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Anno Domini 828,March-7-15
"Did those rats give you much trouble?" Theophilos asked as he ate olives seasoned with saffron and pepper, his father's favorites and, apparently, his as well.
"Well, considering that many of them managed to flee their villas before we arrived, yes. The main reason I captured several of them was that they stayed behind trying to sell everything registered under their names before escaping, which gave me the time I needed to catch them. The rest traveled light; I believe they are already with the Carolingian claimants, and some must have already offered their services to the Abbasids," I replied, also eating olives with cheese from the table.
"Yes… that is what I get for trusting people who had ties to those who lived off abusing the system. By now we would have fully restored the treasury, because with everything we confiscated we barely recovered what had been lost. Many escaped, so we only recovered what was owed. Now we will see what happens in the next fiscal year, after I ordered all the strategoi to closely watch the imperial tax collectors for any sign of enriching themselves by squeezing the population," Theophilos said as he lifted his golden cup and drank in small sips.
"I see… I thought this would leave the Empire's coffers overflowing," I said thoughtfully.
"The abuses went on for far too long. This did not begin with my father; it goes much further back, Basil. Every aristocrat must have used that trick more than once, but I only managed to obtain proof against some of them. The rest would be far too difficult to prove, and those who support me would feel uneasy following someone who goes after everyone to empty their pockets. I can only move against those for whom I have witnesses and proof of bribery," Theophilos said while reviewing a ledger.
"Well, you asked me for prices for swords and armor. These are the prices I work with at my forge," I said, taking out a sheet of paper and writing down the values for my swords and full armor sets before handing it to him.
Theophilos wiped his mouth with a silk napkin and studied the paper.
"Hm… interesting… this is not papyrus… it is sturdier, from what I can tell. I believe I heard some officers from the strategoi of the southern themes mention it… this is paper, isn't it?" he said, paying more attention to the material than to the numbers.
"Yes… cotton paper. It is an Asian technique that I managed to apply by translating Sarakenoi books, taking advantage of the fact that cotton can be cultivated in Crete," I replied, setting aside the bowl of olives and focusing on the conversation.
"You can read the Abbasids' Arabic?… well… that is far more learned than I expected. Tell me, what else have you read from them? The court of Baghdad is a marvel of science, art, and culture; a true jewel if you compare it to Constantinople," Theophilos said, his eyes lighting up.
"Some books that I translate into Greek from time to time. Laws, histories, the occasional military treatise from the region, and some texts that detailed how to produce certain things. There is very good information in old books," I replied, recalling the texts I had brought back from the sack.
"Ha, ha, ha… and I thought you were a brute. It seems you are far more cultured and educated than most of the court. My father was right: we would get along well. But tell me one thing, Basil… what are these… scribbles? I do not understand them," Theophilos said, pointing at what I had written.
"Ah… those are… I used Arabic numerals. It is an accounting system translated by the Sarakenoi from a language of India. It is based on a numbering system from zero to nine that can expand infinitely, making calculations that are usually complex under the Ionic system child's play. I keep two sets of account books, because this system is much easier to manage than the Ionic one," I replied, realizing my mistake.
"Explain it to me… I am interested," Theophilos said, gesturing toward the paper.
"Of course. Zero represents nothingness, and that is a great advantage, because in the other system we have no way to indicate it. The rest of the numbers are gradual increases in quantity. For example, here a steel sword costs ten nomismata: a one and a zero, where the zero represents a new order of magnitude rather than nothing," I said, trying to explain it clearly.
Theophilos nodded.
"Here, for example, a brigantine sells for one hundred and twenty nomismata, and with the full set of protections it costs four hundred and twenty. A steel mail hauberk costs one hundred nomismata, a spear costs five, and any additional weapon would have to be evaluated personally according to its costs," I concluded.
"Yes… it does seem simpler, though I would need to learn it better. It could be interesting to adopt it within the administration, although it would take time," Theophilos said thoughtfully, running a hand through his short beard.
"Precisely because of that… what quantities do you require in order to evaluate the feasibility of expanding the forge or increasing contracts for the purchase of iron and coal from the mines, to secure the necessary materials?" I asked, interested in the potential contract.
"I have to equip thousands of men… I want to march to defend the lands with around seventy thousand men, so I believe I will need weapons for roughly twenty thousand spears, about two thousand swords, and probably ten thousand sets of armor like those your men use. You will understand that, even though the treasury has recently been replenished, there are many other expenses… so I believe I will have to try to reduce your profit margins a bit, or I will not be able to arm all my men," Theophilos said, making mental calculations of the cost.
"I believe I can fulfill the sword orders. I have several reserves from my sales to the North Sea, so I can deliver those swords next week. The spears, although less complicated to produce, could be ready by next month. But the armor… even if I put all my smiths to work on armor, we only produce about one hundred sets per month. Ten thousand is far too many. At most I could get you five hundred, between this month's production and what I already have in storage. That would be ready by the end of the month," I replied after thinking it through carefully.
