Chapter 73 The Sadness of Western Monarchs Does Not Affect Farming

Sigismund has been very unhappy recently. Because of the failure of the Crusade, he has been made things difficult by the big nobles in the country. Parliament exhausted his energies, and the cost of raising a crusade drained his treasury. In order to repay the money, he had to sell the land again, causing the proportion of royal land to decrease again.

In addition, Sigismund also borrowed money from some merchants to tide over the crisis. This is really...

Sigismund was also disillusioned with the Crusaders. He turned his attention to the Shinra, especially his brother Wenzel, who had the titles of Emperor of the Shinra and King of Bohemia.

The Marquis of Brandenburg was transferred to Jobst as early as 1388. At this time, the only one he could touch was the King of Bohemia.

Seriously, how did the silly descriptions of Sigismund come out in later generations? How could someone who could play in Hungary, Bohemia and the Shinra be an ordinary person? His cunning was written on his face.

Of course, he was grateful for Peter's help. After all, this lord was the only one willing to help him and his soldiers, and he decided to give him Transylvania in the future.

As for the future, it depends on when my brother dies. Anyway, Hungary is too troublesome, so I might as well throw it away.

Now Sigismund's first goal is to have a child, but even this is very difficult. Because...because he and his wife sleep in separate rooms.

Although the two were both kings of Hungary at the time, they had long been inseparable and even lived in their respective palaces. And Mary allowed Sigismund to take power.

She had never been an ambitious person, but she couldn't stand Sigismund either. As long as he doesn't interrupt, the power will go with him.

In order to have a son to inherit, Sigismund began to have a good relationship with Mary. We also sleep together at night, but this doesn't happen overnight and can only be done slowly.

Hungary's cities prospered under his rule, but the tenant farmers did not receive much benefit and began to flee. As for those big nobles, he could only leave their cakes alone.

Farther in Western Europe than Hungary, Jacques de Heli, who was captured by Bayezid, rode his horse into Paris, knelt before the king and told about the Crusades, the defeat and Bayezid's massacre of the prisoners. Letters came from other noble prisoners. The person who did not write a letter was presumed dead, and the palace staff gathered around him to inquire about the condition of his relatives, many of whom were sad and crying. That day "the bells of all the churches in Paris rang in sympathy."

In order to redeem them, they have to pay at least 200,000 gold coins. This is just an estimate. If not, the other party will extort money. So everyone around Sultan has to take care of himself.

Bayezid also marched into Anatolia and Greece in August, aiming for more land. He also left more than 4,000 troops in Plovdiv, staring at Wallachia in the north. I'm afraid that the other party will tear up the agreement and then make another mistake.

It turns out that he thought too much. The new territory cannot be managed yet, and it continues to expand, so it is not so dishonest.

Of all the regions, Bulgaria and Dobroga produced the most grain. Wallachia and Moldova, on the other hand, have weaker output because they are in a semi-developed state.

The exemption from agricultural taxes was a boon to homesteaders, including those who had previously been reduced to serfs and sharecroppers. Peter issued the "Message to the Bulgarians" in front of the Sofia Cathedral, announcing that from now on, the peasants on the lands of the lords and soldiers who served the Ottomans would be free. And will get a piece of their own land.

As soon as the declaration came out, it quickly won the loyalty of a large number of farmers. This is done to mobilize farmers' enthusiasm for production, and they will try their best to repay the country.

The emphasis is on agriculture and industry and commerce, but the population is insufficient. Isn’t this robbing people? However, the local situation is relatively backward, with agriculture taking the lead and industry and commerce being minimal. Therefore, the government promotes the development of industry and commerce in order to expand finance and give birth to a citizen class.

And agriculture has not fallen behind. After all, agriculture is the foundation of all industries. It was most important to expand the proportion of yeoman farmers and maintain a balance with the nobility.

Peter signed several decrees to reduce farmers' burdens, incorporate corvées into taxes, open farmers' markets, simplify tax departments, etc.

Most Bulgarians live in villages. Most villages are very small, with only about 120-200 residents, and there are very few larger villages. The scattered distribution of these villages also makes statistical work difficult.

With Sofia as the center, the legionnaires received land of varying sizes. They either farmed themselves or rented it to others, and they also used iron farm tools, which greatly improved efficiency.

"Build some canals here and a couple of mills."

Peter directs the construction site in Sofia as busy workers begin building things.

"Sir, the harvest season is about to begin in various places. Due to the battle with the Ottomans this year, the harvest may not be very good."

"It doesn't matter, filling their bellies is the most important thing."

Peter used his private money to build military and economic projects. He believed that the people in this land were his children. Without the guidance of his father, life would not be easy.

Some nobles and soldiers brought by Peter adopted the Dobroga model of farming, and also imported a large amount of fertilizer from Constanta, which the Bulgarians couldn't understand.

And in order to protect farmers, the business department led by Peter officially ordered: to adopt quotas for grain exports. Only a certain amount of grain is allowed to be exported each year, and it is not allowed to be exported after it is full. At the same time, high tariffs are imposed on grain exports.

At the same time in Dobruja, Peter began to try out the grain law. Peter took out 20,000 gold coins and put them in the government. The government will purchase the farmers' surplus grain at a fair price in a bumper year, so as to prevent merchants from hurting farmers at low prices and making farmers unable to make ends meet. When it is a disaster year, the government will sell the reserve grain at a fair price, so that the people can buy the life-saving grain they need at the lowest price in the disaster year, so the merchants cannot make a profit from it, and the people will not be harmed. The purpose is to prevent "cheap grain hurts farmers, expensive grain hurts people".

Although the decree did not explicitly state that this policy was to enrich fiscal revenue, it still earned Peter a huge fortune in actual operation. Think about it, after all, the country purchases surplus grain in a bumper year, and if there is more grain, the average market price will naturally be low. But if there is a famine, even if the government sells grain at a price lower than the market price, it will definitely be much higher than the purchase price in a good year. Do you think that the profit it makes from this back and forth is not small?