Chapter 280 Shinra Election
The Library of Constantinople, where many books are accumulated, although some are damaged, but it was restored after Michael VIII became emperor. By the time the Bartlan Dynasty was established, there were already many books in it, and the books from the Komnenos Dynasty to the present were basically collected.
Mircea and Peter attached great importance to culture and science, and strongly supported the collection of books. The Library of Constantinople collected a large number of books and manuscripts from various countries. They first received a large number of books from Nicaea, Smyrna and other places, and placed them in the library after copying, and the originals were returned to their original places.
Through trade with the East, many precious books from Baghdad, Cairo and other places were obtained. Mircea ordered the translation of these books. The University of Constantinople opened a printing house and paper mill to print books. At first, many people thought that translating pagan books was against God, but soon they stopped saying so. Because the knowledge of various aspects of Eastern books from medicine, physics to astronomy and chemistry allowed them to make up for the shortcomings of Rome.
A vigorous translation movement began, and hundreds of scholars and university students joined this cultural movement. All the books obtained from the pagans were translated and preserved, including the works of important Arab scientists such as Zabir, Musa, Al-Kindi, and Al-Haytham, most of which were purchased by the Chamber of Commerce from the Levant.
The fragmented situation in the Arab region was not suitable for continuing scientific research. The once-prominent Palace of Wisdom was also destroyed during the Mongol invasion. It is said that a large number of books were thrown into the river, and the ink dyed the water of the Tigris River black for six months. This can be compared with the destruction of the Library of Alexandria.
Mircea established large libraries in Bucuriesti, Constantinople and Athens, using various means to enrich the collections, and Peter also provided some books. After conquering Croatia and Bosnia, he issued an order to transport all the books in the two countries to Constantinople.
There were also some books on the robbed Venetian merchant ships, which were purchased by Rome and sent for translation. The intellectuals from Italy gave up their hometowns for honor and official positions. They converted to Orthodox Christianity, spoke Greek and Romanian, and served the empire completely.
The Turks also began to change. They were surprised to find that the era of their nation had passed. If they wanted to survive, they had to either leave here or become a member of the empire.
Most people chose the latter. Their property was not enough to migrate again, and they had settled here at least decades ago. Why should they give up here and go to a strange place? In order to stay, they had to accept the requirements of the empire: change their faith, change their language, and change their living habits.
The empire was not forced to change, but if it did not change, in addition to paying more taxes, the rights of ordinary people would not be enjoyed. So it is better to change.
Those Turks who changed not only gained a lot, but also joined the army to fight. If they won, they would have corresponding land and titles, which these tribesmen dared not think of.
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In the following days, Venice and Rome had wins and losses in naval battles. But the Aegean Sea was gradually controlled by Rome, and Venice could only use Crete to maintain its control in the southern waters.
After the victory of the Ionian naval battle, Nikephoros won consecutive naval victories such as Salamis and Casasus, and all used the same combat method. But Venice had no time to care about these losses. According to Austrian intelligence, the Roman army was gathering at the border and would soon fight over. Venice could only mobilize all its people and continue to hire troops.
They also went to Poland, but Władysław did not want to participate in the war in the south. After asking, he found out that Rome had sent people before and gave them a gift that they could not refuse. Didn't Poland want the Teutonic Knights? As long as you don't participate in this war, this will be given to you. The emperor will "invite" the Pope to officially confirm it.
Both sides got what they needed, and Poland did not have the extra energy to go south. It would be better to concentrate on going north to get an outlet to the sea. And going south would have to solve Hungary, which was difficult given Poland's situation.
The election of the King of Rome was about to begin. Sigismund promised Venice that he would gather troops to the east to stop the invasion of Rome, and paid 500,000 ducats for this. Rupert was not to be outdone and used Roman phobia to ask for 400,000 gold coins. And Jobst didn't know where he got 700,000 gold coins from, but it was certain that it was not from Italy.
(Mircea: 600,000, not 300,000?
Peter: Dad, you have to thank me!)
Peter began to force some countries to take sides, and the Cossack cavalry had entered Austria to plunder. They followed instructions and robbed food and caravans, and even reached Linz as far as possible. Since we are going to fight, let's make things bigger.
The worst victims are those parishes and monasteries. Not only property is robbed, but also people, especially women. Basically, the monasteries can capture all the people you can, and then quickly transport them to Rome to sell them as slaves, or chop them off after enjoying them. This doubled the pressure on the city because it could not accommodate so many refugees transferred in.
The religious princes were very angry. The bishops of Mainz and Cologne demanded a crusade against the Orthodox Church, but they seemed out of step in the election. Mainz supported Sigismund because he had served as the King of Hungary and had some knowledge of Eastern affairs; Cologne supported Rupert. The bishop thought that it would be good to change someone from another family to see, and the views were the same anyway.
As for the secular princes, Bohemia supports Jobst, who is the Marquis of Brandenburg, and Rupert is also the Count of the Palatinate. The current situation is that Jobst has two votes, Rupert has two votes, and Sigismund has one vote. The remaining Elector of Saxony and the Bishop of Trier have become the focus of competition among all parties.
Rudolf III, the Elector of Saxony, is a greedy person. Money is his belief. He will vote for whoever gives more gold coins.
The Bishop of Trier does not have so many thoughts, because this title also serves as the Prime Minister of Burgundy, so he is more attentive to Burgundy. These two votes can actually be bought with money.
Although Wenzel has no power, he can still mobilize some resources. He took out his own treasury to support Jobst. Some of them were obtained through his exchange with special groups. This group is mainly composed of citizens and farmers. They hope to get rid of the oppression of the church and the nobles, and the king promised to support their claims. In addition to his previous heroic actions against the church, many businessmen decided to lend money to Wenzel, hoping to realize their wishes.
After 22 days of fierce competition, Jobst won four votes at the cost of 720,000 gold coins and was successfully elected as the king of the Roman people.