Gurvio Pazzi is the owner of this large house, located in the back street of the Baptistery, with an ancient exterior but a rather palatial interior furnishings.

It's just that although this place is luxurious, it looks somewhat shabby compared to the Pazi Palace, which the family once pridered of.

But even so, Gurvio Pazzi did not live in the main building of the house, but in a large suite in the side annex.

Most of the doors and windows of the house are boarded up, and through the gaps between the boards, you can see that the inside is all black, which is a bit scary.

And when James walked into the suite, he noticed that not only were the walls empty, but even some of the columns that had been wrapped in elaborate patterns had been painted to reveal the original color of the wood inside.

As for the ground, the marble floor of the Guangkeze people is still intact, but the luxurious carpet that was originally laid on it has disappeared.

But though there was a kind of simplicity that seemed to be deliberately pursued everywhere, a striking coat of arms hanging on the lintel clearly caught James's attention.

The heraldry with a gold pattern on a blue background and the coat of arms of the golden conch belonged to the Pazzi family, who had been stripped of their authority years ago because they had plotted the murder of the Medici family.

Many of those involved in the conspiracy were executed, and Francisco Pazzi, who was then head of the Pazzi family, was beaten to death in the street by the enraged Medici and their supporters, along with the main messengers.

The entire family was expelled from Florence and exiled.

Now, with the Metici family overthrown and exiled, the Pazzi family has not only returned to Florence, but has also secured a high position in the government of Savonarola.

Gurvio Pazzi is a burly man, and as the head of the current Pazzi family, Gurvio Pazzi is one of the six consuls in charge of different things in the current Florentine government, after Savonarola as chief consul, and he is quite high.

Gurvio Pazzi's sturdiness was somewhat unexpected, he had thought that he should be a small aristocratic bureaucrat with a calculating face, but now he looked more like a soldier ready to rush into battle.

"Don't stand there in a daze, come over here," Gurvio Pazzi waved his hand to James standing in the doorway, "If it used to be that I could have served you good wine, or I could have invited you to eat a meal that the whole of Florence would envy, but now these things are symbols of depravity and sin, so I can only ask you to drink this." ”

Gurvio Pazzi said, picking up a rudimentary-looking ceramic jar from the table next to him and shaking it at James.

"But don't underestimate this Florentine strawberry wine, after drinking it, you will find that it actually tastes pretty good." As he spoke, the host poured two full cups, "Some of my friends said that a merchant wanted to see me, and they worked very hard to tell you something, I think you must have spent a lot of money on them." So I'm giving you this opportunity, but you'd better be plain and simple, I don't have a lot of time. ”

"Honorable Archon, I'm here to ......"

"Wait a minute," Gurvio Pazzi raised his hand to stop James, "In Florence, the title 'Honorable Consul' can only be given to one person, and that is our leader and mentor Savonarola, and for us we only need to be addressed as Consul. ”

"I'm sorry, Archon," James quickly corrected, "That's the Archon, I think you already know what I'm here for, but I'll tell you a little bit more," said James's expression slightly straightened, "I hope to be able to set up an exchange in Florence, I think you've noticed something that happened in the Florentine market before, the chaos is even a little scary, and I don't think the Florentine government wants that kind of thing to happen, so I think I can help you in this matter." ”

"A ...... Exchanges, can you tell me what that does? Gurvio Pazzi asked quietly.

"Archon, it's a special purpose to regulate today's chaotic market," James said earnestly, "I've been to Pisa, and I've had the pleasure of dealing with the Count of Montina, so I'm well aware of their exchange, and the Pisan people move and sell goods through this kind of thing, and this exchange often uses very little money to mobilize ten times or more goods, and then only needs to pay the money and interest signed at the time of the previous transaction, That's why the pisa's secret to the frenzied pouring of all sorts of goods into Florence was in the past. ”

"Oh?" Gurvio Pazzi's expression moved slightly, he was leaning back in the chair and leaning forward slightly, with a slightly concerned look on his face, "Tell me what you're going to do." ”

"Yes, I found that although the Pisians have a relatively strong trade alliance, what they are really good at is the kind of means of mobilizing a large number of goods with very little money, and they can easily control the pricing power of almost all goods through that exchange, which is the most terrible part, they can keep the price down to the point that others simply cannot afford it, and through that kind of credit loan-like means, they don't have to worry about their funds not being recovered in time."

Speaking of this, James bent down slightly and saluted: "Qing forgive me, take your can of strawberry wine as an example, if I buy 100 cans at the same time, even if the cost is very low, I may be worried that I can't hesitate to take it back because the funds are pressed on these wines, but if I can buy 100 cans with only 10 cans, even if these wines are temporarily backlogged in my hands, the cost is only one-tenth, and I can use the rest of the money to invest in other better industries, And I will always have a business of 100 cans of strawberry wine, do you think such a place is very useful? ”

Listening to James's words, Gurvio Pazzi's face slowly became solemn, and he stroked his shaved chin with his hand, as if wondering how much of James's words could be believed.

