Chapter 326 Two Eastern Actions
Peter had no choice but to continue his hard work. At present, he was still concerned about the population problem.
In fact, the population of the Balkans and Anatolia has been recovering in the past decade. The population of Wallachia has increased to 1.03 million, and Moldova has also increased to 890,000. This growth rate is the fastest in the empire. Bulgaria and Serbia are also growing steadily. On the one hand, the population fertility has increased, and on the other hand, there are more immigrants from other places.
The improvement of living standards, a stable society and the encouragement of the church are three factors that promote population growth. With the increase and mobility of population, the country also has more labor to increase wealth and the army.
"Your Highness, the army now needs 25,000 muskets, 600 artillery pieces and 100,000 shells."
Adrian submitted the army's firearms supplement list to Peter. It was the first time that Peter saw so many firearms.
"Even if it's to guard against the Ottomans, this is too much, isn't it?"
"Your Highness, more Ottoman cavalry have been found on the border between our country and the Ottomans recently. These nomadic peoples are not like our farmers. Their tents and property can move, but the farmers' houses and crops cannot be moved. This requires strengthening our border defense."
The nomadic people's way of coming and going like the wind is disgusting. Although they are driven away by cavalry every time, they will come back. The border between the two countries is thousands of kilometers long, and it is impossible to cover everything.
"Allocate another cavalry regiment to Ansela, and tell the Cossacks that no matter whether it is intentional or unintentional, as long as they find Ottoman cavalry or herdsmen, they will be killed, and the treasures on their bodies will belong to them."
Peter also asked to continue to expand the cavalry regiment. At present, there are a total of ten cavalry regiments in Rome, each with 2,000 people. Generally speaking, the equipment is prepared by the state, but they have to pay for weapons and other things, after all, they have to reduce expenditures. Maintaining a large standing army also costs money.
This is just the army, and the navy's expenses are only slightly less than the army. The naval vessels seized from Venice saved a sum of money, but other expenses still needed to be paid. Training and supplies all cost money, and corrupt officials would also embezzle money.
The nobles and officials punished by Peter had more property than the wealthy businessmen. The property of the mayor of Skopje was as high as 200,000 gold lei, and the property of Klaus was converted into 1.2 million coins. All of these were collected into the national treasury. The treatment of these people did deter some officials, and the living environment of the people was also much better.
The laws for punishing corrupt officials ranged from imprisonment to exile and death penalty, and property confiscation was also a necessary option. People were also encouraged to appeal, and the courts had to hear the cases.
In addition to political affairs, Peter was also busy finding a good family for his youngest sister. The Duke of Milan was no good, and the three Iberian countries were no good either. Moscow already had one, and Poland and Lithuania had to be cancelled. If she was willing to endure hardships, then Georgia was a good choice.
Georgia is now also a powerful country in the Caucasus. They support the Empire of Trebizond to expand their influence. But there are still some small forces in the country that are ready to move, and they have recognized Timur as their suzerain in the past few years. If you want this place, then Trebizond must also be solved.
For the Timurid Empire, the trade route between Constantinople and Samarkand has been opened with the permission of the rulers of the two countries. Roman merchants can go to Baghdad, Basra, and Tabriz to trade, and merchants from the Timurid Empire can also come to Constantinople and Ancyra. Trade between the two sides began.
As for the other nomadic empire, the Golden Horde, the Roman Empire maintained a good relationship with it. The two sides have active linkages in trade, but for the sake of relations with Moscow, it is better not to go further for the time being.
Peter's days are so plain and unpretentious. He handles various government affairs with the help of the Senate. Usually, he will go to the training ground or the library if he has nothing to do.
Envoys from countries such as Genoa will also secretly give Peter some small gifts, hoping that he can give him some convenience in some aspects or say a few good words in front of the emperor. Peter also accepts everyone who comes, and as for how to do it, it depends on himself. Even if he doesn't do anything, it's okay.
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In the distant port of Aden, Mason issued a mobilization order. It was required to concentrate most of the ships to go to the East to wipe out this group of pirates. It felt a little too fast to go there in just over a year.
Mason had to hurry. How could he sit still when such a big thing happened at home? He had to deal with the Eastern pirates as soon as possible and go back. According to his father's letter, they were now living well in Thessaloniki with the help of his friends. Mason guessed that it was Peter, which made him very grateful.
In addition, Mason also received a letter from Peter, saying that there would be a large island as his fiefdom in the future. The premise was that the exploration of the East was successful, so Mason began to show his evil side. In India, many people were forced to build ships for the governor, and a war was fought at the top of the south to bring the Kingdom of Kozhikode and the Kingdom of Chulong under colonial rule. The local king had to hand over 100 large ships and thousands of sailors for him to dispatch, and the province of Ceylon also handed over some Arab ships and sailors. This expedition had a total of 210 ships and tens of thousands of personnel of various kinds.
In order to raise the expenses, Mason directly deducted the profits that were originally supposed to be given to the East India Company, and wrote to them to tell them why he did so. If he failed and came back alive, he would go to court to stand trial himself.
"Governor, our reserves are all on the ship. We can get supplies in Ceylon. After passing Ceylon, we can come to Aceh, where we will encounter pirates."
"Well, tell everyone that if anyone is afraid, they can get off the ship now, otherwise there will be no chance."
Mason will not give up this time. He must solve it in one go. His Highness was worried that he would encounter ships from the great powers in the East, so he specially prepared two diplomatic letters. It will depend on him next.
The people in Aden Port gathered at the dock, watching a large number of ships gathered here, and seeing the governor from Constantinople announced an expedition to the East, these large ships began to leave Aden in an orderly manner.
In early 1404, the first large-scale colonial conquest of the East in the history of the empire began. Among them were ships of European standards, as well as ships from Arabia and India. The personnel on the ships were also varied, including Romanians, Neapolitans, Arabs, Dravidians, Indians, Ceylonese, etc. They were commanded by Mason and his Romanian commander to start this unprecedented large-scale operation.