kingdom of nations

Chapter 370 Collateral (Part 2)
Lyra showed no anger at the two knights' questioning; on the contrary, she was quite appreciative and obediently produced her identification and pass.

The two knights looked at her and asked her a few more questions about Jaffa—her pass clearly stated that she had come to Cyprus from Jaffa, and Leila already knew everything about Jaffa. She casually told the two knights about Jaffa's current situation.

Jaffa had indeed been in a rather dire situation—but in any case, thanks to the Countess of Jaffa's insistence, the port city had not yet been conquered by the Saracens and remained under Crusader rule—this was good news, and the two knights immediately relaxed considerably, apologizing to the young knight once more.

Although the law requiring outsiders to be questioned has been in effect in Cyprus for many years, there are still unsuspecting outsiders who become furious when questioned (whether politely or not). After all, knights have always had privileges, whether on their lord's lands or elsewhere.

“You don’t need to do that,” Leila said. “My master is in the king’s army.”

Upon hearing this, the two knights looked relieved.

Trusting Cesar, Baldwin's actions in the army were almost entirely in line with Cypriot policies. The knights of Arrassa were already accustomed to careful questioning and investigation, which was only to be expected—after all, as Cyprus prospered once again, the people there became increasingly complex and numerous.

They bid each other farewell amicably. The surrounding crowd watched as the knight leaped up, mounted the horse brought by his attendant, and galloped away. They couldn't help but sigh—since the reform of the military system and discipline, there have been more and more knights like this. They are not arrogant or irritable, they are polite and act with restraint. Compared to them, the knights of the past were simply like wild beasts.

The two knights simply laughed and returned to the tavern to continue drinking and watching the people on the street—a common sight in Cyprus, as were the squads of soldiers walking along the street.

When the people saw them, whether they were merchants, craftsmen, or even just ordinary farmers, they were not afraid. At most, they would give them a little space and then begin to appreciate them with great interest—which soldier was the tallest, strongest, and most handsome, and they would consider whether to find such a marriage for their daughters.

Now everyone knows that the lord's soldiers are all handpicked, of good character, handsome, strong and tall—and because their lord is a man who respects his wife, there are very few thugs among them who beat their wives and children…

This is truly remarkable!

Leila sped from the port all the way to Nicosia without rest or food, shooting straight into the governor's palace in Nicosia like an arrow.

Even in the dead of night, when the square was completely silent, the governor's palace was brightly lit and bustling with people.

She dismounted, and the guards at the gate, seeing the unfamiliar knight, immediately raised their spears and shouted to stop her, until she opened her palms to them, revealing the token César had given her.

The emblem of the Star of Bethlehem.

The Star of Bethlehem comes in many shapes, including five, six, and twelve stars. When choosing an emblem for their knights, Cesar hesitated for a while but finally settled on a six-star emblem, with one of the stars being stretched out to look like the light emanating from the star itself.

It can be used as a pendant for a necklace or as a brooch. It is made of pure silver plated with gold. The guards immediately became respectful upon seeing this token.

They examined the badges and sent someone to inform them. Soon, Natia strode out.

She was stunned for a moment when she saw Laila. After all, in her memory, Laila was a white-haired, red-eyed woman, but now she was a black-haired man. However, the stunned moment was short-lived—Laila smiled, a smile that was rarely seen even on men. Natia immediately reached out her hand, and Laila immediately took her arm. They walked inside side by side.

The governor's council chamber was already packed with people, all of whom were willing to follow the Cypriot lord's arrangements. There were Franks, Venetians, Arrasan and Bethlehemians, and even some Byzantine merchants. They were all trustworthy people—introduced by Anna's foster mother, Theodora. The only ones missing were Saracen and Isaac merchants.

On this point, the merchants could exchange knowing smiles without needing to discuss it. The Saracen merchants were not invited because they were about to deal with Saladin's army, while the reason why the Isaac merchants were not invited was quite simple—unless Cesar had gone mad and wanted his scheme exposed before it even succeeded, he would never allow any Isaac to mingle among them.

