Although the weather seems to be much colder than usual in the last two years, spring in Vienna is still beautiful.

Walking through the narrow and criss-crossed streets like a spider's web, you can see a variety of buildings in the city of Vienna.

Many of these buildings retain traces of the tall and woody but distinctly alien style of the early years, reminding people of the city's history when its previous rulers came from the north.

The Habsburgs have ruled Vienna for centuries, starting with the election of Rudolf I as Holy Roman Emperor and laying the foundations for centuries of the family's destined succession.

However, the current Emperor Maximian was not satisfied, and he hoped to expand his family's influence in Europe through various marriages.

This somewhat annoyed his neighbors in the West, the French.

After centuries of finally ceasing to fall in love with the British, the French turned their attention to their enemies in the interior of Europe, and Austria soon became their preferred rival for continental domination.

Maximian now had the experience of being an enemy of three French kings, but somehow he felt that his opponent was getting stronger.

Spring in Vienna is a little cold, and the cold wind from the north blows through the city, making the beautiful scenery of the suburbs somewhat bleak.

Two horse-drawn carriages drove slowly down the hillside towards the top of the mountain.

A small group of guards protected the vehicle, and the ground that had just rained was muddy and difficult to navigate, leaving deep ruts where the carriage had passed.

The person sitting in the car in front of him looked at the scenery outside with a look full of enthusiasm, and asked about the sober but obviously clammy air after the rain, and his face showed an intoxicated expression.

He seemed to like the feeling so much that he simply put his arm on the window and half-poked his head out of the car to look at the scenery in the distance.

This made one of the people sitting across from him remind him from time to time because he was nervous.

"Your Excellency, please be careful."

The companion looked out of the car uneasily, although this is a suburb, there are few people on the road, and if there is any suspicious person, the attendants who follow the carriage will immediately pay attention, but this person is still very worried.

After all, it is always a little inconvenient for people to find out that this person has appeared in Vienna.

Kotschach looked at the person sitting across from him and smiled, but he still obediently sat back in the car, which made the other party secretly relieved.

Kotschach hadn't been back to Vienna for a long time, and although his time in Augsburg was pleasant, he realized that he still liked Vienna more, even if the weather wasn't much warmer than in Augsburg.

After being dismissed by Maximian, Kotschach left Austria for the north without hesitation, but this did not mean that he knew nothing about Austria.

On the contrary, with the large sums of money provided by the Fugol family, he sent more and more people to Vienna, and at the same time his influence on Vienna increased.

It can even be said that Kotschach is more influential now than when he was the chief palace minister.

Today he is going to visit a nobleman who has also left his post, the Marquis of Baden, but the only difference is that although this Marquis of Baden is at home, his influence among the Viennese aristocracy is still very considerable.

The reason for this is that the daughter of this marquis, who was the mistress of Maximian.

Of course, Kotschach had known about this a long time ago, but at that time he had not really had much communication with the marquis.

Although the Marquis of Baden was very proud of his daughter, Kotschach was still different from him.

Although the marquis is quite influential among the nobles, although most of these nobles are noble, they may not hold important positions, and the original Kotschach was the chief minister.

However, Kotschach was well aware that although these nobles may not be able to influence the decisions made in Vienna, the influence they can exert cannot be underestimated.

It was for this reason that Kotschach had made the travels from Augsburg to Vienna, where he was familiar, to visit the marquis in person.

The Marquis of Baden, who was in his early 60s, had two sons and two daughters, the eldest of whom was favored by the emperor, now Countess Milzstegor.

The Marquis, because of his advanced age, had returned home a few years earlier to retire, and in fact he had been mediocre and inactive during his years as an official, but he was valued by Maximian because of his good looks and handsomeness.

Perhaps because of this, when he heard that the Marquis's daughter had inherited many of the Marquis's physical advantages, Maximian quickly noticed Mademoiselle Baden, who was still young at the time.

After that, everything became simple, and Mademoiselle Baden, favored by the emperor, soon lived in the lavish castle that Maximian had prepared for her, and soon became the Countess of Mülzstegor.

The Marquis of Baden was very enthusiastic about Kotschach's visit, or rather, he had been waiting for this day for a long time.

As early as a few years ago, when Kotschach brought back an eccentric perfume from Italy, the Marquis of Baden became a regular visitor to the perfume shop run by the palace family.

