Having money is a beautiful thing, at least Machiavelli has learned it deeply, but the process is not very pleasant.

Because the Florentines found themselves a little strapped for what they had been fairly well-off.

When he came, Machiavelli was prepared to be away for a long time, considering that the diplomatic mission might not be smooth.

For this reason, in order to support the next entertainment, when he left Florence, he brought a fairly generous pen.

But less than half a month after coming to Pisa, Machiavelli began to worry a little.

Every day the port of Pisa was filled with ships from Genoa and Naples, from the islands of Pecia, Piano and even Corsica in the Mediterranean, and further afield he once saw two merchant ships from the Balearic Islands.

These merchant ships from all over the world brought enough goods to Pisa, and at the same time, the gold of Pisa flowed outward.

For a time it seemed that everyone in the city had become poor, and a large number of goods in exchange for gold were piled up in the port, and the embarrassment of the pockets becoming deflated made everyone want to exchange those goods for gold overnight.

However, what many merchants really envy is the preferential treatment of their peers in Pisa, the low taxes, the almost negligible storage costs, and the lucrative returns even if the price is reduced by a lot on such obvious advantages, all of which make merchants from other places jealous but have no choice.

But those businessmen who are envied by them are obviously more shrewd, and those people's eyes are no longer on Pisa but on inland cities farther away, because they know that if they can still get nearly 1% more profit than before in Pisa, then they only need to maintain the original price, and their return in those inland cities is 2% more than the original, or even more windfall profits!

The rich returns spurred the wealthy merchants, whose eyes were already bewitched by the glittering light of gold, for which they could throw all their fortune into it at all costs, even at risk.

Some FTZ businessmen have set their sights on their peers who have not received duty-free benefits.

The city of Pisa was full of people talking about deals, some of the taverns and inns became places for merchants to gather, and the guilds were places where the two sides had already negotiated a settlement.

I must admit that the ocean has been a paradise for countless adventurers since ancient times, and what is on the other side of the boundless sea, what is waiting for me to discover and excavate, and from where can I obtain the wealth I have coveted and realize what was previously only regarded as a whimsical dream.

In pursuit of all this, countless people have ventured out on the path to conquer the seas, and their brave deeds have paid them great rewards.

The profits of maritime trade are staggering, but there are also huge risks behind such profits, and in addition to the threat from the sea, there are also troublesome problems on land.

The huge amount of tariffs is a headache for many businessmen, who feel that their hard-earned fruits have gone into the pockets of those greedy tax collectors, although the profits in their hands are still not small, but as long as they think about the various taxes that have been taken out, no one does not feel pain.

And at this time, someone will come over and talk to you very intimately.

These are often locals who spend their days wandering around the harbors, taverns and guilds all day in idleness, and when they see the strangers dressed as merchants, they will walk by, and they will first show you a strange triangular circle with a circle of Latin coats of arms etched on the outside, and once they are sure that you do not belong in their circle, they will put the kindest smiles on their faces, and then they will start to sell you a "surefire business" as they say.

Merchants who are required to pay expensive entry fees and ship taxes have been told that they can be offered the opportunity to stock up in warehouses in the port's free trade zone, and that they will be exempt from the high import duties if they are willing to pay a suitable fee.

Those people call this fee a handling fee, and this tax avoidance method by temporarily transferring the ownership of the goods is called "freight forwarding right".

This kind of freight forwarding quickly became a popular tax avoidance model for ordinary businessmen, and although it still costs a lot of money, it is at least much cheaper than paying taxes directly.

It's just that the thought of those goods that once they leave the free trade zone and enter Pisa, they still have to pay a fee, which makes businessmen feel a headache, after all, although it is much cheaper than the entry tax, it is still a lot of money.

And often at this time, those helpful freight forwarders come back to the scene.

"Didn't you come to pizza to make money, so where to make money is not to make money? Why do you have to send those goods to Florence, Demena or Parma? Isn't it better to deliver directly here, don't worry, friend, I won't hurt you, the price I give you may be lower than those places, but then you can also have a lot of money left, don't think about those freight, labor, and bad roads on the road, not to mention that those greedy tax collectors have long been staring at your money bag, think about which is more cost-effective, not to mention if you have to waste precious time. According to a certain adult, time is Florin, and you can sell the goods to us here, and the time saved is enough for you to run back and forth, and you will make another profit. ”

Such conversations were pervasive throughout Pisa, with the pervasive brokers staring at the foreign merchants who were running into a wall everywhere.

At the same time, they also keep an eye on the businessmen in the free trade zone alliance, and whenever they see a guy who seems to be mixing well, they will rush up and greet him very affectionately: "Hey, man, I have a guy who is in a hurry to sell a batch of raw olive oil, he is from Corsica, you know that they haven't joined our free trade zone yet, so he is now on the dock worrying that he will not have much money after paying the ship tax, how can he be interested......"

