eastern european eagle

Chapter 530 Marriage and Teaching

The news that the Roman and Moscow coalition forces occupied Smolensk and captured Vytautas alive reached Vilnius. I don’t know why the news of defeat always spread so quickly.

The people of Vilnius became afraid. They thought these heretics would kill them. In fact, Peter really thought so. He could show mercy to all but the Poles and Lithuanians.

When Wladyslaw heard that Vytautas had been captured, he very much hoped that Peter could kill him, so that he could continue to rule the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and at worst, he could canonize Vytautas as a saint in the future.

Of course, he still sent someone to Smolensk to deliver a message to Peter, inviting him to join peace talks with Michael.

The peace talks are naturally just a cover. As long as they defeat the Berlin Alliance, they will have the capital to negotiate with Peter, so it won't be too much of a loss.

----split line----

In Moulins, the capital of the Kingdom of France, the current Duke of Bourbon, Jean, and his wife Mary of Auvergne discussed the future of their territory and heirs.

Their family were staunch Orleanists and had been living their lives in the territory since the previous Civil War. But recently the Burgundy and Orleans factions are fighting again. They just want to live their own lives. Why is it so difficult?

"It's time to choose a husband for Elizabeth. The current situation will reach here sooner or later." Jean said to his wife.

After getting the confirmation, let's get ready to go to the reception. He also asked his wife to cook and prepare the banquet in person, which neither the Duke of Orleans nor the King of France could neglect.

"Don't worry, Duke. The queen heard that your daughter is not married yet, so she specially sent me to discuss it with you."

"My lord, the Romanian envoy has come to see you." The Duke's secretary came in and stopped the conversation between the couple.

Yes, who are you looking for? He wanted to find the Burgundian faction to expand its strength, and was afraid that the Duke of Orleans would be angry. Look for Navarre, but the other party doesn't like it. It's really difficult.

The special envoy "Your Majesty the Duke" saluted the Duke.

"What, an envoy from Constantinople?"

"Oh, dear envoy, what are you here for today? I hope it's good news."

The last words were spoken in his heart. He didn't know what the special envoy was looking for, the Duke of France. I didn’t do anything to disgrace Rome, it was all the Duke of Burgundy who did it.

Soon, Duke Jean came to the banquet hall and met the Roman envoy.

"Yes sir"

"But who?" Mary asked the key question.

"what…"

Jean felt incredible. He did not expect that the Roman Empire would come to him to discuss marriage. But still discuss the specific plot with the special envoy.

"The queen has taken a liking to the Duke's daughter and hopes to invite her to Constantinople to meet her." Regarding this, Jean felt that it would be better to meet the emperor in person. There is too much chaos in France now. The battle between Burgundy and Orleans is intensifying, and all the vassals are starting to choose sides. And if there is news of the marriage between the Duke of Bourbon and the Roman Empire, it will have a profound impact on France.

Since the Roman emperor's brother was the Duke of Normandy, doing so might have been seen as siding with England. And there will be more eyes on him. He just wants to farm well.

"This is indeed a good marriage, but I hope I can bring my family to see the emperor of your country to discuss it."

The messenger agreed, but he still hoped to reach an agreement as soon as possible. Because the queen finally chose her, in order to avoid not counting like last time, she simply said that the shorter the time, the better.

In the evening, Jean and Marie discuss marriage. The arrival of the Roman envoy surprised them, and they were worried that the French nobles would exclude them. Mary's words made him determined.

"If we don't agree, then the outcome of Stuart is our future. And with a reliable ally, our territory will be safe."

Yes, Stuart's lesson is not enough. As for ostracizing, no matter what, with Rome here, who wouldn't give him some face?
The next day, the Duke told the envoy to go to Constantinople as soon as possible. This surprised the other party, but he was still very happy that the other party did not refuse like Stuart, despite the coercion of England.

In addition to the marriage of her eldest son, Sofia is also thinking about the marriage of her second son and daughter. Theodore can be more relaxed, he can fall in love freely, as long as he is a good match.

Anna, on the other hand, is planning to start thinking about marriage when she grows up. She wants to give her daughter a huge dowry. This will highlight the wealth and power of Rome.

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The University of Constantinople was home to the best teachers in Rome, and there was a college that provided education for the children of nobles and nobles.

In the large classroom, Mr. Davis talked about the history of Rome. More than 20 students listened to him carefully, wrote down key points on the paper they carried with them, and kept raising their hands to ask questions. The atmosphere was relaxed and lively.

"Basil II was a strict disciplinarian who put his passion into his work, and the Macedonian dynasty reached its peak under his rule."

A student raised his hand.

"What do you want to say, Bardas?"

"Teacher, Basil brought the Macedonian dynasty to its peak, but he was unmarried and had no children. Is this the main reason for the decline of the dynasty?"

Davis smiled and said to him: "I think I have made it very clear about this before. Basil's failure to marry and leave no heir was the biggest mistake he made. But this should be summarized as the direct decline of the Macedonian dynasty. The reason is inappropriate.”

"There are many reasons for the decline of the dynasty. Basil's brother, Emperor Constantine VIII, abolished Basil II's pardon for the poor, which directly caused civilian riots in the capital. And when dealing with the re-incorporation of Bulgaria into the empire, When it came to taxing the land's residents, he oversimplified it to the point of rebellion.

When Emperor Basil conquered this land, he allowed local residents to pay taxes in kind as a privilege granted to them and in order to bring the area under the king's control as quickly as possible. Constantine VIII, on the other hand, changed to paying taxes in cash on the grounds that he wanted to be treated equally with the rest of the empire. This sparked a rebellion. "

Everyone listened to the teacher talk about the Macedonian Dynasty, while Alexander wrote and drew on paper. Basil II of the Macedonian dynasty, his father admired him very much and renovated his tomb. For new territories, my father and grandfather's policy was to reduce taxes and change local landowners. This directly won the support of most people, and together with the construction of water conservancy facilities, it now has an annual income of several million lei.

(End of this chapter)