When Sandruk Bochum's shiny head and the hot sun in the sky appeared on the pier, it was already crowded with people.

Bochum twice stepped on the horse manure on the ground, countless helpers carried large and small sacks from the boats leaning against the shore, and the warehouses by the docks were piled up, but there were still countless goods brought in.

Some of these goods will be sold in Sicily, but many more will soon be diverted, perhaps to Venice, Rome, Bologna, or simply to be taken across the Alps to France or the Low Countries, or further inland to the rest of the country, or even far north to the impartially civilized barbarians who will become the last buyers.

In the open sea, more ships are waiting to dock to unload, while countless boxes of cargo from Sicily are loaded onto ships and sent to other places far away that most people may never have heard of in their lifetime.

All of this is so vibrant, all the ports of Sicily are always like beautiful women who glow with infinite charm to attract people from all over the world to admire her charming face, and Palermo is one of the most attractive of these beautiful women.

Standing on a tall rock and looking down at the huge and busy docks, this was the first time he had seen the docks as a city guard and not as a mercenary leader looking for an employer, which made him suddenly feel that the docks in Palermo had become a lot more cute.

"It's all a lot of taxes." Although Bochum had learned to think in a bureaucratic way, he didn't feel much at first when he saw the proportion of the city defense of Palermo and the amount of gold he could take on the pier when he signed the contract, but now that he looked at the flowing wealth on the dock, he suddenly realized how much benefit he could get.

Compared to these benefits, the loot that was looted on the day of blood was simply insignificant.

As the captain of the city defense of Palermo, Bochum's responsibility was to protect the city, because he was hired by the noble council and not appointed by the king, so Bochum received a considerable sum of money according to the contract while being paid by the council, because his mercenaries also joined the city defense of Palermo.

"The ships are big and have a lot of cargo," said one of the mercenaries to Bochum, greed flashing in his eyes, "maybe we don't have to do the drudgery, for it's too hard for us to get a ticket every day." ”

In this era, mercenaries sometimes do some robber business part-time, of course, robbers also cross the border as mercenaries, in short, no one cares too much about this kind of thing, and this kind of thing has not been done by Bochum before, and even a few days ago he made a lot of money.

But this time Bochum's face sank, he touched the top of his sunburned head, looked at his companion next to him, and pondered what to say, after all, the now respected captain of the city defense, the previous kind of vulgar energy with a group of men wielding knives everywhere always has to be restrained.

"Don't make trouble here, this is our territory now," Bochum, who finally found a reason, pointed to the pier below, "Look at these boats, carriages, and these large and small piles, do you think it's better to grab a ticket than to be the owner of this place?" ”

Looking at the lack of interest of his companions next to him, Bochum touched the top of his head a little helplessly, he didn't know how to explain it to these people, but it reminded him of what the Gombray had said to him before.

After the ordination ceremony, Bochum generously invited Alexander to his "nest" for a drink.

However, the captain's words were somewhat modest, because his so-called "nest" was no stranger to Alexander, especially the garden of that place, where he killed Peron.

Bochum bought Zioni's house.

With the death of Mrs. Niodora, Zioni was originally facing threats from his wife's relatives who had long been watching his property, and he himself died in the secret passage because of inexplicable circumstances, which made the property dispute after his death a topic of discussion in several chambers of commerce in Palermo.

So when Bochum offered to buy Zioni's house, although some of his relatives objected, in the end he achieved his goal without any problems, and even the cost was much less than he thought.

Coming to the mansion that has become Bochum again, Alexander is a little emotional, he always remembers the events of that night very clearly, if the killing of little Gurga was the first time he took the initiative to murder a person, then the whole process of killing Perón made Alexander feel as if he had unconsciously gradually adapted to certain ways of doing things in this era.

Bochum played the role of a generous and enthusiastic host, who led Alexander around the house and then led him into a corridor where he could see the portraits hanging on the walls.

"This is the ancestor of the Zioni family," Bochum pointed to the left and right, "but I heard that he was only a poor man before, and he was only good with his wife's appearance, and I plan to sell these portraits." ”

As he said this, Bochum wiped his curly beard, which he has now started to wipe with fish oil every day.

But Alexander's next sentence made Bochum's good mood fade a lot.

