1444, Byzantium Resurrects

On 28 March 1448, news arrived from Bayrga that Yusuf Emir had escaped south via a small path under the protection of the Mamluk cavalry, and had returned to Bilinchi.

Isaac was not overly surprised.

Although he had managed to block the main roads and prevent large armies from passing through the northern coastal areas, he had no way of casting a wide enough net over the southern desert to completely prevent small units from slipping through.

Splitting large armies into smaller units was one of Isaac's objectives.

On 3 April 1448, unrest erupted in the Bayrga region. Yusuf demanded that the subordinate tribes contribute members to join his army, but this was rejected by several large tribes.

Following this significant setback, Yusuf had essentially lost his ability to intimidate the local tribes and lacked the confidence to suppress them. He could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger.

Upon hearing of Yusuf's fate, the once-arrogant Hafsid dynasty cavalry instantly lowered their flags and retreated to the border, sending envoys to seek peace with Isaac.

On 5 April 1448, news arrived from Albania that the Venetians had failed to capture Dania City and that Skanderbeg had also been unable to drive them out of the coastal fortresses. Both sides then ceased hostilities and signed an agreement.

Skanderbeg recaptured Dania, gaining great prestige and stabilizing the domestic situation.

The Venetians obtained some trade privileges and were able to retain their trading cities, including Durres.

According to Skanderbeg's plan, the war should have continued in order to slowly wear down the Venetians in the castle.

However, events rarely follow the plans of individuals.

The Ottomans made their move.

After nearly a year of silence, Murad II finally took action by stationing troops on the Albanian border in an attempt to wipe Skanderbeg and his rebels off the map.

Consequently, Skanderbeg hastily negotiated a peace treaty with Venice and accepted their oppressive commercial terms.

He then led his army eastwards to fight the Ottoman invasion.

The Black Army of the Maruna Baron followed suit and also headed east.

For the people of Albania, the end of one war was merely the beginning of another.

Meanwhile, news arrived from Budapest that the White Knight János had stabilized the domestic situation and was uniting Eastern European countries to prepare for a new Crusade.

On 10 April 1448, Isaac set sail from the port of Breiga, heading west to return to his loyal city of Surt.

Amidst the cheers of the entire city, he raised his banner and returned to the lord's mansion with his powerful army and crowds of prisoners.

The heroes who had defended the city stood to one side, waiting for their lord.

Isaac's eyes swept over their excited faces.

Isult, Guhes, Conte, Mikhail...

Isaac walked over and sat down.

"In the battle to defend the city, Lord Isult was the most meritorious, and is hereby conferred the title of Baron of Ougay, with Ougay as his fiefdom."

"Defend the border in my name and treat the people well."

Isult was both surprised and delighted, and stepped forward to receive his title.

According to Isaac's initial regulations, it was more difficult for civil officials to obtain fiefdoms than it was for military commanders who fought on the battlefield.

"Baron Conte, you led the troops in resisting the enemy and were second in merit."

"The area around Dahra will be your new fiefdom."

Conte hurried forward to express his gratitude.

"Chief Guhes, lead the Dobrogea army to assist in the resistance and join the defense of the city. You are hereby appointed Baron of Borley, with your fiefdom at Borley Spring."

Guhes stepped forward to express his gratitude.

"Your Highness, here is a report on the situation in the Grand Duchy of Surt during your absence. Please take a look."

Isult handed a thick report to Isaac.

Isaac looked at the complicated text and felt a headache coming on.

"All right, you guys, get ready. The joint military and political meeting will begin shortly. If you have any questions, ask them at the meeting."

On 20 April 1448, all the military and political officials of the duchy arrived at Surt Port and the meeting began.

Isaac sat on the main seat and looked down at his ministers.

To his left sat the administrative group led by Isult, and to his right sat the military group led by Mikhail.

Isaac's advisors and envoys from three commercial organizations also sat to one side.

"Last year, we fought several wars.

We fought a battle of wits with Milan and Sforza and fought alongside Skanderbeg in Albania.

"We fought back and forth with Misurata on the western border and to the death with Yusuf Emir in Sult."

"We won, and I am proud of you."

Isaac nodded and signaled for the meeting to begin.

Sult stood up and began to chair the meeting.

He first introduced the current population of the duchy.

"The duchy currently has a population of around 120,000, of whom approximately 50,000 are under our control.

