Chapter 77 On whether hops and banks will affect heretics
Peter looked at what looked like artificial iced tea in front of him, lost in thought.
"Is this really wine?"
The businessman in front of him quickly explained to Peter that this was the best wine purchased from Munich.
But the thing in front of me had a sour taste, smelling a bit like swill. Is this really the world-famous German beer?
Peter was still ready to taste it, but once the liquid entered his mouth, it took a lot of effort for Peter to swallow it.
Even Munich, which has the best brewing technology, can’t do it now.
"What's missing?" Peter thought. Then he remembered, there was a shortage of hops.
Hops are mainly used as bitterness, flavoring and stabilizer in beer. In addition to bitterness, they also give hops a floral, fruity or citrus aroma. Hops are also used in beverages and herbal medicines for other purposes.
But now Europeans don’t know the role of hops and only use it as a herbal medicine. However, large-scale use had to wait until the Duke of Bavaria ordered its mandatory use in 1526.
And that made Peter see an opportunity, why don't they brew their own beer.
Unlike wine, beer is a grain wine, mainly brewed from rye. If hops were added to make the quality of Wallachia beer a level higher than that of Munich, wouldn't that also bring in money?
However, Wallachia is not very suitable for growing hops. It still has to be imported from Shinra and Rus, but for beer profits, there should be no problem.
Two-thirds of Wallachia's trade was dominated by the government and lords, with other merchants accounting for only one-third. This kind of government-dominated trade situation is very rare. After all, the lords of various countries generally believe in physiocrats and free markets. Wallachia is not common.
Of this two-thirds of trade, Peter accounted for more than half of the trade volume. In turn, he handed over the profits to the Grand Duke or invested them in public facilities. He also funded the construction of a large manor to meet his luxury needs.
Another industry that has differentiated from trade is the financial industry. This institution, which initially focused on currency exchange, now owns all banking businesses. It can be said that this is the first bank in the Balkans.
This bank adopts the same joint-stock system as Ross Corporation, and the selection of the person in charge requires the approval of shareholders. And it has to hand over profits to the government every year. Because of this, Grand Duke Mircea issued a banking license to this institution.
Another difference from the Bank of Italy is that there are people behind this bank. If someone doesn't pay back money, unless there is a reason, they will ask you to find ways to spit out the money.
Because of this, Wallachia's financial industry was controlled by this one bank. Although there are some small banks opened by Armenians, they cannot compare with this bank in terms of connections and funds.
Half of the bank's business is exchange and currency exchange, lending accounts for a quarter, and the rest is deposit business. The interest rate of the loan is determined according to the length of time, but it is lower than the loan shark.
This is all due to Peter. Without him, Wallachia would probably still be that unknown small country. Later, Archduke Vlad gave Wallachia some visibility.
After having this idea, Peter had just ordered to import hops, and an urgent report from Burgas came.
"You're still here, you can leave if you can't live anymore, why are you so pretentious?"
Peter made no secret of his dislike of them, the Catholics who lived in Burgas.
Peter felt that he had been very tolerant. He did not forcefully drive them away or take their lives, but only investigated the unjust, false and wrongful cases in the past 80 years. Why did it become persecution?
Those Catholic residents suddenly found themselves second-class citizens. Worse than those pagans, no, not even the Roma.
So in Burgas and other places, Catholics began to make trouble. They refused to pay taxes and even destroyed markets and other buildings, but they were all caught and imprisoned by the army.
"You tell me, I should be the most merciful lord, why are they so ungrateful? They should all be burned to death."
Nicholas on the side immediately agreed. "Sir, your kindness is unparalleled. These people are really ungrateful."
The more Peter thought about it, the angrier he became, and the more angrily he thought about it. Finally this order was issued.
"Pull out a group of those who were thrown into prison and chop them down, and all their families will become slaves."
"Sir, where are the children?" the subordinate asked.
"Put them all away, let them convert, and conduct military training. Remember, train according to the specifications of that knighthood."
"yes"
Recently, Peter has been reading an introduction to the Knights Hospitaller, and is also familiar with the training of Western knights. It just so happens that these children should be killed or demoted as slaves. It would be a pity to use them as the army.
They also have a lot of training content, first of all language. In addition to learning Wallachian, Greek was also required. Then, they also have to learn music and musical instruments. Because in order to maintain discipline they are required not to engage in regular entertainment activities such as drinking and gambling, so they are asked to learn music as an alternative.
Then came military training such as swordsmanship and archery, and then physical training such as running and wrestling. They were not allowed to get married and needed to go to a monastery or undergo monastic training in their spare time. Hmm...it looks familiar.
Anyway, this is the best way for them. After all, their lives are still there, and at the same time, they are also the frontline troops, and they can only do it once, and then it is gone.
The darkest moment for Catholics came. They were either killed or enslaved. Mothers and children were forced to be separated and could not see each other for life. Although some people will know this information, what can they do?
At the same time, the capitation tax policy began to be tried out in Catholic families. Mainly because of the sinner's family, the church was destroyed and the land in his name was inherited by the Orthodox Church. The local Catholic nobles who had not been touched by the Ottomans were uprooted by Peter, and the policy of religious unification began to accelerate.
Those Turkic families thought they were the worst off, but when they saw the situation of Catholics, they suddenly felt that they were not so miserable. (It all depends on the support of peers)
The governor ordered the promotion of Wallachian writing, and one-third of the missionaries and priests who used Wallachia needed to preach, and the proportion was increasing.
Businessmen are also using it because they want to do business further afield. Landlords and nobles also use it because they want to become great nobles and enter the center.
As for the remaining people, some people started to use it because Constanta University began to recruit people. The university adopts an examination system. No matter who you are, as long as you pass the examination, you can enter the university. Of course, you have to pay your own travel expenses and other expenses. After college, people from the government will come to take the exam. After passing the exam, you will be assigned to various positions.
This approach was also intended to attract landowners and citizens from the civil class to be loyal to the central government. And spread the Wallachian script so that it will not rebel, and it also improves administrative efficiency.