1444, Byzantium Resurrects

2 August 1446, Port of Surt, North Africa.

A month had passed, and the area was even more desolate than it had been during the Byzantine occupation.

It had always been a hub for tribal trade, but when the nomadic tribes stopped coming, the transient population disappeared, and the area fell silent.

The re-baptism movement in Surt had not initially been successful.

The four thousand residents of Surt Port and the surrounding area mainly relied on dry farming and animal husbandry for their livelihood, and their farmland was concentrated in a semi-arid area ten kilometers from the coast.

Isaac first invited the sheikhs from the surrounding villages and tribes to come and talk, but few responded.

Most nomadic tribes distrusted the Eastern Roman Empire, which had just occupied the port.

After the first few small tribes that came to attack were easily defeated, they were not convinced.

These stubborn people were still hoping that a powerful tribe would take the lead and drive away the pagans.

A few small tribes responded to Isaac's invitation and came to Surt Port to eat and drink, but they were reluctant to convert.

Inside the port, Isaac decided to take decisive action:

"Andersen, gather all the tribal chiefs and wealthy merchants in the city."

"Have Mehmet prepare himself."

The Berbers had always been consistent in their fence-sitting ways. The stronger you were, the more obedient they became.

Soon, a few tribal chiefs dressed in burlap and wearing headscarves barged in and bowed deeply to Isaac, who was seated at the head of the table.

They had just had their weapons confiscated by the guards at the door, which displeased them greatly.

They shouted in a vulgar dialect that Isaac, who knew a little Arabic, could not understand.

Sitting beside him, Mehmet and Maruna glared at them, while Albert kept his eyes straight ahead, slowly sipping his wine. Abusheh, standing beside Isaac, looked at the tribal chiefs with pity, as they thought they had found someone to bully.

Isaac pretended not to notice the chiefs' insults.

"Your Highness, the largest merchant in the city has arrived," Anderson announced, before hurrying in and whispering to Isaac.

Moments later, a young man entered the governor's mansion and knelt respectfully.

"Your Highness, ruler of Surt, your loyal servant Urda greets you."

He spoke fluent Greek.

"On behalf of all the city's merchants, I pledge my allegiance to you and offer you gifts befitting your status."

The young merchant named Urda handed Isaac a beautifully crafted scepter with both hands.

"In addition, we have brought supplies for your army."

Isaac followed Urda's gaze and saw three horse-drawn carts filled to the brim parked outside the city lord's mansion.

They were loaded with wheat and dates.

Isaac looked closely at the meticulous merchant.

Unlike the local Muslims, who wore plain clothes and white turbans, he was dressed in luxurious silk and looked very elegant.

He was of medium height and always seemed to be smiling.

His skin was healthy and his well-groomed beard was shiny.

Unlike Arab travelling merchants, he resembled a wealthy Italian merchant who liked to show off his refinement.

As Urda entered the reception hall, the tribal chiefs glared at him angrily.

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"Your Highness, I am of mixed heritage. My father was a Greek Orthodox Christian from Naples and my mother was the daughter of a local chieftain."

"I grew up here."

Isaac pointed at the restless chieftains. "Why don't they like you?"

Urda glanced at them with disdain.

"They're dissatisfied with our grain prices, but they can't do anything about it."

Isaac played with the scepter that Urda had handed him.

It was made of polished ebony, with metal wrapped around the bottom and large pieces of gold inlaid at the top.

Several names were engraved in Greek around the scepter:

Urda Lardu, Bonoman Ali...

"These are the names of all the major merchants in our city and the surrounding villages. They symbolize our allegiance to you."

Urda reminded him at the right moment.

"You carved that so quickly?"

Urda smiled without answering.

"You must have prepared quite a few of these."

"It's a very valuable gift. I'll accept it, but what do you want from me?"

Urda said.

"I heard that you want to spread the gospel of Christ in this land."

Isaac nodded.

"I can follow my father and convert to the true religion, but some merchants and citizens are reluctant. I wonder if you would allow..."

Before he could finish, Isaac immediately denied it.

"That's impossible."

"Since you are willing to embrace the Lord, you should lead more people out of the sea of suffering."

"I will not allow heretics to live on the Lord's territory."

Islamic countries might allow a dhimmi class to exist, but Isaac would not dare let a group of Muslims live under his watchful eye.

"Then what do you plan to do?"

Isaac thought for a moment.

Overall, the merchant class didn't really care what people believed in. They only believed in money and profit.

They were just worried that, after the Christian conversion, the port of Surt would be isolated by the Islamic world.

The merchants and tribes that used to trade at the port would have to take a detour, which would reduce its economic value.

This was bound to happen.

The Portuguese port of Ceuta was originally a major trading center in North Africa where Islamic merchants gathered.

However, since its occupation by the Portuguese, Islamic merchants no longer traded in Ceuta, instead favoring the port of Tangier.

This meant that the Portuguese plans, which had been in development for many years, did not have the desired effect.

How did the Portuguese solve this problem?

"Think long-term, Urda. My ambitions do not end here. Brega, Misrata and even the distant Tripoli will all bear the mark of the cross in the future. At that point, you can take over the trade shares left behind by the local merchants. Isn't that a good deal?"

Exactly — continue expanding.

I'll take Ceuta and you can have Tangier. What if I take the entire road?

But it was clear that Urda was not interested in this plan.

That was normal. It was unclear whether Isaac could gain a foothold here and, besides, no one would believe such big talk.

However, Urda also knew that His Highness's decision was final.

"Since you have made your decision, I will go back and prepare."

Isaac called him back.

"I plan to set up a trade union in the harbour to establish trade rules and prices for basic commodities. If you can convince the majority to convert to the true religion, the position of chairman will be yours."

