Chapter 392 New Department Opening

Rome's influence in other countries is increasing. As the empire is experiencing a peak like the Macedonian dynasty, the economy and culture are bursting with creativity again.

The glory of Constantinople seems to have returned, and with it come some new government agencies.

As a new department, the Eastern Department is responsible for managing the empire's colonial and trade affairs in the East. Prince Peter set up this agency against all odds to be at the forefront of Europe, because Portugal and Castile have begun to explore the ocean, and Rome cannot fall behind.

On the wall of the agency's conference room is a huge map of the East. It clearly describes how many colonies and ports the empire has opened up in the East, as well as how many native immigrants and naturalized natives there are in the colonies. Of course, the Seres are listed in a separate table as an acceptable ethnic group.

Korbaru is the builder of the Indian city of Camille (Mumbai). He is quite familiar with the situation in the East, especially India. When the East India Company divested its functions, he was also transferred to the Indian Hall to be responsible for local command and expansion.

"India is a place rich in resources. More than half of the spices needed by the empire come from here. Cotton and cotton cloth are also transported by the company. There are 490 imperial immigrants, 3,807 converts, and two kings who surrender to the emperor. This is the current situation in India."

As a representative of the Indian Department, Korbaru reported to Terkatu, the director of the Eastern Department, that among all the colonies, India, Ceylon, Aden and Formosa have the most revenue, mainly from the local spices and other luxury goods trade.

"Sir, we have made great progress in the East in the past few years. If we want to firmly control these places, we need more people."

The representative of the Household Registration Department reported the population report to Terkatu. The total population they controlled in the East was more than 4,000 Romans, 7,000 Seres, and 23,000 natives who converted to Orthodoxy. These people look a lot, but they are too few compared to the area they control.

It is not easy to spread the local missionary work to this extent, because the local residents also have their own native religion. In India alone, there are hundreds of gods worshipped by the local people. The East is better, that is, they either worship Buddha, Bodhisattva, or worship Confucius. I heard that this is their god in charge of education, and disrespecting him will be punished.

"This time when the Eastern envoy came to Constantinople, I learned a sentence specifically, saying that everything is difficult at the beginning. As long as we survive this period, we can get more benefits."

Terkatu encouraged everyone. They would not be discouraged by a little difficulty, as long as they survived this period.

The tolerance of the Seres was an order issued by Prince Peter. Just like the Armenians in Rome, the empire needed their farming talents in the East. Half of the land in Formosa was cultivated by the Seres. The local area can no longer do without these people.

Among all the colonies, Formosa has the most promising prospects. Thanks to its geographical location, the local transit port status has been consolidated, and coupled with fertile land, it has become a key focus of the empire.

The local indigenous people were not very friendly. Other organizations such as Madou Society launched attacks on local ports. The locals were familiar with the geography, so they just drove them away. However, the Seres recruited from the Eastern Empire began to reclaim land on a large scale, which undermined the interests of the indigenous people and the relationship between the two sides began to become tense.

"Next, we should focus on India and Ceylon. The local immigration benefits can be increased. The land in Andronikos is too barren, and immigrants always want fertile land."

The only value of the port of Andronikos is its geographical location. The local climate and land are not suitable for the growth of crops. Immigrants prefer to go to India or Ceylon, or to farm in the Zanzibar area. This also gives other places the opportunity to increase their population.

The immigration activities organized by the Household Registration Department increased from 600 people per year in the East India Company to 1,100 people per year, most of whom went with their families. Some captives from the war were also sent to the East for labor. These laborers were an important basis for the rule of the colonies.

In the colonies, sugar and cotton became the most important local exports. Sugarcane production in Ceylon accounts for three-quarters of the entire East, while cotton is produced in India and shipped back to Rome along with textiles. With the development of the sugarcane trade, Colombo has more than 400 Romans living, second only to Aden.

"Okay, that's all for today, everyone go and do your own thing."

Terkatu announced the adjournment of the meeting. In fact, colonization can only be done slowly, but the company predicts that as long as the canal is reopened, immigration and trade can double. The local foreman has vowed that it will be opened before the birthday of the Roman emperor, and it is less than five months away.

Since the foreman vowed, he is ready. I don't worry about this.

This department looks very idle on the surface, but it is not idle at all. Various Eastern affairs require solutions, and they also have to deal with external threats. The emperor has approved the construction of a navy to maintain the Eastern trade route, but the colony needs to pay to make up for half of the expenses.

This put the colonies in a financial dilemma. After all, most of the colonies had just broken even, so where would they get the money to pay for the navy? So the burden still fell on Aden, Ceylon, Temasek, India and Formosa. The four places came together and finally raised the cost of fifteen ships and sailors, and the Eastern Navy was officially established. (The previous fleet was the property of the East India Company)

In addition, there were two tribute countries that provided funds for the colonies. For example, the Malacca Sultanate, Parameswara was canonized by the Ming Dynasty and converted to Orthodox Christianity and was protected by Rome. This behavior brought many benefits to Malacca. More and more people were doing business locally. By collecting commercial taxes, the Malacca Sultanate soon had the capital to fight against Siam in the north and was ready to drive it out of the Malay Peninsula completely.

The profits from the two trade routes in the East were divided equally between the company and the government. The profits generated from the trade between the Ming Dynasty, Korea and Japan, minus the part that had to be handed over to each other, amounted to 2.2 million taels of silver in a year. This is because after the trade was contracted by a third party, merchants from both countries no longer had to travel across the ocean to buy goods. They could buy everything here, so the trading houses in Osaka, Ningbo and Busan were very popular. The company also sold goods produced in the country to make more money, and because the officials were shut up, they did not say how bad this was, but instead instructed their servants to engage in transactions to make money.