to fall ill and die.

This included Horace's wife and daughter.

Sensing the man's grief, the captain wisely fell silent. After a long while, Horace bent down, picked up a smooth-skinned seashell, and walked along a winding path toward the southeastern hillside.

The captain had a rough idea of where the other party wanted to go, but when he actually arrived, he was still moved by the sight before him.

The grassland, originally used for grazing, is now densely packed with low tombstones, with more than a hundred graves at first glance.

Horace stopped at the edge of the hillside, where two graves, one large and one small, stood close together. He placed the shell on the ground and began to pull out the nearby weeds.

"During their landing and subsequent stay on the island, the enemy killed a total of 32 people, and 90 more died of illness later. There are now 386 residents remaining on the island."

Upon learning that the island had lost more than 20% of its inhabitants, the captain said regretfully, "Last year, we blocked the main force of the enemy fleet in the port. The fleet formulated a plan to attack the Atlantic Ocean, but the Privy Council asked us to escort the Army. The Atlantic Ocean operation was scaled down from a large fleet to five Cruiser."

At the beginning of this year, the fighting in the Italy region was going well, and the fleet was able to send eight Battleship and twelve Cruiser to the Portugal coast. However, the two sides negotiated peace, and the plan was ultimately cancelled.

However, I have good news for you: the Army is clearing out Corsica, and it is expected that some prisoners of war will be exiled to the archipelago.

Horace had repeatedly petitioned the Admiralty to develop Black Coral Island, and now that his wish had been granted, his mind was no longer on that matter.

Horace looked down at the tombstone, the damp, cold sea breeze making his clothes flutter, and grief overwhelmed him like a tide.

At the moment his wife was buried, he felt as if a part of his soul had been buried with her in the earth. No matter Lido on his homeland was, it could not fill the emptiness in his soul.

Back on the shore, forty-nine prisoners of war had gathered, and the first mate handed the roster to Horace.

"These are the first batch of prisoners of war. This autumn, the Admiralty will send another fleet, with prisoners of war, native exiles, and Italy immigrants, totaling at least three hundred people."

Your current task is to build barracks, stockpile food, and prepare for the arrival of hundreds of immigrants.

Horace checked the roster to count the number of people, organized them into construction teams, and had them guarded by the Militia.

Black Coral Island has a steep terrain, with heavy rainfall in the north. Sugarcane and wheat can be grown near the river valleys, while Barley can be grown in the higher areas. With long-term labor input, the island's Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, animal husbandry, and fishing industries are expected to support two to three thousand people.

However, Horace did not know the emperor's reason for doing so.

Black Coral Island has no rare mineral resources, is located in a remote area, requires long-term investment, and has no prospect of profitability.

The captain explained to him, "In the coming years, the Admiralty will continue to send immigrants to the island to develop it into a small naval base."

Naval bases are divided into four categories.

Small bases are used to moor shallow-draft Cruiser.

A medium-sized base can accommodate Battleship and heavy-haul merchant ships.

The standard for a large base is that the port can accommodate a fleet of more than fifty ships.

Finally, there are permanent naval ports, requiring a semi-enclosed design with sufficient internal depth so that ships can be moored inside without fear of enemy Rocket from the outside. Examples of such superior ports include Thessaloniki, Malta, Taranto, and Toulon.

This explanation did not dispel Horace's doubts.

Why build a base on Black Coral Island? Is it so that Cruiser can use it as a base to attack Portugal's southern shipping lanes?

This is a waste of time; a more direct approach would be to send the main fleet to blockade the port of Lisbon.

"We must obey the Emperor's decree." The captain patted Horace on the shoulder. "Over the years, the Navy has transported several batches of tree saplings. How are they growing? We need to go and investigate, and write a report for the Admiralty."

The archipelago is home to two native tree species: the Dragon Tree and the Banyan Tree. Their wood quality is poor, and their practical value is low.

Nine years ago, the first group of immigrants landed and planted the first batch of tree seeds inland. The survival rate was low, and they replanted several times afterward, with varying results.

In the afternoon, Horace led his officers into the depths of the valley, where the terrain was steep and the slopes on both sides were covered with sparse trees.

Without needing much explanation from him, several young reserve officers took out paper and pens and began to record the vegetation on the mountain.

Pine trees grow the fastest; the earliest pine trees grew to over four feet tall and had conical crowns.

The cypress and oak trees are still in their juvenile stage and have no practical use.

Beech can't be planted. Horace pointed to three open areas around them, "We've tried different places—the mountaintop, the hillside, the foot of the mountain—but not a single Beech can survive."

Black Coral Island is isolated overseas, and if warships are damaged, they must rely on the island's timber for repairs.

Pine wood is relatively light and soft, making it easy to process into masts or for laying decks. Oak and cypress are suitable for hull plating.

Over the next few days, these reserve officers explored inland and found suitable areas for planting trees.

According to naval officers, the site will be developed into Dry Dock and modern city walls, with construction plans extending twenty years into the future.

"With such a large investment, didn't the emperor consider recouping his investment?"

Horace thought for a few minutes, then put the question out of his mind.

He doesn't want to be transferred back to the mainland now, nor does he care how many resources the Admiralty allocates; in short, he doesn't care about anything anymore.

Meanwhile, in the Indian Ocean.

The Eastern Roman Empire and Portugal signed a truce, but Portugal's East Africa colonies did not receive the news, and the war in the Indian Ocean continued.

The journey from Lisbon to East Africa involves circumnavigating most of Africa and takes about six months. The agreement was signed in March, and Lisbon dispatched ships to the colony in April; the ships are expected to arrive around September of this year.

That's the most ironic part.

