As the sun sets, the afterglow of the setting sun shines on the Golden Horn, which is as narrow as a bull's horn, and the calm sea is full of sparkling waves, like gold glittering.

The generosity of the "Mongol crusaders" in the morning brought a great shock to the hearts of the citizens of Constantinople, and until the moment when the sun had set, these medieval otaku trapped in the besieged city still talked to each other and sighed for a long time.

Although this time, the "Mongol crusaders" who came from the northern shore of the Black Sea only had one ship and only a few dozen people, and it seemed that they did not play much role on the battlefield. Moreover, they do not represent the attitude of the Ulus Khan of Jochi, but simply "the spontaneous act of a few Christian tribal nobles...... However, the generous donations of these Mongols to the emperor really solved Constantinople's immediate needs.

- Boxes of pepper, cloves, cardamom and other oriental spices were like gold with a good smell to medieval Europeans; And those white sugar and refined salt, which are as clear as snow, are probably no less valuable than silver of equal weight in the eyes of the citizens.

As for those delicate jade-like porcelain, and soft and shiny silk, it is a hard currency that has been widely sought after in the Mediterranean since ancient Roman times.

Such a visually striking scene is really a rare conversation for these people who live boring lives in the besieged city.

As a Chinese, it may be difficult to understand the madness of Westerners with spices in medieval history - in the era when spices were most scarce, European spices were even equivalent to gold at one time. The desire for spices in medieval Europeans is considered to be a major driving force for the great geographical discoveries of the West.

Before the advent of the Age of Discovery, even in Constantinople, the eastern gate of European Christianity, the hub of East-West trade for thousands of years, and the most important distribution center for imported oriental spices in Europe, such a large batch of spices, silk, and porcelain was definitely priceless.

Therefore. Immediately after thanking the "Mongol Crusaders" for their generosity, Constantine XI announced that he would transport one of the boxes of pepper to the Galata concession of the Genoese on the other side of the Golden Horn to purchase a quantity of grain from them at a high price as currency. It was used to distribute free bread to the soldiers and civilians of the city for three consecutive days, which immediately made the Imperial subjects gathered near the docks thunderous and happy.

Then the Emperor set aside a large box full of pepper. As an additional bonus, the salaries distributed to the mercenaries of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the Venetian, Genoa, Catalan and Neapolitan warriors who volunteered to fight in Constantinople, immediately boosted the morale of these mercenaries - in medieval Europe, pepper was really used directly for money.

Due to the climate and latitude, pepper cannot be produced in Europe, and it is the Arabs who get it from India to Egypt, and then wholesale it to the Venetian merchants who do business there, and then it is wholesaled again by the Venetian merchants, because of the layers of increased weight and thousands of miles of traffic. Therefore, when it is retailed in the European market, it is naturally more expensive than gold - in these days, European pepper has always been sold by the grain. If it's pepper powder, it's even more unlucky, and you have to close the doors and windows and hold your breath when weighing. The buyer also has to check the scale over and over again for fraud......

At this time, in the European market, a pound of nutmeg could be exchanged for a flock of sheep, a pound of cloves was equal to three times the weight of gold, and a grain of pepper was basically equivalent to a gold coin, so it had the reputation of "pepper coin".

In fact, in medieval Europe. Pepper was indeed used as a substitute for gold and silver at one time, acting as a currency in circulation.

For example, in the Middle Ages, the taxes paid to the English crown by the counties of England often included pounds of pepper. The custom continued for a long time, until 1973, when Prince Charles crossed the Tyma River to receive a fiefdom of the duke, the fief was still paid a pound of pepper – a token rent that "pepper coins" were used in Europe until the last century.

In the distant Middle Ages, these peppers offered to the royal family were of course not symbolic tributes, but hard currency that everyone loved – in a sense, medieval pepper was the most popular "international currency" just like the modern dollar.

Therefore, a time-traveler from the afterlife will immediately become a popular super-rich person as long as he spends a little money to buy a bag of pepper and carry it with him. Take out a pepper or two every time you pay the bill...... It's even more face-saving than the platinum VIP credit card of later generations!

In addition to spices, sugar and refined salt were also valuable luxuries in Europe at this time - because the latitude of Europe was too high and the climate was not warm and humid enough to grow sugar cane, sugar could only be imported from the East through the territory of the Arabs, and the price was terrible. At that time, European sugar was sold in pharmacies, and for Europeans it was not a daily condiment, but a high-grade tonic like ginseng in the eyes of Chinese.

The price of salt was slightly cheaper, because the Europeans were able to produce it themselves, but it was also expensive due to the backwardness of the ancient people in salt production.

In the days of the Roman Empire, salt was used as a salary for Roman legionnaires. In medieval Europe, when civilization was shattered and Jishu was regressed, salt was as valuable as silver, and each pound of pure salt could be sold for two to three florin gold coins. Even in the Renaissance at the end of the Middle Ages, the price of salt dropped only slightly, averaging about one florin per pound – and because the salt produced by modern industry was purer, the goods carefully prepared by the travelers could have been sold for more in the Constantinople market.

