Chapter 373 Good Things Are Coming
Poland can laugh, their goal has been basically achieved. Rome is not interested in expanding to the north at present, so it strictly adheres to a neutral policy. But as long as it does not lean towards either side, the two countries will basically win. The other side is too big, even bigger than France.
Peter got the news from Mason. After two years in the East, the other side is finally coming back, and he also brought back the envoy of the Eastern Empire.
This news made Peter very excited. Although he had guessed who the other side was, he was a little imaginative when he thought about meeting him.
"Your Highness, please don't move."
This sentence pulled Peter's thoughts back. Now he was painting a portrait, and he had to stay still as a model.
Italian painting techniques were integrated with the local Roman, and portrait painting began to rise. Whether it was nobles or citizens, they liked to hire people to paint portraits, so that other people could make guests more memorable when introducing them.
Portrait painting also became popular within the royal family, and Peter also felt fresh, so he hired the best painter recognized to paint. It was really torture to stay still for several hours.
"How many days will it take to finish this?"
"Your Highness, art requires patience. The longer it takes, the greater the surprise."
It can only be said that art needs to be polished. From painting and sculpture to poetry and literature, Rome is far superior to Italy, the cultural center of the past. And it has incorporated a lot of Romanian style. There are still Greek styles, but they are gradually decreasing.
Peter also knew the news that the Polish and Teutonic envoys came to Rome. The once inconspicuous Wallachia has grown into an object that all parties want to win over. Such a big leap will make many countries uncomfortable, but the survival of the fittest is the law. They have to endure it even if they are uncomfortable.
"Your Highness, a letter from Buda."
Peter quickly opened it. The only thing that could be sent from Buda was Petkov's intelligence network and Mary's personal letter. The intelligence network was directly transferred to Petkov, so this could only be sent by Mary.
In addition to expressing her love for him, Mary sent a letter to Peter, hoping that he could come to Buda to see the children. They have already started to receive enlightenment education. If Peter does not come, they will definitely lack fatherly love. I hope he can come to see them for their sake.
The tone inside made Peter feel like a guy who abandoned his wife and children, but he had to go to Hungary to have a look. He still had a large fiefdom there. Count Pinsk wrote to him complaining that he was short of manpower and hoped that Peter could hire more people to govern the land.
Regarding the issue of the queen's succession, some nobles were unwilling to let Sigismund inherit, nor were they willing to let Rome rule. They hoped that the queen would marry someone else and give birth to an heir to govern. Rome is a good ally, but we must also be wary of their ambitions.
They provided the queen with a lot of men of the right age, including the son of the Elector of Saxony, the second son of the King of Denmark, and the heirs of other fiefdoms, but they were not good for Mary, so she rejected them all.
A nobleman spent some money and means to get a message from the maid next to Mary that Prince Bozzoni and the queen had a lover relationship and had a child.
Such news shocked and surprised their small circle. Who is Prince Bozzoni? He is a hero who fights against the enemy and is a person with the second highest reputation in Hungary after the queen. If the two get married, it will not only deter the surroundings, but also legalize the illegitimate child born by the queen, and then there will be an heir.
However, what they don't understand is why the prince has an affair with the queen instead of getting married openly. You have to ask the parties involved.
Things are a bit urgent, and Peter needs to go to Hungary to appease the nobles. It just so happens that there is nothing to do recently, so it's also a good idea to take it as a trip.
The war between Poland and Teutonic has become white-hot. After stabilizing Rome, they began to recruit people in the West. Wenzel of Bohemia supports Teutonic, and Sigismund of Lower Luxembourg supports Poland. Moscow is currently preparing to confront the Golden Horde and has no time. Denmark needs to solve the problems within the alliance, so the princes within the Holy Roman Empire are their only direction to fight for.
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The fleet led by Mason has arrived at the port of Andronikos, and then guided Zheng He's famous fleet through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The crew members were curious about this scene, but Zheng He remained calm. He had regarded Mason as his best friend after many exchanges. Although Mason wanted the Ming Dynasty to stop sailing, he also had a high liking for the envoy and did not care about his status as a eunuch.
Eunuchs were also used in Rome, and many envoys and generals were sent out. Narses, who was able to fight in the Justinian era, was a eunuch. Moreover, the other party was the envoy of the Ming Dynasty. This status was more important than some of the earls and dukes here, and he would also make those people envious. The adventurers who went to the East brought the envoys of the Eastern Empire to Europe, which was enough for the family to brag for centuries.
But in this last mile, there were still people who wanted to stop the fleet from returning. Merchants from Mecca and Medina funded the construction of a fleet. They could no longer tolerate Europe's direct intervention in the spice trade. The Mamluks were also cowards who did not dare to kill them. Let them do it themselves. This is for the world of Allah.
However, before the fleet left the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, it was dispersed by the artillery of Roman patrol ships, killing and wounding countless sailors. The local counterattack failed, and Arab merchants could only trade through the Persian Gulf, which indirectly brought a lot of income to the Timurid Empire.
Mason's documents have also arrived in Cairo, and the Sultan was somewhat speechless about the above requirements. But for the sake of tolls and peace, he still prepared a lot of things, and the other party was also very honest and gave some gold coins.
The Red Sea route has been controlled by Rome except Egypt, and after the control, the trade in Mecca and other places has not decreased but increased, and the port of Aden has become the largest port city on the peninsula. This is all the political stability brought by Rome, otherwise there would be no chance.
The glorious era of the Arabs has passed, and the Arabs in various places miss their homeland less and less. With the arrival of the Romans, their position in trade is precarious, and the other party also united other people, such as the Seres and Malays, who have strong economic and political power in the local area. The Arabs can't resist, either leave, or go to other countries, or give up their original beliefs and convert to Orthodox Christianity.
The company's strong organization protects merchants and trade. Trade frictions with other countries occur from time to time, but relying on the help of local people, it is possible to build business stations in various ports, and trade is also rising. The benefits obtained from it are impossible for other countries to have in several lifetimes.