Chapter 453 Faction
Peter's expansion of the Boyar Conference was also a helpless move. After all, a strengthened monarchy will easily lose people in the future, and as the economy develops further, people will demand rights. What if the monarch doesn't give them, and the economy is constantly developing. I'm afraid you are blocking it. Charles I was reincarnated.
Therefore, while strengthening the power of the monarch, it also appeases the growing class of merchants and citizens, trying to appease and control them. If they want rights, they can, but they cannot cause trouble.
At this time, in the House of Commons, the two largest blue and green parties are still divided into factions. Within the Green Party, MPs from the Wallachia and Moldova regions are the strongest, while in the Blue Party, MPs from the Athens region are the strongest. One of them produces the most food in the country, and the other dominates the empire's trade in the Eastern Mediterranean. Their strength cannot be underestimated.
The two factions have different economic sources and naturally have differences on the future policies of the empire. The Greens want to continue to expand northward and seize land from Lithuania and Mongolia, so they support reclamation in Ukraine. Nearly one-third of the arable land in the Zaporozhye region was invested and reclaimed by Wallachian landowners. . They support landowners in Donetsk, Luhansk and other places, and also invest in the local textile and mining industries, and are very powerful.
At the same time, relying on shipping from Constanta, these landowners controlled half of the country's grain exports. It can be said to be the core of the Green Party.
Their opponent, the Blue Party, started out in maritime trade. They can be found from Constantinople to Smyrna, Cyprus, Alexandria, and the Levant.
Relying on the growth of Mediterranean trade, Greek merchants became active again. Especially after their mortal enemy Venice was completely destroyed, no one in the entire Eastern Mediterranean could shake their status. Genoa has to act based on their faces.
Because the consequences of maritime republics such as Venice were too serious in the past, the maritime merchants of the Roman Empire all acted together, and even if they needed merchants from other countries, they were given a second-class status. And what's even more murderous is that some Venetians became slaves and were purchased by these Greek merchants. They did the lowest jobs, were beaten the hardest, and tortured desperately. Is this considered revenge for their ancestors?
They also drew inspiration from Northern Italy and the East India Company. Several merchants united to form a shipping company. Due to the huge profits in the shipping industry, marine insurance also came into being.
The profits brought by exploring the East also drove them to continue to expand colonization. After the canal was opened, their merchant ships could transport directly to the East without sailing on dry land. Sugar and cotton were the main cargo they transported.
The Greens and Blues argue every time in the House of Commons, but sometimes work together to exchange benefits. For example, the Green Party used the Blue Party’s support for the development of the Dnieper and Don rivers in exchange for the Green Party’s support for the Blue Party’s protection investments in the Jerusalem area.
As for Anatolia, it is very flexible. The coastal areas belong to the Blue Party, and the inland areas belong to the Green Party. Anyway, they all work for the emperor, and everything is for the empire. But for now, they are still in a state where you and I are the same. The green faction can invest in the shipping industry and the Black Sea trade, and the blue faction can also buy land and invest in the construction of workshops and plantations.
Ever since colonization, everyone of all stripes has understood that profits can be increased in the East. So they invested in land, ports, mines, doing whatever they could to increase their income, and of course the empire got a piece of the pie. After all, they still had to rely on the imperial government to protect them.
The number of representatives selected by the Senate from the House of Commons increased to 6, and they were responsible for reporting to the emperor on the situation and making suggestions in various parts of the empire. When faced with the inevitable issue of imperial expansion, their directions were also different. The blue faction advocates overseas colonization, while the green faction advocates going north to occupy large areas of Lithuanian land and Mongolian land, or using Rome and Dalmatia as a starting point to unify the Apennines.
But no matter how they said it, expansion became the basic theme. When the number of supply ships transporting to Antioch suddenly increased, they knew that the empire was beginning to take action in Syria.
However, the emir of Syria did not let the empire bother. He directly wrote a letter and sent it to Woike, expressing his willingness to convert and submit to the empire.
This is really unexpected. I thought they were all rigid, but I didn't expect them to be so flexible.
Emil doesn't want this either, but what can he do. The connection between Syria and the Mamluks was cut off by Rome's canals and Ashkelon, and the local area had not yet recovered. What's even more frightening is that Rome actually promoted the policy to the civilians in their territory. As long as they convert, they will be exempted from tax for two years, which is okay. Give arable land to cultivate.
This man has run away, why does he still have the title of Emir? The re-emergence of Rome in the past ten years has simply overturned his three views. First, the overlord of Anatolia, Ottoman, was destroyed, and then the Egyptian overlord actually negotiated terms with Rome to reach peace. Even their fellow sects kept suing for peace. This is a hammer blow, hoping that the empire will see his surrender and save his family and property.
According to his words: "Except for Jerusalem and the Two Holy Mosques, he, the Emir of Damascus, has no contact with Cairo."
But don't surrender to Rome and expect them to be kind to the heretics. They don't even tolerate the sect. What else can you expect? What's more, Rome is particularly tolerant of heretics such as the Alawites, which makes them feel that if they don't convert, their status will be higher than theirs. Low.
Now that Rome has re-established its authority in the Eastern Mediterranean, surrounding countries have to weigh whether they are qualified enough to challenge it. Not to mention a Myrrhothalon, all the Ottoman armies that came were killed by the Romans without leaving a single piece of armor behind. Those Turkic tribes were forced to convert and settle down, and their tents, Turkic language, and living habits were all lost. Moreover, in order to gain the emperor's attention, local officials continued to implement policies and sold those who were disobedient directly to the slave market. Do they still have the courage to resist?
Emir gave an example to other castle owners. Rome at this time was different from the Rome before. If they could not surrender, they would have to pack up and leave.
These people also knew that Rome was preparing to attack, because their new emperor had been crowned. This was a monarch who was keen on expansion. They were definitely the emperor's targets. Instead of waiting for death, it is better to surrender. As for Allah, will you care about Him even if your life is gone?
However, it is more of a negotiation than a surrender. They still control most of the land in Syria, including Beirut, an important port in the Levant. At the same time, Damascus is also an important city in Syria. They should be able to use these to negotiate terms with Rome.
As for the Sultan of Cairo, I'm sorry. Who allowed the canal to divide Egypt and this place in half? If you want to rescue, you have to see whether your own navy can do it and whether Rome will let you pass. We are also doing it for ourselves. As for Religion depends on you, after all, the caliphate is not in your hands.