The Eagle of Eastern Europe

The days in Aden have become a bit boring, and Mason is already planning to return to Constantinople for a while. But on this day, a ship arrived at the port of Aden.

The ship was somewhat dilapidated. Not only was the bow damaged, but one of the sly poles was also broken. The originally intact blue double-headed eagle flag is now a ball of rags, and the broken part is still hanging on the flagpole that has not fallen down. If someone with sharp eyes hadn't seen it, no one would have believed that it was their company's ship.

After the ship docked, several injured crew members helped each other get off the ship. Several others were carried out on stretchers.

"What's going on? How could this happen?"

"Isn't this Zeno working in Colombo? Did he encounter pirates?"

The tragic situation of the ship was quickly reported to Mason. Although he was prepared, he was still shocked after seeing the appearance of the other party and the ship.

"What are you..."

"Lord Governor, we were attacked by pirates."

In Zeno's telling, the fleet bound for the East started out well. We passed an archipelago, but the aborigines there were too rich in martial virtue, so we just checked in and continued sailing east.

Soon after, they came to the first trading city. The Arabs called this place Aceh, where they replenished fresh water and food before moving in a southeasterly direction. But soon they encountered a huge fleet.

The Eastern fleet is really different from theirs. Their hulls are all triangular, while most Eastern ships are square. And the number of hulls is several times theirs. In order to pass here smoothly, Zeno and the others gave way to this fleet, but the other party obviously did not want this.

Soon dense arrows fell from the sky, and Zeno and the others were forced to fight back with artillery. However, more than a dozen ships from the other side immediately surrounded them, and a close fight ensued.

Due to the huge disparity in strength, Zeno had no choice but to break out. This was also an arduous battle. In the end, only one of the nine ships explored escaped the encirclement. The other ships and crews were captured.

"Oh God"

Mason made the famous sign of the cross on his chest, a major setback in their quest to the east. And according to Zeno, this group of pirates may go to Colombo and India, so the most important thing now is to defend well and continue to expand the army. The exploration of the East cannot end so soon.

Mason asked his men to take care of the survivors and asked everyone to hold a meeting to discuss how to deal with the pirates.

"Sir, at present we should continue to consolidate our power in Colombo. To prevent them from taking over, we must also form a fleet. If we cannot eliminate this group of pirates, I am afraid that the company's future strategy will be affected."

Mitsotakis, the chief executive of Aden, suggested to Mason that it would be best to stabilize the forces in Colombo. Taking advantage of the chaos in this small island called Ceylon, supporting puppets or forming alliances is the best choice. Locally produced spices and gems can fetch very high prices in Europe.

"I will write to the company headquarters to express our situation, but now we must prepare for a war that can break out at any time, and unknown dangers are waiting for us."

Mason ordered to continue to expand the colonies in India and Ceylon. Except for the very important local jurisdictions, other places were controlled in cooperation with local snakes. In addition, we should try to see if we can immigrate some people from the country, or attract some people from other countries to help govern.

Immigration from Rome itself was quite difficult, as the country encouraged reclamation and economic prosperity, and not many people were willing to take the risk. And it’s the East, a place I’m not familiar with.

But the coffee they brought back from East Africa became popular in Constantinople. The refreshing drink was sought after by some intellectuals, and the first shop selling coffee cherries was opened in the Castle.

Some conservatives thought it was a bitter invention of Satan and refused to drink it, but the coffee cherries were still offered to Emperor Mircea as usual, and the emperor also gave some to the royal family and nobles.

Peter, who was on the front line, gained the most. As a social animal who had just stepped into society, several cups of coffee a day were already the norm. He also knows a little about how to make coffee. He exposes it in the sun for about ten days, and then roasts it to make a simple version of coffee beans. If you want to drink it, grind it into powder and add hot water to brew. Take a sip to refresh your mind. If you find it bitter, add some sugar from Cyprus.

Peter's brewing method affected many people around him, especially the nobles who took refuge with Peter and the generals and officials around him. They all felt that this was a drink that only people in the upper class could drink. Peter would also give part of the coffee and sugar as rewards to those who had made meritorious deeds around him. Over time, some people became accustomed to this drink and imported it from Constantinople.

Coffee from Abyssinia and sugar from Cyprus began to change the living habits of Rome, and the spices from the East also made Rome a new place for people who yearned for life, especially those who had seen the Roman army. The demise of Venice not only destroyed this mortal enemy of Rome, but also declared that Rome was no longer the poor and weak country. Macedonia and the Komnenos returned to international prominence.

The French and HRE princes hated and feared Rome. They always felt that Rome would conquer them again to restore the territory of the ancient Roman Empire. But they didn’t know that as early as when Mircea first entered Constantinople, Peter had advised his father not to follow in the footsteps of Justinian and not to blindly attack the city and plunder territory. Rome needed to regain its strength and more importantly, it needed to recognize the facts. Ancient times The territory of the Roman Empire could not be restored.

At present, Rome's center of gravity has returned to Anatolia, and the local economy and culture have been deeply changed by the nomads. Rome had to change them back, using slaves plundered from the west and local Armenians. Local agriculture began to recover, and the sparsely populated interior gradually became prosperous.

Mircea divided Western Anatolia into the provinces of Nicaea and Smyrna and the Viceroyalty of Inner Anatolia with Ancyra as its capital. Nomadic markets were opened in Ancyra and other places to do business with the Ottomans and other nomadic tribes, using their food, luxury goods and other commodities to exchange for their cattle, sheep, horses and other products. Such business practices have affected many tribal people, and local churches and mission schools have also affected their beliefs and culture. Sultan Muhammad also wanted to get rid of trade with Rome several times, but his efforts were in vain in the face of huge interests.

Any nomadic tribe will be assimilated by a more advanced civilization. Whether it is the Mongolia in the East or the previous Abbasid Dynasty, it will be assimilated by the more advanced Chinese civilization and Persian civilization. Various systems were learned from them, and now the nomadic tribes of Anatolia are gradually being influenced by Rome. The glory and crescent moon of the Ottomans are gradually fading away, replaced by the double-headed eagle and cross of Rome.