The Pisa's madness, knowing that there was a pizza-like scene going on in places like Naples and Genoa and Taranto and Palermo, made the Pisians even more crazy because they knew that this was just the beginning for them, and that the bigger ports had already done it before.

Huge profits are driving everyone, and brokers are no longer content to just go out on the street to solicit customers, a nimble guy rents a small house near the yard, and then this person starts selling things on wooden boards with sharpened charcoal pens.

However, what many people don't understand is that this merchant named Matthews Tiego from Bariari is only selling the name of the goods.

He would write on the board a price of a precious batch of pepper from a merchant who was still far away in another place, and then openly ask who needed the goods, and after the transaction was notarized by Matthews Tiego, a deposit equivalent to one-tenth or less of the goods was deposited into Matthews Tiego's account in the name of the Pisa Chamber of Commerce.

Suppose that once the price of those traded commodities suddenly drops or rises in the market, the two parties need to bear the difference in their respective amounts.

The advent of this so-called exchange gave merchants an unusual opportunity, because they suddenly found that even if they did not have goods on hand, or did not have enough money to pay for them at the time, they would have plenty of time to raise more goods and funds as long as they traded here with a small amount of money first.

There is no better way to make people happy than to buy more goods for the least amount of money, and to exchange the same goods for money more often.

This means that you can get more out of your investment for the same amount of money you did before.

As for the credibility of that Matthews Tiego, people still believe in him.

This was due to the fact that not only did this man himself deposit a large sum of money with the Pisa Chamber of Commerce, but he also received a joint guarantee from the Count of Mordiglo of Naples, Miss Count of Cosenza, and the Roverre family of Genoa and the Duke of Pisa and the Count of Montina were enough to convince the merchants that even if the man escaped, their money would not be lost.

Machiavelli followed everything that happened in Pisa closely, and he felt that he was a little dazzled by the changes that had taken place over the years, and he didn't know if it was an illusion, but he had a feeling that what happened in Pisa could eventually have a big impact on Florence.

On the other hand, Machiavelli also had to take a serious look at the pizza market because he needed a job.

Machiavelli's pockets had been deflated for nearly half a month, and he didn't have to worry about the rent being paid in advance, but he couldn't help but be careful about the daily expenses of himself and his two entourage.

In addition, as a Florentine emissary, he had to maintain the necessary dignity, which required him to think carefully for the days to come.

Machiavelli decided to look for a job, and before that he could figure out what was most profitable.

He investigates the broker trade, but soon discovers that it conflicts greatly with his identity.

It was hard for him to imagine that one day he was in the middle of a serious meeting with the Count of Montina or the Duke of Pisa, when a merchant whom he had previously coaxed into selling his goods at a low price and found out that he had been deceived suddenly appeared in front of him, and then grabbed him by the collar and punched and kicked him while cursing loudly.

Then he refused to go to the chamber of commerce to be a dispute arbitrator, although the job is decent, but it is an errand that can easily offend people, and what he is most worried about now is that someone will sabotage his mission.

Eventually, Machiavelli decided to become a credit supervisor.

This is a profession that was not new, but with the rise of the free trade zone, it has suddenly become a booming profession.

According to Alexander's statement that "the maximum resources are mobilized with the least amount of money", businessmen in the free trade zone can obtain the right to trade large quantities of goods elsewhere with a letter of credit, even if they do not have enough funds at the time, as long as they can provide the corresponding mortgage guarantee.

This means that perhaps two merchants who need each other's goods can quickly take away their much-needed goods by signing a letter of credit, and then one of them will only need to pay the difference between the goods according to the previous agreement.

The advantage of this measure is undoubtedly that it can make the circulation of goods much easier and faster than ever before, and even because of the advent of letters of credit, many times businessmen can travel around the entire free trade zone alliance with a piece of paper instead of a large sum of money.

However, compared to the benefits, false self-identification is the enemy of this seemingly convenient means.

Machiavelli's job is to review the eligibility of these merchants and to supervise their various mortgage certificates.

He is responsible for sitting behind his desk all day and reviewing the various applications submitted by businessmen to see if they are qualified.

Others who do the same work are much harder, because if the L/C is applied for involves a large quantity of goods, they are responsible for following the goods to the cities designated by the merchants, and then exchanging the corresponding certificate receipts from the banks in Naples, Genoa, or Taranto.

Compared to Machiavelli's boring but stable work, those people were hard and even dangerous.

Because although these people only get a receipt all along, in a way it is said that this kind of receipt is already the same value as Florin or Ducat.

Therefore, the implementation of this letter of credit seems to be somewhat difficult for various reasons, at least Alexander does not want to risk trying outside the free trade zone.

