eastern european eagle

Chapter 173 Expansion, expansion, or expansion
Looking to the east, the Ottoman army has already attacked Sivas.Their arrival here shows that they are not far from the border of Anatolia, and they will soon reach the Armenian region.

However, the Turkic Emir State, which was persecuted by Ottoman, had to seek the protection of another power, the Timurid Empire.

Timur was born in a village south of Samarkand. It is said that he was originally a shepherd, and later he joined the army and gradually became the commander of an army.Because he married a woman from the Xichagatai royal family, he claimed to be a descendant of Genghis Khan. In 1370, the 34-year-old Timur led his troops to overthrow the ruler of Samarkand, unified the river area between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and established the Timur Empire.

Timur has a powerful cavalry, expanding in all directions.Since 1373, Timur has attacked Khwarazmo four times in a row, and finally captured Urgench, the capital of Khwarazmo, in 1379 and massacred the city.Next, Timur targeted the Ilkhanate.The Ilkhanate of the Mongols has declined since the middle of the 14th century. The Iran and Afghanistan regions it owned were controlled by some local separatist forces, and they did not listen to the command of the Ilkhanate at all. Moreover, these local separatist forces still Attacking each other, it is impossible to deal with the invasion of Timur's army in unison.

It took him about 10 years to successively conquer various princes in Iran and Afghanistan, and the Ilkhanate fell. In 1393, Timur captured Baghdad and the Caucasus in the same year.At this point, the vanguard of Timur's army had encountered the Ottoman army occupying Asia Minor.

Timur's next target was the Ottoman Empire.The leaders of Western European countries, including the Pope, the King of England, the King of France, and the King of Castile, were all very happy when they received this news, thinking that this was a good opportunity to contain the Ottoman Empire, which was a real threat to Western Europe.They sent envoys to meet with Timur, and their thinking was: "It is justified to negotiate with an infidel in order to destroy another infidel."

At the same time, some small Turkic principalities and tribes attached to the Ottoman Empire became increasingly dissatisfied with Bayezid I.On the one hand, they believed that they did not get benefits after being annexed by the Ottoman Empire, and they did not have their share in the spoils of the empire, and some princes and nobles lost their original privileges.On the other hand, they believe that Bayezid I's policy towards Christians in the conquered areas is relatively loose. As long as Christians submit, they do not have to change their religious beliefs, and they can even participate in the Ottoman Empire as Christians. army.Those who were dissatisfied with Bayezid I secretly colluded with Timur, and were willing to serve as Timur's internal support during his westward expedition.

Timur confessed to Osman: "You are like ants, remember not to provoke elephants, otherwise you will be ravaged and retaliated by us." Osman's counterattack was not soft: "If I am scared away by your army, then my wife will Abandon me; but you will flee from my army, and all your women will find another husband."

It seems that with the shift of history, some things also appeared earlier.The Ottoman Empire and the Timurid Empire are already at war, either you die or I die.

Wallachia took advantage of this to expand its own power, and the entire Balkans are now in a state of supremacy.No one dared to say no to him. All the local nobles could do was to hand over their power and take good care of their property.

They don't stay in the country castle either, the city has a great influence on them.Everything has to be bought from town.Condiments are not produced on the estate.Boiled or grilled meat is only eaten with salt.The spices that can be used as seasoning are only available in the cities, because they are imported from the East.At that time, spices were not only used as condiments, but also as sudorific and digestive aids.Sugar is also imported from the East, and at most only honey is produced in the manor, and it is crude.Refined honey also has to go to the city to buy.As for the living conditions, the manor was even more incomparable with the mansions in the city.

In order to increase their income, they turn to business, finance, and navigation, including equity participation.However, there are still some nobles who cling to the land rent, which accelerates the division of the nobles.The great nobleman had to postpone his daughter's wedding time and again because he did not have the financial resources to pay for his daughter's ostentatious dowry; the minor nobleman had to sell his horses and swords because he could not pay off his debts.The land of the manor was mortgaged, and the rich serfs and handicraftsmen with serf status redeemed themselves, and those without money fled to the cities, or newly developed areas, or deep in the mountains and old forests.

The decline of local aristocrats corresponds to the growth of central power, and military power, financial power, and personnel appointment and removal are all in the hands of the central government.Unlike Western Europe and Rome, the ruling methods effectively prevented the emergence of local separatist forces. In Skopje and Suceava provinces, some old nobles still made trouble, but they were all suppressed.

There are currently 239 officials in Wallachia, 159 of whom are local officials.In terms of family composition, more than half are civilians, including merchants, handicraftsmen, and rich peasants. Nobles only account for [-]%, and the rest are those who are not financially capable but have passed the exam, such as poor peasants and laborers.

The centripetal force of the people to Wallachia has increased, and the attraction to immigrants has also increased.More people brought technology and manpower, and Wallachia's fiscal revenue also increased. According to the report of the financial department, Wallachia's tax revenue this year was 682 million silver leu.

Financial affluence provided material guarantees for Wallachia's reforms, the military factories and the army continued to expand, and the first standing army in Europe was born.And there are a large number of irregular cavalry units as a supplement. If there is no money, all this is delusional.

Colonial activities organized by some individuals also began. They established strongholds in Crimea, Anatolia, and Ross lands to develop trade.

Colonial activities at this time were generally individual actions, with very little promotion by the government. Even Spain and Portugal later colonized in the form of outsourcing, and large colonies in the Americas were also privately owned, only nominally owned by the state.

They established colonies chasing luxuries such as spices and gold, while the colonization promoted by Wallachia was a permanent conquest of this land.The costs incurred for this are also shared equally by the government and Peter, but in contrast, monopoly income such as salt and alcohol is also shared equally.

Peter has borne most of the cost of reform and construction. Who let him intervene in economic activities the most? The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility.

(End of this chapter)