Chapter 34 The Grand Duke's Reforms

"It's really beautiful."

Mircea took a lei and looked at it carefully.

"Grand Duke, this is a newly minted silver coin in your Highness's territory. Many merchants have begun to use it for trading."

"Really? What is this called?"

"Lei"

"Lei!" Mircea said. It seems that this son intends to turn Wallachia into a ferocious lion.

Since his son is so energetic, he, as a father, certainly cannot lag behind. He took military reform as a breakthrough direction.

In this battle with Moldova, Mircea saw the great power of firearms. Artillery and muskets have more powerful lethality than arrows when facing cavalry. This made Mircea determined to expand the firearms force.

Facing the situation of the Ottoman Empire in the south, Hungary in the west, and Poland and Lithuania in the north, it is impossible without a strong army.

Mircea began military reform. He expanded his small force to 6,000 people. And purchased artillery and muskets to equip the army. Everyone also has close weapons such as axes and machetes, and also has special uniforms.

Small troops are paid by the state and are non-hereditary positions. They are loyal to the Grand Duke and are managed by a special agency. The commander is appointed by the Grand Duke. They are further divided into centuries and tens, including both cavalry and infantry.

The best place to buy firearms is of course Dobruja. The orders from the capital are enough to keep them going for a while, and in order to ensure the delivery of orders, the firearms factory has also expanded its recruitment.

The large troops were not left behind, and Mircea personally purchased weapons to equip them. Musketeers are very easy to deal with. Just a group of people can be trained in about two weeks, and the power of gunpowder has also been seen in previous battles.

Gunpowder, artillery, muskets, these things must be obtained from Dobruja. But Mircea is the Grand Duke, and Peter also ordered that everything the Grand Duke needs, except for commercial transactions, be agreed, and the lord must obey the Grand Duke.

Mircea also announced that the capital would be moved to Bucuri and renamed Bucuriesti (Bucharest is the English translation). This news surprised many boyars, but they did not object.

In terms of culture, Mircea made Wallachian script the official language and script. The church began to use the Wallachian version of the Bible, and he himself began to write documents in Wallachian script.

The Grand Duke's leading role was very obvious. Some boyars also began to use Wallachian script. Seeing the nobles take the lead, some businessmen and bureaucrats also began to use it, and the use of Bulgarian, Serbian, and Greek languages ​​began to decrease. He also used part of the fiscal revenue to build schools. He approved the order to build a university in the new capital, and also approved the order to build a seminary, library and other buildings.

He also announced that Wallachia would recruit talents from all over the world. As long as you have a skill and believe in Orthodox Christianity, you can come here and get a tax exemption for one to three years.

Immigrants from Bulgaria and Serbia enriched Wallachia and promoted development. Towns such as Focșani, Pitesti, and Severinburg sprang up, gathering a large number of craftsmen and merchants, and all obeyed the instructions of the Grand Duke.

Mircea's reforms echoed those carried out by Peter, and the father and son jointly promoted the common development of Wallachia. Under this influence, some new boyars and merchants began to exert their influence. Giurgiu became the largest silk trading point in the Balkans, and Constanta became the largest trading port in Wallachia. Tariffs became the fastest growing tax.

Mircea abolished taxes such as city entry and exit taxes and hotel taxes, and every adult man had to pay a fixed tax. The nobles had to pay personal income tax according to their income, and at the same time relaxed the control of serfs. Serfs could engage in business and handicrafts, and they could be free if they paid a certain ransom. But if they wanted to continue to use the land, they had to pay rent and taxes to the nobles.

Taxation and creating a good business environment seem to be a dilemma, but in fact, as long as the balance is struck, the country will function well. Too loose will cause the authority to decline; too tense, the people will riot. We must grasp it and be stable.

Facing the Ottomans, Mircea planned to take the initiative. His target was Vidin, Bulgaria and Varna.

The once glorious Bulgarian Empire declined and split. In 1330, it became a vassal of the Serbian Empire, and then split into the Vidin Tsardom, the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Dobruja Despotate.

Under the attack of the Ottomans, the Kingdom of Bulgaria was close to extinction, Dobruja was also in danger, and although Vidin was not in danger yet, it would soon be.

These countries will become Mircea's frontier positions across the Danube, especially Vidin, because Wallachia once provided some help, and the second Grand Duke became the son-in-law of the Tsar at that time. This is also a legal principle for seizing Vidin, although no one will care.

In addition, the geographical location of Vidin is also very important. It is located on the south bank of the Danube and has been an important port and fortress on the Danube since the Roman Empire. Basil II of the Macedonian Dynasty also took some effort to capture it. Now, the military strength of the entire Vidin is weak, and coupled with the previous invasion by Hungary, Vidin is now a piece of fat meat waiting for other countries to swallow it.

But Mircea's goal is far more than this. Magna Graecia, Serbia, and Transylvania are all preset targets. In his conception, he wants to establish an Orthodox empire that is larger and more powerful than Serbia.

Mircea thought that if the Ottomans could be driven out of the Balkans, Wallachia could swallow up all the Ottoman lands. And Serbia, as a vassal, would also become a thing in the palm of Wallachia's hand.

However, it was too early to say it at this time. The first step of the plan to annex Bulgaria required the Ottomans to beat them up and destroy the country, and then they would send troops.

At this time, Suleiman Pasha was leading his army to capture cities and plunder land in Bulgaria. Bulgaria also made some resistance, but it was powerless to resist the Ottoman Sipahi.

The Ottoman army did not capture, but just robbed everywhere. A large number of Bulgarian towns were reduced to ashes, and the surviving people had to leave their homes and cross the Danube to the north. This also strengthened the strength of Wallachia, just like Orhan I of the Ottoman Empire, who relied on a steady stream of Turkish immigrants to strengthen his strength after moving the capital to Prusa. Mircea and Peter also used immigrants from the Balkans to strengthen themselves, because now, only they can save themselves.