Chapter 402 Strategic Goals

I don’t know what role Rome played in this, but joining either party would be a devastating blow to the other country.

So Rome is still preparing to go south to fight the Mamluks. But no matter how powerful the army is, it still needs supplies. So Rome began to build warehouses in Cyprus, Crete, and Antioch to store supplies.

Always ready to fight, this is what Peter always says. The previous impromptu combat meetings became normal, and important generals and ministers used small maps in the conference room to simulate the strategic situation after the outbreak of future war. Thus the General Staff was born.

"Your Majesty, there must be a battle between our country and the Mamluks. There are already 18,000 troops on the border of Aleppo and Antioch provinces. If everything goes well, they will be able to reach Damascus within two months."

Adrian has retired because of his old age, and the new Minister of Military Affairs, Fabian, keeps proposing military action plans against the Mamluks. As long as his plan succeeds, he will definitely be promoted to a higher rank and become a hereditary noble.

"We can start from Antioch and go south along the coast, first occupying Tripoli and Acre, and then occupying Damascus. Another army, starting from Cyprus, goes directly to Ashkelon to maintain the empire's control of the canal. control."

Fabian said enthusiastically, and another general, Count Salegbu, offered his opinion.

"That's good, but how can we ensure that Baghdad will not join us? We also need troops for the defense of Van City and Yerevan. They are not weak in combat effectiveness."

Naturally, he felt bad when there were other voices about his plan, but Fabian still explained it to the count. "Our country has established good relations with the sultans of Baghdad and Tabriz, so we don't have to worry about this issue for the time being."

"Really? I remember that Emperor Manuel also shook hands with Arslan."

The earl's words reminded everyone that more than 200 years ago, Manuel I of Rome and Arslan of the Sultanate of Roma coexisted peacefully, and Manuel gave each other a lot of supplies. But Arslan didn't appreciate it and started fighting. Manuel went on a personal expedition as a charioteer, but was beaten to the point of losing confidence in Miriocephalon.

"The empire must have learned this lesson, and the Mamluks are not Roma, not even the Ottomans. They will only live by those rules, and their rulers have no stable succession, and the society is extremely unstable. Don't worry "

Fabian tried to cheer him up, but the Count came up with another plan.

"Your Majesty, I think that instead of fighting the Mamluks, it is better to go east first, capture Baghdad, and completely control the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Or go north and push the border to Kiev. This will not only expand the land, but also control the Dnieper River."

"Humph" Fabian dismissed this plan. "To put it simply, the relationship between the empire and Baghdad has been stable. Why suddenly start a war? And the north, Lithuania and Poland will not give up. There will be at least three years of war between the two countries. This is completely impossible. "

"How can you say that? Although Baghdad's land is vast, its strength is weak. Lithuania and Poland have been entangled with the Teutons for two years and have lost a lot of strength. The empire has not had a major war in the past two years, and it can completely expand its land on a large scale."

The Count's idea was simple. Both Lithuania and Baghdad had large areas of abandoned or undeveloped land and were sparsely populated. The empire will expand here without worrying about land rewards.

But what the count failed to see was that there was a lot of land, but it would take a long time to open up wasteland. If it cannot be ruled for a long time, it will be completely in vain, and the expansion of land has also expanded the borders, which is also a new challenge.

"Okay!" Mircea tapped the ground with her cane. "Don't argue anymore. Protecting the canal from Mamluk encroachment is the top priority now."

"Peter, take charge of this."

Mircea brought the matter directly to Peter, who agreed.

"The eastern route is one of the lifeblood of the empire, and the vast number of subjects need to maintain contact with the empire. The canal must not be lost. When necessary, I will sell the crown in exchange for funds."

After hearing such firm words, all the ministers understood the emperor's thoughts. Baptiste immediately said: "Your Majesty, rest assured that the current national treasury can fully support the needs of a war."

"Um"

In addition to the above reasons, Mircea is able to attach importance to the canal, and another reason is dividends.

Since the canal was dug with Peter's support, nearly half of the local canal proceeds went to the Crown. This is also an income for the emperor. Although it is small, it will become more and more with the prosperity of Eastern trade.

Moreover, this canal was dug out by the empire with a lot of effort. He would not make it a wedding dress for others in vain.

"After the opening of the canal, merchants from the empire entered the canal directly, and there were fewer people in Alexandria. Moreover, after the last incident, the number of our merchants living in Egypt has been reduced, and we can also get rid of their constraints."

Peter looked at the map and continued to explain to Mircea: "But we also have to see that our enemies are not only Egypt, but also the Holy Land they call it. They already hate us very much because they have robbed most of the business."

When Mircea heard this, she laughed directly. "In that case, then join the empire, so that everyone will have money."

Everyone laughed after Mircea finished speaking. They were also curious about what the other party's holy places had. Antioch had been squeezed for many years, and Jerusalem and Alexandria had not been recovered. Only they entered the holy city of Christians, and no Christians entered their holy city. This was not okay, and friendly exchanges were necessary.

"If possible, I really want to go to Mecca as they said. Not only in terms of location, but also to make them accept God's wrath and judgment."

Mircea talked to himself, looking at the map as he spoke.

"I was born in Wallachia, and it has only been twenty years since I became the Grand Duke. I used twenty years to build an empire, which is unprecedented in history."

"Now that the Ottomans are gone, the empire needs to go to war with those enemies who have tortured it for thousands of years. This time, it's either you die or I die."

Mircea's bold words stunned the other ministers, and only Peter knew that what his father said was true. Rapid rise without those rules and regulations, and diplomatic handling was very beautiful, and the national strength returned to its peak. At this time, the Roman Empire had the full strength to restore its old territory, and now it just needed a direction. The canal happened to be stuck between two pieces of Mamluk land, so we had to ensure its safety first.