The dense woods in front of Kosenza Castle had turned from dense green to dry and desolate, and the thick fallen leaves that were everywhere had turned from golden to earthy gray.

On the walls of the castle, she wore a thick coat and quietly looked at the rugged mountain road that stretched forward.

Through the woods, further on, the road to Agri.

Shosha saw a small group of centaurs slowly walking down the mountain path towards the castle, and she knew that it was Belleri's return.

Of all the relatives of Josa, apart from her mother, there are two people she is closest to, one is her uncle Modillo, Count of Naples, and the other is her half-brother Belleri.

Or sometimes she felt that Bellery was more reliable and safe than her mother and uncle.

As for her other person, who was always affectionately called "my dear brother", the corners of her mouth twitched at the thought of him.

Adhering to the principle that relatives are the most intimate and trusting, there are many things that Alexander will not tell Lucrezia or Barendi, but he will be very honest with his sister.

So Josa knew about every one of his relationships, she knew when he was really obsessed with Lucrezia's beauty, when he became interested in the mediocre-looking fiancée, and she even knew that he was still obsessed with the bohemian woman who had been missing for a long time, and even wanted to find her back.

And all she can do is to helplessly cover up her "dear brother's" always erratic feelings.

For example, although she was almost one of the first to know that Alexander and Barendi were about to marry, she not only helped him hide it, but also wrote letters to Lucrezia in Pisa from time to time, and even invited her to Cosenza in order to prevent any accidents.

Boleri's party had already entered the castle, and when he saw his brother who had taken off his coat and walked to the well, he couldn't help but smile when he picked up the bucket and poured water into his mouth.

"Agri's pure farmers are really unbearable," said Boleri as he tore the flesh from his bones as he tore at the flesh of his bones, "how many times have I told them that this is not a tax, but that they are taking money in kind from them according to the rules of the Free Trade Association, but even those farmers refuse to agree, and they even say that they will not be able to settle this matter until their Count returns." ”

"The Agri have always been stubborn," Asha smiled, "and don't forget the Agri's musketeers. ”

At the mention of the Agri musketeers, Boleri's expression sank.

The name Agri Musketeers is now spreading.

And this word has many other meanings than just a title.

Determined, brave and courageous, the Agri musketeers are now synonymous with these words.

There are many people who are beginning to wish they could be Agri musketeers, even though they are not Agri.

What made the Agri musketeers famous was the lord of Agri, a young man who was said to be the illegitimate son of the original Countess of Cosenza.

Such rumors certainly did not affect the prestige of the young lord, after all, illegitimate children were a common thing in this era, and having many illegitimate children, whether it was a king or a nobleman, was not considered a moral defect.

But Bellery still doesn't like the Gombray who is a brother and he is also a brother.

"Bolery, you should get along with Alexander, and don't forget that we are family."

The corners of his mouth twitched, he didn't want to contradict Josha, but he didn't think he would like Alexander in his life, although he reluctantly admitted that Josa was right, they were indeed family.

"I'll deal with those Agri," Jisha reassured Boleri, "I have one more thing you need to do here." ”

"What is it?" Bellery didn't complain, even though he had just run to Agri, "But don't let me do things I don't understand." ”

There are many reasons why Bellery doesn't like Alexander, the most important of which is that he thinks that Alexander "broke it".

From a long time ago, Berelli had noticed that Jossa was doing something strange to him, and he couldn't understand what it was, and this incomprehension became more and more as time went on, and it was all about Alexander.

Bellery was a little frightened, he feared that one day the two men would leave him far behind, for he could see that they were getting farther and farther away, and he even had the illusion that he could not even see their backs.

Since the Count of Cosenza suffered a stroke and then lived in a convent, it had been a long time since Bellery had visited his father.

And he had little affection for the Count, with whom he had a cold relationship with the other children, with whom he barely spoke.

In comparison, his relationship with the Earl's family was completely linked by Jisha, and without Jisha, he probably would not have a home.

So Bellery was very disturbed, he felt that all this had happened after Alexander had appeared, so the responsibility must have fallen on the brat from Sicily.

"It's not something you don't understand," Tsusha was a little helpless, she hoped that her family could continue with her, but now it seemed that her father's other children were disappointed in her, and even Beleri seemed to have some difficulty keeping up with her, "but this matter may require you to leave Kosenza for a long time." ”

"What, going to that Montina again?"

Bellery had been to Montina once, and he felt that he did not like the place, especially the owner of the castle, and the room called the vault, which he found cramped and aggrieved.

