Chapter 512 Senator Florence in Constantinople
"Sir, Constantinople is coming soon!" The envoy pointed to the front and said to George Osborne, a Florentine citizen who was already a little out of breath.
In fact, he didn't need to remind him. Through Osborne's own observation, he felt that Constantinople was not far ahead. Because the number of ships increased sharply, a magnificent city also appeared in front of him...
The passenger ship took the initiative to dock in front of the dock. The official on the side asked the owner a few questions and checked the documents submitted by the owner. Then he looked surprised and immediately jumped on the passenger ship. He strode to Osborne and saluted respectfully: "Greetings to you, sir!"
Osborne also nodded politely in return.
"We received news that the passenger ship you are on may not arrive until the next day or the day after tomorrow, so the House of Representatives may not be prepared today. I must send a speedboat to complete the notification of the inner city dock, so I have to ask you... Wait here for a while, I hope you can forgive me!" The official said apologetically.
"That's no problem. I'm just going to see the scenery of this city." Osborne agreed.
As one of the remaining families in Florence, Osborne was just running his own workshop because he was not strong enough. He just remained neutral in the parliament, either abstaining from voting or not coming out.
This time when Mason purged Florence, Osborne escaped because of his neutrality. Therefore, he was nominated as a member of Florence by the governor and asked to go to Constantinople for a meeting.
Because the House of Representatives had not yet followed, Osborne decided to walk around the city. The population of this most populous city in Europe was still increasing at this time, and houses were built in the places originally used for farming. Merchant ships in the Golden Horn were busy coming and going, and Ukrainian grain and minerals, oriental silk and porcelain, and goods and commodities from all over the country were basically transferred here.
Osborne first went to the hotel where the members of the House of Commons stayed, which was built at the expense of His Majesty the Emperor himself. Originally, a building was built to accommodate more than 100 people. But later, as more and more people came, the House of Representatives suggested that those who have relatives or friends in the city should try to stay in their homes.
In recent years, the government has successively built three or four similar buildings and several separate villas on the south side of the building, which basically meets the needs of officials and foreign guests.
This place is very different from ordinary hotels. The whole building is a U-shaped structure. There are statues and fountains in the garden in the middle, which allows officials to exchange ideas and discuss things.
"My lord, do you see the big house next to it that is always steaming? That is a bathroom."
"It is the place where people can take a bath that you mentioned to me on the way." Osborne was a little curious.
Rome is different from most places in Western Europe. People here still love cleanliness.
"Yes, my lord, please have dinner, and then you can experience the bathroom."
After dinner, he entered the bathroom connected to the villa. Although this bathroom is not big, it has all the facilities that a general bathhouse should have. Passing through the dressing room and entering the first small room, the room is relatively cool. This is originally for people who come to bathe to relax and slowly transition to the bathing state.
But Osborne was obviously in a hurry. He did not stay here for long, but pushed open the wooden door and entered the next small room.
The temperature in this room was a bit hot, and the temperature in the next room was even hotter... After passing through three small rooms in a row, the temperature was higher and higher, and he began to sweat.
After pushing open the next wooden door, he saw a round pool inside. He stepped on the stone steps, walked to the edge of the pool, stretched out his feet to test it, and it was warm water, so he jumped in immediately.
"Is someone coming?"
The person next to him saw Osborne, "I haven't seen you before, where are you from?"
Osborne said, "I'm from Florence."
"Florence is a good place. Those who can enter here are either officials or members of the House of Commons. According to the time, you are the latter."
Osborne admired the other party's observation ability, and then the other party began to introduce himself: "I am Michel Camilleri, a member of the Western Anatolia."
"Hello"
The two began to chat, "Constantinople is really a huge city, more prosperous than I thought! Much better than Rome!" Osborne sighed and said, "I want to move to this city, but I see that there are so many residents in the city. It may not be easy to own a house."
"That's true. The population of Constantinople has been increasing rapidly in recent years. I remember that the population of the entire city was 17 last year. 16,300 people. Although Constantinople is large, residential land is somewhat tight.
The original arable land in the city is now covered with houses. The rent that citizens get from renting out houses is several times what they earn from farming. The agricultural officials have reported it to the higher authorities several times, but His Majesty said, "As long as the empire becomes stronger and stronger, Constantinople will inevitably develop rapidly, which is in line with its status as the center of the empire. Citizens have paid a lot for the empire, and being able to make money by renting out houses is also a benefit that His Majesty gives back to them. As long as they pay taxes normally, there is no need to forcibly stop it. As for the food problem, there is an entire kingdom to support the capital, and the people are not short of money, so we don’t have to worry about them not having bread...'
The empire has a vast territory, and Wallachia, Moldova, Northern Ukraine, Anatolia, and the newly acquired Romagna region can all produce food continuously. "
Camilleri paused: "In addition, we can get a lot of cheap food from Hungary and Naples, so we don't have to worry too much about food."
"Of course you don't need to worry about housing. Although there is no extra vacant land in the inner district, there are still many public lands in the outer district of the city hall. This is thanks to the order issued by His Majesty after the city was built, "All land within ten kilometers around Constantinople shall be designated as public and shall not be sold." Now it seems so wise!"
Later, the government also issued similar orders to other towns based on this order. At that time, a residential land will definitely be allocated in the outer city near the inner city, and you just need to pay some money. "
Osborne began to ask: "Camilleri, if I want to gain a foothold here as soon as possible, what should I do best?"
Camilleri thought for a while before saying: "It depends on what you want first. If you want to live a comfortable life, you can accept no position, just attend meetings on time and express your opinions as a councillor, and you can receive a good salary every month. Some councillors live this way, and they are very comfortable. "