Chapter 154: Stability
Peter made drastic reforms in Serbia. A large number of Serbian nobles and knights were relocated to the capital, and amnesty was granted to peasants who joined the rebels. There was no one-size-fits-all approach. Pulling the lower-class people over was conducive to maintaining rule.
Relying on a powerful army, Peter quickly established order near Kruševac. The entire rebellion came and went in a hurry, but the impact was very great. The original local order was broken, some deep-rooted nobles were cleared out, and local government agencies in Wallachia began to be established.
Peter planned the roads in Serbia and Macedonia. Since Dušan's death, Serbia's road system has not been maintained for a long time. The flat roads are overgrown with weeds, and transportation mainly relies on country roads. Peter paid to rebuild the roads to promote the flow of people.
At the same time, the capital of the Governor's District was moved to Skopje, which is an important strategic location in the Balkans. The Lepenac River and the Vardar River flow through this area, so the land is very fertile. In the early Middle Ages, the Byzantine Empire and the First Bulgarian Empire fought over this place many times. From 972 to 992, Skopje was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire. In 1018, it was dominated by the Byzantine Empire again, and then by Bulgaria. Skopje once prospered because of trade.
After moving here, the Serbian church was also incorporated into the Wallachian Church. The Bishopric of Skopje was established and other religions were suppressed. Everything was moving in a good direction.
The rebellious nobles had their property confiscated, which was used to enrich the treasury. And Mircea could also expand his army to 30,000 people. As expected, he had to get rid of these people, otherwise he would be hindered in everything he did.
In addition to the Senate, Mircea took all the appointment rights of the Supreme Court into his own hands. Any form of appointment and removal required the approval of the Grand Duke. The Boyar Conference existed in name only, and its only function might be to look good.
In addition to the nobles, Mircea had good relationships with people from other classes. Reduce taxes and encourage farming to make farmers support him, subsidize the Orthodox Church to make the church recognize him, stimulate industry and commerce and select officials through examinations to make the citizens follow him. The Grand Duke united these three forces to suppress the old aristocracy. Avoid the decentralization of power.
Sigismund learned that the noble rebels had failed, so he did not take any other actions. He was somewhat glad that he did not get involved too much, otherwise Hungary and Wallachia would be at war.
Now he still has to solve domestic problems, and Mary can't help no matter how much she jumps. Most of the nobles and churches in the country are on his side. Who would support a powerless queen?
The departments are re-divided, and the six departments of finance, army, navy, diplomacy, industry and commerce, and internal affairs are in charge of national affairs. Above the departments is the prime minister, who is appointed by the Grand Duke himself, and the prime minister is only responsible to the Grand Duke.
In addition to the departments, a set of corresponding institutions were also established in the court, mainly intelligence departments. The leaders are all loyal to the Grand Duke. They are responsible for monitoring everything in the country and will report to the Grand Duke immediately if there is anything wrong.
The political system of Wallachia was basically formed, and checks and balances became the main theme. The people were still the same as before, with very few political rights, but at least there was a channel for upward mobility. In order to climb up, civilians would work hard to join the army and take exams, so that they would have both officials and soldiers.
The census of the new territory has been completed, and the total population of the country is 3.36 million.
It is more than double the last census, but these people are still not enough. There are more than six million people in Anatolia now, and Wallachia is at best one and a half Hungarians. These people are not enough for such a large territory, and they still have to be increased.
The population of Hungary is 2.4 million, of which 45% are Hungarians, 15% are Vlachs, and the rest are Croats and other ethnic groups. The Vlachs are mainly concentrated in Transylvania. Although an immigration policy has been implemented, it only transfers wealth, and the population has not changed.
Another neighbor, Poland, has 1.5 million people, with Poles as the majority. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania has 3.5 million people, but only one-tenth of them are Lithuanians. Ruthenians make up the majority.
The ethnic groups in Wallachia are also somewhat complex, including Vlachs, Bulgarians, Serbs, Albanians, Greeks, and Turks, but the government deliberately downplayed their ethnic identities and suppressed their language and culture. In addition, there is still the enemy of Ottoman, so they have not made trouble for the time being.
After the Epiphany, construction continued in various parts of Wallachia. Farmers were busy with the upcoming sowing, while others continued to sell their labor to make money. Churches, monasteries, universities, houses, etc. were built the most, and the places of Crescent Church were either changed or demolished. Just like the places ruled by Ottomans.
A large amount of construction requires a lot of money. Where did Wallachia get it from? Answer: trade.
Trade is mainly export trade and re-export trade. Export is needless to say. Re-export trade mainly uses the geographical location of Wallachia to transport goods from the East to the West for sale and collect profits from it.
There are three main trade routes between the East and the West, one is the grassland Silk Road in the north, one is the traditional Silk Road in the middle, and one is the maritime Silk Road in the south. Of these three routes, the southern route ends in Egypt, which is too far away and is mainly separated by the Ottoman Empire, so only the northern Silk Road has a larger participation of Wallachia.
At this time, the political situation of the Golden Horde was relatively stable. Although the city of Sarai was burned down, Eastern goods could be delivered from the Principality of Rus through the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Wallachia then sold the goods to the West and earned the difference.
The Black Sea trade was also a trade in which Wallachia participated most, because the main coastline was on the Black Sea. Wallachia had traded with two Black Sea coastal countries, Trebizond and Georgia. These two places were in war and division, and the food shipped by Wallachia became their life-saving straw. And with their location, a large amount of precious metals served as currency for transportation back.
Wallachia was able to make a lot of profit from these two trades. With this money, the government invested it in the navy and production. The navy was responsible for dealing with pirates, and production had more goods, thus forming a virtuous circle. There was more and more money, and eventually the situation of Kaihuang's rule would be formed.
For the Grand Duke of Wallachia, some foreigners gave him a nickname, the Fearless. Domestic people prefer to call him Old Mircea. This gives him two nicknames, but Mircea obviously prefers the latter one, which he feels more intimate with.