The dinner was very enjoyable, although Barendi did not speak much from beginning to end, and Konstantin also had a gloomy face that made people feel that the atmosphere of the banquet was a little wrong, but old Rovere was still very polite to Alexander.

After the meal, Barendi found a reason to leave, leaving the old Rovere father and son to begin negotiations with Alexander about the Genoese soldiers.

Alexander's offer of 3,000 Genoese soldiers was somewhat difficult for old Rovere, and although the Genoese did not mind being mercenaries, they were more likely to fight for their own cities, or they were mostly at war with the Venetians.

Because of the accumulated resentment, the armies of the two cities were almost a result of immortality once they arrived on the battlefield, which gave the Genoese a reputation for being formidable, but if they were to obey the command of others, and there were so many of them, old Rovere found it somewhat difficult.

"Can you support 3,000 men, plus your own existing army, you will have to raise an army of 5,000 men," asked Old Rovere, a little puzzled, "This is a big burden for anyone, especially when there is no war." ”

Alexander understood what the elder Rovere meant, and that the feudal monarchs of the past were keen to wage wars such as the Crusades because it would bring them enough benefits, but also because the pressure to feed the army was counterbalanced by plunder and loot.

Because of this, as the Crusades became obsolete, monarchs had fewer and fewer ways to divert their troubles through war, and they began to recruit temporary mercenaries instead of raising specialized armies.

However, Alexander's behavior was clearly different from the most common use of mercenaries today, which made old Rovere a little strange.

"My lord, I need this army," Alexander did not answer old Rovere's doubts, but looked at Constantine next to him, "I hope this army is following orders, I know that the Genoese are brave, but that doesn't mean they're fit to be soldiers." ”

Konstantin's face was a little ugly, he knew what Alexander meant.

It is clear that Alexander was not optimistic about the discipline of the Genoese soldiers.

"You can get as many as you want, but how to make them obedient is your own business," said Konstantin with some displeasure, and he felt that Alexander's words were more like an insult, "Our soldiers can bravely rush at the enemy, or pounce on the girl with the same bravery, and that is enough, they will not learn to seduce women with your perfume or beautiful clothes." ”

Alexander smiled, he had sensed an indescribable hostility towards him, or rather anger more appropriately, and now he knew why.

Alexander looked back at old Rovere and saw that the cardinal was drinking and making a helpless expression at him, and Alexander felt that there was no need to continue pretending.

"My lord, I would like to explain to you about perfume."

Alexander already knew by this time that Konstantin's seemingly angry appearance was in fact the dictation of old Rovere, and it was obvious that they were not satisfied with his decision to give the perfume to outsiders like Gonzalo and Kotschakh rather than to cooperate with relatives.

"Perfume can bring us a lot of profit, and I have no intention of excluding the Rovere family," Alexander explained to the ever-quiet old Rovere, "and in fact I am planning to have someone I trust to do this business in France, such as your daughter." ”

Old Rovere's hand twitched, he knew of course that it was just an excuse for Barentia to do this business, and what he noticed was that Alexander said that he was doing this business in France, which aroused his interest.

"Are you already planning to do business with the French?"

"We're not the only ones who want to do business with the French right now." Alexander looked at old Rovere.

Old Rovere's gaze became much more solemn, and he understood the meaning of Alexander's words.

"Who else do you think is ready to deal with the French?"

"It's hard to say now," Alexander smiled, he couldn't have said Borgia by name, though he believed that old Rovere must have heard of the Borgia family hooking up with the French, "but if the French are interested in perfumes, I don't mind making their money." ”

"You can talk to Barondi," said old Roverley, who seemed to think that the purpose of today's dinner had been achieved, and despite the strange look from his son, he stood up and patted Alexander's shoulder gently, "Tell Barendi about your thoughts, she will be interested." ”

Given the hint, Alexander stood up and bowed in resignation.

