Chapter 468

It is estimated that there is no other country in Europe with so many officials. They all have terms of office and receive salaries. And they are loyal to the emperor. Such a class is very beneficial to the empire.

After the emperor set the date, he began to arrange the itinerary and ordered the army to gather in Dalmatia to prepare for an attack at any time. This is the first time in a thousand years that such a large-scale military movement has occurred.

The noble army of Castile and Aragon has begun to gather towards Sardinia. Most of them are the second sons and other sons of the nobles, just to earn them fiefdoms and titles. The city of Rome also keeps an eye on Aragon's movements at any time, and the army is on standby at any time to avoid sudden attacks.

During the military conscription, muskets and artillery were also continuously transported. Rome and Constantinople alone transported 70 artillery pieces and 2,000 muskets, as well as 500 barrels of gunpowder.

Firearms have become a major weapon against Rome. The bullets fired by muskets can pierce the knight's armor mercilessly. Artillery can also destroy their manors and castles. In addition, with the Indian saltpeter trade and local saltpeter fields, the price of saltpeter, an important raw material for gunpowder, has plummeted, and more gunpowder can be produced to supply the front line.

Other countries have more or less realized the importance of firearms. Genoa was originally a leader in firearms research and development, but since the destruction of its old rival Venice, they have lost interest in firearms research and development. Iberia is still immersed in the glory of knights. Although France and England are aware of this, they are also developing slowly, and the fastest Burgundy is not as large as Rome. They still use Genoa's musket.

Roman musketeers can usually be trained for one month, but they have an exam every month, and those who regress for three consecutive months will be transferred to logistics.

At the same time, the gunpowder they receive each month is also limited. They will have less gunpowder after each training. They can't buy it from outside. Once they find it, they will be kicked out directly. This urges them to keep improving their shooting skills, and each musketeer can achieve a hit rate of more than 90% within the effective shooting range.

The Constantinople Arsenal was the largest arsenal in Rome, responsible for the production of various muskets and artillery. There was also an institution dedicated to the research and development of firearms, with an annual budget of 40,000 lei. As long as you have any research and development breakthroughs, you can have a noble title and a manor.

An empire with a developed economy, stable politics, and a large military demand is the country that uses the most gunpowder. Whether it is the charge of Western European knights or the attack of nomadic tribes, firearms can subdue them. The emperor attached so much importance to firearms that he naturally also attached importance to the changes it brought about in other aspects, bringing the original soldiers back into social management, and getting rid of a series of problems caused by noble conscription and mercenaries.

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Wladyslaw and Vytautas would naturally not sit idly by in the face of Rome's actions. They were terrified of this behemoth in the south. At the same time, they also found that the tentacles of the Bartland family had extended to Moscow and the Holy Roman Empire, and even had dealings with Masovia.

All this frightened them. Wladyslaw took advantage of the soldiers not being disbanded and ordered them to attack several principalities in Masovia, and captured the nobles and sent them to Vilnius for imprisonment. These also became the direct jurisdiction of the King of Poland.

At this time, the two brothers were discussing things in Krakow. They had no way to retreat from the aggressive attitude of Constantinople.

"Now the nobles of Vilnius have all gone to Samogitia. They turn a blind eye to the threats from the east and the south, and only have their own little world in their eyes."

Vytautas said viciously that these nobles raised the price when the war came, and the power that was finally concentrated was distributed like this. How can this not be hateful.

Not only that, the Cossacks in the south also harassed the Lithuanian border from time to time. The biggest one even hit the city of Kiev. If the other party was not just plundering, it would have been gone long ago.

Moreover, the Cossacks were the followers of Rome. Not only did they obey the orders of Constantinople, but they also let them build two castles on the Cossack land, one called Mircea Castle, and the other called what, Kharkov. Where did the name come from? It's not nice at all.

"We are now surrounded on three sides, and we must solve a breakthrough in one place."

"That's what I said, but where should I choose?"

This is really a dilemma. No matter which one I choose, I may be attacked by the other side. But after thinking about it, I decided to focus on Moscow.

Firstly, because Moscow's strength is relatively weak, and it is located in the east, and its economic strength is also weak, so it only needs to solve Novgorod.

Secondly, there are also a group of pro-Polish and Lithuanian nobles in Moscow. Vasily I has no heirs yet. As long as they support his younger brother to become the Grand Duke, they will have no worries. At that time, they will concentrate their troops to the west to break through Berlin, so that Rome will be alone.

"Well said, we defeated the Teutons, and the next one is Rome. God will bless us."

In order to rule the newly conquered land for a long time, Władysław considered moving the capital from Krakow to Warsaw. Krakow is too close to the border, which is not conducive to national rule. Warsaw is located in the interior, and there are rivers such as the Vistula River, which is a suitable fortress.

Władysław did this in order to expand the power of the royal family. The previous decentralization of privileges allowed the nobles to control a large amount of the economy and population. If they wanted to take them back, they had to make themselves stronger.

Although they don't want to admit it, there are still things they can learn from the growth of a small Wallachia into a big empire. However, they can't use the examination selection here, and they dare not use the abolition of the tax exemption privileges of the nobles. If they use it, they won't be king tomorrow.

They can only try to change from other places. Rome uses a lot of firearms. Władysław has formed a 150-man firearms unit, which is powerful, but the financial resources can't keep up.

Poland is mainly agricultural, trade is represented by the Hanseatic League, and urban industry and commerce are not very developed. Because they found that exporting grain is very profitable, the nobles cling to serfs and manors, which is very unfavorable to Poland's development. At the same time, restrictions on urban industry and commerce also make the future of this future star bleak.

What Władysław can do is to try to imitate some of the Roman situations and make changes. They use muskets and artillery, and they also use them. They set up a standing army, so they also set up their own guards. But because of the problem of the wallet, all the scales are very small. Moreover, the officers were also selected from the nobles. They still maintained their previous practices and sneered at the king's new army, thinking it was just a vase that would break at the slightest touch.