Chapter 303 The Overall Situation Has Been Determined

After Peter went north to Bologna, he received a letter from Charles, the Crown Prince of France, saying that he was willing to be friends with him.

Peter knew that this was an attempt to gain an advantage in the struggle with England by taking advantage of the power of Rome, so he also wrote a letter to Charles, inviting him to Constantinople.

In addition to the letter from the Crown Prince Charles, he also received a letter from Louis, the Duke of Orleans.

The Duke of Orleans had always been at odds with the Duke of Burgundy. The leaders of the two factions both had male direct blood close to the French royal family, so they had a great influence on the affairs of the Kingdom of France. Their competition and disagreements over the control of the government became the basis of the conflict. The two were nobles of the same level who held the fiefs of the Duchy of Orleans and the Duchy of Burgundy respectively, but neither had the priority of succession to the French royal family.

The Duke of Orleans wanted Charles VI to intervene militarily according to his wishes. He seemed to want to break the armistice agreement between England and France, and even instigated King Henry IV of England to duel. But the Duke of Burgundy disagreed because the industry in Flanders depended on the import of British wool. If the war started, it would lead to the embargo of British goods, causing the industry to slacken.

The two sides were in a standoff, and Rome's battle in Italy made the Duke of Orleans, whose main supporters were in the south, see the possibility of support. He was not unaware of the flirting between Burgundy and England. Since they wanted to introduce foreign forces, he would come too.

Constantine planned to oppress the two countries again to see if there was more oil and water, so he led the army from Piacenza. Three days later, he forced Pavia to surrender and open the city, and directly fought to the door of Milan. The Duke who was preparing to unify the north had to express that he had prepared 700,000 florins to offer to Rome.

The Duke was afraid. He had spent some money to get the title of Duke, and now he was bleeding directly to avoid looting. If he didn't go out, his loss would be even greater.

Count Amedeo of Savoy received the news that the Roman army had arrived in Pavia and followed the Duke of Milan to send money in order to calm things down. Near the northern Italy to the state fiefdom began to recruit troops to prevent the war from burning to them.

Austria began to be unable to maintain the state of war, and Albrecht sought peace talks with Rome. He sent people to Buda to discuss peace talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Pinsker.

Count Pinsker was allowed to have appropriate diplomatic talks as long as the interests of Rome and Hungary were not damaged when Peter left Hungary.

Pinsker negotiated with the Austrian envoy, and the two sides did not talk too much. Austria and the Duke of Lower Luxembourg recognized Mary's Hungarian throne, and the two countries reconciled, but there was no clear statement about the most fundamental succession to the Hungarian throne, only that it could be designated by Mary.

The Austrian-Hungarian War ended with the Treaty of Buda. The Anjou family retained the throne, while the Austrian Habsburgs not only lost money but also lost the Duchy of Carniola. It can be said that the gains did not outweigh the losses. But the marriage with Sigismund can still provide the Habsburg family with the foundation for the future election of the German king, as long as no other family intervenes.

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When the spoils from Venice arrived in Constantinople, the citizens gathered on both sides of the street, wanting to see what the items of this so-called Mediterranean power were different from theirs. When seeing the statues of the Four Emperors and some stone sculptures, some scholars recognized that these were taken from Constantinople by Venice a hundred years ago, and now they are finally back.

In order to show the victory, Mircea specially paraded these spoils brought back from Venice through the streets to let everyone see the power of Rome. Those noble governors and councilors of Venice were also locked in prison cars and paraded. They suffered the abuse of the citizens, but they could only wait for their final judgment as prisoners.

Mircea used these things to decorate Constantinople, melted the gold ornaments into other items and installed them on the Hagia Sophia, and placed the books in the Library of Constantinople. The gold coins entered the treasury, ready to pay for the construction of the empire at any time.

Mircea is most concerned about the construction of the army and border defense. The Senate passed a resolution to expand the standing army to 100,000, which also means that more funds and equipment are needed. Uniform uniforms, weapons, training, a large number of officers, and their rewards after victory in the war and compensation for seriously injured soldiers all require money. Now that there is so much, it can be spent for a long time.

"Meet your majesty"

Mircea met with the new finance minister recommended by Peter, because the finance needs a source, and industry and commerce are the best choice. The previous one cried poor too many times, and Mircea was tired of him. He hoped that this person could give him a different feeling.

"Are you Baptiste, the finance minister recommended by the imperial Caesar?"

"Yes, your majesty, I am favored by your majesty and Caesar to let me become the finance minister. I will always be loyal to you and repay you with my talents."

Mircea felt a little different after hearing this, but it seemed that this person still had some talent. Maybe he could develop the economy of the empire, preferably the first in Europe, and revitalize Constantinople.

Baptiste was not a native of the country. He was born in Bordeaux, Aquitaine, and was sent to a church school when he was young. However, the local war forced his family to move to Pavia. When he became an adult, he went to Genoa to work, saved some money and opened a trading company with others. He was quite successful.

Then it was the old version. He wanted to go to the East to see if he could climb up in politics. He originally wanted to take the exam, but seeing too many people and his age, he gave up. However, there are always more solutions than difficulties. By chance, he learned that the Roman prince Peter planned to import Merino sheep from Aragon, so he sold all his property and smuggled 10 pairs of sheep to Peter. This made Alexander, who was in charge of Peter's private property at the time, feel that this man could do it, so he absorbed him and became his assistant.

This gamble made Baptiste start to enter politics. He soon showed his talent for finance. Whether Peter was the governor of Anatolia or Bulgaria, he could do a good job in trade, especially in some mining. The technology introduced from Central Europe could be used to mine deeper veins, which doubled the output of some minerals.

When Alexander was appointed by Mircea to another place, he recommended him to Peter. Peter then asked him to help deal with private finances. After a few years, the effect was remarkable. The finances that were originally thought to be a mess after Alexander left were still in good order. Peter was completely relieved about him, and when Mircea asked Peter to recommend a candidate for Chancellor of Finance, the first person he thought of was Baptiste.