The Eagle of Eastern Europe

Theodore was buried in the newly built cathedral in Athens. As a despot, he was still very popular in Greece. Many people paid tribute to him that day.

Mircea has started to be busy again. I don’t know what he thinks recently. He wants to fight again. And the bigger, the better.

"Your Majesty, Khan Kolobnev will arrive in Constantinople soon."

The Cossack emirate served as a buffer between Rome and Lithuania, and the Great Khan maintained the practice of meeting the emperor. As a Roman vassal, the Cossacks completed their tasks well and blocked Lithuania to the north. Rome's annual assistance to them also gave the country enough strength to resist.

But at the same time, Rome also prevented the nomads from growing out of control and made most people submit to Rome through religion and trade. However, some people still tried to challenge the emperor's authority.

Two years ago, a Cossack nobleman named Manuel Weber united with other people who were dissatisfied with Rome to launch an uprising in the east. It was unstoppable at first, but was defeated at Fort Mircea. Rome also sent troops from Donetsk Province and finally successfully wiped out the rebel army.

After this incident, Rome took the opportunity to obtain garrison rights east of Fort Mircea and built a fortress on it to control the land. The land here is too underdeveloped and needs urbanization.

"Relations between the Cossacks and the Empire need to be strengthened and what happened before must not be repeated."

"Yes, Your Majesty, we have built a fortress in northern Lugansk and stored a lot of food and other supplies."

Lugo, the head of the Northern Yamen, is responsible for the settlement and construction of the northern region. Due to the vigorous attraction of immigrants and policy support, a number of new cities have emerged in the north: Lisichansk, Izyum, Seversk, Crimena, Later important towns such as Mariupol were established in these years.

"Your Majesty, the population of Donetsk and Lugantsk has exceeded 500,000. The local land is fertile and there are many rivers. We can continue to encourage citizens to farm."

"Well, tell me carefully."

Lugo unfolded a large northern map for everyone, which detailedly painted various locations in northern Ukraine.

"At present, the empire has formed two large towns in the north, Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as small fortresses such as Lischichansk and Seversk to consolidate its rule. A lot of land has been reclaimed in the south. In a few years, This can become an important food production area.”

The resources of the Sea of ​​Azov have also been utilized. Goods from the Donetsk region can be exported directly from Mariupol without detouring to Azov or Yaron.

"Currently we are still building forts in the northernmost region. Although they are under the rule of the Cossacks, they only herd cattle and sheep here. Building forts, opening markets, and trading with them is the best way."

As he spoke, he pointed to that place. Peter looked familiar to this place. Four major battles had taken place here.

"Wouldn't the Cossacks have any objection to building a fortress on such a large scale?" Peter asked.

"Your Highness, they will not have it. Now most of their trade is with the empire. We still have 20,000 soldiers stationed in Donetsk and Lugansk. Their nobles are honored to have Roman names. Coupled with Lithuania's unpopular rule, they would have little resistance if we annexed them."

So Peter has nothing to worry about. The North will continue to be a vassal, and there will be no need to keep it when it breaks up with Lithuania.

"In addition to the north, the Golden Horde in the east was severely weakened in the battle with Moscow. We can launch an expedition to push the border to another sea. We can also push this sea like Augustus's Roman Empire. Become the inner lake of the empire.”

Listening to such heroic words, Listerine knew that he had to continue fighting, but his thoughts were not in the north. The Prime Minister proposed another method, going south to recover Jerusalem.

"At present, the empire has used the canal to divide Egypt into two, and the Sudanese army will not support it soon. Our country also has troops in Ashkelon. We can order them to attack nearby towns first, and use the navy to transport the army here. Taking Jerusalem in one fell swoop can be considered a gift from the empire to God.”

The benefits of this method are quite attractive, but the risks are also high. The first problem is that the Arabian Peninsula is short of water, especially inland. In the past, various rulers attacked south or north along the coastline. Rome needed a lot of supplies to go deep into the interior, which cost a lot of money.

Second, once Rome attacks Jerusalem, will the Black Sheep Dynasty and the Zarayi Dynasty take the opportunity to attack? Whether the rulers in Mecca will take the opportunity to launch a call is a question that needs to be considered.

As expected, this plan was opposed by many people. They felt that Egypt should not be touched before they had absolute power.

If there are objections to both, then the third one will be fine. Peter proposed a third conquest goal to his father: an area much smaller than the first two, called the Papal State.

At this time, the only land left in the Papal State was the so-called inheritance of St. Peter, and his army was dispensable. It would be easy to invade if the army was sent to attack. But if it is occupied for a long time, will it arouse hostility from other countries besides France?

"The original bishops of Rome relied on the land donated by Emperor Constantine to survive. But who knows whether this document is genuine. If they forged it, then they would have to leave. The true heirs of Rome will inherit it. .”

Mircea actually felt that what Peter said made sense, and it was indeed much easier to defeat Rome than Lithuania and Egypt. Although the geographical location of Rome is really not good, and the surrounding land is not productive, the religious and political significance of winning it is absolutely high, and it can also restore the Roman Patriarchate. This would piss off the Catholic Church.

The only question that worries them now is, what should the Pope do? It would be okay if he ran away, but if he was caught, what to do with him would be a thorny problem. If you gain Rome, you will at most be excommunicated by the Pope twice. But if you kill the Pope, you will probably be excommunicated by the Catholics. Insulting the Pope will probably have the same result.

Thinking of this, Mircea wanted to dig Pepin out of his grave and contribute the land to the Pope. If you want the title to be given to Constantinople, it's not that it won't be given to you.

Regarding the war issue, Mircea still felt that Peter was good, so he asked him to take charge of the expedition, and he was only responsible for signing. And let the Senate assist throughout the process. This is also the old emperor's gradual transfer of power to his heirs. If this succeeds, it will be a huge prestige.