Old Vassals

After I toured the newly added territories of Pergamon and incorporated and changed the institutions of Pergamon, I moved back to Pergamon. In Pergamon, I inspected the newly founded administration and conducted surveys and analyses with my advisors to see if the newly introduced laws and practices were accepted. Surveying, population analysis, etc. were all parts of sociology, a fairly modern practice that I introduced to better understand the socio-scientific reasoning on social cohesion and social conflict.

We didn't close the pagan temples, but rather we allowed them to operate under a private license that enabled them to continue their religious practice, which was also a great source of income as temples were generally rich and controlled the flow of money. The temples gladly paid for the license as I spared them from a heavy sacking and pillaging. However, I banned the priests in the temples to conduct trials and they weren't exempt from taxation like the priests of Light, though we did lower taxation for them. Because I didn't want to damage the unison of the army, I passed a special tax for religions other than the state religion of the Faith of Light. This new tax was taken every three years from all males between the ages of 18-35 in exchange for military service as only the believers of the Goddess of Light could serve in the army, kind of like the Jizya tax in the Muslim states of the past in my old world, but lighter as the military exemption tax was not taken annually in Alta, unlike the Muslim states. The tax was not heavy and could be in both monetary form and in the form of grains and products. The tax was heavier for merchants, which was supposed to encourage them to convert.

I also wanted to benefit from the newly found manpower of Pergamon, so I recruited a new tercio unit among the already existing followers of the Goddess of Light, as well as the newly converted citizens of Pergamon. I also accepted the service of some of the newly converted Almagovars. This new force was sent to Nicea to receive essential military training and equipment before being sent to Adrianaople where the tercio would receive further training. The Altans were at first against the formation of what they called a foreign tercio, but they stopped protesting once I showed up at the army quarters.

I spent the next two weeks determining key points and commissioning the building of new castles, fortifications, bridges, and roads. Our cement, brick, and concrete technology was 800 centuries more advanced than what should've been possible at this period, so our projects were incomparably stronger than their contemporaries. On top of that, our magic enchantments, specifically, the moving metal parts enabled us to build advanced construction vehicles and platforms as well as carts and wagons that worked as if they had a small auxiliary motor to help the horse with the movement.

After I finished everything I needed to do myself in Pergamon, I marched back to Alta together with the majority of the army following the newly formed tercio from Pergamon.

I entered the city of Alta in triumph. The city celebrated our return and I made the army parade through the main roads of the city accompanied by the march songs sung by the newly founded military bands before they returned to their quarters.

After a day of rest, I invited my vassals and listened to the new reports, as well as rumors of the states surrounding Alta. I was especially interested in the rumors regarding the Most Serene Republic of Aquileia, a country similar to Venice in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods of Earth. They control a few islands south of the Aegean Sea and are allied to the Knights of Lazarus to the South of Pergamon, and the Duchies of Athens, Naxos, and Achaea, who were Alta's vassals in theory.

I sent many of my priests to these lands and I had managed to separate the temple from the ruling nobilities in these lands finally after the rebirth of the World Tree, however, centuries of corruption and lack of central authority resulted in the vassals becoming extremely disloyal. They only sent letters to congratulate me and I suspect one of these duchies was behind the escape of my elder brother Fir to Medes through the Caucasus. I was also notified by the Elder Priests of the Temple that more and more priests were coming to Alta for shelter as the Duchies slowly started to cut the connection between their lands and Alta, however, the clergy was also the reason for their own legitimacy, therefore they were still afraid to touch the temples themselves. Because of my efforts, the Temple now views Goddess like a mother figure, as in the Goddess was the reason for the creation of the cosmos, influenced the creation of earth and stars, and helped guide the people of the world, like a mother who helps her child grow up and sometimes advises them but ultimately lets them live a free life. This approach was important as I didn't like the oppressing, pejorative, and scary nature of the religion of my old world. That's why I spent countless hours at night writing behavioral analysis, communication guidelines, and psychological lectures. It would normally be impossible to teach all of these to clergymen who are traditionalists, but I was the man who had the strongest blessing from the Goddess, made life easier and more convenient for all people regardless of class, and made the strict lines of the classes themselves blurry, in addition regrowing the World Tree, so I was not opposed.

That's why the priests of Light all over Alta, as well as the Duchies, were greatly influenced by the new doctrine, and practices, as well as the new meditation method that I showed, which made people control their power and enabled all of our priests to use minor healing and detoxification spells.

