The Eagle of Eastern Europe

When he was idle, Peter imitated the Emperor of the East and paid a private visit incognito. He took a few guards with him and walked around Zaporozhye himself.

Zaporozhye Market is the center of all commodity trading. Several nearby streets are also occupied by workshops. Blankets, jewelry, food, and ironware are all traded here.

Peter approached a stall. The products here were all jewelry, textiles, etc. When the businessman saw a customer coming, he quickly introduced the goods.

"How much does this cost?", Peter asked holding a blanket.

"Sir, you are really discerning. This is a blanket made of bearskin from Moscow, worth 30 lei."

60 lei didn't sound expensive, so Peter paid it happily. The businessman took the opportunity to sell him something else.

"Sir, please look at this. This is a hat and a coat made of mink fur. This is a necklace made of amber produced in Livonia. It will be beautiful for your wife to wear when you go back."

The merchant used his own words to exaggerate his products. Peter excitedly spent another 20 lei to buy a mink coat, and let the butler buy the rest.

As the most well-informed place in Zaporizhia, the tavern is also an important place for Peter. As soon as he opened the door, the hilarious atmosphere inside almost pushed him out. All kinds of people do things in pubs besides drinking, mostly gambling.

Winning or losing is determined by throwing dice to compare the sizes. Sometimes when your throat is full of smoke, you have to have a glass of wine or other drinks to quench your thirst. Of course, all kinds of dark things happen here.

Peter ordered a Moldovan wine, a roast lamb, and a beef stew, and sat on the second floor near the fence. The guards around him chose low-alcohol beer because they wanted to protect the emperor.

The beef and sheep from the Ukrainian region have different flavors after being cooked with unique local methods. It was the first time for Peter to eat such food and he couldn't stop for a moment.

At this moment, a man walked over from the side, "This master". Peter stopped what he was doing and looked at the other person. It turned out to be a waiter in the tavern.

"What's the matter with you?" Peter asked.

"Our boss wants to have a chat with you. I wonder if you can give me a favor?"

This was the first time I saw him, and the guard beside him wanted to rush over and beat him, but was stopped by Peter. "Can you tell me who your boss is?"

"You'll know when you get there."

Peter followed the people to the room behind the tavern, which had more gambling facilities and was completely a casino. There are constant cheers, frights, and wailings here, and it is possible to get rich overnight or lose everything here.

Across here, there is a richly decorated room, with precious furs as carpets, bear heads and deer heads as hangings, and on the sofa in the middle, a luxuriously dressed man is sitting there.

The "boss" waiter bowed forward and left.

"Sorry, I disturbed you just now. Please sit down."

The other party expressed his apology, and Peter also sat down and crossed his legs and said, "I don't know why you invited me here. It can't be as simple as saying hello, right?"

The other party smiled: "Your Excellency is right, I am Ivan Paskevich. I invite you here today because I hope you will cooperate with me."

"Cooperation, why are you looking for me?"

Ivan nodded, "The emperor came to Zaporizhia a few days ago. My people did not get any information about the emperor after asking many questions, but they all said that there is one person who can move freely in the military camp. This person is you."

"I hope you can reveal some information about the emperor. If you can say a few nice words in front of the emperor, then I will definitely thank you."

Peter understood clearly that he was someone who wanted to gain something through the emperor's favor. "What do you want, money, honor, or official position?"

The other party shook his head: "I already have all these things. I was once a Cossack. Later, the empire occupied this place and started doing some business. But the damn Poles repeatedly destroyed my caravan, and the news of the recent exploration to the east spread Come, if you can get the emperor's authorization, that will be enough."

It turned out to be the right to explore the southern grasslands. Peter thought for a moment and said, "This must be approved by the emperor. Individuals can also explore, but all costs must be borne by themselves."

"The cost will not be borne by the government, and I will hand over 50,000 lei to His Majesty every year."

Peter was stunned. He knew that the profits from going to the Eastern Grassland would not reach this level, so he asked the other party what to do.

Ivan clapped his hands and saw a cage being pushed out, lifting the cloth on it, and a naked body was revealed in front of Peter. It was a young girl. Her expression showed fear. She was wearing large handcuffs. It looked like she had just been arrested.

"Are you going to make your money back on this?" Peter asked.

"Yes, these Poles and Lithuanians have repeatedly attacked my caravan. How can we take revenge if we don't give them a little strength? Not only these, but the Jews are also among them."

Only then did Peter realize that the other party was engaged in the slave trade. It seemed that he had done a lot of things, so Poland attacked his caravan.

"That's right. It's true that there is a shortage of people there. It's not impossible if we can use them to replace them."

"I knew you were definitely on this side. As long as you can bring a license for slave trafficking, the gift I will give you will not be small at all."

It seems that in the eastern region, people and sophistication are learned faster than in the west. In the Roman Empire, engaging in slave trade required a license approved by the emperor, and 10% of the profits were handed over to the emperor every year. Even so, the slave trade was still a very profitable industry.

Take the import of black slaves from Abyssinia as an example. About 10,000 black slaves were sold to Rome every year, but one-fifth died because they did not recover well after castration, and some sank to the bottom of the sea, so they could not reach Rome. There were only more than 5,000 people in Constantinople. The price of a black slave was about 100 lei, and it could be higher for strong ones.

"It seems that you are really able to seize business opportunities and know that slaves are the most profitable, so you are ready to apply for a license."

"To be honest, I have applied for it before, but it was only temporary and will be useless once the time is up, so I still ask for your help."

I saw the other party giving me some gifts, including jewelry from Bohemia, furs from Moscow, and various precious things. It seems that they have been observing very carefully these days and are determined to win this business.

"In that case, I have to go back and ask the emperor for instructions. Just wait for my news. If it passes, don't forget what you said."

"Don't worry, sir. As long as you succeed, you will be given gifts with both hands."

Peter nodded and asked people to take these things and leave. As soon as he left, the wails of the Polish slave girls could be heard from behind.