Clusters of snow flakes fluttered and fell from the sky, and the fine and silent snow marks slowly outlined the layers of plain colors with the falling white shadows, accumulating more and more, until the whole world was covered in the silver white.

It was the first and probably the last snow of 1497, because Christmas was over, and in 2 days it was 1498.

Many people did not have a good Christmas, but it was not because there was anything difficult about it, but at least for people in places like Rome, Pisa, Naples and even Livorno, it was a hurried and enjoyable Christmas.

This can be seen from the fact that even at the moment when the Christmas bells are ringing, there are still people busy preparing for the caravan that will depart the next morning.

Of course, the port of Amsterdam is not the only port in the entire European continent, but in this day and age, there are not many ports that can transport goods to the interior of Europe through convenient waterways to the greatest extent, especially with the arrival of winter, many ports will enter a long period of closure, and even in the spring of the next year, because of the restrictions of the unique ice period in the North Sea, even if the waterway is unblocked, there will still be a long time because it is not suitable for navigation and will be constrained.

Because of this, many merchants will seize the opportunity to stock up on enough goods before the closure period every year, and people are not worried that these goods will not be sold, because in order to cope with the market poverty that may be brought about by the closure period of several months in a row, those mainland dealers will also stock up in large quantities.

But this year has completely changed, the closure of the port of Amsterdam has completely changed the situation in Europe's inland market, and the blockade that appeared a month earlier from the beginning has made the people who had prepared a large number of goods miserable, and when the lockdown finally arrived, the merchants were completely desperate.

The sheer volume of goods, the overwhelmed capital, and the fact that it would take months to get rid of them made the merchants flock to the Dutch government like crazy, but it was too late, and even if someone pointed out that the Greganins were manipulating it, it was clear that the closed port could no longer be opened.

Philip, who is said to have been regarded by the Dutch as a good-natured man, broke out in his first anger as a ruler and ordered the arrest of all the Grognonnes, but to his disappointment, the Dutch parliament refused to sign his order.

According to the Parliament's interpretation, whatever the purpose of the Grogenennes, they did not violate Dutch law, and they were carrying out effective business activities by lawful and fair means, which was first and foremost protected by Dutch law.

And the ruling order is clearly to undermine this fair conduct of business.

Philip was angry, he always thought that the Dutch people had a good opinion of him, at least the council had a good relationship with him, and he was proud of that.

This time, however, for the first time, there was a conflict between the Dutch government and the parliament because of differences of opinion.

However, the merchants who were kept out of the harbor did not care about how the Dutch people interpreted their laws, and for them the mountains of goods were their greatest calamity, especially those that could not be stored for a long time, and if they were not sold as soon as possible, they would become unimaginable losses.

It was at this time that people said places like Pisa, Livorno, or even further Naples.

In addition, although there are also ports that are closed, at least at night, as for those places in Hamburg further north, merchants can only give up helplessly.

Because even if those ports will not be closed so early, the water transport roads that allow them to transport goods to the mainland have already been closed early, and as for land transportation, no one is crazy enough to do that.

It was also at this time that a place that had never been heard of before began to spread among merchants.

An inconspicuous inland river port in the south of the lowlands called Rotterdam seems to be able to send goods to the mainland.

All sorts of news circulated among the restless merchants, who were at a loss because they did not know which ones were reliable, some of them could no longer distinguish and could only rely on their feelings to go to the places they thought were the most reliable, and some continued to wait aimlessly, hoping that some miracle would happen.

Time flies, and Christmas in December is approaching, but the Romans have found that in addition to the annual pilgrimage, there is also a large influx of foreign merchants into the city this year.

These men were generous and welcoming, always trying to get the most out of their way to talk to every local, and then many flocked to the most lively place in Rome today, the Tiego Exchange behind Trajan's Square.

Bustling, many people squeezed out excitedly, and many more poured in with excitement on their faces, and the Tiego Exchange was ushering in its moment of glory that even the Pope could not match for a while.

Even when the bell rang for Christmas, and the exchange had to close its doors according to the religious law, there were still many people who did not go to durian in the corridor outside the exchange.

Tiegor walked in the snow in a thick bearskin coat, panting and heavily, but his heart was so excited that he almost began to sing.

Tiego knew that he had made a fortune, and that wealth that he had never dreamed of before had now become a reality, and he was confident that even the richest nobles in the Balearic Islands could not compare with him.

If it had been before, he might have sat down and started to figure out how to live a good life for himself and his descendants, but now Tiego was not satisfied.

Having met those dignitaries and the real owners of wealth that he had only heard of in rumors, Thiegor clearly understood what his wealth was in the eyes of others, and now there was an opportunity for him to become one of those true legends, and this was probably the only chance in his life, so Thiegor was determined not to give up.

