Chapter 375 Olympus Games
The coast of the Black Sea, the city of desire for the world, Constantinople.
It was morning, and the early autumn sun hangs in the horizon, dyeing half of the city golden.
In Constantinople, on the road leading from the Workshop District to the Imperial District, a carriage slowly drove by, and the trees on the roadside were filled with a faint fragrance.
The carriage is obviously expensive, with four tall horses ensuring strong pulling force. The main body of the carriage is high-quality mahogany, carved with family heraldic emblems, and there should be rubber wheels, springs and velvet cushions. The ceiling is carved from a large piece of red sandalwood. The interior space is very wide and a small wine table can be placed.
There is a horizontal bar seat at the front of the roof, where two neatly dressed coachmen sit, while their owners sit in the car.
After the advancement of carriage technology, this covered four-wheeled carriage began to become popular in Constantinople. Many dignitaries and wealthy businessmen would use it as a symbol of wealth and glory, and try their best to show off their family background.
In the carriage, an old man with mottled hair slowly savored the wine in the glass. He was dressed very well, and he leaned against a black cane beside the cushion. His obese cheeks looked very kind, and his little eyes were always filled with joy, just like a kind old man from his neighbor's house.
His name is Peter Mavro, his ancestral home is Serbia, and he currently lives in Billingch. He is a famous giant in the imperial business world. He has countless titles and honorary titles: a fifth-level veteran of the Eastern Roman Senate, an imperial decree of the emperor, a council member of Billingch University, a donor of Christian Cathedral in Sirte City, and a powerhouse of the "Good Man Peter" Human Resources Company...
Of course, in the upper class of Constantinople, he had only one name: the slave trader "Black Peter".
The reason for getting this title is, on the one hand, because of Peter's original intention of the surname "Mavro", and on the other hand, because of his stingy attitude towards Sarasen's slaves.
Decades ago, Peter was just a Slavic wandering young man from a village in the border between Albania and Cetinje. During the rise of the Ottomans, his parents and brothers were killed by the Ottomans, his sweetheart was raped and killed by the Ottoman bandits, and his village was slaughtered by the Ottoman cavalry. Peter, who escaped by chance, first followed the refugee team to the Republic of Ragusa, and then sneaked into the bottom cabin of a merchant ship that seemed to be heading to Venice.
The cabin was filled with unwashed blood, fermented rotten feces and iron shackles connected to the hull. It was dark and small, and although empty, the smell of blood and sour smell still made Peter feel endless depression.
But it is precisely because no one wants to come here at ordinary times. Peter survived a week's difficult journey with fresh water and tenacious perseverance on the boat.
Later, when Peter began his first slave trade, he finally knew that it was a Ragusa slave ship and the destination was not Venice.
When Peter was woken up one morning by sailors patrolling the bottom cabin, he had reached a strange country where sand and dust were everywhere, land was barren, cities and villages were confined to coastal plains, and the rest of the settlements were distributed in oasis in the desert.
The Ragusa sailor who threw him off the boat told him disgust that this was the territory of Sirte, North Africa, a Greek prince, and had no valuable commodity except the slaves of Sarasen.
Ragusa's merchant ship was carrying dozens of slaves to the Ottoman Empire. Peter walked alone on the streets of Sirte in panic. His clothes and shoes were all taken away by Ragusa sailors as ship tickets. His body was covered with feces and filled with all kinds of unpleasant smells. No one was willing to approach him, and the patrol soldiers would drive him around.
Peter in despair prayed to God, but God did not answer.
When he was about to fall into the streets due to his weakness, a priest reached out to him, and after confirming that he was an Orthodox, he saved him with a cheap beer from Sirte, and brought him back to the church he belonged to.
With the help of this priest named Christian, Peter became a hired church employee, chopping wood, fetching water, and cleaning garbage... During the six-year interaction, Christian loved this diligent and honest Slavic young man very much, and advised him to take out his spare time to study and strengthen himself.
So Peter learned Greek and Greek with Christian, and learned Arabic in urban life, and integrated into the life of Sirte. Because he was loyal, good at speaking and active in thinking, many people were willing to make friends with him.
One day, Christian told Peter with distress that he had not been given the opportunity to be promoted this time because he failed to complete the church's tasks. There were still too few Orthodox people in the parish where he belonged to, and there were still too many Muslims.