"Captain, how long do you think you'll be in this position?" Seeing Bochum looking at him in astonishment, Alexander shook his head, "Once the king appoints him, Palermo will have a new city defense captain, after all, you are not from Aragon." ”

"The council won't agree, my appointment is decided by the council," Bochum was a little annoyed, although he was indeed grateful that this young man had helped him a lot before, and even said that his current wealth and status came from this young man, but he was still very unhappy that he had ruined his good mood, "Shouldn't we celebrate now, why do we say these unpleasant things." ”

"Because we're going to be unhappy soon," Alexander looked at Bochum and shook his head, he could think that this mercenary must have been annoyed that he had been poured a basin of cold water when he was complacent, but he had to make it clear as soon as possible, because he had already sensed that the atmosphere in Palermo was not so good now, "Don't say that your position as captain of the city defense, even the council has not been recognized by the king, if the king appoints a new minister, the council will have to be dissolved, and all previous decrees will be annulled, including your appointment as captain." ”

Bochum's face was not good-looking, he was not stupid, he could even be said to be a little cunning, and Alexander's words made him quickly understand his situation.

"Looks like I've bought this house a little redundantly, and maybe it won't be long before I'll have to take my bastards around looking for a living again." Bochum's good mood was gone, and looking at the portraits of the ancestors of the Zioni family on the wall, he didn't have the heart to think about whether it was time to sell.

"Maybe it won't be that miserable," Alexander smiled, "the king won't be so quick to appoint a new minister, and it's not an easy matter, believe me if you do a good job, even if the council is dissolved, your captaincy may not be revoked." ”

"What's the use of that, maybe I shouldn't agree to this, you must know that my current money is enough for me to live comfortably for the rest of my life, speaking of which, I also want to thank your friend, it was you who made me rich, if you are willing in the future, we can do it together, I can see that you are a very good person here." Bochum said, gesturing to his head.

Alexander smiled, of course he wouldn't take Bochum's words seriously, or even if it were, he had no intention of becoming a mercenary, after all, compared to these people who make money by playing with their lives, he knew very well that he was not good at this.

"I'm talking about if you do well enough, or if you can be appreciated by certain people, if you can get those people to speak for you, you may not be recognized by the king."

Alexander felt it was time to get down to business.

From the moment he was conferred the Lighthouse Keeper, he realized that he couldn't really get along well with the noble council, at least not because they didn't really see him as someone he could trust.

Bochum was appointed captain because he was originally a mercenary, and there were too many such people in Sicily, in all of Italy, or everywhere, who sold their force in exchange for payment, perhaps for a long time or for a short time, and in any case their relationship with their employers had to be maintained by a constant contract.

Of course, there is no precedent for eventually gaining power as a mercenary, and the Sforza family in Milan is a living example, but Alexander does not see such potential in Bochum, and perhaps because of this, the noble council will feel comfortable finding a mercenary to serve as the captain of the city defense.

But for Alexander, the title of Lighthouse Keeper, which sounds exciting, actually has no real power other than a title full of honor.

This was not Alexander's wish, not to mention that, as he said, the Council itself was a product of the Sicilian nobility used to fight against the Church, and from Osborne, he learned that Alfonso seemed to be from the family of the Archbishop of Aragon, which made him not doubt at all that through family influence, Alfonso would probably soon become the Archbishop of Sicily, and whether the Council would continue to exist at that time was questionable.

So what is the significance of him, the so-called lighthouse guardian?

Alexander knew very well that his previous actions had made it impossible for him to continue with Alfonso, so he went directly to Alfonso after the appointment ceremony and expressed his desire to resign as treasurer of the library.

Alexander could not forget the amusing look in Alfonso's eyes, and then the priest showed his understanding and gratitude for his previous work in a leisurely manner, and even took out a sum of money after paying his salary, which was considered to be the reward for everything he had done for the Church on the night of the bloodstain.

Everything seemed peaceful, but Alexander knew that from this time on, he was already a true enemy in Alfonso's eyes.

But what really made Alexander jealous of Alfonso was Molodi's identity.

