Gombrigne grew far faster than John could have imagined.

While the empire and Muhammad, who had just stabilized the Balkan rebellion, wrestled with the question of manpower drain, Gombrigne was silent and fed. War refugees were not John's focus on taking in the population, after all, whether the family moved to the territory of the empire, whether they could remain loyal to the empire and provide stable tax revenue was a big problem, and the work of these war refugees also needed to be solved urgently, otherwise Epirus would not be able to keep these people.

John was most surprised by the many artists from Florence and other countries in northern Italy where Renaissance ideas were developing.

The empire did not extend any invitations, but a large number of depressed painters, architects, sculptors, and playwrights flocked to Epirus, Greece, and Constantinople with near-fanatical enthusiasm. To be sure, John couldn't tell whether the convergence of two completely different ideas within the empire was a good thing. But this did not prevent the empire from using these people to contribute to religious and cultural causes.

"There is no need for us to hinder the free integration of cultures, Your Majesty." Jeffrey was undoubtedly a pragmatic man, and as long as he could extract taxes from this group of people, they were the pillars of the empire, "especially the merchants of Venice, who held the capital, which was money." Businessmen...... Or anyone with status and economic power, in order to decorate the façade, buy some sculptures, paintings, and go to the great theaters of Gombrigne, Athens and Constantinople to enjoy plays and music in their spare time, that is income! ”

Every month, John was horrified by the tax reports that Jeffrey handed in, and he had to show them to Sophia to make sure there wasn't much water in them.

It is important to note that these tax reports do not include the output of the gold mines, nor do they include the taxes on the customs trade of the renovated port of Aweil, and Epirus is still in place to temporarily promote the low-tax rate of population growth.

If it continues at this rate, I am afraid that by the beginning of next year, Epirus will be able to basically meet the goal of self-sufficiency.

"What reason do they have to abandon their country and come all the way to the territory of the empire, a land that is completely unfamiliar and even different in religion and culture?" John was still puzzled, "Is it just this empire that is only in ruins?" ”

"Your Majesty, Rome is not as dejected as you think...... Those barbarians are not as developed as you think. The so-called Renaissance is nothing more than wisdom that emanates from Constantinople. They rebelled against their rulers, against their religious authority, and do you think, Your Majesty, that the people living in a promised land would think about reform and rebellion every day? Jeffrey walked to the window on crutches and opened it. From the windowsill of the palace, you can see the whole of Fort Gombrigne.

At noon, people are still busy, and the construction sites are now the most concentrated in Fort Combrigne, and in the distance, the construction of the Holy Cathedral of Epirus has already begun. And between the streets and alleys, the cries of street vendors are endless. From here, you can see green vineyards and olive fields in the distance, and the aroma of the winery and the oil mill is intoxicating.

The walls had been expanded twice in three months, and the city's guards patrolled it. Although most of the soldiers were newly recruited militiamen, Giovanni and Vasica, who had nothing to do, also took on the task of training these recruits. John didn't ask much about military drills, but he would find time to ask Giovanni for advice on military strategy and warfare, no matter how busy he was with government affairs.

Everyone is full of enthusiasm, and they can't all be sprinkled between the piles of government reports and legal provisions. Muhammad had repeatedly taken charge of the seal, and John was looking forward to the day when he would be able to face Muhammad II head-to-head on the battlefield.

"Edirne...... Sooner or later, I'll have you change your name back to Adriano! ”

"Your Majesty...... Your Majesty...... Your Majesty! ”

"Huh?!"

"You're out of your mind."

"Oh...... It's okay, Jeffrey. Where did you just go? ”

Jeffrey smiled and said, "What I'm going to say is what your majesty thought of when you just went to the fugue. This is Rome, even if there is only a ruin left, even if there is only one fire left, as long as the time is ripe, it will be a prairie fire! ”

"Really......"

"Your Majesty, do you dare to believe that three months ago, Gombrigne was what it is now? When the empire first conquered Athens, how far did it compare with now? Not to mention Thebes and Thessaloniki, even the Moreah, today, is not only the largest granary of the Empire, but also the most powerful army of the Empire, the most populous area that can be requisitioned, this is Rome! ”

Countless citizens of the Empire actually had exactly the same feelings towards Rome as Jeffrey. Beyond faith, even beyond life.

"The defection of the nobles has indeed left the most precious essence of the empire. Brother, don't always feel that the empire should still survive. Believe me, the current Muhammad will never dare to make a smooth transition between us and the Ottomans. Sophia also has unprecedented expectations for the future of the Empire, a pace that John, who is not so sensitive to numbers and domestic affairs, may not have felt, but for the vast majority of the Empire's subjects, it is enough to be called shocking.

No country, no city, has ever been able to rebuild with such a posture and speed as the empire it is now. It's not too much to call it a miracle.

"Any idea why? Because, five years later, with only the Ottoman army in the Balkans, there is no possibility of completely defeating the combined forces of the empire and Albania, if you add the Hungarian army, the recovery of the Balkans is just around the corner! This is the old land of the empire. The people here, regardless of their faith or language, still have Roman blood in their flesh and bones. ”

"Sophia, it's rare to see you like this." John listened to Sophia's generous speech, but became interested. It is no wonder that it was rumored in later generations that 400,000 Jingluo counterattacked Tuji to recover Junbao, and this dream of imperial revival could make Sophia, who has always been calm and rational, become so excited.

"Brother, self-confidence in the empire is very important. If he had chosen to give up, His Majesty Constantine had surrendered the city at the time of the assassination of John VIII. ”

"Of course, I believe in the Empire, and I believe in you even more."

John calmly approved this month's tax statements.

"It's almost winter, and if you don't do something this fall, you always feel like it's not enough......