When Jisha stood in front of the rather exotic arch of the Golden Palmetto Palace, it was already 3 days later.

A slight change from when she met Elliot before was that in addition to Massimo and a few of her retinues who came to the Golden Palmetto Palace with her, there was also a sea merchant from Bariari, Matthews Tiego, and a Venetian who had a serious face, but showed a hint of excitement whenever he looked at the back of Josa.

Noric Barbarig, the name of the Venetian, was one of the many lieutenants in the Venetian fleet at the side of the fleet commander, but he knew that this man was actually the nephew of the Venetian governor Agostino Barbarig, a typical son of a republican nobleman.

Venetians have always been somewhat different from other Italian city-states, and wherever a Venetian goes, it will be obvious to others that they are from Venice and not anywhere else, and one of the obvious places is the existence of the Republic of Venice.

The republican aristocracy is a unique product of Venice, and this system that seems to have the opportunity for anyone to become a member of the upper class has aroused many people's interest, and even some scholars have studied it in depth, but once you get close to these Venetians, one will see that they are actually no different from the nobility of other places.

The power that everyone can nominally have will always exist only among a few people, especially the beautiful words that are shouted loudly, "I am in the service of the whole of Venice", often become a fig leaf for profit after obtaining a high position, and the unique shrewdness and philistine of the Venetians make all those who have the opportunity to taste the wine of power happy to decorate themselves with slogans that are more beautiful than the other.

However, the current Doge of Venice, Barbaregg, was a very ambitious man, and although he was almost 80 years old when he took over the Doge's seal, this did not affect his keen mind and ability to judge the current situation.

Because of this, in order to resist the great threat from the Ottoman Empire, Barbarig persuaded the parliament to rearm the Venetian fleet, which was already strong enough, and began the arduous task of establishing a solid supply line on the western shore of the Mediterranean.

Noric Barbareg was named by Governor Barbareg to serve in the fleet, for Barbareg, in addition to sitting on the throne of the governor, he also shoulders the obligation to revitalize the whole family, so it is also one of his jobs to select and arrange the descendants worthy of cultivation in the family, as for whether Norek Barbareg can make achievements in the navy, he actually doesn't care, for him a politician who can sit on the governor's throne with money and promises, It is more important than a naval commander with a proud record.

It was also after consideration that Josha accepted Norik Barbarig's courtesy.

She was ready for a protracted anti-Japanese negotiation with Count Hawsen, and the stubbornness of the Taranto people surprised her, even Alexander found them unexpectedly difficult to deal with, or that they took their own interests too seriously, even though they knew that cooperation had good prospects in the future, but still refused to give up the little benefits in front of them.

"A group of short-sighted merchants," whispered Noric Barbaregg, as he followed him into the main gate of the palace, which was slightly narrower but towering, and watched the arches that gradually closed overhead, and finally formed a concave pointed lintel, the Venetian could not help but sarcastically say, "Mademoiselle, I think you are wasting your precious time in Taranto, these Taranto people do not have enough eyes to see the benefits you have brought them, I suggest you go to Venice, many of the merchants of Venice are interested in your plans." ”

She didn't speak, but paused slightly and nodded and smiled at the Venetian.

Josa knew where her weakness was, she was too young, how many people would take the words of a girl who had just turned 17 serious, even if it was a Taranto, probably they would still be willing to listen to her plan, and it was because it involved Agri or the relationship with Naples.

She could even guess that when they met next, the Count of Horsen would offer her an agreement in exchange for Agri's grain, which Alexander might have mentioned in his letter.

So there was no reaction to Norik Barbarig's invitation, and the reputation of the Venetians has always been not so good, in addition to their cunning, the various bad deeds over the years have also made them bear the bad reputation of treachery and falling into the ground, after all, the Crusaders who instigated the Crusades to plunder the imperial bronze pillars of Eastern Rome, which were also Christian countries, are still standing in the square outside the Venice City Hall.

Josha knew very well that if she listened to the words of Nolek Barbarig and went to Venice, the only result would be to make the family eat all the scum at once.

Can't go to Venice, at least not at this time.