As the Kotschach family's business grew bigger and bigger, whether it was the Marquis of Baden or other nobles, they were extremely envious of the family's luck.

Especially in the last two years, as the influence of the free trade alliance has gradually become apparent, although they know that such an alliance must have the influence of intricate national and political forces, but looking at the rapidly expanding wealth of the Kotschach family, many Austrian aristocrats are still envious and jealous.

There were even rumours that the Emperor would remove Kotschach from his post as Chief Court Minister, not necessarily because of his poor performance in the Second Italian War, but not necessarily without fear that the family might rely on its vast wealth to hold power in the future.

The gifts that Kotschach brought to the Marquis of Baden were rich, and the face of the Marquis's butler could not help but burst into laughter when he looked at the unloading of the attendants from the carriage behind them, even if they were not opened, and the careful appearance of the servants.

Although the marquis has a noble status and his daughter is the emperor's lover, his habit of putting on a show still makes him always strapped for money and unable to make ends meet.

In this way, even the marquis's subordinates are not so well-off, and now seeing that the palace minister is so generous, I think the marquis must be very happy, and the servants' rewards are indispensable.

But the Marquis of Baden was of course different from his butler, and although the gift brought by Kotschach did make him overjoyed, the reason why he agreed to this meeting was not something that could impress him.

In the Marquis's life as a farm on the outskirts of Vienna, in fact, whether it is the land area, the scale of the building and the interior decorations, it is not inferior to those luxurious palaces in Vienna, while chatting with Kotschach, while looking at a few gifts on the table from time to time, the Marquis is thinking in his heart.

These goods included fine silks, porcelain, ivory, and gold brought from the East, as well as various precious spices that could be regarded as gold-priced, and the marquis's originally smiling face was faintly ugly when he looked at the pepper, which was described in the book as "as beautiful as snow and as precious as gold".

"Gong Xiang, I am very quick to give me these gifts from you personally, I know that this must have cost you a lot," the marquis first said politely, and then lowered his face slightly, "But you should know that although these gifts are precious, they can't make up for our previous losses, don't they?" ”

Looking at the Marquis, whose face suddenly changed, Kotschach did not move, he knew that this was just a little trick of the Marquis before bargaining, or that if there was no opportunity to negotiate, his visit would not have taken place.

"Do you mean those businesses of yours?" Kotschach asked with a smile, saying that the years of travel had not made him much older, but on the contrary, he felt that he seemed to be more energetic than before.

In other words, he feels that he is very energetic in everything he is doing now.

This is probably because of the Duke of Roman Thesia.

Although he knew that this might sound ridiculous, Kotschach always thought so.

"It's our business," corrected the Marquis of Baden slightly, "and you promised us all a fortune in these businesses, so many people joined in, and at first we did get some benefits, but now we are provided with less and less sugar, and a little less pepper, and so high that our profits are almost too low to sustain ourselves." ”

Listening to the Marquis's complaints, Kotschach shook his head secretly.

Since a few years ago, the trade alliance began to gradually develop in the territory of the German princes, and the trade alliance chambers of commerce that had gained a firm foothold were gradually encroaching on the market of the local chambers of commerce that were backed by local nobles.

Unified transportation and distribution channels bring lower costs and faster capital returns, which are simply not matched by those small local chambers of commerce.

Even the chamber of commerce, which has the support of a big nobleman such as the Marquis of Baden, is almost vulnerable in front of the trade alliance, if it is not for the need to deal with these nobles all the time, in fact, as early as a few years ago, those local chambers of commerce that depend on these nobles have already been run out of the trade alliance and ruined.

"Marquis, I know very well your current situation, and I am here for this, please look at these peppers, do you think this grade of pepper can be profitable if it is sold in Austria or other northern cities, or can you make the existing pepper of your chamber of commerce not sell at all?"

Looking at the finely powdered powder that Kotschach had poured in the palm of his hand and the small handful of pepper granules like pearls on the side, the expression on the face of the Marquis of Baden became even more gloomy.

"Are you flaunting your wealth, or are you threatening?"

"Of course not, please don't forget that I'm also a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and I have a share of every coin that the Chamber of Commerce earns."

