Chapter 267 Rome Vs. Anti-Roman Alliance

In the Venice Grand Council, the proposal to declare war on Rome was discussed for two days, and each councillor agreed or opposed from the perspective of himself and his family business. The newly appointed governor, Micheli Steno, was inclined to negotiate, but some councillors disagreed.

These were Venetian families that were at a disadvantage in the competition with Rome. They hoped that Venice could fight a war with Rome and then seize their resources through victory.

"Look, the rulers of the East think that they can rule the world after expelling the pagans. Venice wants to let the East know that even they must listen to our opinions."

Such remarks won the support of many people. They wanted a lot of resources and interests from Rome, and even if it was a war, the monarch had to submit to them for the sake of interests.

Moreover, they also painted a pie in the sky for the so-called neutrals, saying that after victory, they would force the Roman emperor to exempt Venetian goods from tariffs and use the most favorable policies to nourish their industries. This made the neutrals gradually turn against each other, and declaring war seemed inevitable.

Rome took action quickly. Peter's army had all left Anatolia and was ready to attack new targets. Croatia and Bosnia were hidden dangers on the west side of Rome, so they were attacked first.

Peter left Constantinople and went to Niš. Along the way, he recruited some trained people and gathered 20,000 troops to prepare for the attack. Bosnia and Croatia had a maximum of 12,000 people because of their small land and small population, and some of them had to guard against Hungary in the north, so they could take out even fewer troops.

The whole of Rome began to prepare for self-reliance, vigorously develop its own shipping and shipbuilding industries, and vigorously expand to the east to find new markets for domestic products. In this way, Rome waited for the first declaration of war against the Roman alliance.

The first to start was Genoa. The parliament responded quickly and declared war on the shameless Rome. After that, the Duchy of Candia under Venice declared war on Rome, and there was also the Ottoman pagan country that was at war and the Turkic tribes that opposed Rome. Constantinople was surrounded on both sides again.

Mircea was not panicked in the face of this scene. He first recruited soldiers, then collected merchant ships to form a navy. In addition, the Patriarch of Constantinople gave all soldiers a buff, and they would soon go out with the bonus of religion and interests.

At the same time, in order to prevent Lithuania and Poland from disrupting the situation, Rome also contacted Moscow through the Ukrainian Principality to encourage the other party to annex Novgorod. Even if there will be a country competing with him for Eastern Europe in the future, it will not want a heretic.

The war tilted towards Rome at the beginning, and the small northern countries that obeyed the Ottomans were eliminated, and the east was completely suppressed by Rome. The west was much less stressed because of the help of Hungary. No one said that they would go to the east for unknown dangers. Genoa could only take out the money in its treasury to hire soldiers to fight. Venice also took out a lot of money to hire soldiers, and the price of mercenaries rose sharply for a while.

Fortunately, Rome has vigorously repaired the road system in recent years, and it only takes two days to get from Constantinople to Nis. Peter also has plenty of time to make the next plan.

"Bosnia is mountainous, and it is difficult to transport cavalry and artillery, so the attack here is mainly based on infantry."

90% of Bosnia is rugged mountainous. The Dinaric Mountains run diagonally through the west, separating it from the Croatian coastal area. The southwest is a limestone plateau; the plains are limited to the banks of the river. The Croatian territory can be roughly divided into three geographical areas: plains, mountains, and coastal areas. The plains account for about 49% of the country's area and belong to the southwest of the Pannonian Plain. It is composed of Slavonia, Baranya, and the Central Croatian Plain. The mountainous area accounts for about 20% of the country's area, mainly the Dinaric Alps extending from northwest to southeast, located on the Adriatic coastline.

Peter's plan is to concentrate troops and attack Jajce, the capital of Bosnia, and after Croatia sends out its troops, use the Sava River to directly attack the Croatian capital of Salegeb. This is the initial plan, and it is expected to resolve these two countries in half a year.

All military plans were decided by a generals' meeting, because the increase in soldiers made the work of the generals more and more onerous, especially personnel administration, military intelligence, military training, logistics, political warfare and planning. In order to reduce the pressure, Peter formed a generals' meeting and let the meeting handle all the above affairs. This should be called the General Staff in later generations.

On the way to Peter, tens of thousands of people reported to the conscription office or handed over their own food to the government. Because the government paid them, they had more conscience than those who were conscripted for free. Therefore, their enthusiasm soared, which was the result of the reform.

The war machine of the whole country began to operate, and it was expected that 20,000 people would be ready to go to the battlefield within a month. There would be 80,000 people in the first three months. Their weapons were equipped by the arsenal and had uniform uniforms. From officers to soldiers, everyone obeyed the orders from above and would never violate them.

The navy also requisitioned merchant ships for modification, equipped with artillery and Greek fire, equipped with sailors, and a simple armed merchant ship was ready. The Chamber of Commerce also actively supported the empire's war against pagans and began to transport military supplies.

The kings of Bosnia and Croatia panicked when they heard that war was coming, and they hurriedly began to prepare for war. However, Count Pinsk of Hungary sent troops to put pressure on Croatia, and Louis had to use part of his troops for defense. When they heard that the Roman army was coming, some residents fled into the mountains, fearing that they would be captured and used as cannon fodder.

Austria is still trying to get the ransom, so there is no assistance to Croatia for the time being. Sigismund is preparing for the next German king election. Other princes want to take this opportunity to divide Italy's interests, so France, Aragon, and the Holy Roman Empire are all quietly watching the show.

The first land battle started in Sinop, Anatolia, where Adrian led 11,000 people to defeat a 2,000-man Turkish cavalry unit. This is a port with convenient supplies. Adrian rested here and waited for the arrival of other troops.

Muhammad also stepped up the training of the army to prepare for a counterattack. His countermeasures were the same as other nomadic tribes, using their high mobility to fight mobile warfare with the enemy. Tents, livestock, etc. can be driven away, and the tribes undergoing transformation are forced to return to the days of moving.

The Roman policy towards nomads was also set when Peter became the governor of Anatolia. Assimilating them, letting them settle down, and becoming a member of the empire was a very explosive policy in Europe at the time. Who could live in peace with pagans and enemies? But it turned out that Rome did it, and very well.