Two weeks ago, Socotra Island received news of a ceasefire from the mainland. Newspapers published the ascension ceremonies of two Hereditary Nobility and the lands acquired by the participants. The country was peaceful, while the Western Mediterranean was in dire need of reconstruction.

However, the Portugal in the Indian Ocean were unaware of this, and their warships roamed freely, entangled with the Eastern Roman Empire's Cruiser in the vast ocean.

In Suk, Suq Harbor in the northern part of the island, Michael, the illegitimate son, stood on the city wall, gazing at the Portugal warships anchored a thousand paces away, his emotions at their most suffocating.

Trace Italienne was built here, and it did not fall during the war, making it in a better position than Black Coral Island in the western Africa sea.

However, the enemy maintained a warship blocking the Suq Harbor for an extended period, preventing the whaling ships from setting sail and cutting off their biggest source of income.

"Overseas territories like ours are often neglected in peacetime, with a lower standard of living than those on the mainland, and have to cope with crises on their own during wartime."

The war is over, but we're still being attacked. Why do all the bad things happen to us? No, we have to find a way to notify the other side.

Michael left the city walls and went to a desolate beach a mile to the east. He had the Militia set up a bonfire and then took out a stone to weigh down the newspaper.

Crack!

Black smoke from the campfire rose high into the sky as Michael led the Militia back to the fortress. After waiting for more than three hours, the Portugal warship launched a small boat and swayed towards the open beach.

Michael observed the beach through his binoculars, and a dozen or so Portugal sailors discovered newspapers under the rocks and gathered together to discuss the matter.

After a while, a middle-aged man who looked like an officer waved a white cloth and demanded to negotiate with the city wall defenders.

Michael went out of the city himself and, with the help of a translator, spoke with the officers, "The war is over! Go back and report to your Governor immediately."

The officer resolutely refused. "Based on my personal reason, I believe this newspaper is genuine, but I cannot abandon the operation for this reason. I must obey the Governor's orders and remain outside your port until another warship arrives to inform you."

Michael looked surprised. "How are the crew members? Don't they want to go back and rest?"

With ships anchored overseas for extended periods, the living standards of the crew have been declining.

Sometimes, Michael the enemy crew's endurance, how they could endure eating maggot-infested biscuits and drinking pale green water.

Officer: "They must obey my orders, just as I obey the Governor, and the Governor obeys the homeland. It's a chain of command; subordinates cannot disobey orders from above under any circumstances, and I believe the same applies to you."

The negotiations ended, and the Portugal returned to their warship in small boats to continue this pointless standoff.

This stalemate will continue as long as the Governor does not issue a ceasefire order.

In Constantinople, Vitus was aware of the situation in the Indian Ocean, but was powerless to change it.

In the era before the telegraph, communication between the homeland and overseas territories was this slow.

As Europe countries continue to expand their overseas territories, it is possible that in the future, there will be situations where "a year after the ceasefire on home soil, war is still raging in overseas territories."

He set a deadline of October 31 for Portugal; if the fighting in the Indian Ocean did not cease by then, he would send the Mediterranean Fleet to Lisbon!

The journey from Malta to Lisbon is over 2,000 kilometers and takes less than a month, much faster than before.

However, this would mean that the Eastern Roman Empire and the France camp would go to war again.

Now, Vitus's influence surpasses that of Charles VII, and he is feared and suspected throughout Europe. If the Eastern Roman Empire were to strike first, it would lack the support of the Holy See and could face Foreign Affairs isolation.

"To some extent, the Eastern Roman Empire served as the ecological niche for the Ottoman in the original timeline. However, the Ottoman were rooted in Anatolia and were destined to be unable to control the Balkans."

The Eastern Roman Empire shared the same beliefs as the Serbia and Bulgaria peoples, and Constantinople, as the residence of the universal Patriarch, was more likely to gain the loyalty of the Balkans peoples.

After much deliberation, Vitus leaned towards maintaining peace, as there was too little core manpower domestically, and outward expansion carried low returns and high risks.

In the foreseeable future, the expansion of the Eastern Roman Empire will essentially cease, and the treatment of its soldiers will need to be adjusted.

It is well known that the pay of the Eastern Roman Empire army was lower than that of the Italy Mercenaries.

In Italy, a mercenary infantryman's annual salary was 10-12 gold coins. However, when Vitus was the Despot, an infantryman's annual salary was only 7 gold coins. Although it increased later, it still did not match the salary of a mercenary.

In this situation, there are three reasons why the army maintains high morale:

First, he never delayed paying wages. Although there were rumors that Vitus was stingy and miserly, he never withheld military pay.

Second, this is a war against foreign invaders and in defense of faith, which provides a morale boost to the army.

Third, the army could acquire land after a victory. Over the years, after each battle, Vitus would send a team of civil officials to survey the land and issue land ownership certificates or land deeds to the army. Overall, the treatment of the legions far exceeded that of the Black Army, the Decree troops, and the Italy Longbow Mercenaries.

The third reason is the most crucial for boosting morale.

Lured by the land, soldiers willingly endured strict military discipline, arduous training, and the carnage of the battlefield.

Once the Eastern Roman Empire ceased its expansion, the army lost its "land dividend," its treatment declined, and its morale also dropped.

"How much should the annual salary be? In France, the Decree troops, archers, and ordinary infantrymen earn about 10 Florin a year. The Hungary Black Army's pay is slightly higher..."

In light of the current Finance situation, Vitus increased the wages of Legion infantry to 9 Florin and those of the Frontier Army infantry to 7.5 florins.

Florin.

"With this plan in place, annual military expenditure will exceed 2.8 million during peacetime. Further increases in military spending will be considered as Finance revenue grows in the future."