The Eagle of Eastern Europe

Forcing Serbia to pay tribute is to better control this capricious guy. He was the one who provided troops for the Ottomans, and he was also the one who fought against the Ottomans. The monarch also jumped between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. In the eyes of the patriarch, they were heretics.

When Blancovich learned of this result, he could only swallow it himself, as long as the other party didn't die.

However, influenced by this, Branković immediately announced that he would move the capital to Smederevo. He did so despite the risk of being attacked by Hungary.

Seeing that Peter had achieved his goal, he withdrew his troops. Many Serbs also followed Peter back to Wallachia. They were arranged to border areas, and the lords paid for them to build houses and gave them land.

Peter understood that only by capturing the hearts of these people will they follow you faithfully and adapt to the local life and culture. Coupled with the need for labor, this is destined to make Peter's immigration policy very good.

The policies he formulated in Dobroga were transferred to Moldova and Bulgaria. The governor rented oxen, farm tools and seeds to farmers, and returned them in grain after the next year's harvest. The rental price is also within their affordability. As long as they work hard for a few years, they can live a good life.

"Sir, the number of immigrants flowing into Bulgaria this month has exceeded 15,000."

"Grain plowing cattle and seed farming tools must be prepared. In a few years, these people will become the new force of Wallachia."

At his heart, Peter was a person who wanted to strengthen centralization of power, and he opposed the aristocratic enfeoffment system in the West. Because doing so would fragment the country, localities must be under central management. The division of Wallachia into provinces was a way to increase centralization.

Unlike the Roman military district system, all high-ranking officials in Wallachia are appointed by the central government, and their terms of office are not fixed and are determined by their own performance. They have no military power and are only responsible for civil affairs, and the central government will also pay them salaries.

Among the first batch of high-ranking officials appointed by the Grand Duke, 14 were from landlord families, 10 were from boyars, and the rest were from military or merchant families. Although they were of different origins, they were all selected by the Grand Duke and were loyal to him.

Not only high-ranking officials, but now Wallachia has begun to experiment with court and financial systems. Splitting these local powers can avoid the emergence of warlords.

----Dividing line----

With the end of the war, commerce within Wallachia began to develop rapidly. Laresh also took advantage of this east wind to make a lot of wealth. In order to make it easier to do business and get a better life, he moved his family from Akman to Constanta.

"Dad, is this our new home?" his son Oleg asked his father, blinking.

"Yes, this is our new home."

Laresh looked at Constanta, which was even more prosperous than Iasi, and felt that his approach was correct.

Outside the city of Constanta, a large number of trucks came from all directions, some of which were grain produced in nearby villages and towns, and some were specialties from other places. Constanta did not refuse anything and swallowed them all.

At the port, slaves from the Crimea, furs from Rus, and Persian raw silk transited from Trebizond came here. They either trade directly in the market or enter local manual workshops for processing and trade. No wonder businessmen like to settle here.

The house Laresh chose was not far from the market. He agreed with the owner that he would pay the other party 20 lei every month for three years.

That's a lot of money, but Laresh says it's totally fine. He also paid half a year's amount in advance, and then he can do business with peace of mind.

Since it was the first day of moving, the main task was to visit Constanta. Laresh also examines what businesses are best.

All the streets here are named after Peter, and the entire city extends to both sides with Mihai Avenue in the middle as the central axis. In front of the city hall is a large square used to announce important events.

The area where Laresh is located is called Kamil District, which has the largest trading market in Constanta. Some businessmen who want first-hand information rent houses here, as does Laresh.

The market is strictly planned with straight avenues lined with rows of shops, warehouses and workshops. Many people were selling goods in front of the stalls, including Bohemian jewelry, Venetian glass, and North Sea amber.

Laresh came to a stall and was intrigued by the textiles on it. It feels like wool textiles, but softer. Laresh started asking about it.

"What's this?"

"You are really discerning. This cotton cloth is imported from Galata. It is absorbent and comfortable."

"cotton?"

"Yes, according to those Genoese people, this is cotton imported from Aragon and Egypt as raw materials, and then woven into cloth."

"Cotton?" This was too much information. He only knew about wool textiles and silk, but he didn't know anything about cotton.

Cotton was an exotic thing to Europeans. Cotton grew in faraway places, and it is said that many Europeans imagined cotton to be a hybrid of plant and animal—a "vegetable sheep." In medieval Europe, there were also stories about little sheep growing on trees and bending down to drink water at night; there were also legends about sheep growing on the ground through low stems.

Cotton's initial introduction to Europe, as in West Africa, was a result of the expansion of Islam. By 950 AD, the Islamic cities of Sevia, Cordoba, Granada, Barcelona and Sicily had a cotton textile industry; some of the textiles were exported to other parts of Europe.

In the hundreds of years after 1000 AD, the "Reconquista" of Iberian Christians caused a sharp decline in cotton production in this region; but for hundreds of years, under the influence of Arab technology and culture, most of Europe The region became familiar with and came to appreciate cotton textiles.

By the 12th century, small parts of Europe—particularly northern Italy—returned to the world of cotton production and have remained ever since. Since the European climate was generally unsuitable for cotton growth, the Crusaders extended European influence to the Arab world and thus penetrated into the natural growth zone of cotton. The earliest non-Islamic cotton industry centers in Europe appeared in northern Italy, in cities such as Milan, Arezzo, Bologna, Venice, and Verona. The cotton industry grew rapidly from the end of the 12th century and played an important role in the economies of these cities.

The Mediterranean trade network not only provided the Italian cotton industry with a relatively convenient source of raw cotton, but also gave them access to "Oriental" technology. Business owners in northern Italy imported technology from the Islamic world, some from India or China.