Chapter 272 Continuous Attack

Constantinople received good news again. As soon as the messenger entered the city, he announced that he had won the naval battle with Venice and captured a general of the other side, who would be brought here soon.

Such news was undoubtedly a stimulant, which made the entire capital boil. You know, no country had ever defeated Venice in a naval battle before, let alone Rome. Now that they have won, they have to go to the church to thank God and then go to the outside of the palace to thank the emperor.

The bells of Hagia Sophia and other small churches kept ringing, and some shops closed directly to celebrate the victory.

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

The victory of the naval battle not only made the whole country boil, but also concealed some possible problems, such as finance.

After the war, Rome adopted various methods to circumvent the sanctions of the other side. However, the sudden surge in military expenditures broke the originally 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, the Minister of Finance, still took the warning very seriously. He decided to temporarily increase some taxes and tariffs. If it doesn't work, he will go to merchants to borrow money. This is also one of the emergency measures. After the war, the trade routes can be restored, and then the finances can return to normal.

The news of the naval battle also came back to Venice. The members of the Grand Council were like deflated balls. Although only a small part was lost, it was very unfavorable to them in public opinion.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we can't be discouraged because of this failure. We still have a lot of fleets, and our wealth is inexhaustible. As long as we take out more ships than this time, we can block Rome in the Aegean Sea."

This sentence made some people cheer up again. They Venice is the largest naval power and it is impossible to lose to Rome. This time must be an accident.

The parliament quickly made a decision to prepare a fleet again, and everything must be the best. Rome must be completely blocked in the Aegean Sea.

The Roman side took advantage of the victory in the naval battle to attack the Aegean Islands. Some small islands had to be abandoned, and then they held on to several important islands such as Crete, Chios, and Rhodes. The Roman guerrilla warfare at sea also caused them to lose some ships. This novel way of fighting caught Venice, which was accustomed to traditional warfare, off guard. They could only keep exploring.

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

His idea was that both countries needed Egypt to make a deal with them, so he joined the war and negotiations with such an identity, which could not only enhance his prestige in Europe, but also make the two major powers obey him. Isn't this 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 life.

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

The minority in the Levant region 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 suitable for developing trade.

The restoration of Rome's influence in the Levant made the Mamluks feel threatened, so he hoped that Venice would win this war, so that Rome would be honest for 10 to 20 years.

The first wave of conscripts has set off for the eastern front, and the military system that took time to develop before has helped Rome a lot. The mobilization system that is several times more than ordinary people will make the enemy feel the fear of the new Rome.

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Mihai, who is far away in Dehrem, also wants to join the war against Rome, but Mircea ordered him to stay in Ukraine. This made him a little bored, and he also wanted to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy.

At present, his internal affairs ability can be said to be qualified. The capital Dehrem already has a basic defense system, and the internal market, church, town hall and other facilities have also been built. The population attracted from the Golden Horde and Lithuania built many settlements on this land, and the vassals who were given fiefs also managed the land they obtained carefully. In order to attract more labor, they began to issue favorable conditions to immigrants. Some miserable peasants risked being beaten to death and fled from the lord's manor to come here. This made the lords in Poland and Lithuania hate the Duke of Ukraine.

In order to prevent the lords of Lithuania and other countries from retaliating, Mihaly built the Eastern Defense Line on the Don River on the one hand, and established good relations with the Cossack Emirate on the other hand, and recruited a group of Cossacks as the army to defend the principality. The reason why this place was not well developed is not only the swamps and other natural reasons, but also the war between the Tatars and other countries that made this place a no-man's land. The landlords and lords did not restrict the peasants not because of their conscience, but because they had no ability to protect the peasants.

Now that there is a political system that can protect the peasants, they will definitely repay the duke with more harvests. Mihaly also thinks so, let the Ukrainian people thank him for his kindness.

There was another reason why Michael was so kind. His wife Anna gave birth to a son for him. Michael named him Alexei according to the northern naming custom and baptized him by the local bishop.

After giving birth to the child, Anna began to consider her brother's position again. After all, her brother has no children yet. Once he dies, her husband will have the opportunity to compete for the position of Grand Duke.

This is not just talking about becoming the Grand Duke. First of all, she needs a force in Moscow to support them. First of all, she relies on the garrisons on the border of the two countries. She sent people to lobby these soldiers and generals, promising that as long as they support them, they will have wealth and glory. But most people think that this hope is very slim. You, a duchess, can still get involved in the position of Grand Duke of Moscow.

Anna was not discouraged. Although she was young, the unyielding quality of the Rurik family was also inherited by her. If the army is not good, then start with the merchants and churches.

Trade merchants are happy to support the nobles from Rome to serve as the Grand Duke of Moscow, so that the tariff barriers between the two countries will be smaller and trade will be smoother. Priests and bishops in the southern region also support their property and increase in trade, which has a force supporting Michael, although it is only a small part.