Kotschach defended himself a little, and saw that the marquis was listening very carefully, so he took a sip of wine with great satisfaction, and then said something that surprised the marquis: "In fact, these peppers come from France." ”

"France?"

The Marquis picked up a pinch of pepper in disbelief and put it on the tip of his nose and sniffed it, and after confirming that it was indeed the real thing, he looked at Kotschach in disbelief.

"Now you know, we are all not having a good time, the French have established a group of overseas trade chambers in Le Havre, near the Atlantic, and these chambers of commerce import these peppers in large quantities, which makes our trade in the Mediterranean a lot more difficult, you know that after all, there is still a threat from the Ottomans."

"Damn the Ottomans." The Marquis couldn't help but answer, and then quickly came to his senses and looked at Kotschach vigilantly, "So you want to say that you can't help us?" ”

"Of course not, and I have to warn you that you should know exactly who is responsible for the fact that you are now making such a big fortune," Kotschach said, looking at the palatial rooms around him, and then nodding with satisfaction, "Actually, we all know that we have been dealing with the Trade Alliance, haven't we?" ”

The Marquis's face became even more gloomy, and after a few years he certainly knew who he was doing business with, and he knew very well, as Kotschach said, what was the reason for saving this possessions.

It's just that a few years ago it wasn't a big deal to deal with trade unions, but now it's a bit hard to say because of Italy and Iberia.

It is also unrealistic to completely sever ties with trade unions.

In the past few years, the entanglement of interests between the two sides has already penetrated into each other, or the trade alliance has been deeply rooted in these nobles and chambers of commerce.

Or even if relations with the trade union could be severed, no one would agree to it.

The benefits of the Free Trade Alliance to these nobles were too many, especially for the German princes.

The Marquis of Baden believed that if someone rashly proposed the expulsion of the trade union's chambers and representatives in Germany, an unexpected change could ensue.

"In fact, the problem of all of us is not unsolvable," continued Kotschach, looking at the marquis's gloomy expression, "Do you think it is appropriate that the French are being aggressive against us, they are not only trying to occupy our land, but they want to take every gold coin from us, but the emperor is entangled in Lombardy only because of his own interests, and he has involved us all in order for his son to rule Castile?" ”

The Marquis of Baden raised his head and glared at Kotschach fiercely, of course he knew that the former palace had a grudge against the emperor for removing him, but now the marquis could not say a word to reprimand him.

Kotschach was right when he said that if the emperor's greed for Lombardy could be interpreted as an extension of Austrian rule to Italy, then his mobilization of troops and swords for the war in the Iberian Peninsula was purely for the sake of the Habsburgs themselves.

Just thinking about the fact that continued war with the Duchy of Rome-Thesia could lead to tensions with their trade alliances and thus affect business, the marquis had a greasy taste that seemed to be choked in his throat by a whole piece of cold meat.

And Cotschach's remarks about the opening of trading posts by the French in cities on the Atlantic coast also aroused the marquis's alarm.

"What do the trade union guys say about this, I mean the French?"

"What else," Kotschach looked helpless, "Although the Duke of Rome Thesia and the French now have an alliance, it is said that the Duke is also annoyed, but now the Emperor is bent on putting pressure on him in Lombardy to help Ferdinand, and the Duke can only try to show a tough attitude, but the Duke has privately said that he prefers peace to enemies of the Emperor." ”

"Really? He doesn't want to fight? Although there were only two people in the room, the Marquis lowered his voice slightly, "Can you promise me?" ”

"Of course, if he can negotiate with the emperor, the duke is willing to make a certain amount of concessions on the question of Milan's ownership and status."

Perhaps influenced by the Marquis, Kotschach couldn't help but lower his voice.

"Oh, can Milan talk about it too?"

The Marquis's eyes narrowed.

"It's okay to talk."

Kotschach nodded.

"Well," said the Marquis, who had not had a good face since entering the room, finally smiled, "I think this is a good thing, and if these problems can be solved without fighting, I think the Emperor will be very satisfied." ”

"Then it will be up to you, Lord Marquis," said Kotschach, leaning back, "the Duke will thank you for your contribution to bringing peace between the two countries." ”

Listening to Kotschach's words, and looking at the peppers on the table that were more expensive than gold, the Marquis of Baden also showed a sincere smile.

"For peace."

"For peace."

The glass touches slightly, making a soft sound.