Chapter 240: Trivial Matters
At this time, Caesar was also admiring a golden artifact, and sitting opposite him was the over seventy-year-old Dandolo, who had become increasingly spirited and vibrant in recent days.
Over these past few months, Dandolo had been shuttling back and forth continuously between Venice and Cyprus, with such frequency that it deeply worried Boccia and those who cared about him; after all, he was no longer a young man.
It must be known that when Boccia went to Cyprus with the Doge of Venice’s envoy group to compete for this marriage, Dandolo had already led his confidants and trusted aides to temporarily reside on Crete, so as to receive news from Cyprus faster than the people from Venice.
And after they finally received that pigeon tied with a pink ribbon, Dandolo set off immediately without a moment’s hesitation, boarding a ship for Cyprus.
He could be said to have seamlessly continued the work of the previous Venetian envoy group; after meeting Caesar and confirming both sides’ demands and bottom lines, he immediately turned back to Venice.
During his more than ten days in Venice, he did not rest for a single moment: giving speeches by day, attending banquets by night, buying off and bribing the neutrals, refuting and attacking his enemies, gathering more allies and supporters. After finally fulfilling the promise he had made to Caesar, this old man even couldn’t help complaining that he would rather Caesar demand from him a hundred ships and the soldiers on them than ever make such a request again.
Caesar felt somewhat apologetic, but this was also an unavoidable matter.
He had long compared this world to his own world; in the same era, science had already begun to sprout preliminarily in Italy and Francia, and monarchs, in order to confront the Church, had begun to promote education.
But here, precisely because of God’s blessing and the saints’ favor, from the noblest Emperor to the humblest serf, they were more keen to pin their hopes on a possibility—that of possessing extraordinary strength, and the more, the better.
This desire drove them to pray devoutly, to obey fervently; they built churches, they practiced asceticism day and night, they donated, from golden crowns to a handful of wheat in their hands. And Caesar truly could not blame these people for their blindness; facts had already proven that prayer and asceticism could indeed exchange for glory, new life, and strength.
Although they were all grasped in the hands of superiors like firearms from another world, compared to the modern science and technology that has no foundation now and, even if established, would require generations to build upon it brick by brick, people were more willing to take the broad road to heaven that had already been proven by countless people to be a shortcut.
Perhaps it is precisely for this reason that monarchs do not care much about the ignorance and foolishness of the lower classes（perhaps they think it is better this way）; current education is still no different from the time of Ancient Rome—only the children of the wealthy and powerful can receive education. And their teachers, especially among Christians, are mostly monks and priests; in the few universities now established, holy office personnel still serve as teachers, and the first lesson students take is theology, not other subjects.
There is even little related to science among them—except for mathematics and geometry; nowadays, mathematics and geometry are more seen as a personal interest, and no one except merchants would think they are essential tools to master.
This led to, when Caesar needed some officials to replace the Isaacites, he found that apart from priests, he had almost no other choice—some knights could not even write their own names, let alone master multiple languages, counting, and accounting; ordinary people were even less so.
Choosing Venetians was also partly for this reason. If he chose the Princess of the Byzantine Empire, not to mention how much dowry this princess could bring（he also had no interest in the promises of the Byzantine Empire’s Emperor—from a certain perspective, they were also enemies）; he did not believe that if he asked, the Emperor would be willing to transfer Empire officials for his use, and even if the Emperor was willing, Caesar would not dare accept them—those people were probably not sand, but poison stings.
Pope Alexander III of Rome’s niece was because of faith issues—he did not even dare accept too many priests from his teacher, Patriarch Heraclius of Ayyarasa Road, let alone introduce people he needed from the Roman Church.
He knew the temperament of these priests: insatiable, lecherous and promiscuous. What Caesar feared most was that once they arrived in Cyprus, they would immediately demand that the people in their jurisdictions convert to Christianity.
If he let them grasp the power to set tax rates and collect taxes, they would even more unhesitatingly use it as a whip against these heretics.
Venetians were undoubtedly a good choice.
They were born merchants; as merchants, it was impossible for them not to be proficient in mathematics, languages, and rhetoric. And the current timing might be the most suitable; in 1171, the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, dissatisfied with the privileges Venetians obtained in the Byzantine Empire, suddenly turned against them, and he killed twenty thousand Venetians, not to mention those he expelled.
These people returned to Venice, many being pitiful people who could not find opportunities for a while. Although some might receive family support, the feeling of begging with palms up certainly did not feel good.
How to use these people, Caesar already had a plan in mind—like this famous St. Mark ducat gold coin now in his hand.
In the Mediterranean region, especially in Christian kingdoms, what was most recognized was not the currency minted by lords and kings, but the Roman gold coins or even silver coins from the Byzantine Empire.