Natia led Lyra into the council chamber. Portia stood up, and people looked at her, somewhat puzzled by the unfamiliar face, until Lyra stood among them and announced loudly, "I have brought His Highness's letter."

The merchants immediately showed expectant expressions, and Leila took out Cesar's handwritten letter from her bosom and handed it to his mistress Portia. After Portia opened and read it, she calmed herself down a little before passing the letter to a Venetian merchant beside her.

He was also an important member of the Venice Council—he took the letter, read it quickly, and then looked at it again before passing it on to the next person under the anxious gazes of everyone.

He was the first Cypriot nobleman to submit to Cesar. After reading it, he felt a dryness in his throat and couldn't help but pat his chest before handing the letter to another Frankish merchant.

Their passing and selection were quite regular and consistent with their status, and Portia did not return to her seat until the last merchant had also glanced at the letter.

Natia sat in the chair next to her, and Leila stood behind them.

The contents of the letter were indeed quite surprising, but questioning its authenticity at this point would only demonstrate one's own foolishness.

The merchants leaned against the table, exchanging glances with their companions, holding hands under their sleeves, discussing whether they should grant the lord's request; how much money they should pay if they did; and whether they should accept the collateral.

Cyprus is certainly a good place, but it also faces many crises. Even if these territories were handed over to them, could they raise such a large army to defend Cyprus? It is worth noting that even the Byzantine emperors had to partially abandon Cyprus because its military expenditures were simply too high.

Cyprus was able to develop steadily and rapidly for so many years because it had a powerful and just lord who was invincible on both land and sea.

If he returns but refuses to take responsibility for the land these merchants acquired, or if he doesn't return at all, that would be the worst outcome—they would have essentially given away so much money for nothing.

Some businessmen, their eyes gleaming, had already figured it out—they wanted to seize the most valuable things in Cyprus, more than the land.

But they hesitated, because speaking out would surely offend the most important privileged class in Cyprus—the knights.

But before their internal struggle could be resolved, a knight stood up. Everyone recognized him; he was one of the many old knights who had come with Albon, and had served Josephine II. His loyalty was impeccable, and he had received exceptionally generous rewards.

He owns a rock sugar workshop and a Roman cement workshop.

Some say that the Roman cement workshops produced silver every day, and the rock sugar workshops produced gold every day. This statement is not without merit. With these two workshops, he and his descendants would not have to worry about food and clothing for a hundred years, or even longer. But after he stood up, he said, "If you think that my lord's lands and palaces are insufficient to cover this military expenditure, I am willing to offer my workshops as collateral."

"A rock sugar workshop!" a merchant exclaimed.

"And the Roman cement workshop. You may take all that I have, for it was originally given to me by my Lord, and now I return it to my Lord, which is only right."

Some merchants were moved by the knight's loyalty, while others saw an opportunity to take advantage of him.

“Then I am willing to offer ten thousand gold coins.” Immediately, a Frankish merchant said without hesitation. His business network was in Paris and further north, where the climate was cold and resources were scarce, and the demand for rock sugar was the highest. Every year, he could earn three to five hundred gold coins from rock sugar alone, not counting the rewards from lords and kings.

Even if he had to immediately donate 10,000 gold coins, it would still be a worthwhile investment for him. With him taking the lead, other merchants stood up one by one and said how much money they could donate.

However, some merchants made it clear that they did not need the knights' workshops, and only required the mistress to symbolically mortgage a house or a forest.

Of course, their demands were not granted—even though it would have been advantageous to César, who made it clear in his letter that it was a fair deal—both for him and for the merchants.

Portia did not budge despite their pleas, not to mention that she had long known the nature of businessmen—profits lost somewhere would certainly be recovered elsewhere.

If she agrees, wouldn't the other businessmen be put in a difficult position? Are they also going to refuse to accept the collateral and give money away for nothing?
What was originally a fair and open transaction based on mutual consent has turned into a deceitful and sarcastic struggle. If Cesar had such thoughts, he wouldn't have written this letter.