Looking at his back as he walked towards Barendi's room, Konstantin looked at his father with some astonishment: "Father, is it just for a perfume business that you have so courteously entertained Gombray today, and for this you promised to provide him with an army?" ”

"So what do you think it's for?" Old Rovere glanced at his son, then shook his head with a little disappointment, "Konstantin, sometimes I think you should really learn from Barondi, she may not be very smart, but she is definitely the most diligent, she is willing to learn what she doesn't understand, and you sometimes prefer to be self-righteous." ”

Hearing his father's unceremonious criticism, Konstantin took a sip of his wine glass with an ugly face, but he couldn't help but ask: "But those perfumes are really so important that they are worth it?" ”

"Perfume should be very profitable, you can see how proud that Gonzalo is to show off to others, but that's not the point, the important thing is that this matter has brought us closer to Gombray," old Rovere looked at the door where Alexander had disappeared, "Trust your father's vision, everything we do today will pay off well in the future." ”

Barondi's room was in a courtyard at the corner of the villa, with a circle of porches modeled after the Romanesque courtyard, which was generally small but bright, and through the open door she could be seen sitting on a chair with her back to the door, and a maid across from her seemed to be helping her arrange her dress.

The maid looked up and saw Alexander who had walked to the door and was about to speak, but was stopped by his gesture of silence, and looked at the hostess who was napping with her head slightly tilted on the back of the chair, and the maid carefully retreated.

Barondi's dress was cumbersome, and although it was casual compared to other young women, it still had a slightly exaggerated shoulder with a hem that hung straight down to the knees, and a pleated neck lining that tightly wrapped around her neck, which also made her feel a little uncomfortable sitting in a chair.

Barondi raised her hand and pulled the neck lining, this thing is like the skirt of a plate wrapping the whole neck tightly, even in the cold of November, it still makes people feel a little stuffy after a long time.

In a trance, Barondi felt as if someone had gently untied her neck lining, and the comfortable feeling made her snort softly, and then she felt a warm touch slip across her neck.

Barendi frowned a little unpleasantly, she didn't like people to get too close to her, not even a personal maid.

Because she knew that she was not beautiful since she was a child, she was very disgusted with those who deliberately flattered her in order to please her, and she hated even more men who pretended to be interested in her, but in fact only valued the status and power of the Luo Weire family.

Barendi was about to speak, when suddenly a rich aroma wafted into her nose, and at the same time, the warmth that had touched her neck before turned into a faint coolness.

The scent of a cool liquid dripped down her neck and onto her collarbone socket, making Barendi realize that it wasn't a dream.

She opened her eyes, first feeling the fingers caressing her neck, and then, with more aroma, a translucent bottle was passed to her from behind.

"What are you doing?"

Barondi tried to calm herself down, she had never encountered such a scene, although she was a fiancé, but Alexander had not even kissed her forehead before, but now he was actually stroking her neck, which made Barendi feel unspeakably uncomfortable.

"The perfume your father wanted," Alexander put the bottle in Barondi's hand from behind, "and I've put a few drops on your neck, you can taste it yourself." ”

Barondi frowned, somehow she didn't want to admit that she wasn't good at this kind of thing, and she was busy checking the ledger and the various reports sent from all over the world while the other women were dressing up or standing in front of the mirror and taking off their new clothes, which had made her proud before, but now she had found that it was her fault.

"I'm not interested in any of this, let my maid tell for it, as long as it makes me money." Barondi tried to stand up as she spoke, but the pressure from her shoulders pushed her back into her chair.

Barendi was a little uneasy, she really didn't like the feeling of being suppressed.

"I've thought about it," Alexander's voice came from behind him, "you're right, I should respect your status as a fiancée, so I apologize for what I did before." ”

"Very well, I am willing to accept your apology," Barondi said quickly, at this time she only wished Alexander to stay away from her, "maybe we can talk about the share of perfumes, I want to hear your ......"

Barendi wanted to say something, but her words were suddenly blocked.

A sudden kiss froze her, but before she could react, Alexander behind her had let go of her and stepped back.

"Well, I've apologized, we'll talk about perfume later, and I've promised your father that it's up to you to decide the business of selling perfume in France."

Barondi turned to look at Alexander, who was a little farther away from her.

"I'm sorry, I have something else to talk to your father, so I'll take my leave."

Alexander bowed slightly, then hurried away.

Looking at Alexander's back as if he was running away, Barendi couldn't help but clench the perfume bottle in his hand.

Whether Barendi wanted to admit it or not, she knew that Alexander had caused a storm in the city of Rome.

