Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 793 The Anti-Kaiser Project

Although Guo Kang offered suggestions on the direction, he said he couldn't provide detailed advice on how to actually do it.

The situation in Egypt was different from other places. There was no issue of winning people over here, because the Mamluks were simply a collective term for a large group of military leaders. Having a Roman as the top military leader made no difference to them. Furthermore, Guo Kang bypassed the traditional Diwan government, which governed civil affairs, and directly managed the people. The local rulers didn't care—because in the traditional political system, the Diwan government served no other purpose than to enrich the Mamluks.

Even before the war ended, Guo Kang petitioned the court, persuading them to create a special organization for the Mamluks within the Kheshig (imperial guard), and to conduct open examinations and recruitment. These individuals, alongside the Varyag and other units, were known as the "Mamluks of Baisai Khan," directly led by Toghon, who was stationed in the area. Those who failed the examinations included local Mamluks recruited by the provinces, and "military camp Mamluks," a temporary expansion specifically for training new recruits in preparation for the expedition. The local Mamluks were very familiar with these classifications, as it was essentially just a change of name, and even their pensions remained the same. Therefore, their resistance quickly subsided. Many of them soon began helping Guo Kang train the new army, solving the manpower shortage problem.

However, he wasn't quite sure what to do in Europe.

For most of its history, the Purple Horde was not particularly adept at utilizing existing European systems or exploiting their internal conflicts. This was because their origins were so humble. Now, Zhu Wenkui and his ilk are enjoying great fame; many people know the reputation of the Ming Dynasty and the Prince of Wu, and see Easterners as reliable. But decades ago, when the Purple Horde rose to power, it didn't have this advantage.

Back then, they started from the very basics, building an administrative system almost entirely from scratch. Because the local Slavic nobles were so incompetent—incapable of any real work and terrible at fighting, their only strength was their plundering ability—they were the kind who were good at nothing but eating everything, and therefore, almost none of them were recruited.

When they later marched south and entered Dadu (Beijing), they didn't actually recruit many service nobles—because at that time, the Greeks lacked a substantial military force. Most of those they recruited were impoverished old scholars who, aside from boasting and writing essays on classical texts, were essentially useless. Initially, Guo Kang's great-grandfather, Guo Gai, thought they could incorporate these people into the administrative system to address the shortage of officials. However, he later discovered that the Greek bureaucracy wasn't very compatible with the bureaucracy of the Central Plains, and that the Greeks would bring their bad habits with them. Therefore, after the Purple Horde, they primarily used retired military officers for administrative management, cultivating their own talent and no longer relying on these existing personnel.

Moreover, in the history of the Purple Horde, those most adept at dealing with Europeans were not actually these people. The one with the best "achievements" was actually Empress Helena. Back then, when she sent troops to reclaim land in southern Greece, she also seized the opportunity, taking advantage of the critical illness of the Venetian Doge Cornelius, to dispatch the Sixth Legion to prepare for a landing on Crete.

There was considerable opposition within the Purple Horde itself to this action. Previously, the two sides had long been complementary in their commercial dealings, and the Purple Horde had primarily focused on land development, with most people showing little interest in maritime expansion. Therefore, the Khanate and the Venetians had maintained a good relationship. Now, to wage war against a distant island unknown to many feudal lords, especially during a period of national mourning, and to offend such a potential ally, seemed utterly unwise and immoral.

Furthermore, given our current naval strength, the biggest problem isn't suddenly seizing the island, but rather whether we can hold it once captured. The Venetians also wield immense power, with a complex commercial network throughout the Mediterranean, allowing them to rapidly mobilize ships and supplies. Even if we could prevent their landing and retake Crete, we would likely face a prolonged blockade. This island is essentially useless now.

Moreover, engaging in such a naval tug-of-war would be detrimental to the Purple Horde as a whole, as it would be using its weaknesses against their strengths, potentially leading to severe economic losses and ultimately forcing it to abandon the effort. Therefore, everyone felt that rashly offending the Venetians at sea was far too risky.

