Chapter 320 Diplomatic Reputation
Parker got up and went to the square just after dawn. He hoped to get a good job to support himself, and he needed more money to make his life better.
When he came to the square, there were not many people here. Parker came to the bulletin board and asked him to choose from the jobs listed above.
Some went to the docks as coolies, some went to the plantations as supervisors, and some were recruiting people to be patrolmen. Parker looked at these jobs and decided to go to a coffee plantation in the suburbs as a supervisor, which he should be able to do.
There are many people like Parker, basically people who can't survive, and they came to the East under the propaganda of the East India Company. Here they don't have the blessing of earls, dukes, kings, etc. The only people they can rely on are the Roman emperor and the Orthodox Church.
As subjects of the emperor, their safety can be guaranteed, but if they want to live a good life, they can only rely on themselves.
Back to Constantinople, Mircea received envoys from Aragon and Naples, and he mediated the war between the two countries as the emperor. Alessandro of Aragon objected.
"My country believes that your country will handle this matter fairly, so I asked you to find your Majesty to handle it. I didn't expect that your country would be so partial to Naples."
"What partiality? Sicily is the territory of Naples. Your country has occupied it for so long and it's time to return it to its original owner."
The envoy of Naples used the legal relationship to make a point. This tangled legal relationship was not explained by someone who understood the law.
"Watch your wording, Mr. Alessandro. The empire will not favor any party and will only judge from a realistic perspective."
Peter stopped Alessandro from shouting, then looked at Mircea and continued.
"The main fight between the two countries is Sicily, but as far as I know, your country spends more money on Sicily than it earns every year, and your parliament has long wanted to transfer it."
This was actually Peter's nonsense, but the Aragonese parliament did have such a voice. Aragon has to allocate a portion of its land tax in Iberia every year for the rule and defense of Sicily, but the local tax is not enough to make up for the expenditure. It is just that this place is a cheap wheat producing area, so it has not been abandoned.
King Martin will not give up this place either. This is an important grain producing area in the Mediterranean, and its geographical location is also very important. Now that he can stand here, he also understands that Rome is the biggest supporter of Naples, so when Mircea proposed mediation, he came to negotiate on the king's order to see if it can be resolved peacefully. War costs too much.
"Don't be so sure. Our country is willing to exchange Sardinia for Sicily, and will not block Naples' ships. This is our country's last sincerity."
"Naples will not give up Sicily. We are only willing to make certain concessions in money, and will also sell wheat to Aragon at market prices."
Mircea has seen many situations where the envoys of the two countries do not give in to each other. He stopped the negotiation and let them take a break.
"No one is willing to give in. It seems that the only way is to let the two behind them compromise first."
Peter expressed his opinion, and Mircea agreed. After all, both are important countries in the Mediterranean, and Sicily is too important. Unless someone compromises first, there is no solution.
After Peter came back, Mircea's burden was much lighter. Mircea felt that he had to be responsible for more affairs, so he completely handed over five affairs, including culture, colonization, navy, capital construction and northern regions, to Peter, and only made the final decision. And important government affairs such as diplomacy and finance will listen to his opinions, after all, his opinions are very important.
As for his title of Illyrian Despot, he will continue to maintain it, but the selection of officials, taxation and the army will continue to be in Peter's hands. This is also to stabilize the western neighbors. Now Peter's reputation has spread north and south of the Alps. His methods have frightened many nobles, and they have preached that Caesar in the East has a strong back and waist, and there are scars on his face from fighting with lions. He can fight lions and tigers alone, and he has hundreds of lovers, and countless illegitimate children. What's more, some people even say that Peter eats children and asks local people to hide their children.
In general, if Peter patrols the western region, the relationship with those western neighbors will be further strained, which is not conducive to the next strategy.
Since the Ottoman Empire was unified with Muhammad, it has been preparing for war. He annexed some national lands and actively made friends with the Mamluks, which made Mircea believe that the future war with the Ottoman Empire would break out within five years.
This is also the news that Mircea asked Peter to come back. His army is also the most elite force in Rome. Let his army fight with the Ottoman Empire, which can consume his strength and can also erode until the Ottoman Empire is annexed.
Peter left the reception room of the palace. In a small room, he was meeting a man wearing a turban.
In order to make Aragon and Castile unhappy, Granada is a good choice. Mircea gradually became interested, and the envoy also said that the future ruler would lead the people of the country to convert to Orthodoxy like Ross was baptized, and then he would recover Iberia for the empire.
For this country, Peter did not want to make more friends. It was simple, it was too far away, and if it weren’t for Castile’s internal instability, he would have been gone long ago.
The emperor's orders still had to be obeyed, so Peter had to talk to him. In addition to alliances and promises, the chief also hoped that Rome could provide economic or military support. At present, the entire Granada has less than 300,000 people, and it needs an army to protect the country. Even if its geographical location is superior, it is forced to obey Castile, so it needs Rome's help.
Based on the purpose of causing trouble for Castile, Peter still sent an economic promise of 100,000 lei. This is a victory for the envoys, at least now Rome is interested in them.
It was also the first time that the governor of Genoa expressed his submission to the Roman emperor. After all, hugging thighs back and forth is a standard diplomatic move for these city-states. France, think about themselves first.
Genoa will give Rome one-tenth of its own fiscal revenue every year, and the city will also have a Roman army stationed, allowing Orthodox missionaries to preach in the country, etc. It always feels like this is selling out the country.
For Genoa, restoring trade is the most important thing. Therefore, the East must go back, Mircea is a powerful emperor, and the previous conversation with the emperor was not very good. How can he agree without bleeding a lot?
Even if Genoa made such a big concession, Mircea did not want to compromise. It was not that he did not want to give in, but the problem was that the Eastern trade had been divided up by Roman merchants and chambers of commerce, and he could not touch his own people's cake. They did not interfere with the trade in the Western Mediterranean, so let's go there.