So Peter flashed his inspiration and wanted to help his friend solve this problem. He told Peter that due to the plunder of the Ottomans and the incompetence of the local nobles, many Orthodox people on the Balkans were displaced. He could speak Serbian and Albanian. If there was a boat, he could go and attract refugees.
Just at the right time, the Sirte government launched a population replacement plan under the order of Prince Isaac, and refused all Orthodox refugees. Christian recommended Peter to a captain with a try-through mentality as a guide and translator to attract Slavic Orthodox people.
Peter was very talented in language, had the ability to bewitch people, and knew how to get the love of others. With his help, the plan to attract refugees was over-completed. Christian received a lot of rewards for this, and Peter became the resident translator of the fleet.
These Slavic Orthodox people who came to Sirte because of Peter often gathered around him and became the prototype of the "North African Slavic Gang", one of the three major slave gangs in the Eastern Roman Empire in the future.
Another half year passed. Just as Christian was about to persuade his friends to buy property with the accumulated bounty and get married and have children, Peter ambitiously told Christian that he was going to do it alone.
Peter summoned his fellow Slavs and decided to buy ships, attract Orthodox refugees from the Balkans, earn a bounty from the Isakh prince, and then buy Sarasen slaves from North Africa and sell them to the Ottoman Empire or the Havs dynasty.
So, the journey of Black Peter officially began, and the trend of population exchanges blew up. The fleet became bigger and bigger, the business became more and more prosperous, and the income also increased. He bought a manor in Billingch, the newly conquered Prince of Isaac, married the daughter of an Armenian elder, built his own slave concentration camp, slave hunting team and slave training base, and formulated strict terms and industry rules for the prosperous slave guild. The slaves produced were unanimously praised by the buyers.
Peter's production must be a fine product.
He vented all the humiliation of his youth and the anger of his family being destroyed on the Muslims, and used cruel means to erase the minds of slaves, turning them into cheap labor that only knows how to obey and has no thoughts.
Later, Peter began to march into politics and was successfully elected as a member of Billingi. He also helped the imperial government communicate with the "Grey Bishop" Alexander, becoming one of the main sponsors of the Belgrade Peasant Crusade in 1456. He then assisted the Eastern Roman Empire in the Albanian War to meet with Alexander, who was already the Bishop of Cetigne, and jointly planned the uprising of Cetigne, drove away the local Venetians, forcing the Venetian Marshal Coleoni to retreat to Dalmatia.
After receiving the support of senior officials, Peter naturally rose step by step and reached the peak of his life with his shrewdness and stinginess.
But what saddened Peter was that due to the disagreement of ideas, the Christian priest who advocated the conversion of Muslims to go further and further away from him until his death.
After Christian's death, Peter returned to the small church that once brought him asylum and respect, and took the nephew of Priest Christian as his godson to study in the seminary, invested two thousand Solidus, and renovated the small church into the largest church in Sirte City, and named it Christian Cathedral.
At that time, the Eastern Roman Empire had not yet obtained such a huge source of precious metals, so Solidus was quite valuable.
Christian's death and age have made Peter's mentality slightly gentle. He responded to the emperor's call in time and allowed the slaves under his name to become free people by sincere conversion. In return, he received a charter for entering the Black Sea market.
Of course, in this era of religious supremacy, it is difficult for Muslims who have received Islamic education since childhood to truly convert. Islamic creed has become an indispensable way of life in their lives. Even in the face of the threat of death, most people will not leave their piety to Allah behind in their hearts.
Later, Peter gradually realized the huge drawbacks of the slave trade and began to enter other industries, investment workshops, farms and finance. Although he did not achieve the same great success as the slave trade, he finally left several ways for his descendants.
At the same time, perhaps because he did too much trouble, he began to pay attention to reputation, donating money from the slave trade to the church, helping the poor, building churches, sponsoring arts and sciences, and providing scholarship funds for poor students. He often soaked himself in the church, prayed to Jesus Christ, and tried to find spiritual comfort.
Of course, the cruel slave trade is still in progress, and the competition with the "Genoa Gang" and the "Canari Gang" is becoming increasingly fierce. Perhaps in Peter's mind, this is not just for money, but with some personal emotions.
Politically, the three major slave gangs also had many differences. The Slavic gang in North Africa and the Canary gang split from this gang are both staunch supporters of the Carthaginian faction, and the Genoa gang, which is mainly engaged in the Black Sea trade, are supporters of the Constantinople faction.
