Chapter 275 Opening up territories
The king died in battle, the Croatian army was destroyed, and it was only a matter of time before the country fell. The Hungarian army formed a coalition with Rome and reached the gates of Zaregbu in one day. The Kingdom of Croatia, which had not been independent for even ten years after opening the city without blood, was conquered by Rome.
The small nobles were the first to express their loyalty. They only wanted to keep their territories. Peter did not make things difficult for them. He just asked them to pay an annual tax and hand over all their private troops. Those who are willing to join the army can join for experience and earn titles and titles based on their own abilities.
And those nobles who were unwilling to be loyal were not in trouble. Except for the Croatian nobles and royal family members who might be used by people with ulterior motives, the others packed up and ran to the territory of the Shinra. Their departure reduced the obstacles for Peter to take charge of the place.
"In four months, two countries were destroyed in a row. I don't know if it was because Rome was too bad before or because the world is too small."
Peter said to Staniwe in the palace of Zaregbu. The other party had long been accustomed to His Highness's arrogant tone. But yes, the legion has never lost a battle since its establishment, which is where his confidence lies.
"Your Highness, what should we do now?"
"Let me think."
With Peter sitting on the throne, it was natural that such a new land would begin to be liquidated and stabilized. Therefore, Peter's first order was to forcibly move those royal members, big nobles, big businessmen and big landowners to Constantinople, Adrianople and other places for surveillance.
Although this policy of the Eastern Emperor has been criticized by some people, it is the best way to prevent local divisions. The people at the bottom don't care who is the ruler, only these aristocratic landowners will do this when they have enough to eat and nothing to do.
Although effective, what Peter did here also became known to the neighboring nations. Especially the landed aristocrats of Austria and Venice were afraid that the other party would come here directly, and they kept an eye on Croatia day and night, for fear that Peter would suddenly appear.
Peter doesn't have time to go now. This place is also nearly 100,000 square kilometers of land. Governance stability is what Peter considers most important here.
"Meet the Imperial Caesar!"
Plankovich, as an official promoted by Peter, was responsible for assisting him in ruling the land. He was born into a small landed aristocracy and participated in several wars as a knight of the King of Hungary in his youth. Regarding the status of Croatia, he has always believed that staying within Hungary is the best choice, otherwise it will be easily annexed by other powerful countries. It is a pity that no one heard his voice.
"I heard that you once participated in the battle against the Ottomans in Skopje. You are very brave, but you can be a little noble here."
"I know that some of you have complicated views on the empire, but what I can tell you is that as long as you have strength, you can get corresponding rewards here, whether it is land, titles or official positions."
Don't tell people anything about God, religion, righteousness, etc. Obvious benefits are the magic weapon to attract people. Plankovic is naturally tempted. After all, under the current situation, Croatia will not be restored to the country in the short term. It is better to seek an official position here. The most important thing is to achieve class crossing.
He took out his sword, knelt down and swore allegiance to Peter. Peter appointed him mayor of Zaregb, responsible for handling civil affairs. There were also some Croatian nobles who swore allegiance and converted to Orthodox Christianity. The Orthodox Church established the Diocese of Illyria, with Salegbu as the archbishop's seat.
Croatia and Bosnia were united into the Illyrian Despotate, and the Balkans were reunited with Rome. Unstable elements were exiled to monasteries and cities in Constantinople and other places, and the economic and social order was stable, with basically no major turbulence.
After the fall of Croatia, the only country between Venice and Rome was Austria. Albrecht probably suffered from PTSD and said he didn't want to go to the battlefield. It was so terrifying, and he didn't know where he got the news. Prince Pozzoni told Caesar in Rome about the torture methods. How could he live? He might as well go to Switzerland to solve the problem of old farmers.
When the reinforcements provided by Venice heard that Croatia had been destroyed, they stayed in Austria for the time being. They had to guard against Rome attacking Venice from land. Although the probability was a bit low, they had to guard against it.
The Grand Council of Venice once again decided to increase spending and recruit 10,000 people to defend the country. Conscripted half of the merchant fleet for a naval battle in the hope of forcing Rome to negotiate peace.
They can talk about interests, tariffs, and trade. If it doesn't work out, they can give some unrelated islands as territorial compensation. As long as we can stop guerrilla warfare and private plunder at sea, this is not a human thing.
However, it seemed that Mircea would not give up until he completely defeated Venice. He issued an order at the Senate meeting: Even if it takes ten years, Venice must be completely surrendered to Constantinople.
Muhammad of the Ottomans sent people to send peace talks and was willing to give some cities, including Konya, to Rome in exchange for a truce. Ottoman was willing to become a vassal state of Rome, provide some gold coins every year, and was also willing to send troops to help in war.
The Ottoman Sultan took the initiative to request vassalage. This was the first time in a century. In fact, it’s easy to think about it. Rome on the left and Timur on the right have two major countries serving him. There are many separatist forces in the middle. Muhammad needs more time to accumulate strength, so he decided to surrender to both sides. This way you can maximize your energy and energy.
Mircea asked Angel to handle the matter. This can be discussed. Rome is not short of time now, but they must be careful not to push the other party into a hurry. The Nomad's full blow is still very lethal.
Venice and Genoa must be going crazy now. Their main trade is in the Eastern Mediterranean, and it has been turned upside down. Venice was weaker than Mircea imagined. It was subject to parliamentary quarrels and could not concentrate all its strength on the battle in the first place. Perhaps it was because it had not withstood such a large country.
However, Venice had a large number of experienced sailors and ships that Rome could not match. Just like Athens in the classical era, they had a powerful navy, built their country on trade, and repeatedly inflicted heavy losses on their opponents, but land warfare was their real flaw. The Peloponnesian War was and is.
The current situation is Venice + Genoa + Knights Hospitaller against Rome + Hungary. After excluding various factors and converting them, Rome has the upper hand in terms of military power on both sides. Moreover, it is much larger than Venice. If it drags on for a year, Venice will definitely come to seek peace talks. After all, business cannot be delayed.