Chapter 923 - 146: One City Equals One Nation
At dusk, Alexandria, the pearl of the Eastern Mediterranean, once again welcomed its master.
Though it might not be the hub of all of Egypt like Cairo, Losa still preferred to place his seat of governance here.
In this regard, he shared a rare consensus with the previous master of this land, Adil, the Governor of Egypt appointed by Saladin.
In the Governor’s Palace west of the city, Losa, having just withdrawn from the banquet, was now sitting on a silk cushion in his bedchamber, browsing the account books placed on the table.
Now, the trade of Alexandria Port had gradually returned to normalcy. Once the merchants affected by the wars realized that the new master here also welcomed them, this trade route became prosperous again.
According to the tariff accounts, just this month, the trade volume of Alexandria Port reached an astonishing 350,000 dinars. Calculating at a ten percent tariff, he could collect 35,000 dinar gold coins.
Calculating each gold dinar at 4.25 grams, this month alone, the tariff revenue from Alexandria Port amounted to 0.15 tons, and there was still considerable potential for growth.
After all, the war had just ended not long ago, and under the Ayyubid Dynasty, the tariff of Alexandria Port had been maintained at a long-standing rate of fifteen percent. When Saladin suffered consecutive defeats and appointed Adil to govern Egypt, it even reached a staggering twenty percent.
No wonder that after several consecutive defeats, Saladin could immediately mobilize a large-scale army.
At this time, Cunning Fox Philip, as the King of Gaul, had an annual income of no more than 200,000 livre silver coins, which was equivalent to just a month’s tariff from Alexandria Port!
His annual military expenditure was not even a fraction of what it cost Saladin to wage a large-scale battle.
Even though Losa had anticipated this, seeing these alarming numbers in the account books with his own eyes, he couldn’t help but sigh, "This is Alexandria indeed, the source of wealth second only to Constantinople along the Mediterranean coast."
His finger pointed at the page of the account book, which recorded that a single Venetian merchant ship had paid a pepper tariff of 800 dinars at customs. This number was equivalent to the annual tribute paid by three medium-sized counties in Gaul to Philip.
Indeed, his domain as the King of Gaul was considered affluent, but how much tax could he actually collect from his vassals?
Compared to Losa’s current situation of essentially setting up tax checkpoints along the entire sea Silk Road, there’s simply no comparison.
This made Losa harbor an even deeper resentment towards the Venetians.
"No wonder this damn group of Latin merchants constantly tried to use various channels to demand tax exemptions. Should they succeed, that single ship of pepper would essentially be stealing 800 gold coins from me, and that’s all my money!"
Originally, he thought that Alexius I of the Komnenos Dynasty, in dealing with the coastal raidings by the Normans, granted tax exemptions to the Venetians purely out of a lack of understanding of economic affairs, yet was himself a wise ruler.
Now looking at it, he was purely a super spendthrift.
The Mediterranean supremacy of the Venetians was clearly built by leeching off the nutrients of the Eastern Empire.
Amusingly, he previously laughed at the Eastern Empire’s emperors for being obsessed with political maneuvers, lacking grandeur. They instigated the notorious Latin massacre. If it were him, upon discovering that the Venetians had silently stolen so much money from him, he would also likely be furious enough to raise a bloodthirsty knife and slaughter them mercilessly.
Thinking of the beautiful and voluptuous Empress residing in the Purple Palace, Losa couldn’t help but show a hint of sympathy on his face. The territory of his nascent "Southern Empire" might not even be half-reclaimed in theory, but as a new and ambitious state, its potential was far greater.
Losa closed the account book with a few sighs, "Previously, I wondered what magic power this Holy Land possessed. Seeing as I was about to recapture Egypt, even the most powerful kings of Europe wanted to come and claim a share of the pie."
Now, he realized he had been naive.
Besides economic affairs, the progress of military affairs in Egypt had not been substantial.
After all, this time he left, taking control of the entire island of Cyprus, which only took a month.
Now, the Southern Legion led by Hans had only recovered the entire Fayoum Province, and was still fighting off the remnants in the Nile River Valley region.
