The Eagle of Eastern Europe

Peter stayed in his room, preparing for his trip. With the credit of countering the rebellion, Mircea finally agreed to the request and sent a large delegation to the West to make peace with various countries. Peter was among them as a diplomatic attendant.

Things in Bulgaria have been clearly accounted for and funds are sufficient, but now we have to rely on ourselves.

"Sir, where should we go first?" Nicholas began to ask.

"First to Belgrade, then to Buda."

Belgrade was gifted to Serbia by Hungary and later returned to Hungary. It is also one of the most fortified towns in the Balkans.

After being busy for several years, Peter could finally see the Western Europe he loved. He needed to learn new production methods and technologies from these countries and use them in Wallachia.

Of course, the Florentine friend naturally went with Peter, because Peter had promised to visit Florence. This made him extremely excited.

"Your Highness, I promise you that you will see the best of the city."

"Okay." He had wanted to see this place for a long time. It was one of the centers of the Renaissance and the birthplace of the banking family that has influenced it for hundreds of years. I don’t know what it’s like now.

During the travel days, Peter was still dealing with domestic affairs. Regarding the remaining construction of the new capital, Peter proposed to continue the construction to be comparable to the Castle and to accommodate a large population.

It just so happened that a lot of money was confiscated from the house, so it was logical to invest it. With this money, the number of people employed has doubled, including many artists from Castello and Venice. In order to obtain orders, they have to work very hard, which shows the fierce competition.

Despite Mircea and Peter's efforts to promote nation-building, the bloodshed became part of the conversation in the taverns, and some people liked to talk about it.

"It's so cruel. Dozens of nobles were chopped down. The leader was chopped down six times."

"Six times, is his neck made of iron?"

In the tavern, two drinkers were talking to each other. This resonated with many people. Although the crime was unforgivable, the Grand Duke was also really cruel. Just kill when you say it, and you won't feel that there is any chaos.

"Of course it is. Think about it, these nobles relied on their origins to save lives and plunder property. This should have been the case a long time ago."

Some people applauded the Grand Duke's methods. Without these nobles, their own activities could become even bigger. No more looking at their faces.

The crackdown on aristocratic forces promoted the development of bureaucracy. Taxation, the army, and local governments began to have dedicated officials in charge. The participation of nobles in local political power began to shrink, and the possibility of warlords also began to decrease.

In order to appease the remaining boyars, Mircea gave very large economic benefits, including certain tax exemptions for established industries and commerce, and some economic privileges.

The industrial and commercial activities of the boyars became active again after the rebellion, and they and the merchants began to divide the shares of those who died. Textiles, silk, wine, shipping, etc. all have a share, and merchants are no less generous, using Constanta as a base to expand both internally and externally. There is great momentum to catch up with Genoa.

Some emerging industries began to emerge, such as the cotton textile industry, which purchased cotton from abroad and woven it into cloth for sale. This kind of operation is normal. The Fugger family, the wealthy HRE family in the 16th century, started like this.

With more trade comes more tariffs. Fiscal revenue continues to increase, which gradually fills the national treasury. In particular, the reform that integrated labor service into taxation was welcomed by the common people. Although I paid more, I no longer had to work for free. You don't even have to do military service, which is great.

The financial director has been laughing from ear to ear these days because there are too many and he doesn’t know how to spend them.

But soon, Peter arrived with a list. In addition to building up the navy and army and investing in public works, more money was spent on culture and art.

These plans make the supervisor feel a little distressed, but isn’t he just in charge of money? Who would he be looking for if he doesn’t look for you? So, don’t be stingy, money is just what you spend.

After dinner, Mircea called Peter to the study alone. He wants to have one last heart-to-heart talk with his son before he travels.

"You know, kid, when I heard that you were going to the West, I couldn't believe it, because you would definitely encounter difficulties, but you kept insisting, and I agreed to you. It's still too late for you to quit now."

"Father, I will not quit. In addition to asking for reinforcements, there are things worth learning from the West. If we remain stagnant, we will eventually perish."

Mircea nodded, he also knew that he had to cooperate with the West or even bow his head. And you also need to learn the strengths of the other party so that you can win the next war.

"Well, you are indeed my son. Your courage is not inferior to that of your ancestors."

"All for Wallachia."

After the decision was made, Mircea began to ask about the policies of Poland and Lithuania, because these two countries were also difficult to deal with. But the vast land of Lithuania also looked greedy.

"Father, it is not the time to have a conflict with Lithuania yet, but we can win back some people's hearts through religion."

Mircea heard that it made sense. The upper class of Lithuanian society believed in Catholicism, but most of the people at the bottom believed in Orthodox Christianity. This is incompatible, not to mention that the rulers are still promoting conversion, and now they are in urgent need of an Orthodox Church to lead them to surround their faith. That being the case, Wallachia could follow the Transylvanian model in reaching deeper into Ukraine.

At this time, the Orthodox Church began to form Eastern Catholicism under the influence of Lithuania, which was loyal to the Pope, but the liturgy was Eastern. Such a religion was regarded as a traitor by the Orthodox Church. Religious conflicts began to emerge.

The Kiev-era Patriarch is now in Moscow, but he is too weak to interfere, and Wallachia is far from the center of Lithuania, so maybe he can.

But it was not possible to go deep directly, so it began to spread in the Ukraine of the Golden Horde. The Crimean Church also did the same, and it was very popular among slaves and Cossacks.

"Currently, Wallachia needs to maintain friendship with Poland and Hungary, and is mainly at war with the Ottomans and Serbia. As long as the Ottomans are driven out of these places, we will have the capital to compete with the world."

Mircea began to fantasize after hearing such words, and then immediately calmed down. It is easy to fight, but difficult to govern. The Serbian Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria are lessons, so the ability to govern and assimilate is very important.

"Okay, let's get ready. We're going on a trip soon. I hope you gain something."

"I will, Father."

One day later, a Wallachian delegation set out from Giurgiu, and Peter went with him in the form of a nobleman named Peter Ceausescu. His journey has begun.