Therefore, after receiving such a generous gift, even in the current situation and tense atmosphere of the Empire, Emperor Constantine XI ordered a feast to entertain these "saviors from the East......

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The glow of the oil lamps and the afterglow of the setting sun shimmered dimly in the interior, and the smooth marble floor reflected vague figures.

Mosaics in a distinctly Eastern Roman style. On the walls, there are religious paintings with profound meanings.

According to the Roman custom of feasting, the guests were all half-reclining and half-sitting on soft couches that resembled chaise longues, chatting and eating in a relaxed posture.

Dignified attendants walked in and out of the corridors with huge plates, serving guests a variety of colorful foods.

Gongs, drums, flutes and harps play cheerful melodies in the room, and Arab dancers from Anatolia dress up in exotic costumes. Like water snakes, they swing their waists and dance to the music, showing their graceful bodies and moving dancing.

Although the court of the Eastern Roman Empire had already taken out the only luxuries in the besieged city. Trying to create an atmosphere of luxury and comfort, the poverty and embarrassment of the empire still can't fool the eyes of those who care—there are no tall gold cups adorned with gems and pearls at the banquet. It has been replaced with a white tin cup or a terracotta cup. Plates and knives and forks were cheap bronze or even wood, and in this empty banquet hall, apart from the ancient mosaics on the walls, there were not many modest works of fine art, let alone any gold or silver decoration.

In fact, the gold and silver vessels of the Eastern Roman court had long since been melted down to finance the army, and were used to mint currency to pay mercenaries, even the crown and scepter, and the jewels on them were fakes, the crown of Constantine XI. It was actually glued with pigskin dyed with gold and decorated with stained glass, barely pretending to be a gemstone...... The problem is that almost everyone knows about it, and no one can fool it.

The tableware that has been decorated with all its might is so miserable, and the dishes that can be prepared in the siege are even more shabby.

Wang Qiu sitting at the next wooden table. First, I curiously took a bite of the black bread that was served, and suddenly I almost broke my teeth—the bread was as hard as a stone, and it tasted as astringent as wood, and there was so much bran that I couldn't swallow it even if I chewed it, and then I went down. He was about to take a sip of wine to moisten his throat when he smelled a sour and rancid smell that made him almost vomit.

- The bread eaten by Europeans in the Middle Ages was not at all the same thing as the fluffy bread of modern people that had been fermented and buttered with white sugar and cream, but a kind of unleavened bread similar to a compressed biscuit, which was dry, hard and cracked......

Because of the aggrievalry of the staple foods and beverages mentioned above, the pampered Comrade Wang Qiu lost interest in the big dishes served later—charred grilled fish and grilled meat, served with chopped onions and pickled olives—and was no longer ready to continue to torture his teeth, throat, and taste buds, but simply pushed his plate directly to the political commissar Sonia beside him. However, this werewolf lady, who was originally very good and never picky about meals as long as there was shochu and apples, was also at a loss for the diet of medieval Europe, and her face was full of entanglement and helplessness.

“…… This bread is actually mixed with bran and wood chips! Even the worst Russian Black Leba is a little stronger than this thing! ”

She sighed and complained, "...... It reminds me of the Battle of Leningrad in history - the Red Army soldiers at that time fought off the German devils by nibbling on 125 grams of rationed black bread of this quality every day...... When they heard the old-timers talk about it, they were all impressed by the terrible black bread that hurt their stomachs. But now it seems that the ancient Europeans probably fought the defense of Leningrad every day......"

“…… Indeed, the miserable life of the Middle Ages is not something that we modern people can easily endure. Wang Qiu also nodded and sighed, "...... When I think of our time-traveling emperor, he has been abusing his digestive system with these things for the past two years...... I can understand that he would be holding the ham sausage, cookies and canned luncheon meat we brought with him, and eating as if he had won the lottery jackpot......"

At this time, Comrade Mamat and former Prime Minister Kotori Yu Mahaku, who were sitting on the main seat of the high platform, were entertained by the court as honored guests under the guise of "Mongolian prince" and "Mongolian princess", so the contents of the plate in front of them were a little more sumptuous, although there was still no white bread, but at least a vegetable salad seasoned with olive oil, and a thick soup made of cabbage, beans, and salted meat, and seasoned with fish sauce.

The problem is that these medieval standard "sumptuous" dishes may be reluctantly acceptable to Comrade Maimaiti, who has been stumbling on the Palestinian battlefield all year round, but in the eyes of the former Prime Minister Kotori Yu, who has been pampered all year round, they are almost no different from dog food.

And Emperor Constantine XI sat on the throne. While chatting with the two distinguished guests, a few evil smiles secretly appeared on the corners of his mouth—let you also taste the sins I have suffered in the past two years!

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Although all the traversers were in a tangled and embarrassed state, the Eastern Roman courtiers who had just received heavy gifts were smiling one by one.

