The Eagle of Eastern Europe

On the right bank of the Dnieper River, a town stands here. This was established for better trade between the Cossack tribe and Wallachia. It also controlled the outlet of the Dnieper River and its strategic position was very important.

Recently, a wine called fire water has become popular among the tribe. The strong taste and endless aftertaste were well received by the Cossacks, and a large number of orders came to Wallachia. In order to expand trade, the tribe decided to build a town at the mouth of the Dnieper River for fixed trading. This indeed facilitated merchants, and trade gradually expanded.

The gradual growth of the Cossacks has affected the interests of Lithuania and the local Tatar tribe, and the local nobles are preparing to exterminate these Cossacks. But the Cossacks are not easy to mess with. They fought with the Lithuanian army and the Tatars, and this is how they live today. Even if Vytautas personally leads the army, nothing will change.

Of course, Peter also plans to buy some land in the Ross area. Even if the Grand Duke of Lithuania disagrees, there is still the Grand Council.

The Ukrainian region is the southern border region of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and is not taken seriously. Although the climate there is warm, most people are not willing to cultivate there because of the threat from the Tatars. Because once you have reclaimed the land, the bandits may come and rob you.

Because of this, the Ukrainian region has never recovered after the Mongolian Western Expedition. After Lithuania conquered this place, it only enfeoffed the nobles and they only had to pay some money every year.

Less than 10% of the vast Ukrainian plains can be developed. The vast grasslands and underground resources made Peter a little envious. It is really disrespectful that Lithuania does not develop such good land. If only this could be given to him.

Colonial activities in Crimea are currently progressing smoothly, with Viruga as the center and the surrounding lands as Wallachia. The local iron mines and grasslands supply Wallachia's industry and cavalry. The land near the outlet of the Dnieper River is also very fertile. If it can be managed well, it will be a cornucopia.

The local Tatar tribe is a hidden danger. Although the Golden Horde has withdrawn from most of Ukraine, they have not left. They would also plunder the surroundings from time to time, and the Cossacks were forced out by them. There is still a long way to go before actual control is possible.

An emissary from Wallachia appeared at the Grand Council in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, to express friendship.

The members of the parliament are all from prominent backgrounds. Which family has not been rooted in Lithuania for decades or even hundreds of years. Facing the upstart Wallachia, they will naturally look down upon them.

The envoy expressed the friendly relations between Wallachia and Lithuania and proposed a joint fight against the Ottomans and the Golden Horde. However, these congressmen had no intention of putting it here. They just wanted to get back their Samogitia and fight against Russia. Send troops to the region.

Seeing that the persuasion was ineffective, the envoys also left Lithuania. Anyway, Wallachia was just testing their attitude. Since their eyes are still on the north, the south can also take some action.

Wladyslaw and Vytautas had fought in the early years. Although it has subsided now, the two are only superficially peaceful. Their common enemy Teutonic is sharpening its sword in order to regain Pomerania and Samogitia. , they have temporarily united and have no interest in Wallachia, so let them focus on Ottoman.

Wallachia colonized the east not only to expand its land, but also to search for gold and spices. The Arabs invented many advanced methods of extracting essential oils from spices, which can be used to make medicine and treat diseases. They also used spices to refine elixirs and syrups, including herbal drinks. The knowledge about spices spread from Arabia to the entire Western Europe. European pharmacists used cloves, peppers, nutmeg and nutmeg dried skin to make pharmaceutical ingredients, and vigorously developed the pharmaceutical trade. . Although Europe was hungry for gold at that time (most of the gold was in the hands of Arabs), in the eyes of most Europeans, spices were more important than gold, and they became an important part of the European economy. Spices were vital to the European economy, and because Europe's climate was unsuitable for growing these exotic spices, Europeans still relied on Arab traders to supply them.

Under the traditional trade system, spices, brocades, diamonds, opium, pearls and other goods from Asia took a long time to be transported to Europe and the freight was high. They needed to travel by land and sea, across the entire China, through the Indian Ocean, the Middle East and Persia. Bay, and finally arrived in Europe. Usually European merchants would receive their goods in Italy or southern France and then travel overland to their destination. Along the way, the spice changes hands 12 times, each time causing its price to soar. It is undeniable that spices were the most profitable cash crop at that time. Europeans' thirst for spices fueled the rise of trade among Italian city-states. City republics such as Venice, Genoa, and Florence seized business opportunities and acted as middlemen between Arabs and Europeans. They purchased the spices transferred by the Arabs from India and Southeast Asia from places such as the eastern coast of the Mediterranean and Alexandria, Egypt, and then sold them to European ports on the northern coast of the Mediterranean or transported them across the Alps to the interior of Europe, thus becoming the mainstay of traditional East-West trade. A crucial part.

In Castile and Aragon, the common reason for people to venture out to sea was to find the Spice Islands and make a fortune. This was probably the only reason for them to dare to take risks. If a sailor spent several years of his life traveling to the Spice Islands and brought back, legally or illegally, a small bag of spices like cloves and nutmeg, the money from selling the spices would not only be enough to buy him a small house, but also provide him with stability. spend the rest of your life. The captain's wealth would far exceed that of an ordinary sailor. Captains gained both fame and fortune, as well as hereditary titles and overseas territories.

Marco Polo's depiction of the East constructed a three-dimensional "Oriental Dream" for Europeans. The words "passionate sweat", "gold everywhere", "hundreds of cities", and "luxurious palaces" outline the outline of the dream. When Europeans caressed the smooth and delicate silk and exquisite materials trafficked by Arabs from China, This dream became real again when I saw the exquisite ceramics. Generation after generation of Europeans have praised and shared the "Oriental Dream". Peter also understood that the Eastern Dream was real.

Peter also wants to join the Great Navigation, but the New World is impossible. The next best option is the Indian subcontinent and East Asia, but the prerequisite is that Anatolia and Iraq need to be captured, so that Bath can be obtained. Pulling this port will make it easier to trade to the East.