Elliott arranged very carefully, perhaps considering that the countess may be his "stepmother" in the future, he was very considerate and deliberately selected a few Neapolitan servants to serve in the Golden Palmetto Palace, this arrangement was not bad, at least there was a smile on Vissa's face.

The meeting with the Count was in the evening, and after one last careful combing of her thoughts, she changed into a more convenient and wide garment, and went out into the courtyard with a special bow and arrow.

Holding the bow, holding the arrow, the arm straining, the tenacious bowstring squeaking, Josha's eyes were fixed on the target in the far corner, and her fingers gently let go as she silently exhaled a second breath.

A sound pierced through the air sounded at the same moment, and the arrow flew across most of the courtyard towards the target.

"Smack~"

The arrow slammed into the stone wall and bounced back, spun around in the air and landed on the ground.

Shot out.

Looking at the very clean target, Jisha paused slightly, and then took out an arrow from the beautiful quiver embroidered with gold silk ornaments hanging from her waist, and put it on the bow in a hurry.

This time it took a slightly longer time to aim and then shoot.

With a "snap", it shot into the air again.

She tilted her head slightly to look at the target in the distance, as if she wondered what was going on, and when she drew an arrow again, a cough came from the side.

Norik Barbaregg, who was standing far away from the porch, walked over, bowed slightly, and then said with a smile: "Miss Count, maybe you need some professional advice at this time. ”

Seeing that the Venetian did not object, the Venetian took the bow and arrow, first tried the pull and feel, and then put on an arrow, aimed a little and then shot out.

"Poof", the arrow hit the target directly under the corner.

Jisha opened her mouth lightly, didn't say anything, but took out another arrow and handed it over, looking at her who didn't seem to be convinced, Nolik Barbareg smiled slightly, took the arrow and aimed it again, let go and shoot, in one fell swoop!

This time Josa smiled, and she looked at the Venetian again with a slightly interested gaze, as if she did not expect him to have such a superb archery skill.

"Miss, if I have this honor, I can discuss your bow and arrow with you."

The Venetian wasted no time in making a suggestion, and seeing that Zhisa did not object, he began to patiently explain to her how to use the bow more effectively.

In the other corner of the courtyard, Massimo watched from afar the two men who were discussing passionately, and when Matthews Tiego approached him to speak, the monk suddenly turned and went into the house.

The monk who returned to the house quickly found a pen and paper, and then he began to lie on the table and write.

"Honorable Sicilian Emissary, Lighthouse Keeper, Savior of Naples, Sole Legitimate Lord of Agri, my master, Master Alexandre Juliant Gombray: please allow your follower, the pious and humble Massimo, to report to you that your sister, the Venerable Countess of Zossa Cosenza, is now in Taranto, and I see such a thing......"

The afternoon passed quickly, and when it was dark, Elliot accompanied the Count to his visit.

Although he had already seen the portraits, considering the discipline of those painters, if it weren't for his trust in his son's vision, the count didn't even have much expectations.

But when he saw Tsusha himself, the old earl couldn't help but be a little interested.

Looking at this young girl, who was a little small as his own daughter, but with whom she might be married, the Count began to wonder if maybe this idea was not a bad idea.

As for the Venetian who followed closely by Jisha's side and looked like a guardian knight, he was directly ignored by the earl.

The Count had arranged for the arrival of the Venetians and the Vissa, and after personally inviting the Countess to the dinner in the evening, the Count made a surprise suggestion that he could use the time to talk about the free trade zone.

Originally thought that the Taranto people would deliberately delay Tsusa, but this was also exactly what she wanted, her patience was actually running out, and she even thought that if she delayed any longer, she would simply give up Taranto.

She was confident that Alexander would support her.

"We want to get the grain land in Agri, which is a prerequisite for us to continue to discuss your free trade zone."

As soon as negotiations began, Count Horsen immediately became straightforward and even put on an unquestionable momentum from the beginning.

Either refuse or accept, the Count attacked as soon as he came up in a posture that made his opponent unavoidable.

Although he had long guessed that the other party would make such a request, the Earl's attitude still surprised the people on the side of the Bush.

People couldn't help but look at Jisha, and some of them had begun to sigh secretly.

