Chapter 347 Preparing to Enter Central Europe

Zhu Di had no way to deal with these corrupt scholars, and only hoped that overseas trade could give him more funds to deal with things.

The ministers were naturally opposed to the voyage to the West, but Mason's visit to the Ming Dynasty had a great impact, and the tax silver from the Maritime Customs made up a certain amount of the national treasury, so they could not say anything.

In order to express his gratitude to Mason, Zhu Di gave him a large amount of silk, porcelain, and tea without paying for it. In order to make money, he also ordered the whole country to make porcelain and silk for shipping, intending to sell them overseas.

Mason enjoyed himself in the East, and he did not forget his family and the prince in the West. He prepared gifts for everyone, and he could go home in a few months.

As for his family, life was much better. The marriage of John's daughter and Raresh's son marked the establishment of the Mason-Taziu Alliance. John could use this relationship to get raw materials at a lower price, and Raresh could also get financial support from the bank.

This time they set their sights on the Eastern trade. The rising tide of Eastern trade made many people realize the huge profits. They decided to invest here, and it would be even better if they could become shareholders of the Indian company, because they completely monopolized the trade in the East.

However, there was no monopoly on the trade in the Levant. Lares decided to invest in Beirut, because it was responsible for exporting two-thirds of the cotton in Syria. At the same time, they could go to Cyprus to import sugar and sell it to the people of Thessaloniki. The risk was great, but the benefits were amazing.

Emperor Mircea saw that the situation had been calm recently, so he decided to upgrade the title. The title of prince was established in the same way as in the West, second only to the emperor and Caesar. Mihaly was the first to be promoted, from the Duke of Ukraine to the Prince of Ruthenia. Vlad was awarded the title of Prince of Noric, but Stefan was not given the title for the time being because of his young age.

In Rome, the title only had a higher honor, and there was not much actual power. Unless the emperor granted it, he could only be busy with other things.

While Mircea was in the Holy Roman Empire, he was also working for his son to get the Electorate of Brandenburg as soon as possible. To achieve this goal, he took out 100,000 florins to bribe the surrounding princes to be gentle with their children. He also gave 70,000 to Emperor Jobst, asking him to choose a day to give Brandenburg to Vlad.

Vlad was also prepared. He knew that a ruler without an army was just a puppet. So he asked his eldest brother for advice.

"It seems that you can't wait."

"My eldest brother and second brother have their own land and army. I also want to have it as soon as possible and serve the family.

Vlad knew that if he wanted to inherit Brandenburg, he had to be familiar with it. This place is not big and there is no outlet to the sea. It is harder than climbing to the sky to gain a foothold in this place.

"Governing Brandenburg will definitely be difficult, but you still need your own army and support groups. You need them to rule the country."

Peter explained to Vlad what he needed, including the army, government personnel, church, etc. Mircea should prepare it for him. As for weapons, Peter will prepare it for him.

"Brother, do you think I can govern?"

Looking at the third brother who had lost his immaturity, Peter patted his shoulder. "Don't let others judge you, you have to decide your own future. "

Peter taught Vlad to win the support of most people in the country. Since the nobles did not support him, he should seek the support of citizens and peasants. If the Catholic Church did not recognize him, the Orthodox Church would do.

Vlad grew up watching his two brothers. Peter followed his father to fight against the Ottoman Empire. He admired him for destroying Venice. He also envied Michael's going north to govern the Ukrainian land. He could no longer hold back his ambition to make achievements.

Jobst was also paving the way for Vlad's succession. Together with Wenzel, he appeased the emotions of the surrounding small princes to prevent them from opposing Vlad's succession.

After being named a prince, Mircea equipped Vlad with an army of 3,000 people, equipped with artillery and muskets, of course, the cost was paid by the empire. Originally, 6,000 people were to be equipped, but so many people might arouse the emotions of other princes, so they were cut in half.

In order for his younger brother to rule smoothly, Peter began to mobilize his cavalry in Hungary. Let them be on standby at any time.

The Hungarian Hussars were trained in recent years. They came with good speed and combat effectiveness. They were often used in sneak attacks or mobile warfare. Peter used his fiefdom in Hungary to start training the army, including hussars.

Peter also took great pains for his younger brother. Everyone knew that this was the best opportunity for the family to intervene in Central Europe, so it was a must.

As the father of the future Impaler, Vlad was a little crazy. He sometimes went to gypsies for divination and cursed those Holy Roman princes, saying that anyone who blocked him would die. And Mircea gave him 60,000 lei pocket money. Vlad would take out some mercenaries, and if it didn't work, he would seek help from Constantinople.

In this country full of manors, he would definitely drive those people out. What property, everything here is his, get out.

The Roman Empire accepted Jandar's request, annexed all the land, added 480,000 people, and bordered Trebizond. Manuel III once again paid tribute to Constantinople and sent a large amount of treasure to Mircea. Ask them not to destroy Trebizond.

Many people could not stand such a monarch who was appeased. Alexius took the opportunity to win over a large number of supporters. Then, with the support of Ottoman and Georgia, he invited the emperor to his official residence. Manuel really went there, and the result was imaginable: Manuel was caught and strangled by the guards as soon as he entered the door. Alexius took the 2,000 people he had gathered and rushed to the palace. He captured it after paying the price of 100 deaths.

The coup lasted for a short time because Georgia endorsed him. The ministers did not say anything, and some opponents were physically eliminated. Two days later, he was crowned emperor in the cathedral and re-named Trebizond an empire.

The King of Georgia felt that this investment was not a loss, after all, Alexius was their relative. As long as Trebizond could support them in eliminating separatist forces, it would be a great achievement.

Muhammad also put his mood in order and asked him to declare war on Rome. He wanted to capture Ancela to avenge his children and capture Constantinople to avenge his father. As long as there was no problem with his strategy, everything could return to normal. Especially the guy named Peter, everything changed after he came out. He must kill him.

Muhammad's army was roughly assembled, and there were about 130,000 males in all tribes. He ordered all the garrisons in all cities to be taken out, and 220,000 were gathered to prepare for the attack on Rome. It seemed that Muhammad was going to mobilize all the troops in the country.