Chapter 187 Rapid expansion and ubiquitous expansion opportunities

Chapter 187 Rapid expansion and ubiquitous expansion opportunities

Although Wallachia expanded too quickly, there were still a large number of immigrants from Constantinople and Italy, who made the local examination system too tempting. A large number of intellectuals come to take the exam in order to change their destiny. Who allows only one country in Europe to pass the exam and become an official?

Mission schools and guild schools function as primary schools, providing initial education for children. Some wealthy families will hire private teachers to educate their children, so people who graduate from universities are very popular, even if they are There are other ways for those who fail the selection examination, so there is no need to worry about unemployment.

The teaching materials adopted by these schools are all written in the Wallachian language, so that people who speak Wallachian can improve quickly. If the classification of ethnic groups is based on cultural customs, rather than so-called bloodline.

The birth rate of the population has also gradually increased. Benefiting from improved medical conditions and the influence of religion, Wallachia has become the country with the fastest growing population in Eastern Europe. With more labor, the country's various industries will not need to worry about people, and there are also a lot of immigrants, mainly Ruthenians from the Ross area.

"Grand Duke, according to our latest estimate, this year's income can reach 7.9 million lei."

The finance minister reported their latest budget to the Grand Duke. Due to the annexation of Serbia and Thessaloniki, Wallachia's income will naturally be added to these two places, so taxes will be higher.

"Well, although we have made great achievements, we still cannot be proud. The Ottoman threat is still there, and Poland and Lithuania are also ready to go south at any time. We still need the protection of the army, and the construction of the country also requires more money."

Seeing that the Grand Duke was preparing for expansion again, the Minister of Finance quickly stated that the tax revenue was currently this much and there would be no more.

"I'm just saying, my supervisor, it seems you have some objections to the princess's dowry."

A large part of the previous dowry given to Mary came from the state treasury, amounting to approximately 2 million silver lei. This made him feel distressed for a long time.

"No, absolutely not. It is our honor to let the princess marry in style."

"In this case, we must continue to strengthen the defenses on the Dniester River."

Yes, what worries Mircea now is the border with Poland and Lithuania. Although a line of defense has been built through the river, because Wallachia does not completely control the river, Poland may attack from the upper reaches from the direction of Suceava. Therefore, Mircea was very concerned about military construction in the north. Suceava and Uxhall were built into fortress cities, and troops were stationed for a long time. He also established good relations with the Cossack tribes in the east and opened up trade. Who made this The Mongols were quite fierce at that time.

As Wallachia grew larger, there were more places to defend. Mircea is also powerless. At only 42 years old, he is already showing his age. He began to transfer some powers to Peter. For some things, such as issuing decrees and appointing special envoys, he basically just signed and Peter did the rest. As for Peter, he didn't have to worry about other things, just let him do it.

Mircea knew about what Peter was doing in Lithuania, Western Europe, and North Africa, and he did not interfere. Everyone wanted to gain more land and population, and these places were also lands of the Roman Empire. Restoring his legacy would not work. .

Mircea expanded the army, and Peter supported the navy. They were both aiming to expand the land. However, the finances were really limited, and it was really beyond their ability to support both armies at once. So Peter has always been in charge of navy matters.

"Grand Duke, now we should pursue the victory and completely drive the Ottomans out of the Balkans, then cross the strait and march towards Anatolia."

Adrian spoke his mind, which was the most achievable at the moment. Recover Anatolia and Antioch to the east, and then Jerusalem and Egypt to the south, so that you can free up your hands to march west.

"But this will be very difficult financially, and the governance of the new territory will also require a lot of investment. Unless we continue to increase taxes."

When it comes to raising taxes, the two ministers of commerce and agriculture cannot sit still. If taxes are raised, the burden on the people will definitely be heavier. It is already difficult for them and they cannot add more.

"Don't be nervous, everyone. The burden on the people is already very heavy, and there will be no tax increase for the time being."

Mircea's words made them relieved. As long as taxes were not raised, Wallachia needed a few years of peace. Only in this way could Wallachia continue to accumulate national power, and they nobles could also live a good life for a few years.

Mircea talked about the diplomatic situation again. Another outbreak of the Hungarian civil war made his neighbors ready to take action. The independence of Croatia caused Hungary to lose its entire coastline. Venice prepared to win over King Louis and expand its influence to Central Europe.

Wallachia has also joined, and Mary has reached an agreement with them, exchanging the future ownership of Transylvania for Wallachia's support for her. Now the Transylvanian army has surrounded Szolnok and will capture it soon.

Mary also actively talked with the rebels. She promised to protect their property and reduce the oppression of the big nobles. Some rebel leaders expressed their allegiance to Mary, but some were wavering. On the one hand, they wanted Mary's help, and on the other hand, they wanted Mary's help. On the one hand, they were dissatisfied with Mary's conversion to Orthodox Christianity. They only wanted to get back their own property and were not interested in the grudge between Mary and Sigismund.

Sigismund once again requested reinforcements from the territory of the HRE, and the ruler of Upper Austria continued to provide assistance with 4,000 soldiers and 30,000 gold coins. Brandenburg also provided him with 2,000 soldiers, and the three major religious electors headed by Mainz joined other bishops to gather 6,000 mercenaries for Sigismund. Wenzel, who had the largest fortune, had none at all. assistance.

With these, Sigismund gradually gained confidence. He began to attack some small peasant rebels and at the same time win over the Croatian nobles, allowing them to continue to support him as the king of Croatia.

Soon all the rebels west of Buda were wiped out, and Sigismund began to advance eastward. Seeing this, the rebels could only compromise with Mary and gain status by being loyal to Mary, and Mary also strengthened her own strength by absorbing the rebels.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wallachia put pressure on Bosnia. At this time, the power of the Bosnian king was declining and the country was divided, but some of the Wallachian nobles were still united. However, their strength was not enough in front of Wallachia. The king had to turn to the newly independent Croatia and proposed to recognize the king of Croatia as the king of Bosnia and jointly deal with Wallachia. Louis I felt that This was a good deal, and Wallachia was a heretic, so he asked the Pope for the right to crusade.