Chapter 199 The Complicated Situation in the Aegean Sea

After a few days, many merchants came to Cyzicus. They were all determined to get the alum mine.

In order to obtain higher profits, Peter took the form of auction and auctioned the output of the alum mine in the next few years. The highest bidder wins.

Merchant groups in Venice, Genoa, the Hanseatic League and other places tried their best to get this big order.

When the auction came, the merchants raised their placards higher and higher. The original 50,000 florins had risen to 160,000 florins. Genoa gritted its teeth and directly quoted a price of 220,000. Then no one quoted.

Genoa maintained its monopoly advantage, but the cost was also very high. Excessive spending damaged their finances, and coupled with the turbulent political situation in the country, their Black Sea colony governance was already beyond their ability. (There were 10 disturbances in 5 years, 10 governors were replaced, and the governor's office was burned down. I have never seen such a commotion.)

The first funds have arrived. It seems that Genoa still attaches great importance to credibility. Peter's financial crisis was solved in this way. With this money, local industry, commerce and agriculture were restored, the wool and cotton textile industries entered a new growth period, and the metallurgical industry also increased significantly.

Peter ordered Constantine to lead the army to continue to advance southward, targeting the two small Turkic states of Aydin and Menteshe, who were restored after Timur's westward expedition. Now is a good opportunity for Wallachia to seize them.

Unlike the Spanish Reconquista, Wallachia's expansion was fast and swift. And there were no thorny nobles in the country because they were all physically eliminated.

Strong centralization is the guarantee of expansion, which can quickly allocate national resources for conquest, without having to argue with those nobles, and will not be as lawless as the Polish nobles. It will not fall behind in the face of any country.

Constantine led 7,000 troops and 6,000 vassal troops to attack southward, and the first to bear the brunt was the Aydin Turkic State. The Emir ran away without even resisting. Peter and the tribes that surrendered to Wallachia divided his land.

The ruler of the Menteshe Turkic Empire did organize an army, but in order to obtain supplies, he ordered the seizure of Christians' property. The people who had not yet come out of the fear of Timur were plundered by the pagans, which made them unbearable and directly launched riots everywhere.

The Christians who launched the uprising occupied Smyrna and detained the supplies that had not yet been delivered. And sent people to Constantine to persuade the other party to send troops, otherwise they would not be able to hold on for long.

Constantine was in Chandarle at this time, and it was still a day or two away from Smyrna. In order to shorten the time, the envoy almost ran the horse to death and arrived at Constantine's tent in just two hours.

"General, please send someone to rescue Smyrna as soon as possible, otherwise the pagans will reoccupy the city."

Constantine heard the news and sighed that God helped me. He thought it would take some effort to fight Smyrna, but God gave him such a great gift. He must give credit to the people of Smyrna.

"Listen, everyone, set off immediately and move towards Smyrna."

Under the general's order, the cavalry set off first. The infantry followed closely behind. The nomadic tribes were the most excited because they could get some spoils of war. Although they belonged to the same tribe, the Sultan could capture them for you if you added money.

Emir Menteshe ordered a fierce attack on Smyrna. The residents of the city went to the battlefield together and used various things to block the enemy. However, since it had been severely damaged by Timur, the defense capability was greatly reduced. If there were no reinforcements, it would only be a matter of time before it fell.

Just when the city gate was about to break, the vanguard of Wallachia finally arrived and quickly joined the battle. The siege troops were attacked from all sides, and the Emir had to choose to retreat, but how could those Turkish cavalry let them go? The two armies were tightly entangled. Emir's troops were defeated and could only retreat.

Smyrna was saved, and the vanguard continued to clear out the bandits around it. A day later, the main force had also arrived, and the people of Smyrna welcomed Constantine into the city with flowers and cheers. Nearly a hundred years after the Eastern Roman Empire lost Smyrna, Smyrna returned to the hands of the Orthodox forces.

After capturing Smyrna, Constantine continued to move eastward and drove the Emir's army to other Turkic countries in one go. The security of Smyrna was completely consolidated, and the entire west coast was completely controlled by Wallachia.

The expansion of Wallachia came to an end, and then it was the local governance and recuperation. This was a test for the governor.

The six-month expansion allowed Wallachia to increase a lot of land and population, and also mastered the Bosphorus Strait, a major transportation route, so that Wallachia's merchant ships could enter Constantinople unimpeded.

However, as Wallachia entered the Aegean Sea more and more, it inevitably clashed with the heretical regimes on the Aegean islands. Especially the Principality of the Aegean Islands and the Knights Hospitaller, they blocked the entry and exit of the Wallachian navy on the route that merchant ships had to pass. Especially the island of Rhodes occupied by the Knights, he just blocked Smyrna and hindered further development.

Moreover, if the troops need to be united, they will not be able to escape the surveillance and threats of the Rhodesians. Whether attacking Hungary to the west or entering various parts of West Asia to the east, Rhodes will be an unstable factor. Therefore, it is necessary to completely occupy this place to have no worries.

In order to monitor Rhodes, Peter waved his hand and gave a coastal fortress near Smyrna and some nearby land to the Dragon Knights. He asked them to report the other party's movements at any time. He had made the worst plan. If the swords met, it would definitely be a long siege. During this period, the aid of other countries must be cut off, which requires Wallachia to have a strong navy.

The situation in Genoa gave Wallachia an opportunity. An uprising broke out there and the governor was replaced. In 5 years, there were a total of 10 revolutions in Genoa, and 10 governors came to power and stepped down. In the end, everyone seemed to find that order was more worthy of cherishing than freedom. In addition, the republican government, which was troubled by the revolution, was afraid of being annexed by Milan, so it belonged to France together with the Riviera in 1396. Then in an angry riot, the French were driven out of the city. For this reason, there were 5 bloody street wars, 20 palace buildings were burned, government buildings were looted and demolished, and property worth 1 million gold coins was destroyed.

The Wallachian Bank took the opportunity to persuade many craftsmen to come and improve their technology. The price they offered was half higher than that of Genoa, and the society was stable, so there was no need to worry about unemployment. Many people went to the Eastern Mediterranean with their families. Their arrival contributed to the industrial development of Wallachia, but also drained the foundation for Genoa's future development.