"O Lord! The King of France leads an army of 40,000 to invade Northern Italy?!..."
"Yes! The French King claimed to have an army of 50,000, and the scouts estimated it to be 40,000. As for the more specific figures, although it is still unclear...but the French King did gather thousands of knights in the previous large-scale mobilization! And these knights
, plus the retinue following the knights, it is estimated that we can gather three thousand elite cavalry... As for the infantry, there are probably ten or twenty thousand levied infantry, plus ten or twenty thousand mercenaries..."
"With such ease, we managed to gather 30,000 to 40,000 legions, including 3,000 elite cavalry. The powerful French Kingdom is really enviable!..."
Speaking of the Italian war that has begun, and the strength shown by the Kingdom of France, as a close confidant of King Joao, Nuno, the palace manager, is really envious from the bottom of his heart!
The Kingdom of France, like the Kingdom of Portugal, has a strong centralized royal power. Relying on the strong national power and the close confidants of the French King, the court nobles of the Kingdom of France are obviously more powerful and richer than the Portuguese court nobles...
"Bruno, in God's world, it is the knight's force and courage that ultimately determines the ownership of land and wealth! For example, those commercial city-states in Northern Italy have created some 'humanities and arts' and some 'Renaissance' in recent years.
Showing off their accumulated wealth in various ways..."
"But now, when we meet the real knights and legions, the wealth of these Italian city-states can no longer be defended at all! What do these so-called arts mean when faced with the flag guns of knights and the spears of mercenaries?
What's the use? Those legions with spears and spears will never be soft when they plunder, they must make the weak Italians look good!..."
At this moment, Chief Nuno looked at the mural of the Alawi Knights of his ancestors, stretched out his wrinkled hands, touched the knights' spears in the painting, and sighed from the bottom of his heart.
"Bruno, my godson, you have to remember! ... In the world of God, without nobility, there is no force. Without enough force, there is no stable power! And without power and status, you cannot keep the wealth in your hands!
"
"Just like the Jewish businessman who rode around in Lisbon in a four-wheeled carriage... Who is he? How dare he ride in the same carriage as me and the great nobles? How many contacts has he had in the Lisbon port over the years?
How much private trade has the naval captain conducted, how much loan sharking has he made, and how much wealth has he made?... Do you really think that the court of Sintra doesn't know? Do you really think that our Kingdom of Portugal does not have an Inquisition?!..."
"King João turned a blind eye just for the sake of the Republic of Venice and did not want to cause any trade disputes. The nobles in the court turned a blind eye because they were waiting patiently and waiting.
When the king acquiesced, the bishops of the church turned a blind eye and were raising sheep, raising this unbelieving sheep until they were fat enough! ... Over the years, any Jewish businessman
, who can keep jumping on the stage? They are just sheep that are fattened and then slaughtered!…”
"And now, this sheep has been fat enough! The French have invaded Italy, and the Venetians have no time to take care of themselves, and they still have to ask us for help. They don't dare to fall out at this time... Then, it's time to kill this fat sheep.
It’s time!…”
"Ah! This?!...His Majesty has always known about the private trade of Jewish merchants?...He is fattening lambs for slaughter?..."
"Yes! The time is set for next month! Your Majesty has acquiesced, the palace nobles participated in the house raids, and the church's Inquisition took action to arrest people! This time, even if it looks at the face of the Republic of Venice, it will not label this businessman as a heretic and burn it.
Torch... also has to peel off his fat skin and spit out all the wealth he earned to the kingdom and the church!"
"His Majesty acquiesces, the nobles and the church join forces?! Hiss!..."
Hearing such cold and cruel secrets, Bruno trembled all over, and his heart was beating with fear. You know, the Venetian Jewish businessman has always been generous, and the price of spices and ivory he gave was much higher than that of the Portuguese businessmen in China.
Forty percent higher! Every time he comes back from a voyage, he will bring a large amount of private goods and trade them privately to the other party! And if the king really pursues this matter and finds him out, the consequences...
"Ha! Bruno, look how scared you are! You are the captain with the most private trade goods. Where has your courage to ignore the laws of the kingdom and boldly trade privately now gone? I chose you in the first place because I chose you for this purpose.