"A pity… I would have liked to march with a strong tagmata force at my back. Very well, let us start with the basics. How many mail hauberks can you produce for next month?" Theophilos asked, showing a hint of disappointment.
"If we are talking only about mail hauberks… about a thousand. It is the most difficult part of the armor. I can literally produce more brigandines than mail in the same span of time," I replied, mentally calculating the workload of all my smiths.
"Oh? And what would you recommend as better, a mail hauberk or a brigandine on its own?" Theophilos asked.
"The brigandine is better, strictly speaking, although the ideal is to use them together. The brigandine absorbs blows far more effectively and is more resistant against weapons such as a lance used from horseback, since there is no risk of a ring breaking under the impact and piercing the armor. For that reason, I would recommend the brigandine: it is easier to mass-produce than mail," I replied.
"Good. Then that it is. How many brigandines can you deliver per month, assuming your entire production is devoted solely to that?" Theophilos asked, bringing his hands together.
"With the current system, we can easily produce around two to three thousand per month, but only the brigandine itself. No arm or leg protection, though they would still provide very good protection for the torso," I replied.
"Good… but I need you to lower the price. Consider that I will be purchasing brigandines for several months, so I need a substantial discount," Theophilos said.
"I can lower it to one hundred," I replied, trying to preserve as much margin as possible.
"Could it be seventy?" Theophilos asked after a moment's thought.
I started doing the math. In truth, producing a brigandine was cheap; the real cost lay in the labor. The steel could be produced in sufficient quantities in my furnaces, and the unit cost hovered around forty gold coins after refining the assembly and production chain. Even so, the profit remained considerable, though it was no longer as lucrative as my sales to the Varangian realms.
"Eighty… I still need to maintain some margins, since the price of iron and coal may rise sharply once the war begins. I will need that margin to keep production going. But tell me, how many brigandines will you need in total?" I asked, interested.
"I will pay you for ten thousand over four months. That order should be completed by then… eight hundred thousand nomismata… practically most of what you confiscated in the city," Theophilos said, clicking his tongue as he spoke the figure.
"That is the price of good armor, my basileus Rhōmaiōn," I replied with a faint smile.
"It seems that, besides the victors, the producers of the tools for killing one another are the ones who profit the most from war," Theophilos said, making a grimace.
Theophilos wrote something on a sheet of papyrus, sealed it with wax, and pressed his signet into it.
"Good. Consider the order confirmed. Go to the treasury and load your ships with all that gold immediately, so I do not make plans with it, and fulfill the order. I will secure the rest of the equipment. The aristocrats' guards had many weapons and suits of armor; their quality left much to be desired, but it is better than arming men with nothing but spears and shields," Theophilos replied.
"Very well… then I will depart for Crete immediately to set production in motion and see if I can increase it somehow. I will likely need to bring in more apprentices or something of the sort," I answered.
"May the Almighty watch over your journey," Theophilos said, gesturing toward the door.
I hurried off at once, guided by several officials, toward the imperial treasury. The change from the last time I had seen it was enormous. Compared to Michael's reign, his father's treasury had been practically empty.
Now, by contrast, it was overflowing. There must have been between four and five million gold coins accumulated after stripping everything from merchants and aristocrats who had preserved their wealth for years by exploiting legal or ilegal loopholes.
And now a generous portion of all that was mine. Or rather… half of it. A contract that left me with profits of four hundred thousand gold coins from a single order by the emperor. And that was without counting the fact that this figure could shrink if the price of iron soared once all the smiths of the Empire began working without rest to produce military equipment.
I set things in motion immediately. Several chests filled with gold coins began to be loaded onto my ships, and while that was happening I went through the churches of Constantinople looking for orphans to turn into blacksmith apprentices.
But for the first time, the trick failed.
Almost all the orphans who were of age to serve had accepted themata contracts. And who could blame them: they were literally being given land and a house in exchange for military service. For those who had lived as dependents in a church, that was a divine gift. The churches were almost empty, and there was nothing to be done about it.
We began the return journey to Crete, stopping at several iron mines in Attica, from which I obtained my supply. There I purchased iron futures for the next three years, spending nearly half the gold I was carrying, but securing a stable supply that would not rise in price when the rest of the Empire panicked and prices soared—while also building an enormous reserve, since it was far more than what we used each month.
In other imperial cities the situation was similar: lands abandoned by aristocrats were being distributed under new themata contracts, so there were few orphans available. Even so, we managed to take about a thousand back to Crete, and that only after stopping in several cities to look for more people willing to work at the forge.
Finally, after a week-long voyage by dromon, we arrived in Crete. Without wasting time I went straight to the forge at Knossos, where my smiths, as always, were working tirelessly producing equipment. I immediately ordered them to stop manufacturing anything that was not a brigandine, completely reorganizing steel production to focus exclusively on plate making, perforation, and the riveting required to join them.
At the same time I began expanding the infrastructure, enlarging the forge and setting the new apprentices to assist with all the heaviest work.
We had to be ready for the next military orders, because if I had had more installed capacity, all that gold sitting in the treasury would have been mine.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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