A man with a pointed head, pointed ears and a pointed nose walked back and forth in the hallway, walking from one side to the end of the other, then turning around and walking across the hallway, then turning around and walking back on the other side, repeating the same action over and over again.

This is clearly a Jew, and the reason why it can be described as "obviously" is because there are so many Jewish-specific traits in this man.

His manners, though natural, always exude an indescribable shrewdness, his modest but uncharacteristic appearance, and the fact that he always seems to look at others with a smile on his face, all of which together make it seem that there is no one so befitting these characteristics except those Jews.

In the corridor, there were two other people besides this man, and those two men were obviously much calmer than the man who looked like a moving Gothic tower and had a sharp feeling all over his body, one of them was even leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes, while the other was holding a large book wrapped in cowhide and looking at it carefully.

The man had read each page very carefully, and it had to be read for a long time before turning to the next, so he hadn't read much of the book, and the door at the end of the hallway finally opened.

The man who was walking around immediately stopped, he wanted to meet him immediately, but then he stopped and looked at the old man who was sitting in the chair and was recuperating, and when he saw that the old man had opened his eyes and looked at the same way as him, he glanced at the other person who had been reading.

The man had closed his book by this time, and he stood up with the old man, and together the three of them walked towards one of the guards standing at the door of the room at the end of the hallway.

It was a Balkan man with an upturned beard and curly short hair, and the mountain man's characteristic dark red purple face looked fierce and wild, his black eyes swept over the three men, and his hand clutched the handle of the saber with a delicate pattern at his waist, which was inlaid with a large piece of stone with a smooth surface, and a downward curved barb at the end of the handle allowed the user to quickly pull the saber out of the scabbard with a single hook of his hand.

"We have come to see your lord according to the agreement with the earl." The old man said to the Balkan guard, and seeing that the guard neither spoke nor stopped but just kept looking them up and down, the old man thought for a moment and glanced at the pointed companion next to him.

The man immediately skillfully took out a small but heavy cloth bag from his pocket and stuffed it into the hands of the Balkans, the whole action was skilful and natural, and it was completely impossible to see that this was a bribe.

It's just that as soon as his hand holding the money bag touched the Balkan man, he immediately shrank back as if he had been bitten by a snake, and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes.

I don't know when the Balkan man's hand holding the hilt of the sword lifted up a piece, so that the saber was half-unsheathed with his movements, and for a moment the sharp blade flashed in the sunlight outside the window.

"My lord wants you to go in," said the Balkan man, his tone sounding awkward, as indistinct and laborious as a red-hot stone in his mouth, but the Jews did not care about the strange-speaking Balkan man now, and the three of them immediately stepped forward, but the Balkans blocked their way.

"Hand over your weapons." This time, the tone of the Balkans is much more normal, and it seems that they usually practice a lot.

"We are merchants, we have no weapons." The pointy-headed Jew explained, but the Balkan pushed him directly on his chest to keep him out.

"Hand over your weapons." The Balkan man spoke again, and seeing that the other three seemed to understand, he had to raise his hands in a motion.

The pointed Jew was a little angry, but his two companions calmly obeyed the Balkan guards, and they raised their hands and let the Balkans search them for a while before they retreated to the side to make way for the entrance.

The three Jews entered the room with some caution, and then they found that in addition to Alexander, whom they were about to meet, there was another figure of equal prominence, Sophia, the Grand Duchess of Wallachia.

At this time, the Jews who entered the door saw the Grand Duchess sitting in her chair with an annoyed face, as if she was angry with someone, while the Count of Montina was half-kneeling in front of the Grand Duchess on one leg, his head slightly on the side of Sophia's lower abdomen, and a satisfied smile on his face.

When he saw the Jews enter, Alexander got up from the ground, and instead of dusting his knees, he first reached out to help Sophia, who seemed to be about to stand up.

"My lord, if we don't come at the right time, please allow us to leave." The old Jew immediately said cleverly that he did not think that this was a trap set by the Count, at least that there was no need for such a thing as a trap against the Jews, as long as the nobles were willing to take everything they had, as it was in Rome and in Venice.

Perhaps it is better in the Lowlands, where it is said that there are strict laws in place to protect the legitimate property of all people, and for this reason many Jews are debating whether or not to develop in the Lowlands, at least the news about those places sounds reassuring.

"We're done." Alexander motioned to the three Jews to let them stay, then turned to say something to Sophia.

But Sophia was clearly angry, and she unceremoniously tilted her head and passed directly through the three Jews, and as she passed by several people, the Jew holding the book noticeably noticed her seemingly instinctive hand around her lower abdomen.

The Jew's eyes twitched slightly, and then he immediately bowed with his two companions to Sophia, who was passing by.

"We're all busy, so let's keep it simple." Alexander seemed a little impatient, or perhaps it was because Sophia's emotions were affecting him, and he didn't care so much about how much money he would make, thinking about the troubles he might face next.

