The Eagle of Eastern Europe

Constantinople once again received good news. As soon as the messenger entered the city, he announced that he had won the naval battle with Venice and captured one of the opponent's generals. He will be brought here soon.

Such news is undoubtedly a stimulant, making the entire capital boil. You must know that no country has defeated Venice in a naval battle before, let alone Rome. Now that they have won, they have to go to church to thank God before going. Thank the emperor outside the palace.

The bells of Hagia Sophia and other chapels continued to ring, and some shops closed their doors to celebrate the victory.

Mircea also received news of the victory, and he was so excited that he wanted to give Nikephorus a few hugs. He directly ordered the whole city to celebrate for three days and prepare rewards for those who participated in the naval battle.

The victory in the naval battle not only excited the whole country, but also concealed some problems that might occur, such as finance.

After the war, Rome used various methods to circumvent the other party's sanctions. However, the sudden surge in military expenditures has shattered the fragile balance of the finances. If the war continues, the future finances may be in deficit by about 3 to 4.2 million silver coins.

Mircea still took the warning given by the finance minister very seriously. He decided to temporarily increase some taxes and tariffs. If it didn't work, he would go to businessmen for loans. This is also one of the emergency measures. After the war, trade routes will be restored and the finances will return to normal.

The news of the naval battle also spread back to Venice, and the members of the Grand Council suddenly felt like deflated balls. Although they only lost a small part, this was very unfavorable to them in terms of public opinion.

"Everyone, we cannot be disheartened because of this failure. We still have many fleets and our wealth is inexhaustible. As long as we bring out more ships than this time, we can block Rome in the Aegean Sea."

This sentence cheered up some people. Venice was the largest navy and it was impossible to lose to Rome. This time it must be an accident.

The Council quickly decided to prepare a new fleet, using the best in everything. Rome must be completely sealed off from the Aegean Sea.

The Roman side took advantage of the victory in the naval battle to aggressively attack the Aegean Islands. The other side had to give up on some small islands, and then held on to several important islands such as Crete, Chios, and Rhodes. However, Rome's maritime guerrilla warfare caused them losses. Some ships, such novel tactics caught Venice, which was accustomed to traditional combat, off guard. We can only continue to explore.

Seeing this opportunity, the Mamluk Sultan began to negotiate with Rome and Venice. As long as whoever gave him more favorable conditions, he could mediate and obtain good peace conditions.

His idea is that both countries need Egypt to reach a deal with them, so joining this war and negotiations in this capacity can not only enhance their prestige in Europe, but also make the two big countries obey their orders. This is not Is it a good thing to kill two birds with one stone?

But to be honest, he still prefers Venice. After all, Venice only wants money, but Rome wants lives.

Moreover, Rome's trade expansion in the Levant seriously affected its great cause of reconquering Syria. It could have relied on the majority of the local Crescent Church to re-establish its rule, but who would have thought that Rome would actually start chatting with the minority.

The minority in the Levant belongs to the branch that split off before and is deeply influenced by Christian culture. In addition to commemorating common festivals such as Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, this sect also celebrates Christian Christmas and Easter. Such people are naturally good candidates for business development.

The Mamluks felt threatened by the restoration of Rome's influence in the Levant, so he hoped that Venice would win this war, which would keep Rome honest for ten or twenty years.

The first wave of levies had already set off for the eastern front, and the military establishment that had taken its time before had served Rome well. The mobilization system that is several times higher than that of ordinary people will make the enemy feel the terror of New Rome.

----Dividing line----

Michael, who was far away in Dehrym, also wanted to join the war against Rome, but Mircea gave him an order to stay in Ukraine. This made him a little bored, and he also wanted to go into battle to kill the enemy.

At present, his internal affairs capabilities can be said to be qualified. The capital city of Dehreem already has a basic defense system, and internal markets, churches, city hall and other facilities have also been built. The population attracted from the Golden Horde and Lithuania built many settlements on this land. The vassals who were enfeoffed also carefully managed the land they obtained. In order to attract more laborers, they began to issue favorable conditions to immigrants. Some miserable peasants escaped from the lord's estate and came here at the risk of being beaten to death. This made the lords of Poland and Lithuania hate the Ukrainian Duke.

In order to prevent the lords of Lithuania and other countries from retaliating, Michael relied on the Don River to build the eastern defense line. On the other hand, he established good relations with the Cossack emirate and recruited a group of Cossacks as an army to defend the principality. The reason why this area has not been well developed is not only swamps and other natural reasons, but also the wars between the Tatars and other countries that have turned this place into an ownerless land. The lack of restrictions on farmers by landowners and lords is not due to conscience. It was found that they simply did not have the ability to protect farmers.

Now that there is a political system that can protect farmers, they will definitely repay the Duke with more harvests. Mihai also thinks so. Let the Ukrainian people thank him for his kindness.

There is another reason why Mihai is so kind. His wife Anna gave birth to a son for him, and Mihai named him Alexei using the northern naming custom. and be baptized by the local bishop.

After giving birth to the child, Anna began to consider her brother's position again. After all, her brother had no heirs yet. Once he died, her husband would have the opportunity to compete for the position of the Grand Duke.

This is not just about becoming a grand duke. First of all, she needs a force in Moscow to support them. The first thing she relied on was the garrison stationed on the border between the two countries. She sent people to lobby these soldiers and generals, promising that as long as she supported them, she would have wealth and glory. But most people think that this hope is quite slim. How can you, a duchess, get involved in the position of the Grand Duke of Moscow?

Anna was not discouraged. Even though she was young, the Rurik family's unwillingness to admit defeat was also passed down to her. If the army was not good enough, then she would start with the merchants and churches.

Traders were happy to support nobles from Rome as the Grand Duke of Moscow, so that the tariff barriers between the two countries would be smaller and trade would be smoother. Priests and bishops in the southern region also supported the growth of their property and trade, which gave support to Michael, albeit only a small part.