A few days ago, some slave vendors who did not join the guild sold some untrained Turkic war slaves from Anatolia to the reclamation areas of Bulgaria under the name of the Slavic gang in North Africa. The royal family members and noble children of several reclamation areas paid the price for their greed and cheapness, and many farmers lost their property and lives. This incident caused the Eastern Roman Empire to have the first high-level debate on the existence and abolishment of slavery, which gave Peter a headache.
"Grandfather, look at this Golden Avenue, it looks so beautiful in autumn!"
A young voice shouted in surprise, his grandson, an eight-year-old who likes to draw, Peter decided to keep him away from family affairs and concentrate on his art he loved.
Peter woke up from his meditation, smiled kindly, and touched his grandson's head.
"This is a golden tree from America. This golden avenue was built by your grandfather!"
This is a high-end road connecting the Constantinople Workshop and Imperial District. It has undergone many renovations since 1453.
A few years ago, Peter sought more opportunities to extend his slave business to the vast colonies. At that time, Emperor Isaac was not in the capital, and the people in charge of the reign of the country were the co-governor emperor Justinian and Queen Isabella.
Peter believed that compared to Emperor Isaac, who was inhumane and only talked about interests and was "not very much like a normal person", Justinian and Isabella were much easier to talk to, and this was his opportunity.
At that time, technology from the East allowed Constantinople to start using coal on a large scale as heating material and iron smelting fuel. When there was no sea breeze, thick black smoke was filled with over the entire city. If it rained, coal ash and rain fell into the city, and the city seemed to be soaked in coal water.
Citizens protested many times, and several medical colleges also asked the government to pay attention to the serious threat posed by coal combustion to people's health. Isabella and Justinian listened to their requests and received the emperor's advice, and decided to use greening to absorb pollutants and improve the city's appearance.
When choosing green plants, everyone was in trouble. Some people said they used the English sycamore, some said they used the most common French sycamore in the Balkans. Isabella had no objection, but Justinian thought these trees were too ugly and did not conform to the temperament of Constantinople and were not very satisfied.
At this time, Peter decided to meet his preferences and sent a slave ship to bring back a small tree called "Golden Tree" from Portuguese Florida, and brought it to the court with the flower pot.
The golden tree is native to central and eastern North America. It grows rapidly and is easy to survive. It has lush branches and leaves, and has a developed root system. The trees have a faint fragrance. The trunk can be used as high-end furniture. The juice can be refined into high-end fragrances. It turns golden in autumn. It is very beautiful. It has both extremely high aesthetic value and great economic value.
At the court meeting, Peter showed the blooming golden trees in public, and the golden and purple spotted stripes on the holy white flowers looked elegant and atmospheric.
Justinian immediately fell in love with this, believing that the golden tree symbolized the golden age of the Valleoluo dynasty of the Eastern Roman Empire, the tradition of jihad and pure purple bloodline. He decided to use the golden tree to green Constantinople and specifically asked Peter to send people to Portuguese Florida to find the largest golden tree and transport it to the palace for cultivation.
Although the task was difficult, Peter spent three years to complete this task. In addition to the small trees used for urban greening, he transported five eight-meter-long golden trees to the Grand Palace by clutch. Although only one of them was planted alive, he still received the reward from Justinian. The North African Slavic Gang's trade power in the New World colony greatly strengthened, and the Canary Gang was squeezed to Africa.
In order to perform this task, Peter also set up a horticultural cultivation course at Billingch University, hired a tutor from the Institute of Agricultural Research to study plants from the New World. In this process, he discovered the cutting planting method of the golden tree and discovered the huge economic value of the golden tree. The perfume and furniture workshops around the golden tree were opened one after another, which also made Peter make a small profit.
Later, the road from Workshop to Huangcheng District was planted with golden trees one after another, and it was beautiful every time it changed color, and it was also called the "Golden Avenue".
"Grandfather, I heard that there is a big golden tree in the Grand Palace. Now it is the most beautiful time. Can I go in and draw?"
The grandson looked at Peter expectantly.
"There is also the Golden Avenue. When the leaves turn golden, I can also stand on the nearby hill and draw a picture of the distance."
"Of course, we will stay in Constantinople in the next few months, and I will have multiple conversations with Emperor Isaac. If I have the chance, I will take you in."
Peter nodded gently.
"As for Golden Avenue, I'll draw it next year. The city government is preparing to build the first rail transit here, using a strong horse to pull the rail carriage, and construction will be carried out in the next few months."