"Have you seen that Count Montina?" Gurvio Pazzi glanced at James, "Can you tell me how you met him and what kind of person he is?" ”

"I have sent grain to the north for him," seemed to be unclear enough, and James shrugged, "in fact, he had sent grain to the French, and he was not a count at that time, but a small lord of Naples, but his uncle was Count Mordillo of Naples, and I must know this lord to you." ”

Pazzi nodded to know.

"In terms of business, I think there are some things that the Count is really different from all of us, his methods may seem a little ridiculous at first, but if you think about it a little, you will find that they are actually very wonderful, and I have never seen a more savvy person in this regard, and I think you have also seen what happened in Florence recently, and I am sure he must have made a lot of money this time, but this is not the most important thing, the point is that the Count of Montina can always come up with ways that others can't think of, Maybe at the same time we were discussing, he had a new idea. ”

"You seem to have a lot of respect for him." Pazzi muttered.

"No, Archon, in fact I'm a little afraid of him," James shook his head, "I think if we want to open such an exchange, then we must have a good relationship with the Count of Montina, and even invite the Count to do business with us if necessary, this is the way he came up with after all, and if we join forces with them, we can borrow the role of his trade alliance, which will be very helpful to us, you should know that the Hanseatic League has been able to prosper for so many years because they have a group of firm allies." ”

"But I have heard that this Count of Montina is close to the Pope's daughter, and even that Lucrezia now lives with him in Pisa, is that so?"

Hearing Patzi's question, James secretly criticized Alexander's "indiscretions" in his heart, but he still quickly said: "Consul, I think you have misunderstood, Count Montina did have a very close relationship with that young lady, but he did not get along well with the Pope, especially with Caesar Borgia, their relationship was very bad. Caesar had publicly stated that he would never recognize the relationship between the count and his sister, and it was said that the Borgia were actively marrying the Neapolitan royal family, preparing to marry Lucrezia to King Frederick's nephew, Alfonso, Duke of Billy Silly. ”

Pazzy nodded silently, he had heard more or less of these news, so he knew that the merchant in front of him had not lied to him.

On the contrary, because he knew these things very well, it proved that the man was indeed on good terms with the earl, otherwise it was unlikely that a small merchant would have been able to inquire about such news, which would only have circulated among the upper echelons of the nobility.

But even then, Patzi didn't intend to give him an answer right away.

He needs to think about it, because Florence is in trouble right now.

The scene that had taken place in Florence was so impressive that ordinary citizens might not have felt it too much, or they had paid attention to it because they had heard of the suicide of the speculators, but the officials of the town hall were well aware of the huge impact it had on Florence.

According to the statistics of the Ministry of Finance not long ago, in September alone, Florence lost nearly 60,000 florins, which is a frightening amount even for a place like Florence.

Worse is yet to come.

In order to hoard more goods, the speculators not only invested all their possessions, but also borrowed money everywhere, even quietly borrowing usury from the Jews who traveled between Pisa and Florence.

As soon as the loans were not repaid, the merchants fell into utter despair.

Some people choose a path that is both brave and cowardly, and they escape their suffering from the world by committing suicide, a way that prevents them from ascending to heaven even after death, while most people have to struggle with debts that they may not be able to pay in their lifetime.

And it was these people, because of them, that many Florentine possessions turned into piles of goods in the warehouses, and this caused panic that frightened the Florentines.

Fearing that their fortune would eventually become a worthless pile of rags, representatives were sent to the government in the hope that Florentine officials would help them solve their problems.

For this, the Florence City Hall had a headache and was at a loss.

Leaving the large Pazzi house, James walked slowly down the street behind the Baptistery.

The weather is already a little cold, and the yellow leaves are floating everywhere in the wind, and the crunch sound of stepping on the ground full of dead leaves seems to keep reminding people that a cold winter is coming soon.

James' residence was in a large compound by the Arno River.

This is a group of residential houses built on a vacant lot surrounded by houses around it.

There was a well in the middle of the yard, and dozens of nearby families used the water from this well, so the well was polished very brightly, and in the summer women would chat while beating their clothes with a laundry hammer on the stones of the well, but now sitting in front of the well was a group of men, who were watching a young man draw.

"You should have gone to those masters to learn from them," a man shook his head, looking at the images on the young man's drawing board that had been sketched with simple lines, "but you're doing well now, and I heard that your friend is making a lot of money, right?" ”

"I don't know," said Roenzo Sabatini casually, as he drew earnestly, "he wasn't at home all day, and sometimes I went out with him and didn't know what he was doing." ”

"You should go to those masters, they will teach you."

