eastern european eagle

Chapter 8 Artillery Studies and the Wanderers from Transylvania

"Have seen the lord, may God be with you."

Peter left the training ground and came to the artillery workshop.When the person in charge saw the lord coming, he immediately came to say hello.

"I came here just to see how your artillery production is going?" Peter said.

The current artillery technology is actually still in an unknown state.The biggest problem in the development of gunpowder is that it ignites quickly, has uniform quality and is powerful. In addition, it is not easy to design a suitable artillery. If it is not designed immediately, it will not be able to fire.Due to the limitations of early manufacturing technology, the level of danger faced by those who cast artillery is actually not different from that of bombarding the target.

At the same time, the production of gunpowder is also a big problem.Because Europe does not produce saltpeter, it can only be purchased through the Silk Road.Otherwise, learn from Charles I and dig out all the toilets in the country.

"Your Highness, the cannon is still not ideal at present, let alone the power. The manufacture of the cannon alone costs a lot of money, and the production process is complicated, and it will take a long time to complete."

Peter was not very satisfied with this result.Too few, the Hungarian king's army has hundreds of cannons, and the whole of Wallachia has only a dozen, and they are all small.

"I will think of a way for the raw materials, but I hope to think of ways to improve the power of the artillery."

"As you order, my lord."

It has been a long time since he came to Wallachia, and he probably forgot that European artillery technology is still immature at the moment.Although it was said that cannons were used during the Hundred Years' War between Britain and France, in addition to iron balls and shot puts, they also fired large arrows and waste.However, the cannon was only a supplementary firepower because of its high cost, and it did not become a mainstream force.

Wallachia produces less coal and iron, and most of the raw materials need to be imported.There are many in the Donbass area, but they are still buried under the Golden Horde.It is still purchased from Hungary and Bohemia through the Chamber of Commerce, and part of it will be used for other places.

Peter knew that his only advantage in this day and age was the knowledge in his head.He can become a small lord to spend his life safely, and through these, he can change history and do a big business vigorously.

"It's not easy," Peter thought to himself.

"Your Highness, Yang is back, and he also said that he would give you a surprise."

Jan is the head of the Chamber of Commerce in Hungary.He made great contributions to the expansion of Wallachia's trade, and was also the main contributor to the recruitment of refugees.

At this time, the Hungarian urban economy is developing rapidly, but the situation of farmers is getting worse day by day.They benefited little from such economic prosperity, and many peasants fled, while the Hungarian great nobles legislated to completely tie the peasants to the land, but this caused a greater flight.

The same is true in Transylvania. People of the same blood as the Wallachians were squeezed by the immigrant Germans. After decades of immigration, more than half of the Wallachians lived in misery.But they were still free to move, and this was a major source of immigration from Wallachia, and a major source of immigration from Peter.

When he came to the training ground in the suburbs, Yang had been waiting for a long time.As soon as they saw Peter, they immediately came to him.

"Meet your lord, may God be with you."

"Okay, let's not talk about such things. I heard that you have prepared a surprise for me. Where are you?"

Faced with the lord's questioning, Yang pointed to a group of people next to him. "Your Highness, this is my surprise for you."

Following his hand, Peter saw that these were wandering knights.And judging from their clothes, they have all been kicked out by their families for several months.

In order to maintain the continuation of the family, the lords in the Middle Ages would continue to give birth, and the children were born continuously, which formed an embarrassing situation where the princes walked everywhere.For these small countries, too many successors is also a headache. If the territory is divided among each successor, it will make the country weak.Therefore, only one prince in a country can become the "king", and the rest of the princes must find ways to develop their own lives.

Some of them would be assigned "priesthood" jobs by the king and queen, that is, the same status as the archbishop.Others chose to work in other people's lands, so in the Middle Ages many knights and mercenary chieftains were princes.People with military exploits can often gain wealth, and they can also kill the old king in this territory by force and become the new king themselves.

Of course, the easiest and most effective way is to intermarry with neighboring countries. Therefore, these small countries hold grand balls every once in a while to create opportunities for princes and princesses to get acquainted. Princes can not only propose to their favorite princesses, but also Propose to those wealthy noble widows, so that you can get the territory and property left by the widow's ex-husband.

In addition, there is only the "Prince Charming" who frequently appears in fairy tales.In fact, there was no such title as "Prince Charming" at that time, and it was more accurate to call it "Wandering Knight", and the horses that were ridden did not necessarily have to be white horses, but could also be black horses, flowered horses, and bay red horses. Some princes even had no horses at all. Walk around on two legs.

They don't fight dragons or evil mages like in fairy tales. In reality, they win bonuses through various competitive competitions, or serve as servants and bodyguards for rich people, or fight for others or find someone to duel. To get spoils, in other words, their purpose is purely to make a living.When you have nowhere to go, you may sell your horses or weapons, or you may run into the mountains and become a bandit.

Moreover, in medieval Europe, there were a lot of earls, marquises, grand dukes, and kings.So stop phantom prince and princess.

"Is this the surprise you gave me?" Peter asked.

"Yes, Your Highness, these people were driven out by their families. I have seen many people in Buda and other places, and I also know that Your Highness is worried about Ottoman's attack, so I asked them if they would like to come. When I got here, I just didn’t expect so many to come.”

There are hundreds of wandering knights brought back by Yang this time.Although it is insignificant compared with other places, it is still a lot.

There are many small and medium-sized nobles in Hungary. They cannot compete with the big Hungarian nobles in terms of strength, and their own property is not much, so they can only let other sons go out to eat.

Sometimes they also report to the group, and they will find some chambers of commerce to obtain escort missions.No, Yang has taken a fancy to them, aren't they born to fight.

"You should know my criteria for recruiting troops," Peter said.

"Of course, my lord. I asked specifically before leaving. They are all willing to settle here and pledge their allegiance to you forever."

Peter also knew that these wandering knights were an excellent source of cavalry, but their loyalty had yet to be tested, so it was better to stay and have a look, training and conversion were also necessary.

"Well, thank you for your hard work." Peter said to Yang, which can be regarded as an affirmation to him.

"Thank you sir."

Peter directly handed these people over to Constantine, and asked him to train as usual. After a few days of hard training, some of them wanted to go home, but when they thought about going back, they still ate their last meal. He paused, gritted his teeth and held back.

And Peter also promised them that no matter it is money or anything, as long as they listen to him, they will have it.And let the bishop of Constanta come to baptize them.

Converting from Catholicism to Orthodox Christianity, this act of apostasy in the eyes of ordinary people is not worth mentioning in their eyes. Compared with money, this is a younger brother.

(End of this chapter)