Alexander remembers once looking at a statistic about human civilization.

It is astonishing that, in all recorded human history, the number of peaceful days in the world has been in the triple digits.

That is to say, the days when no war events were recorded on the same day in the history of mankind are less than one in ten thousand years compared to the history of human civilization for thousands of years.

And this so-called peace is only purely on paper, and it is impossible to truly prove whether human beings really put their guns into the warehouse in those days in reality.

Because of this, Alexander never had the luxury of expecting true peace in his lifetime.

As with Barondi's attitude towards the Po Armistice, any peace treaty was only a break before the start of another war, so for Alexander, all he could do was try to make those wars appear more favorable to him.

And Alexander was disgusted by the high-pitched claims that "war was waged for peace and the end of war", and he felt disgusted by the people who said those words when he thought of using such high-sounding excuses to justify himself when he pushed others into battle.

The purpose of any initiating war is only for profit, and there is no excuse to disguise it, so Alexander did not want to whitewash himself with any noble reason for the conditions put forward by the Venetians.

"Maximian had great ambitions, and his aim was not only for Lombardy and Milan, but he wanted to be the arbiter and even the monarch of all the Roman city-states," Grogenin said to the Venetian delegates sitting opposite, "and the emperor had been trying to intervene in Castile because of his son Philip." ”

Leonardo Rollette listened carefully to the words of the giant businessman, and at the same time he kept looking at the person in front of him curiously.

This lowland merchant can be said to be a legend, and the governor has heard a lot of legends about him, but the first time he dealt with him, Rowlet couldn't help but be full of curiosity about this man.

It is said that when the Duke of Rome Thessia had not yet made his career, it was this man who keenly discovered that the little lord at that time had extraordinary potential.

And the merchant was very bold enough to invest more money in the young man named Alexandre Juliant Cambrai.

Such investments are not only very risky, but most of the time, even if they have a unique vision, they often have little to gain, because once the person being funded is in a high position, they no longer want to be manipulated, so often the investor not only loses his money, but sometimes even loses his luck.

This kind of thing can be said to be common in history, and even not so long ago, what happened to the Fugol family is a good illustration.

In Rowlet's view, it is precisely because of such an unforgettable lesson that this lowland merchant has extraordinary courage.

He was clearly well aware of his status and status, and he was a good investor when he could be on an equal footing with the duke, and by receiving a reward from Alexander, he had not made a fortune, but had built a kingdom of his own wealth.

But as soon as the status of the Duke of Rome Thesia changed, the merchant named Grogenin immediately wisely adjusted his status in front of the duke, and never did anything out of place, which made them always maintain a very harmonious relationship.

The Low Country merchant named Grogenin was still a "friend" of the Duke of Thesia, but it was known that their relationship was clearly not going to return to what it had been.

And this new relationship, carefully managed by Groganin, did not affect his contact with Alexander in the slightest.

The Governor thought about these thoughts, which had nothing to do with negotiations, but Grogenen on the other side did not stop.

He explained Alexander's intentions to the Venetians in detail, and finally concluded as follows: "In view of the common interests of all, the Duke considered it absolutely necessary to establish a defensive alliance against any attempt to bring Lombardy under his rule. ”

Hearing this, Lorlet's spirit was instantly shocked, and he couldn't hold back the look of surprise when he looked at the assistant next to him, and his eyes were fixed on the face of the lowland merchant opposite.

Londoba Barbarig, on the other hand, was obviously not as calm as the Governor, and he involuntarily glanced at Rowlet, who disappointed him and had been calm, did not respond to him.

"May I understand that this so-called defensive alliance was directed against Austria?"

Little Barbareg thought for a moment, and finally asked the question, and at the same time his eyes glanced again at Rowlet, who was beside him, and he wondered what the Governor would think at this time.

Although there was no formal alliance, Venice and Austria were natural allies in the Lombard question because of their shared fear of French invasion.

Because of this, Londoca Barbareg was unable to accept the decision of the Council of Nobles to negotiate peace with Rome Thesia.

But now, not only did they abandon Austria, but they even had to form an alliance with the French against their former allies, although this was nothing new in the current era, and the changing face became so fast, little Babarig still had the feeling that he jumped too often and almost flashed to his waist.

And Rowlett didn't speak immediately, he had already noticed the so-called three issues that Grogenin had raised earlier, which made him wonder what kind of connection there was between these three seemingly unrelated things.

