The Eagle of Eastern Europe

Boniface did not see Peter's peace terms until the fifth day and asked the pope to pay 800,000 ducats as a ransom. Each of the seven cardinals in the city must pay a ransom of 400,000 yuan to redeem themselves. Otherwise, their property will be confiscated.

Several bishops immediately chipped in the money, but the Pope felt a little uncomfortable. In addition to money, the other party also demanded the cession of Ravenna, San Marino and other lands, which meant returning to the scope of St. Peter's heritage. The Pope did not want to agree to such a request, but the army and artillery outside were not made of clay, so he refused to give it a try.

Moreover, the Papal State at this time could not be regarded as a real country, but a loose combination of several feudal city-states or small countries, each with the Pope as the supreme lord. Some city-states had their own sub-lords, while others (such as Rome) did not. Generally speaking, the relationship between the pope and these small states was similar to the relationship between the king and the free cities in other Western European countries. With no secular monarch to compete with, the church became the supreme authority in these city-states.

While waiting for the Pope to agree to the treaty, Rome was being emptied of its wealth and culture. Even the pope's triple tiara was taken away. This crown, which symbolizes the supremacy of the Catholic Church, is worth millions of gold coins and was packed away. Innocent III will definitely faint when he reincarnates.

The news of the capture of Rome was a shock to the entire Catholic world, with the exception of France. Prince Charles, who had not yet succeeded to the throne, even hoped that Peter would kill the Roman Pope so that the Avignon Pope they supported would be the only orthodox one. In this way, France could use the name of the Pope to launch a war and excommunicate England.

The religious princes within the HRE could not sit still. Most of them supported the Pope of Rome. The three major religious electors once again issued an appeal, proposing to regain Rome. Austria responded positively, saying that they would pay their lives for religion.

Response is response, Austria will not send troops again. Vienna will be gone again. He just expressed an attitude, and the princes of the Holy Roman Empire will not sit back and watch Austria be occupied by Rome.

As the nations watched, Peter drained Rome of all its wealth. The Pope was forced to compromise and signed the agreement himself at the Pantheon. The 46-year-old was so frightened that he could not pick up his pen when facing the 22-year-old prince, but in the end he gave up his wealth and a large amount of land to send the devil away.

Congratulations to the Papal State for becoming the third country to withdraw from the war. The price paid includes 3.5 million in ransom, 900,000 in various cash, a large number of books and religious items equivalent to more than 8 million in cash, plus land in the eastern region. The Roman army also caused 3,000 to 7,000 deaths, and caused countless losses along the way.

After so many years, the church still has a strong foundation. Fortunately, it was snatched away early, otherwise it would have been left to the Habsburgs. The next thing to do is to transport them back.

It was a bit difficult to transport them back because there were too many, so they were transported by horse-drawn carriage first, and then transported back to Constantinople by sea and land to a safe place.

The overall situation in Italy was calm, and Peter began to plan a new country on the occupied land. Rome could not sink too deep in Italy, which would have an adverse impact on the country's future strategy.

"Come and see, these are our trophies. They will definitely make Constantinople more glorious."

Peter had no religious guilt at all. Since 1054, the Eastern and Western churches had split. The two sides were no longer brothers, but heretics. Since he is the enemy, why should he feel guilty? Taking the enemy's things and turning them into trophies is his goal.

"Your Highness, the man from Genoa is here again."

Peter had already expected that the Genoese Parliament would only be efficient at this time.

"Your Highness", Francisco came to Peter with a smile. "The governor asked me to come and make a peace treaty with your country, and they agreed to your conditions."

"So fast, as expected of Genoa. I hope you won't be like Venice, otherwise, Venice's fate will be your fate."

Peter's words were a warning to Genoa, telling them not to backstab. Francisco quickly agreed and promised not to rebel.

Genoa also concluded a peace treaty with Rome six days later and withdrew from the war after paying 1.8 million florins and some political costs. Now the only remaining members of the Venetian Alliance are Milan, Savoy, Austria and Aragon, and the other minions are of little use.

(The process is a bit confusing, so I’ll hang myself first to apologize)

In the past few months, the wealth plundered from Italy alone was enough to cover the empire's tax revenue for two years. The finance minister no longer cried about poverty. The emperor also officially separated the royal finance and the empire's finance. Previously, due to the lack of industry and low tax revenue, the two were not completely separated. Now that the finances are officially separated they can run healthier.

The royal handicraft industry also expanded greatly. Among the transported craftsmen, craftsmen in the glass, luxury goods, and textile industries were all divided by the royal family and divided into factories across the country, creating a steady stream of wealth for the royal family.

Others either became lifelong workers in government enterprises or went to Anatolia to become pioneers. Anyway, the emperor had ordered the residents of Anatolia to be tax-free for two years, and of course they had no personal freedom.

Slaves brought back from northern Italy were unable to do heavy work and escaped quickly. It still takes more training, but the Armenians who came because of the preferential policies are definitely the main force in rebuilding the core.

There are a large number of Armenians living in Anatolia and the Armenian Plateau, and successive Roman emperors also had Armenian ancestry, such as Heraclius.

From Cilicia they traveled to the region of Ancyra to reclaim the land for Rome. Simultaneously acting as an intermediary with the nomadic regime, Mircea adopted a tolerant attitude towards this people, recognizing the Armenian Church and the Armenian language, and they could also take university examinations, but only if they learned Romanian.

Except for some that are too difficult to assimilate, the main body of the empire should now be called Romanians, and Armenia is an acceptable culture. Also included are some Cossacks, Hungarians and individual nomads. They believe in Orthodox Christianity, speak Romanian, and are part of the Roman Empire.

Mircea and the government tried to reverse the narrow nationalism after 1261. After all, except for Latins and Westerners, other ethnic groups got along well with each other. After two years of development, things have gradually improved, and the destruction of Venice has further promoted national integration. That narrow nationalism began to disappear and was replaced by a more relaxed cultural atmosphere, but only the culture recognized by the government was acceptable, and others were still subject to discrimination and suppression.