Chapter 154 Stability
Peter carried out drastic restructuring of the Serbian region. A large number of Serbian nobles and knights were moved to the capital, and an amnesty was granted to the peasants who joined the rebels. There was no one-size-fits-all approach. It was conducive to maintaining the rule by bringing in the people at the bottom.
Relying on a strong army, Peter quickly established order near Krusevac. The whole rebellion came and went in a hurry, but its impact was very large. The original local order was broken, some entrenched nobles were purged, and local government institutions in Wallachia began to be established.
Peter planned the roads in Serbia and Macedonia. Since Dushan's death, Serbia's road system has not been maintained for a long time. The smooth roads have become overgrown with weeds, and transportation mainly relies on country roads. Peter funded the construction of new roads to facilitate the movement of people.
At the same time, the capital of the Viceroyalty was moved to Skopje, which is an important strategic location in the Balkans. The Lepenac and Vardar rivers flow through this area, making the land very fertile. In the early Middle Ages, there were many battles between Byzantium and the First Bulgarian Empire. From 972 to 992, Skopje was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire. It came under Byzantine rule in 1018, and then came under Bulgarian rule. Skopje once prospered from trade.
After moving here, the Serbian Church was also integrated into the Wallachian Church. The Patriarchate of Skopje was established and other religions were suppressed. Everything is going in the right direction.
The rebellious nobles had their property confiscated, which was used to fill the treasury. Mircea can also expand his army to 30,000 people, but he still has to get rid of these people, otherwise he will be hindered in everything he does.
Outside the Senate, Mircea took all the appointments to the Supreme Court into his own hands. Any form of appointment or dismissal requires the Grand Duke's approval. The Boyar Conference exists in name only, and its only function may be to look good.
In addition to the nobility, Mircea interacts well with people from other classes. Tax cuts and encouraging farming made farmers support him, funding the Orthodox Church made the church recognize him, stimulating industry and commerce and selecting officials through examinations made the citizens follow him. The Grand Duke united these three forces to suppress the old aristocracy. Avoid decentralization.
When Sigismund learned that the noble rebels had failed, he took no other action. He was somewhat glad that he did not get involved too much, otherwise Hungary and Wallachia would have fought to the death.
Now he still solves domestic problems, and no matter how much Mary jumps around, it will not help. Most of the nobility and church in the country are on his side. Who would support a powerless queen.
The departments were reorganized. Six departments, namely finance, army, navy, diplomacy, industry and commerce, and internal affairs, were in charge of national affairs. Above the departments was the prime minister, who was personally appointed by the grand duke, and the prime minister was only responsible to the grand duke.
In addition to departments, a set of corresponding agencies were also established in the palace, mainly the intelligence department. The leaders are all loyal to the Grand Duke. They are responsible for monitoring everything in the country and reporting anything wrong to the Grand Duke immediately.
Wallachia's political system has basically taken shape, and checks and balances have become the main theme. The people are still the same as before, with very few political rights, but at least they have a way to rise. In order to climb up the ladder, civilians will work hard to join the army and take exams, so that there will be officials and soldiers.
The census of the new territory has been completed, and the total population of the country is 3.36 million.
It is more than double the last census, but these populations are still not enough. Anatolia now has more than six million people, and Wallachia has a population of half Hungary at best. Putting these people in such a large territory is simply not enough, so more must be added.
Hungary has a population of 2.4 million, of which 45% are Hungarians, 15% are Vlachs, and the rest are Croatians and other ethnic groups. The Vlachs are mainly concentrated in Transylvania. Although immigration policies have been implemented, they have only transferred wealth and the population has remained unchanged.
Another neighbor, Poland, has 1.5 million people, with Poles making up the majority. There are 3.5 million people in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but only one tenth is Lithuanian. Ruthenians make up the majority.
The Wallachian nation is also somewhat complex, including Vlachs, Bulgarians, Serbs, Albanians, Greeks, and Turks, but the government deliberately downplays their national identity and suppresses their language and culture. In addition, there was still the enemy Osman, so they did not cause trouble for the time being.
After Epiphany, construction continued throughout Wallachia. Farmers were busy with the upcoming sowing, while others continued to sell their labor to make money. Churches, monasteries, universities, houses, etc. were built the most, while Crescent Church sites were either renovated or demolished. Like where it was under Ottoman rule.
A lot of construction requires a lot of money. Where does Wallachia get it? A: Trade.
Trade is mainly export trade and re-export trade. Needless to say export, re-export trade mainly takes advantage of Wallachia's geographical location to transport Eastern goods to the West for sale and collect profits from them.
There are three main trade routes between the East and the West: the Prairie Silk Road in the north, the traditional Silk Road in the middle, and the Maritime Silk Road in the south. Among these three, the southern route ends in Egypt, which is too far away, and is mainly separated by the Ottomans. Therefore, only the northern Silk Road has Wallachia's greater participation.
At this time, the political situation of the Golden Horde was considered stable. Although the city of Sarai was burned down, Eastern goods could come here via a detour from the Rus' Principality and through the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Wallachia then sold the goods to the West and earned the difference.
The Black Sea trade is also a trade in which Wallachia is highly involved, whose main coastline is on the Black Sea. Wallachia already has trade with Trebizond and Georgia, two countries along the Black Sea. These two places were in the midst of war and division, and the food delivered by Wallachia became their life-saving straw. And by virtue of their location, large amounts of precious metals served as currency for shipping back.
Wallachia was able to make a lot of profits from these two trades. With this money, the government invests it in the navy and production. The navy is responsible for dealing with pirates, and production has more goods, thus forming a virtuous cycle. There will be more and more money, and eventually the situation of Kaihuang's rule will be formed.
Some foreigners nicknamed the Archduke of Wallachia the Fearless One. In China, people prefer to call him Old Mircea. This way he had two nicknames, but Mircea obviously preferred the latter one, and he felt familiar with it.