Chapter 634 Sicily Rebellion
Half a month after Laszlo died, Peter officially took over the government. He wanted to build Naples into a powerful country like Romania.
But the current situation shows that Naples is okay on the surface, but in fact, some internal unstable factors are about to explode, which may plunge Naples into chaos.
First of all, it is a government issue. The political system of Naples was changed by Laszlo after referring to Romania. The king is supreme and is responsible for convening government meetings. The official under him is called the Minister of General Affairs, who has the highest status among officials.
Others such as finance, navy, army, and diplomacy have department leaders who directly obey the king. These seem to be no problem, but unlike Romania, most officials are still controlled by local nobles. They occupy most of the local officials and central officials, and then form alliances through marriage.
Unlike Romania, Naples can't break the local shackles. Laszlo must rely on the nobles to effectively control the country. And the bottom line of the nobles is generally flexible, so what's the difficulty in converting.
At the beginning of his reign, Laszlo used Romanian and Orthodox forces to restore some power, but the nobles soon found a way to avoid being liquidated by converting to other means.
Laszlo wanted to unite the citizens of Naples and opened some positions to them. The citizens were also willing to be loyal to the king. Under such circumstances, some nobles also changed their minds. They built good relations with the citizens in their own territories and encouraged them to ask for more from the king. They knew that Laszlo would not do this, which meant that the king would greatly delegate power to the common people, and if this continued, it would be possible to take the road of the republic.
As they thought, Laszlo was unwilling to give more benefits to the citizens, and there was no follow-up after opening the official examination. The nobles were not limited to manor production, they began to engage in industry and commerce to make profits.
There are many swamps in Naples, and Laszlo spent a lot of effort to reclaim a part of it. But even these lands were swallowed up by the nobles by one-third, but Laszlo turned a blind eye because the government still needed them to operate.
The economic problems caused by political problems were even more serious. Because of the nobles, a large number of small farmers in Naples were forced to become tenants. Although industry and commerce developed, they had not yet affected the political system.
With the opening of shipping routes, more and more spices came to Naples, and the prices of local fruits, olives and wines rose. In order to make money, the landlords chose to grow grapes and olives and reduced wheat planting.
Wheat from Romania and Hungary hit the local market. Except for Sicily, cash crops were grown in most parts of Naples. The trade dependence on Romania was very high.
Although the economy increased, the royal family's income did not increase much. The nobles accounted for most of the results, but the royal family had to support a large number of troops, which caused the government to need a lot of money to maintain the status quo, but the finances were obviously tight.
The political and economic situation made Peter feel pressured, and the news from Sardinia made him worried again.
Seeing that the king did not agree to their request, the nobles and landlords of Sardinia directly announced the restoration of the Kingdom of Sardinia in anger and asked King Ferdinand I of Aragon to send troops to help.
After Sardinia, the nobles of Sicily also followed up, announcing the restoration of the Kingdom of Sicily and inviting Ferdinand I to become the King of Sicily.
This noble rebellion was fierce, and soon most of the rural areas were occupied, leaving only a few large cities such as Palermo still holding on. The navy of Naples began to guard against Aragon. As long as they did not give up, Naples could put down the rebellion.
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The news of the demise of Poland and Lithuania had spread throughout Europe, and everyone felt helpless. The other side was too powerful, and the Kalmar Union was scared and withdrew its troops directly after hearing about it.
The only Teutonic Knights that had not yet perished sent people to negotiate peace with the Elector of Brandenburg, but the final result was that there was no room for negotiation unless they surrendered and converted to Orthodoxy.
This was impossible for the Knights to agree to, but now they had no choice. There was no ally to use, so they could only ask Sigismund to mediate.
Sigismund cursed angrily after knowing this. If he could control the Elector of Brandenburg, would he have to suppress Bohemia with so much effort?
Moreover, suppressing Bohemia was not going smoothly. The Hussites continued to bleed them, and Sigismund's remaining little money was invested here. But it seemed to have no effect.
The sudden change in France forced him to deal with it. He knew that if he wanted to solve this problem, Burgundy would be the first to bear the brunt. If Burgundy did not surrender to the enemy, then England would not be able to do anything.
So he sent someone to talk to Duke Philip, and also a representative of Charles VII. The three discussed the division of various territories. In order to make Burgundy follow him wholeheartedly, Sigismund decided to give the entire Friesland to Burgundy, and France was willing to give up part of the territory to Burgundy.
Philip also knew that he could get more in France than in Britain. Taking advantage of the opportunity to recover the lost land, he might be able to obtain other lands besides Paris. In this way, he could also become the King of France.
But Charles VII was also wary of him. The current situation was that Burgundy and mainland France were not connected. If Burgundy was allowed to grow, then one day they would drive the Valois dynasty away.
But now they also need Burgundy to contain the English army in the east. Orleans has been besieged for a long time and now needs an army to help relieve the pressure. The Burgundian army is the best choice.
In the end, the three parties reached an agreement that Burgundy could obtain all of Friesland and part of the Bishopric of Munster, but in exchange, Burgundy must join the French alliance to fight against England. This is achievable for all parties. As long as they can resist England, they still have a chance to turn the tables.