Alexander stood on the edge of the Tiber and looked at the frozen banks below, the icy water occasionally lapping against the thin layer of ice that stretched from the bank to the surface of the river, sometimes covering the ice, sometimes flowing under the ice.

Slightly hurried footsteps came from a distance, and a man wrapped in a thick leather robe approached him with an entourage.

Seeing Kotschach spitting out white mist from his mouth, Alexander gestured to him with a cup placed on a stone beside him.

"Oh, drinking by the river doesn't seem like such a good pleasure, especially at times like these." Gong Xiang wrapped his robe, "But in order to drink this wine with you, I am still willing to risk getting sick." ”

Alexander smiled, he took a small piece of ice from the plate and put it in the glass, and then pushed it in front of the palace minister: "You might want to consider trying this, this is no ordinary wine." ”

"I can see it," Gong Xiang looked at the golden wine in the cup, took a sip of it, and then let out a "Huo" sound in his mouth, "What kind of wine is this, this taste is a little strange, but do you actually drink so much in this weather?" ”

Alexander didn't speak, but also took a sip of the wine with ice cubes, first poured the ice cubes that pierced his teeth back and forth in his mouth a few times, and then swallowed the wine with a strong swallow and swallowed it into his stomach!

"Don't you think, my lord, what we're doing now is just as cold and hot as this wine?"

Hearing this, Kotschach couldn't help but raise his glass to look at the wine with ice cubes floating in it, took a sip, and then let out another "Huo" sound, and swallowed it in one gulp.

"I didn't expect you to do so drastic in the Netherlands," the palace minister said, playing with the cup in his hand, "You probably wouldn't have thought of what happened in the Netherlands caused such a shock when it reached Vienna. ”

"Then please tell me."

"I'm not kidding, you must know that Vienna has always been very wary of the Ottomans, and the emperor has to deal with all countries in order to defend against possible invasions, which requires a lot of money, and what you did in the Netherlands is likely to make Philip pay at least 20% less taxes to Vienna at the end of the year."

Alexander nodded, he could not help but admit that Kotschach was very well informed this time, because the loss of tax revenue in the Netherlands caused by the blockage of the shipping lanes and the inability to dry goods in advance had indeed reached a staggering figure, and behind all this was the huge market of almost all the German city-states, which opened their arms unsuspectingly to the ports of the Mediterranean.

The will of the Germans to resist was very strong, and many cities tried to prevent the invasion of the Mediterranean chambers, but in the poor situation of the market, the resistance lasted only a few days, and the German merchants who had gathered in a hurry to fight for their own interests were beaten to the ground.

The power of ice-free ports in the Mediterranean was truly evident at this time, when the ports and inland waterways along the North Sea coast had to be closed one after another, and large quantities of goods were brought into the European continent from the ports along the winding coastline of the Italian peninsula.

Genoa, Venice, Pisa, and Naples, from the Arno River to Lombardy, then from the tributaries of the Po River basin, and further north into the vast network of rivers of the Danube and the Rhine, replaced the winter trade of the Netherlands, and a vast new trade union was rapidly eroding into the heart of Europe.

"I really didn't expect you to do such a ......" Gong Xiang opened his arms and made a gesture like a hug, "It's unbelievable, you know, do you know how happy I am when I hear that the merchants of the German city-states have been beaten by you and have no power to fight back?" ”

Alexander nodded understandingly, he knew that the palace minister was so excited, of course, because of the instinctive antipathy of the Vienna court to those princes, and more importantly, because of the excitement of wealth.

How much profit will this huge trade war that has been brewing for a long time bring?

Alexander thought maybe he needed one thing to explain everything.

When they decided to borrow 10 times the money from the Fugger family, both Tiego and Grogenin feared that even if the plan went well, the money they would eventually make might be enough to repay the Fugger family's principal and the frighteningly high interest and dividends.

They thought this because the Fuggers had apparently cunningly calculated an interest settlement point that made them angry when they agreed to this risky investment.

This once made the two of them worry that they would end up working purely for the Fugger family.

But now, when the settlement came out after January, everyone, even the Fugger family, suddenly realized that maybe they had made a big mistake in the first place.

That is, maybe the original investment was a little conservative.

In December 1497, after the closure of the port, Kotschach received several letters from relatives from Frankfurt who were ecstatic and somewhat confused.

These letters can be summed up in one sentence: "We have made a fortune!" ”

And this euphoria was manifested in Rome when Alexander had a carriage full of vats filled with several Florentine rush to the Vatican's square, and the eyes of those who knew what was in that carriage could not help but light up.