The things in it made him feel that the gap between him and that Gombray was getting bigger and bigger, and that gap was forming and widening between him and Jisha.

"No, this time it's another place." Tsusha pondered what to say.

In fact, she didn't want Bellery to do this, but after thinking about it carefully, she didn't know who to send to reassure her, after all, her family was the most suitable.

"Boleri, I'm going to let you go to Crete." After thinking about it, Jisha finally spoke.

"Crete, the island?" Bolery asked, a little stunned.

Their father was a very restless man in his youth, and he was idle at home except to sow seeds everywhere, and it is said that he went to Crete, so that Bellery knew about that place.

"Yes, the island."

Jisha nodded, she felt a lot more comfortable, she had been thinking about Boleri all the time, she felt the loss of Bolery, but there was no other way for a while, after all, even those who seemed wise and intelligent often couldn't keep up with her and Alexander, or if it wasn't for being the closest person to Alexander's side from the beginning, she herself couldn't keep up with that person.

Now there's a great opportunity to make a difference for Bolery, and it makes Josha happy.

"What to do in Crete, isn't it the land of the Venetians?"

He still knows a little about Crete, especially after he went to Taranto a few days ago, and heard some things about Crete when he was dealing with the chamber of commerce there.

"It seems that not long ago, the Ottomans attacked Crete."

Hopesa was a little surprised that Bellery was well-informed, and she smiled with a slightly approving look and reached out to pat Bellery on the top of the head.

"You're right, my little brother." Jisha deliberately made her voice look rougher, mimicking a man's tone and speaking.

Her appearance made Bolery stunned, but she seemed to remember something.

"Brother Kessel used to touch my head like that," said Bollery, a little gloomily, "but I was a child, and he never did it again." ”

Boleri's words silenced Jossa as their half-brother Kesel nearly killed them.

"Bolery, I want you to go to Crete because I want you to work for our plantation."

Jossa shook her head slightly and put the bad things out of her mind, things like Kesel's seemed to have passed too long for her, and even when she thought about it, she sometimes felt that even the current throne of Count Cosenza did not seem to be as attractive to her as it was when she first became Miss Countess.

"We have a sugar cane plantation on the island of Crete, and you should know that sugar is very valuable, and as far as I know, once our plantation is built, it will be the largest sugar producer in all of Europe, so this plantation is very important to us," said Jossa with a serious expression, "I don't feel at ease with others, and it's not very peaceful there, you said that the Ottomans had just attacked there, and I don't think the Venetians would necessarily want to see us gain a foothold there." ”

"That's what the Cambrai wants you to do." Boleri asked a little sullenly, he felt that Cambrai was so good at fooling around, that he was going to build a plantation except for those businesses that he couldn't understand at all.

"Alexander has a big plan," said Jossa at the mention of Alexander's plan, "Listen, if this plan succeeds, we may become as rich as Medici or the Pope, or richer than them." ”

Bolelli was skeptical that he would be as rich as the Pope.

He didn't know how much money the Pope had, but in his mind it must have been a figure he couldn't have dreamed of, so he didn't really care about Josha's promise.

And another reason for his displeasure was that he knew that Crete was far away, and if he went there he would not see him.

"Did I do something that upset you, that's why you let me go to Crete?"

"Why, why do you think so?" "I asked you to go to Crete because I can only trust you, knowing that a large number of workers will be sent to work there, and I don't know what will happen if there is no one to trust." ”

"That's right." Bonsa's explanation made Boleri feel a little more comfortable, although he was still a little reluctant, but looking at Ash's expectant eyes, he thought for a while and finally nodded, "Okay, I'll go to Crete, and I'll take care of the workers you mentioned, and if they don't obey, I'll whip them." ”

"I'm sure you'll be able to do it," Tsusha laughed, "but be careful, there are a lot of them, so what you need to do is bring enough men." ”

"How many are there?" Bolery suddenly remembered the question, "100 or 200, or more?" ”

Jisha thought for a moment and naughtily stretched out three fingers.

"300 people, so many?" Bolery was a bit surprised.

"No, it's 3,000." Jisha smiled lightly.

"Smack."

The spoon that Bellery was holding in his hand fell on the table.

3,000 men, the largest number that Josa had found in nearly half a year, and it was for this reason that Alexander would tell the merchants of the Pisan Chamber of Commerce to find enough ships before leaving Pisa.

Of course, these 3,000 people are not all plantation workers, and there is no place to find so many homeless laborers in just half a year.

