The man who was called very rich by Alexander, of course, was the Fugger family.

When Gurt Fugger appeared in Pisa, Alexander had prepared a plan for him that was enough to impress him, which was far more attractive than the Pisa exchanges, and even if you put it more carefully, it was not inferior even to the Hungarian copper mines.

It's just that Gurt Fugger, like all rich men, was not in any way stingy or cautious because of the enormous wealth at his disposal, so that even though Alexander had proposed to him the grand plan of acquiring the ownership of the ports on the Mediterranean coast, he was still more willing to cooperate with Alexander only in what he thought was a more reliable deal for copper mines.

However, it was precisely because he had agreed to exchange the money for the Hanseatic League credit that Grognin preferred to believe that Alexander was indeed sincere in cooperating with him.

Alexander, who had sent Kotschach away, met with Grogenin alone again, and this time, even Josha was not able to participate in their conversation.

Grogenen played with a cane, which was made of a very strong rattan rod, and the silver grip on the handle of the staff was very disguised to wrap around the shaft, and the original sterling silver handle at the top was inlaid with emeralds that looked very eye-catching, and the slightly taper end of the staff was wrapped in an iron sheath.

Alexander knew very well that what seemed to be a slight weight was actually deadly, or that there was a sharp dagger hidden in the cane, or that the cane itself was a dangerous weapon.

And he noticed that despite his disability, Grogenen's body was very strong, especially the powerful muscles on his sloping shoulders, which were obviously shorter than the other side, which was enough to show that anyone who underestimated this person could pay a price.

"We need to have a good talk," Alexander said, looking at Grogenin, "if you want to achieve your ideals, then cooperate with me and do not hide anything." ”

"You know what I want?" Grogenin reclined in his chair and looked at Alexander with a slightly sarcastic gaze: "How can you possibly know what I want, how can you possibly understand my dreams, an adventurer from Sicily, a man who has gained status and wealth by virtue of his skillful hands." ”

"I may not understand," Alexander was not annoyed by Groganin's taunt, and took out a stack of sealed cashier's tickets with the Hanseatic sail logo from the secret compartment of the table and threw them in front of Grogenin, "but I know that this must be the best proof of what I have said to you. ”

Grogenin picked up the promissory notes and flipped through them, a look of astonishment on his face.

"This is the Hanseatic credit I had people buy, worth a total of 21,000 ducats," Alexander looked at Grogenen, "I think you know what this money means. ”

"Of course, this means that you can withdraw any goods of equal value from any of the Alliance's traders at any time." Grogenin said calmly, but he didn't understand what Alexander was doing with these promissory notes.

So he's waiting.

"Now I'll give you the money."

Alexander's answer really surprised Grogenin, and the more than 20,000 promissory notes did not make him lose his temper, but he did not understand why Alexander did this.

"With this money you can buy all the small goods you can buy, and then you can hoard them all the time in the port of Amsterdam, but all this will have to be done before the port is closed, and as for what you want to buy," Alexander thought for a moment, "as long as you can occupy a lot of warehouses and all kinds of transport vessels, and everything that is cheap." ”

"What are you going to do?" Grogenen's fingers tapped lightly on the pile of promissory notes, and he noticed that Alexander only offered to buy and not to sell at all, and more importantly, he seemed to care only about the quantity of goods, and as for whether he made money, he didn't even say what kind of goods to buy, which was a bit too strange.

Instead of seeing the young man in front of him as a pawn to be used, Grogenen noticed that their identities seemed to be changing.

"I know you don't really want Philip to succeed, do you?" Alexander looked at Grogenen, whose expression changed slightly, "Maybe in the eyes of others, Philip may be a good monarch of the Dutch, but you don't seem to think so, and even the higher Philip's prestige, the more you think that it is actually more harmful to the Netherlands, because what you want is not to restore the parliament of the Netherlands at all, but to establish a country of its own." ”

Grogenin listened in a daze, he knew that his mind should have been exposed when he participated in this "conspiracy", but he always thought that no one would see through his mind.

Even if Kotschach had suspicions, he would only think that he wanted to stop Philip for the sake of the family, just like the palace minister himself, he decided to get involved, and even took the initiative to leak Vienna's dissatisfaction with Philip, just to seek benefits.

But now, Alexander has completely torn off all his disguises and disguises, directly exposing his purpose!

Grogenin's iron-gray eyes opened instantly, and he stared at Alexander's face, trying to tell from his demeanor that he had really discovered his purpose, or if he was just guessing by mistake.

But the look he saw from Alexander made Grognin understand in his heart that it was obvious that the young man in front of him really knew everything.

