Chapter 142: Reforming Local Governments and the Military
The war was over, so it was natural to take a good rest, but Peter couldn't rest. He received a letter from Constantine, which described a series of problems encountered by the new army in the battle. This made Peter realize that even with the matchlock and the Spanish phalanx, the army was not 100% successful in defense, especially the matchlock formation, where the three-stage shooting time was not enough.
Peter also knew that the matchlock had many shooting actions, but this was already the best firearm of this era. Otherwise, it would be better to change it to nine-stage shooting.
However, the power of the artillery was good. Both bronze and cast iron cannons could exert their due power, especially cast iron cannons, which fired faster than bronze cannons, and unlike bronze cannons, they would become soft after firing a few shells.
The advantages of cast iron cannons were already obvious, and the only problem that needed to be overcome was the problem of bursting. The bursting of the barrel was partly due to too frequent firing and partly due to poor materials. Both of these were easy to solve, after all, Wallachia was also at the forefront of iron smelting technology.
The iron smelting workshops built by Peter in Constanta and Sofia could produce 400,000 Roman pounds of pig iron and cast iron blocks every year. These things are enough for artillery manufacturing. If it were not for the restriction of raw materials, the output would be even higher. (1 Roman pound = 328 grams)
Artillery is important, and ammunition is equally important. At present, all shells cannot explode, but rely on momentum to damage or destroy individual targets. Although explosive shells have appeared, their performance is very poor. The Venetians used this kind of shells in Jadra in 1376. Using this kind of shell with a detonating cord is extremely risky for the gunner: first, the copper or iron shell shell must be filled with explosives, and then the fuse must be installed, ignited, and then carefully placed in the barrel. As a result, many barrels exploded and the gunners died immediately.
Most of the shells currently used are stone shells, and a small part is made of other materials. As for gunpowder shells, there are no. Who would risk his life to ignite the fuse?
Peter decided to max out the artillery technology in the technology tree. In the early stage, the Ottomans also relied on powerful artillery to kill the opposing army without leaving a single piece of armor. To this end, Peter decided to expand the research and manufacture of firearms, and this expansion will inevitably lead to the expansion of the industrial chain, which is also good for the economy.
Mircea also became interested in firearms. In the battle against the Ottomans, artillery played a powerful role. He still wants to add more artillery.
After that, it's time to farm, and as the territory increases, new administrative planning will begin. The original province is no longer suitable, so Peter decided to adopt the provincial system. Note that the provincial system is adopted in the directly governed areas, and it is not a conflict with the parallel system of counties and kingdoms.
Local decentralization and centralization are contradictions, and how to deal with contradictions is a headache for all countries. When centralization is excessive, the enthusiasm of local administration will decrease and administrative efficiency will drop significantly. At the same time, the number of local officials will increase significantly, and the local bureaucracy will be complicated, which will increase the financial burden on the country. Excessive centralization will also lead to a decline in the ability of local governments to deal with foreign aggression and make it difficult to resist the invasion of surrounding ethnic groups. The Northern Song Dynasty is an example of excessive centralization. At the end of the dynasty, in order to suppress peasant uprisings, the court would delegate power to the local areas, but this also allowed local separatist forces to grow and lead to the collapse of the country. The Eastern Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty fell apart in this way.
Therefore, how to improve administrative efficiency under the condition of ensuring centralization has become a thorny problem. The Jin Dynasty from the northeast provided a new idea. At the beginning of the Jin Dynasty's destruction of the Northern Song Dynasty, it set up the Xingtai Shangshu Province in Yanjing as a branch of the Shangshu Province. The Xingtai Shangshu Province was dispatched by the Shangshu Province and had greater military and political autonomy in the local area, which was conducive to the Jin Dynasty's control over the Central Plains. After King Hailing moved the capital to Yanjing, the Xingtai Shangshu Province was abolished, but this model was passed down. It was formally established during the Yuan Dynasty.
The provinces often hold local administrative, military, financial and other powers, have strong autonomy, and adapt to the needs of the Yuan Dynasty's expansion. Compared with the roads in the Song Dynasty, the jurisdiction of the provinces is very large, the power is also increased, and the administrative enthusiasm is improved. At the same time, the province is a branch of the central agency, and its main officials come from the central government, not from the local government. Therefore, the power of the province comes from the central government, and it is controlled by the highest administrative agency of the central government. From this point of view, the provincial system solves the contradiction between centralization and efficiency.
The provincial system guarantees centralization, improves local administrative efficiency, and is conducive to preventing local separatism, but the system is still being improved, but overall it is still based on centralization.
Local reform is a long process, and the territory of Wallachia is not as large as that of the Yuan Dynasty, so everything should be done slowly. It can be said that the best way to transform it is to use the local planning of the Roman Empire.
The original province was changed to a county, and the province above it. Putting aside the newly added territory, this administrative plan divides the original land into 10 provinces and a governor's district. All officials are appointed by the central government. If it is not appropriate, reform will be carried out. After all, he has plenty of time.
Reform has never been smooth sailing. Although Peter's reforms in recent years have been effective, the side effects are also obvious. For example, the monetary rent and the in-kind rent harmed the interests of some landlords, and the burden on the peasants increased. Some sporadic rebellions occurred from time to time.
However, the benefits of the reform outweighed the disadvantages. In just five years, the whole of Wallachia was completely renewed, the power of the people was fully mobilized, and the national institutions established allowed the rulers to know how much money they had and how many troops they could recruit. This is the benefit of centralization.
In diplomacy, there are more envoys coming this time, including Bohemia, Brandenburg, the Teutonic Knights, Denmark, Burgundy, and even England, France, Aragon, Castile, Florence and other countries. It can be said that Wallachia's popularity has increased again.
Wallachia attaches importance to relations with neighboring countries and major trading countries, and the others are just a formality, but in addition to these, maintaining good relations with the Grand Duchy of Moscow is also Wallachia's diplomatic policy. Moscow wants an outlet to the sea, and Wallachia wants Ukraine. These are all related to Lithuania. Whether it is territory or religion, they have a common enemy.
Merchants from other countries like this place because it is not only a must-pass place on the Northern Silk Road, but also has a large number of products for trade. Silk, spices, wine, beeswax, etc. can all be found here. Although some goods are not as good as those in Egypt, they are indeed there.
Wallachia supported its own merchant groups, worked hard to protect its own economy and income, and also raised some tariffs, which made other countries, especially Venice, very angry. Why should they pay more taxes? One day, he would completely open the door to Wallachia like the Fourth Crusade.