Chapter 9: The Palaiologos Family of Montferrat

Having received the papal bull, Isaac shared the good news with Gutenberg.

At that moment, he finally let go of his last worry and began printing books at full speed.

He presented several bound copies of the Bible to high-ranking archbishops in Rome and urgently printed a batch of Renaissance works with ornate covers and clear text to send to prominent merchants in northern Italy.

These people all had specific needs, and if they were satisfied with the books, they would naturally contact Isaac.

He could also use this opportunity to establish connections with secondary booksellers in northern Italy and expand into downstream markets.

Additionally, he requested that his coat of arms be printed in the top left corner of the cover of all books printed by the printing house.

This was one of the coats of arms of the Byzantine Empire: a purple double-headed eagle.

'This month, your task is to train several skilled workers and contact machine factories to expand production.'

'Hurry up and print the indulgences to show the church our potential and make a name for ourselves.'

Isaac gave Gutenberg his instructions, which Gutenberg jotted down in a small notebook.

'For sales issues, consult the general manager, Andre. For content issues, consult Bishop Fujar. Technical issues are your responsibility.'

'Remember, quality is paramount!'

That was all he could do.

Now, Isaac wanted to reap the benefits of first-mover advantage.

The technology of the printing press couldn't be kept secret, and he couldn't enjoy this windfall alone.

First, he had to make a fortune with the indulgences to obtain capital.

Secondly, he needed to make a name for himself and establish the brand.

Before other merchants could react, he would have occupied a large market share.

Isaac and his colleagues were busy for the next few weeks.

They finalised the details with the church and negotiated prices with the merchants' guild.

Fujar, who was usually smiling, was no pushover at the negotiating table.

Not to mention the merchants, who were greedy by nature.

After a few weeks, Isaac was exhausted.

However, seeing the steady flow of money into his wallet gave him a sense of accomplishment.

The factory continued to expand and the number of workers increased.

After all, their main product — indulgences — was a surefire way to make money.

When he first arrived, he had made three plans, and the first one seemed to be going according to plan.

Just then, news came from afar.

Murad II had quelled the internal unrest and begun to withdraw his army.

The Ottoman army dragged the captured Varna Crusader banners and prisoners through the streets of Constantinople in triumph.

Meanwhile, upon hearing that the emperor had resumed negotiations, large-scale religious conflicts broke out in Constantinople.

John VIII was bedridden and his ministers, led by George Sphranx, struggled to maintain order.

The relatively calm Athens region was once again thrown into turmoil.

One piece of bad news after another shattered Isaac's good mood.

After counting the dividends from the printing press and donations from the guilds, it was found that there were roughly 10,000 ducats.

Ibrahim, who had been raiding Epirus, also sent 4,000 ducats.

On 5 February 1445, Isaac summoned his subordinates again.

The arrangements were simple.

Andrew and Gutenberg were to remain in Rome to oversee the printing press.

Meanwhile, Fidel and Norwich would lead the warships and follow Isaac.

The early spring sun shone warmly and gently on the Apennine Peninsula, and the Italian people lived in peace and contentment.

However, his homeland was suffering under the iron rule of the Ottomans.

The plan had to be accelerated.

Isaac arranged matters in Rome and wrote a letter to Constantine.

It contained only one sentence:

'I am going to a distant place to seek a way out for the empire.'

On 6 February 1445, Isaac's fleet left Rome.

He sailed north along the west coast of the Apennine Peninsula.

On 10 February, the fleet arrived in Genoa, the most dazzling pearl of the western Mediterranean.

By this time, Genoa was no longer the dominant power in Mediterranean trade. Having been defeated by the newly emerging Venetian Republic in the Battle of Chioggia, Genoa had fallen into internal strife and external threats, with the city being captured multiple times.

Unlike Venice, Genoa preferred to resolve conflicts through military force and maintained numerous colonies along the coasts of the Aegean and Black Seas, which were governed by governors.

However, Genoa no longer had sufficient capital to support its vast colonial empire and was under domestic and foreign pressure to maintain it.

This depleted the country's national strength.

Several decades later, in the original timeline, Genoa was occupied by the French. Although Genoa regained its freedom, its former trading empire was destroyed.

The city eventually became a gathering place for high-interest moneylenders.

Nevertheless, Isaac was still shocked by the prosperity of the city.

It was a typical port city on the Ligurian coast with a deep-water harbour.

Commodities from all over the world were gathered here and shipped to all corners of the globe thanks to its convenient location on the coast and the Po River.

Before new trade routes were established and the centre of trade shifted, it would have been difficult for this place to be poor.

The market was full of all kinds of goods and luxury was everywhere.

The Renaissance atmosphere was very strong, in stark contrast to the poverty and backwardness of southeastern Europe.

While Rome was a gentle and devout priest, Genoa was a wealthy man adorned with gold.

Armed with credentials obtained from the Pope, Isaac secured an audience with a Genoese nobleman.

Genoa and Venice were nominally republics, but their politics were actually controlled by city councils and wealthy merchants. A few large commercial families held the greatest power.

This was an early form of oligarchy.

Isaac spoke with a nobleman named Rams.

The nobleman knew Isaac's identity and was quite polite.

After some negotiation, Isaac successfully hired a group of 100 Genoese crossbowmen for 2,000 ducats.

These renowned mercenaries were well-equipped and experienced in combat. They often appeared in major battles across Europe.

Isaac then proposed buying Genoa's new warships.

Rams readily agreed and took Isaac to a shipyard on the outskirts of the city.

'Are you trying to play dirty with me?'