The Byzantine Empire had once been immensely glorious, and at its zenith, their Emperor had quite high requirements for currency, and these standards were even written into law, with quite detailed requirements from purity to size, from weight to pattern.
Compared to those gold coins intentionally minted thin, small, and impure, people naturally preferred to use Roman gold coins rather than others. Even when Venetians first engaged in trade activities, they only recognized the currency of the Byzantine Empire.
But with the decay and decline of this great ship, now teetering on the brink, the current Roman gold coins were no longer so trustworthy.
Rising from this was the ducat minted by the Venetians.
Caesar planned to mint some gold coins, silver coins, perhaps also some copper coins. But this was not to make them circulate and flow—that was indeed what some lords would do, which could be said to be a good way to use power to gather wealth. After all, in his territory, as long as he ordered merchants to transact using his currency, no matter how mixed, thin, or defective these currencies were, they had to be calculated according to the face value he specified.
And of course, Caesar would not adopt this method of drinking poison to quench thirst.
If he did so, even enduring the Byzantine Empire Emperor’s capriciousness and the Saracen threat, merchants would unhesitatingly bypass Cyprus to do business elsewhere.
Caesar minted currency only as a power that every new lord must exercise after taking control of a fief, more to declare his ownership of this territory.
The gold coin would have the lord’s portrait on the obverse, and the reverse might be an image of a saint, Jesus, or a proverb, depending on the lord’s preference.
The ducat gold coin minted by Venetians adopted this format. The obverse is St. Mark holding the Gospel book, handing a banner symbolizing power to the kneeling Doge of Venice; the reverse is Jesus Christ surrounded by stars, indicating that Venice is forever under Jesus Christ’s protection.
And around these two patterns are engraved the name of the Doge of Venice at the time of the coin’s minting. This was not to glorify the Doge—Venice is a republic, the Doge is not a king; it was just related to a strange Venetian tradition, that they do not use the AD calendar for chronology, but divide Venice’s periods by the names of Doges of Venice.
With this name, it tells people when this gold coin was minted.
And this practice of engraving proverbs, names, or dates around the edge of the coin is not ancient—if you have a coin from Ancient Rome or Ancient Greece, you will find they do not have such fine patterns; this is all thanks to the Isaacites.
When Isaacites engaged in currency exchange trade, they often clipped a small piece off the edge of coins, a very small piece to avoid detection and inability to use. But when thousands of gold coins passed through their hands, these secret little tricks could accumulate a considerable wealth.
Almost every Isaacite engaged in currency exchange could become rich rapidly in a few years; this was real, tangible gold.
So gradually, whether in any nation or by any lord, patterns were engraved on the edges of coins; even so, some Isaacites would still use grinding wheels to wear off the gold coin edges, and at that time there were no sufficiently precise weights, and even if there were, it was impossible for everyone to carry them.
“Do you think we could on these places…” Caesar held up the gold coin, pointing to the thin edge and asked: “engrave horizontal ridges?”
“You mean, you plan to use this method to prevent people from tampering with gold coins.” Dandolo said, while also taking out a gold coin, placing it in his hand, and examining it carefully.
This idea was of course very good. But for the current minting methods, it might be somewhat difficult. Nowadays, to mint coins, people still can only use two methods: one is casting, that is, preparing a mold that can open and close top and bottom, then injecting molten gold through a small hole to let it flow into the mold and solidify naturally, then taking it out to polish and trim.
The other method is to first cut the gold into small round discs, then use a great hammer with raised patterns on the surface to strike forcefully.
But both methods made it hard to leave the horizontal and dense ridges Caesar required.
Caesar had once seen introductions to coinage machines from various periods, but these things were not greatly related to his expertise; he had only glanced over them hurriedly, though he had some impression—he thought, after gathering craftsmen, he might be able to replicate them, but this certainly would not be something done in a short time.
But he did not give up his idea. “Then besides copper coins, use engraving knives to complete this design on silver coins and gold coins.”
“That will consume a lot of labor.”
Caesar nodded, said nothing, but had already expressed his attitude.
At this moment, Dandolo could not help but sigh in his heart a sigh that many people had once uttered. At first contact with Caesar, you would think he was an easygoing person, but later you would find he was actually extremely stubborn, and this stubbornness was like steel or rock, almost impossible for others to persuade him.
And what Caesar thought was—many things are best ruled from the beginning.
Of course he hoped that in the future, Cyprus’s gold coins could replace the current Roman gold coins, even the Venetians’ ducats. If so, then from the start, its shape and pattern must be completely fixed. Anyone taking this gold coin, with just a look and touch, could know it is a Cyprus gold coin, which is greatly beneficial for the popularization or even monopoly of this currency.
