The Eagle of Eastern Europe

Peter had to deal with a large number of documents in Constantinople. In order to prevent the crown prince from being idle, he directly asked Alexander to help.

"Father, there have been some Polish-Lithuanian activities in the direction of Kiev recently. Could it be..."

"It doesn't matter. After all, he is angry in his heart. Just wait until he dies."

Peter was talking about Vytautas, the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Because the ransom issue was not negotiated, this ruler with many military exploits was forced to live in Constantinople for more than a year. During this period, he was forced to play musical instruments for the emperor. Later, Peter offered to redeem Vytautas in 100,000 gold coins. Wladyslaw quickly sent the money, and he returned to Vilnius.

Then he was surprised to find that Lithuania, which was originally a big country in Eastern Europe, now only had Samogitia and part of the Rus region left, and it had become the weakest country in Eastern Europe.

Vytautas was determined to revitalize Lithuania, but the first step was to re-centralize power. This was too difficult because the Lithuanian nobles no longer trusted him due to his experience of being captured by Rome. And with Rome expelling the Jews on a large scale, Vytautas saw hope.

He recruited a large number of Jews, asked them to do business with other countries, and collected taxes to increase his strength. Only then did he slowly regain his health, and actively interacted with Livonia and formed an alliance with him. Prepare to fight Russia together.

Michael became the czar and did not dare to slack off. Seize the time to integrate the territory and expand the army. Lithuania must be eliminated.

However, it wasn't until he became the Tsar that he realized how difficult Russia was. Most of Russia is located at high latitudes, has a cold climate, and has low food production. The only commodities worthy of export are fur and wood. In addition, some sticky things from northern Finland are also the main commodities purchased by Rome. Russia's main export target is Rome, followed by Berlin, Denmark and other countries.

Mihai wanted to learn from his brother's reforms in Rome, but it was not suitable for the relatively backward Russia. He wanted to reform serfdom, but serfdom was the economic foundation of Russia. Starting from Kievan Rus, slave trade and serfdom were their main economic operations.

The Dnieper River created Kiev. It is in this river flowing with gold that the most exported thing is people. The constant conquests between the principalities were not so much a fight for the land as a fight for the two-legged things on the land.

Faced with such a situation, Mihai could only start from the simple side. For example, in the name of the church, he promoted that slave trading was not in line with the biblical requirements. He wanted to prevent the loss of population, and attacked Eastern countries such as the Siberian Khanate and the Kazan Khanate in an attempt to obtain more people and resources.

Moreover, the tsar at this time was not in a situation where he had monopoly of power as in later generations. Mihai had to share power with the princes who supported him. The Boyar Duma became the governing body. Mihai also gave them some rights, such as shortening the free movement time of serfs, and the nobles could hunt down serfs who had escaped for more than three years, but could not hunt down serfs for up to five years.

Mihai wrote to his eldest brother many times, hoping to strengthen the alliance between the two countries. Peter also replied that Rome supports Russia's territorial claims in the east and Lithuania, but if he wants more, he needs to discuss it with his third brother.

"Vytautas is a genius. It's a pity that he is Lithuanian. I hope he goes to hell."

Alexander didn't know why his father was so hostile to the Poles and Lithuanians, and he wished they were all gone. Moreover, his father was very supportive of his second uncle's actions, and his second uncle also asked his cousin to come to Constantinople several times. If I thought correctly, my father wanted to destroy Poland and Lithuania together with his second and third uncles.

"Father, the empire's garrison in Kiev Province can deter Lithuania. Russia also has a large number of troops in Minsk. At present, Vytautas does not have the strength or ideas to send troops to the empire."

Alexander's statement made Peter nod. He said: "Your idea is very good. Lithuania alone is indeed unable to attack Romania, but what if Poland is added?"

"Poland" Alexander is still very confident, "Poland now has to face the threat of Brandenburg, and it is impossible to help Lithuania."

"Don't say it's impossible, everything is possible."

Peter taught Alexander a lesson, "You have to know that the current King of Poland is the son of the former Grand Duke of Lithuania. He will definitely fight to the death to keep Vilnius."

This puzzled Alexander: "Isn't Poland stronger than Lithuania? Does he still want to use Polish money to subsidize a country that has lost a lot of land?"

"Yes, he sat on the throne of the King of Poland purely by chance. Lithuania is his home. He will definitely do it."

In this era, the destruction of a country is also a very common thing. Rome is preparing, Russia is preparing, and Brandenburg is the only one left. Roma also needs to continue to encourage each other to increase their strength.

"Your brother is coming back. He has been doing a good job in Spain. When he comes back, you will go to Kiev on my behalf. As the crown prince, you have to shoulder this responsibility, and the future empire will be entrusted to you. On hand."

Alexander felt the pressure doubled. He had known his future since he was canonized as crown prince in Hagia Sophia. He also studied all the suddenly increased courses. Since last year, his father has asked him to handle some political affairs to train himself. He also visited Hungary, Naples and Brandenburg on behalf of the emperor. The local situation broadened his horizons and gave him a certain understanding of the current situation.

"Father, don't worry, I will do everything in my power to protect the empire and protect my responsibilities."

Peter nodded. His son was indeed good. As long as he married the Duke of Bourbon, the next thing would be his business.

It had been nearly 30 years since he became the lord of Dobruja. The rapid change in status during this period made him dare not imagine it. The decline of the great powers in history such as the Ottoman Empire and the Golden Horde was also super fast. Moreover, under the influence of Peter's butterfly, the Medici, Percy, York and other families that had shone brightly in history either disappeared or waited quietly in one place. Even the future giant family of Habsburg was now just staring at Bartram fiercely in Austria. He could feel that Habsburg's eyes were mixed with anger (losing the Swiss ancestral land), envy (becoming an imperial ruling family so quickly and spreading everywhere) and jealousy (why not himself).

Let him envy, his great cause must not be affected. The Habsburgs, Jagiellons, Valois, and Solons combined are no match for the Bartram, but the fact that his roots are shallower than theirs is also a flaw. As long as the family can survive three generations, it can proudly say that it is a very ancient family.