These decrepit ships were obsolete a decade ago and would be useless in a naval battle.

Isaac declined the 'kind offer' and stormed off to receive the Genoese crossbowmen. As usual, he exchanged a few pleasantries with Commander Maruna and got to know him a little.

This seasoned mercenary leader from Tuscany fought only for money.

Such people were easy to deal with.

However, he was afraid of encountering a fanatic who would label him a heretic as soon as they met.

There were many such people in the Catholic world, from kings to commoners.

This was one of the reasons why the Catholic world had been lukewarm in its response to the Pope's call for help for Constantinople.

Isaac stayed in Genoa for only one day and did not seek an audience with the Doge.

The proud Genoese did not even pay lip service to the Byzantine emperor and the Pope of Rome, let alone their own prince, whose kingdom was on the verge of collapse.

Isaac travelled along the well-developed roads of northern Italy for two days and arrived at his destination:

Monferrato, a city sandwiched between Milan, Genoa and Savoy.

The ruler of this marquisate was Gian Palaiologos, a distant relative of Isaac's uncle.

This is a long story.

The Byzantine emperor Andronikos II married the daughter of the renowned 'Grand Marquis' William VII, and they had children.

Later, the male line of Montferrat died out, and Queen Irene insisted that her son, Theodosius, inherit the domain. With Genoa's support and the Holy Roman Emperor's recognition, Palaiologos took control of Monferrato.

Due to ongoing wars in Montferrat and repeated civil wars in Byzantium, the two families had lost contact for a long time.

This time, they sought cooperation by leveraging the Marquis of Montferrat's influence in northern Italy.

During the reign of William VII, the Grand Marquis, Montferrat had been the dominant power in northern Italy, occupying major cities such as Genoa, Turin and Milan.

However, this also aroused the hostility of neighboring countries.

Furthermore, several marquesses died young, leaving behind widows and orphans.

Their former subordinates took advantage of the situation, which led to the end of their glory days.

Currently, the Marquis only controls the land surrounding Montferrat and has become a vassal of the Duke of Savoy.

Upon arriving at the family castle, the Marquis found that men had been sent to wait at the drawbridge, having received an earlier message from Isaac.

"Welcome, dear brothers!"

The Marquis' heir, John, and his younger brother, William, shouted in broken Greek to Isaac.

Isaac's expression changed.

He hadn't expected them to still speak Greek after so many years.

He jumped off his horse from a distance and quickly walked towards his two brothers.

'Thank you for your hospitality, dear cousins John and William!'

John remained silent, merely nodding in response. William, on the other hand, enthusiastically hugged Isaac.

In accordance with etiquette, Isaac asked Maruna to station the Genoese crossbowmen outside the castle.

Isaac attended the banquet with several attendants.

Marquis Gian was unwell at the time, but still managed to greet Isaac, ordering John and William to treat him well.

According to the original history, Marquis Gian would pass away a few weeks later and be succeeded by his son, John IV.

John IV had been held hostage by his uncle, the former Duke of Savoy Amadeus VIII, when he was young, which made him somewhat introverted.

However, he was actually a good person who treated his subjects and brothers well.

He was also the second person that Isaac inquired about.

At the banquet, the three Palaiologos knights drank quite a lot and gradually opened up.

Most of the time, it was the 14-year-old William who did the talking, with John adding the occasional word, while Isaac listened quietly.

Most of what they said was just the petty worries of a 14-year-old nobleman: losing money in a martial arts competition; the girl he liked getting married; and his longing for war.

Typical teenager.

If the sky fell, though, his father and older brother would be there to support him.

John, however, was more anxious about his father's health and the grim internal and external environment.

The war had just ended; many peasants had fled, the land was abandoned and the knights' equipment needed replacing. There was also no money to repair the irrigation channels and granaries.

John also mentioned that he had always donated money to the monastery to support orphaned children.

Now that he was in charge of the fiefdom, however, he couldn't even afford such a small amount.

Isaac immediately decided to lend John 10,000 ducats, interest-free, to be repaid whenever he could.

William, who had been sitting restlessly nearby, was stunned.

John was also taken aback.

He had thought his relative had come to ask for help, so he had set some money aside from the castle's budget.

The money bag was still in his room.

He hadn't expected Isaac to offer them half their income for the past six months.

"Did you steal from the emperor's treasury?" William shouted.

'If I had known, I would have taken you to the jousting tournament this afternoon so we could have won a fortune together!'

John refused Isaac's suggestion.

'That's not possible. Your situation is even more difficult than ours. You should use this money to hire more soldiers and increase your chances of victory.'

Isaac smiled bitterly.

Constantinople was a bottomless pit; no matter how much money they invested, they would lose it all.

Isaac took out the Pope's edict and explained the origin of the money, forcing the money bag into John's hands.

The Montferrato territory had fertile land, a large population, prosperous trade routes and a strategic location at a crossroads.

It was the crossroads connecting Milan, Genoa and Turin.

John had no money at the moment, all thanks to his good uncle, Amadeus VIII.

Amadeus had seized tax collection points by force, relocated his subjects, robbed merchant caravans and forced Montferrat to pay huge war reparations.

These temporary difficulties would gradually be resolved in the future.

Isaac was not at all concerned that John would be unable to repay the money.

John eventually accepted the money, took Isaac's hand, and remained silent for a long time.

William, however, shouted and invited Isaac to join the jousting tournament the following week.

That night, Isaac stayed inside the castle.

Looking at the room's obvious Greek-style décor, Isaac felt a moment of disorientation.

He slept soundly through the night.