"The rest of the population is controlled by the various vassal tribes."

This figure is very inaccurate, however, as those tribal sheikhs will definitely underreport the numbers and we have no way of knowing the exact figures.

Among our direct subjects, there are over 10,000 Greeks, over 1,000 Goths, over 5,000 South Slavs, over 20,000 Dobruja Seljuks, over 5,000 Italians and the remainder are Bedouin and Berber. Some of the families of the Purple Guard and the Occitan Regiment are Turkish and Southern French."

Here, Isaac played a trick.

Many of the liberated slaves did not know what ethnicity or religion they belonged to.

Isaac waved his pen and registered them all as Greek Orthodox Christians.

This caused the Greek population to skyrocket.

"The baptism campaign in the duchy has been very successful. Now everyone believes in Orthodox Christianity."

Isaac forced the conversion of the population of the duchy, meaning that all Muslims were no longer recognized as legal citizens and could be captured, killed or sold at will.

Next, Isult looked at the Minister of Finance, Riddle.

"Lord Riddle, please report on last year's financial work."

Riddle slowly stood up.

"Last year, the duchy's total revenue was 8,300 ducats, mainly from taxes collected by the Montferrat Trading Company and the Sult Union Chamber of Commerce. Due to the war, the tributary tribes paid their taxes in the form of military service."

"In addition to domestic taxes, we earned a total of 50,000 ducats from our overseas colonies. Of this, 40,000 came from gold trading and taxes on adventurers and 10,000 from the slave and ivory trades."

"Captain Fidel's Mediterranean fleet obtained a further 6,000 ducats by attacking the pagan fleet."

"Duke John IV of Parma paid us 20,000 ducats for military expenses."

"These are the main sources of income."

Of course, the duchy's income was not limited to these sources. The dividends from the Montferrat Trading Company and the Greek Guinea Company were under Isaac's personal control and not included in the duchy's finances.

Additionally, the Slave Legion was under Isaac's personal command, and they did not hand over the spoils they obtained to the duchy's treasury.

"In terms of expenditure, due to the war, we have incurred enormous costs and have basically spent within our means."

"The total military expenditure for the war was over 40,000 ducats, used to replenish troops and purchase equipment."

"Of this, 15,000 ducats were allocated to the navy and 25,000 to the army."

"Three thousand ducats were spent on immigration and public works."

"Eight thousand ducats were allocated to government salaries."

However, the total military expenditure of over 40,000 ducats was conditional upon John IV providing all military provisions.

This figure is simply terrifying.

The bulk of this expenditure was on equipment and the maintenance of the naval fleet. Due to Sult's insufficient production capacity, many pieces of equipment had to be imported from Italy and warships had to go to large ports for major repairs or to purchase new cannons.

This was extremely costly.

If these industries could be established domestically, a large amount of money could be saved while stimulating the civilian market.

"Mansreti, naval advisor."

"Your Highness, I am listening."

Mansreti, the Hussite naval designer recruited by Isaac, stood up.

"Through negotiations with Skanderbeg, we have obtained suzerainty over the city of Oron, where a flag squad of the Black Army is now stationed."

"The forests near Oron are dense, and the population is large enough to support a large naval workshop."

"After the meeting, take my approval document and go there immediately. First, establish a repair factory, then a warship manufacturing plant."

Mansreti nodded excitedly.

"Martinez."

The Italian firearms engineer stood up and bowed.

"Where in the duchy do you think would be suitable for a firearms factory?"

"Your Highness, I have reviewed the information on various locations in the duchy and believe that Alaga City is a good choice."

There are many salt flats to the west of the city which could be used to establish saltpeter fields.

These are pits dug in salt flats where human and animal excrement is dumped and left to crystallize on the surface.

Such fields are very rare in Europe, where the main source of saltpeter is currently 'saltpeter soil' containing small amounts of saltpeter found near rural toilets.

In England and the Low Countries, monarchs regarded saltpeter soil as a strategic resource and required their subjects to hand it over.

Later, someone jokingly said that two out of every three cannonballs fired by the British fleet came from toilets.

"There is a small copper mine on the hill to the south of the city and lead and iron mines to the east, which can be used as raw materials for manufacturing firearms."

Due to copper's low melting point, bronze was commonly used for casting cannons in Europe at that time, making them very heavy and inconvenient to use.

If there is an opportunity in the future, we can try to find cannon makers from the East to learn how to cast iron cannons.

