Eagle Byzantium

Ask for some monthly tickets

————————————————

In this era, no one believed that civilians' foot forces were the main force on the battlefield. With poor equipment and training, they could only turn around and disperse when faced with the charge of the knights on horseback. Except for Gawain, he once said in Calabria However, "I will put the garland of war on both the cavalry's horses and the infantry's helmets. The cavalry is a monument to victory, and the infantry is the paving stone and cornerstone of victory. There is no The latter, the former will only collapse and fall.”

But the city of Bari has an advantage, or the entire Italian city-state has such an advantage. There are many cities, rich and developed. In addition, this place has always been a place where various forces compete, which also allows the city to be like a fish in water, swinging in the cracks of the big powers, or Simply rely on powerful local figures and form a hedgehog-like urban alliance to protect themselves.

Self-preservation must be armed. Maritime city-states mainly rely on fleets and mercenaries obtained from money; while inland city-states rely on civilian armies and manipulative diplomacy.

The city of Bari is not embarrassed. Its waterways were artificially blocked with the abandonment of the Byzantine Empire, and its trade share was eroded by the two powerful maritime city-states of Venice and Ragusa. Venice has the "Governor of Dalmatia" "The imperial title, while Ragusa was attached to the powerful Zataslav monarch Constantine Bertin, Bari was now reduced to an ordinary parish under the jurisdiction of the Holy See of the Pope.

But now that Stephen Gawain, the Duke of Calabria, is here, everything will be different.

"The current position of the city of Bari is to form a civilian army to protect itself under the pressure of the Normans; and then to conduct transit trade in the Greek area." This is what Gawain said to everyone in the dean's room of the cathedral, Next to him, Andodat was still holding a thick book of documents.

Both Diogenes and Titicius were surprised. They had never seen a barbarian who was so concerned about governance. They must know that in the empire, this was done by professional bureaucrats who were familiar with Hellenism. What's more, now that the civil servant class in the capital is declining, Alexios often delegates power to rough and greedy tax collectors. Even though Gawain didn't know Greek, he still had to listen to Andodat's translation and narration. He stayed up all night, planning various matters for city construction, without any sense of fatigue, and seemed to have no intention of engaging in the Varyag barbarian passion. The work of hunting beasts and women.

"Transit trade?" for a long time. Only then did this word come out of the mouth of the guard, but Tatisius over there simply shut up and said nothing.

"Yes, there is no need for high investment or technology accumulation, just pumping water!" After finishing. Gawain patted the sand table map with his big hand, "As soon as possible, we can connect with Venice and Ragusa and obtain the rights to transfer and sell salt and wood. In addition, the most important thing is Ingrina of Corinth. Our signature is Abandon the ancient and backward slave trade in the city of Bari and explore its expansion. There is no need for a factory or warehouse. All we need is that Inglina can approve a batch of three- or four-filament silk fabrics every year, and we can make a lot of money in this way. The workers and skills that could effectively protect the silk were not easily stolen by the Normans.”

"Gawain, you are talking nonsense. Even I know that the silk of the entire empire is owned by the government guild, which means that all silk must be sent to the imperial capital for unified control by His Majesty." Diognis issued again. Question.

"That's why I need to contact the Venetians. You must know that they have unlimited trade rights in all routes of the empire, which means unlimited goods. There is also exemption from taxes." In this regard, the self-proclaimed Grand Duke explained this . Then he looked at the somewhat uneasy officer, and did not forget to add, "Of course, I will wait for His Majesty the Emperor's real canonization with peace of mind, and use my power with caution."

Then, he saw the officer's face turned purple, as if to say: You are like this, and you still call it "use power with caution"?

At this moment, Titicius, who had been silent, said, "You need the Venetian fleet to give you transportation rights and a sales license. I can understand this, but in terms of supply, you must get the wealthy man in Corinth." The widow's approval and support." Then, the noseless general crossed his hands and smiled horribly at Gawain, "Of course, this doesn't seem to be difficult..."

The yellow Lepanto Castle ignited the flames guiding the navigation route, and a brisk schooner, carrying the self-proclaimed Grand Duke's "handwritten letter", sailed towards the eastern sea where the sky was full of sunset. In front of the Corinthian Temple, Ingrina was overjoyed after praying. She wore a pure black robe and returned to her family's crescent-style and Ionian-style mansion, where the messenger from the city of Bari, Gawain's letters were handed over, one was for her personally, and the other was hoped that she could deliver it to the imperial capital.

At this time, Inglina seemed to remember something, so she asked the servant to hold up the box and said to the messenger, "These are all for Commander Gawain. Please take the private letter from the Imperial Palace with you by boat."

The messenger took the box and accepted the gift of ten silver coins from the widow of the Messadeni family, but refused to leave. "The sender needs your immediate reply, my lady."

"Oh." Ingrina thought about what was so important, so she cut the envelope with a knife and took out the parchment inside.

Of course, it was not Gawain's handwriting, but Andeodat's. However, there was a huge handprint on it, so it must be Gawain's. So the widow read on with joy, but at the end, it was all the other party's words asking her to transfer the goods, and they wanted it so urgently, without any sympathy after a long separation. Could it be that the Earl Commander really has no understanding of my feelings?

Ingridna was slightly disappointed, but she was optimistic by nature and quickly cheered up, "After all, I am also a female lord and a female businessman. Why can't I use this trade as a battle to take down Stephen Gawain?" Thinking of this, Ingridna felt calm in her heart and began to write on the back of the parchment letter.

The general content is that it is not a big problem for me to secretly give you some of the goods, as long as I keep them privately and do not stamp them with the seal of the royal government guild, and then sell them to you as unmarked headless goods. Except for the high-end goods with four or six threads, it is easy to negotiate. After all, the emperor and his spies do not care much about the goods with two or three threads. But now your Bari, Ragusa in Zata, and Venice in Dalmatia all want to get my goods, and there are also several nobles in the city-states who want to get my people. I am also helpless, and you have to think of a way. If it is appropriate, I can send some of the goods to the Bari market by ship before Christmas.

Read the correct version in 16-9 Book Bar!

Then, Ingrina cut off the corner of her smooth black silk robe with a knife, carefully folded a flower shape, and tied it to the edge of the letter. This is the widow's showdown, and the meaning is very clear. "My people and my silk goods" cannot be separated. Gawain, you must consider and decide. (To be continued ~^~)