But the Romans were clearly willing to endure the ups and downs of the storm.

The miracle of Pisa is about to be repeated in Rome, and the news has excited all Romans who qualify to be part of this storm.

Some of the friends of the Rovere family were happier than others, because the person who caused this impending storm of wealth was the future son-in-law of old Rovere, which made them think that they were the first to be rewarded in this future tide of wealth.

Whether it was the Chamber of Commerce that cooperated with the Luo Wei Lei family or the allies of the old Luo Wei Lei, these people were probably looking forward to the young couple getting married as soon as possible.

Because the matter of Alexander and Lucrezia made them feel a certain crisis, especially the overly positive attitude of the Pope in the establishment of the exchange, which also made the allies of old Rovere a little uneasy.

They came to old Rovere's house and explained to him the wishes of their men, which made Barondy feel as if she and Alexander had been bound together by an invisible bond, for whatever reason.

Barentia notes that Alexander seems to have deliberately avoided discussing how to divide the perfume to the French, which can be explained as a quid pro quo for the 3,000 Genoese soldiers, but on the other hand, it also indicates that the relationship between Alexander and the Rovere family has changed.

Before, even if the two sides were married, they were more of a mutual cooperation, but now Alexander seems ready to become a true ally with Rovere.

Alexander, as previously ordered, came to the Vatican the next afternoon before dinner.

Alexander VI did not make him wait long this time, which made many foreign monks and envoys waiting for the audience a little jealous.

When Alexander was seen holding a bulging-looking leather bag, there was a look of disgrief in the eyes of those people.

It could be a few pieces of property or a title deed to a grange, or maybe a few vineyards, and those people were not without malice in their hearts.

But these people did not know that when the Pope motioned for him to sit down at the table and raised his glass full of red wine to him, Alexandria was not flattered, but thought of the famous Canterella of the Borgia family.

Will he drink a glass of wine and then bleed to death?

This thought secretly startled Alexander, although the current Caesar had not yet received the title of Duke of Poison, his father was no worse than the son who was a son, and even more secretive and cunning in the use of poison than the overly unscrupulous Caesar.

Killing the son-in-law seemed to be a tradition in the family, and the thought of that made Alexander's lips dry a little.

"This wine is good," the Pope continued to signal to Alexander, "that you should be glad that your proposal is about to succeed." ”

"It was your suggestion, Your Majesty," Alexander sat down without touching his glass, "As a credit guarantor of the exchange, the Vatican can get thirty percent of the profits from the transaction. ”

Alexander VI was silent, he was still waiting.

"And you can get twenty percent yourself," Alexander continued, seeing the Pope's grim expression, "Your Majesty, I don't think you will treat this exchange as a one-time transaction. ”

"How long do you think you can do it?" Alexander VI did not hide the fact that he did have such thoughts: "You should know that the Ottomans are still threatening us, and your business has been over since the war, and I did not promise you to make a guarantee so that you will lose money in the future because of the war." ”

"Your Majesty, if you will believe me, I can assure you that this exchange will be done for a long time, and twenty percent of the profits will always go to the Borgia family."

"Twenty percent?" Alexander VI asked in a deep voice.

"Twenty percent of the future of the entire European market, Your Majesty," Alexander reminded, "I don't think you may know exactly how much wealth the Fuggers have, but I can assure you that you will not get less than the Fuggers earn every year." ”

Alexander VI's hand paused slightly.

He certainly knew what the wealth of the Fugger family meant.

If the Medici family was the rich of the Italian peninsula, then Fugger was the king of Solomon of Europe.

Near-unrivalled wealth made the Fuggers guests of all European monarchs, and there was hardly anyone who did not wish to have an intimate relationship with the family.

Even as pope, Alexander VI knew that not only was he not only difficult to compare with that family in terms of wealth, but he might even feel a little shabby in front of that family.

To have a fortune that rivals that of Fugger is enough to suffocate even just thinking about it.

The Pope slowly lowered his glass and looked at Alexander with scrutinizing eyes.

He wanted to know if Alexander was deceiving him.

