Chapter 242 Strategy
King Louis I walks around in his room in Salegb, the capital of Croatia. The application to join Shinra has been submitted for many days, but there is no letter at all.
Croatia was now in danger, with Romania to the east, ready to annex it, and Hungary, Rome's ally, to the north. How could he sleep between these two behemoths?
He submitted applications to join the various electors of the Shinra, and even prepared to downgrade the kingdom to a principality, but there was no reply. This made him anxious.
"God, are you going to abandon Croatia?" Louis said sadly.
At this time, a fierce battle was going on within the HRE. The Luxembourg forces headed by Wenzel and the newly elected German King Rupert were in conflict. Sigismund also made his own choice, that is, to put his My brother tied it up and gave it to the Habsburgs.
No one knows why Sigismund did this, but it was undoubtedly recognized by Rupert's group, and the Luxembourg family also recognized it because Sigismund was the only male heir of the family. Only Wenzel's injured world was reached.
Since his biological brothers have abandoned him, he no longer has to take care of family ties. He vowed that no matter how hard he tried, Sigismund would not succeed.
At this time, the religious reform had begun in Bohemia. In the Bethlehem Church in Prague, the missionary John, who had just been promoted to the president of Charles University, was preaching.
“The worms are eating away at the foundations of the Church, and the wealth of Bohemia is at their disposal, and we cannot allow them to destroy our faith.”
John strongly criticized the corrupt Catholic Church. He believed that the church's possession of large amounts of land was the source of all evil and demanded the confiscation of church property. This quickly gained him a lot of support.
In addition to Protestantism, Orthodoxy also began to spread in Brno. They criticized the corruption of the Catholic Church and also criticized the current schism in the Catholic Church. They believed that the current Roman Church could no longer represent God and that only Constantinople was the only messenger of God.
The two religious sects are compressing the space of Catholicism. The archbishop summoned supporters to boycott Protestantism. The three parties competed for believers in Bohemia. The main princes within the HRE were also attracted by this battle. The application of Croatia was naturally Ignore it.
By this time Peter had arrived in Milan and met the current Duke Gian Visconti. As soon as the two met, they discussed the marriage between families, as well as the exchange of interests between the two parties after the alliance. Milan wanted access to the sea, and Rome wanted revenge and Venice. The two sides hit it off.
Peter assigned Genoa, part of Venice and the County of Savoy to Milan, but Milan would send troops after the war between Rome and Venice broke out and could not go back on it.
And the two also signed an agreement. If Duke Visconti dies, the title will be inherited by the Bartland family. Like Naples, expansion to the west was only possible through inheritance.
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After half a month of travel, the Queen of Bohemia finally brought Princess Anne to Constantinople. Mircea received them warmly.
Mircea quickly arranged a place for them to stay, which was right next to Vlad's place. This is to better support the relationship and prepare for marriage.
The marriage between Wenzel and Bartland, and the marriage between Sigismund and Habsburg. The two families competed for the inheritance of the Luxembourg family. This war must be exciting. You must know that the Luxembourg family not only has Bohemia, but also some lands in the Principality of Lorraine and the Netherlands. The fight for these lands will become a point of contention between the two families in the future.
Rome began to slowly expand its army, and the formation of the new army was proceeding in an orderly manner. Various armies are stationed at the border. Because it is easier to perform meritorious service at the border and the chances of promotion are greater, soldiers like to go to the border.
In order to obtain more income, Rome began to explore new trade routes. As a pioneer in exploring trade routes, Mason had left Egypt and headed south into the Red Sea.
After carefully bypassing Mecca and Medina, they established their first trading post and missionary point in the territory of the Beza people, which is located at the mouth of the Red Sea and across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from the Yemen region.
At this time, Mason began to show his diplomatic skills. He first found a translator, brought his peaceful wishes to the tribe, and attached gifts. The local chiefs easily approved a piece of land for them to do business on, and even if they didn't agree, the guns in their hands would make them agree.
"Going forward, you will see the endless sea. I heard some businessmen in Egypt said that on the other side of the sea is India."
"Our goal is not just India. Marco Polo wrote that the East full of gold is also our goal."
Mason cheered up the people around him. Victory was right in front of him. After resting here, he would face this unknown risk.
They established basic docks, chapels and trading posts on this land, leaving some merchants and missionaries to take charge of local interactions. He led 75 ships into the Indian Ocean (5 merchant ships temporarily joined).
Since the Red Sea route has been occupied by the Arabs for hundreds of years, it is not easy for outsiders like them to gain a foothold. But if they gave up easily, they wouldn't be here.
Because of funds, Rome's colonization of North Africa was limited to Egypt and Ceuta. Sicily is used as a link in the middle, but the westernmost Ceuta will still be given up when necessary because it is too far and its own navy is not enough to compete with the navy of Aragon or Castile.
However, there is still a lot of intelligence brought back from Ceuta in the past few years. For example, Portugal has faced the sea and Castile is preparing to attack the last pagan stronghold in Iberia. This was helpful for Rome in getting news from the West.
The established Southern Chamber of Commerce was also reorganized, with the goal of opening up new shipping routes and digging the Suez Canal. Trading stations were opened in the Levant and Egypt to expand trade, and the government supported them, so Rome's trade grew rapidly.
Population is also the basis of a country, and the latest conquests brought 600,000 new people to Rome, bringing the Roman population to 6.2 million. The establishment of hospitals in various places and the emphasis on medical treatment have caused the infant mortality rate to decrease year by year. The consequence of this is an increase in population growth rate.
Rome under the rule of the Patran dynasty has gradually regained its strength. He can avenge the Ottomans and heretics, and is also ready to return to the top of the world. The pattern of the strong in the west and the weak in the east has gradually reversed. The cars of the new era have caught up, and Constantinople has joined this feast of exploration and commerce.