However, Queen Helena believed that Venice was now choosing a new leader. This was the perfect time to act; if they missed it, they might have to wage war and offend a series of allies to reclaim Crete. The price they would have to pay in that situation would be far greater.

The Khanate was embroiled in debate over this, with many still unable to accept the viewpoint. They felt the Venetians weren't fools; couldn't they wait until they resolved their internal problems before launching a counterattack? Unless they were caught in a civil war and crippled themselves—but so far, it seemed only the Greeks had done that. Venice had no history of such a conflict; they certainly wouldn't stoop to that level…

However, the Queen Mother overruled all objections and personally contacted the Genoese and the Turkmen pirates on the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea to participate in the expedition. Upon receiving news of Conaro's death, she immediately ordered her men in Venice to begin operations while simultaneously commanding the legions to set out, demanding that they end the battle as quickly as possible.

The Greeks and native Italians on the island were overjoyed to discover that the main Roman army had suddenly returned with considerable strength. Some veterans, who had experienced many wars, even gathered at the church entrance and wept with emotion. The crowd responded enthusiastically, and the Violet Cavalry, no longer the same as before, now made extensive use of gunpowder, giving them a formidable siege capability. Therefore, they quickly defeated the Venetian garrison, which had suffered heavy losses in the previous rebellion, and captured their old fortress.

With the help of the Genoese, the legion arrested the Duke of Crete, who was attempting to escape, and the Commander of the Cretan Navy, the two highest-ranking officials. They then had the citizens identify the local guild leaders, merchant managers, and other prominent figures from the city, expelled them, and then stationed themselves there.

Of course, Venice itself reacted immediately, lodging a fierce protest with the capital and threatening military retaliation. However, Venice was about to hold elections at this time. Most things had to give way to the elections, so the Senate could only announce that the action would be postponed. They would use this time to send people to assess how many mercenaries and fleets they could organize. There was no rush; they could prepare properly and deal with it after the elections.

The nominal supreme leader of Venice is their Doge. This title dates back hundreds of years, to the fall of ancient Rome, and is as old as Venice itself. After Venice gained independence from Roman control, the Doge became elected and served for life—roughly similar to the system of the Catholic Pope.

However, to prevent the governor's power from expanding or even being monopolized, the Venetians designed an extremely complex electoral system: after the deceased governor was buried, the Grand Council would convene, and the youngest member of the council would select a child between the ages of 8 and 10 from the people, who would then draw lots from a urn containing a metal ball.

The shortlisted candidates were required to be over 30 years old, not from the same family, and unrelated by blood to prevent them from forming alliances. From these candidates, 30 were randomly selected, and then the remaining 9 were drawn by lottery.

Nine randomly selected councilors can nominate candidates. A candidate who receives the approval of seven of them is elected, resulting in 40 candidates. From these 40, 12 are chosen by lottery. These 12 then nominate 25 more candidates (requiring at least eight approvals). These 25 then choose 9 more by lottery. These 9 nominate 45 more candidates (requiring at least seven-ninths approval). These 45 then choose 11 more by lottery. These 11 then nominate 41 more candidates (requiring at least nine approvals). Finally, these 41 members form the committee that directly elects the Doge. Similar to the cardinals' election of the Pope, they discuss and recommend candidates in secrecy. Only a candidate receiving the approval of at least 25 of them is elected as the new Doge. Considering that Venice and the Church were remnants of the Roman Empire, this election method may have been a vestige of that era.

In short, the election process was exceptionally complex and lengthy. While the earlier steps could be completed in a few days, the final step often took a very long time, sometimes dragging on for a month. Some elders, impatient with the wait, would even resort to tactics similar to the Church's, such as forbidding guards from delivering meals to the election committee, in an attempt to pressure them into a hasty decision.

Throughout the entire process, the most exhausted person was probably the child who drew lots, as he was in charge of both the lottery and the distribution and counting of ballots during the election phase—he had to be there for the whole thing. However, once the election was over, this child could become a public servant, serving the governor, a rare upward mobility opportunity for the common people, and therefore, everyone still vied for the position.

