Chapter 76 Duke

In the south, Bayezid showed his lightning-fast nature again. In the past few months, progress in Anatolia and Greece has been smooth, and most of the Thessaly region has been occupied soon.

The so-called Christian coalition was scattered and fled after being lightly attacked, and the nobles also packed up their property and ran to Italy to have fun. Only the local people were left to suffer.

In the eyes of these Western nobles, these people who believed in Orthodox Christianity were not worth mentioning. If they died, they died. It was no big deal.

And the people had no choice but to submit to the Ottomans. Even if the other side kept their beliefs unchanged, they still suffered from the conscription and blood tax. One rebellion after another began.

On the other hand, Bayezid personally led the army to act in Anatolia. The target was Sivas on the Black Sea coast. Those emirates could only gather together for warmth, but they were too small and it was only a matter of time before they were captured.

Mircea was still paying attention to the compilation of the code in Kemplong. At present, most of it has been completed, and there are still some details to be supplemented.

At the same time, Mircea also received a special envoy from the south. An envoy sent from Constantinople.

Manuel II was a frustrated emperor who hoped to play the role of a loyal vassal on the surface to confuse the ferocious Ottoman Empire. The further increase in tribute made the impoverished empire overwhelmed. The Sultan ordered a large Turkish garrison to enter Constantinople. This part of the people was not under the rule of the Byzantine central government, but was directly governed by the Muslim regime. But it seems that such humiliation has not yet satisfied the volatile Sultan.

Manuel II knew it was over after learning the result of the Battle of Skopje. Fortunately, he did not join, otherwise he did not know what the consequences would be.

So on the one hand, he prepared to go to Western Europe in person to request reinforcements, and on the other hand, he sent people to Kemplong to request Wallachia to send troops to help him.

But what did he use to get Wallachia to save him? Land, no, the Roman Empire no longer had land to reward. At this time, there was the Ottoman Empire, a powerful enemy outside, and local separatist forces and nobles who attempted to usurp the throne inside. The area under the jurisdiction of the central government was getting smaller and smaller, the urban economy had no improvement, and the countryside was devastated by the war. In addition, the city republics in Italy had their own ulterior motives and only wanted to make more money from the "Last Supper" before the fall of the empire and take advantage of the fire to rob the Eastern Roman Empire again.

As for money, it was even worse. From the perspective of taxation, tariffs were almost not collected much, because Italian merchants engaged in import and export enjoyed the privilege of tax exemption or tax reduction. Land tax was not paid by noble landlords, churches and monasteries. Although self-cultivating farmers had to pay, their number was small. If the tax was too heavy, they would rather give the land to noble landlords for protection, but they would no longer have to pay taxes. The central government's fiscal expenditure was increasing, because fighting against the Ottoman Turks, fighting against the Serbs, and fighting against the rebels against the central government all cost money. The emperors had to worry about raising revenue for the treasury. John V had to pawn the emperor's jewels and even sold some territories at a low price.

Manuel also knew that he had nothing to reward, but he couldn't let people come for nothing. The only thing he could do was to give others the title of Duke.

Duke, also called absolute monarch, also translated as tyrant, Manuel I first used this title to confer on King Bela III of Hungary (Alexios in Greek, who lived in Constantinople as a hostage and was engaged to Manuel I's daughter, thus obtaining this title originally exclusive to the emperor, and was later confirmed as the heir to the throne. But in 1169, Manuel I's only son was born, Bela's engagement was cancelled and she was demoted to Caesar) to demonstrate his sovereignty (Bela III had not yet ascended the throne, but the principalities under his rule, such as Dalmatia, Bosnia and Slavonia, were incorporated into Byzantium). After that, the title became an honorary title for the monarchs of various "absolute principalities" who had the right to inherit the throne, such as the monarchs of the Morea Absolute State that ruled the Peloponnese.

Mircea treated the envoy with the highest etiquette, but kept silent about the rescue of the Eastern Roman Empire. He only sent some gifts to Basilius, and the title of Duke was also given to Mircea.

For Mircea, being able to get Rome is definitely the biggest gain. Although he can also let the archbishop crown himself as king, it is not as good as being recognized by the Roman emperor. And this is still a duke, not a lower-level Caesar. This shows that Wallachia is an independent country, not his vassal.

At the same time, Manuel also proposed another thing: marriage.

Although Manuel had no children, his younger brother. Theodore, the Despot of Morea, had a niece who was 12 years old this year.

"Your Majesty has a niece who is about the same age as the eldest son of the Archduke. If the two families can marry, it will be a blessing for both countries."

Mircea did not refuse, but did not agree. It's just a matter of consideration. After all, she is a niece, not a daughter, so her claim is weak.

However, the Morea Despot had no sons. After his death, Morea was ruled by Wallachia, which is the only thing of practical value.

After obtaining the title of Duke, Mircea had people prepare the crown and dress, and he would be crowned king at a specific time. And now, it's not a specific time.

Mircea adopted a moderate policy towards Poland and Lithuania, trying to make friends with them, and carried out a cold war against Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, and the two sides maintained a fragile peace. After all, Wallachia has territorial claims with both countries.

————Dividing line————

At this time, the envoys from Western Europe had arrived in Bursa. In the same month, France reached a consensus with the Ottoman court on the ransom issue. France needed to pay 200,000 florins. The nobles who were about to be released realized that there was not enough money to support their usual luxury. So they prepared to borrow money to support the scene.

And Western Europe would not have a crusade for a long time, at least not with so many countries participating. They had to recuperate, especially Britain and France, who joined the crusades with the trauma of the Hundred Years' War still there. The losses can be imagined.