"The idea of rail transit was proposed by Emperor Isaac, and the drawings were drawn by students from the Department of Architecture of the University of Constantinople. Architecture and painting are inseparable. You can also enter the university in the future and you can also take elective architecture. Maybe you can put your ideas into practice in Constantinople."
The grandson nodded obediently and continued to look at the scenery outside the window.
The carriage entered the downtown area, and the crowded streets were crowded with people, and the atmosphere of fireworks and the atmosphere of the city came to the face.
"Sell newspapers and newspapers! "Constantinople Weekly"!"
"The French king Louis captured Dijon, and the Duchy of Burgundy had no resistance!"
"Germany Prince Maximilian has recruited a mercenary of 2,000 people two weeks ago, and the wedding floats and wedding diamond rings are all ready. They are very fast!"
"Prince Maximilian is very grateful for Emperor Isaac's help and believes that the emperor is a truly good Christian and loves the tulips sent by the Eastern Empire!"
"On September 29, the German Empire marched into the Rhineland, crossing the Ardennes Forest, bypassing Artsas and Lorraine, and preparing to go straight to the Netherlands!"
"For more details, please pay attention—"
Hearing this, Peter looked dark.
"Grandfather, are you going to fight again?"
grandson asked worriedly.
"Don't listen to their nonsense, you can't fight. I feel that the Constantinople Weekly has definitely hired journalism students to write, and only they can write such things that are stolen."
Peter shook his head helplessly.
"The marriage between Maximilian and Mary was completely legal. They should inherit the Duchy of Burgundy and the Netherlands. King Louis of France could use the supremacy of the Kingdom of France over the Duchy of Burgundy to barely take back Burgundy, but he was powerless to the Netherlands, at least without any legal basis."
"Mary and Maximilian should not be able to protect Burgundy, but the Netherlands is still fine. There may be war in the future, but it is definitely not now."
"It's a pity that France will have another two million more people. King Louis of France is really the enemy of the empire."
Peter sighed and stroked his grandson's hair.
"This has nothing to do with you, and it has nothing to do with me. Just listen to it as a story."
This kind of newspaper was obviously sought after by the citizens of Constantinople, and they rushed forward and expressed important opinions on international events.
"Huh...you guys look at the second version, it seems that they are really going to restart the Olympus Games."
Some citizens reading newspapers found other news.
"Is that so? The emperor really cares about the wishes of citizens..."
"Nonsense! A devout Orthodox should not indulge in the sports activities of ancient pagans!"
"Stop quarrel! What the emperor wants to revitalize is sports. In addition to the Olympus Games, the most important thing is football!"
"Ah, this matter. I heard that the emperor has changed the racecourse to a football field. He believes that this will allow more citizens to participate..."
"Haha, you only know? The first football match is about to begin in a few hours, and it will be held on the renovated football field of the racecourse."
"Hmph, it's all Punicus people. I knew it long ago, but I just didn't go and watch..."
"This is something that the English likes. Didn't your Majesty send someone to study in England not long ago?"
"I've been to England, where football is pure..."
Football, a sports with a long history, the earliest sports with a soccer nature appeared in the East. There were similar sports in ancient Greece and Rome, but modern football rules originated in England.
As early as the 9th century, football had already appeared in the medieval Kingdom of England. Enthusiasts in villages and towns would kick the bladder of the blow-blowing animals around, targeting the "goal" of the opponent's team, which could be home, flagpole, trees or churches.
In the following centuries, English football continued to develop, football matches began to prevail in various parishes, the rules gradually improved, modern football took shape, and the word "football" officially appeared at this time.
Although some senior rulers believe that football is injustice and issued some bans and restrictive orders, this did not affect the love of the common people for football, and the number of participants increased instead of decreasing.
By the end of the 15th century, football had become the "national ball" of the Kingdom of England, and both adults and children loved to play.
Due to the simple form of football, early football had almost no requirements for venues and tools, and could drive a large number of people to participate. Isaac decided to list football as the Eastern Roman National Sports, join the Olympus Games that will be resumed, and guide capitalists from all over the country to invest and organize private football clubs.
Streets or beaches, flagpoles or fishing nets, balls or inflatable bladders, twenty or so men... for early football, that's enough. Furthermore, football is undoubtedly the most commercially valuable competitive event. Even in Europe at the end of the 15th century, it was not difficult to have athletes embroider some slogans or family badges embroidered on their clothes. The English are already doing it.
