Several Florentine merchants did not wait in vain, and they eventually met Tiego.

It's just that when they offered what they wanted, they were rejected by Tiego outright.

"I know who asked you to come, and I know it's important to you, but I don't think I can help you in this matter if you don't show enough sincerity, knowing that arming Florence is tantamount to openly opposing a certain big man, but we still expect that big man to get rich."

The merchants were a little overwhelmed by Tiego's refusal, and they began to offer to offer Tiego a sufficient price, and after the refusal, offered to give him a good position in Florence in the future.

"You may need a more noble status to complement your status, and we know that people like you should no longer need to worry about money now, so we are willing to recommend an honorary title for you in front of the future Doge of Florence, which may be more useful to you, and of course the reward you deserve."

Tiego was really moved for a while, although he was not at the point where these people said that they were no longer interested in money, but he did begin to think about his status, after all, if he could have a more decent status, it would mean that his children and grandchildren would have the opportunity to become real dignitaries in the future.

However, this thought only flickered slightly and was suppressed by Tiego, he knew very well how he had come to all this, or he knew that if he wanted to realize his dream of becoming a nobleman, it would be more affordable to follow someone who could really bring him good luck than to ask for it from these people.

However, Tiego felt that it was almost the same, and he already felt the anxiety in the expressions of these people, and thought that if he made a condition, these people would not be able to refuse again.

"Actually, I do have some things for you to do for me, and if you can do that, I can even go directly to the Earl for the weapons you need."

Tiego's words made several merchants wary, no one is stupid, just as anyone who treats others as stupid is often punished, and these merchants are keenly aware that Tiego's possible conditions will not be so simple, and may even make them very difficult.

"You should be well aware that this matter doesn't matter to us," Tiego decided to simply put it clear, "you need weapons, and we want to get rich, and listening to my terms now will not do you any harm." ”

Seeing the merchant nodding silently, Tiego looked at the stereotyped calendar.

November 20 was the first day that the exchange reopened its doors after its second rest day.

According to Alexander's vision, the exchange worked on a seven-day holiday, not only to coincide with the church's Sundays, but also because he needed to use the closed day to adjust the price trends of the various commodities he needed.

Because of the lack of a convenient way to transmit information, many important news may be covered by a mess of rumors, even if they have reached Rome, and valuable information that may have changed some major events if they were known in advance may have been discarded in a corner, so that by the time they are discovered, the most critical moment may have been missed.

Because of this, Alexander decided to take advantage of this rest day to sort out all the intelligence information, and the people who do this, in addition to the need for loyalty, are also more important than useful minds, so there are not many people who can do this nowadays.

"I need you to go back and help that Columbus," said Tiego, recalling his thoughts, to the merchants, "listen, it will be good for yourselves, and help him to buy a lot of Florentine goods during this time, until we tell you that you can stop and do it." ”

"What are you going to do?"

The merchant asked a little puzzled, he couldn't figure out what the man in front of him was thinking, but it was obvious that the turmoil in Florence during this time should have something to do with this person, but it didn't really have anything to do with them, or it was very beneficial to those behind them, so they didn't very resist this suggestion, but he was still curious about what the merchant who was said to be from Balibar Island had another idea.

"You don't need to know," Thiego waved his hand, "how about a simple thing for you to get for yourself, and for what you are told to get, and for us to make money?" ”

Several Florentines gathered together and whispered, and they could sense that there must be something hidden from Thiegaux's suggestion, and they could not guess what it was.

But it doesn't seem to have much to do with them.

"We can promise you," said the merchant at the head, "but we will not invest a single child in this matter, and do not expect us to go mad with you. ”

Looking at the merchant's cautious look, Tiego smiled and nodded, then pulled out a copy of the entente that had been prepared.

"Please look at you, this is the agreement we have promised you to buy firearms and other weapons, and with this you will be able to get the goods you need in Pisa, Montina, Naples or even anywhere in Rome, without fear of any harassment, which would not be easy for the Florentines to buy without these permits."

Several merchants cautiously read the agreement, and when they were sure that there were no pitfalls, they themselves signed it carefully, and then handed it back to Tiego.

"That's it," Tiego said, carefully putting it away, "I'll ask the Earl to sign it when you're done with the deal, and then you can send as you like to pick it up." ”

Looking at the agreement that Tiego had carefully placed into a wooden box, several Florentine merchants couldn't help but look at each other, they didn't know what would happen if they borrowed it, but they could have a hunch that it would obviously affect the lives and even fate of many people.

From the beginning of November, news spread among the merchants of many northern cities, and at first it was only interested in some large merchants, but gradually some small merchants joined in, especially in some cities on the Rhine, and the news spread among the people as if it had wings.

