The Eagle of Eastern Europe

In addition to inventorying the acres of land, representatives of the blue faction in the Senate also proposed a bill to change the head tax into a land tax, which can promote population growth.

This was a continuous stab at the landlord, but Mircea did not take care of it. He also knew that the landlord could not force him any longer, otherwise he would have to rebel.

However, the population potential is still huge. The current population has exceeded 10 million. As long as the society is stable and the economy is prosperous, the population will continue to grow.

The only thing that puzzled Mircea was how the fiscal revenue could only be this little. With the vast land and sufficient population, it could not be only this little.

It wasn't until Baptiste explained that he understood that in the past, low tax rates were used to quickly restore the economy. The pressure from the people was only one-third of that of the Komnenos Dynasty, and construction continued in Anatolia. Some tax-free places did not start paying taxes until this year. It is estimated that there will be a big jump in income by the end of the year.

The annual income of the Komnenos Dynasty during its peak period was about 6 million gold coins, and the gold coins were still 18K. Today's Leu is cast according to the highest standards of gold content, with a purity of nearly 24K. This shows how good the economy of the Roman Empire was.

The turmoil caused by the land inventory ended temporarily with the emperor ordering a pilot trial, but the representatives of the green faction were not vegetarians. Since the ocean is so profitable, it wouldn't be too much to give some to the empire, right?

The House of Commons has been so noisy by the bills from both factions that the roof is about to be lifted off, but the Emperor Coke believes that no one should compete with him for power on such a matter.

"Your Majesty, frontline military report."

"read"

"Our army marched day and night, advancing by land and water, and recaptured Zaregbu on August 12."

It was also a good time for Duke Giang to bring his army to Salegbu. Skro had already led his army to Ljubljana to take over the territory. This was the best time to regain the lost territory.

Tens of thousands of troops faced basically no difficulty facing a city defended by only 1,000 militiamen. The city was broken after only two days of fighting. Everyone in the area was arrested and sent to Constantinople to ask His Majesty the Emperor to decide their future.

Mircea smiled. The pessimism of a few months ago had been wiped away. Except for Venice being a little tricky, it was not worth mentioning. He didn't know why he felt this way. Perhaps they are afraid that other countries will take advantage of the situation.

"What has Peter been up to lately?"

"His Royal Highness is discussing matters with representatives from the Trade Department."

At this time, all the palace attendants addressed Peter as His Royal Highness the Prince. He also had the title of co-emperor, but it was easier to pronounce him as prince.

Peter was still busy with Eastern colonization and trade. The Emperor of the East approved Rome to set up trading stations in Ningbo and Guangzhou, which was a progress. The King of Korea also approved Rome to set up trading stations in Incheon. The establishment of trading points in other places except Japan went smoothly.

The actual ruler of Japan, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, died two months ago. The shogun Ashikaga Yoshimochi, who had been in power for 13 years, began to squeeze out Roman merchants, so that the trading point in Osaka was struggling.

At this time, Shimazu Motohisa, the lord of the Satsuma Kingdom who was not willing to deal with Shiba Yi, saw an opportunity and told the Roman merchants that he could set up a trading station in his territory and only need to pay part of the tax every year.

Thinking of Kyoto's lack of cooperation, all Roman merchants evacuated Osaka and set up trading stations in Satsuma Kingdom. The place managed by the lord can conduct maritime trade with the Ming Dynasty, Korea, Ryukyu, and Formosa, so it is good to set up a trade point here.

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As a result, Roman merchants re-established trading houses in this place called Kagoshima to conduct trade. Taking advantage of the local geographical advantages, overseas trade flourished again.

"The Eastern trade currently controlled by our country, the route from the Ming Dynasty to Japan is very profitable, second only to the route from India or the Ming Dynasty to Constantinople."

"Does that mean we need to maintain this line?"

"Yes, Your Highness, we have too little power to invest in this place. We must expand our local power, especially Formosa, and make this place our logistics base."

The Trade Department provides a feasible plan based on the current situation. Japan has too many uncertainties. Their politics are only better than Shinra. Each place is ruled by small princes. The boss is called a general and is responsible for national affairs. But the current general It seems that he doesn't like Rome, so he can only try to establish good relations with other families.

Peter searched carefully in his mind for the situation in Japan during this period. There were no people like Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, or the Fujiwara clan. It was now an ordinary Muromachi shogunate era. There seems to be nothing wrong with it except that politics are not too centralized.

"Take your time. We need to protect our interests in Japan when necessary. Their lords are not very happy because they are jealous because we make money."

"Okay Your Highness, the Trade Department will write to them to explain the situation. This time there is mainly one situation. Please make your decision."

This situation was originally reported to the Department of Religious Affairs, but because the matter was so controversial, the Department of Commerce reported it on its behalf.

The Religious Hall's missionary work was relatively smooth in Southeast Asia, India and Formosa, but it was difficult in the Ming Dynasty and Japan. The local folk customs and cultures were completely different and they could not be integrated at all. Not to mention spreading religion.

All the missionaries were at a loss, but one named Nicholas did something that surprised everyone. He shaved his head, wore a cassock, learned the Japanese language, and then went to Kagoshima to meet the local lord and directly said that he was a monk from India, hoping to establish a sect here.

Japanese Buddhism was still very important during this period, and Nicholas spent some money to get it approved. Following this method, a dozen more people were allowed to preach in Kagoshima.

It is too crazy to ask missionaries to change their decorations and call other religions. Some people asked the Patriarch to excommunicate them, but some people found support from books on the idea of ​​​​doing as the Romans do. Naturally, such divergent views must be decided by the highest authority. .

"What you are talking about is indeed a problem, but you must also know that the culture of the East is very rich. If you want to spread religion, you can only try to adapt to the local conditions."

Hearing what His Highness means, he is ready to be flexible.

"I understand, I will inform the Religious Office next time."

Colonization, colonization, for the sake of luxury goods and profits, you have to do it even if your body is broken. Spice cotton from India, porcelain and silk from the Ming Dynasty, gold and silver mines from Japan and Korea, coffee from Abyssinia, as well as a large amount of wood and other products, were all collected in Constantinople and then sold. They all had a price but no market. , other European countries would be envious of it, and the income generated from the sale will become the capital for each member of the family to build a business.