The man said again, but in exchange for the ridicule of the people next to him.

"Forget it, even the greatest barrel has given up on painting, what do you think he can learn?" A man next to him shook his head, "And the honorable consul said a lot, what can those paintings give us, except that they can be displayed in the living rooms of the nobles for them to show off, we still have to run for the bread of the day, so our consul hates the flashy things, and he would rather spend his money on us poor people than pay a copper plate for the artists." ”

"That's right, and the women, who dress up every day, but what's the use, a prayer is much shorter than the time they spend at the dresser, but it saves our souls."

The man's words drew the chord of the people around him, who drew a cross on their chests and reverently whispered a few verses of scripture before they sat down again and continued to talk.

The man who had repeatedly advised Ron to learn to paint was a little embarrassed and vaguely uneasy, and he intended to talk to others, but he obviously received the coldness of others.

Luo Enzuo thought this person was good, at least he could talk to him in this compound.

However, after discovering that the man seemed to be in a low mood, Luo Enzuo also devoted all his attention to the drawing board in his hand.

When James returned, Ron was looking at his painting carefully, and the young man smiled when he saw James.

Following James into Florence, the young Ron Zuo experienced many things that he found unbelievable, and he visited the master whom he revered, but to his surprise, Botticelli seemed to have no interest in teaching him to paint.

On the contrary, the painting giant never tires of complaining about the evils and even evils of art, which makes young people wonder and bewilder.

He felt as if Botticelli was filled with a great hatred for his own great works of art, as if they were not his masterpieces, but symbols of some kind of depravity.

This left the young man completely bewildered by this unexpected result.

Even when he returned to the compound, he could not wake up from the accident and shock.

The unexpected setback of his apprenticeship left Roenzo Sabatini frustrated, and his stay in Florence left him worried about his struggling life.

Having to earn some money by keeping accounts for James's business, Ron Zuo continued to study tenaciously in the hope of impressing Botticelli again, but to his disappointment, the idea seemed a little too naïve.

With the exception of Botticelli, Roenzo had found that the people around him seemed to share the master's hatred for what could lure people into depravity.

And those who don't agree with this idea are gradually being isolated.

He remembered what James had told him earlier that something strange was happening in the city, but Ronzo, who was entirely focused on painting and trying to get ahead as soon as possible, didn't know where all this weirdness came from.

The only person he could safely talk to now was James, because he didn't know when he noticed that people didn't seem to be so close to each other anymore.

Or from the very beginning he should have noticed the strangeness of the Florentine, the attitude that seemed to keep a certain distance and wariness of those around him.

The Florentine devotion to God surprised Loenzo, and although he had not been to many places before, he had never seen a place with such insane devotion as the Florentine.

According to the Chief Principal's command, every morning people were required to ask God for spiritual guidance after prayer, and at noon, while thanking God for food, they were to eat a small bite of salted dry bread that foreshadowed the flesh of Jesus Christ.

In the evening, the Florentines, who had lost all kinds of gatherings and dinners, had to do nothing but repent to God and reflect on what they had done that day after dinner.

It's like this in the whole yard, it's like this in this street, and it seems to be like this in the whole city.

This is the Florence of God and the Florence of Savonarola.

"Don't paint anymore," James walked over to Ron's left and looked at it and shook his head, he didn't have much appreciation for art, maybe he would be more interested if the canvas was painted with a glittering Florin, "We're going to have something to do soon." ”

"What are we going to do?" Ron asked curiously, although he regarded the pursuit of art as his goal, but following James during this time has also opened his eyes a little.

No one knew exactly how much James had made in this massive dumping spree, but Ron knew that he could buy any nearby palace now if he wanted to.

"Remember the Florentine merchants who hoarded goods in warehouses that they couldn't sell?" Seeing that Ron Zuo nodded a little dazedly, James showed a playful smile, "I found a good buyer for them." ”

"Buyer, you mean everything?" The young man asked, a little stunned.

"Yes, I sold all the goods, whether they themselves had sold them earlier or later by the Pisbians." James said smugly.

"But how is this possible, knowing that those goods are worth at least nearly 100,000 florins, who can pay so much money at once?" Ron asked in surprise.

"There will always be someone," said James, shrugging his shoulders and admitting the young man as he was about to ask, "I confess that I have been a bit of a brag, but I have not found a buyer yet, but it is about the same, and I am sure that at least if the Count of Montina hears the news, he will be interested." ”

After speaking, James seemed to want to convince Ron Zuo, and nodded vigorously as if to convince himself: "That's right, the Earl will definitely be interested." ”