1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Upon hearing the news that Sirte had succeeded, Isaac immediately led his fleet to Dobrogea.

The governor of Dobrogea currently had no usable troops, as all his elite soldiers had been conscripted by Murad II to fight Skanderbeg. This was the best time to move.

Furthermore, he had helped the governor solve such a big problem, so he should be extremely grateful.

Isaac was briefing Isult and Anderson on their tasks.

"Isult, you will temporarily stay in Theodoro and be responsible for the voyage from Dobrogea to Constantinople. I have already informed the emperor, and the capital will provide food supplies."

"Additionally, keep an eye out for any Gothic or Slavic slaves being sold at low prices in the slave market of Theodoro. If you find any, purchase them in bulk and load them onto the ship."

Theodoro is the hub of the Black Sea slave trade, so slave prices should not be too high.

"Anderson, you are responsible for transporting goods from Constantinople to the port of Sirte. You may stop in Athens and Morea for supplies along the way."

"Albert has made a calculation that the port of Sirte can support about 8,000 people, and there are about 70,000 herders in the entire region. We will gradually drive them away and replace them with our own people."

"Your first task is to fill the most fertile land around the port of Sirte."

Both men agreed.

"Your Highness!"

On the beach, Guhz's eldest son, Lazi, knelt before Isaac.

Behind him followed the first batch of immigrants, a total of 1,000 people.

They also knelt down with Lazi.

"Get up, God will not abandon His lambs."

Isaac glanced around and saw only emaciated and poor people.

The men wore tattered leather clothes, and the women wore linen they had woven themselves.

The children were precocious and had already begun to help manage the sheep and horses.

Isaac waved his hand, and the sailors on the ship brought food and firewood and lit fires on the beach.

"People of Rome, I will not let you continue to suffer under the oppression of the pagans. I will lead you to a land of sunshine."

"Now, eat!"

The crowd cheered, clearly confused by the mention of 'Rome,' but the aroma of the food was very real.

Sailors from the Saint Nicholas and the transport fleet sat in a circle around the fire with the Dobrogea people, enjoying the sumptuous meal.

Isaac and Guhz sat together, occasionally joined by young women of marriageable age who danced for the nobles.

After they had eaten their fill, the tribesmen began to carry their belongings to the transport ships.

"Your Highness, what should we do with the livestock?"

Guhz found Isaac.

Isaac looked around and saw that there were few cattle, mostly local white goats with low meat and milk yields.

"Sell the cattle and sheep here or take them to Theodoro to sell. Take the horses with you and load them onto the ships."

Isaac patted Ghazi on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, once you get there, the cattle, sheep, horses, and camels of the pagans will all be yours."

Isaac ended up buying the shepherds' goats at a price slightly higher than the market price and sold them on the spot.

The sailors blew their horns, and the fleet set sail.

The transport fleet headed out to sea and joined the escort fleet cruising offshore.

This time, Isaac had brought 15 transport ships, with four warships as the escort fleet.

In a few weeks, they would arrive at their new home.

...

"Kill!"

Mehmed shouted loudly, and the Purple Guard soldiers dropped their bows, drew their sabres, and began to charge after the enemy on horseback.

The enemy's equipment was poor, with no armor at all. Few were on horseback, many were riding camels, and most were infantrymen clad in ragged clothing.

They were all tribal people who had been hastily gathered together, with no command or tactics. At first, their arrows caused great trouble for the Purple Guard, but as their arrows ran out, the Purple Guard began to fight back.

These desperate men from the Turks were superior to the Berber nomads in both combat skills and physical fitness.

This was the third attack on the port of Sirte by the pagan nomadic tribes.

After Albert, the chief spy, had devised a plan and swiftly destroyed all the fighting forces in the port of Sirte, the Black Army was urgently summoned from Morea to join the defense.

The port of Sirte had no walls, so Mehmed ordered the demolition of houses to build fortifications.

Albert also had several cannons dismantled from the fleet to reinforce the fortifications' firepower.

The camels and desert horses, facing cannons for the first time, were terrified, rearing up and bolting in all directions, throwing their frantic riders from their backs.

At this moment, musketeers from the Black Army and strong archers from the Purple Guard began firing, and the enemy, lacking shields and arrows, quickly fell into a disadvantage.

Then, the Purple Guard's cavalry began a countercharge, cutting down one enemy after another.

These were spontaneous actions by nomadic tribes from the surrounding areas and were not a cause for concern.

When they began to realize that this was not a simple commercial dispute, but a war, and tried to notify Fezzan or Tunis, the Eastern Romans had probably already made their preparations.

After a while, the Purple Guard cavalry returned, chatting and laughing.

Behind them were captured livestock and dejected prisoners.

"Captain Mehmed! His Highness has arrived and is now at the governor's mansion. Hurry over!" shouted the messenger.

Mehmed responded with a nod and galloped towards the governor's mansion.

The interior of the governor's mansion was clearly decorated in Islamic style. Mehmed pushed open the door to the reception room and walked towards the seat at the end.

"Come! Sit next to me!"

Isaac greeted Mehmed warmly and pulled him to sit on his left.

"You all did a good job this time, especially Albert and the Purple Guard."

