eastern european eagle

Chapter 230 Eastern Strategy
The first to be besieged was Nicomedia, which had fewer than 500 defenders and was soon surrounded by Wallachian troops.Within a few days, the guards in the city were frightened and surrendered.

After Nicomedia, the Wallachian army marched south to Nicaea.In order to ensure the timely arrival of the army, all Wallachian merchant ships in the Aegean Sea were mobilized, some for religious fervor, and some for employment fees provided by the government. Some Genoese merchant ships also joined the transportation process, and for a time the entire Marma There are merchant ships for transportation in Lahai.

The Patriarch of Constantinople consecrated the conquest, declaring that all who joined in the conquest against the Ottomans would ascend to heaven after death.Peter also said in the announcement that those who join the war will get land and wealth as long as they succeed. Few people can remain unmoved by such a temptation.

This time it was rare that there were fighting operations from both the north and south sides of the Black Sea, and the expenditure used was also very huge. The taxes paid from other places were spent before they entered the treasury.The Chancellor of the Exchequer fell ill because of money problems, and Peter had to temporarily take over the financial work, who let him still be the appointed treasurer.

In order to reduce some expenses, Peter decided to collect part of the spoils obtained from the battle against the Ottomans and the Golden Horde into the treasury, and distribute the other part in the form of land as much as possible.I hope the national treasury can still support it, otherwise the tableware will have to be melted down as salary.

Poor Peter can only seek all kinds of financial support day and night, but these years his political intentions have surpassed his concern for his property. He didn't call himself stupid until the bank report was submitted. Isn't there a bank? .

At this time, banks had spread throughout the Balkans and other regions. With Peter's acquiescence and support, traces of banks were left in Anatolia and the HRE, even in cities such as Cairo and Palermo.This shows its trade scope.

Peter urgently negotiated with the head of the bank in Constantinople, as he, too, had to act in accordance with commercial practice.Facing the biggest boss, the person in charge of the bank was also unambiguous. According to the minimum funds needed by other banks, a total of 30 gold leu will be shipped to Constantinople.This will greatly ease the financial pressure, and Peter finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the development of the bank is fast, there are still risks. If the local people do not pay back the money they owe, they will suffer a loss in vain.But fortunately, the improvement of trade routes has allowed the foreign exchange business to continue to rank first in profitability, and there is basically no loss.

In addition to conducting political affairs in the Senate, the Boyar Council of Wallachia was also moved to Constantinople.

Having been emasculated, the Council of Boyars has lost much of its political power and now has only an advisory and ceremonial role.Despite this, Mircea did not think of canceling the meeting completely. This needs to be analyzed based on the local situation.

When Mircea and Peter strengthened the centralization of power, the Boyar Conference continued to divide. Some noble members who had existed in the local area for a long time looked down on those merchants, officials, and small and medium-sized nobles, so they held meetings alone in a room. Then in another room, the Boyar Council was divided in two.The conflict between the old boyar and the new boyar was very fierce, and it was all reconciled by the master of the meeting appointed by Mircea.

In addition to the nobles in the Old Boyar Conference, Mircea also stuffed some religious personnel, and these were all under his orders.The qualifications of the new boyar are also jointly decided by the Senate and the ruler. They can discuss some issues, but they cannot propose motions or vote. They participate once a year.To put it bluntly, it is an honorary title.

This can also be regarded as restricting the power of the nobles. After all, everyone wants to learn from those parliaments in the West. All of them are all-round talents like Solon and Pericles. Peter can understand their feelings, but it is not appropriate now. Look What happened to Poland next door?

Economically, Wallachia had begun to compete for Mediterranean trade from Venice.After taking Cyprus, transit between Cilicia and the Levant had to go through Wallachia, and Venice had to pay taxes to do business.Under Peter's direction, part of the plantation in Cyprus was expanded to produce sugar and other products.

In diplomacy, Peter searched everywhere for countries with which he could communicate and for roads to the east.After Mason agreed to become a member of the Eastern fleet, he was ready to set off.Before that, he asked the Egyptian branch of the Eastern Company to go to Suez to inspect the old canal 500 years ago to see if it could be reopened.

19世纪法国重新开挖苏伊士运河用了10年付出了12万人的代价才开通，但这是在14、15世纪，不知道要付出多少金钱和人命。不然你就只能绕着好望角去东方。

According to the time, at this time, there are still more than five years before the largest overseas expedition in the East, and there are still more than two years before the succession of the Eastern Hero.There is plenty of time to drive nails in the Red Sea area, and then march to the east again. After passing through the Mandeb Strait, there is the vast Indian Ocean and the Indian continent. Gold, spices, and jewelry are waiting for them.

Stable trade relations have been established between the Mamluks and Wallachia, and the Sultan set aside a piece of land in Alexandria for Wallachian merchants as a business center.Sudan also agreed to their request for transit.But they were asked to pay the transit fee. Peter thought this was normal and decided to pay it.

The Wallachian Navy conducts some patrols and counter-piracy in the waters around the Levant region.The pagan pirates were eliminated, and the Christian pirates recruited first, and then eliminated if they failed.

Between Wallachia and Venice, the Knights Hospitallers seemed awkward.Wallachia is less than two days away from Rhodes Island, and Crete controlled by Venice is not far away. Both sides want to control this place, and the grand master maintains a balance.

It’s not that Mircea never thought about obtaining Rhodes through peaceful means. He first offered 40000 gold coins to the Knights Hospitaller, but the grand master was unmoved. He said that unless Wallachia was willing to give them a piece of land as a shelter The place, otherwise there is no need to talk about it.

Mildred certainly knows what a shelter means, and the idea of ​​a country within a country is something he doesn't want to see, but if the leader is willing to secularize the knight order and join Wallachia in the name of a duke and convert to the Orthodox Church, he will It is possible to agree to their request.

On this point, there is no need for negotiations between the two parties, because they are loyal to their own religions, and those knights even uttered wild words, saying that they would definitely fight to Smyrna and Constantinople to teach Wallachia a lesson, Mir Qia was also merciless, and sent someone to say that if he did not agree, then he would die.

(End of this chapter)