eastern european eagle

Chapter 529 Turn
After capturing Smolensk, the Roman army held a grand celebration. Peter felt that this place was too far for Rome, so he gave it to Moscow. In addition, he and Michael had agreed that the previous territorial division treaty would continue to be valid.

"Thanks to brother for arriving in time, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to capture this city."

Mihai expressed his gratitude to his brother. He has made some achievements in the past few years and will soon become the ruler of a large country in Eastern Europe.

"Don't say that. If you hadn't taken care of Moscow, there wouldn't be the army we have now."

The others watched silently as the two brothers boasted about each other, but there was nothing they could do. Who made the two of them one of the most powerful people in Europe?

The two brothers discussed the national border again. Russia could get the upper half of Lithuania, and Rome could get the lower half including Kiev.

Although they had Vytautas as a hostage, according to their understanding, Wladyslaw might want them to kill Vytautas. We have to wait to find out the specific situation.

Vytautas woke up after all-out treatment. The first thing he did when he woke up was to yell to see the Roman emperor. He thought he was begging for mercy, but in the end he asked for a duel.

This was still acceptable, and the soldiers tied him up directly and sent him to the emperor. Peter and Michael met the Grand Duke of Lithuania together.

"It's my first time meeting you today. My etiquette is a little rough. Please forgive me."

"I know that your Excellency is angry, but don't be angry yet. I understand your history and know that it is not easy for you. But it turns out that Lithuanians are a group of ungrateful people. The Russians have taught you various production methods, and so has the political system. You learned from them, but you oppressed the people of Rus, forced them to change their beliefs, and captured them into your manor. "

"nonsense!"

"Bah, you are the only one who has the nerve to talk about rescue. Your oppression is no less than that of the Mongols. The local wealth has been sucked dry by you and the Lithuanians."

What Peter said made Vytautas angry, "What etiquette? Isn't it a life-and-death fight? If you hadn't come suddenly, he would be the one kneeling here today."

"You deserve what you have today, and this is your retribution!"

Mihai knew that he was talking about him, so he got angry and wanted to tear him apart. But Peter stopped him.

Mihai was so angry that he wanted to kill this guy with a knife right away. If his brother hadn't stopped him, he would have gone up.

Vytautas was excited: "For two hundred years, my family and I have been working hard to get rid of the shackles of the East. My uncle even defeated the rulers of the Golden Horde. And what have the Russians done over the years? , they will only live at the feet of the Mongols and live like slaves for more than a hundred years. We are just rescuing them."

"It seems we have nothing to say. If you can come up with a copper coin, I will let you go."

Vytautas was in disbelief, but Peter continued: "In my heart, you are worth this price, and it is still high. The slaves purchased from the Crimea are better than you."

Such humiliation made Vytautas explode. The soldiers around him continued to imprison him, but Mihai laughed directly. He never expected that his eldest brother would be so murderous. You must know that in this era where honor is very important, it is really heartbreaking for the other party to demote the other party as worthless. "Oh, Lithuania, Lithuania, it's time for you to exist in poetry."

Peter ordered the army to go to Vilnius. Before doing so, he had already given the order that the city should be reduced to ruins, the citizens should be turned into slaves, and everything should be changed. This was just one major urban plunder.

At this time, Vilnius was the largest city in Lithuania. There were not only Lithuanians, but also a large number of Jews. This was done for the sake of peace in Eastern Europe.

----split line----

Wladyslaw had arrived in Vilnius and had taken away all his remaining funds. He wanted to build his own castle in Warsaw and not let anyone take it away.

"My lord, Smolensk is occupied by Rome."

Wladyslaw did not appear anxious when he heard the news, but he breathed a sigh of relief. "I got it, keep asking for information."

"Yes"

The situation is now clear, they have lost. But compared to the losses, he will gain a lot of benefits in the future, and those nobles should listen to him.

The Teutons and the Berlin Union were at war. He needed to recuperate now, especially an outlet to the sea, so that he could promote economic development and collect more taxes.

Wladyslaw made up his mind. He was going to find peace talks with Rome. Even if he lost a large amount of territory, he had to negotiate, otherwise he would not be able to keep the remaining Polish territory.

In order to get the remaining nobles to agree with him, Wladyslaw had to continue selling his privileges. He established the principle that nobles were free from arbitrary arrest, and stipulated that the gentry and nobles in various places held regular parliaments and could not raise troops or levy taxes without the consent of the parliament. At the same time, the Sejm's power became stronger, and it could elect the king, review taxes and other matters.

During the war with the Teutonic Knights, the Polish nobles obtained many privileges, including judicial power. The area of ​​feudal self-camps increased rapidly, and they were particularly dense along the river channels leading to the Baltic Sea. Since the nobility had abundant land resources but scarce labor resources, especially since Polish peasants had gained personal freedom hundreds of years ago, the nobility pushed for the return of serfdom. Wladyslaw issued a decree explicitly prohibiting agricultural labor from leaving the village. Only one farmer from each village could leave the village each year. This was the first time in Poland that peasants were officially tied to the land and towns were prohibited from accepting them.

In exchange for these decrees, Wladyslaw received an annual fund and a favorable vote from the Sejm. But at the same time, Wladyslaw also reserved the right to form a national army. His goal was to have a standing army of 10000, which was best supported by the territory directly under his jurisdiction, so that he would still be the largest lord.

But the cities on the Polish border were a bit miserable. Lviv was better off because of its surrender, but other towns were either broken into, looted, or burned down. The actions of the Roman army caused the local nobles to form an army to resist, but they still had a way. As long as someone killed the noble, half of his property could be given to that person.

Then, someone really killed a minor nobleman. Calderon directly gave half of the minor nobleman's property to that person. Then all the peasants went crazy, and those nobles had to hide in the manor, and they had to be careful of sudden assassinations. .

I have to say that this move is very useful, but it is a bit expensive for Poland's diplomatic relations. You can only make up for it later.

(End of this chapter)