Chapter 320 Diplomatic Reputation
Just after dawn, Parker got up and went to the square. He hopes to get a good job to support his life, and he also needs more money to make his life better.
When we came to the square, there were not many people here. Parker came to the bulletin board and looked at the work content above for him to choose.
Some work as coolies on the docks, some work as overseers on plantations, and some recruit people to serve as patrols. Parker looked at these jobs and decided to work as an overseer on a coffee plantation in the suburbs. He should be qualified for the job.
There were many people like Parker, basically people who could not survive, and came to the East due to the propaganda of the East India Company. Here they have no protection from counts, dukes, or kings. The only people they can rely on are the Roman Emperor and the Orthodox Church.
As subjects of the emperor, their safety can be guaranteed, but if they want to live a good life, they can only rely on themselves.
Returning to Constantinople, Mircea received envoys from Aragon and Naples, acting as emperor to mediate the war between the two countries. Alessandro of Aragon objected.
"Our country believes that you will handle this matter fairly, so I asked you to find His Majesty to handle it. I didn't expect that you would be so biased towards Naples."
"What kind of favoritism? Sicily is the territory of Naples. Your country has occupied it for so long and it is time to return it to its original owner."
The envoy from Naples talked about matters based on legal principles. This legal principle, which is constantly being cut and confused, is not clear at all unless someone who understands the law can explain it.
"Watch your words, Mr. Alessandro. The Empire will not take sides and will only judge from a realistic perspective."
Peter stopped Alessandro's cry, then looked at Mircea and continued.
"The battle between the two countries is mainly about Sicily, but as far as I know your country spends more money on Sicily than it earns every year, and your country's parliament has long wanted to change hands."
This is actually Peter's nonsense, but the Council of Aragon does have such a voice. Aragon's land tax in Iberia must allocate part of it every year for the rule and defense of Sicily, but the local tax revenue is not enough to cover the expenditure. However, it is a cheap wheat production area, so it has not been abandoned here.
King Martin will not give up here. It is an important food producing area in the Mediterranean and its geographical location is also very important. Now that he can stand here, he also understands that Rome is Naples' biggest supporter, so when Mircea proposed mediation, he came to negotiate on the king's order to see if a peaceful solution could be achieved. War would cost too much.
"Don't be so sure. Our country is willing to exchange Sardinia for Sicily and will not block Naples ships. This is our country's last sincerity."
"Naples will not give up Sicily, we are only willing to make certain concessions in terms of money and will also sell wheat to Aragon at market prices."
Mircea had seen too many cases where the envoys of the two countries were unwilling to give in to each other. He stopped the negotiation and let them take a rest.
"No one is willing to give in. It seems we can only let the two people behind them compromise first."
Peter expressed his opinion, and Mircea also agreed. After all, both are important countries in the Mediterranean, and Sicily is too important. Unless one compromises first, there will be no solution.
After Peter came back, Mircea's burden was much less. Mircea felt that he must be responsible for more affairs, so he completely left the five affairs of culture, colonization, navy, capital construction and northern region to Peter, and he only made the final decision. . His opinions will be listened to on important government affairs such as diplomacy and finance. After all, his opinions are very important.
As for his title of Despot of Illyria, he continued to maintain it, but the selection of officials, taxation and army continued to be in Peter's hands. This was also to stabilize the western neighbors. Now Peter's reputation has spread north and south in the Alps. His methods have frightened many nobles. They have spread the news that Caesar in the East has a long back and waist, and there are scars on his face from fighting with lions. He could fight with lions and tigers by himself, had hundreds of lovers, and had countless illegitimate children. He even said that Peter ate children and asked the local people to hide their children.
In general, if Peter tours the western region, relations with those western neighbors will be further strained, which is detrimental to the subsequent strategy.
Since Ottoman was unified into the hands of Muhammad, he has been preparing for war. He annexed some national lands and actively made good friends with the Mamluks. This made Mircea believe that the future war with the Ottomans would break out within five years.
This is also the news that Mircea asked Peter to come back. His army is also the most elite force in Rome. Letting his army fight with Ottoman can consume his strength and cannibalize until it annexes Ottoman.
Peter left the reception room of the palace, and in a small room he was meeting with a man wearing a turban.
In order to make Aragon and Castile unhappy, Granada is a good choice. Mircea gradually became interested, and when the envoy saw this, he also said that the future ruler would lead the people of the country to convert to Orthodox Christianity just like Rus was baptized, and then he would regain Iberia for the empire.
Peter doesn't want to pay too much to this country. Quite simply, it was too far. If it weren't for Castile's internal instability, he would have been gone long ago.
The emperor's orders still had to be obeyed, so Peter had to talk to him. In addition to alliances and promises, the chief also hopes to receive economic or military support from Rome. Currently, there are less than 300,000 people in Granada, and a constant army is needed to protect the country. Even though his geographical location is superior, he is forced to take orders from Cass. Tilia, so Rome's help was needed.
Based on the purpose of causing trouble for Castile, Peter still sent a financial commitment of 100,000 lei. This was a victory for the envoys, at least now Rome was interested in them.
It was also the first time for the Governor of Genoa to express his surrender to the Roman Emperor. After all, hugging his thigh back and forth was a standard diplomatic move for these city-states. France, let’s think about themselves first.
Genoa will give Rome one-tenth of its fiscal revenue every year, and there will also be a Roman army stationed in the city, allowing Orthodox missionaries to preach in the country. I always feel like I’m selling out the country.
For Genoa, the restoration of trade was of paramount importance. Therefore, it is necessary to go back to the East. Mircea is a powerful emperor, and the previous conversation with this emperor was not very good. How can he agree without bleeding a lot.
Even if Genoa made such a big concession, Mircea didn't want to compromise at all. It wasn't that he didn't want to give in. The problem was that the current Eastern trade had been divided up by Roman merchants and chambers of commerce, and he couldn't touch the cake of his own people. They didn't interfere in the trade in the Western Mediterranean, so just go there.