Machiavelli works very seriously and he has a feeling that today's experience in Pisa may be useful for him in the future.

So he took a very close note of what he saw and heard as he worked, and he was secretly surprised by the changes that had taken place in Pisa.

Machiavelli didn't know whether these changes were good or bad for his Florence, especially when he heard that the Jews of Pisa had openly offered to pay a large sum of money to the free trade zone chamber of commerce, and he felt the need to meet Alexander.

Machiavelli was not a very stubborn Christian, and although he had little affection for Jews like the others, he was not overly intense, and although he despised those who used usury to steal wealth, he did not want to do much in the first place.

It was only at the thought of his spiritual cleanliness leader that Machiavelli had to decide to remind Alexander.

At the Palazzo Duca, Machiavelli met Alexander, and the young count, who sat casually in a chair, made the Florentines feel that he was the true owner of the palace.

"My lord, have you really decided to take money from those Jewish bankers?" Machiavelli cautiously asked, "Let me remind you that the prosperity of Pisa still comes from Florence, and our city is the greatest source of wealth for Pisa, which is why I was ordered to come here, we all need each other." ”

Alexander nodded, he admitted that Machiavelli was right, Pisa did prosper from Florence, and even he had plans to make sure that Florence would be an important part of the plan to export cheap goods to Pisa for some time to come.

"So forgive me for not understanding why you should accept money from the Jews," asked Machiavelli, a little puzzled, and at the same time secretly happy in his heart, at least this conversation had made him know that the count still valued Florence, and that the news had swept away his previous frustration of having achieved nothing, and his tone could not help but become much lighter: "Your Excellency, you know that my leader is a devout Christian, who hates all things that are not doctrinal, and who abhors extravagance and immorality that degrade men, I hate those who make deals with the devil for money......"

At this, Machiavelli looked at Alexander with a little uneasiness, and he was a little worried that Alexander would be furious at his words, but he thought that if the leader knew of the violent actions that might be made by the goods that had entered Florence, which smelled of money belonging to the Jews, he would have to take the risk of alerting the count.

"Savonarola," Alexander whispered, and then rose from his chair, "I know that your leader is a very noble man, a man who regards high ideals as his goal in life, and a ......" said Alexander with a slightly strange smile, "a man who has detached himself from low tastes, and I admire it." ”

Machiavelli bowed in thanks, but there was still a slight surprise in his eyes.

He thought he already knew a little about the earl, and if the love of money and beautiful women was not a disadvantage, except for the fame he had gained in the war, the count could be called a good nobleman.

However, it was precisely because of that shortcoming that they proved to be two very different people, but now the count had such a high opinion of the Florentine consul, which surprised Machiavelli.

"My lord, you really praised it, I thank you on behalf of my archon, I didn't expect you to really understand ......"

"But!"

The Florentine humility was abruptly interrupted, and Machiavelli's heart jumped violently at the sudden heightened tone!

"I would like to know how your consul measured so-called piety, how he knew that his ideals were noble and others were inferior, and most importantly how he defined what was vulgar and what was noble."

Alexander looked at Machiavelli coldly, his face still maintaining a strange smile, but the Florentines saw mockery and disdain in it.

"Can he taste a piece of bread if it is a Christian or a Jew? Or a glass of wine, can he taste whether the winemaker is a devout believer or not? Alexander walked first towards the door, leaving the Florentines frowning and following him, "The people of Florence need bread and wine, and I need florins and ducats, and that is the most important thing, and if your consul thinks that my use of Jewish money is an insult to his noble reputation, then you can declare," said Alexander, turning to Machiavelli, "from this day onwards, Pisa will prohibit the importation of any goods into Florence until you ask for it." ”

Suddenly, Machiavelli looked at Alexander in disbelief with a look of surprise on his face, he couldn't imagine how Alexander could make such a decision that would not benefit both parties at all, wasn't it just now that Alexander himself admitted that the prosperity of Pisa needed the support of Florence?

Seeing Machiavelli's stunned look, Alexander smiled again.

"Diplomat, I know you've just got a job," Alexander whispered, "and in that case you should be able to find out that my Chamber of Commerce has access to the cheapest goods, which means that even if I don't have Florence, I can still make a lot of money by selling my goods to places like Parma or Demena at a higher cost." And you? Can you guarantee that the Florentines will not buy my things, and if your town hall decrees a ban on purchases, and then there is a black market, I am sure that the merchants will be glad that they can make a lot of money without paying taxes, and that they will probably thank your noble consul by then. ”

Ignoring Machiavelli, who was standing still and deep in thought, Alexander walked through the corridor towards Tomneo's main hall with Ulliu.

There, there was a guest he had been waiting for for a long time.