"How could you ......" Grogenin wanted to ask something, but then waved his hand helplessly, "Okay, now tell me why you want me to do this." ”

"Of course, it is to plunge the port of Amsterdam into the chaos before the closure," Alexander did not hide his purpose, "Since the Ertona Chamber of Commerce is a supporter of Philip, then the Chamber of Commerce must be dealt a blow first, because the urgent need for goods will cause many merchants to hoard goods in large quantities, and then ship them to the interior of Europe through Amsterdam before the port closure, including many cities between the Hanseatic League, isn't that right?" ”

Grognin nodded silently, he had vaguely guessed what Alexander was going to do, but because he guessed, he felt that the idea seemed a little too absurd.

"Well, then, we're going to buy enough of all kinds of goods before the merchants do, and as I said, I don't need them to sell, as long as they fill the docks and warehouses all over Amsterdam, so that the goods of other merchants can't be transported into the interior of Europe on time before the closure because there are no ships, no warehouses, and no spare ships."

"You're crazy," Grogenin looked at Alexander in amazement, "Do you know how much it costs to do this, you can't even last a week with these 20,000 ducats you can buy." ”

"That's why I'm going to exchange this money for Hanseatic credit," Alexander said, pulling the wad of money from Grogenin's finger and fiddling with it, before pushing it back in front of Grogenin, "I want you to vouch for me in the name of the Grogenins, and to transfer the same amount of goods to all your allies in the Hanseatic League with 10 times the amount of these credits." ”

Grogenin's unmoving face finally changed, and the cane in his hand slammed the marble floor, and at the same time as he made a muffled sound, his originally collapsed right shoulder suddenly shrugged upward!

Grogenin gasped slowly, he needed to think about it, and at this time he even somewhat understood Kotschach's feelings when he faced a difficult choice.

Kotschach is at a loss as to whether to betray the Netherlands for the sake of his family, while Grogenin is at a loss as to whether to risk putting the entire Grogenin family in a desperate situation for the sake of the future of the Netherlands.

"Isn't there any other way?" Groganin asked, but without waiting for Alexander to answer, he shook his head and overturned the idea, "Yes, I told you, these 20,000 ducats can't meet the requirements you said at all, but let my family take such a big risk for this......"

"You just mentioned ideals," Alexander glanced at Groganin, "or do you think your ideals are not enough to cost you so much?" ”

Alexander's words provoked Groganin, who first gave a look of anger and then quickly restrained himself.

The Lowlander stood up and walked back and forth on the ground on crutches, he didn't expect to come to this meeting and was so surprised that he was faced with such a difficult decision, and his mind was a little confused because he was not prepared at all.

Finally, Grognin stopped, his gaze fixed on the ground in front of him, and after a moment he slowly turned his head to look at Alexander.

"If I do this, if I fail, the whole family will perish, right?"

"Not only that, but your family will not be able to survive in the Netherlands, at least for a day the Netherlands will belong to the Viennese court, and you will not return to that land."

Grogenen gasped deeply, and although he knew what Alexander was saying, he still shuddered slightly at the sound of it.

"But what if it succeeds?!" Grogenen's eyes fixed on Alexander, "What kind of return can you guarantee my family is waiting for?" ”

"Ten times the mortgage," said Alexander, calmly, "in exchange for the forthcoming Roman Exchange, which was to be established, seized half of all European market profits during the closure of Amsterdam from the winter of 1497 to the spring of 1498 because of the delayed shipment of goods." ”

Groganin's hand on his cane shook again, and the cane shook slightly before he clenched it tightly and fell without a hand.

From December to the next year, the closure of Amsterdam will take nearly 4 months, and for this 4-month closure period, how many goods will merchants prepare to be shipped from Amsterdam into the interior of Europe, and compared with the profits from the goods sold in Europe in the whole of Europe in 4 months, what is the 10 times the mortgage?

For a moment, Grogenin realized the huge gap without even thinking about it.

Even if there were still many other ports in Europe that had to sell goods to the mainland to share the profits, or even if the Roman Exchange was about to be established, it would not be able to dump goods all over Europe, but the huge advantage in numbers was enough for Groganin to easily realize the unimaginably huge returns.

Moreover, as Alexander said, if he failed, his family would have to be forced into exile, but if he succeeded, it would mean that the Grogenenians would become the heroes of the Netherlands.

"I need to put this into paper, Count," said Groganin in a deep voice, and then he thought for a moment before he said, "I also ask for a protective order from the Pope, allowing my family to settle in Rome in the event of possible persecution, and to receive the protection of the Pope." ”

Hearing this, Alexander looked at Grogenin a little strangely, he didn't believe that this shrewd lowland man would not know about Alexander VI's bad credit, so he would make such a request, Alexander felt a little incredible.

"Don't look at me like that, I know what I'm doing," Groganin said, "I'm going to leave a way for myself and my family, and as for the Pope, if you can help me get this protective order, we can work together on this matter." ”

Alexander groaned slightly, then nodded silently.

Seeing that Alexander agreed, Grogenin let out a breath, and it seemed that his spirit, which had been tense at this moment, also relaxed.

