eastern european eagle

Chapter 216 Keeping an Eye on the East
On the rough sea, a Wallachia fleet sailed eastward, the destination was Ataleia (the old name was restored after the recovery of Antalya).On this ship, there was one person who was in a special situation. He joined the army directly. The reason was not that he had an elder brother who was the governor and a father who was the co-ruling emperor.

Mihai finally got this opportunity, so of course he had to prepare well.He has a general understanding of the situation in Cyprus. Although there are many small things in this place, illegitimate children and usurping the throne are commonplace, and the conflict between local farmers and Catholic nobles is also intensifying. The expansion of the Crusades launched by King I led to a serious shortage of Cyprus troops. This is the best time for Wallachia to recover here.It is also the reason why Peter put Mikhail in the expeditionary force, the risk factor is low.

"Your Highness, we will arrive at Ataleia soon." The officer next to him said to Mihai.

Seeing the harbor, Mihai was excited.He needs to get a good night's sleep first. He hasn't had a good rest at sea these days. If he doesn't have a good rest, how can he complete his mission? Well, the truth.

For this expedition to Cyprus, Peter gave 2500 people and 15 artillery pieces. His highest request was to take down the port city of Famagusta in Cyprus or overthrow the local ruler. It's really hard for an army that can't even reach it.

During the voyage of the fleet, neither the Knights of the Hospital nor Venice stopped them, probably because they needed Wallachia to stop the heretics, and when they couldn't hold on, they would save them like a divine soldier.

The Knights of the Hospitaller don't know what to think, but Venice must not be like this, because the messenger has arrived in Constantinople to meet Mircea.

As a show of sincerity, Venice also returned some of the works of art looted in 1204, and then he expressed to Mircea Venice's willingness to sign a treaty with Wallachia.

"Dear Emperor of the Empire, please allow me to express my congratulations to your country on behalf of the Republic of Venice. The Republic is willing to cooperate with your country and hopes to sign this treaty of friendship together."

Mircea thought about it carefully. Venice was definitely looking at the Wallachia market. It was true that he was terrified of Wallachia, and he was also genuinely greedy for the trade between the two countries. The contradictions of today's non-aggression treaty request.

"Walachia knows Venice's request, and your country's peace-loving mood can be understood. The struggle between the two countries can only hurt both sides. Only cooperation can continue the peace."

Mircea asked Prime Minister Angel to negotiate the details of the agreement with the Venetian envoy, while he got away from his busy work and changed into the clothes of citizens to wander around Constantinople.

Mircea gradually liked this kind of walk. At this time, he was not a high-ranking ruler, but a member of the townspeople.In this way, he can hear things that he can't usually hear, without being distorted by his subordinates.

Under the covert protection of his guards, Mircea approached a tavern in the port area.There are not only locally brewed wines, but also Munich beer and Burgundy wine. Fire water produced in Wallachia is also sold here. It is said that the tavern owner finally got it.

Walking into the tavern, the laughter and noise inside almost pushed him out.With the recovery of the economy, more and more people come here to drink, and the news is getting more and more comprehensive.

Mircea ordered a bottle of Iasi wine, a piece of mutton, and a piece of cheese, and ate beside it.While eating, listen to what news is worth noting recently.

"Recently, many people from Naples and Genoa came here. Seeing that life is better now, do you want to get a share?"

"It must be. A hundred years ago, seeing the prosperity of the empire, they lay down here to suck blood. When the results were the worst, they had to pawn items for daily expenses. Now that there is more trade, they started to go back to the old ways."

"Be careful, they're still watching us at Galata."

Constantinople undoubtedly hated the Western European city-states, but had to borrow a lot from them because of the embarrassing situation before.

Now it is different, with the addition of Wallachia, Constantinople is not only connected from the commercial and trade on land, but also reconnected with seaports such as Constanta, Ackerman, and Thessaloniki, relying on its own Due to its geographical location and tax-free policy, the market has become much more active than before, and some merchants and nobles are investing in local factories, which is another cash withdrawal for the city's economic recovery.

"The great Basilius exempted Constantinople from taxes for seven years, and finally let us breathe. Have you noticed that there are more merchant ships coming here recently?"

This discovery made everyone speechless for a while. Isn’t this necessary? Let alone merchant ships, there are more caravans on land. Half of the buildings in the city are hotels and warehouses. This is to expand the number of caravans and built for trade.Then they changed the subject and began chatting about conditions in Anatolia and elsewhere.

"However, have you heard that the heretics in Anatolia have been beaten and retreated steadily. Let me see that towns like Nicaea and Nicomedia will be recovered in a short time."

As soon as the Orthodox Church regained the lost land, the group of businessmen cheered, not only because of their Orthodox Christians, but also because there were more business opportunities waiting for them in the expanded land.You must know that now only Kizikus and Smyrna are the most important commercial cities on the west coast, and with the recent recovery of Ataleia, the land channel for trade with Mamluks has been opened, and more profits are beckoning to them .

"In addition to Anatolia, Crimea and Lithuania are also good choices. A friend of mine said that doing business with Moscow and Novgorod can make a lot of money."

"Really, but I heard that because the ruler of Lithuania attacked to the east, the trade route was affected. If you join now, how much money can you get?"

"The impact of the war is only temporary. Don't forget that we specialize in traveling long distances. Not only do we have to be careful of bandits, but also diseases and natural disasters. Of course, this war is one of them. In my opinion, there is no risk. Those who are higher If you don’t get the profit, why not take a risk.”

Mircea listened to the conversation, and he became more and more interested in the vast Lithuanian land. Currently, Wallachia occupies Crimea, which can be used as a springboard to attack along the Dnieper River until Kiev is captured.

Moreover, whether the Grand Duke of Lithuania conquered the Golden Horde, whether he lost or won, his strength would suffer. This is the time for Wallachia to take advantage of it.Lithuania can take such a large land, but Wallachia can't?
(End of this chapter)