What it was like to make a loss-making deal, Alexander felt that he was like that now.

Ficher would not struggle for a pound of fine wheat or a pound of inferior oats worth a few silver kopecks, which were naturally done by the Modillo accountants in Alexandria's grain team.

In fact, he was really like a broker in the deal, and when Alexander agreed, he immediately shut up about these things, and began to express his admiration for the great treasures of the Italian city-states, and for the great masters of the art who had created them, and at the same time lamented that France was lacking in these great things at present.

"Sometimes I wonder if masters like Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci had appeared in Paris and not in Florence, and the oldest universities had also appeared in Paris and not in Bologna, and as for Genoa, it would have been a city that could have turned everything into wealth, and if these places were in France, and the king would have been more keen to show his prowess on French soil," Ficher said to Alexandria in an undisguised tone of jealousy, stroking the delicate floral ornament of the wine glass in front of him, "I can't help but admit it, Everything here is enviable, and Paris is a bit too dejected compared to this city, even if I love it even more, but this is a fact that cannot be doubted. ”

Constantine smiled, and felt honored and even a little proud of Ficher's envy, after all, the old man was not only a friend of his father, but also a man of great repute in France, and he was also admired and valued by the king and the Duke of Orleans, and it was enough to be honored to have such a man appreciate his homeland, even if it was only polite.

While Ficher was constantly praising Italy, Alexander had been silently watching the master.

He could feel that the old man's praise was indeed sincere, and he was full of admiration and envy for Italy's strong artistic atmosphere, but he knew that it was precisely because of this heartfelt envy that the French people always remembered Italy.

So after Charles's death, the Duke of Orleans not only sat on his throne and slept with his wife, but also unswervingly inherited his insatiable ambition for Italy.

Or, this ambition starts from now, at least the master in front of him has a deep influence on his student.

Constantine was also very happy to be able to make such a deal, and he saw the French as the firm backing of the Rovere family, especially at a critical time when his father was seeking cardinals, and if the French suffered a crushing defeat, perhaps the rest of the Vatican family might have to trouble them without waiting for the Borgia to do it.

"The archbishop is still in Genoa, but I have been informed that he will be in Rome soon in person, after all, this is a critical moment."

When Constantine began to say this, Alexander did not react to it somewhat, and then he learned that the so-called archbishop was Giuliano della Roverre.

Unlike Alexander VI, who openly admitted his relationship with his children, Rovelle apparently did not have the courage to admit that he had a group of illegitimate children, so his children could only call him bishop, while the Borgia family, especially Lucrezia, were often openly proud of Alexander VI's children.

"So, if this grain can be delivered to Lombardy as soon as possible, I mean if it can help our friends as soon as possible, it will be very good for the bishop to come."

Konstantin looked at Alexander with a hopeful gaze after speaking, and it was clear that he hoped to get a response from Alexander as soon as possible.

It was only then that Alexander learned why Constantine seemed so keen to help the French.

Obviously, this is about whether or not Rovire can be promoted to cardinal.

Looking at Konstantin's slightly expectant look, Alexander suddenly felt a little lost.

Is the food that has been transported so hard to do favors for others?

Pay first and pay later, that is to sell the future king of France a favor.

As Ficher said, because the relationship with the Duke of Orleans was a bit stiff before, in order to prevent him from returning to Italy after becoming Louis XII in the future, Alexander still had to give face.

But why did the Luo Wei Lei family take advantage of this, he didn't owe the Luo Wei Lei family anything.

Thinking about it made Alexander feel a little uncomfortable.

"I think maybe you're going to be disappointed, the food won't be delivered so quickly," Alexander's words surprised both of them, Fichet only frowned slightly, but Constantine's face couldn't help but sink, Alexander ignored them and continued, "Since the French are surrounded, will the coalition forces allow such a large amount of food to be delivered to them, as far as I know, Gonzalo is a very powerful person." ”

Konstantin was slightly stunned, of course he couldn't have known that what Alexander said was the truth, but whether the French could get out of the predicament was related to whether his father could successfully become a cardinal, which obviously made the young nobleman a little troubled for a while.

"So what do you think should be done, my friend?" Fischer asked patiently, the Duke of Orleans's adviser seemed to have understood something, so he was not in a hurry and just looked at Alexander, "I think you may have any good idea to help us solve this problem." ”

"It's not a good idea," Alexander smiled, "and I think that if the grain could be transported directly to Genoa by merchant ships, and then by Genoese merchants to Lombardy, it might be much faster and safer to be transported by convoys." ”

Konstantin opened his mouth slightly to say that it was supposed to be like this, but Fischer made a gesture for Alexander to continue, and he immediately realized that things should not be so simple.

Sure enough, for Alexander, what came next was the key.

"But you should know that since you have not yet paid for this grain, it must still be mine, until it is delivered to the French," Alexander said his purpose unhurriedly, "and I did not have with me the additional freight and inbound taxes paid to Genoa for the grain. ”

"Freight and taxes can be paid by the Rovere family," Konstantin immediately said, he had some secret contempt in his heart, and felt that Alexander was a little too stingy, "You can take this as a kindness from the Roverley family." ”

Alexander looked at Konstantin with amusement, and by this time he had almost guessed why some people had said that he had tried to pursue Lucrezia but was rejected by the Borgia family.

