Chapter 169 Crimea

Chapter 169 Crimea

"Here we are, finally here."

A group of ragged people came outside Veruga. When the local residents saw their appearance, they immediately understood how much suffering they had suffered. Because that's how they came.

Since the founding of Veruga, a large number of serfs and slaves have escaped and settled here every day. Over time, this place became a thorn in the side of the Tatar tribe. The closest thing to the destruction of Veruga occurred six months ago. More than 20 tribes formed a coalition and attacked Veruga with some sponsorship from Genoa. At that time, the walls of Veruga were about to collapse, and they were about to be unable to hold up any longer. A fierce snowstorm hit, and nine out of ten of the tribe's horses, cattle and sheep were frozen to death. Taking this opportunity, the defenders reinforced the city wall. Seeing this, the coalition forces had no choice but to retreat.

The defenders and residents believed this was God's will, and after the enemy retreated, they rebuilt Veruga and fortified the city walls. When the surrounding slaves heard about it, they also came here, and the population increased, quickly exceeding 4,000 people.

Peter provided some support to the Crimea region and sent government officials to govern it. The local people gradually moved closer to Wallachia, and the culture was reshuffled.

After this battle, the Tatar tribe continued to decline. The Crimean Church established itself here and gradually advanced north, while the Crescent Church shrunk in scope as the Golden Horde retreated.

The southern part of the Crimean Peninsula is rich in iron ore, and the local mines are owned by the government and have reached a certain scale. A large amount of iron ore was continuously transported to Constanta. With the funds from exports, Veruga built several churches and expanded production. Some businessmen invested in building factories here, and the local area had a stable economic source.

However, the large number of slaves escaping not only made the Tatar tribe angry, but also made Genoa angry. The city of Kaffa under their rule was the largest slave trading center in the Black Sea. The Roman Empire and the Khazar Khanate also fought for this city. In the thirteenth century, due to the Mongols' western expedition, the power of the Golden Horde began to expand to the city of Kaffa, and the Genoese merchants in the city were also attacked by the Mongols.

With the capture of Kaffa by the Golden Horde, the slave trade began to rise in the city of Kaffa. Before this, there was also slave trade in the city of Kaffa, but with the addition of the Tatars and Nogais, the city of Kaffa was completely reduced to a "slave city." The Tatars and Nogais continued to sell captured Eastern Europeans to the city of Kaffa, resulting in millions of Eastern Europeans being trafficked to all parts of the world.

In the slave market of Kaffa City at that time, the price of slaves was generally around 20 to 60 gold coins, but the price of slaves would also fluctuate depending on the local situation. Generally speaking, whenever there is a war or natural disaster, the price of slaves is the lowest. The price of slaves was the highest during peacetime, because slave catchers could only obtain a large number of captives during times of war.

Tatars and Nogais often raided Eastern European villages in groups, snatching children from mothers and wives from husbands. Moreover, whenever a war breaks out, the Tatars and Nogai people will plunder the population on a large scale, so that slave hunting has become the main source of income for these tribes.

Prior to this, the Genoese and Venetians also began to conduct slave trade locally, and would actively kidnap Mongolian, Turkic and Slavic slaves. Grain, precious metals, olive oil, and weapons were traded extensively in the city, and Slavic, Caucasian, and Turkic slaves were loaded on ships in Kaffa and trafficked to Western Asia or Egypt.

The Genoese started the Caffa slave trade and gained astonishing wealth from it. Due to the fall of Acre in 1296, the Pope banned direct trade with the Mamluk dynasty, and the Black Sea route also became an important spice trade channel. Gold and silver coins fell into the pockets of the Genoese like a rainstorm.

They were the merchants who suffered the most from the slaves' escape, but Veruga and Aaron were Wallachia's territories, so they still had to consult with the Grand Duke.

"More than 300 escaped slaves came here today. Do we still want to take them in?"

The municipal clerk asked Mayor Veruga. The mayor thought for a moment and then said.

"Take in, they are all poor people, God will not give up on everyone who is willing to pursue happiness. We have defeated the Tatars, and we will also defeat anyone who dares to destroy the peace of Veruga. We will let those farmers and slaves See, they are always welcome in Veruga.”

In order to accommodate these people, the mayor racked his brains. In addition to cultivating land, hiring workers and training militia, he also let some people join the church. Expand the scope of control through the church.

"How much money does the treasury have now?"

"Excluding what I will use in the next three months, I still have 12,000 gold lei."

"Well, first take out one third and build another housing area to the east of Veruga."

The mayor was famous for his constant planning, which would not only accommodate more people, but also increase Veruga's economic and military power. More importantly, the Grand Duke has determined that Veruga is the capital of the Crimea region, and a large city must be built to be worthy of his status.

Although there was less government support, Wallachia's expansion in Crimea also attracted the attention of the two major powers of the Golden Horde and Lithuania. The geographical location of Crimea on the Black Sea is something that both Vytautas and Tokhtamysh must obtain. Now that Wallachia has taken the lead, they all feel that it is better to unite and capture this place first and then distribute it.

Peter also understood the importance of Crimea. For this reason, he carried out large-scale construction of the two important cities of Aaron and Veruga. They not only had complete defense systems, but also new weapons such as artillery and flamethrowers. Since the armies of Lithuania and the Golden Horde are mainly cavalry, the long-range firepower of defending the city is very powerful.

Crimea, under Wallachian control, has a population of 150,000 and growing. The economy is also the most developed locally, even surpassing Kaffa and Azov at the mouth of the Don River. A lot of this comes from the local location.

Local people also began to make a living through planting and animal husbandry, and raising sheep and grain became their main work objects. Life has stabilized. Before this, they could not even imagine such a life.

Wallachia became a paradise spread by word of mouth among slaves, and many people risked their lives to escape just to gain freedom. The more they escaped, the tighter the Genoese and nomads guarded them, but even so, these captured slaves did not give up, preferring to die themselves and create opportunities for their families to escape. Rather than risking it in the dark, it is better to fight to the death, even if there is only a one percent chance.