Although it is still unclear what exactly the relationship between Giorgio Mordilo and Alfonso is, Alfonso seems to be well aware of Modiglo's background and is clearly prepared to take advantage of the fat man, which worries Alexander.

Although he has only revealed "his true identity" to Osborne so far, if he does not want to be so dazed in the future, he will inevitably use his identity as Mordillo, and Alfonso will likely become a big stumbling block at that time.

No one wants the tools they use to be too clever, and Alfonso is no exception, and once he discovers that this "Modillo" is not under his control, he will likely turn into Modiglo's enemy, which is too dangerous for Alexander.

So from the moment he decided to part ways with Alfonso, Alexander was thinking about how to deal with this future enemy.

"Captain, don't you want these walls to be covered with portraits of the Bochum family?" Alexander took the glass handed by Bochum, who was in a bad mood and began to drink heavily, "Imagine that in the future, your descendants can stand where you are standing now and proudly say to others that my ancestor Sandruk won the current honor for our family. ”

Alexander's words made Bochum's eyes narrow, and he let out a "hum" sound in his nose that he didn't know whether to approve or disdain, and then shook his head helplessly: "You also said, when the new palace minister arrives, we may have to leave, what do you think a mercenary can bring to his offspring." ”

"The Sforza family was also mercenaries in the first place."

Hearing the name, the top of Bochum's bright head seemed to become brighter, and a little anticipation appeared on his face, but then he sighed: "You are comforting people in the air, we all know that I can't become Sforza." ”

"But at least it's no worse than continuing to be a mercenary," Alexander said with a disapproving look, "If you can get the favor of the palace minister, maybe everything will be different." ”

"What did you say?" Bochum's eyes lit up, he first stroked the already smooth tip of his beard, and then looked at Alexander with a slightly expectant look: "My friend, do you think I have this charm and can I propose to the palace minister?" ”

Alexander looked at Bochum in a daze, he really didn't expect this mercenary to understand him so much, which even made him feel that he didn't know what to say next.

"Probably, you still have some charm," looking at Bochum's bare head, Alexander reminded himself not to be led into the wrong topic, "I mean if you can find out the whereabouts of those murderers as soon as possible, and even if you can find out the death of the previous Bishop Malecho, maybe you can get the support of the wife of the palace minister, and you also know that the palace minister is from the Aragonese family, which is definitely good for you." ”

"Avenge Madame's husband?" Bochum narrowed his eyes again as if he understood, and then he turned his head to look at Alexander with a smile, "If I can get the support of the palace minister, what good will it do you?" ”

Looking at Bochum's cunning eyes, Alexander smiled slightly, he knew that if he couldn't convince this man that he had instigated him to do so for personal purposes, the slippery mercenary would not easily believe him.

"I want to get ahead, and if you can get the palace minister to support you, then I can also try to speak for you in front of those bishops, and don't forget the favors they owe us."

Bochum secretly regretted it in his heart, he remembered that he had deliberately made a big announcement that it was the young man in front of him who had saved the Sicilian bishops, and that he had not done it with good intentions at the time, but to cover up his misdeeds of taking the opportunity to sack the cathedral, but now it seems that he had inadvertently missed a great credit.

However, Bochum is not stubborn about this matter, since the opportunity has been lost, it is better to cooperate as the young man said, maybe everything can really be as he said.

"So where do I start?" Bochum had apparently taken Alexander's advice and began to wonder how to start: "You know it was a mess that night, and we couldn't find any trace of those gangsters. “

"Isn't the clue at your feet?" Alexander pointed to the ground in front of him, "Monsieur Zioni was involved in that day's operation. ”

"Speaking of which," Bochum said, with a blank look, "I almost forgot that I found an interesting basement in the yard that might interest you." ”

Bochum's words really intrigued Alexander, and then he saw a room full of knives, guns, and firearms.

"It seems that Mr. Zioni is not only angry because of his wife's infidelity, but also because he wants to make a difference." Fiddling with a short-barreled arquebus that looked very powerful, Alexander said to Bochum: "It seems that you are indeed fit to be the captain of Palermo, and I believe that it may not be long before you become the envy of Sforza." ”

"We can't do any more bad things in the future," said Bochum, who had woken up from his contemplation, standing on a stone, "until the day comes when our children will be proud of your choice today." ”