In addition to the hundreds of people who can work directly, many of these people are the families of these people who have been uprooted from their homes.

Alexander didn't want to spend time and effort to finally develop a group of skilled plantation workers, only to have their plantation workers drastically reduced because their contracts expired or some people suddenly became homesick.

What he needed was a group of workers who could stay in Crete for a long time.

In this matter, Jisha thought of the best way for him, which was to move the families of these people as much as possible, rather than just employing the able-bodied laborers.

With the exception of some who are truly homeless, many of the workers bring their families with them, and Alexander hopes this will allow them to stay longer.

In this way, at least until the Ottomans finally occupied Crete, there would be a long time for the plantations to provide themselves with a steady stream of wealth.

Even as profits in the sugar market thinned, Alexander had a long-term vision for those workers.

All this was done by Josha, and the first batch of workers selected in the city of Rome had already been placed in Naples, and some had been placed in the villages of Cosenza.

Jisha was waiting, waiting for news from Alexander, and with the previous Ottoman attack on Crete, along with the news that Alexander had sent to send him, was an order for the Agri to raise more bees.

It is clear that the war in Crete had some effect on the European continent, at least the price of sweets in condiments, which was skyrocketing at an alarming rate.

Of course, Asha would not let go of such an opportunity, but it was clear that the Agri were not very buying Bolery.

"Bellery, Crete is a beautiful place, and you may be able to meet a girl you like there," said Zosha to her brother who did not look very good, "and the plantations there make us the most enviable of the richest men." ”

"I hope so." Belleri muttered under his breath, he couldn't figure out what Shosha and Alexander were doing, for he the whole world was only a little bigger than Cosenza, and maybe Naples, but a place like Montina was almost as far away as the horizon.

Because of this, Bellery felt a little scared, he didn't know where Shosha was going, but he already felt as if he was getting farther and farther away from her.

"But won't the Ottomans attack Crete again?" Bolery suddenly thought of this, he was not worried about himself, but looking at the look of Jisha's interest, he had to remind her, "That should be a lot of money, I mean to buy those lands and crops to be planted, as for those workers, are there too many workers?" ”

Bellery looked at Jossa worriedly, and the thought that she had become the way she was because of that Gombray made him secretly resentful of Alexander.

"Our home is in Kosenza, Josha," said Boleri a little sullenly, "and in the future you will have to find a husband and give birth to a child, and then Kosencha will be your child, and we will not need to go to Crete, which is too far for us." ”

Jossa looked at Bellery in silence, and it was the first time he had objected to her decision.

But she didn't care, because she knew that after all, it was indeed too bold.

In the same way, she knew that she could not expect anyone else to have the same near-blind trust in Alexander as she did, so that she could not hesitate to bet everything on him.

"Believe me, the Ottomans will not attack Crete anytime soon, and it may be a little rough at sea, but it will also be useful for us to control the sugar market in Europe in the future, after all, almost every court and every nobleman's table is in our purse."

Boleri looked at Josha a little blankly, he knew that he didn't have that much ambition, for him Kosenza was really almost the whole world, but Josa had already set his eyes on places he couldn't see at all.

"As for Kosenza," Jossa stared at Boleri's face, a look that was a strange look that Boleri had never seen before, and then he heard Bona say something very strange, "You know, Boleri, maybe you will become a Count in the future." ”

In November 1498, after a long period of thorough preparations, the Ottoman Sultan Basayet II requisitioned 44,000 infantry, about 8,000 tribal cavalry and 1,500 Sudanese cavalry, as well as the 10,000-strong Guards, known as the most elite Ottoman army, a total of nearly 80,000 troops, launched an attack on Bucharest, an important Hungarian fortress at the junction of the northern and inland parts of the Balkan Peninsula.

For a time, the eyes of all the countries of Europe were on that inconspicuous fortress, because everyone knew that if that fortress fell, the door to the heart of Europe would be open to the Sultan.

Behind this gate, in addition to the Kingdom of Hungary, there were Bohemia, Poland, Venice and Vienna.

It was also in this eventful November, when everyone's attention was on the situation in the Balkans, that from Naples, Taranto, Palermo and some large and small port cities on the Mediterranean coast, groups of sea ships were busy moving to and from the Mediterranean.

These ships were carrying not goods but groups of people, all of whom had only one destination.

Crete.

At the end of 1498, before this storm, with the rumbling of cannons from the Ottomans' westward expedition. Nicknamed "the war at the dinner table" by Alexander, it began silently.