The Eagle of Eastern Europe

As Wallachia expanded more and more rapidly, Hungary finally felt threatened.

The first to be felt was the local Catholic Church, which saw a growing number of Orthodox Christians in Transylvania. And unanimously, Catholicism has no chance to penetrate. This reduced the church's local income, and at the same time they found that these believers listened to the Wallachian Church. The Bishop of Buda believed that this was Wallachia's way of penetrating into Hungary.

Hungary and its nobles were also hostile to Wallachia, especially the local nobles and landowners in Transylvania. Wallachia's success gave the local Wallachs a sense of resistance. This is absolutely not allowed.

Finally, there was Sigismund. He was a little surprised as to why his wife would fight for power with him after experiencing a narrow escape. His first thought was that his conspiracy had been discovered, but who told her?

He secretly sent someone to inquire about it, and it turned out that a foreigner named Count Ceausescu told Mary. They came from Wallachia. When he heard about Wallachia, Sigismund couldn't bear it anymore. He tacitly acknowledged that their misbehavior was not for them to deal with him.

This gave the church, the nobility, and Sigismund, the main ruler of Hungary, a reason to settle Wallachia. Combine the three to prepare a big one.

Queen Mary also noticed something was wrong. Some bishops with whom she had a good relationship had not appeared recently, and she had two fewer maids. She had a bad feeling.

"Your Majesty, the church has betrayed you. They tell Zigmund about you every day. They are traitors."

When Mary heard the news, she immediately understood that she was in danger and she must escape immediately.

Fortunately, Sigismund did not restrict her freedom, but his spies were everywhere at the moment, and the news of her escape would definitely reach him immediately, so she had to be quick.

At night, Mary, her entourage and the nobles who supported her got into a carriage and quietly fled Buda. Once I leave, I don’t know when I will come back.

Sigismund was a little surprised when he got the news. He didn't know that Mary had such courage to leave Buda. What if she raises her arms and gathers an army to attack him? Her bloodline is the best sign.

So Sigismund decided to kill Mary at all costs. This way he had nothing to worry about, and the strategy for Wallachia was underway.

The previous plan to support the noble rebels failed, and the effect of the new Wallachian army was not comparable to that of these armies. In this case, you have to think of other tricks.

The two countries of Serbia and Bosnia should be able to take the lead, especially Serbia. The monarch Brankovic has always wanted to regain the Macedonian region. If he can be assisted, he should be able to cause some trouble to Wallachia.

The news of Queen Mary's disappearance was also learned by the Wallachian intelligence network. They quickly passed the news to Petkov, who then handed it over to Peter.

"It's really surprising that the Queen has disappeared."

"Your Highness, what should we do next?"

Peter was caught off guard by Mary's escape, but he quickly began to think about the next steps. He felt that Mary was likely to flee to Poland to join her sister Jadwiga. But it does not rule out recruiting troops elsewhere to confront Sigismund.

“Let Cluj prepare, and maybe we will get rid of Hungary soon.”

"yes"

The conflict between the two kings of Hungary is already obvious, but few people will choose to support Mary because her power is too small. Choosing Mary is a big gamble, after all, the odds are still very high.

In Peter's vision, war would break out in Hungary at least two years later, but judging from the current situation, it may have to be earlier.

After Peter finished his work, he looked at the bank's earnings. The annual profit was a big number. The deposits are countless, and the branches are opened all over Wallachia.

In order to circumvent Christian rules, Peter used some Jews to manage the bank. Using Jews to carry out some economic activities is something that rulers of various countries are doing. Peter was just using it.

In addition to loans, banks have also made some investments, involving textile, shipping, brewing and other industries. It was also a source of growth for the bank's profits and another major source of Peter's coffers.

The rich mineral resources in Macedonia were developed, and the mining of gold and silver mines greatly increased Wallachia's precious metal reserves. The circulation of gold and silver coins also increased, and the leu became one of the three major currencies circulating in the Balkans, along with the ducat and florin. Good credit and the prestige gained from fighting against the Ottomans were also factors that stabilized the currency.

In the road system planned in Wallachia, it is difficult to build a road from the Black Sea to the Adriatic Sea. This road must be wide and strong, and must pass through the Balkan Mountains. But fortunately, the salary was not low, and many people were recruited. They had no land or other skills, but only strength, so they would naturally do such work.

Since the road from Constanta to Sofia has been built, it can be connected as long as the road to Macedonia is built. From Sofia to Skopje, and finally to the Principality of Albert, there will also be a branch connecting Niš and Pristina. Such a road will naturally be supported by the citizens. Once completed, trade will flow more smoothly.

The selection of the Knights' personnel has basically been completed, but these people protested that the name was not good enough, and what on earth have they become in the name of Rose. So at their request, Peter had to rename them the Knights of the Dragon and the Knights of St. George.

Peter gave the Knights money and land aid, requiring them to take revenge on the pagans. There were 36 members in the first batch of knights. They were all battle-experienced knights and fervent believers of the Orthodox Church. Coupled with Dean Cyril's call, they will be an invincible combination.

Compared with the Teutonic Knights and the Knights Hospitaller, the Order of the Dragon is too small, and it is only a knight of Wallachia, not so international. But they also showed their strength, even sacrificing their lives for their beliefs, and their backstage was also tough. The backstage of the Teutonic Knights was splitting, and the Knights Hospitallers were too far away from the backstage. Looking at it this way, the Dragon Knights are pretty good.

The establishment of the Knights has greatly improved Wallachia's military strength. With the addition of a standing army with superb offensive power, it will be easier to attack pagan lands, including of course the Catholic countries in the West. .