Groganin, who seemed to be aware of the inquiring look in the Doge's gaze, looked at Rowlet: "Your Excellency, I would like to make it clear that this alliance is not directed against any particular nation, but purely for the benefit of all of us in ensuring peace in Lombardy, and that the Duke at the same time thinks that a suitable candidate for the Duke of Milan would be more conducive to this purpose. ”

"Is the right person you are talking about, is it the Duchess's brother, Constantine della Rovere?" Rondoba Barbareg finally couldn't help but sarcastically ask, "As far as I know, Constantin della Rovere has been campaigning for the throne of the Duke of Milan, and for this reason the cardinal has even paid bribes to those whom he deems useful. ”

"Who are these people you are talking about," Groganin said, looking at Barbarig Jr., "as far as I know, among those who are willing to support the Duke of Ferrara in the succession to Milan are the Medici family, and it is a pity that Venice was even willing to support Savonarola because of its bad relations with the Vatican." ”

Speaking of this, Grognin's gaze fell on Rowlet: "Then Your Excellency the Doge, I wonder if Venice has now decided to change its attitude?" ”

Rawlett was not annoyed by Grogenin's almost unreasonable inquiry, he thought for a moment and whispered: "I don't know where you heard that Venice used to sympathize with Savonarola, but I can assure you that we can completely abandon the past unhappiness in our relations with the Vatican." ”

Groganin had a smile on his face, but in his heart he did not relax in the slightest because of the seemingly intolerant attitude of the Doge of Venice, on the contrary, Leonardo Rowlet's ambiguous attitude seemed to make him wary.

And Rowlet actually cheered up at this time, cautiously pondering the purpose and means of the envoy of the Duke of Thesia.

Alexander did not hide the purpose of containing Austria in order to prevent Maximian from reaching out to Castile, and not only did not let Rollette relax a little of his overly direct attitude, but on the contrary attracted Rowlet's attention even more.

Lorette knew that Alexander was seeking the crown of Castile, and at this time naturally wanted to be held back by Maximian.

But he wondered why Alexander was so confident that he, or the other city-states, would agree to his suggestion against Austria.

No, not so much against Austria, but, as Grogenin said, once this alliance was formed, any country that tried to reach out to Lombardy was bound to become a common enemy.

It's just that the Duke of Rome Thesia, on his own terms, made everyone agree to this so-called suggestion of his?

This reminded Rowlet of the other two issues that he had just thought of for Grogenin.

"Maybe we can put this issue aside for a while, we all know that it is not easy to build such an alliance, even if we are all part of a free trade alliance, but you should know that a peaceful commercial alliance is not the same as a purely military alliance, so it is more appropriate for us to have the next talks."

Lorlett was not surprised by Grogneen's clever evasion, and with a confident smile on his face that made him feel as if he knew everything in his chest, he immediately laid the second document in front of him.

Somehow, looking at the actions of the lowland merchants, Rowlet suddenly felt as if he had fallen into the trap of the other party.

As Grorganin spoke, Rowlet found that his idea quickly became a reality.

"Your Excellency the Doge, allow me to inform you and all the Venetians of the good news that the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II died two months ago......"

Seeing the Venetian's expression, after hearing this, the curiosity from the beginning was immediately disappointed and showed a look of "you already knew it with you", Grognin just smiled and continued: "And his two sons are now fighting for the throne of the Sultan, and the Ottoman navy seems to have been divided. ”

Hearing this, the Venetian, who had an indifferent expression, instantly became energetic!

In the 16th century, and for almost a hundred years later, the Ottoman navy was a nightmare for all the Mediterranean countries of Europe!

With its enormous financial resources, the Ottoman Empire built an unusually powerful Mediterranean fleet.

Expansion from the late 15th century to the early 16th century allowed the Ottomans to first control much of the eastern Mediterranean, and even the most optimistic people know that this resistance is only a delay, although the islands of Crete, Rhodes, and Malta have persisted in resisting.

Without strong support, these places would eventually fall into the hands of the Ottomans.

For the Venetians, the end of the 15th century was a history of the decline of Venice.

With the last colony in the Mediterranean being occupied by the Ottomans, the Venetians not only completely lost all their overseas territories, but were also blocked by the Ottomans in the Adriatic Sea.

The blows and defeats at sea caused unimaginable losses to Venice, a city-state dependent on maritime trade.

As Grogenin said, the seemingly glorious scene of Venetian Port was in fact only the last bit of light before the decay, and the arrogant Venetians had to admit that they were now like a seemingly splendid sunset, but in fact they were falling into a dark sunset, and it was only a matter of time before they fell.