In the future, the sports development of the Eastern Roman Empire will always adopt a completely commercialized route, and government departments will not impose any restrictions or provide any mandatory guidance.
In Isaac's view, the primary purpose of the Olympus Games, or any form of sports competition, is to attract more people to participate, strengthen their bodies, exert vitality, and promote economic development.
Therefore, from any perspective, the commercialization of sports is the best route. Those sports with greater commercial value can naturally attract more people and drive more people to participate. The two complement each other and work together.
As for those niche or high-threshold movements, it is difficult to attract more people and cannot create too many commercial benefits. Naturally, there will be no way to watch them, and it will not be able to drive public participation. There is basically no value of funding. Isaac has no reason to let all taxpayers pay for it, and let them find ways to attract investment by themselves.
"Grandfather, aren't we just going to watch football games?"
The grandson looked at Peter.
"Didn't you organize a team at Billingch before? The team also embroidered the slogan of our "Good Man Peter" company!"
"Will they play?"
"Probably not."
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Peter sighed.
"In recent days, your grandfather's reputation has not been very good in Constantinople. Many of the football players I have arranged are from our company... uh, employees."
"I read the eleven-person football rules written by Emperor Isaac several times. I originally wanted the employees to show off their style and take the opportunity to promote them once, but now I will not irritate the citizens. Let's talk about it later."
"That's a pity. What a nice team name, Billing Black Castle!"
The grandson said regretfully, and touched his grandfather's head.
"It's okay, when I grow up, I won't let you be bullied!"
"Haha, OK!"
Peter immediately smiled and kissed his grandson on the cheek.
"It's good that you pursue art, you don't have to worry about our affairs."
"Today's game was also very exciting, with the two teams being Royal Carthage and Carthage Athletics, because the emperor was first promoted in Carthage and brought them back to Constantinople a few months ago."
"This is an exhibition match as the opening show of the Olympus Games."
Speaking of this, Peter recalled.
"It is said that the Constantinople are not very interested in teams from Carthage. The Fuger Chamber of Commerce and the Nottalas family have joined forces with several large chambers of commerce and nobles, and have begun to organize football clubs in Constantinople, which seem to be called Constantine Union and Constantine City."
"There is also the city of Nicea, which has been developing rapidly recently. Local ceramic capitalists seem to have jointly organized Nicea ceramic workers."
"Nicia potter? What an ugly name."
The grandson complained.
"It's better than Lynch Black Castle."
"Haha, this is to make money. Think about it, if this team became famous, will Nicea's ceramics be known to more people and be loved by more people?"
Peter said with a smile.
"If our Billing Black Castle can make a name for itself, our company's... employees will be more popular."
"Everyone is acting very quickly, as if he believes that this can make money."
The grandson said thoughtfully.
"The main reason is that they are idle and have nothing to do. Traditional entertainment projects can no longer satisfy these people. They all love to find new things."
Peter curled his lips.
"Besides, no matter how the nobles and capitalists compete, one thing they all recognize from the bottom of their hearts."
"What is it?"
The grandson asked curiously.
"Since Emperor Isaac decided to promote it, it must be correct and there must be benefits to follow."
Peter said deeply.
"Child, remember this, just follow Emperor Isaac, obey his wishes, and accept his advice, and you will definitely live a good life no matter what you do."
"What if Emperor Isaac is gone?"
grandson asked.
"What will our motherland become?"
"How could this...he's there all the time."
Peter said, but his expression was not relaxed and sighed.
"You're right. It's been more than 30 years since everyone has been used to his rule. If he is gone, I don't know what will happen."
"No matter what, live the present."
The carriage continued to drive, passing through the bustling downtown area, and parked outside the Citizen Stadium converted from the Royal Racecourse.
Although some Constantinople are not very interested in the game between the two Carthage teams, this fresh project still attracted many bored citizens, nobles, officials and capitalists who were full and well-dressed and were also bored after being idle and tired. They sat in the private room above the observation deck and regarded it as a place of socializing.
Peter pulled his grandson to the upper box and saw many flags with propaganda slogans along the way:
"Larissa Paul's Horse Farm, which provides military horses for the Imperial Army for twenty years. Now it launches civil and racing horses, and will contract horse racing events in the Olympus Games..."
"Moria Tobacco Company, carefully selecting the best tobacco leaves, will provide Olympus athletes with high-quality tobacco to help sports..."
"Notaras Gold and Silver Engraving House will provide athletes with carefully made gold and silver medals, and the materials are taken from Silver Elysion and Gold New Thrace..."
