Chapter 360 Rich? No Money?

There are two main reasons why this reconquest of lost territory achieved such great results in just three months.

First, the reconstruction of the Roman standing army and the use of firearms. The empire used a lot of money and promotion channels to build a well-trained army, and also attached importance to the restraint of gunpowder on nomadic cavalry, and equipped a large number of artillery and muskets. At the same time, the artillery carriage was improved, which was conducive to transportation and gradually reduced the weight of the artillery. In the following battles, the artillery played a role many times.

Second, Rome caught up with the right time. The internal turmoil of the empire caused by Timur's death created a vacuum in the Middle East. Rome took the opportunity to enter in a big way, which was also the reason for its rapid expansion.

The demise of the Ottoman Empire also stimulated some people. The Emir of Damascus had surrendered to the Mamluks, and the southern part of Rome could only stop in Latakia. Peter was quite satisfied with this result. The northern part of Syria was taken, and the next step was governance.

Peter announced that the newly conquered lands were exempted from taxes ranging from one to three years, began to conduct a census, and established a local government structure. The devastated Anatolia got a respite, and the area controlled by Rome was larger than that of the Macedonian dynasty, and the control strength was unmatched by other dynasties.

Mihaly also went to Georgia to show off his power, and King Alexander was directly scared. He sent people to send gifts and asked the envoys to express their loyalty to Constantinople as soon as possible, otherwise it would be over.

The envoys of the Black Sheep Dynasty and the Zaragirid Dynasty had arrived in Van. They met Peter to avoid fighting on two fronts. They wanted to get rid of the Timurid Empire and avoid fighting on two fronts, so they brought a lot of gifts to Peter, hoping to get a promise that they would not attack them.

In Constantinople, a small personnel change also touched the nerves of many people. Prime Minister Angel officially resigned from the position of prime minister because of his advanced age. Mircea gave him a lot of land for retirement because the old minister had followed him for more than ten years. And Listerin was also appointed as prime minister, and he finally got the position he had been thinking about.

At the same time, he also understood that if he wanted to stay in this position for a long time, he had to handle state affairs well.

At this time, the territory of Rome, from Venice in the west to Van in the east, was a powerful empire. The consequences of rapid expansion will gradually become apparent over time.

And Listerin has been in the Senate for so many years, and his ability is not exaggerated. He knew that the emperor and Caesar wanted to firmly control these places, so the transportation system was indispensable.

Listerin’s first decree after taking office was to rebuild the postal system in Anatolia, set up a post station every 25 kilometers or so, and train a large number of horses for replacement. Not only can it be used by the military, but also by merchants. If you want to send a letter, you need to pay one to three silver lei.

Such a proposal was quickly approved and implemented immediately. Since the post station west of Ancela has been established, this time the main focus is to establish a system in the eastern region. Therefore, it is another project that requires money, and the Minister of Finance will cry again.

"Your Majesty, if all goes well, your Highness will be able to capture the Lake Van area this time. For such a large territory, the current army alone is definitely not enough to defend it."

Adrian proposed this in order to continue to increase the standing army, which coincides with Mircea's idea.

"I think so too, adding some troops to guard the borders of the empire, otherwise the land that we have finally regained will be handed over to others again."

Seeing that the emperor was preparing to increase the military force, Baptiste could not sit still.

"Your Majesty, I suggest postponing this resolution."

Mircea was a little unhappy, but facing the request of the Minister of Finance, he decided to listen patiently.

"Then tell me, why?"

"Your Majesty, our country's current financial situation is relatively good, and there are still many spoils of war obtained from the West in the treasury. But there are too many places that need money in recent years, such as water conservancy in Wallachia and Moldova, border defense in Dalmatia, and the construction of the navy and the north. Not to mention the construction of Constantinople and other cities."

"Your Majesty, no matter how rich you are, you can't afford to spend like this."

Listening to Baptiste's crying poor, Adrian directly retorted: "Our country has won wars in recent years, and most of the spoils of war have been handed over to the treasury. It's only been a few years and it's all spent?"

"The treasury will not be spent, and a part of it must be reserved to deal with emergencies."

Mircea thought for a while and asked Adrian how many standing troops he needed to build.

"Your Majesty, according to the current territory, we must increase the army by 130,000."

"What?" Adding 130,000, this is to kill Baptiste.

"Your Majesty, if we expand the army like this, the finances cannot afford it. It is still okay to expand the army by 30,000."

This time it was Adrian's turn to object, "30,000, what if the enemy invades? It is difficult to fight back and resist with too few troops."

"Now the situation has stabilized, and no country has the energy to go to war with our country. What do we need so many troops for? War is the last resort of a country. Negotiations with neighboring countries can best be resolved through diplomacy, just like Komnenos."

Looking at Baptiste's appearance, money really can't be spent casually. The real situation is not much different, because there is a large-scale construction going on, and a lot of money is withdrawn from the warehouse every month. But because it is in the fiscal budget, there is no problem.

But the Ottoman invasion and today's military expansion are not in the budget, not to mention the conscription of 200,000 people to join the army. This year is estimated to be the year with the most serious fiscal deficit.

Despite Baptiste's argument, the resolution to expand the army was passed. However, in order to appease him, the original 130,000 troops were reduced to 50,000, which was still within controllable range.

Nowadays, domestic taxes and trade taxes are growing slowly, and the governance of new territories also requires a long time. Then, the colonies in the East are the biggest target of income.

The East India Company pays more than 200,000 lei in profits each year, and there is still room for growth. However, the East India Company not only has to trade, but also has to operate colonies. It has deviated from the nature of a trading company and can be said to be a government agency in disguise. But this is also a right granted to them by Caesar, and it is not easy for him as an official to deprive them.

The East India Company also wants to strip off some administrative rights and govern India, but if the front line is too long, it will not be worth the loss.

The current territory extends from Ceylon to Temasek and Formosa, and the company does not have enough personnel. It only needs to monopolize trade, and the rest of the governance only needs to be handed over to the empire. They are responsible for making money and handing over part of the profits to the treasury.