"That's the kind of adult, we have lent a total of 3,500,000 florin's loans to the Fugger family in three installments, according to the agreement, the loan will be repaid at the annual interest rate of 1 cent plus 1, and each month's interest will be converted into the principal, and our agreement with the Fugger family stipulates that the Fugger family must repay one-sixth of the principal and interest in the fourth month after the agreement takes effect, and then each month must be calculated at one-tenth of the remaining principal and interest plus the interest of the current month, until the full interest is paid off, and if there is any overdue repayment, Compensation will be added to the principal and interest of the current month's repayment, and the compensation will be calculated as ......"

"Okay, I told us to keep it simple."

Alexander interrupted the old Jewish man with his hand, saying that he knew better than the Jews what the agreement was for, and that even one-sixth of the principal and interest that had to be repaid in the fourth month was calculated by his subordinate Nicolas Maceni, because according to Macioni's calculations, the entire amount of the loan of 3,500,000 florins, with interest, was about equal to the quarterly income of all the assets and business of the Fugger family that they now had in their possession in the fourth month.

That is to say, from the fourth month onwards, the profits of all the businesses owned by the Fugger family will be just enough to block the money to repay this astronomical huge amount, and the principal and interest of each subsequent month will be almost the income paid to the Fugger family that month.

As a result, it will soon be discovered that the Fuggers will not only not be able to come up with a penny to expand their business from about six months later, but will also be plunged into a large and complex vortex of debts and bonds as they lack funds.

In a word, the Fugger family's capital chain has been broken from the moment they signed this agreement!

"To put it simply," said the old Jew, who was not annoyed by the interruption, even said in a slightly humorous tone, "we have all made a fortune." ”

Alexander was slightly stunned, he didn't expect this old man to really explain things clearly in such a simple sentence.

"Is there anything else," Alexander nodded as he looked at the three Jews opposite, seeing their simultaneous glances, "I know what you're worried about, this is the Fugger family after all, and I know you're afraid that you might get revenge or someone trying to swallow up your money," Alexander said, picking up a document that had been written from the side, "This is the asset guarantee I gave you, and you can get your share with complete confidence." ”

As Alexander finished speaking, he noticed the slight change in the face of the old Jewish man, and although he knew that it might have been deliberately shown in front of him by this cunning Jew, he still felt that the hearts of these Jews had been tense until now.

After all, the unscrupulous harm to Jews that has been formed for many years has made people feel that they are robbing Jews of their money, so is that called robbery?

"You are a generous and upright nobleman, and we know that you are doing this out of your personal nobility, but we still feel that you deserve an extra reward for it, please do not refuse, it is purely to repay you......"

The old Jewish man excitedly said that he felt that it was completely worth it to exchange a bribe for an asset guarantee, after all, they had already invested too much for this, even if it was worth paying a greater price.

But before he could finish his words, the Jew, who had been silently holding a book next to him, suddenly spoke.

"We don't need a guarantee."

There was an instant silence in the room.

Alexander's eyebrows were slightly raised to show a puzzled look, and the old Jewish man slowly turned his head with his mouth open and looked at his companion next to him in astonishment, and the pointed head seemed to think that he had misheard at this moment, and actually dug his finger into the ear leaning against the man.

"We don't need a guarantee." The man repeated it again, this time in a slow but steady tone, clearly trying to let others know that he wasn't on a whim.

"I beg your pardon." The old man grinned at Alexander, and then he almost dragged the Jew to the other corner of the room, and before he could go far, he asked in an angry whisper.

Alexander watched with interest as the three men gathered together and argued in a low voice, and it was clear that there was a serious disagreement between the small Jewish consortium, and from the red faces on their faces that could not hide their excitement despite their efforts to keep their voices as low as possible, Alexander could guess that they were arguing fiercely.

But it had nothing to do with it, Alexander was already out of the room at this time, and he was in a hurry to end this boring meeting as soon as possible, because he had more important things to do.

The argument between the three men seemed to change slightly, and as the Jew didn't know what to say, the other two suddenly showed surprise on their faces, and they first looked at Alexander involuntarily, and then the three of them began to bow their heads again, but this time they were still arguing, but the atmosphere was different from before, as if they were arguing over a decision that had embarrassed them.

The man seemed to be a little agitated, and he kept whispering something, apparently trying to convince his companion.

Gradually, he seemed to have the upper hand, and the other two Jews, sometimes nodding and sometimes shaking their heads, still expressed some kind of concern, and it was evident from their expressions that they had been convinced, but for some unknown reason they seemed to be a little wavering and difficult to decide.

"It's not up to us to decide......"

"But this is an opportunity, isn't it, is there still such an opportunity......"

"Maybe, I mean it's an opportunity, isn't it, uncle......"

Alexander was a little curious about the vaguely audible words, but his patience was running out, and just as he was wondering if it was time to rush them, the three Jews seemed to finally end their argument, and they all turned to look at Alexander.

