The Eagle of Eastern Europe

(Getting back to the subject, welcome to 1391, the late Middle Ages in Europe. Here, the feudal nobles were maintaining their last power, and the emerging wealthy class also emerged in this era. They formed the main promoters of the subsequent Renaissance.)

Wallachia, a small country on the Balkan Peninsula. It has only been sixty years since independence in 1330. As we all know, countries in Eastern Europe are vast and sparsely populated, so even after all these years, the population of Wallachia is only more than half a million people, and a considerable part of it is in the capital Kemplonga.

It was originally a small, unremarkable country. But a few years ago, things started to change here.

In 1387, Grand Duke Mircea announced that two nobles would be sentenced to life imprisonment for treason. But both of them were very close to Hungary, so the Hungarian King Sigismund sent someone to hint the Archduke to release them, and Mircea agreed. They were released and found dead in the house the next day.

This made Sigismund howl in anger, but there was no evidence to prove that Mircea did it. So I can only break my teeth and swallow it in my stomach.

A month after this event, a Chamber of Commerce in Wallachia was founded, the first in Wallachia. Every summer, people travel upstream from the Danube River to Buda, Pest, Vienna and other cities to do business. You can earn a lot of money every time and bring a lot of daily necessities to the country.

Relying on these, Wallachia formed an army composed of free farmers and urban residents in the second year and captured the northern region of Dobroga (Dobroga was an autocratic state at this time). The landlocked country finally has its own outlet to the sea. And it was named Constanta by the ten-year-old Peter, the son of Grand Duke Mircea and the future heir of the Grand Duke.

Speaking of this heir, Grand Duke Mircea felt that this was a gift given to him by God. Since he was born, he has not cried like other children and likes to stay alone and read.

Very precocious, this is the view given to him by people around him. When he was eight years old, he began to put forward his own views on national governance. The method used before against the two pro-Hungarian lords was that he was giving the idea.

Later, he proposed establishing a chamber of commerce to increase revenue. Mircea agreed and let him go. As a result, they brought 300 Venetian ducats to them in the first year. In addition, they also brought back 2 cannons, more than 30 muskets, and five or six people engaged in firearms production.

Relying on these, Wallachia established its first firearms force. Although it was small, it was groundbreaking. Mircea was also allowed to expand his army to 6,000 men.

With complete armaments and high morale, the next step is expansion. In 1389, Wallachia sent 3,000 men to attack the Dobroga Despot, and quickly wiped out those pitiful troops. Force the other party to cede the northern region. Wallachia had its own outlet to the sea, in which the firearms force they established played a big role.

In order to encourage his son, Mircea announced that this newly added land would be canonized to him, and gave him various powers such as coinage and military power. This is no ordinary favor.

In this way, at only ten years old, he became the youngest lord in Wallachia and even Eastern Europe.

As a client, Peter said that he did not want to be so outstanding. But unfortunately he is not from this era, he has traveled through time.

Originally, I was just a student going to Bucharest to study. I stayed there for two years and got a girlfriend. I finally took her back to meet her parents, but suddenly there was an earthquake, and I fell into a coma. When I woke up, I found that I was here and turned into a baby.

After several years of understanding, he understood that he was in one of Romania's predecessors, the Principality of Wallachia. And by learning that the King of Hungary was Sigismund, the progress of the Ottoman Empire can be deduced to the 14th century.

Now that he has come, let him be at ease, now that he has come here. If it doesn't have some impact, it will be in vain. Therefore, he had a development and expansion plan for Wallachia in his mind.

Wallachia's land is relatively fertile, and large areas remain undeveloped. Coupled with the acquisition of the Dobroga region, Wallachia has an outlet to the sea, so the population must be increased, not only for the economy, but also for the army.

Therefore, after he was able to think independently, he began to show his political wisdom. Started giving advice to his father, Grand Duke Mircea. Including encouraging reclamation, rectifying finances, training the army and limiting the power of the nobility.

These policies had immediate results, and large numbers of Balkan refugees came to Wallachia. Most are farmers, and many are craftsmen. The population of Wallachia is also growing rapidly, with up to 33,000 people coming here a year. They were placed near the Black Sea and Bulgaria.

It is different from Moldavia and Lithuania. Wallachia faces less threats from nomads, and there are large areas of uncultivated fertile land in the country. This gave Wallachia a small window for development.

Therefore, when he learned that he had become the lord of Northern Dobruga, he felt incredible. However, he can also put his blueprint into practice.

The Northern Dobroga region has developed to a certain extent under the rule of the Dobroga Despot, and Constanta is one of the important ports on the Black Sea. If it is developed here, it will have a stable income.

Just do whatever you say, from reclaiming land to building ports. A new city stood on the coast of the Black Sea, and the construction of the port also attracted many people to settle here. In a year or so, Constanta's population went from less than 2,000 to 4,000.

The port of Constanta on the Black Sea coast in the southeast is bordered by the Black Sea to the east, the Danube River to the west, Bulgaria to the south, and Russia to the north. As early as the 6th century BC, an ancient Greek castle was built here. It was once an important port of the Kingdom of Dacia and was later brought under the rule of the Roman Empire. Then it was ruled by Eastern Rome, Slavs, and Bulgaria in turn.

At the end of the 14th century, Bulgaria was divided into three parts, establishing the Bulgarian Tsarist State, the Dobroga Autocratic State and the Vidin Tsarist State. Constanta was under the rule of Dobroga and was later included in the territory of Wallachia.

Constanta, the Pearl of the Black Sea. Its geographical location determines that it can become an international port comparable to Constantinople.

At the city hall, Peter looked at the increasingly prosperous city. I lamented that my hard work was not in vain.

"Your Highness, this month, about 600 people from Moldova, Bulgaria and other places have come to settle here. There is also a brewery, two wool textile mills and three shops near the port."

"Well my dear Treasurer, what do you think should be done next?"

Peter asked Alexander, the supervisor in front of him. This broken businessman from Belgrade always had some good suggestions in his mind. Peter also saw his ability and decided to let him be the business director here.

"Your Highness," Alexander said, saluting him. "I believe that if we want to achieve greater development here, we must continue to expand the population. The second step is to compete for benefits from Venice and Genoa, because most of them are held by them, and only a small part is ours."

Alexander is also talking about the current situation of all the cities along the Black Sea. Because Venice and Genoa, these small cities can only make very small profits.

Especially Venice, because of the Act of 1204 and the sale of territories by the Roman Empire, their power had spread across the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea. By now, the Eastern Mediterranean had been controlled by Venice and the Genoese, and Constantinople only had the function of cargo transit.

"That's true, but currently the Venetians are too powerful. Fortunately, their relationship with Genoa is not good. We can use this opportunity to deal with it."

After receiving the disguised reply, Alexander immediately understood what Peter meant.

"As you command, Your Highness."