Chapter 39: Going to Aid Bulgaria, but Retreating

The settled population of Iasi grew rapidly. Before the two countries merged, there were less than a thousand people here. After Peter came to power, the population of Iasi quickly increased to 2,000 people, and it is still rising.

The completion of public buildings such as the market promoted commercial prosperity, and more Moldovan merchants came. Handicrafts began to grow, and various parts of Moldova were connected by roads.

The economy and military were being reformed, so the next step was politics.

As early as Dobruja, Peter formulated a scaled-down official rank table based on Peter the Great of Russia. Some official positions were divided into one to six levels, with one level being the smallest and six levels being the largest. And for the first time, the selection and appointment were carried out by examination, but even if they passed, they had to start from the bottom.

The same is true for the army. Peter set ten levels of military ranks. Including generals, colonels, lieutenant colonels, majors; captains, lieutenants, second lieutenants, sergeants, sergeants, and corporals. Everyone was puzzled when they first came out, but the army welcomed the military rank system very much, so that they could be promoted according to their merits, and their status would rise accordingly.

Foreigners can also take exams or join the army, but they must take a local language exam, and their promotion speed is slower than that of locals.

Don't think that this is a direct entry into bureaucratic rule. You should know that such exams are only held once every three years, and those who take the exams have to pay for their own travel expenses. This cost is not something that everyone can afford, so although a space for social mobility has been opened, it is very small.

The news that Benderi fought against the Tatars also spread to the Crimea region, and some Slavs, Ruthenians, etc. came here. They will continue to work hard and sweat for this country.

During this period, Hungary finally took action. Sigismund led 20,000 troops south to help Bulgaria, and Mircea also led 5,000 troops to go together.

However, it is better to say that it is tourism than help. Mircea is only responsible for the transportation of materials, and people are afraid that his prestige is higher than that of the Hungarian king.

This also allows Mircea to do other things, such as trying to control Vidin.

The ruler of Vidin is the son of the former Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Alexander and the brother of the current Tsar. This year is the 36th year of his rule.

But Vidin under his rule was in dire straits. It was first occupied by Hungary, then Serbia, and then the Ottoman Empire. No one could bear it.

What's more, Hungary is Catholic, the Ottoman Empire is Islamic, and although Serbia is also Orthodox, it is already a vassal of the Ottoman Empire. In this case, destruction is a matter of time.

There are several factions within Vidin. The first is to convert to Catholicism and ask for Hungary's protection; the second is to follow Serbia and surrender to the Ottoman Empire; the third is to continue to maintain the Orthodox doctrine and fight against the Ottoman Empire and Hungary at the same time.

Originally, the third faction was the smallest, but the rise of Wallachia gave them hope. Especially after the annexation of Moldova, some people decided to invite Grand Duke Mircea to rule Vidin.

They formed a political alliance in Lom, not far from Vidin. Its main members were small nobles and citizens. They believed that only by joining Wallachia could they keep their faith and property.

When Mircea's army entered Vidin, the Lom Alliance also sent people to contact him.

"You mean, the citizens of Vidin are willing to let the city be under the rule of Wallachia?"

"Yes, Grand Duke, we unanimously request that you become the ruler of this land. Your wisdom is enough to rule, and your kindness is a good medicine to help the people of Vidin get rid of their pain."

The envoy of the Roman Union persuaded Mircea to take this opportunity to enter Vidin, but he felt that it was not the right time yet, at least he had to wait until Hungary left.

"For Vidin, I am willing to stand up, but now I need more power."

Mircea gave the other party 1,000 gold coins as support for the Roman Union. And he also felt that Vidin's forces were fighting each other, and began to rely on the alliance to win over internal forces.

In front, Sigismund led the Hungarian army and the Bulgarian army to attack. The Ottomans retreated step by step, and even retreated to Sofia. But the Crusaders relaxed when they saw this scene.

And the Serbian Despot Lazarevich saw this opportunity and led the Serbian cavalry to attack the Hungarian army. The battle line of both sides returned to the starting point.

Sigismund thought of the Wallachian army, so he sent someone to Vidin to ask Mircea to fight.

"I know" was Mircea's reply to the other party. He wished Sigismund would die in the Balkans, but reason stopped him.

He led his army to Sofia. On the way, he met the coalition forces of Serbia and Ottoman.

"It seems that we have encountered a tough opponent." Mircea looked at the army in front and said.

Mircea ordered the army to form a formation and rely on the hillside to face the enemy from a high position.

The other side obviously saw the Wallachian army and planned to fight quickly. Ordering the Sipahi cavalry and Serbian cavalry to charge quickly, the Wallachian archers fired the first musket.

Some cavalry fell down, followed by dense arrows. The Wallachian army gave up bows and arrows and used crossbows to attack. The power was obvious.

The opponent's cavalry suffered heavy losses before they even touched it, and Mircea took this opportunity to order the cavalry to attack.

The Ottoman infantry was not to be trifled with, and they put up a two-hour resistance against the Wallachian army. Neither side gave in, and during this period, the long-range forces of Wallachia inflicted heavy casualties on them.

In the end, the Ottoman army, which was mostly cavalry and infantry, retreated first. Mircea also knew that he should stop while he was ahead, so he withdrew his troops.

This victory was mainly due to the powerful firepower output of the long-range troops, and the power of muskets and crossbows was very strong. Secondly, this was an encounter, and both sides were not prepared. Otherwise, it would be unknown what the outcome of Mircea's troops would be.

However, it was precisely because of this. Mircea had a reason to withdraw his troops back to the country and wrote to Sigismund, saying that he had suffered heavy losses from the Serbian and Ottoman armies and was forced to retreat.

Sigismund was very disappointed. How could Wallachia annex Moldova? He should have intervened at that time.