Wealth and power, desperate to climb up!…”
"Don't worry! The captains' private trade, as long as it is not excessive, is with His Majesty's tacit approval and will not be pursued afterwards... As for the amount of your private trade, although it is large... I will participate in this matter, and others will naturally sell it to me.
To save face, I’ll let you go easily!…”
"Ah!...Thank you...Thank you...Manager Nuno..."
"What did you call me?"
"Yes! Godfather!"
"ha!…"
Manager Nuno sneered, stretched out his old hand, and gently patted Bruno's cheek in his prime. Bruno looked respectful, lowered his head, and did not feel offended at all. Instead, he only felt close.
At this moment, an unarmed, frail old man who had never killed anyone before faced a strong middle-aged man with a dagger who was killing people like a liger facing a rabbit, occupying an unparalleled psychological advantage! And this,
It is the twisted power of power that is truly terrifying!
"Blessed Virgin! His Majesty Joao has the intention to abdicate... If not for this, we would not be so anxious about many things. There is no need to kill this fat sheep immediately... As for you Bruno, you have encountered a good time.
Met me too!…”
After a moment of revealing himself, Manager Nuno sighed again, his face returning to his old look. He implicitly nodded at King Joao's physical condition, then looked at Bruno, who looked in awe, and continued to give instructions.
"Bruno, before you came back from this voyage... you were just a small fish and shrimp without a foundation. You were fished out and eaten, and I didn't bother to remind you... But now, since you have boarded my boat, you have called me godfather.
...Then I have to give you some advice!"
"Those products that are transported back to the kingdom from the new colonial route...even if it is private trade, you have to sell most of them to domestic merchants! Although the price of domestic merchants is 30% lower, it allows them to make a fortune, which is right
You are definitely not a bad person! You must know that behind those businessmen are the great nobles of Lisbon!..."
"You must always warn yourself: What kind of status you have, what kind of wealth you can earn! No matter how greedy you are, no matter how much you earn...what's the use if you can't keep it? It's just earned for others, but it's just a sheep being fattened by others.
That’s all!…”
"Yes! Yes! Godfather! I will definitely follow your teachings and never forget them for a moment!..."
"Haha! Bruno, don't be so nervous, take it easy! I'm old and can't eat you. From now on, I have to rely on you to support me... Sit down, drink some spice tea, refresh yourself... Unfortunately, I'm here
No coffee, no expensive black beans to wake you up..."
"Yes! Godfather..."
Bruno sat down carefully and secretly remembered "coffee", an expensive drink that he had never drunk before and could not be bought in the market. He looked at Manager Nuno's tired face and felt that the time was almost up.
, and asked the question that I had been worried about.
"Godfather...that...Martin volunteered to go to sea, but died of illness outside...the Governor of the Azores?..."
"Ha! Martin..."
Manager Nuno grinned, as cold as an old dog. He glanced at Bruno and said quietly.
"Bruno, you have caused great trouble in this matter... The Governor of the Azores personally wrote a letter and reported it to His Majesty!..."
"Ah! Godfather! Please, please save me..."
"It doesn't matter! I have already suppressed it for you, and His Majesty also nodded. Since Martin has died of illness, it is over. From now on, the Governor of Azores will not dare to publicly trouble you again... However, he mentioned a name,
It seems to be some kind of Bosun Haroldo... Is this person dead?..."
Manager Nuno looked at him with sharp eyes, which made Bruno's heart tremble. He tried to open his mouth, like a fish out of water, his heart was churning, and he stammered in reply.
"He...he's dead..."
"Really dead?..."
"Really dead! This time, of the fifty people who went to sea, more than forty died... Haroldo didn't survive either and was beaten to death by the natives..."
"Um…"
Manager Nuno nodded, not caring about the life or death of such a small person. He took a sip of spiced tea and moistened his throat before continuing to give instructions.
"Bruno, the ceremony for your promotion to baron will be held in twenty days... I have already told the palace nobles that it must be completed before the next trip to sea to avoid more trouble... It is just that with your qualifications, it is inevitable to be promoted to baron.
