Chapter 124 Moria's Affairs

Peter's trip to Italy lasted for half a year. He went to Genoa, Florence, Pisa, Naples, Palermo and Venice. Wherever he went, he would go to the local library and university to absorb knowledge through excerpts, purchases and other methods.

During this period, he also extracted the advanced craft production methods of northern Italy through other methods, and finally formed a new book through compilation and arrangement.

Another travel note written by Peter is about to be completed. From Hungary to Italy, from Belgrade to Venice, ten months, dozens of cities, different customs and customs are all shown in it.

Peter left Venice on his Constanta, but he will come back to this city.

When he was about to go to the last stop, Constantinople, he unexpectedly got the news: Theodore, the despot of Morea, led an army of 10,000 to attack the Achaean Principality.

Even if Mircea did not tell Peter, Peter knew that in order to be able to integrate into the Roman Empire, marrying Princess Sophia of Morea was the best choice, so he had regarded Theodore as his father-in-law.

Seeing his father-in-law mobilizing troops, Peter felt that his father-in-law had given him some assistance, otherwise he would not have mobilized troops at this time.

"Don't go to Constantinople first, go to Karmada."

"Yes"

Karmada, the largest port in the Morea Despotate, is also a good place to watch a good show.

Just as Peter changed direction, Theodore also made his final farewell in his official residence. He had nothing to do, so he could only marry his daughter to the eldest son of the Grand Duke of Wallachia, which was also a good destination.

Sophia hugged her father. She knew that it was already dangerous, but maybe God would bless him to return safely, and this marriage contract was her last amulet.

After saying goodbye to his family, Theodore took all his troops to attack the capital of Achaia.

Among the 10,000, 6,000 were newly trained peasant soldiers, and the rest were mercenaries and his own guards. Mircea also provided him with two cannons and dozens of muskets. Theodore knew that he could only succeed this time, not fail.

His opponent, the Principality of Achaea, was controlled by the Navarre Mercenaries. In 1387, the head of the mercenaries, Sapreno, became the monarch of the Principality of Achaea, which nominally submitted to the Kingdom of Aragon.

Despite the maneuvers, Morea sent troops to attack, and Sapreno had to gather troops to fight.

In its heyday, Achaea had twelve feudal territories, but now there are only seven. Each territory needs to send troops, but time is limited, and it must be as soon as possible.

The Navarre Mercenaries have a maximum of 5,000 soldiers, but the original head of the division, Nerio, became disloyal and began to split the Navarre Mercenaries. He was originally from a family of Florentine bankers. He used his own strength to privately expand his own mercenaries. Then he signed a contract with the Venetians privately, and finally occupied the entire Principality of Athens in 1388, calling himself Duke Nerio I of Athens.

Such a big split was unexpected by everyone. Achaea and Athens fought for several more years, and finally ended with recognition of each other's status. It can be said that now is the best time.

Theodore led the army to start the expedition. Faced with these armies, some people directly turned their backs, while other Franks and Achaeans resisted to the end. Wherever they went, the local Catholic churches and monasteries would be destroyed, replaced by Orthodox priests and bishops.

Sapreno also gathered 8,000 people, and its main force was still the Navarre Mercenary Corps, about 3,000 people. The captain placed the elite in the middle, and the conscripts on both sides.

The two sides met in Vitina. Theodore arrived one day earlier than Sapreno, so he ambushed his army in the forest.

The next morning, when Sapreno's army passed through here, Theodore immediately ordered an attack. The opponent was caught off guard, but soon adjusted his state to counterattack. The two sides fought from morning to noon. Finally, Sapreno ordered a retreat, and Theodore won the first battle.

This was not the first time Theodore had fought him. In 1388, he led his army to seize Mystras from the opponent. His military talent was also revealed, and Athens and Achaea were in internal strife, so he was able to advance all the way.

In this forest ambush, Theodore killed more than 800 opponents at the cost of more than 100 people. Although the results were small, it did affect the local people in Achaia, and the time to get rid of these Westerners had come.

Theodore continued to speed up, and Sapreno also asked Venice, the Papal States, and Aragon for help, but they all had their own things and would not take action for a small country.

In this case, the only one who could take action was the Principality of Athens. But even if they were willing to send troops, there was no time. The only solution now is to retreat to Patras, where they can resist for a while.

Theodore easily obtained a large piece of land. Whether it was the Greeks, the newly arrived Albanians, or the Maniots in the south, their goal was the same, which was to drive these Westerners out.

On this 20,000 square kilometer peninsula, a battle to determine the future ownership was taking place. Theodore continued to march towards Patras, and the people everywhere welcomed him. Some people felt that things were going to change here.

However, when encountering a strong fortress, Theodore either bypassed it or took it down. These people were not good at attacking, but they could still defend the city.

For this reason, Theodore decided to attack Patras directly. As long as the main force of the opponent was defeated, the rest would be difficult to make a difference.

This war also aroused the interest of the Principality of Athens and Venice behind it, but not much. Because the Peloponnese was too barren, there were no resources to plunder except for a few ports. There were many mountains in the territory, agriculture was not well developed, and the population was only more than 400,000.

As for Achaea, Athens wished that they would be destroyed, so that he could rest assured.

As for Venice, now there are their trading houses in the main ports of the Peloponnese, controlling a large amount of trade. As long as their interests are not damaged, they don’t care who the owner of this land is.

In a month, Theodore cleared a large number of Western forces in the Peloponnese. The rest only held on to the fortress for support, and the Morea army had already arrived in Patras. Seeing that they could not escape, Sapreno decided to formally confront Theodore, and the two sides confronted each other on a plain near Patras.

Theodore's army had a total of 11,000 troops, including 1,000 cavalry, 7,000 infantry, and 3,000 ranged troops. Sapreno's army had a total of 9,000 troops, including 200 knights, 1,500 cavalry, and the rest were infantry and archers. A great battle that would determine the future of the Peloponnese was about to begin.