He could not first mint a shoddy fake, then replace it with a better one; the credibility of currency is hard to establish.
“Silver coins too?”
“Yes.” Although silver coins are not as precious as gold coins, they are also precious metals, and their circulation might even be stronger than gold coins.
“Then you may need more craftsmen.” Dandolo said; he saw this young man lift his head and give him an expression he often saw on his grandsons’ and granddaughters’ faces, “If possible, I must ask you, grandfather.”
“You can’t only call me grandfather at times like this.” Dandolo said, pretending to be displeased, but he also admitted he appreciated this stubborn, pure character that could not be easily shaken by outsiders.
It was just that his grandsons, and some other Venetians, might feel disappointed. At first, they also thought the work they were to undertake was like the former Isaacites, bargaining with lords, settling on a number, and then no matter how they did it, as long as they collected the taxes, the excess money was all theirs.
On the ship, there were no few people having such big dreams. Now it seemed their previous pleas（requesting Dandolo to speak for them） were completely unnecessary to mention before Caesar.
The rights not given to the Isaacites, Caesar certainly would not give to Venetians or anyone.
In his view, although the tax farming system was convenient for lords and kings, it made the lower-class people suffer greatly.
And the worst part was that the tax farming system cut off the most vital connection between the upper class and the lower people, even given this era’s limitations—kings did not care about those poor people.
Even if they rose in revolt because they could not endure the heavy taxes, lords and kings had plenty of knights blessed by God to suppress the rebellion.
Indeed, someone had once advised Caesar that almost every superior handled tax issues this way; why must you stand out?
Those people might not be grateful to you, while those officials unable to profit from it would complain repeatedly and become dissatisfied with you.
But Caesar had seen those people’s eyes and heard their pleas.
He knew many people, unable to bear the tax collectors’ coercion, fled to places outside cities and villages, just like the couple and their family he met by the roadside when he first left Holy Cross Castle.
They could build such neat houses because here they did not need to pay taxes.
But if migrating to uninhabited dense forests could exempt taxes, why were there no others?
Because not paying taxes meant being vagrants unprotected by anyone.
And whether armies or bandits, Saracens or Christians, none would see them as subjects needing their protection; even without meeting Geoffrey, their happy days were stolen from destiny’s hands, and they did not know when they would have to pay back a thousandfold.
At that time he had to accept such cruel results; now that he had power, he could no longer tolerate this detestable system.
Compared to tax collectors with great power, the work these young Venetians undertook was more like that of chroniclers and chancellors; the chancellor’s primary political duty was to act as the ruler’s spokesperson and the intermediary connecting the ruler and the people, responsible for proclaiming the king or lord’s decrees to officials everywhere; if subjects needed audience or petitions, it was also through him.
Such a position was of course more glorious than that of a tax collector.
But for Venetians, they definitely wanted to be tax collectors more—unfortunately, at Caesar’s place, there was no such thing as someone promising a lord a large sum of money and then arbitrarily taxing merchants, farmers, and craftsmen in a place; all tax rates, tax types, and tax times were decided by Caesar personally after review and consideration.
The ones he set were even less than before the Governor; after all, he did not have an emperor—although he also had to send annual tribute to Manuel I, if he did not excessively line his own pockets, the Cypriots could fully bear this tax.
He gave these Venetians, perhaps also Byzantines and Franks, a salary that could be called generous—Venetians could also obtain various trade privileges, but as the return they should pay, they absolutely could not arbitrarily alter his decrees, pay lip service while acting otherwise, or engage in extortion and blackmail—although he knew such situations would definitely occur.
But he had also prepared to request a batch of priests from his teacher, Patriarch Heraclius; the Venetians received his promise to build their own churches in twelve major cities; they certainly would not refuse priests dispatched from the Holy City’s Patriarch.
The priests would supervise these new tax collectors, and the Venetians would inevitably monitor them in return.
A few days ago, Caesar had again met with some Cypriots, led by the Giorgiu family; he gave them a power, that they could submit secret letters to him at any time.
This letter would be hidden in a box, sealed with a special wax seal; they could tell Caesar everything happening in their city.
And regarding weights and measures, Caesar did not completely copy the Venetians’ measurement units; the weights and measures now used by Venetians were the most precise and easy to master in the Mediterranean region, but for Caesar, this was still far from enough.
He proposed the decimal system.
“Decimal system. You mean those numbers used by the Saracens?” Dandolo asked in surprise.
“That’s not quite correct,” Caesar had to correct. “This is indeed what the Saracens are using, but its numerals come from India, but India is not the creator of the decimal system either; the true creators are from even farther places…”
He showed a wondrous expression, like nostalgia, yet like yearning.
“That was a quite ancient yet glorious civilization; all its treasures were like sand in the sea, countless.”
