Tomneo sat in his chair and gently peeled the shell of the fig in front of him with his hand, while his eyes glanced at the man on the other side of the table who was eating with his head down, and he put the fruit in his mouth with a slight rattling sound.

Seeing that the other's hand seemed to stop and continue to cut the meat on the plate, Tomneo's mouth began to move slightly.

The man sitting across from him was still bowing his head, eating the minced meat on his plate in a cautious manner, and his movements were very careful, as if he was afraid that the minced meat would fall to the ground.

When he chews, he keeps moving his mouth repeatedly, as if he must squeeze out the flavor of the meat.

It was at this time that Alexander walked into the room.

Seeing the figure sitting in his chair, Alexander stopped before continuing his way to the center of the long table, where a chair and a lunch had been prepared for him.

Lunch wasn't very rich, except for a glass of purple wine, everything else was simple, a few pieces of chicken that had been torn in advance, a fish, a small plate of diluted drink and figs mixed with brine, and a loaf of bread.

Looking at the food on the table, Alexander looked at Tomneo in surprise, and when he saw Tomneo shrug his shoulders, he looked at the man on the other side.

The other party seemed to notice the look in his eyes, and raised his head and nodded slightly to Alexander.

"It's an honor to meet you, Count."

The other party's voice was calm and steady, and it didn't seem to have any big fluctuations because there was a duke and earl on the other side.

His calmness made Alexander realize that this was indeed a man who had seen the world, and in fact he had seen too many great people, and some of them, even Pope Alexander VI, could not underestimate them.

Alexander sat down slowly, watched the man continue to eat his share of the same food as he was, and then slowly took a sip of the thin milk.

The taste was not very good, and Alexander put it down with a slight frown.

He had never been accustomed to milk as a staple soup, but this kind of meal was very popular in this era, so whenever someone saw him drinking sweet soup, it would be strange.

The meal was a bit dull, except for the greeting when they met, the man always bowed his head to eat, and Tomneo had finished eating at this time, but because it was inconvenient to leave the table, he could only sit there bored and repeatedly pick his teeth with a sharpened wooden skewer.

Tomneo actually wanted to leave for a long time, the person on the other side of the table made him uncomfortable, whether it was his dullness or the kind of appearance that made people feel like eating when they saw it, he was very unhappy, but as long as he thought about the identity of the other party, Tomneo was reluctant to leave, after all, there were not many opportunities to eat with such a person.

Alexander also felt that the man was a bit dull, and to make matters worse, he could feel that the other party seemed to be pressuring him in this way, which made him feel a little troubled.

Are you ready to give me a good look before you start? Alexander thought unhappily.

Of course, he understood that this person's attitude meant that he wanted to take the initiative from the beginning, but he felt that the other party should not really understand what he was about to face, otherwise he would not be so calm.

Alexander raised his hand slightly to signal Ulliu to come over, and when the man looked up with a little curiosity, Alexander whispered to Ulliu to prepare something that he could eat, for he really couldn't eat the fish on the plate that was only cooked in hot water, and smelled the obvious fishy smell on it.

Uliwu left silently, he was already familiar with the master's habits of eating in the past two years, but Uliuu has been strangely puzzled, why the master would be so obsessed with the taste of food, although the fish on the table tasted ordinary, wasn't it good?

After a while, Uliuu came with a large plate, and under the gaze of the two people on either side of the table, they saw a piece of food placed in the middle of the plate,

A few slices of bread cut into triangles with a few thinly sliced pieces of meat in between, a layer of appetizing-looking cheese, and a slice of egg and a few strips of lettuce.

Looking at this strange food, even the person on the other side of the table couldn't help but stop and look strangely at the Moors who walked by.

Alexander didn't wait for Uriu to put down his plate, he reached for the sandwich on it, and then took a bite under the gaze of the two people on the left and right.

It tasted pretty good, except for the fact that the seasoning was a little lighter, and Alexander nodded slightly to Ulliu as an affirmation of him, and then he took a sip of the wine and swallowed it vigorously.

It seems that the bite was a little bigger, and I choked.

Looking at Alexander's appearance, Tomneo felt a kind of refreshment in his heart, although he was not satisfied with Alexander, but the indifference and arrogance shown by the person opposite from the beginning had already angered him a little.

As the Duke of Pisa, Tomneo felt very annoyed that he was treated so rudely in his own ducal palace, but the identity of the other party made him unable to vent.

Now seeing that Alexander seemed to be completely unconcerned about eating his own food, Tomneo felt as if he had breathed a sigh.

