Chapter 147 Centralization and Sedimentation

Peter has been with Sofia these days, and they get along well. They are just waiting for the wedding next year.

Sofia has learned a lot about Wallachia, and Peter has also learned a lot about ancient Greece and Rome. The two of them have made progress together, and their feelings have gradually deepened.

Lady Maria looked at the two of them and felt very relieved. Now her son doesn't have to take risks anymore, and she can have a grandson in a few years. The next one should be Michael.

The princess and the dowry arrived, and Wallachia also sent the betrothal gifts. In addition to money, spices and silk, there are 10 cannons, 150 muskets and some gunpowder. These weapons can help Morea strengthen its armed forces.

Mircea continued to expand his army, and the small force will be expanded to 35,000 people. Such ambition shocked the Minister of Finance, which means that military expenditures have to be doubled.

Maybe Mircea was also scared by himself, so he revised the expanded army to 28,000 people. But the number of artillery was increased to 150. He believed that long-range firepower could weaken the enemy to the greatest extent in close combat.

At the same time, Mircea also improved the conscription system in various places. No matter whether nobles or civilians had to serve in the army, civilians were active in joining the army because it could help them climb up. Nobles also sent their second sons to the army, hoping to earn military merit for the family.

The civil service rank list began to expand from Constanta to Wallachia and Moldova. As long as they passed the exam, they could get an official position, which also attracted intellectuals. The application forms of Constanta University and Bucuriesti University were full, but there were still many people who planned to join. Who said that it was easiest to take the exam from the university?

Ruling such a large piece of land was something that no previous Wallachian prince had ruled. Mircea reached a peak, and this peak was still growing.

However, the governance of the new territory still took a lot of energy from the Grand Duke. The meetings these days were held until late. If it weren't for Peter and the Senate to help, he would not be able to handle it.

Wallachia's international influence continued, and some small countries on the Balkan Peninsula took the initiative to make friends, such as the Principality of Epirus, which was hiding in the southwest corner.

In 1204, after Constantinople was conquered by the Crusaders, Michael Komnenos, an officer in the Asia Minor Peninsula of the Byzantine Empire, pledged allegiance to the Kingdom of Thessaloniki, which was then a Latin country. However, not long after, Michael Komnenos left Thessaloniki and went to the Peloponnese Peninsula, trying to establish his own rule, but failed. So he finally went to Epirus. There, he finally established the Principality of Epirus.

After the Empire of Nicaea re-established the Byzantine Empire, the Principality of Epirus was forced to become part of the Byzantine Empire through marriage. However, at the same time, the Principality of Epirus still maintained an alliance with the Principality of Athens and the Principality of Achaea, which were hostile to the Byzantine Empire. After that, the history of the principality fell into a long period of aristocratic infighting, and thus the ambitions of Michael Komnenos and Theodore Komnenos had long been forgotten. Now it has fallen to the point of lingering on.

Mircea received the envoy, and Epirus exchanged Wallachia's promise not to annex Epirus with an annual tribute of 5,000 gold coins. This was already the largest amount they could offer. Mircea accepted it directly with a smile, after all, one more tribute was also okay.

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Walachia's pressure affected other small Balkan countries, and they lined up with gifts to meet the emperor. Some people in Western Europe disdained it, thinking that Wallachia was only strong for a while, just like the Serbian Empire, it would fall apart after the ruler died.

But people had thought of this problem a long time ago. According to the codes and decrees issued by the Grand Duke, local nobles could only enjoy some economic privileges and privileges of gifts, and other judicial powers and military powers were abolished. Keep them down and do not let them pose any threat.

However, such a policy aroused the resentment of the local nobles. They thought that their good days would return after driving away the Osman, but a lot of power was taken away. They were originally nobles, so what was the difference between them and the local rich?

Some dissatisfied Serbian nobles and Bulgarian nobles gathered together, and they were ready to plot big things. In their view, long-term plans were not theirs. As long as they could get their power back, they would not care even if the Osman took the opportunity to counterattack.

However, did they forget that Grand Duke Mircea once executed dozens of nobles in Wallachia on a large scale, and now they have neither soldiers nor foreign aid. Isn't this courting death?

Moreover, the sugar-coated bullets fired by Peter were indeed useful. Some nobles have already lived in the city and engaged in industry and commerce. Without power, they just need to enjoy it.

The Orthodox Church also provided some grassroots governance functions. The bishops were responsible for managing the people in the border areas and collecting taxes, as well as education and conversion. People who believed in Catholicism and Crescentism could only convert or pay an extra head tax.

The revival of the Orthodox Church in the Balkans was something the Catholics had not expected. The Pope was not really helping Constantinople. They just wanted to force the Orthodox Church to surrender. So when they learned that the scope of the Orthodox Church had expanded, Rome felt that it had to restrict it and let Hungary create some trouble for them. In this way, they could force them to negotiate.

I have to say, it was a very naive idea, so naive that it was incredible.

Wallachia had no time to deal with Western Europe. The East was the focus of their rule. There could be no mistakes.

The population statistics of the new territory are also being reported back one after another. According to the current data, the population ruled by Wallachia has exceeded 2.7 million. It may eventually exceed 3 million people. The population of this king can be compared with Lithuania in Eastern Europe.

With such a large population, Wallachia can do more things. More taxes, more conscripts, and more food all require population to produce. Land reclamation, industrial and commercial production, and mineral mining are the main labor of current economic activities. More and more people will make this country more and more powerful, as long as the growth rate can continue.

Skopje and Adrian are two large cities in the south. If there were no Ottoman invasion and transformation, it might be more difficult for Wallachia to control them. One is the gateway to Constantinople and the other is the center of the Macedonian region. The geographical location is very important, and Wallachia controls these two places at the same time, indicating that the overall situation in the Balkans has been determined, and a brand new country is rising. One day, his name will spread throughout Europe.