"SFrancis Textile Factory, which selects Mistrasse high-quality silk and Platinum Harbor top cotton, sews various sportswear for athletes..."
Seeing these advertising slogans, Peter was in a daze and pulled his grandson to continue moving forward.
"See it. This is Constantinople under the rule of the emperor. Everything is so novel, everything is so prosperous, and everything is developing rapidly."
Peter whispered.
"In the future, you have to come to Constantinople."
"No, I still like Billing, that's my hometown, and everyone is very nice to me!"
The grandson shook his head stubbornly.
"The owners of the manor all like me very much. They are all innocent and simple good people. If you have any emotions, they will not pretend to be like those Yankees!"
"It's up to you, Billing... I don't know how long the city's abnormal prosperity can last, decades? One hundred years? I can't see it anyway."
Thinking of this, Peter smiled again.
"Let's go watch the game!"
The game had not yet begun, and the stands were already crowded. Peter took his grandson to the high room, and the housekeeper had been waiting there.
Football has just begun and the rules have just been established. Everyone is basically playing randomly, but this novel sport still makes many people very excited. Some people whisper and some people bet. Small vendors walk around with baskets on their backs and sell fruits, snacks and beer to the audience, a prosperous and lively scene.
After a while, a gorgeously dressed young man came up, and Peter winked at the butler, who took his grandson away with him cognitively.
The person who came was named Joseph Gattilucio, who was the cousin of the current emperor in Constantinople.
"Why are you late?"
Peter lights a cigar for Joseph.
"Haha, I watched some fun on the road."
Joseph laughed.
"Some so-called "progressive" priests brought dozens of Sarasen slaves from the workshop area to invite them to watch the game and feel the beauty of the empire, although these slaves have repeatedly firmly opposed the change of faith."
"As a result, they happened to meet the people from the Theodosian Mujahideen Club on the road and were beaten back to the workshop area. The citizens applauded, and a child who escaped from Anatolia was crying and letting all the Saracen people die and pay their lives for his parents."
Peter did not smile and nodded in thought.
He knew that the so-called Theodosian Jihadist Club was a military club composed of veterans and their descendants who survived the Battle of Constantinople in 1453. It was Constantinople's military responsibility, which had always opposed the Saracens and tried to prohibit any Saracens from living in the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire.
"So, most Orthodox people don't like the Sarasen people at all, don't care about the life and death of the Sarasen slaves, and don't even treat them as humans. They are just afraid that things happen in Bulgaria will happen again and are worried that they will be harmed by escaped slaves."
Peter analyzed.
"What a contradictory era."
"Which country has no conflicts? Want to be more open, Old Peter."
Joseph smiled and let out a sip of smoke.
"You have met the emperor, what do he say?"
"The attitude is good, nothing big."
Peter shrugged.
"There may be stricter supervision and more cumbersome rules in the future, but Your Majesty is about to turn to the East, so we still have some money."
"The old prime minister Isult is still ambiguous, and Deputy Prime Minister Basilias suggested that they be granted second-class citizenship and slowly assimilated. Minister of Education Barsammon said that moderate measures should be taken to treat the Saracens. Prince Alexus of Georgia directly prohibited slave traders from entering his territory, which was no different from before."
"Well, it's almost the same as I think, but their ideas are not important at all. At least Emperor Justinian and Queen Isabella are on our side, and General Gonzalo also hates the Saracen people very much."
Joseph nodded.
"Then, after we meet with the Canary Gang to meet the emperor and discuss feasible results, the temporary alliance between the three Gangs will end, and the big market in Anatolia still has to compete."
"It's OK, but please remember my words, rules, order, standards, which are very important things."
Peter said seriously.
"In the future, we may still have to jointly suppress those irregular trade behaviors, for the future of this industry!"
Joseph nodded and was about to leave, but was stopped by Peter.
"The child you just mentioned whose parents were killed by the Saracens...how did he live?"
Peter asked.
"I can adopt him."
"You don't have to raise that child. That child is staying in the imperial orphanage. The emperor values population the most."
Joseph curled his lips and walked away.
The guest left, Peter bought a lot of snacks for his grandson, and he asked the butler for the cheapest glass of Sirte beer to taste the bitterness of his youth.
This is something he often likes to do. He complains every time he is not as good as before, and he drinks it all every time.
The whistle blew and the game began.
(This chapter ends)