The man had finally finished eating, and he took the last sip of wine, then gently pushed the empty glass and the empty plate forward, and then looked at Alexander as he kept eating.

Alexander is actually very anxious, he has a lot of things to do besides the guest in front of him, the whole pizza is like a huge factory that needs someone to check at any time, or a hungry beast can also be, it is hungry and devouring everything it can see, which makes Alexander have to keep an eye on the movement of this beast at all times, to prevent it from getting into trouble because of "indiscriminate eating".

"My name is Gurt Fugger," said the man, leaning forward as he watched Alexander swallow the last of his sandwich, "on the recommendation of a mutual friend of ours, the Imperial Court Minister of Kotschach, he thinks you have a business to discuss with our Fugger family." ”

Listening to the arrogant tone of the other party, Alexander carefully wiped his hands with a wet hand towel before turning his head to look at the messenger sent by the Fugger family.

On the other side of the table, Tomneo's breathing was slightly rapid, as a former businessman he knew too well what the surname Fugger meant.

It was wealth, endless wealth and opportunity, and he knew that if he gave himself the opportunity to do business with this family, he would be able to turn Pisa into a capital of wealth that everyone would be jealous of, and maybe then he would be able to completely free himself from the shackles of other people.

Out of the corner of Tomno's eye, he glanced at Alexander, and he felt that he might not be able to wait for this opportunity.

"I want to know your status in the Fugger family," Alexander said quietly, seeing the other party's slightly raised eyebrows, he still continued, "I think the palace minister may not have made it very clear, what I want to talk to the Fugger family is not a business but a plan, a plan that can decide too many things, so if your status is not enough to take on this responsibility, I suggest that you better go back now and change someone with enough weight, otherwise it will only waste the time of all of us." ”

Tomneo's mouth opened slightly, and he didn't know whether to be happy or angry.

It should have been a good thing that this Gombray was so rude to the people of the Fugger family, because as long as he took the opportunity to show goodwill, he could easily gain the favor of the person in front of him.

A member of the Fugger family represents wealth, and gaining their friendship is like getting a key that opens the door to the world of wealth.

But the thought only came to mind that it was replaced by the panic that followed.

This is the palace of Pisa, and there is its own master sitting here, and the people of the Fugger family are despised and insulted in front of themselves!

Just thinking about the possible consequences of this, the smile on Tomneo's face that could not be suppressed disappeared instantly.

Because I know too well the meaning of the surname Fugger, I also know better what the consequences will be if I anger the family.

If it weren't for the last shred of reason to remind himself not to be impulsive, Tomneo would have almost jumped out of his chair and yelled at Alexander.

The man, Guert Fugger, was not angry, he just looked at Alexander with a little surprise.

It was too bold for him to come from this small place, and although he had already sentenced the man to death in his heart, the composure he had cultivated over the years with his uncle did not make him angry.

Guert Fugger's hand tapped lightly on the table, his gaze lingering slightly on Alexander's face, and he needed to see if the other man was bluffing.

The Fugger family was able to accumulate a huge wealth in two generations that no one else could have for several generations, not by luck, but by shrewd minds and keen insight.

From the very beginning of their family's decisive choice to support the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Fuggers have been keen to observe and tap into the seeds of potential that others have not yet discovered, believing that through careful analysis, they can discover who is worth investing in and can bring them great returns, and who is just a flash in the pan and then disappears.

Guert Fugger calmly observed the young man opposite, of course, he did not think that just a few glances could see whether the other party was bluffing or not, but wanted to use this time to ponder what this person said.

Whether a plan is feasible or not depends not on how well the plan is formulated, but whether the basis for formulating the plan is reliable.

Gurt Fugger remembered that his uncle had told him that if someone boasted that he could make a hundred thousand gold coins overnight, he would not think of him as a madman, but would only let him prove how to make it first.

"Earl, I think you already know that we have given you some help before," said Guert Fugger calmly, "if you want more, you have to prove that you are worthy of our Fugger family's investment, so I wonder how you can prove it?" ”

Alexander knew that the help he was talking about was to get the Jews in Rome to find Julia Farne, and that this was a great help.

If this is because the Fuggers are optimistic about the development of the free trade zone modeled after Pisa, then, as the Fugger family says, Alexander will have to come up with more to prove that he is worth the investment.

Alexander nodded slightly, he knew that it was time to come up with something enough to prove himself, otherwise the Fugger family might still invest because of his fancy free trade zone plan, but it would not be as big as he imagined, and even then they would use the power behind them to use their brains to completely annex themselves.