Two days after Christmas, the city of Rome became more lively, and in addition to merchants, some nobles began to send emissaries, but these people were not for the sake of meeting the Pope, or the audience with the Pope was just a reason or an excuse, their purpose was for something called tax-free trading.

Although it is still only a few places near Rome, in the past month or so, this duty-free trading right has begun to spread in various cities, and this term, as the name suggests, is a large tax charged on the market sales of the free trade alliance to the non-union.

Nearer than Bologna, Milan, Perugia, and farther away were Monza and Borno, where emissaries appeared in Rome and poured into the Carolingian Palace, and after expressing their anger and dissatisfaction with the free trade alliance to the Pope through various routes, they were looking forward to passing through the Vatican to teach the arrogant Cambrai a deep lesson.

There is no doubt that the differential taxes and fees of the free trade alliance deeply angered those lords.

When the news reached Marino Palace, Alexander was watching as Jossa stood in front of her huge portrait admiring himself in the painting.

The helmet was towering, the cloak was fluttering, the jade hand that clenched the muzzle of the gun was slender and perfect, and the eyes that turned slightly to look ahead showed a resolute divine light.

Alexander thinks that Michelangelo seems to have taken it for granted when he portrays the Shosa, he doesn't think that the real Chelsa is the kind of image like a goddess of war, and he even thinks that the portrait of the Chelsa is a little too heroic.

For now, at least, although he was dressed in the same armor as in the portrait, and even held a musket in his hand, he was gentle and passionate in his arms, rather than brave and noble as the portrait seemed.

"I love this painting," said Josha, turning her head to look at Alexander, "It makes me feel strong, even a little strong." ”

"I don't like either." As he spoke, Alexander lightly touched the shoulder of the armor that was fastened by the clasp, and as the buckle was lifted, the shoulder of the armor fell to the ground with a "bang" along with the cloak.

"We seem to have made a lot of money," continued Josha, "and Uncle Mordillo's letter says that the king has been very attentive to him during this time, and yes, the word "courtesy" is used. ”

Alexander knew that the king of Naples was Frederick of Naples, but he had little interest in that man.

Speaking of Frederick's succession to the throne was a fluke, he succeeded to the throne of Naples after his nephew's death, and then drove the former queen Joanna out of Naples with a slight trick, which made him somewhat carried away.

Therefore, when Caesar went to Naples to fight for Lucrezia's marriage to Alfonso, Frederick's attitude towards Caesar was not very good.

Not only did he reject Caesar's suggestion that he wanted to marry his daughter, but he was also not very enthusiastic about the papal alliance, and he might not even have agreed to a marriage that would not have benefited him well if he had not feared that the French might return after the withdrawal of the Aragon army.

Now that Billy Scielli's Alfonso had become the laughing stock of Rome, Frederick must have been annoyed by the situation.

"Frederick now wants our free trade alliance to take care more of the business in Naples," Josa said with a slight smugness, and then she suddenly took a deep breath and wrapped her arms tightly around Alexander's neck, while her upper body trembled slightly with Alexander's right hand reaching into the breastplate, "Be careful, you will be seen." ”

"Fortunately, Ulius has returned," Alexander looked to the door, knowing that the Moors should be wandering around the corridor boredly at this time, "does Frederick want us to expand our trade in Naples?" ”

"Yes, and ...... He wants us to allow them to buy food directly from Agri. ”

The words were said several times, and the warm friendship in her eyes overflowed with warmth, and she put her hands on Alexander's cheeks to look closely, and then took his hand and reached behind her back.

The clasps of the armor were lifted one by one, and as the delicate silver armor landed at his feet, the perfect curves of the armor were revealed to Alexander.

"I know you have to leave Rome after the New Year," said Josha softly, "in that case, my brother, shall I give you a present now?" ”

Alexander took a deep breath, of course he would not refuse this gift, and even felt that it might come a little late.

"Your gift must be the best," Alexander gently stroked Josha's bright blonde hair, "and what do you want me to give you?" ”

"You've promised a gift before," Shosha looked at the portrait next to her, which was about as tall as herself, "but I want you to give me something that only you can give yourself." ”

His heart skipped a beat, what could he only give himself, Alexander smiled.

A rhythmic sound of footsteps came from outside, and Alexander sighed softly, knowing it was Ulliu.

Only Uliu can interpret the footsteps so naturally and smoothly, and can convey so many meanings.

Obviously, there are guests coming.

The days leading up to the New Year were obviously busy, and although he knew that there would be a lot going on after the New Year, and that it might be possible to leave Rome, Alexander obviously didn't have that much time to spend with his beloved lover, especially when the lover was still a sister, and the sneakiness was very interesting, but it was also too inconvenient to miss a lot of opportunities.

So when she saw her brother's nominal fiancée, Jisha's expression was a little cold.

Barondi was here to talk about the 3,000 Genoese soldiers.