Somehow, Alexander felt that the way they looked at him was the same as when Massimo saw the beauty.

"My lord, we don't need your guarantee, but we have a request." The Jew was still clutching the book in his hand, and Alexander noticed that it appeared to be a copy of the Covenant Act that had just been enacted in Venice.

"What do you want?"

Alexander asked calmly, knowing that these Jews must have a plan, which reminded him of a proverb among the merchants: When a Jew gives you generously, do not be happy but be careful, for they have their eyes on your purse.

"We would like to exchange your pledge for an opportunity to make a contribution to Archduchess Alexandra," the Jew said respectfully, seeing Alexander looking at him with a blank face, the Jew simply continued, "To be precise, allow us to give our contribution to the heirs of the Grand Duchess." ”

With a "bang", the chair behind Alexander was knocked backwards as he stood up, slamming on the ground with a loud bang!

Before the sound fell, the door had been slammed open, and the Balkan man rushed in with a sharp saber in his hand, and he did not immediately pounce on the Jew, but first rushed to Alexander's side with a few steps of extraordinary agility to block in front of him, and then as the saber in his hand slashed horizontally in the air, the Jew only felt a cold in his chest, and the black robe he covered with had been cut a long gap!

The Jew's face turned pale in an instant, and he stepped back in panic, crashing directly into his companions behind him, and several people immediately let out a cry.

"Are you alright, my lord?" The Balkan man stared warily at the Jew with his saber raised, and in his left hand he held a brass whistle, ready to sound the alarm when the situation was bad.

"I'm fine, but I think these friends are in a bit of trouble." Alexander looked at the Jew opposite him with a gloomy face, and he was not in a good mood at this moment.

Sophia was pregnant, and not even the Wallachians knew about it except the two of them and some of their relatives.

But now the Jew had uttered the words "heir of the Grand Duchess," which made Alexander feel that if he had not known that the child in Sophia's womb was his own, he might have wondered if the Jew had lived next door to his house.

"Who told you that!" Alexander asked in a stern tone, he did not deny it, but was more concerned about how the news was leaked, if he could not even keep such a secret thing secret, then he really had to doubt that these Jews had the ability to get through the sky.

The Jews were obviously frightened, they did not know why the Count had suddenly lost such a temper, but when they understood the reason for Alexander's anger, the three of them looked relieved.

"My lord, no one told me," said Alexander, whose brow furrowed, and the Jew said immediately, "I saw it." ”

"You can see that?" Alexander's hand moved, and then he suddenly felt the urge to cut people, "I really didn't expect you to be a great gynecologist." ”

"No, that's my guess," the Jew said quickly, but it was obviously not enough to satisfy Alexander, and when he saw that the Count's eyes had slipped towards the saber in the hand of the Balkan man beside him, the Jew quickly forced himself to calm down and hurriedly explained, "Actually, when we came in by chance, we saw that you were with the Grand Duchess, and please forgive me for noticing that Madame was very careful to protect her lower abdomen when she left," The Jews tried to make their words sound both rude and acceptable to the count, who was as angry as a bull, "I would venture to guess whether the Grand Duchess was pregnant, after all, the whole of Venice, and beyond, knew how much the Grand Duchess loved you, and how much you loved Madame, so I think this is a truly rare opportunity......"

"A rare opportunity for you to invest in your future Wallachian heir?" Alexander interrupted the Jew, who stared at the man for a moment before he slowly asked, "Can you tell me your name?" ”

"Joseph Buccini, my lord," the Jew bowed slightly, "a law student at Ca' Foscari University." ”

Alexander stared at the three Jews silently, and he knew that with his current status and power, it would be completely effortless to dispose of the three of them at will, even if the old Jewish man in front of him was an important figure among the Jewish merchants of Venice.

The atmosphere in the room was somewhat oppressive, and the Jews waited in silence but calmly for their verdict.

The ups and downs of the past years have made the Jews more stubborn, though tactful, and there is nothing to fear them anymore.

"Schelle, let them stay here for the time being," and after a moment of silence, Alexander finally said to the Balkan guards next to him, "remember not to let anyone meet them during this time." ”

Looking at the backs of the Jews who had been taken out by the Balkan guards, Alexander thought for a moment and then shook his head.

He had some faith in the man named Joseph. The words of Buccini's Jew, after all, could not be a next-door neighbor, and it is unlikely that he heard the news, only shows that this Jew did have extraordinary insight.

But what caught Alexander's attention even more was that this man had planned a plan that clearly had long-term significance in such a short period of time.

"It's a bit of a skill."

Alexander smiled slightly, but then his face became ugly, because he remembered Joseph. A word from Buccini.

"After all, the whole of Venice, and beyond, knows how much the Grand Duchess loves you, and how much you love Madame."

"People in more places know about it......"

Alexander groaned in a little pain.