Chapter 264 The Fleet Returns Home

Hearing that Caesar was back, the merchants hurried to smooth over the relationship and sent the gifts they had prepared.

More than 7 million lei, this amount shocked Peter, but after hearing the whole story, he understood that they couldn't wait to go to the East.

In this case, he accepted it, of course, he would not take it for nothing, now as long as they wait for the Eastern caravan to return, their investment will be rewarded.

Peter also considered reorganizing the Southern Chamber of Commerce. After all, the Chamber of Commerce organization still has some constraints in colonization. Especially when Egypt cuts off the Roman trade route, the Eastern trade must continue to be maintained, which requires giving them greater autonomy.

Peter invested 1 million in the Chamber of Commerce, and the remaining half was used as military expenses, and the other half was saved for later use.

A few days later, Constantine received a letter from Peter. As for the request to leave Anatolia, the soldiers in the Balkans agreed without thinking, and the other part living in Anatolia also yearned for the wealth and rewards mentioned in the West, and rushed to go there, fearing that others would get ahead.

Fortunately, after the capture of Ancyra, the Roman army had taken over here, and there would be no trouble. After gathering the army, Constantine began to withdraw from Anatolia and set off for Niš.

A large number of caravans from the Eastern colonies came to Constantinople. They sold luxury goods such as spices and ivory to the market, and also sold the red fruits they got. This red fruit was turned into a thick drink under the operation of slaves, which was deeply loved by some people.

While Peter was waiting for news from the army, a fleet of 60 ships docked at the Golden Horn Bay of Constantinople. Yes, Mason is back.

Taking advantage of the monsoon in the Indian Ocean, Mason quickly returned to Andrea Island and spent the Epiphany on the island. Then he went to Androniko Port, but near Aden, they were attacked by pagan pirates, and the two ships unfortunately sank, and the cargo on them and the people on board also slept on the bottom of the sea.

Without caring about being sad, Mason brought the remaining fleet to Egypt. This time he did not choose to sail all the way on dry land, but only transported part of the fleet to the Mediterranean, and the rest waited in Andronikos and Andrea Island. The goods were transported to the port by the Nile River and camels. The Chamber of Commerce had already prepared the ships.

In this way, the first exploration of the East came to an end. Mason returned to Rome with a large number of goods. Peter could not care about the progress of the army and hurried him to come to him.

The two who had not seen each other for a year chatted like friends, and then Mason reported to Peter about the harvest this time.

"Your Highness, the fleet has lived up to its mission this time and arrived in India, bringing a large number of spices, ornaments, cotton cloth, slaves and other things, and a map of the East."

Mason presented Peter with the East India map made by the cartographer, which detailed the locations around the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and combined with the maps of various merchants before, to obtain this detailed navigation map of the Indian region.

"You did a good job, take a night's rest, and come with me to see His Majesty tomorrow."

This instantly awakened Mason, who was immersed in the idea of ​​getting rich. "You mean, Your Majesty."

"Yes, Your Majesty admires your courage to go to the East and has always wanted to meet you. Glory is beckoning to you."

After a short silence, Mason thanked Peter. He had to prepare well so that the emperor would not have a bad impression of him.

Although the Eastern Roman Emperor was no longer mysterious, the proper dignity and meeting were essential. Especially after Mircea ascended the throne, the emperor's authority gradually strengthened, and foreign envoys had more respect. In order to celebrate the new emperor's ascension, Genoa returned the fragments of the True Cross obtained during the Fourth Crusade to Constantinople. This indirectly reflects the improvement of Rome's international reputation.

Mason came to the reception hall of the palace. Mircea sat in the middle chair in his imperial robe, and Peter sat in the top chair on the right. All the layouts show that the imperial power is supreme and no one can trample on it.

"Meet the emperor of the empire, may you and your empire live long."

Mason saluted Mircea. This was his first time facing the supreme ruler of the country, and he was somewhat nervous. But he quickly cheered up and began to answer the emperor's questions.

"I heard that you went to the East. What do you know?"

"Your Majesty, I went to India this time and brought back spices, gems and some local slaves. During this exploration, I was attacked by pirates and almost couldn't come back."

Mircea didn't expect the journey to the East to be so dangerous. He began to comfort Mason and made him a count on the spot. This made Mason very grateful to the Roman royal family.

"The wealth you have brought to the empire is incalculable. Constantinople thanks you for everything you have brought."

Mircea appointed Mason as the Roman Empire's special envoy for the exploration of the East, responsible for exchanges with Eastern countries. At the same time, Peter was appointed to be responsible for all matters related to the exploration of the East, and of course Mason was also under his command.

"How about becoming a count of the empire, your father will be proud of you."

"This is all thanks to your support, Your Highness"

Mircea handed over all matters related to the exploration of the East to Peter and Mason, which means that they can do it freely. He needed to call Kadaj as well. Fortunately, because of the Southern Chamber of Commerce, he had to go to Constantinople to consult Peter, and he should be there in a few days.

Peter was about to discuss further exploration of the East with Mason when a man who looked like a businessman ran over. He was a member of the fleet and was responsible for selling those goods.

"Your Highness, my Lord, it's crazy, all crazy. As soon as our goods came out, those people scrambled for them. If the city government hadn't sent people, the stall would have collapsed."

Peter took out some of the dozens of ships' goods to give to others and for the royal family's daily use, and all the rest were exchanged for money. However, the merchants in Constantinople had never seen these luxury goods before, and they all started to fight for them, even alarming the merchants in Galata.

Four hours later, all the goods were sold out. According to the merchants' calculations, they made at least 600,000 florins this time.

"It's really not a dream, haha, the bet was right."

Peter was so excited that he wanted to fly to the sky. Even if the losses were deducted, there was still a profit of 500,000 florins. It directly increased his treasury by half. Of course, he also made his men feel happy, and took out 50,000 florins as a bonus for the crew. The rest was reinvested in the construction of colonies, navy, and trade.

A spice trade can make so much profit, and of course the impact it brings is also great. The price of spices in Constantinople and its surrounding areas dropped by one third or even more. Trade in Venice and other places was also affected to a certain extent. As time goes by, the impact will be even greater.