Eagle Byzantium

And then Gawain really did what he said. When the snow fell, the river, poplars and houses of the Model Farm under the Acropolis were covered with snow. He did not leave his country, but stayed in the chapel and bedroom with the warm fire with Princess Purple, helping to deal with official documents and letters every day.

Now Antioch is also snowy, but the snow must be stained with blood, right?

In the letter from his brother Peter in the Bay of Issus, it was said that the pilgrims in the siege were getting more and more difficult. Many lords collected the money looted from the previous war (at the request of Adhmar, the chief priest) and entrusted it to the cardinals to buy food for soldiers and civilians. Baldwin had set up a checkpoint on the Adana River, not only selling the food in his warehouse, but also collecting taxes from passing ships.

This situation was the same in Seleucia: the Pope in Rome issued an edict to "do his best to raise funds for the holy war". The kings and lords of the whole western Europe donated a lot of food and money, either sincerely or perfunctorily, and then handed them over to the ships of the four Italian maritime city-states, namely Venice, Pisa, Germaine and Amalfi, and braved the danger of winter shipping to advance to the port of San Simeon.

But the Mediterranean shipping of that era had many transit ports, which made the ships safer and allowed the sailors to get better rest and supplement, so in the Mediterranean maritime era, septicemia during long voyages was still an unheard of term.

Now, the port of Seleucia happened to be the most suitable sea-land transit point, just as Gawain and Anna had expected when they marched in Cappadocia: Italian ships either sailed in the Adriatic Sea or the Tyrrhenian Sea, and then gathered at the port of Modon, owned by Emperor Alexius, located at the southernmost tip of Morea, and then sailed to Crete. Then go to Seleucia, and then send it to Antioch's siege army. This is a very clear sea transportation route, and Seleucia happens to be at a key node.

The division of labor between Gawain and Baldwin is: the personnel and supplies of Antioch's more than 100,000 siege troops, long-distance sea routes, belong to Seleucia; short-distance ones are provided by Baldwin's Principality of Adana.

Because it was dredged beforehand. Gawain looked down from the Acropolis and often saw full masts of ships coming in and out: the berthing capacity of the port was about fifty to sixty large sailing ships at the same time.

For each ship carrying food, firewood, and utensils, the Seleucia Ship Department and Municipal Department collected a tax of two Byzantine gold coins;

For those carrying luxury goods, such as for the ladies of the siege. Each ship was taxed 16 Byzantine gold coins;

In addition, the four large warehouses and two large granaries in the post station area were built, which took precedence over the progress of the hospital and the college. They were also projects supervised and supervised by Anna and the construction department. They were also facilities for the military government to "monopolize power benefits" - Gawain prohibited them from being rented to Italian merchants, but goods could be entrusted. A large amount of rent was also drawn; as for the granaries, Gawain and Anna signed a decree with their own seals, from this winter to all seasons of the next year. All wheat, barley, buckwheat and other grains in Seleucia and Sicilicea must be stamped and prohibited from export, and belong to the granaries. If private merchants smuggled them out, regardless of whether they were local or foreign, they would all be hanged at the city gate.

The Akum market also prospered rapidly. It was very close to the port of Seleucia, and the absinthe and barley beer brewed by the Paulicians were particularly favored by the sailors who came ashore. The shops of white wax, pottery, honey and saffron were also very prosperous and bustling. But this trade remained in the hands of local merchants and guilds, and Gawain paid great attention to supporting them. Many foreign sailors, pilgrims and nobles were amazed at the large hospital that was about to be completed, and recorded it in various forms of notes, and then followed the ships heading east, west, south and north, cutting through the vast waves and spreading this gospel news to every corner of the world.

Italian merchants flocked to the market, and they thought that Gawain and Anna could rent the streets and baths of the Akum market at a small price like ordinary secular rulers, and had the power to freely build warehouses and chambers of commerce - but Gawain sternly refused. Street leasing was allowed, but no merchant had the power to build buildings independently. They had to obtain a license issued by the military government, and the Italian merchants had to bear half of the construction costs, and then had the right to use it for ten years. After the expiration of the period, it would be taken back by the military government and auctioned again.

In addition, businesses here also need to pay daily business taxes, but Gawain gave preferential treatment to Venetian and Amalfi merchants, which finally calmed their resentment; and the Pisans, who had close relations with the Normans, and the Gelatinians, who had a deep hatred for the Venetians, had to give up the idea of ​​setting up a chamber of commerce and consulates in Seleucia, and just regarded it as a simple cargo transit port.

In addition to the port of Seleucia itself, the land trade route through the Mut Valley also began to flourish. Greek, Saracen or Turkish caravans and carriers in the plateau and mountainous areas, using mules and camels, crossed mountains and ridges in a mighty manner. After obtaining the tacit consent of Gawain and Sulerman, they sent iron sand, livestock, nuts, pickled fish and other specialty products from the Euxin Sea over there, across the entire Anatolia, to the Arahan Market or Mut Castle for sale, and then exchanged them for local specialty products. Under Gawain's instructions, a checkpoint and notary office were set up in Arahan and Mut to collect tolls and business taxes.

In the territory, Gawain began to subsidize and favor the local Kurlamites, who were the mixed-race descendants of Saracens and Greeks, and inherited the business talents of their ancestors (both ethnic groups were good at business). Originally, they were discriminated against and oppressed under the rule of the Sultan of Roma or the Principality of Armenia, and could only do some small-scale business, but Gawain and Anna continued to issue orders, giving them various preferential treatments, supporting them to gather together, contract various sales businesses, and encourage members of the Brotherhood and the division Dugelius or flag officers who had received bounties to invest money in the Chamber of Commerce and ships, and fully support the development of local commerce and ships.

"But the port is not big enough, Anna. It is not big enough, so it has such a small throughput." Looking at the rapidly expanding shops, temples and various residences in the Akum market, Gawain tapped the window frame and kept saying it over and over again. He was obviously not satisfied with Seleucia, the jewel in the crown.

According to Agnes's calculations, just the port and land tariffs, the "holy war fund" of Bari, the special sales tax of saffron (a precious spice and medicinal material), the business tax and building permit fee of Akum Market, the warehouse rent of the post station area, and the twice-yearly land tax and shield tax, Seleucia can earn 180,000 to 200,000 Byzantine gold coins a year, enough to buy 30 fortresses, but this brown bear is still not satisfied! (To be continued ~^~)