I couldn't touch these Dukes easily as the Republic of Aquileia had a large navy, plus the Knights of Lazarus started to become a pain as well, as our scouting ships say they were entering our waters and they even tried to invade Pergamon after the fall of the Kingdom and it was only after Sir Thalandir surprised them with a host of 5000 that they returned empty-handed, however, I imagine they would hold a grudge against us for that slight. Likewise, the Republic of Aquileia would probably be fuming with anger as the trade became one-sided since we do not require many materials from South and Western Europe, and since the formation of our Arsenal and advancements in shipbuilding techniques, we produce higher quality merchant vessels and we trade directly with Egypt and Black Sea coasts directly without needing a third party.

Despite all these disadvantages of a potential campaign against my disloyal vassals, I was still planning to strike them decisively as early as the late winter of the next year. I even ordered my arsenal to build bigger warships, mainly the galleass', which was intended to combine galley speed with the sea-worthiness of sails and the large artillery capacity. They were working on a fully sailed ship, a galleon before I postponed the project in favor of galleasses, which were smaller and thus built faster and in larger quantities.

I also ordered the workshops under me to expand so that we can make more artillery and muskets. Since the conquered territories of Pergamon included a few known iron mines, I commissioned a few of my most experienced managers to be in charge of the development and safety of the mines in Pergamon. This will also include magic tracks that help carry the mineral ore to the ground, as well as advanced equipment that protects the miners as well as helps them in their tasks. I also ordered hospitals to be built near the mines and healers, doctors, and pharmacists to be present at the site. The majority of the cost for these projects was paid by the treasures that we had acquired in Pergamon, which also included the whole wealth of the noble families who chose to fight rather than surrender.

We also reorganized the army. Now we had three tercio pike-and-shot formation units numbered 3000 each and 9000 together. Each individual tercio was formed of 20 companies of 150 men per company. There were around 2000 Knights and man-at-arms in all of Alta, however, less than half of this force was loyal to the crown. That's why I created 3 battalions of cavalry with 4 companies in each unit. "Knight" is a social hierarchical title, however, by placing the knights as the commanders of each company and cutting their road to power by separating the military from the statesmen, I practically made the title "Knight" solely a military title. It didn't take anything away from the prestige of the existing Knight Orders, on the contrary, more responsibilities and connections to the state would enable them to serve more loyally as they wouldn't have the time to consider rebellions, not that they can effectively rebel in the new system anyway. Each battalion of the cavalry included a single company of light cavalry, who rode lightly armored, but incomparably faster and more agile horses and they were equipped not with lances, but with modern-like compound bows that were further advanced by our magic technology, making them much more powerful than even the heaviest of longbows, firing their custom made hardened steel heavy arrows designed to punch through heavy armor. These light cavalry battalions lacked the punch that our heavier units had, however, they were deathly at ranges and they could still fight in melee with their long and heavy cavalry sabers and maces. In addition to these units, I had one final unit that I imagine will be extremely fatal to my enemies; the Almogavars that I brought with me from Pergamon. These Catalan warriors were masters of Guerilla warfare, and they will be crucial for us to thoroughly tremble any enemy. For now, we had a single battalion of Almogavars, meaning a thousand men in total. They are now equipped with Alta's superior and stronger gambeson armor, under the boiled leather padding that was both light in weight and strong enough to prevent arrows from further than 30 meters, as well as a few spear and sword blows. Almogavars originally used bows and javelins, now I would arm them with compound bows and muskets with shorter muzzles and buckshot ammunition. They also carried Incendiaries, such as Molotov cocktails (easy to make, easier to use) to damage enemy camps and structures. Their sidearms included maces, axes, sabers, large daggers, and pistols.

In late summer of the same year, my parents, the King of Alta Lustinus Cala, and my mother Lady Nessa Montferrat were announced to be married in a ceremony held by my grandfather, the Duke of Thessaloniki Celeborn Montferrat. My father's marriage to the old Queen was annulled a few years prior, so I am planning on stirring the bees' nest to observe a reaction. This is also a pretext for me to supply Thessaloniki with enough provisions to last my campaign in Greece. I will also be able to transfer troops and ships to the borders of the Duchies of Athens and Naxos. Oh, also to celebrate the union of my parents, who were apparently spending all their days in the gardens of the palace meditating, drinking the Holy Water that is made from the birch sap of the World Tree, as well as tasting and writing reviews on all kinds of drinks and foods. They have become this world's first great connoisseurs and food critics. I am happy that they can finally enjoy each other's company and focus on their relationship. I suspect I'll be able to hold my little sibling before long.