Chapter 92 Becoming a Co-Ruler

If you want to impress your father, you must either change your bad habits or make military achievements.

The first one is not possible, Suleiman has the bad habit of smoking opium, which cannot be changed. In this case, it can only be military achievements.

Ottoman princes are usually appointed as local governors. For this reason, Suleiman asked Bayezid to serve as the governor of Rumelia.

Bayezid was pleasantly surprised. He signed the order very readily. At the same time, in order to guard against Wallachia, he specially sent him 4,000 troops and 200 Janissaries, and there were also Rumelia's Sipahi cavalry to dispatch.

Wait, Peter, I Suleiman will let you know what the gap is.

Although he got the position of Governor of Rumelia, the Sultan still sent people to keep an eye on him, because the Ottomans and Wallachia are now in a treaty peace period, which cannot be broken. As long as he waits for a few years, he can summon an army of 100,000 to flatten Wallachia.

Wallachia and the Ottomans, the Governor of Bulgaria and the Governor of Rumelia, Peter and Suleiman, what a pair!

However, Peter didn't know about this appointment. His current goal is to accumulate strength. Why fight? Isn't farming good?

"There are no major changes near Trvono and Vidin, but it will take a long time for Sofia, Burgas and Nis to clear the relationship with the Ottomans."

Peter is not worried about business and trade. He is mainly concerned about agriculture. This is the foundation. Any industry and commerce must obtain raw materials from agriculture for processing and trading.

"Now farmers mainly grow food, and at other times they will grow some crops such as grapes and sell them for money. During the slack season, they will go to the city to find some work, or sell their own honey and livestock."

This is the general situation of Wallachian farmers. They mainly grow land, and also engage in some handicrafts to supplement their family income.

"How is the road construction going?"

"The road from Bucuriesti to Trvorno has been completed, and the remaining part is to Sofia."

The Balkans have not built roads systematically for a long time. Some of the roads they use now can be traced back to the Roman Empire. In addition, rural dirt roads occupy most of the roads.

Peter has been systematically building roads since Dobruja. After the Battle of Moldova, he built the Constanta-Ackerman Road at his own expense. The Grand Duke also put out some funds to build the Moldova Avenue.

If the road conditions are good, it will be possible to unify the country to promote trade. Moreover, repairing the road also uses a lot of labor and materials, which is also a way to promote the economy.

"We still need to continue to reclaim land and allocate a batch of funds to build water wheels and mills." Peter ordered his men, and the places he designated all had Peter's estates.

At this time, he was in the capital Kemplong, because today, Grand Duke Mircea will crown him as co-ruler.

The co-rulers can be traced back to the era of Diocletian. The four emperors he founded were the beginning of the division of the Roman Empire into the East and the West. Although Constantine the Great and Theodosius the Great briefly unified, it eventually broke apart.

Afterwards, the co-rulers were inherited by the Eastern Roman Empire and nearby countries, and so was Wallachia. Grand Duke Mircea promoted Peter to co-ruler, and from then on he could issue orders to the whole country like his father.

The coronation was held in the Kemplong Church, and Mircea personally put the crown on Peter. He turned slowly, and all the boyars and officials knelt down to show their loyalty. From this time on, Wallachia had two rulers.

After caring about agriculture, Peter began to plan the future strategy of Wallachia. It is not enough to be a regional powerhouse, at least it must be a world-class empire.

"Peter, did you go to Serbia?"

"Yes, father, they feel ashamed of us, so they provide 10,000 gold coins every year to apologize."

Well, this reason is good, don't use it next time.

"There is another piece of news you may not know. Bayezid transferred his son to Bulgaria as governor."

"Son?" Peter thought about Bayezid's family tree. The eldest son Suleiman was of the right age, so it should be him.

Peter knew the most about this person during the Great Interregnum. He occupied the Ottoman part of the Balkans, and then led his troops into Anatolia. Later, he was killed because of internal strife among his subordinates and his own bad habits. Peter felt that his appointment was his own credit, but he had no evidence.

"Don't worry about the Ottomans now. They also need time to recover. The only thing we can do now is to encourage agriculture and trade. There are too many places to spend money now."

When it comes to money, the financial director has something to say. He said with great pain that Wallachia's expenses were too much.

There are all kinds of expenses for opening schools, building a navy, immigration subsidies, and firearms. In addition, there are road construction and capital construction. In short, money is needed everywhere.

"Your Highness, look, if it weren't for the increase in trade tariffs last year, the gap this year would be much bigger."

Peter knew that this was crying poor, because most of the trade tariffs were still extracted from his trade. But he also understood that Wallachia was not the small principality it used to be, and now there were many more places to spend money than before.

"Taxes are the guarantee of the normal operation of the country, and it is the obligation of all citizens. If only farmers pay taxes, then the country is unhealthy."

"But Your Highness, since you promoted tax reform, those nobles have been very dissatisfied. Now if you touch them again, I'm afraid..."

Peter knew that they were worried about their safety, so he said.

"I understand, if they can calm down, I won't make it difficult for them. But if they don't obey, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Peter's face darkened as he spoke, but soon returned to normal. He also knew that the boyars paid a great price to be obedient. If they continued to exhaust the pond, they would have to rebel.

"In that case, we have to increase taxes without the people noticing."

Peter's words confused the financial director. What does it mean to increase taxes without the people knowing? Tax increase is tax increase, and it is impossible for them not to know.

"What do people work and earn money for every day? Of course, it is food and daily necessities. There are so many things traded in the market every day. If we collect a little on each commodity, won't they notice it?"

"What kind of tax is this?" The director was a little puzzled. This was probably only in the Roman Empire era, and it was very difficult to implement it now.

"Of course, it's a little too early to discuss this now. But it's also a good solution."

Sometimes Peter feels that he has been educated too deeply by later generations. Although the consumption tax was first implemented by Octavian, it has been buried in history after so many years. It's really out of date to mention it now. He still needs to continue to think about concepts and things that are no more than a hundred years old.