"I am proud of you."

Everyone applauded.

Next, Isaac announced the decisions he had made during the voyage.

First, the Minister of Engineering, Lancelot, would build the walls of the port of Sirte, with a budget of 5,000 ducats, and the stones from the Muslim houses could be requisitioned on site.

Second, the more than 4,000 Muslims in the city would be ordered to convert to Orthodox Christianity. Those who converted would be exempt from taxes for one year, and those who refused to convert would be enslaved to make room for the Orthodox Christians who were being relocated.

Third, the nomadic tribes outside the city were to be ordered to submit first, contributing their warriors. If they refused, they would be attacked later.

Fourth, the water sources and large oases outside the city were to be occupied as soon as the troops arrived.

Fifth, arrange for the first batch of Dobrogea's to obtain pastures and distribute the first batch of production materials to them.

"This is what I personally think. Are there any other suggestions?"

Isaac looked around encouragingly.

"Your Highness, can my tribe go back now?"

Abu had recently regained his tribe and was happy for a while, but he soon realized that these Orthodox Christians did not seem to be planning to leave.

Looking at Isaac's strong soldiers and huge fleet, then at his own small tribe of only 2,000 people, he immediately lost the desire to resist.

Kill me or torture me, I'll do as you wish!

"Abu, are you willing to convert to Orthodoxy and return to the embrace of the Lord?"

"Your Highness, I..."

Abu stammered.

Beside him, Maruna had already drawn his sword halfway.

"I am honored!"

Isaac nodded in satisfaction.

"You must be the first to be baptized in front of the entire city, and you must persuade your tribe to be the first to convert as a group."

"Yes..."

Abu said with difficulty.

If he really did that, he would probably never be able to return to the Islamic world.

He guessed that even the tribes that were forced to convert would be restless, and that he could only rely on the city of Sirte to keep his position.

"Of the 500 tribesmen captured today, 200 will join your tribe."

"Yes! Thank you, Your Highness!"

Abu finally smiled.

"Fidel, discuss with Lancelot and expand the existing port. This will be the supply base for the Mediterranean fleet in the future."

"You will depart from here in the future to raid along the coast, while coordinating with Albert's spy network to attempt to infiltrate Tunisia and the Mamluks."

"You don't need to uncover any secret intelligence, but at least report any major events as soon as you hear about them."

"Yes!"

Fidel couldn't hide his excitement.

"Norwich,"

Isaac turned his head and woke up the Bulgarian captain, who was daydreaming.

"Your Highness, I'm here."

"Your trade fleet will be busy for a while. The port of Sirte is not yet self-sufficient in food, so transport as much food here as possible. The port of Sirte will exchange slaves for it."

Norwich nodded.

"Mehmed, Maruna, focus on defense for now. Once our reinforcements arrive, we can begin clearing the surrounding area."

Both men acknowledged.

"Albert, come forward!"

Albert, who was still dozing off, suddenly woke up and hurried forward.

Isaac took the badge from the attendant's hand.

"You deserve the highest credit this time. I hereby confer upon you the title of Baron."

Isaac personally pinned the lord's badge on Albert's chest.

"Your Highness..."

Then, Isaac took out a bottle of expensive wine from a Bordeaux winery in France.

He smiled and handed it to Albert.

"Drink less strong liquor in the future."

Everyone laughed.

"Yes!"

Albert's face turned red.

That night, Isaac stood at the window of the city lord's mansion and quietly looked at his first piece of land.

The city was still under military control, and important wells were guarded by soldiers.

The port was still lit up, and dock workers were working overtime to repair damaged ships.

Captain Fidel couldn't wait to set sail and plunder.

It was not yet curfew, but there were still few people on the streets. The Muslims looked nervously at the Orthodox soldiers standing guard, not knowing what fate awaited them.

In Isaac's plan, this place would become a pirate military port and war base. Fidel would lead the fleet to plunder the merchant ships of the infidels and, through Sirte, gradually encroach on the surrounding areas.

The city must be entirely populated by Orthodox Christians. The best pastures outside the city would be reserved for the Dobrogea column, with lesser pastures going to the converted Berbers and Bedouins. All the Muslim tribes on the outskirts would be driven into the desert.

In addition, castles could be built in important large oases to serve as trading hubs and the first line of defense against invasions.

The Berbers are known for their weakness, and the Bedouins live deep in the desert; neither will pose a significant threat.

Historically, Spain and the Knights Hospitaller successively occupied the Tripoli region without encountering significant resistance, until the Ottoman-backed Barbary pirates drove them out.

Currently, the shipbuilding technology of the North African countries is backward, and the Ottoman Barbary pirates have not yet emerged. Isaac intends to take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune in Mediterranean trade.

Barbarossa Hayreddin could roam the Mediterranean for decades as a Turkish-Greek pirate captain, so why couldn't Isaac?

Of course, the enemies would not sit idly by. Fezzan, just a stone's throw away, Tunisia, which might get involved, and then Venice and Genoa would not allow Isaac to grow too powerful.

Woo—

The curfew horn sounded.

Watching the guards apprehend wandering Muslims, Isaac's lips curled into a faint smile.

Then, let's see how they handle it!

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