"Go and find my chief steward and get 10,000 ducats for preliminary preparations."

"I brought back many talented people from Italy. You can choose from among them."

Next, the Minister of Agriculture, Mix, began his report.

"Your Highness, everyone, the current state of agriculture and animal husbandry in the duchy is average."

"Last year, our main task was to settle the displaced people and allocate land to them."

The displaced people and slaves from Italy and other regions were settled near the port of Surt and the Jufra Oasis, where they mainly work in agriculture.

Due to the poor condition of the land, only limited crops can be grown and the yield is low. Therefore, we have allocated a large amount of land to each farmer to meet their basic needs.

At present, due to the large number of local people being sold into slavery, the Duchy of Surt is essentially self-sufficient in terms of food.

However, the land's carrying capacity has basically reached its limit, so it is no longer possible to accept large numbers of refugees.

"How is the agricultural reform plan progressing?"

Isaac asked with concern.

"Your Highness, we have already conducted pilot programs in the areas surrounding Surt and Saint Joseph. We will have to wait until next year to see the results."

Isaac nodded.

Next, everyone reported on their work.

Due to Isaac's personal preference, nobody deliberately flattered or exaggerated the facts. They discussed the issues in a realistic manner.

The duchy had only been established for three years and, although it had made considerable progress, there were still many problems.

Overall, however, the situation of the duchy had improved considerably since the Milanese War of Succession.

The large quantity of goods seized by the soldiers in Milan flooded the market and greatly promoted Surt's weak commodity economy.

Additionally, the influx of Italian talent led to the growth of small-scale handicrafts. Taking advantage of Surt's abundant iron ore and fur resources, they opened blacksmiths' shops and textile factories, selling weapons, iron armor, and clothing to wealthy soldiers in order to turn a profit.

Although Surt's land was barren, it had some valuable resources.

For instance, although the salt marshes were uninhabitable, they could be used to set up salt fields to extract pure soda and collect table salt.

This was something the European continent lacked.

These primary products enabled the development of secondary industries, such as gunpowder and soap workshops.

In the future, when he had more time, Isaac planned to develop the land's full potential.

"Next, Colonial Minister Earl William will report on his work."

William Palaiologo stood up, Isaac looked at his prodigal son, who had finally returned home.

Over the years, he had grown from a young knight with nothing to do into a qualified naval commander.

Years of wind and sun had given his pale skin a healthy, golden color and his hair stood on end. His gaze was proud and determined.

"Dear brother, what good news do you bring me on your return?"

William stepped forward, smiled mysteriously and took a scroll of parchment from his pocket before handing it over respectfully.

Isaac unfolded the sea chart.

"Your Highness, following the old captain's route map, we sailed south along the Gulf of Guinea and finally found the place he described as towering into the clouds."

"It is an archipelago close to the African continent. It is uninhabited, and has a humid climate. Congratulations! You have gained another overseas territory."

Isaac struggled to make sense of the hastily drawn map.

From William's description, he thought that this archipelago must be the São Tomé and Príncipe Islands in the Gulf of Guinea.

This volcanic archipelago has a tropical rainforest climate, which is suitable for growing tropical crops.

The Portuguese later discovered the archipelago and used it as a plantation for cocoa and sugar cane, bringing in large numbers of black slaves and establishing bloody plantations. This earned the archipelago the nickname "Island of Death".

Isaac could try his luck there later.

At that time, coffee had not yet become popular, so he could try setting the trend.

However, sugarcane cultivation was big business.

Sugarcane can be used to make sugar, and the residue left over from production can be used to make sugarcane wine — both highly profitable enterprises.

At that time, sugar was a luxury item. Whether it was the honey sugar commonly found in Europe or the cane sugar that later came from Arabia, it was expensive.

Many members of European royalty took pride in having rotten teeth as this was a symbol of great wealth.

"Well done, William."

Isaac stood up happily.

"Since you discovered the archipelago, the largest island will be named Saint William, and the island with the good harbor will be named Port Palaiologo."

These two islands will form the Saint William Governorate, and you may choose any of the remaining islands as your new fiefdom."

As William finished his report, the ministers looked at Isaac.

As per tradition, Isaac would now outline the duchy's future policies.

In the face of provocations from Yusuf and the Hafs Dynasty, should they fight or negotiate?

And if they chose to fight, which side should they attack first?

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