Chapter 29 Governance and International Impact
Peter also did not expect that the situation in Moldova was not even as good as Wallachia.
However, it is understandable that it was the "Christian defender" Stefan who made Moldova the country's trademark, and this happened decades later.
Peter came to Iasi by water. Through the Prut River, he could reach Iasi, 260 kilometers away, in a few days.
In later generations, Iasi was known as the cradle of Romanian culture, but Peter did not see any trace of culture here. Not only is the town small, it doesn't even have a complete city wall. (Early towns in Moldova generally had no walls)
If that's the case, that's fine. The most deadly thing is the boyars' obedience. Seeing that Peter was a child, they began to despise him, but Bogdan of Oneshti was loyal to him. Maybe it's because there are benefits to following him.
Of course, Peter also needed these nobles who were familiar with Moldova to help govern this newly conquered land. So he put Bogdan in an advisory position and began using the power his father had given him.
He planned a new blueprint for Iasi. The city walls will be built and repaired, and various public buildings will be built. Now he just lacks an architect, and it seems he will have to go to Northern Italy or Constantinople to find one.
In addition, Peter also designed and built two official roads. One starts from Kemplonga and passes through Bukuri, Oneşti, Iaşi and finally to Suceava. Another starts from Tulcea and connects Kilia to Akman, which could facilitate trade.
As for Iasi, let’s build a large market first. Even though everything is primitive, everything is being built up.
"Let some peasants and soldiers go back to spring plowing, and let Constantine take over the castle in Transnistria."
"The bazaar must be built quickly. In addition, send people to Constantinople and Florence to hire an architect for me."
Orders were issued to his subordinates one after another, and everyone from Iasi to Constanta became active. And a group of people were also transferred from Dobroga to help with its governance.
"My lord, a letter from the Grand Duke."
Peter opened it and looked at it. It turned out that Grand Duke Mircea was officially crowned as Grand Duke of Moldova in Suceava and announced the transfer of the government to Iasi.
"In this case, we have to speed up the progress."
Peter confiscated all the military power of these boyars. From now on, they did not need to recruit troops, but in return, they had to pay taxes.
Boyar expressed great agreement. As long as he paid a little money, there was no need to provide troops. Besides, they were also afraid that if they didn't agree, the army would come and complain.
Without having to bear the burden of an army, these boyars have more energy to run their territories. After all, operating land to expand income is their first priority.
Peter ordered Constanta to build a batch of curved shaft plows. Moldova's farming technology was too backward and they all used wooden plows.
Of course, Moldova, like Wallachia, has to attract people. According to his estimate, there are probably only more than 200,000 people in Moldova.
These populations are not enough for an area of more than 90,000 square kilometers. In addition to encouraging births, attracting foreign populations is also a way. Peter eventually set his sights on the Ruthenians.
Ruthenians were once part of Kievan Rus. They immigrated to Lithuania in the late Middle Ages and were distributed in Galicia, Bukovina and other places. Most importantly, most of them believe in Orthodox Christianity.
Moreover, Peter also had the idea of recruiting German farmers, but decided to wait first. The main recruitment directions are set in Lithuania, the Golden Horde and the Rus Principality.
Let’s not talk about nationalism at this time. Given your population base, you must attract those who share the same religion or a specific group of people. However, the language must remain consistent, which is the point of assimilation.
Within a few days, Peter issued more than seventeen orders. Take your time, but sometimes, you have to take a strong dose.
At this time, many businessmen came to Iasi to rest, and the surrounding farmers also exchanged their livestock and grain for daily necessities. There are new decrees every day on the notice board next to it, and some illiterate farmers and craftsmen listen to the decrees read out by the propagandist. When they heard about the tax exemption, they were all happy. After all, it was closely related to their interests.
The border between Wallachia and Moldova was abolished, allowing Wallachian merchants to enter all parts of Moldova without paying customs duties. Salt and linen produced in Wallachia and livestock from Moldova could be freely exchanged. The benefits of the merger are only just emerging.
King Vasiław of Poland also received 30,000 ducats. After receiving this money, he directly hired a group of troops to help Vytautas. Without the help of Moldova, Vytautas' chances of winning have greatly increased.
The establishment of the United Principality not only attracted the attention of Poland, but also attracted the attention of another country, and that was Hungary.
Hungary has been a great power in Central Europe since the founding of Stephen's kingdom. During the reign of Emperor Lajos the Great, Hungary and Poland formed a common confederacy and realized a large empire from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic Sea.
In 1387, Emperor Lajos's daughter Maria and her husband Sigismund jointly took charge of Hungary. But the power remained in Sigismund's hands.
In order to ensure his throne, Sigismund gave a large amount of royal land to the great nobles, causing the royal land that originally accounted for one-fifth of the country to be reduced to one-twentieth. Hungary's great nobles seized 40% of the country's land, so he had to fight hard against the nobles in order to gradually regain his royal power.
In diplomacy, he cooperated with Wallachia and Bulgaria to fight against the Ottomans. But letting the other party recognize its status as the suzerain country can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
But he knew more about Wallachia than his brain could handle. No one expected that Wallachia would annex Moldova, which directly broke Hungary's foreign strategy.
Now, Sigismund had two options. Either let it be, or send troops directly.
However, the current situation does not allow Hungary to send troops. There are Ottomans who are watching him from the outside, and there are big nobles inside who are blocking him. For him, the best way is to recharge his batteries and then go out.
Moreover, he also needs to pay attention to the movements in Transylvania. This principality has been very dishonest recently and is afraid that he will escape.
The Principality of Transylvania provides 40% of Hungary's income and a large amount of minerals. Hungarian kings of all generations have also attached great importance to the development here, which is why Sigismund took a fancy to it. There is no way, he is very short of money now.
In order to maintain this unstable throne and compete for position within the Shinra territory, he paid at least hundreds of thousands of florins, and the gap continued to expand. He could only keep running by holding on to all the coins, which of course also relied on the support of the great nobles. The Bulgarian nobles also agreed to send troops. Confronting the pagans was the fastest way to improve the status of the nobles.