There was a family in the Hanseatic League who seemed to have gone crazy all of a sudden, and they were buying all kinds of commodities everywhere, and the variety of goods and the quality of the goods were so poor that people really couldn't understand the use of buying those things.

Inferior wood, inferior bellflowers, inferior sand, and all sorts of inferior things that were of no value to many people were in demand with the family called Grogenin.

And their only condition is that they require a large number of goods.

Batches of vinegar beans mixed with barley and large quantities of rotting cabbage were brought onto the ships, and the smell of rot from a long distance made everyone along the way try to avoid these hateful companions, but to the despair of the boats on the river, the boats carrying these things seemed to have no head or tail, and even in some tributaries there would be two fleets fighting each other, and then in the quarrel they learned that they were actually employed by the same owner.

The ships were heading in the same direction, and the closer they got to their destination, the more one realized that the work of the Grogenin family was really amazing, for some of them had already been found in the signs of the ships to come from some part of the interior of Europe.

The Grogenins are about to make a big deal!

Many people are talking about this, this family, which is ancient but not very conspicuous in the alliance, has suddenly become a hot spot in the eyes of people, and many people can't wait to ask others what business this family is going to do, knowing that it will not be a small amount to make such a big deal.

Soon a reliable word spread along the convenient waterways between the northern cities that the Grogenins were brewing a real deal with a Roman merchant who, if successful, might become the hottest of the Hanseatic League.

People went crazy and people started asking what kind of business it was, but everyone got different answers, but it soon became clear that one of the key words in all these rumors was always mentioned: Amsterdam!

Amsterdam, the most thriving port in the Lowlands and the hub of countless fortunes, has once again proved its worth as the largest port in the North Sea, and it is clear that the Grogening family's business must have had something to do with it.

So what are you waiting for?

Do you let the opportunity to make a fortune slip away from your hand?

Grogenin didn't know what was going on elsewhere, and he was completely preoccupied with that thrilling plan all the time.

Not too far from Amsterdam, in the small town of Manninger, close to the Rhine, Gragenin has set up a temporary office here.

He placed all the men he could find in this place, and then took these men to challenge the port of Amsterdam with the money Alexander gave him.

The battle was fierce, and the money invested disappeared in an instant as if it had been thrown into a whirlpool stone, and then new money was poured in, and then it continued to be swallowed up silently.

Seeing the money in hand passing quickly, even Grogenin, who no longer cares so much about money, is secretly frightened.

He didn't know when he would have to use the money Alexander had borrowed from the Fugger family, or how long this method would last before the port of Amsterdam was officially closed, but he knew that if the port of Amsterdam was not blocked before the lockdown period in late November arrived, Alexander would be finished, and so would the Grogarens.

"How much more money do we have," Grogenin's voice was a little hoarse, he felt like he had never been more emotionally unstable than he was now, "how much more can we buy?" ”

"We don't have much cash left," the accountant sitting opposite him was sweating, flipping through the thick ledger in front of him, and the accountant kept picking up the cup next to him and drinking water, "If this continues, we will have to use the family's credit notes." ”

Groganin's hands trembled, he knew what the words of the accountant meant, Alexander borrowed from the Fugger family at a price of 10 times, and the Grogenin family dared to do this?

But if you don't do this, everything you have done before will be wasted, and even because of this, you will completely offend the Dutch government, so what's the point of all your efforts?

For the first time, Grogenen felt his powerlessness and hesitation, and more importantly, he found himself scared at this critical moment.

He was actually timid, Grogenin was ashamed of the idea, but he couldn't help but admit it, and at this moment his hands and voice were trembling.

"Hubert, you can't do that." The accountant looked at Groganin from across the table, "You know that there is no way you will be allowed to do this in the family, you will destroy the entire Groganin family. ”

"But if we give up halfway, our family will also be ruined, Amsterdam, this is really a terrible place," Agrogenin gasped, he felt his chest almost burst, "Now the port of Amsterdam has been sealed by us, as long as we can persevere, I mean to our family, you know, 4 months, the whole of Europe during this period of time, the whole of Europe is ours, we are the king of the European market, everyone's fate is under our control, let us kill and take it, Think about it, what it's like! ”

The accountant's breath was equally heavy, and as the most knowledgeable person in the family who knew how to use numbers, he actually knew better than Grogenin what kind of astronomical numbers meant under the thick ledger.

"Maybe you did?" The accountant asked hesitantly.

"Then you don't know until you do it!"

Grogenin twisted the cane in his hand like a red-eyed gambler, and the eyes of the two men were together, and they both saw in each other's eyes hesitation, struggle, hesitation, and excitement.