"Do you really know what the fortune of the Fugger family means," asked Alexander VI, "and if you really know, what guarantee that your promise will be fulfilled?" ”

In the face of the Pope's aggressiveness, Alexander did not flinch, he knew that Alexander VI had to be made to realize his importance as soon as possible, otherwise perhaps the Pope would really give him a cup of Cantarella.

"Your Majesty, I think you must know very well about Florence."

Alexander's words really caught the Pope's attention, and Alexander VI listened attentively.

"Florence is very fragile now, their people are living in poverty, because the bread in Florence is already prohibitively expensive because of the chaos in the market."

Alexander's words made the pope fall into deep thought, perhaps other metaphors could not move him, but hearing the bread, Alexander VI could not help but look at the young man in front of him with deep meaning.

The uproar caused by Alexander's dumping of goods in Florence at almost unreasonably low prices had long been reported to the Vatican by the Eyeliner arranged in Florence.

It is precisely because of this that when he heard Alexander's proposal to establish an exchange, despite his anger at Caesar's hostage, Alexander VI was still willing to make some "concessions" in this matter.

"You're right, I know all the tricks you're up to in Florence," the Pope picked up an apple on the table and took a bite, then he clicked and chewed on Alexander with one finger, "I admit that you did a beautiful job, but you have to admit that your method may be more than enough against Florence, but it may not be useful against other cities, just a long enough journey can make all your previous advantages insignificant, do you want to control Tuscany or even the whole of Romagna by relying on Pisa alone, Not to mention Venice.

So if you can't convince me, even if your exchange is built, many things about me may not be as good as you think. ”

Alexander knew that the Pope was warning him that if the exchange did not bring as much profit as he had claimed, then the twenty percent benefit he had promised would not satisfy his appetite.

"That's what I'm going to say to you, Your Majesty," Alexander slowly pulled out a document, "and here is a man who needs your grace to sign a license from the papal merchant appointed by you. ”

Alexander VI took the letter of permission and looked at it carefully, then put the document aside: "Who is this Grogenin, the name is a lowlander. ”

"He's a Dutchman, and he's now my business partner in Rome," Alexander said, looking at the permit, "As you say, the Florentine trick works because it happens to be close to Pisa, and it doesn't necessarily work for other places, but what if other places become ports like Pisa that can provide cheap goods?" ”

"Do you mean the lowlands, like Amsterdam?" Alexander VI's expression moved slightly.

Since the tide of the Crusades receded, the influence of the Holy See has become less and less, such as the lowlands of the Netherlands, where the Empire has been firmly controlled, and where the influence of the Church is decreasing year by year.

Now that Alexander suddenly said that trade controlled by the Roman exchanges could be arranged in those places, Alexander VI could not help but have some more thoughts after he had only been completely concerned with how to make a fortune.

"What can that businessman of yours do for you locally?" Alexander VI asked seemingly nonchalantly.

"He is a nobleman from the Netherlands, and his family has some influence in the Hanseatic League." Alexander replied.

"But it's still a long way to go, isn't it, and the German lords' checkpoints along the way will cost you a lot of taxes, and when your goods get there, you'll find that maybe your low price won't do anything at all." Alexander VI waved his hand disdainfully: "If you can't get them to collect only one tax from you, you will definitely have a pitiful amount of money." ”

Alexander looked at the Pope with a little surprise, he didn't expect the Pope to have such a rare idea of a unified tax, but this is not the most important thing now, he will not hesitate to risk being fed a canterella at this time to meet Alexander VI, just for the next most important thing.

"Your Majesty, I am sure that someone can help me with this problem, and as for the long way you say, I already have a more feasible plan." Alexander slowly stood up and pulled out a map from his purse.

"Your Majesty, though it is easy to get inland from Amsterdam, I have a more convenient and convenient way, a road that will allow us to avoid the lords as much as possible," Alexander laid out the map before the Pope, "a port developed and built entirely by your orders, a town built entirely for our trade alliances." ”

Watching Alexander's finger land on a small dot on the map that seemed to be divided into countless swamps by dense waterways, Alexander VI squinted his eyes and looked at it carefully for a long time before he recognized the name of the place.

"Roudem?" The Pope looked up at Alexander, puzzled.

"It's called Rotham now, but I've decided to change its name," Alexander smiled at the dot, "I want to call it Rotterdam." ”