The Eagle of Eastern Europe

The defenders watched helplessly as the Serbian army was surrounded, divided and destroyed by Wallachia. Their mood was like a roller coaster, and it was a death charge.

Taking advantage of the victory, Mircea stepped up his attack on Krusevac. The already low morale of the defenders collapsed completely under the heavy artillery attack. They opened the city gate and surrendered to Mircea.

Mircea had neither time nor the mood to support and deal with Serbian affairs. He just ordered the army to go back after wiping out the treasury. Leaving those nobles alone with their beauty.

This was also one of Mircea's considerations, as its main target was still the Ottomans. As a vassal, Serbia cannot spend a lot of time on him; and leaving Serbia without a monarch is also a gift he gives to Hungary. It depends on whether they can catch it.

The Grand Duke snatched 60,000 ducats in Krusevac, which was Lazarevich's three years' savings. Mircea is all cheaper now.

Before the news of Lazarevich's death spread, Mircea quickly returned to Vidin with his army. When the nobles saw that Mircea did not embarrass them, they started to have evil intentions.

The originally unified Serbian-Moravian country began to fall apart, and some big nobles began to separate themselves as kings. However, Lazarevich's wife and daughter were ignored by no one. They were no longer important.

During this half-month, Bayezid was still mobilizing troops and waiting for good news from Suleiman and the arrival of the Serbian army.

"Sultan, the troops heading for Varna are here."

Bayezid was overjoyed, hoping that his pasha had brought him another victory.

The soldier stumbled in, his body covered with rags and dirt, and when he saw the Sultan, he knelt down.

"Sultan, we have failed."

These words immediately confused Bayezid.

"No, it's impossible!" Bayezid said.

He was the Ottoman Sultan, an invincible Sultan, his army was also invincible, and Suleiman Pasha was also an invincible Pasha. How could it fail!

"Nonsense, my Ottoman soldiers are all blessed by Allah, how could they fail?"

"Sultan, it's true. The enemy launched two sneak attacks on us and the entire army was wiped out!"

Now Yezid was confused again, and his mind that was about to come out was once again engaged in thinking. After a long time, he slowly spoke.

"What about Suleiman Pasha?"

"The scene was very chaotic. Suleiman Pasha might have died in the chaos."

These questions directly pushed Bayezid into the abyss. He did not expect that the invincible Ottoman army led by the God of War Suleiman Pasha failed. And seeing that all the generals are gone, how can we bear this?

The paranoia in his heart was getting deeper and deeper, especially his curiosity about the enemy generals was overwhelming. He changed his plan. He wanted to go to Varna to see who this general was.

"Tell the troops to change administrative routes and target Varna."

The herald began to issue orders, but those officials could not dissuade them. After all, the marching route was determined by the Sultan. He couldn't intervene.

"In addition, let those people come with the army. I plan to be merciless this time."

The people Bayezid mentioned refer to some small vassal states established on the original Serbian Empire after the Battle of Kosovo, including the Kingdom of Branković, the Kingdom of Mnjacevvić, the Kingdom of Topia, etc. . These vassals were controlled by Serbia, but the final decision to send troops was still made by the Ottomans.

The Ottoman army has been assembled, and the army officially set off three days later, with the goal: Varna.

And Peter is also preparing for the next battle. To this end, the army was trained and materials were collected. All soldiers were fully mobilized. New recruits and veterans were exchanged for training to grow, and the scope of the attack was also expanded. No less than a few of the surrounding Ottoman fortresses and camps were captured. Peter distributed the treasures to his men to boost morale; he even prepared to go south to capture Burgas and cut off the Ottomans' northward path.

"After the last battle, there must be Ottoman soldiers who went back to report. We need to make plans."

Peter looked at Constantine and asked about the situation of the army.

"Sir, many people have joined the army in the past few days. Counting the previous ones, the total is sixteen thousand."

"Really, how's things going in Crimea?"

"Everything goes well, the first batch of soldiers will arrive soon."

Regarding the powerful Ottoman army, Peter decided to recruit mercenaries. Just in time, the Chamber of Commerce in the Crimean direction brought back some news.

Due to the plunder of the Tatars, some Slavs became mercenaries. They lived a life of licking blood on the tip of a knife just to obtain a stable life. It happened that some civilians who had escaped from Lithuania and the eastern region also came to the Black Sea area. The grasslands here are vast and sparsely populated. Birds and animals can be seen everywhere, and all kinds of fish are everywhere. Coupled with the fact that the ruler's rule was beyond the reach of the ruler, it became a refuge and hiding place for people fleeing from foreign lands, and several settlement centers gradually formed. That is, Cossacks.

They are named for their different living areas. Those who live along the middle reaches of the Don River and its tributaries are called "Upper Reaches Cossacks"; those who live in the lower reaches of the Don River are called "Lower Cossacks"; those who live in the lower reaches of the Dnieper River are called "Zaporozhye Cossacks". ". Later, the "Volga Cossacks" appeared.

The early Cossacks were mainly engaged in fishing and hunting. Sometimes, due to the pressure of life, they also robbed merchants and even attacked cities and villages along the Black Sea coast. Usually, they exchanged fish products, skins and other trophies for the food, soju and weapons necessary for their lives. They want to have a peaceful life. But they also plundered the Duchy of Theodoro and destroyed everything except the Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber of Commerce took a fancy to the bravery of the Cossacks, so after getting Peter's approval, it began to contact the nearest Zaporozhye Cossacks. He bought the upper-class Cossacks with food and money, and convinced the lower-class Cossacks with farmland and stability. Trade exchanges between the two sides developed rapidly.

And after planning to fight against the Ottomans, Peter decided to hire some Cossacks. He asked the Crimean Chamber of Commerce to make contact and finally settled on 15,000 ducats for the leader and 15,000 gold coins, including military pay and trophies, in exchange for 5,000 Cossack soldiers.

Of course, a large number of Cossacks also crossed the Dnieper River and settled not far from Moldova. This is also to be able to make money at a close distance, and the most important thing is to settle down and not be so worried.

Two days later, two thousand Cossack soldiers arrived in Varna. Its leader was Yuri Alexei, who expressed his allegiance to Peter and was ready to show everyone the bravery of the Cossacks.