This requires a huge plan, a plan that is so big that a capital family like Fugger can also be excited, but because there are too many interests of all parties involved, they dare not make a move on him easily.

So is there such a plan? Alexander smiled slightly.

Looking at Alexander's expression, Gurt Fugger nodded quietly.

Alexander needed more support, and the Fuggers needed to know if the investment was reliable.

Both sides have already set conditions, just to see if the other party can satisfy themselves.

Tomneo sat there looking at the two people in front of him, and in a trance he vaguely felt that there seemed to be nothing wrong with him here.

In Lucrechia's riverside residence, Gurt Fugger looked at Lucrezia sitting beside Alexander with a little curiosity.

He knew who this unusually beautiful young woman was, and had heard stories about her and Alexander.

But this obviously did not impress this Fugger.

He looked at the young man and woman across from him with scrutinizing eyes, and wondered if Alexander thought that seducing the Pope's daughter was his greatest capital, then he would immediately go home.

Then it was time to figure out how to snatch Pisa from Alexander, and the other ports that seemed to have a good future.

The Fuggers may have the virtue of being kind, but they would never give money to those who thought they could take advantage of them.

"Count, time is precious for all of us, so please let me see now what you can do to prove your sincerity," said Gurt Fugger, looking earnestly at Alexander.

Alexander nodded, he knew it was time for both sides to use their chips to really negotiate.

"As far as I know, the Fuggers are preparing to mine one of the largest copper mines in Hungary, right?"

Guert Fugger raised his eyebrows slightly, but nodded silently.

"Then I want to know, I wonder what your family thinks about the invasion of the Ottomans."

Gurt Fugger's eyebrows were raised more clearly this time, and he couldn't think of the purpose of Alexander's words, because of this he had a passive feeling that the other party had just begun to negotiate and be held back.

Guert Fugger knew it was bad, and he was vaguely wary.

He pondered for a moment, and then cautiously said, "Of course we hope to be able to resist the invasion of the infidels, which is important to all of us, and even the merchants prefer to associate with trustworthy customers rather than the barbaric and untrustworthy people like the Ottoman Sultan." ”

Hearing this, Alexander nodded slightly in agreement.

He knew that Gurt Fugger's last words were indeed sincere, after all, for businessmen, a country that would use violent means to coerce or even embezzle private property at every turn was the worst.

In the Ottomans, it was not uncommon for the Sultan and his viziers to break promises and tear up treaties at will, and then simply confiscate and embezzle the wealth of the merchants because they coveted it.

This disregard for the trust of the Ottomans sometimes did not only happen to Europeans, but even their own merchants could suffer because they were so rich that they were coveted by the great nobles.

"You're right," Alexander nodded slightly, "so I think the Fuggers must be more concerned about being able to resist the Ottomans, because now Moravia has submitted to the Ottomans, followed by Hungary and even Bohemia and Poland." ”

Gurt Fugger listened silently, and although he did not understand what Alexander meant by this, he knew that the young count was right.

Even within the Fugger family, there is a great deal of disagreement over whether or not to invest heavily in Hungarian copper mines.

What impressed Goult the most was his uncle, Jacob Fugger, the head of the Fugger family, who was indecisive in this matter.

In Gurt's impression, his uncle was an invincible general in the shopping mall, and even in his memory, his uncle had never suffered setbacks in business, and his keen insight into people's hearts and almost magical intuition about wealth made the Fugger family rise from Augsburg, Germany, like a dazzling star, and then Jacob Fugger led the whole family on an unstoppable road to glory.

But such a person is still a little difficult to decide whether to invest heavily in Hungarian copper mines.

In addition to the risks associated with the Ottoman invasion, as Alexander said, there were other reasons why even a true magnate of fortune such as Jacob Fugger could not help but hesitate to look ahead.

Thinking so in his heart, Gurt couldn't help but look at Alexander opposite.

Could it be that this young man knows what we're worried about, but how is that possible?

And even if he knew, what would he do?

Can it still help us solve that problem?

Gurt Fugger's eyebrows were about to be wrinkled together, and he thought that this time it might be for nothing, and perhaps only by taking a closer look at how the pizza market could suddenly become so active, and then finding some tricks from it, would not leave completely empty-handed.

Thinking of this, Guert Fugger was about to speak, when Alexander suddenly said: "If the Fuggers are concerned that the right to mine the Hungarian copper mines obtained from the Emperor may be obstructed by the King of Bohemia, I think that perhaps I can help you solve this problem." ”

Hearing this, Guert Fugger, who had always been calm, suddenly froze and was dumbfounded!