Chapter 172 Wedding
After the Ecumenical Council, the Wallachian Church and the Andrean Order obtained legal expansion rights to the Balkans, Anatolia, the Levant and other eastern regions. They were just waiting for the Grand Duke's order to regain their homeland in the east.
But before that, let’s organize Peter and Sophia’s wedding.
Peter has turned 16, an adult in the West. As usual, the engagement between him and Sophia was about to be officially implemented.
Peter had been brought back from Skopje by Lady Maria, and a large group of people were busy with him. He was decorated with traditional Wallachian costumes.
"As expected of my son, he looks very good no matter what kind of clothes he wears."
Lady Maria said, and the ladies around her were flattering her. Peter watched his mother and those women commenting on him, and he could only think to himself. My mother used to only like to be in manors and churches, but in recent years she has slowly begun to interact with these women.
The bride was also dressed up. The white wedding dress and gorgeous jewelry highlighted Sophia's beauty. Peter was fascinated after seeing her. The two then went to the Assumption Church in the city center together.
The Assumption Church was expanded from the original chapel in Bukur Yesti. It is a typical Eastern Romanesque building. It has a worship hall that can accommodate 200 people. It has four obvious cylindrical attics. The top of the attic is inlaid with a huge cross as high as one person. . Before the completion of the Cathedral of San Canito, this was the residence of the Patriarch of Wallachia.
Patriarch Carol had been waiting for a long time. When the newlyweds arrived at the cathedral, the guests watching the ceremony had already arrived. All the nobles and officials in the country, Archduke Mary of Transylvania, the envoys of Manuel II, as well as the envoys of Moscow, Hungary, Bohemia, Poland and other countries, Sofia's father Theodor Here too.
Seeing that everything was ready, Patriarch Carol lowered his hands to indicate that the wedding was about to begin. Following the Patriarch's action, the church immediately fell silent. Seeing that the guests were quiet, Carol began her wedding ceremony speech.
Today on this beautiful day, we will witness the wedding of a couple. The handsome young man in front of us will marry a noble wife on this sacred occasion, and we are the witnesses of this wedding. "
As the Patriarch finished speaking, the children in the choir standing behind him began to sing hymns. As this childlike song sounded, Despot Theodore and his daughter Princess Sophia walked in slowly. He walked to Peter and whispered after handing his daughter to Peter. “Please be kind to her.
"I will"
After the hymn ended, Patriarch Carol followed the procedure and began to question Peter. "His Royal Highness Peter Bartram, are you willing to marry the woman next to you and walk with her through a long journey of life, whether you are poor or rich?"
"I do."
After receiving the answer, Carol asked about Princess Sofia. "Princess Sofia Valleolo, are you willing to marry the young man beside you? Be loyal to him and never leave him."
"I do."
After the two newcomers agreed, the Patriarch took their hands and said. "In this house of God, I solemnly declare that the two newlyweds are now husband and wife."
After hearing the Patriarch's words, the children's voices in the choir sounded again. All the guests present stood up and applauded warmly, blessing the new couple. After receiving the blessings from the guests, Peter took his wife to the square in front of the church to receive blessings from the people. And began to spend a lot of money.
On this day, the Archduke scattered 500 kilograms of silver, an unprecedented move in Wallachia. Such extravagant actions would be very explosive in any country. The celebration lasted for seven days, which showed the strong and prosperous side of Wallachia that envoys from various countries would never forget, and the Grand Duke took advantage of this to collect a wave of money.
On the wedding night, both of them were a little nervous, but they went ahead quickly. This was a step they had to take. (Ten thousand words are omitted here)
Then the Grand Duke gave Peter a month's leave, and Peter took Sophia on a nationwide trip. For the newlyweds, nurturing their relationship and having children are the most important things.
The country will not deviate because of Peter's marriage, and the country will move forward with his policies. With the establishment of the examination system and official ranking list, a steady stream of talents were put to use in Wallachia. A large number of base personnel replaced the local nobility, and the government managed society and the people more efficiently, and could mobilize more resources for military operations or construction.
Wallachian society is mobile, and ordinary people can move upward through three main ways, namely studying, joining the army, and doing business. Through these three main vertical mobility channels, young people from ordinary families always have opportunities to improve their social status. In addition, Europe's gold fever has also spread here, and Wallachia's enthusiasm for external expansion has naturally increased.
For a long time, Eastern commodities have been continuously imported into Europe to meet the needs of feudal lords and citizens. In order to make up for the influx of foreign trade in Europe, gold flowed to the East. Before the Crusades, feudal lords also needed currency, especially gold, in order to raise military expenses. The quantity of gold in Europe is limited, which not only limits the further import of Eastern goods into Europe, but also limits the development of European industry and commerce. The ever-expanding European commodity economy urgently needed gold as a means of circulation. Handicraftsmen, merchants, and feudal lords all needed it. The long-term Crusade wars made feudal lords even more embarrassed by the lack of gold. Powerful feudal lords greedily looted temples and monasteries where gold was stored, while knights blocked roads and robbed currency. Gold prospectors flocked to gold and silver mines in Germany. Although many mines had exhausted their resources, they were still digging hard.
Even so, it could neither satisfy the feudal lords' desire for gold, nor adapt the increase in currency circulation to the increase in commodity circulation or the needs of Eastern trade. The "gold rush" is the need to push Europe to explore new overseas routes. Portugal and Spain began to look to the west, while Wallachia looked to the east, following Anatolia and the Levant, towards Baghdad and Basra, looking for the golden east.
----Dividing line----
At the same time, King Wenzel negotiated letters with Grand Duke Mircea, proposing to marry his daughter Anne to Mircea's son Vlad. If it could be successful, Vlad would be the future king of Bohemia.
While the benefits of marrying Bohemia are significant, there are also risks to consider. Bohemia and Wallachia are far apart. If something happens, the two countries will be in trouble if they cannot rescue them immediately.
Mircea and Wenzel also took a long-term view. After all, Anne could not hide it for a long time and needed to prepare before making it public. Sigismund would not give up, and the reason why he came to Wallachia was to flank him.