Chapter 347 Preparing to Enter Central Europe
Zhu Di had nothing to do with these rotten scholars. He only hoped that overseas trade could give him more funds to deal with things.
The ministers were naturally opposed to the voyage to the Western Ocean, but Mason's visit to the Ming Dynasty had too great an impact. In addition, the shipping company's tax money covered a certain amount of the treasury, so they had nothing to say.
In order to express his gratitude to Mason, Zhu Di gave him free gifts. Silk, porcelain, and tea were given to him in large quantities. In order to make money, he also ordered the country to make porcelain and silk for shipment, intending to sell them overseas.
Mason enjoyed his blessings in the East, but he did not forget his family and His Highness in the West. He prepared gifts for everyone, and he would be able to return home in a few months.
As for his family, life has gone a long way. The marriage of John's daughter to Laresh's son marked the establishment of the Mason-Taziu alliance. John could use this relationship to obtain lower-priced raw materials, and Laresh could also obtain financial support from the bank.
This time they focused on Eastern trade. The steady increase in Eastern trade made many people realize that there was huge profit in it. They decided to invest here. It would be better if they could become shareholders of Indian companies, because Eastern trade is completely monopolized by them.
However, there is no monopoly on trade in the Levant, and Laresh decided to invest in Beirut because it is responsible for exporting two-thirds of Syria's cotton. At the same time, you can also go to Cyprus to import sugar and sell it to the people of Thessaloniki. The risk is high, but the profit is amazing.
Seeing the recent calm, Emperor Mircea decided to come to the event to upgrade his title. Modeled on the West, the princely title was established, second only to the emperor and Caesar. Michael was the first to be promoted from Duke of Ukraine to Prince of Ruthenia. Vlad received the title of Prince Noric, while Stefan was not granted the title due to his young age.
In Rome, a title only carries a higher honor and does not have much actual power. Unless it is granted by the emperor, you can only be busy with other things.
While Mircea was in HRE, he was also campaigning for his son, striving to obtain the Elector of Brandenburg as soon as possible. To this end, he took out 100,000 florins to bribe a circle of princes around him, asking them to be gentler to their children. Another 70,000 were given to Emperor Jobst, asking him to choose a day to give Brandenburg to Vlad.
And Vlad was also prepared. He knew that a ruler without an army is just a puppet. So he learned from his elder brother.
"It seems you can't wait any longer."
“The eldest brother and the second brother both have their own land and army, and I also want to own it as soon as possible and serve the family.
Vlad knew that if he wanted to inherit Brandenburg, he had to be familiar with it. This place is not big and has no access to the sea. It is more difficult to gain a foothold in this place than to reach the sky.
"Governing Brandenburg will certainly be difficult, but you also need your own army and support groups, and you need them to rule the country."
Peter explains to Vlad what he needs, including the army, government personnel, church, etc. Mircea should prepare it for him. As for weapons, Peter would prepare them for him.
"Brother, do you think I can govern?"
Looking at the third brother who had lost his tenderness, Peter patted him on the shoulder. "Don't let others judge you, you have to decide your own future."
Peter taught Vlad to win the support of the majority of the people in the country. Since the nobles did not support him, he would look for the support of the citizens and peasants. The Catholic Church does not recognize it, but the Orthodox Church does.
Vlad grew up watching his two older brothers. Peter followed his father to fight against the Ottomans and he admired his actions in destroying Venice. He also envied Michael when he went north to govern the Ukrainian lands. He could no longer hold back his ambition to make great achievements.
Jobst is also paving the way for Vlad's succession, working with Wenzel to appease the emotions of the surrounding small princes and prevent them from objecting to Vlad's succession.
After being granted the title of prince, Mircea equipped Vlad with an army of 3,000 men, equipped with artillery and guns, and of course the empire paid for it. It was originally supposed to have 6,000 men, but so many might arouse the emotions of other princes, so they were cut in half.
In order for his brother to rule smoothly, Peter began to mobilize his cavalry in Hungary. Keep them on call.
The Hungarian hussars have been trained in recent years and have good speed and combat effectiveness. Often used in sneak attacks or mobile warfare, Peter used his fiefdom in Hungary to start training troops, including hussars.
Peter also worked hard for his younger brother. Everyone knew that this was the best opportunity for the family to intervene in Central Europe, so it was inevitable.
As the father of the future Impaler, Vlad is somewhat crazy. He sometimes goes to gypsies for divination and curses those HRE princes. Anyone who stands in his way will die. Moreover, Mircea gave him 60,000 lei of pocket money, and Vlad would provide some mercenary troops. If that was not enough, he would seek help from the Castle.
In this country full of manors, he would definitely drive out all those people. Whatever property is in here belongs to him, get out.
The Roman Empire accepted Jandal's request, annexed all the land, added a population of 480,000, and bordered Trebizond. Manuel III once again paid tribute to the castle and sent a large amount of treasure to Mircea. Ask them not to destroy Trebizond.
Many people couldn't stand such an appeasing monarch, and Alexios took the opportunity to win over a large number of supporters. Then, with the support of the Ottomans and Georgians, he invited the emperor to his official residence to see him. Manuel actually went, and the result was as you can imagine: As soon as Manuel entered the door, he was caught and strangled to death by the guards. Alexios took the 2,000 men he had collected and attacked the palace. Take this place after paying 100 deaths.
The coup was short-lived because Georgia endorsed him. The minister didn't say anything, and some of the opponents were physically eliminated. Two days later, he was crowned emperor in the cathedral, and Trebizond was renamed the empire.
The Georgian king felt that this investment was not a bad investment, after all, Alexios was their relative. As long as Trebizond can support them in eliminating the separatist forces, it will be considered a great achievement.
Muhammad also regained his composure and asked him to declare war on Rome. He wanted to capture Ancyra to avenge his children, and Constantinople to avenge his father. As long as there are no problems with your strategy, everything can go back to normal. Especially the guy named Peter, everything became different after he came out. He must kill him.
Muhammad's army was largely assembled, numbering about 130,000 men from all tribes. He ordered all the city's garrison troops to be mobilized and gathered 220,000 men to prepare for the attack on Rome. It seemed that Muhammad was going to use all the troops in the country.