14,000 florins, which was the dividends that Alexander promised to the Holy See and Alexander VI respectively.

When he saw this money, the Pope could not have imagined that he would receive a return so quickly, even if it was not a small amount for him.

And this may have been just the return of the entire profit that Alexander said before, and the Pope even began to regret that he had promised a little too much.

Could it be that in a month, that exchange earned a full 70,000 florins?!

Alexander VI felt that this should be impossible, because not long ago he happened to have just looked at the financial records of the Vatican for a year.

The Pope remembered very well that in 1497 the balance of all the expenses of the Holy See was 383,000 florins.

It may seem like a dizzying amount of wealth, but one only has to think a little about the tithes that the Vatican levied throughout Christendom to see how insignificant such a balance is, supported by a huge church tax.

But now, in just one month, the exchange has paid the church a full 7,000 florins!

Alexander remembered the way the Pope looked at the vats full of gold coins, greedy and fanatical, like looking at a beautiful woman he had been looking at for a long time, and like a man who had been hungry for a long time and finally got a sumptuous table.

Alexander even believed that if he was given a devil's contract that needed to be signed in blood, Alexander VI would not hesitate to sign it.

"Gong Xiang, I think you know the agreement between me and the Fogel family, I will help them get the Hungarian copper mines, but they will also provide me with enough money to support me."

"You're going to use that money to feed the Genoese, aren't you?"

Alexander glanced at Kotschach, and he was not surprised how Kotschach knew about the agreement between him and the Rovere family, there were no secrets in Rome.

"Yes, they agreed to support me in building an army." Alexander nodded, then lowered his voice and said to Kotschakh, "My lord, I think you also know that if I can have such an army, it will be beneficial to all of us, and I can use this army to protect the interests of all of us. ”

Kotschach didn't bother with it this time, he stared at the river and the corners of his eyes trembled slightly, and then looked back at Alexander: "Count, I heard that you are preparing to open a new port in the Netherlands, right?" ”

"Yes, it's Rotterdam," Alexander doesn't deny, "but it's a little too early, you know that Grogenen is already preparing there, but it may take as long as we can imagine it will take to actually build a port." ”

Kotschach looked at Alexander silently, as if wondering how much of what he said was true.

Then he asked, as if he had made up his mind, "I must know that if Philip were to oppose your establishment of this port, would you resort to force against him?" ”

Alexander's eyes flickered, and he knew why Kotschach seemed to be a little preoccupied today.

"Has the Dutch government discovered your role in this?"

"You don't need to find out," said Kotschach, a little annoyed, "that my relatives in Frankfurt have made almost everyone know that they have made a fortune, and it is not difficult to guess the relationship if you think about who could have been so lucky at such a time." ”

Alexander could not but admit what the palace minister said, and he had already guessed by this time that perhaps with the deal in Frankfurt, perhaps the beautiful Philip and even the Viennese court had already noticed that the Kotschach family had played an important role in this great business.

"Rotterdam, you are south of the Netherlands," Alexander said carefully, "not so much that it is close to Amsterdam, but that it is not far from France if you continue south, and I have reason to fear that the French will pose a threat there, so if necessary, I may let my army enter the southern part of the Netherlands to defend against the invasion of the French." ”

Kotschach had a relieved look on his face, knowing full well that Alexander's so-called defense against a French invasion was in fact a pure pretext, but it was clearly enough for him.

He could not let the Emperor in Vienna think that he was doing business with someone who was an enemy of his son, but if he was working with a friend who was hostile to the French, it was a different matter altogether.

"I think I should have a drink to get to know you," Miyashi raised his glass, and although the wine tasted strange to his taste, he drank it all in one gulp, "Tell me what it is, it tastes weird." ”

"A distilled sweet liquor," Alexander also drank in one gulp, "but trust me, you won't want to know how it's made." ”

Listening to Alexander's words, Kotschakh laughed.

When Alexander returned to Marino Palace, he was a little surprised to see that Constantine was waiting for him, since the last unhappy parting, Constantine seemed to have been sent out of Rome by old Rovelle, and for nearly a month after that, although he visited Rovelle's house several times, he had not seen this brother-in-law for most of the time.

Konstantin's attitude did not seem to change much, so much so that when he met Alexander, his cold attitude seemed a little surprised to one of his companions.

And Alexander soon learned that this man, who was dressed in a two-cut robe, which was quite popular at the time, was his future commander of the Genoese army.