"Yes!"

Urda finally smiled a little.

After all, he was the first local leader to support him, and he was so humble and polite. He had to offer him something in return. Although it seemed as though he was relinquishing the significant power of pricing, there were actually many other ways to manipulate things.

What are basic commodities? I'm the one who decides!

After Urda left, Isaac turned his gaze to the restless tribal chiefs, scratching their ears and cheeks.

"Abu! Tell them that in three days' time, they must gather in public for baptism."

Abu translated loudly.

The chiefs immediately protested, shouting in unison.

Isaac nodded to Mehmet.

The Purple Guard soldiers who had been hiding behind the curtain rushed out and knocked the chiefs to the ground with a few punches and kicks.

"Tell them to send the tribal heir to Moria in exchange for their lives!"

"If you cause any trouble within the next three days, you will be beheaded without mercy!"

The soldiers grinned ferociously as they dragged the screaming chiefs away.

5 August 1446, Sult City.

Isaac had converted the former mosque into a Catholic church, and the priest Elster of Dobrogea had volunteered to serve as the bishop there.

Amidst the sound of tolling bells, Abusheh and Urda, representing the tribe and the merchants respectively, were baptized by the priest.

Over 4,000 people from the city watched the ceremony.

Guards stood by, ready to arrest any troublemakers.

The two had already been anointed by the bishop before the ceremony.

The priest then sprinkled holy water on Abu and Urda, who closed their eyes as if hearing the voice of God.

"Servants of God, receive baptism in the name of the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit."

The Elster priest murmured.

Priests among the crowd sprinkled holy water on the people, whether they dodged it or not.

Then, Bishop Elster led the entire city in prayer, asking for God's protection.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd.

Several Urimah, disguised as civilians, pulled out hidden daggers and rushed towards the Orthodox priests.

The commotion quickly subsided, and the Purple Guard soldiers cut the tendons of the rebellious Urimah, dragging them before Isaac.

"Take them away."

Isaac didn't even want to look.

Then everyone prayed together.

"Amen!"

The ceremony is over.

From then on, the entire city's population only believed in God in name.

Some found it novel, some were frightened and some gritted their teeth.

Over the next few days, the army and intelligence services collaborated to dismantle several hardline religious groups who were plotting rebellion.

Isaac decreed that newly baptized slaves would be freed as citizens and that newly baptized citizens would be exempt from taxes for one year, except commercial taxes.

Albert encouraged the people to spy on each other, offering a reward of 50 groschen and three years' tax exemption for reporting secret groups.

Within a week, more than 500 Muslims who refused to accept the new reality were sold into slavery.

Meanwhile, the first group of Orthodox slaves from Theodora arrived in Sult.

There were 300 slaves, including men and women, as well as 100 Goths and 200 Slavs.

They were settled in several water-rich agricultural areas outside the city.

The newly freed slaves were enthusiastic and immediately began ploughing the land.

Watching their crude methods, Isaac shook his head.

They were clearly unaccustomed to the water-saving agricultural techniques used in the semi-arid region, and they were not very efficient.

Never mind, though — I won't ask for anything. As long as they can feed themselves, that's enough.

They will adapt slowly in their own time.

Agricultural reforms can wait until the survival issue is resolved.

Later, Isaac relocated some Greeks and South Slavs to the port to work in services and fishing, gradually transforming the port's culture.

A few days later, Isaac's reinforcements finally arrived.

Knight Conte arrived in Surt with 200 cavalrymen.

Isaac currently had a total of 400 Purple Guards, 200 Black Troops and 200 cavalrymen from the Occitan Troops.

This was barely enough to defeat the surrounding tribes that refused to submit.

He would have liked to bring all his troops here, but supplies simply wouldn't allow it.

To facilitate this plan, the Monferrato trade fleet had suspended other trade routes, transporting grain from Genoa to Surt and returning with slaves to sell.

The profits were barely enough, and some North Italian merchants were already beginning to complain.

Surt was still a long way from being self-sufficient in food.

Income here will come from Captain Fidel's raids for a long time.

"Conte, go and notify the commanders of each legion, as well as Albert, the chief administrator, and Lancelot, the minister. Tell them to come to a meeting."

"Also, gather the chiefs of the tribes that obey us, as well as the Dobruja's, and inform them that some of the land we have conquered will become their new pastures."

Meanwhile, Andersen and Isult prepared for the migration, while Conte temporarily took on the role of messenger.

Soon, all the important people were sitting in the reception hall, waiting for Isaac's orders.

Once they had been dealt with, the tribal chiefs became much more obedient.

Their reputation in the Islamic world was now much the same as that of the Jews in the Christian world.

They therefore changed their previous rebellious attitude and began to flatter Isaac with Greek phrases they had just learned.

Isaac ignored them and concentrated on the map.

He circled several points with his pen.

"Our main task this time is to occupy the important water sources and oases outside the city and destroy the tribes that refuse to submit.

"I will distribute the prisoners and livestock according to merit, and divide the pastures after the war."

Gazi and the other chiefs immediately smiled broadly.

"In return, you few,"

Isaac pointed to Abu and several other chiefs.

"You must provide servants and livestock."

The men grimaced, but agreed one by one.

"We won't be entering the great desert this time, so you won't suffer heavy losses."

The points that Isaac had circled were all located in the arid lands near Surt and were all large sources of water or oases.

The characteristics of fighting on semi-arid grasslands were obvious.

The enemy would not engage in prolonged maneuvers or large-scale mobilizations, but would instead remain in tribal formations at major water sources.

War transformed from a two-dimensional battlefield into a series of points and lines.

Therefore, it was actually quite straightforward.

With superior numbers, the strategy was to focus on the water sources and attack them.

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