The Eagle of Eastern Europe

Mihai finally grasped the supreme power of Novgorod. After confirming his legitimacy, the first thing Mihai did was to ransack his house.

"The Citizens' Assembly can no longer maintain its role. Some people with ulterior motives have taken control of it, causing the Assembly to violate the will of the Grand Duke. From now on, the Citizens' Assembly will be dissolved. The date of resumption is to be determined. All properties of the escaped members will be confiscated."

This announcement directly shocked the whole city, and the political system that had been maintained for hundreds of years was directly subverted. Subsequently, those captured conference members were directly packed and sent to Moscow, and the Grand Council gave them the final punishment.

"It's much colder here than Constantinople."

The first thing Mihay felt here was the cold. Novgorod is located in a high latitude area. Except for some cold-resistant crops, it is impossible to grow other crops. Food needs to be transported from Moscow and Tver. In order to make up for the expenses, they used the Hanseatic League to conduct trade, which also gained more income from it.

Now that Mihai has become the owner of this place, he wants to completely transform it. Although Novgorod has a coastline, there is no suitable place to build a port. Trade basically goes to Reval (Narva) first and then comes to Novgorod by land. In addition, the Kalmar Alliance is surrounding it, making it even more difficult to get out to the sea.

"Sir, we want a port of our own. We have to pay a large fee every time we go to Reval. If this continues, we will go bankrupt."

More than a dozen businessmen petitioned Mihai, hoping to own a port. Mihai agreed, saying that he had to make preparations. The businessman left with satisfaction. But Mikhail was left in trouble.

According to the current situation, Reval is the best choice, it is the closest to here and does not require much financial resources. If you want to rebuild a port, it will take a lot of time due to the swampy conditions of the northern coastline. And the border issue with the Kalmar Union needs to be resolved.

"Starting tomorrow, we will survey the northern coast to see where is the most suitable place to build a city."

Mihai issued an order to everyone, and it was urgent to obtain access to the sea. Only in this way can the long-term operation of the country be ensured. At the same time, we must also strengthen our strength to cope with possible wars.

Grand Duke Vasily returned victorious and won the applause of the whole city. The nobles also sincerely wanted to assist the ruler who won independence for Moscow, but the appointment of Michael once again caused Moscow to face division.

"Grand Duke, why did you appoint a foreigner to take control of Novgorod? The place was originally dissatisfied with the Grand Duke's rule. Now, isn't it exciting to have a foreigner come here?"

His younger brother Yuri proposed to the Grand Duke that others should take over Novgorod, but foreigners were worried. But Vasily was very open-minded: "As long as it is beneficial to Moscow's cause, let him give it a try. And if Mikhail hadn't delayed this war, I don't know who would have won the final victory."

"Even if he has great merit and can be rewarded with money, why should he be appointed as the governor of Novgorod? This is making us repeat the same mistakes."

What Yuri said is not unreasonable. Now that Moscow has entered a period of centralization, there are many reforms that need to be carried out. What if the other party directly relies on local financial resources to become independent? Then it will be a long war. Can Moscow still afford it?

Vasily was a little angry, "You always say something is bad, but who of you can contribute to the country? If any of you thinks you are capable, go to other places to prove it."

The nobles all stopped talking. Which fool would be willing to give up the comfort of Moscow and go to the border area. Only some mud-legged people are willing to do this. They are unwilling because their ancestors have already done the work, so they don't have to work.

"Since there is no such thing, let's not talk about it. Let's see how he does in Novgorod first. If it doesn't work, I will find someone to replace him."

After receiving this answer, it was hard for others to say anything, and then came what happened next in Moscow. Since it was freed from the shackles and no longer needed to pay tribute to Mongolia, Moscow had nearly one and a half tons more silver every year, which could sustain an army for a year. Vasily decided to continue to expand his army and crossed the Ural Mountains. There will be greater surprises if you follow the footsteps of nomads.

The war between Lithuania and Teutonia is an opportunity for expansion, and Moscow can take advantage of this time to attack the Livonia region. After hundreds of years of governance by the Knights, this place has become an anointed place. In sharp contrast, it is a political division. The Knights are only nominal co-owners. There are also four bishops and a city jurisdiction in the area. In this way The division boosted the economy but weakened defense. All the neighboring countries want to get their hands on this land, it depends on who can do it quickly.

Moscow now also has many financial connections, and Rome, the most important trading partner in the south, is Moscow's customer. The reactivation of the Amber Road led to the growth of merchants and citizens in Moscow. Cities were built along the way. After gaining economic strength, they demanded more reforms to solve the current problem of the nobility. They want too many benefits, and they have to spit out some.

Moscow absorbed many aristocratic forces during its rapid expansion. Because it expanded too fast and did not have enough officials, it allowed them to govern themselves. However, the implementation of centralized ideas and policies made those nobles feel a crisis. If they wanted to protect their own interests, they had to introduce their own agents. His younger brother Yuri was so suitable.

He promised the nobles not to offend their interests, and also received the support of Lithuania. But Vasily's ideas were obviously much higher than his. In this centralized world, enfeoffing the nobility was asking for death. Therefore, the expansion in recent years has basically adopted the direct administration method to increase its own strength.

At the same time, Vasily did not rely on the aristocratic army to conduct war. He preferred to use an army composed of yeoman farmers or small landowners who had obtained small plots of land. Vasily clearly guaranteed that their rights would not be violated, and also greatly improved their status, and everyone could join the army. Be proud of it. On this basis, Vasily began to form the first standing army, and it was also equipped with an unprecedented 20 muskets and 4 artillery pieces. The power has been improved, and this is also the first army in Moscow to be equipped with firearms, which is of epoch-making significance.

This was not enough. Vasily also needed more troops to fight against the huge private soldiers of the nobility, so appointing Michael actually let him keep an eye on Moscow's purse. If they surpass these nobles financially, their strength will be surpassed by the Grand Duke.