"I suppose there must be something else," Ficher was evidently more calm than Constantine, or rather, he knew Alexander better after what had happened in Sicily, "please tell me your terms." ”

"That's right, I hope to have some kind of relationship with Genoa," Alexandre felt like he was about the same, and finally threw out his purpose, "the port of Genoa to be exact, and I hope that Naples will form an alliance with Genoa, of course this is only a commercial alliance, so we don't have to have any other scruples at all." ”

"What kind of alliance are you talking about?" Konstantin frowned slightly, "I have to declare that I have no right to sign any treaties, and I don't think you have the right to sign any treaties on behalf of Naples." ”

"In fact, I am only talking about a treaty between my domain and the Chamber of Commerce of Naples and the Chamber of Commerce of the local docks of Genoa, a truly and purely commercial treaty," Alexander looked at Constantine with suspicion, "and I have already negotiated this treaty with the people of Taranto, and they are willing to join me in this plan." ”

Speaking of this, Alexander smiled at Konstantin: "I want to sign an agreement that will be beneficial to me for both of our tripartite chambers, and I will call it a 'free trade agreement'." ”

Konstantin looked at Alexander cautiously, but as he listened to Alexander's account of the free trade plan, the young knight's face began to show confusion and confusion.

As Alexander described it, Ficher's old face slowly revealed a solemn contemplation.

Gradually, his demeanor showed a little solemnity, and the fingers that had been placed on the table unconsciously and lightly tapped couldn't help but gradually slow down.

"You want your merchant to be exempt from taxes at the docks in Genoa?"

"Genoese merchants can also enjoy this treatment in Naples and Taranto."

"You also want to be able to store the goods in circulation freely near the port without paying the ship tax?"

"This will allow all of us to make a lot more profit than before, and as far as I know, the Rovere family's chamber of commerce will cost a lot of money every year just to pay this kind of ship tax."

"And that ......"

Konstantin kept asking about the inexplicable terms Alexander had raised, until at last he asked the strangest question to him:

"Tell me who taught you this, Count Mordillo?"

"No, it's all my own thoughts, and believe me, there will be many places that will agree to join my treaty soon, so think about it, and when other people's goods can be left with a large amount of money to squeeze the Genoese business in the future, what do you think the Rovere family's Chamber of Commerce should do?"

Looking at the strange look on Konstantin's face after hearing this, Alexander smiled slightly.

By the time Alexander came out of Konstantin's dacha, it was already night.

From the top of the hill, you can see the city illuminated with lights.

Rome is undoubtedly beautiful at night, especially when the city is encased in a white world that resembles a beautiful wonderland from an ancient fairy tale.

But Alexander knew that this was purely a façade, and that what kind of depravity and decay was hidden under the white beauty, and probably even the Romans themselves could not tell.

At least he knocked on the Rovire family unabashedly in this seemingly relative relationship.

According to his final terms, the Rovere family had to agree to the free trade agreement he had proposed before he agreed to use the Rovere family's fleet to transport the grain to Genoa, otherwise he would rather let the food convoy go all the way to Lombardy.

Neither Ficher nor Konstantin would have agreed to allow Alexander to do so.

Regardless of whether it would be too late to do so, even if everything went well, as Alexander had said before, how to deliver the food to the French, who had been surrounded by coalition forces, was a big problem.

But it would have been different if it had been transported by the Genoese, who, with their intricate relationship with both sides, were certain that they would be able to accomplish what seemed to be a difficult task.

It was only Alexander's almost stubborn insistence that annoyed Konstantin, and he could not imagine that this illegitimate son of Modiglo, who did not know from which poor country he had recovered, was not only stubborn, but even emboldened to threaten them with this matter.

What annoyed Konstantin was that although he knew that this was a threat, because it was related to whether his father could successfully ascend to the cardinal throne, he had to take it seriously, and he didn't even dare to rashly provoke the pressure.

"Maybe that young master has now regretted calling me a brother, or maybe he is simply thinking about killing me."

Sitting in the carriage, Alexander whispered to himself, of course he knew that Constantine must hate him at this time, but he didn't care, because he knew that the French should be more anxious than him.

As it turned out, Ficher stopped a possible conflict when he saw that Konstantin seemed to be about to explode because of his anger, and he took Konstantin out under the pretext that he wanted to see the snow in the garden of the villa.

Then, after a long time, the two returned to the room.

Alexander still remembers Konstantin's gloomy face and the disgruntled look in his eyes when he looked at him, which made him believe even more in the relationship between his cousins, which was actually a bit unreliable most of the time.

"Your proposal concerns the interests of all Genoese merchants, and I cannot agree to these conditions that you have proposed."

Konstantin first said this very firmly, and then he paid attention to Alexander's expression, obviously hoping to see the disappointment, frustration or anger on Alexander's face, so that he could know how much weight these conditions carried for Alexander, and it was important for him to say what he said next.

It's a pity that Alexander just looked at him seriously, with a complete expression of knowing that he must have something to follow.

This made Konstantin angry and helpless, but thinking about his father's long-coveted cardinal, Konstantin decided to calm himself down.

"But I can pass on this condition of yours to someone who can make a decision," I don't know if it's a delusion, Alexander felt that Konstantin's voice sounded a little difficult, "You can talk to her about this suggestion." ”

"She?" Alexander asked curiously.

"She," Konstantin said, with a helpless look, "my sister, Barentia della Rovere. ”