With a trembling hand, Groganin took out a well-sealed box from the drawer, which contained a power of attorney that allowed Groganin to have a copy of the power to use the family credit notes.

Calling the box and taking out the power of attorney, Grogenin picked up the quill, and when he was about to sign the document with ink, the ink on the tip of the trembling pen shook slightly, and if he hadn't dodged the pen with his hand, the ink would have dripped onto the paper.

"Gombray," Grogenin gasped, calming himself down, "don't let me down. ”

With that, the tip of the quill in Groganin's hand landed on the paper, and he quickly signed the name "Hubert Groganin".

When he looked up, he met the gaze of the accountant across the table.

"There's no way back." Grognin whispered.

The accountant opened his mouth to say something, but at this moment, a rush of footsteps suddenly came from outside.

Someone pushed the door open.

"Master Hubert, "a follower rushed in in a hurry" I just received the news that the port of Amsterdam is saturated again. ”

"yes, let's see how long they can hold out this time," Gragenin didn't react much, this kind of news would come every day for most of the month, but it wouldn't be long before there would be bad news that "the port storage space is empty".

"It's not my lord, it's really blocked this time," the guy shouted a little excitedly, "There are so many ships, so many ships are coming, and all the ships in the whole port are filled." ”

"What, where did so many ships come from, are you not mistaken?" Grogenin asked, stunned.

"No, someone saw it with their own eyes, and there are more and more ships heading to Amsterdam."

Grognin and the accountant looked at each other, and then the two of them hurried out of the room.

Hop on the boat from Manninger, follow the tributaries into the Rhine, and then down the river, and it takes most of the day to get to Amsterdam.

Because it was night, it was already dark when they arrived.

In the distance, you can see the brightly lit docks along the riverbank, and you can also see the large black sails shaking in the cold wind on the river.

The boats did not enter the harbor, but many of them anchored on the river, and the boats looked as if they were everywhere and covered the entire river.

Noises, shouts, and a mixture of rude swearing came and went on the river, and even in the wee hours of the morning, everyone seemed to be in good spirits.

The cold wind of the North Sea winter blew on his face like a knife, but Grogening was as hot as a fire all over his body at this time.

He stood on the bow of the ship and looked at the dock on the bank of the river in the distance, where there was Amsterdam, the largest port in the Netherlands, the terrifying monster he once regarded as a bottomless abyss.

Now, it's completely paralyzed!

"How many days do we have left?" Grogenin's voice trembled slightly.

"Master, today is the 20th." The attendant reminded.

"5 days, as long as we hold on for another 5 days, the port of Amsterdam will enter the winter lockdown," Groganin turned his head and stared at the accountant beside him with a fiery gaze, "to send the power of attorney, now is the moment to decide the fate of our Groganins!" ”

The accountant gasped and nodded vigorously, he clutched the box tightly in his hand, he knew that it was not a sum of money, but the future of the entire Grogenin family.

"Cambrai ......"

Grognin looked back to the east, and in the distance, a glimmer of dawn was slowly rising from the undulating horizon.

At this moment, the bright ones become brighter, and the dark ones tend to be darker.

On November 22, the port of Amsterdam, which had been blocked by a sudden influx of goods for almost a month, finally gave up its last resistance.

The foremen no longer urged the workers to work, and the anxious and sweaty dock merchants had no choice but to let the ships and ships that were still coming to the port fill the warehouses with worthless goods.

Although the large number of merchant ships that really tried to enter the port were blocked outside the port, this alarmed even the consul himself, but when more ships began to crowd into the port on the afternoon of the 22nd, it was finally known that no one could stop the chaos anymore.

On the evening of November 24, before the closure of Amsterdam, Grogenen quietly left the small house in Manninger with his men, but before leaving, he found the owner and bought the house for a large price.

"I will come back here often for a few days," Grogenin said to his companions, "and I will let my children and grandchildren know that our family has actually been truly revitalized from here." ”

On November 25, 1497, with the ringing of a bell, the port of Amsterdam entered its winter lockdown.

On the same day, in Rome, Alexander went to the exchange together after having breakfast with Josha.

Looking at Tiego and his men, who had been looking forward to it, Alexander smiled and gave the order.

"Let's get started."

Hearing this simple sentence, Tiego let out an irrepressible low roar.

Looking at the people who were excitedly rushing to the trading desk, Alexander shook his head with a little emotion.

"I said that I would erect your statue in the Duomo del Fiore in Florence, so that future generations would admire your glory and beauty," Alexander whispered to Josa, "and now it is time for me to fulfill this promise." ”