The Venetians were quite proud of their system. They believed that the Great Council and elections by lot were the hallmarks of democracy; the Senate and voting were the symbols of a republic; and the Doge himself held absolute power, controlling the military. This system, they argued, allowed them to leverage the strengths of all three forms of government and, through meticulous design, maintain fairness and prevent corruption, bribery, and interference from other forces.

However, Queen Mother Helena scoffed at this idea.

According to the Khan's archives, when the Queen Mother summoned her ministers to discuss work arrangements, someone suggested that the Venetian system might affect her attempts at intervention. The Queen Mother bluntly stated that such a system had no practical value and no so-called advantage.

The Doge of Venice was not elected by the citizens, but rather appointed by the Great Council through various procedures. Although the Great Council claimed to represent the citizens, all of its more than two thousand members were nobles, and their positions were hereditary, having no connection whatsoever with ordinary citizens.

To prevent the outflow of seats in parliament, Venice established the "Golden Register" system, which strictly registered the lineages of nobles. For example, even if the father was a high-ranking nobleman, if the child was illegitimate or the mother's status was not high enough, the child was ineligible to be a candidate. Only those who met all the conditions could be included in the "Golden Register" and thus qualify to enter parliament upon reaching adulthood.

Such stringent social status restrictions, even in autocratic East Asia, would likely only exist under the "yangban" aristocracy of the Goryeo dynasty. Calling this democracy is laughable; the ancient Greeks would be laughing their heads off…

Similarly, the governor didn't actually have much autocratic power. The most powerful governor in history was Dandolo, who led the Fourth Crusade. However, the Venetians' fear of him outweighed their gratitude for the enormous benefits he brought, and they even openly questioned, "If he could conquer Byzantium, what if he returned with an army and claimed to be Caesar?"
Fortunately, Dandolo was too old and died not long after. The Venetians then immediately began to patch things up, adding one constraint after another to the Doge's power throughout the 13th century. Because the Grand Council was too large to function continuously, a permanent Senate of sixty members, known as the "Council of Elders," was elected to perform daily duties and limit the Doge's power. In addition, there were various other institutions, including a forty-member committee to oversee the judiciary, a ten-member council to directly supervise the Doge, and a cabinet responsible for daily administration.

These institutions were mostly incorporated into the formal rules in the early 13th century, making the timeline quite telling. Moreover, institutions like the Legion of Ten actually arrested and executed governors on charges of attempting to change the political system, clearly demonstrating a very specific objective.

Therefore, Queen Helena believed that the Venetian system was not designed to protect the interests of the city-state, nor to maintain fairness and democracy. They were essentially an oligarchy, and the other political elements the Venetians boasted about were merely embellishments to provide some emotional comfort.

Its fundamental purpose is actually only one thing: to prevent the emergence of a Caesar—because for republican countries, this is the kind of existence that those in power fear most.

Now that we know what they hate most, the rest is actually quite simple.

Despite the complicated procedures, only a handful of candidates ultimately had a chance. The process was largely a formality, as the Doge of Venice received no salary; on the contrary, his expenses were substantial, requiring him to fund numerous activities at his own expense and restricting certain commercial activities.

It seems that this requires the governor to have extremely high moral character, but in reality it is a selection process—only the most wealthy and elite nobles can sit in this position.

In the Empress Dowager's view, those supposedly sophisticated procedures were, to put it bluntly, just child's play. The real issue lay in the part that involved "money."

Therefore, the spies sent by the Empress Dowager easily identified several potential candidates and then began to build momentum among the people.

Instead of trying to ease Venice’s hostility toward the Greeks, they spread the word that they hoped a strong and skilled warrior would become the new domineering governor and lead them to accomplish a great undertaking—as great as that of the old governor Dandolo!
This statement quickly made the upper echelons of Venice, especially the candidates, noticeably nervous.

(End of this chapter)