It was clear that the excessively young Countess did not give them much confidence, and the girl was still too tender in front of the powerful Count Taranto.

Visa looked at Count Hornen quietly, her expression was calm, and there was a hint of innocence on her young face, which made people feel that it was really difficult to produce such a thing as majesty in her body, which also made many people not optimistic about her.

But now, there was a faint look of anger in her eyes.

Although she had thought that such a condition would be put forward before, she still did not expect the Earl to make such a direct condition, which seemed straightforward, but in fact it was more contemptuous.

Obviously, Count Horsen did not see her as a negotiable opponent.

Don't be angry, don't be angry.

Jisha secretly reminded herself, and then she looked at the pair of Taranto father and son opposite, and nodded.

"Yes, Taranto can get food for Agri."

As soon as Tsusha's words came out, Count Horseen's originally smiling face froze slightly, and then looked at her with incredulous eyes.

The Count had thought of all possibilities, and even imagined that perhaps the young Countess would try to convince him with her special weapon as a woman.

And he didn't mind accepting this kind of challenge, but although he was sure that he would eventually make the girl succumb, he never thought it would be so simple.

However, the Count soon noticed that Tsusha's eyes were bright, which was obviously different from having to compromise after being frustrated.

Sure enough, before the attendants around her, who were also surprised by her words, spoke, and continued: "But Taranto only gets Agri's food, and it will be the next year's food. ”

The Earl furrowed his slightly gray eyebrows, he knew that it wouldn't be that simple, and now that Tsusha's words made him feel that this girl should have come prepared.

"Agri will set aside a special area for Taranto, and Taranto will only have to pay a certain deposit to get the ownership of the grain that will be harvested the following year."

Susha seemed unhurried, her face still looked innocent, but no one looked at her with the eyes of a little girl anymore.

"Wait a minute," Elliot felt a little embarrassed by the scene before her, it was clear that Tsuisa had already thought of what they would offer, and now it seemed as if she was waiting for them to propose, "Miss Count, what do you mean by the next year's grain, I think you may have misunderstood, we need Agri's land, not just food." ”

Jisha shook her head slightly, she didn't speak, but everyone could see an unmistakable determination in her eyes.

"Miss Count, what are you talking about as a bond?" The Count asked suddenly.

"It's the guarantee," Tsusha finally smiled, "Suppose you want to buy 10,000 florins worth of grain for the next year, then you need to pay one-tenth first, that is, 1,000 florins, as a deposit, and then we agree on a time to deliver these grains, and after deducting the deposit, you only need to pay the remaining 9,000 florins." ”

As she spoke, she looked out the window, and by this time it was completely dark, because the sky was slightly cloudy and there was not a single star in sight.

Earl Horsen stared at Tsusha with blazing eyes, and he felt that the girl's proposal was a bit ridiculous.

The reason why he followed Tsusha's proposal before was not because he thought there was anything attractive about it, but because he simply wanted to know what she was thinking.

Now it seemed that the Count felt that his previous fears were a little unnecessary, and he did not think that anyone would be stupid enough to accept such a funny and childish suggestion, and that he only needed to raise a question to completely defeat the somewhat unscrupulous Neapolitan countess.

"But what if Agri can't hand over the grain the following year because of the famine?" The Count stared into Tsusha's eyes, and he wanted to see in them the look of panic from the inability to respond.

But the Count was disappointed, and he saw a pair of eyes that suddenly lit up, just as the prey he had been waiting for had finally appeared.

"Count, have you ever thought about it, because of this, the grain you bought at parity before will increase in price due to lack of food. At that point, you don't have to pay another florin, but you can get a large amount of compensation that you have to pay for the inability to deliver the grain at the price after the increase, do you think there is anything better in return? ”

As she spoke, she stood up, and she looked out the window again and said, "Maybe we can talk about the rest of the matter after we get to your feast, after all, my suggestion is only the beginning, for just as you need food, Agri, Cosenza, and even Naples, Rome, or Genoa, need what they need, and I think we can talk about it." ”

Looking at the smiling expression on his face, Earl Horsen couldn't help but feel as if he had fallen into a trap for the first time.