So when they heard about the civil strife in the Ottoman Empire, the Venetians had already realized that this might be a good opportunity for them to revive their drums, and the terrible division of the Ottoman navy was tantamount to God hearing their prayers for the Venetians.

It's just that Lorlett calmed down immediately after the initial excitement, knowing that Grogenin was not telling him this in exchange for a thank you, and he should have thought that even if he didn't say it, the news would soon reach Venice.

So he's mentioning this separately now, apparently for some other purpose.

Sure enough, Grognin didn't let the Venetians wait too long, he looked at the documents in front of him, raised his head and looked at the Venetian representatives across the table with a strange expression, and then said: "What we want to know, if we can successfully get in touch with one of the Ottomans, is Venice ready to cooperate with the Ottomans?" ”

A low, but immediately resounding whisper came from the Venetian negotiating table.

Looking at the Venetian, who seemed to be a little caught off guard by the question, but then immediately became excited, Grognin had no time to whisper to Machiavelli, who had not spoken since the beginning of the meeting: "I think we will soon be able to prepare for the next talks, but until then, this battlefield is yours." ”

Machiavelli nodded lightly and tugged at the corners of his mouth, he had always believed that no personal emotions should be allowed to affect the talks during negotiations, and as a qualified diplomat, anger is easy to lead to failure, and complacency can also let the results that have already been achieved slip through the fingers.

But now he didn't mind a little smugness, for he noticed that the Venetians were watching them at the moment, which made him think that perhaps this would be more confusing.

"I beg your pardon, can I interpret your words as signing a contract with the Ottomans?"

Lorette finally spoke, his voice a little hoarse, but although he was not calm inside, he still tried to maintain a calm demeanor.

At the same time, his mind was also quickly pondering what kind of impact this meeting, which had apparently gradually made the topic more and more unexpected, would have on himself.

Talking with the Ottomans, the plague was not unthinkable, and they had tried to do so many times.

It's just that the growing ambitions of the Ottomans have already made them close the door to peace talks.

Now that there is such an opportunity, it is undoubtedly truly amazing news for Venice, which is in a difficult situation.

Lorette believed that if he could achieve peace talks in his own hands and re-emerge Venice, perhaps he could become one of the greatest viceroyalties in the history of Venice.

However, things are not without risk, and if the peace talks fail to enable Venice to regain those lost colonial and maritime interests, then whoever loses power and humiliates the country is enough to crucify those involved in the peace talks to the pillar of shame in Venice's history.

So Rowlet suffered from gains and losses for a while.

"Peace talks? No, I think you're mistaken," Grogenin waved his hand, his gaze brushing over the expectant faces of the Venetians, and then he looked at Machiavelli to the side, "I think it's more appropriate for the Duke's chief diplomat to explain this question." ”

Grogenin's words made Machiavelli's mood better, and he nodded to Grogenin with a rare smile before saying to the Venetians opposite: "We are talking about cooperation by forming an alliance with one of them to destroy the enemy fleet in the Mediterranean, which means that we will fight side by side with the Ottomans." ”

Listening to Machiavelli's words, Rowlet was silent for a moment, and then he let out an "oh" in response.

Rondolba Barbarig kept looking at Rowlet, frowning when he responded in a voice so low that only those around him could hear it.

He looked at Machiavelli, as if to discern from his face how much he was telling the truth and not deceiving, but he was disappointed, and he could not see anything in the face of the cunning Florentine.

"It's an incredible thing to make an alliance with the Ottomans, they're heretics, and anyone who thinks that way will go to hell."

Lorette said as he looked cautiously at the other Venetians, for the offer he thought was unexpected, but not unreasonable, and even in retrospect he realized that when he heard of the Ottoman civil war, the thought had already crossed his mind.

Is this something you have planned for a long time?

Thinking so, Rowlet couldn't help but glance at the lowland merchant.

Lorette's words immediately reminded the Venetians who had become strange at the suggestion.

There may be an explanation for the infidels and Tan, but the alliance is undoubtedly asking for trouble.

Excommunication from the Vatican may not have had as much impact as it had in the days of Fili IV, but it could still be the best excuse to give to the enemy.

The Venetians, who had calmed down at the thought of this, could not help but look at each other in a daze, and at this moment they heard the lowland merchant on the other side say in the same relaxed tone that he had not taken for fear after being rejected by Rowlet;

"I think we can talk about the third topic next, and with regard to the new route, the Duke of Rome Thesia thinks that it is entirely possible to cooperate in the form of a trade alliance."

Hearing this, the Venetian's face changed.

I didn't agree with it, but they really gave too much......