Chapter 364: The Renaissance of Roman Culture

Mircea disbanded the conscripts who were originally going to the East because the local troops were sufficient. Peter also stabilized the situation in the Middle East and reached agreements with various local governments. After exiling the Turks to the north, he was ready to return home.

Peter obtained more than two million lei of property from these Turks, which they divided among their brothers. As the officials sent arrived, Peter also took his brothers back.

Rome unified the Balkans and Anatolia, reaching the peak of its territory after the Macedonian Dynasty. With a steady stream of wealth entering Constantinople, Mircea could put out more money to support the construction of the capital.

In order to show sincerity, the Mamluks recognized Ashkelon as Roman territory. The two countries resumed normal exchanges, and Mediterranean trade began to increase again.

The East India Company began to invest in the canal. They invested more than 600,000 lei and used more than 10,000 slaves and more than 8,000 free workers to dig this more than 100 kilometers long canal. They estimated that the canal would generate at least ten times the profit after it was opened.

The pirates in the Eastern Mediterranean were incorporated and destroyed, the trade environment improved, and then the emperor entered a state of doing nothing. After all, there was not something for him to deal with every day.

In Constantinople, some Germans who followed the emperor here began to accept some new ideas. Principal John of Bohemia came to the University of Constantinople and saw the framed indulgences on the wall. He asked the people around him what this was?

"This is said to be an indulgence issued by Rome. Your Highness occasionally obtained one and then put it here to let everyone know the greed of Rome."

John looked at the following words: This is worth 30 silver coins. He, who was proficient in theology, immediately understood what it meant, which touched him deeply.

The West was still in the situation of the Great Schism of the Catholic Church, and the chaos in religion and secularism made the people suffer greatly. John decided to study here for a while to explore the path of salvation.

With Constantinople as the center, a movement with the slogan of reviving ancient Greek and Roman culture began to spread across the country. Double-entry bookkeeping, joint-stock companies, and international banking systems, these Italian things were spread to Rome, and banks began to appear in various cities. There were more than 20 banks in Thessaloniki alone. The leu became the common currency of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Thus, a new class of aristocrats emerged who gained status through economic means. They invested more in industry, commerce and overseas than the old aristocrats. Their demand for luxury goods led to the growth of trade. The growth of trade made merchants richer, and the wealth of merchants made the demand for luxury goods stronger. This atmosphere created the demand for symbols of wealth, which was an important way to show the family's wealth, strength and taste. The expansion of trade also created a group of extremely wealthy aristocrats who could vigorously sponsor art and literature.

After Rome conquered Venice, the local painting style was introduced to Rome, and the human body and natural landscape became the center of their paintings. The further plunder of the Italian region brought many literary works and books into Rome, and Peter's order to compile an encyclopedia also kept intellectuals busy.

The Academy of Athens became a cultural center second only to Constantinople, and their research on people exceeded that of any other institution. All the works they made were people-oriented, and they were also preparing to rebuild the Parthenon to create in a better state.

Almost all the artists and architects in Italy went to Rome. The huge demand for architecture and painting allowed them to realize their ambitions. Churches and monasteries were planned in various places, as well as palaces, palaces, theaters and other buildings. The demand for churches in the new territory was even stronger, and at least 120 churches were needed.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Ancyra is the third largest church after Hagia Sophia and San Canito. It was built by Brunelleschi from Florence. It is said that he is very familiar with Romanesque architecture, and the plan he submitted was also favored by the emperor, so he won the project to build the Ancyra Church.

Such a large demand is difficult for even France to keep up. In Peter's words, "If you take mine, spit it out for me." These are all the heritage of my Roman Empire. Don't you feel ashamed to use them openly?

Therefore, northern Italy paid a heavy price for Venice's whim. Not only in terms of money, but also in terms of population and religion. Peter plundered more than 100 churches and more than 70 monasteries in northern Italy. The local nuns, monks, pastors, priests, and bishops were all arrested. Those who were able to pay and leave, and those who were not able to become slaves. In the end, more than 10,000 people were plundered and taken to the East, where they worked hard for the construction of Rome.

Mircea also carried out a de-enemy campaign in the country, and those who participated in the Crusades and were buried in Constantinople were moved out. Emperor Alexius's mortal enemy, Bohemond and his Hauteville family, all had their cemeteries destroyed. Such a counterattack and liquidation also caused protests from many nobles. Even the Welf family, the most powerful in the Holy Roman Empire, secretly supported the anti-Roman faction. After all, they saw that they would die in the hands of Bartland in the future.

John, Duke of Burgundy, became the leader of the faction. He already believed that Rome supported the Orleans faction. In this case, he began to look for anti-Roman countries to form an alliance, and then find an excuse to settle accounts in the East.

Britain did not have much hatred with Rome. At present, it was still most important to seize the French throne and recuperate. It can be said that the countries west of Burgundy were not interested in participating in Eastern affairs.

The discussion within the Holy Roman Empire was very intense. Five of the electors (excluding Brandenburg and Bohemia), Austria, Bavaria, and Lower Luxembourg, all of which were slightly larger countries, joined in. But you have to know that there are more than these countries within the Holy Roman Empire. Milan, Savoy, and Genoa expressed neutrality. Jobst believed that this would return the Holy Roman Empire to the abyss of war and insisted on opposing it. The others were all indifferent and were still expanding their territories at home.

In the case of the bustle of the entire European continent, Scandinavia seemed very deserted. Under the organization of the Kalmar Union, Northern Europe was unified under the rule of a monarch. The Danish king also had the title of Duke of Holstein, and with the control of the Oresund Strait, the only outlet to the Baltic Sea, his wealth was also among the top in the Holy Roman Empire.

Poland and Lithuania were also staunch anti-Roman factions, but as mentioned before, they had to deal with Moscow and Teutonic. Vytautas and Władysław decided that the coalition forces would break through to the north and strive to capture Gdansk and Samogitia. Then they would move eastwards to capture Moscow, and finally southwards to break through Constantinople to realize the dream of the Greater Polish Kingdom.