The governor there, Turanshah of the Ayyubid Family, had emptied half of his assets to support the defense of Cairo. Upon learning that Cairo City was on the brink of collapse, he was so terrified that he immediately withdrew to the Eastern Port and crossed the sea to Hejaz.
Now, what Hans was contending with were merely local forces in the Nile Valley Region that remained obstinately resistant, and progress was quite smooth, albeit requiring some meticulous effort.
As for the Western Route Army led by Veneto and Young Lord Raymond, they had surpassed the narrow Cyrenaica Corridor. Besides repelling several waves of attacks from Berber nomads, the greatest adversary was the lengthy march.
Knock, knock—
The doors of the bedchamber were knocked.
Losa spoke without looking up, "Come in. Was it difficult to settle those noisy fellows?"
The current Guard Officer of Alexandria, Andreas, stepped in, smiling wryly, "Your Majesty, just as you said, but I have grown accustomed to dealing with them."
Andreas had previously served as the Guard Officer of Hebron, Alandler, and Eira Port, later accepting the Initial Embrace from Kurs. He had studied political affairs under him for quite some time and was now the second-best domestic talent under Losa’s command, only after Kurs.
"Indeed, that’s true."
Losa chuckled. His kingdom was the Crusader Kingdom, and his titles were "King of the Crusaders" and "King of the Franks of the East." Unlike the Basileus of the Empire, who could disdain these people as crude and savage, he did not have the privilege to do so.
"Your Majesty, you’ve endured the hardships of a long journey. I have instructed the maid to prepare hot water for you. When do you plan to bathe?"
Losa waved his hand, "No rush, just ensure the hot water is ready; no need to leave someone to serve."
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
Andreas silently retreated into the shadows. The Blood of Cepesh inherited from Kurs allowed him to blend perfectly into the darkness.
The former peasant knight’s squire, rescued by Losa from bandits, was now the master of a city. Though he was merely managing royal territory, that power was already considered noble enough to converse equally with Crusader Princes.
After reviewing all the major and minor affairs that had occurred in Alexandria Port over the past month, Losa stamped his personal seal on them. Andreas had done a good job, and the stamp signified Losa’s approval of all his actions.
With everything settled.
Losa then proceeded straight to the steamy bathhouse. The hot water prepared by Andreas had cooled down a bit, but once Losa jumped into the bath, it quickly began to boil again.
He rested his head on the edge of the bath, sinking into a deep slumber—he had used the Voice of the Tower of Babel.
...
Before his eyes was a serene forest cabin, adorned with hunting bows, short guns, and animal skins. It seemed to be a hunting lodge on some noble estate from the Yesterday’s Giant Ship World.
Inside the cabin were a man and a woman, both candidates in Losa’s "telephone recruitment" this time.
One was a Five-Star Attendant, named: Rudolf Franz Carl Joseph.
The other was a Four-Star Baroness: Mary Vissera.
"Rudolf..."
Losa’s expression shifted slightly. Isn’t he the only son of Emperor Franz and Princess Sisi, who committed suicide out of love?
Of course, he knew that Rudolf’s death was not merely due to love. Family disharmony, differing political beliefs from his father, and strict family education were all reasons that led him to this path.
In fact, Losa always considered the Habsburg-Lorraine branch to have significant family education issues; otherwise, people like Maximilian and Rudolf, these liberal monarchs, wouldn’t have emerged in succession.
Ultimately, it was this conservative, classical court education that had fallen behind the rapidly changing times.
Watching as Crown Prince Rudolf, tears in his eyes, kissed his lover goodbye, picked up the hunting gun, and placed the dark muzzle into his mouth.
Losa finally couldn’t help but speak, "Are you planning to just end it like this?"
"Who are you, the guide from Hell?"
Rudolf opened his eyes, a bit dazed as he looked around. He understood well what fate awaited him as a suicide; he could not enter Heaven.
"Sorry, I’m not."
Losa chuckled bitterly in his heart, unexpectedly finding himself playing a "psychologist" role in what was supposed to be a simple telephone recruitment before bed.