eastern european eagle

Chapter 5 Family Life
"Where is my mother?" After stepping back, Peter asked his followers.

"Your Highness, Madam is preparing a dinner in the backyard!"

Peter walked through the corridor and came to the manor.This is connected to the castle.When Peter just entered the manor, his mother - Maria saw him.

"Oh, my child. Are you okay in the territory, you've lost weight."

At the sight of Peter, the Grand Duchess Maria turned into an old mother pattern.Ask Peter this and that.

"Mother, everything is fine with me. Don't worry!"

As Peter spoke, he asked to show his mother what he had brought back from Constanta.

Except for the mother Maria, other family members ran over when they heard that Peter was back.

"Brother, you are back."

The first to run over was Peter's younger brother Mikhail. This boy who was two years younger than him was supposed to be the future ruler of Wallachia, but now Peter took the lead.But rest assured, the future will give him a good one.

"Come on. Let my brother see if he has grown taller." After that, they kiss and hug and hold each other high, which is very warm for the family.

"Peter, play with your younger siblings first, I asked the kitchen to prepare your favorite dishes!"

"awesome"

While dinner was being prepared, Peter kept playing with his younger siblings.Either compete with Mikhail or give them the gift he prepared.Among them, Mikhail got a pair of armor, another brother Vlad got some books, and the two sisters got four maids.This is what he bought from the Crimea.

Peter stopped the fighting between the brothers after the servant informed that dinner was ready.At the table, everyone was eating delicious food, but old Mircea and Peter were a little preoccupied.

Mircea was not unmoved by Peter's proposal.It’s just that he’s a little unsure about being able to annex such a large piece of territory, because there are two big guys, Hungary and Poland, next to him. If he wants to buy it, he doesn’t have that much money.Unless like the Teutonic Knights. (Purchased East Pomerania region for 10000 gp)

But for now, the expansion of land is still in mind.Because according to the news, Ottoman may have a big move in the Balkans.

The current situation in the Balkans is: Ottomans have turned Serbia into a vassal after the Kosovo campaign.At the same time, Bulgaria was split into three countries, but the Bulgarian Tsar still did not surrender to him, which made Bayezid decide to completely destroy the country.

Judging from the current situation, Wallachia is very dangerous.Because there are two Ottoman vassal states between him and Ottoman, he must be fully prepared, which is why he called Peter back from Constanta.

The next day, Mircea and Peter were staring at the map on the table in the conference room, with only three close ministers beside them.

"According to the news, the Ottomans are planning to annex Bulgaria and Vidin, but recently they have transferred their forces to Asia Minor. This gives us a chance."

"Father wants to take advantage of this time to support Bulgaria?" Peter asked.

Mircea nodded, and then added, "This is not my idea alone. The Hungarian King Rygmund sent me a letter proposing that Hungary and Wallachia jointly establish a new Bulgaria." ("Rygmund "It is pronounced in Hungarian, and it is often translated as "Sigismund")
Peter had long thought that the Hungarian king would definitely win over Wallachia.Because of its geographical location, it is destined that they must join a camp.

"Father, since you want to respond to Hungary, you must be ready to defend." Peter suggested to his father to build new castles in Bucuri (Bucharest), Giurgiu and other places, and to increase military training. Mircea agreed.

In order to resist the Ottomans, Mircea also worked hard to form an army composed of peasants and citizens.And Peter also helped. With his help, Wallachia conducted the first census.It also formulated the law that free farmers need to join the army. As long as they receive training and obey the call, they can not only get a military salary, but also get other rewards.

Under such circumstances, the enthusiasm of farmers in Wallachia to join the army immediately increased a lot.In addition, the Grand Duke Mircea also established the Military and Political Council as an institution for the ruler to command the army, which not only speeded up the construction of the army, but also enhanced the centralization of power.

The next few days were enjoyable and harmonious. Putting aside the political affairs, the life of the Grand Duke's family is still very good.As the elder brother, Peter gave his younger brothers a series of "education of love". After all, Peter was able to crush them no matter in terms of strength or other aspects.This also made them very unconvinced.

"Hmph, big brother, just wait, one day I will become stronger than you!"

"Okay, I'm waiting for you. Hope you don't disappoint me."

After a month like this, Peter must return to the fief.Before he left, Mircea had a private conversation with him. It is not known exactly what they talked about, but from then on, the Wallachia army began to conduct large-scale training.

----split line----

Peter led the escort and set off along the road.After passing Bucuri, Jiuerjiu and other places, I saw the city defense there.It was much better than what he had seen a year ago, especially Giurgiu, the castle that had been turned into a great lock on the Danube by the local garrison.

On the way back, Peter also went to a manor in the north.He just bought it a month ago, and the price is very low.The reason is that when the manor owner ordered the farmers to dig the well, some black stuff suddenly spewed out, which was very sticky and gave off an unpleasant smell. The manor owner had no choice but to sell it at a low price.No, Peter bought it.

By the way, this place is called Ploiesti in later generations.It is an important oil city in Romania.

After a month's journey, Peter finally arrived in Constanta.The consul Alexander had long been waiting for him.

"The great lord has returned to Constanta, may God be with you."

Peter enjoyed this ceremony very much, because he could only see it through books before, but now he felt it personally.This can also prevent him from enjoying it.After all, he is determined to change history.

Arriving at the city hall, Alexander immediately reported the latest work to Peter.

"Your Highness, more than 1000 people came here during your absence. They all escaped from Moldova."

"Moldova, what happened again?" Peter asked.

"I heard that the lord of Qilia was unable to make ends meet because of his extravagant spending, so he could only increase taxes."

Alexander's words made Peter's eyes light up. How could he forget about the bank?
At this time, financial institutions have not yet evolved into banks, but some wealthy families will lend money to those who need it urgently, and then collect the principal and interest when due.Moreover, wealthy families are only found in southern Italy, and there are no institutions similar to banks in other countries.

"What do you think of our money lending business?" Peter asked Alexander.

Alexander thought for a moment before replying. "Your Highness, currently the lending business in Eastern Europe is only carried out by Genoa and Venetian. If we join, it will definitely be a difficult battle, but the profits will also be very large."

After being affirmed by the supervisor, Peter immediately made a decision to enter the lending industry.Of course, the principal should not be too much, 10000 ducats will do.

In addition to trading, Peter also ran another industry here, the salt industry.

Currently, if you want to eat salt, you can only buy it from coastal countries or principalities with salt mines in Shinra.Generally speaking, principalities with salt mines are richer, such as Lübeck.

However, their salt production is very rough and has a bad taste. After inspecting the local conditions, Peter built several salt ponds in the north of Constanta, and at the same time built a ditch that can discharge bitterness. Throwing out the bittern will yield salt that is a hundred times stronger than it is now, but they don't know it.

Because of the European climate, Peter used the method of boiling salt to obtain table salt.A large amount of table salt can be obtained every day after the production is stable.

(End of this chapter)