There will still be people gossiping. When I was talking about the Jewish businessman with you just now, I suddenly thought of a way for you to make another contribution that would satisfy the other court nobles and please the Bishop of Lisbon!…"
"Ah? What's the solution? Please ask Godfather for your instructions!..."
"Well... next month, you will be the leader of the Venetian Jewish businessman who ransacked his house! You take action on my behalf, and by the way, you will wipe all the marks left on your own butt... As for the things copied, the church will
The knights and the palace knights looked at it together, roughly 40% of the church, 30% of the palace, and 30% of the king... If you have anything you like, just keep it for yourself, one or two!..."
"! Let me lead a team to search the house?...Yes! Yes! I will listen to you, godfather!..."
Seeing Bruno's obedient reaction, Manager Nuno raised the corners of his mouth and nodded with satisfaction. He was old, often went to church to pray, and wanted to ascend to heaven safely in the future, and he really didn't want to get blood on his hands. What's more, he often went to church to pray.
If there was any reaction from the Republic of Venice, with Bruno's "knife" as a buffer, he would be able to move forward and retreat freely.
"Bruno, my godson. Your first priority during this voyage and exploration is to establish a stronghold in the New World. As for contact with the dangerous ancient kingdom of Sipan, that is secondary. You can put it aside first..."
"Yes! Godfather!..."
"The kingdom has imprisoned Columbus for a year and a half. Now that you have returned with news of the New World and the Italian War has begun...it is time to put Columbus back in Castile. If you don't put him back, Fernando
It is a trivial matter for the king to be angry. If Queen Isabella publicly denounces the Portuguese royal family and affects the reputation of the kingdom... she will be in trouble!..."
"In the world of God, the influence of the holy Queen Isabella is much greater than that of the conspiratorial King Fernando... What a pity! A full twenty years have passed since the War of Succession to the Throne of Castile! Twenty years ago
, the kingdom failed to stop Isabella, and failed to let Princess Joanna take the throne... Every time the king mentioned this matter, he felt very heartbroken! This is the biggest regret of the Kingdom of Portugal in the past two hundred years!..."
Manager Nuno looked tired and looked more and more old as he talked about old things from twenty years ago. Bruno looked respectful, and after listening to the old things that he was not interested in, he asked doubtfully.
"Godfather, that guy Columbus holds the secret of the new sea route and has committed six major crimes of the kingdom... let him go like this?... Or else, just like the Jewish businessman, give him..."
"Ha! Bruno, you kid is really ruthless and more courageous than me! ...Although Columbus is annoying, he can't kill him. Because behind him, there are really two kings of Iberia, Castile and
The interests and face of the United Kingdom of Aragon!"
Manager Nuno looked solemn, shook his head solemnly, and explained patiently.
"If Columbus is really killed, the two kings will have a reason to start a war against us! And the King of France has invaded Italy. Neither France nor the Holy See can control Castile at the moment, this poor and ferocious jihadist kingdom!..."
"Before the Italian war completely involved the two kings, it was the most dangerous time for the Castilian mad dogs... It would be better for them to focus on the new route and the dangerous Sipangu waters... Then, let them
They went to have a good encounter with the ancient kingdom of Sipan! ...As for Columbus, with his talkative and arrogant character, baseless background, and original sin from blood, even if he was treated politely in the Kingdom of Castile
For a while, it will never end well!"
"By the way! Bruno, while you are establishing a stronghold in the New World, you can also pay attention to the progress of the Castilians! When necessary, you can actually find a way to reveal the cards to the 'jihad' native kingdom.
The background and location of the Styrian people, and even selling some weapons, just like you did before..."
"Ah? Sell weapons? Yes! Yes! It's up to you, Godfather!..."
Hearing "reselling weapons", Bruno's heart trembled again. He didn't know which sailor leaked the news, or other naval officers secretly saw the truth. But Manager Nuno did not go into details, or maybe
He was used to it. He just took another sip of the spice tea, slowly stretched out his old hand, pointed at the corner where the spider web was noisy, and said with an interesting smile.
"Haha! Look, two struggling moths! One fell into the spider web without knowing it. The other one, haha! A moth flies into the flame!..."