The cardinal's deliberation eventually led him to agree to Alexander's terms, but in exchange, the elder Rovere made it clear that Alexander was a little embarrassed.

"You're saying that the Cardinal wants us to marry in 3 months and 5 months?"

Alexander looked at Barundi a little strangely.

If it were other girls, they would always be a little emotional when they mentioned their marriage, but Barondi looked calm and seemed to be unmoved when she said it.

"Yes, five months at the latest," Barendi nodded affirmatively, "your army can be recruited in about two months, and then my father will sign a declaration certifying that he will cede command of this army to you." ”

Alexander seemed to inadvertently glance at the sitting of Tsusha and saw his sister looking at her portrait with a blank face, and Alexander began to feel that this year was a little unpleasant.

"I'm sorry, can I know why the cardinal made this condition?" Alexander asked a little helplessly.

Barondi's face showed a hint of strangeness, she put her hands on her knees and squeezed them slightly, then cast her eyes on Alexander's face and looked at him, and said in a very calm tone: "This is my father's will, and my own will, I hope you can at least understand, I don't want my husband's illegitimate son to be baptized, and then I get the right to belong." ”

Alexander looked at Barendi in a daze, he never expected to get such an answer.

"If you agree to this condition, we can reach an agreement," Barendi continued, as if discussing an ordinary negotiation, "and of course if you have any different proposals, we can continue to discuss them." ”

"I don't think it's anything else." Alexander smiled bitterly, he felt that the last conversation with Barendi actually didn't have any effect, at least Barendi was still so indifferent to him, "I think it's fair to all of us." ”

"Fair indeed."

Barondi stood up, and she nodded to Josha a little, and then walked out the door with Alexander.

Looking at Barondi's back, Zhisa, who had always seemed to pay all her attention to the portrait, slowly stood up, paced slowly around the room, and then stopped and tilted her head as if thinking about something.

When Alexander returned to the room, he happened to see Josha standing in the middle of the room thoughtfully.

"What are you thinking?" Alexander sat down a little helplessly in the chair that Barendi had sat on before, Barendi's visit had obviously ruined their good deeds, and Alexander was a little frustrated looking at the servants who were cleaning up next to him.

"Why did she make this condition," Tsusha suddenly asked, "why do you have to marry you within 5 months at the latest?" ”

Josha's question caught Alexander's attention, and he slowly sat up straight, holding his chin in his hands, and thought quietly.

"I'm sure there must be some reason for old Rovere to make this decision, 3 months, 5 months at most, there must be something that makes him feel that something will happen after this time."

Alexander pondered, and after a moment his lips opened slightly to reveal a look of understanding: "I think I've guessed why." ”

"Oh?"

Josha saw a strange look on Alexander's face, as if she had seen an interesting drama and couldn't help but laugh.

"He must have gotten some news, maybe it's from France," Alexander said, looking at Jossa "probably Charles VIII's new invasion is about to begin during this time." ”

She was surprised by Alexander's judgment, and at the same time a strong uneasiness and nervousness made her face pale slightly.

"Are the French coming?" Ji Sha first asked nervously, and then a trace of anger suddenly appeared on her face, "Your Montina, the Rovie family insists that you and Barendi get married as soon as possible, just for Montina!" ”

Alexander smiled and nodded, knowing that Tsusha's anger was due to the thought that the Rovere family might use him as a shield.

Obviously, if the French invade again, the Rovelle family, as a well-known leader of the party, will still be on the side of the French, and at that time, whether the French army invades Naples again or goes north against Milan and Venice, Montina, located in Romagna in central Italy, will inevitably be involved in the largest vortex of war.

"That woman, you should break off your engagement with her." Jisha said angrily, "Think about it, in order to tempt you to agree to her condition, she actually put on the perfume you gave her." ”

"What?"

Alexander glanced at him in astonishment, then instinctively sniffled, and a faint familiar aroma caught his attention.

Coincidentally, Josha happened to be using this perfume today, which made Alexander not even realize where the fragrance came from.

"That woman is so annoying, you should break off her engagement immediately!"

Jisha repeated angrily.

"And then, are you engaged to your lovely sister?" Alexander walked over and smiled and gently raised the chin of the chin of the French. And by the time they did, we wouldn't be who we are now. ”

"But how do you know," said Jossa with an anxious expression, "to know that Charlie is a war maniac, and whatever he does, your Montina will be caught up in trouble." ”

"Don't worry, my sister, listen to me this time," Alexander kissed Zhisa lightly on the forehead, and then whispered in a slightly playful tone, "I just know." ”

As soon as Alexander's words were finished, a bell rang in a nearby church.

The two looked up at the sound and watched a group of cross-bearing monks pass by the street under the window, and the brother and sister reached out at the same time to make a cross on their chests.

Lent came at the end of 1497.