The clerk beside him kept his head down, constantly waving his quill pen, writing down a series of numbers on the parchment that had already been polished and spread out. There were not many merchants present, only about twenty or so, but these twenty or so merchants raised nearly 350,000 gold coins in one fell swoop.

Of course, this wealth did not all mean gleaming gold coins and shiny silver coins; that was only part of it. Merchants needed to fill the gap with more goods, such as precious glassware, jewelry, silk robes, tapestries and carpets, horses and mules, and so on.

However, these things need to be renegotiated and redistributed. After all, merchants are not all-encompassing; they usually only focus on a few things, such as wine, cloth, and coal. Anyone who dares to overstep their bounds will face a head-on attack from the guild or the merchant's family.

Even big businessmen are no exception, since each franchise license is quite valuable.

They roughly allocated the money and supplies to each person, and discussed how to transport these things to Yalasa Road. At this time, some cargo ship owners eagerly stepped forward and said that they could take on this task.

This discussion, entanglement, and debate continued until the early morning of the next day. Sunlight streamed into the council chamber through the glass skylight, and one businessman couldn't help but raise his hand to shield his eyes from the glaring light, feeling a stinging pain in his eyes and a dizzying headache.

He turned to look at the messy parchment on the table and found that he couldn't even recognize the numbers on it. He shook his head. Anyway, the discussion was pretty much done. There might be some discrepancies in the end, but he had already put in so much effort. He could accept a small loss.

So he turned to the Cypriot hostess and asked to take his leave, saying he wanted to rest for a day before throwing himself into more demanding work—seeing this, the other merchants also took their leave.

They stepped forward one by one to kiss Portia and Natia's hands, while the exhausted scribe watched them leave.

"Quickly, bring me a glass of wine," Portia said.

Since marrying Cesar, Portia had become more cautious about her alcohol intake, but now she desperately needed some to perk herself up. "I don't want alcohol, just iced tea," she said. Natia, standing nearby, asked, "What do you want?"

“I’d like tea too, with some rose petals and rock sugar,” Leila said. The tea and wine were brought quickly, and the three women sipped their drinks while leaning back in their chairs, lazily recovering their spirits. Portia leaned to the side, resting her calves on Natia’s knees.

Leila smiled. Since she had already decided that Cesar would be her master, she naturally hoped that the people around him would be smart enough. She had seen too many women who were short-sighted, ignorant, stubborn but mediocre. They could not be called bad people, but sometimes, mediocrity was a sin... No, it should be said that the people around Cesar should even be outstanding enough.

Cesar faced numerous challenges, and instability at home was a major concern for him. But it seems that even without God's blessing and systematic guidance, these two noble ladies had done their utmost.

Now she should reward them.

She unbuttoned her robe and, to Portia's surprise, pulled two letters from her bosom. She handed one to Portia and the other to Natia, saying, "These are letters from Cesarto that I brought for you."

She didn't take it out at first because she knew there would be an extremely long and crucial meeting afterward. Holding the letter but not being able to open it and carefully examine it would be torture for the two of them.

Sure enough, both Portia and Natia showed expressions of joy after reading the letter.

These two letters were far more effective for them than wine and lemonade—their previous fatigue and worries vanished, and they were as if they hadn't endured any torment for days and nights, regaining their energy and rosy complexions.

Portia folded the letter and put it close to her heart.

“There’s another letter for Lorenz,” Leila said. Portia instinctively reached out to take it, but seeing Leila remain motionless, she immediately understood what Cesar meant: “Okay, okay,” she shook her head, “I’ll take you to her Court of Victory.”

Lorenz was a girl, but Cesar treated her no differently than a boy. She received the greatest freedom and pampering from Cesar, which fostered a temperament that people at the time found rather unruly.

Portia squinted at the window: "Oh, it's already this late." They hadn't slept all night, and the sun was already shining brightly outside—it was almost time for morning prayers.

Lorenz should be awake by now.

She tried to stand up, but felt dizzy and fell back into the chair. Leila shook her head: "Just have a maid take me there. You all go and rest as soon as possible. You have other things to do later."

(End of this chapter)