"Philip is a very popular young man," Grogenin looked at Alexander as if to explain something, "you have not met him, so it is impossible to imagine that he is a charismatic young ruler, and even I personally like him without being bored by the fact that he is the son of the Emperor." ”

"I guess the wealthy merchants of the Netherlands still hope for him, right?" Alexander nodded his head in understanding, then handed over a wine glass, "Or do they crave a good monarch?" ”

"Yes, a good monarch," Groganin took a sip of his wine, then shook his head with a little emotion, "if only personally, I am not against him, and his father is more enlightened than Philip, and he even developed his palace for merchants to hold banquets there to negotiate business. ”

"It's a fair," Alexander muttered in a low voice, for he had not expected that one of his future greatest enemies would be such a man, and that the Grand Duke of Vienna, who he remembered as his wife, was not a very likable man.

The only thing that impressed him for posterity, apart from his brutal treatment of his wife, was his dishonorable death.

But now it seems that Alexander is somewhat surprised to find that he is likely to face a promising monarch who is trusted by the people and seems to be quite enlightened, which makes Alexander feel a little strange.

"Occupying all the traffic in the port of Amsterdam in advance, so that those goods cannot be transported to the interior of Europe on time, is enough to put the Ertona Chamber of Commerce in an irreparable situation, and then there are a large number of merchants who are angry with Philip because of the loss, after all, they have suffered this kind of thing under his rule."

Groganin whispered that he had almost fully understood Alexander's plan by this time, but what really made him pay attention was the timing of the exchange of the credit notes.

"This was a few months ago," Gragenin looked at Alexander in amazement, looking at the bills, "Did you plan all this months ago, or did you think about it then?" ”

"I thought about what to do, but I wasn't sure you were going to get involved, and though you sent Lady Olgala to Rome, I'm not sure you'd take any risks for it."

"And how can you be sure that I will work with you?"

Grogenen asked with some curiosity, and he had a strange feeling that although things seemed to be in the end as he had imagined, and that the young man had become a help in his path to great ideals, the trajectory of things had changed beyond imagination.

By now, Groganin didn't even know who was taking advantage of whom.

"Actually, it's the palace minister," Alexander smiled, "the palace minister has been staying in Rome and not returning to Vienna, even when he heard that the Ottomans might attack Vienna, he didn't leave, which makes me guess maybe it's because he is not powerful in Vienna." ”

"You're right," Gragenin smiled, "the palace minister is not pleasing to the emperor, this is because his family once had a bad relationship with the royal family, but what does this have to do with me?" ”

"In this case, I naturally think that it is possible for the palace minister to cooperate with me."

Alexander knew that the Lowlanders were so inquisitive that they wanted to know how much chance of success this seemingly whimsical and even audacious plan had, so Alexander decided to simply tell him everything and completely dispel Grogenin's scruples.

"The court minister can negotiate with those German lords in his own capacity, and those princes may not be loyal to the emperor, but they will certainly be loyal to wealth, and all I can bring to them is wealth," Alexander picked up a note on the table and held it up to Groganin, "Tell me what else can be compared to gold, so I know that since I can bring them wealth, then you will not refuse me because of risk." ”

Looking at the expensive bill in Alexander's hand, Grogenen slowly took it from him.

"You're wrong, there's always something more reassuring than gold," Grogenin shook his head slightly, "Believe me, if you were under the emperor's rule, you would never know when your wealth would become a collection in his treasury, even his wise son could not guarantee eternal justice, but a Netherlands with a parliament could guarantee that yours would always be yours, so it was for this that I didn't want to see the Habsburgs rule us forever." ”

After Grogenin finished speaking, he picked up the thick pile of bills on the table, put them into the thick leather bag he had brought with him, and walked towards the door step by step with his cane.

Alexander watched Gragenin's back in silence until he opened the door and walked out into the hallway before Alexander spoke: "Don't worry, I can guarantee that you won't regret your decision today." ”

Groganin paused, and he glanced at Alexander in the room, as if he had thought for a moment, before he said, "There is something that you should probably know, that Ottoman Ashulk has come to Rome to find a man. ”

"Looking for someone?" Alexander was a little surprised, he didn't know why Grogenin suddenly mentioned the Ottoman.

"I don't know who this man is, but another person is looking for him, and you know that person," Groganin smiled softly, "and it was Lady Connie O, who had been with Miss Countess. ”

Alexander looked surprised, thinking about Ashulk, and the odd men she had led when he first met Lady Conneo, and he couldn't help but think that maybe it might be time to talk to the big-wielding Ottoman vizier.

Solid Bear said

The last few chapters may have friends who find boring and boring, these are all for the later big plot to lay the groundwork, after all, it is the end of 1497, think about the exciting events that happened in 1498 the following year, it is worth the wait.