Alexandre de Scolati, a soldier with the same name as Alexander.

"He was the best soldier," Constantine did not seem shy about praising the man, "he had fought in two wars with the Venetians before, at first he was only a shield captain, but by the end of the war he was already a captain, and later he became the best infantry captain in Genoa. ”

Alexander looked at this person in surprise, he knew that the two wars with Venice that Constantine said should refer to what happened more than ten years ago, but what made him pay attention was that this person actually changed from a shield captain to an infantry captain, which could not help but arouse his interest.

The Genoese Halberdiers were a very unique army.

Perhaps because of their long relationship with Milan and the not-so-prosperous old-fashioned atmosphere, the Genoese still maintained the military traditions of the Middle Ages and their dedication to chivalry.

This can be seen from Konstantin's fanatical and stubborn adherence to all chivalric laws.

The Genoese knights were more interested in wearing full-body Milanese armor and carrying battle swords or battle axes to fight their opponents, as if the clumsy beating of each other was the only way to show their bravery and nobility.

However, this kind of aristocratic and old-fashioned knights were a minority after all, and the infantry from civilian origin was the largest and most common soldier in the Genoese army.

And the shield soldiers and sword and shield soldiers are undoubtedly the elite of the Genoese army.

These soldiers of civilian origin and some family property were able to purchase enough equipment for themselves because of their relative wealth, and because they were more trained, they were more familiar with the use of their own weapons and obeyed the orders of their officers on the battlefield than other ordinary infantrymen.

However, even so, the nobles of Genoa generally did not let their children become a shield officer, because for them, even the best shield soldiers could not be compared with knights.

Like the Cargino that Alexander knew, he might have valued the use of swords, shields, or halberds, but he would never have condescended to command such an army himself, let alone as an ordinary captain.

Alexander looked at the man named Alexandre de Scoladier with interest, and he noticed that the small man had unusually thick thighs and arms, which were the traces of years of training in some way.

In particular, the short, but always slightly stiff fingers on his hands made Alexander realize that they were hands that were constantly holding weapons.

"I'm Alexandre Juliant Cambrai," Alexander said with a slight greeting to the Scolade, "I think you should understand that the next army you are going to command is to obey my orders completely, right, captain?" ”

"Yes, I know very well what I ought to do," Scoladier bowed, "but I must state in advance that if you are to go to war with Genoa in the future, I will have to withdraw from your army, except for the army I command, but I hope that you will allow those soldiers to choose their own choice when the time comes." ”

"Of course, I will not force anyone to wage war against his homeland," Alexander nodded and smiled, "In fact, according to the current situation, I may have more conflicts with the Venetians." ”

"If that's the case, you can call me," said Konstantin a little excitedly, "I think the Venetians have almost forgotten the lesson of the last war." ”

Not much concerned about his brother-in-law's excitement, Alexander was a little surprised by Scolatady's seemingly calm expression.

As far as Alexander knew, Genoa's feud with Venice had left the two sides at odds even centuries later, but now the Scolades seemed rather cold.

"As a matter of fact, Count I am more interested in your command in the recent war between Romagna and Livorno," said Scolati suddenly, "I have noticed that you seem to be more interested in the use of infantry than cavalry. ”

"Oh, that's completely wrong," Constantine waved his hand a little unpleasantly, "knowing that the infantry will always be beaten passively because of their clumsiness, don't you notice that both in Romagna and in Livorno, the count had to go on the defensive, and Caesar's army is said to have almost broken through his line in Livorno. ”

Constantine said and glanced at Alexander, and seeing that Alexander did not seem to have any intention of justifying, he turned back to Scolade and continued, "Never forget that the fierce charge and terrible speed of the cavalry are the key to victory, imagine how you can face the irresistible onslaught of the cavalry if you encounter the enemy's cavalry in a place of complete wilderness?" ”

"I think that's why the Count wants to recruit us," Scolat looked at Alexander, "The Duke said that Caesar had almost broken through the Count's line in Livorno, but it was the Pope's army that was driven out of the battle in the end, and I think that speaks for itself." ”

Konstantin's face darkened slightly, and he seemed to be a little dissatisfied with Scolati's words, but just as he was about to continue arguing, Ulliu suddenly hurried into the hall from the outside.

Alexander, keenly aware of the urgency of Ulliu's expression, greeted Constantine and walked towards Ulliu.

"What happened?"

"Your Excellency, it's a letter sent by Lord Count Mordiglo," Uliu's nervous whisper said, "Caesar, rescued!" ”