“…… Alas, I had been worried all the time, even if we barely repelled the siege of the Turks this time, the finances of the empire would collapse completely. I don't know how to spend the rest of my days...... Now I can finally breathe a sigh of relief! ”

State Secretary Franz sighed with relief as he poured a large glass of wine down his throat, "...... The treasurer complained to me every day. It is said that next month's military salary will not be paid. And in the emperor's small treasury, there are also IOUs or IOUs......"

“…… That's right, in order to cope with this offensive and defensive battle, which is likely to be fateful. The subjects of the empire have given everything they have...... Every man in the city began training with a weapon, and every coin in our hands was put into military spending......"

Grand Duke Lucas, the commander of the Navy, sighed as he nibbled on a grilled fish soaked in honey and sucked his fingers stained with grease and honey from time to time, "...... The current Constantinople is like an orange that has been squeezed out of juice, no matter how desperately it searches, it can't squeeze anything...... The ancient Romans would never have imagined that the prosperity and splendor of this great empire could be reduced to such an extent that all the glory of the past would be completely lost......"

Accompanied by his words. The slightest hint of cheerfulness and joy during the feast turned into a low melancholy again.

- Ever since the decaying Eastern Roman Empire was gradually reduced by the Turks to a city-state, the country has had little stable income. In times of embarrassment, they had to rely on selling ancient artifacts, leasing land, and borrowing usury to survive. And these usurers were thrown into a defensive war with no returns, and there was no way to repay them, so they had to accumulate land profits year after year, and now they have reached an appalling astronomical amount, even if the entire land of Constantinople is sold. It is also impossible to offset the debt.

From a financial point of view, Constantinople at this time had become a non-performing asset in the hands of Italian merchants.

Fortunately, the city was also the only gateway to the Black Sea – and if Italian merchants did not want to lose all their colonies and trading posts on the Black Sea coast, they had to help the Eastern Roman Empire hold its capital to the end. Otherwise, once the Turks captured Constantinople and completely cut off the strait passage, then many Genoese and Venetian concessions on the Black Sea coast would be reduced to water without a source and trees without roots, and after losing contact with the mother country, they would quickly wither and wither. And the Italian trading city-states that lost these colonial shili ranges will soon be like the British Empire, which later lost the blood transfusion of its global colonies, and soon its prosperity and majesty will be lost.

Therefore, as long as the current political situation does not fundamentally change, Constantinople does not have to worry about the Italians coming with warships to collect debts by force.

However, as its territory shrank to a single capital, the country lost most of its conscripts, and had to hire Catalans, French, Venetians, Serbs, Wallachians, and Bulgarians as mercenaries. Due to the lack of financial resources of the empire, the military salaries were in arrears for many years, so that these guys were called soldiers, but they were actually bandits, and at the slightest dissatisfaction, they would go into a big fight, looting the citizens, and making the people's hearts more and more shaken.

In fact, in 1453, the subjects of the Eastern Roman Empire already vaguely understood in their hearts that this thousand-year-old imperial capital on the Bosphorus was going to fall, if not this year, but not in a short time - it was already a very miraculous miracle that Constantinople was able to survive for more than half a century in the desperate situation of being completely surrounded by the Turks.

The problem is that no matter what kind of miracle it is, there will be an end to it.

Although the fortified walls built by Constantine the Great and Theosido the Great are still deterred by all enemies, the citizens of Constantinople worship them as reverently as they did to the gods...... But to put one's hopes and destiny entirely in the hands of illusory gods, and on these dead things made of stones, is in itself a sorrow for a nation and a harbinger of the demise of a civilization!

Just as in the great days of the ancient Roman Empire, brave and confident citizens are the most heroic walls, continuous conquest and development are the most important defenses, and a vigorous atmosphere full of enterprising spirit is the strong guarantee...... When all these healthy Xiangshang features gradually disappear, even if it is Jincheng soup pool and dangerous passes, it will not be able to stop the enemy's invasion and invasion.

“…… Hehehe, at this time of celebration, don't say these discouraged words! Lucas! ”

The commander of the Imperial Army, John, smashed Archduke Lucas in the shoulder with a punch, dispelling the gloomy atmosphere with a hearty daxiao, "...... Even the Mongols in the East were inspired by God to come here. And how can we, the Zuihou Romans, not fight hard to Zuihou for a moment? ”

He took advantage of his drunkenness to raise his glass and shouted to everyone around him, "...... Cheers to our never-falling city! ”

“…… Bell-bell-bell-"

Before he could finish his words, a hurried alarm bell interrupted the banquet, so that the people who had been hit on the head had no intention of eating or drinking.

Immediately afterwards, a sentry who came running wildly with sweat brought two bad news to the poor Eastern Roman monarchs in one breath - first, according to the urgent information just brought by a Genoese merchant ship, the Turkish fleet had sailed into the Sea of Marmara in a big way, and would arrive at the sea outside the city by tomorrow afternoon at the latest; Second, in the camp of the enemy army opposite the walls of Theosidus, the royal banner of the Turkish Sultan himself suddenly appeared!

——The most severe test in history has finally befallen this city that has suffered many vicissitudes! ……)

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