For Taranto, located in the southeastern corner of Italy, the Ionian Sea is proof of the city's existence.

Since Roman times, the Romans have hoped to completely conquer the city in order to deal with the threat from the Ionian Sea, but although the Romans have strong legions, their navy is inevitably a little weak, so at the beginning Taranto relied on the blockade of the mountain pass between the Agri Plain and Cosenza, and once blocked the Romans from the distance of Taranto, so that they could not attack the city, and then the Romans could only hope to conquer the city by sea.

But Taranto's navy was formidable and even formidable, thanks to its good port, the Taranto people were able to build large ships to sail the Mediterranean Sea at an early age, and with the conquest of the Greeks, Taranto's shipbuilding industry was once unique in the ancient Italian peninsula.

And this uniqueness has continued.

Conquest, rebellion, reconquest, re-rebellion, although after many generations of changes and countless changes of masters, the city of Taranto has experienced the ups and downs of most of the historical turmoil peculiar to cities of this era, and now the owner of the city is the Count of Horseen, a nobleman who is strictly dependent on the royal family of Naples, but this reason for dependence is a little distant because it is to be traced, so Taranto is actually semi-detached from the current Aragon royal family, It is only when various claims need to be made on important occasions that the title of the Kingdom of Naples is brought out as a garrison or a proof of some kind of power.

Count Horsen was an energetic man, and it is said that in his early years he participated in the first large-scale battle with the Ottomans in the Mediterranean, when the Ottoman Empire, which had already conquered Constantinople, tried to cross the Mediterranean to conquer all of Europa, and it was at that time that the whole of Europe was in danger, and he joined the Venetian navy and participated in several major naval battles in order to remove the threat from the Ottomans in the Aegean Sea.

However, although Europa was able to breathe a sigh of relief in the end, in the face of the great threat of the Ottoman navy, the count, who had not yet inherited the title, deeply felt the pressure from the east.

So when he returned to Taranto, he devoted himself to the construction of the navy, relying on the traditional navigation technology and shipbuilding standards of the Taranto people, under the vigorous promotion of the count, the Taranto navy from the original need to rely on the Venetians, to gradually get attention, and even sometimes the Venetians will take the initiative to cooperate, less than 30 years, Taranto seems to have a tendency to regain as a source of hope in southern Italy.

However, the Earl is still very cautious, or rather vigilant, the years of chaos and deceit on the peninsula have made the Count refuse to trust anyone, especially after his first marriage, he is even more careful to maintain contact with others, although his dead wife gave him a son that he is very satisfied with, but the attempt of his wife's family to control or even annex Taranto by means of marriage made him instinctively wary of anyone who wanted to approach him.

"Elliott, do you really think this young lady is fit to be my wife?" Looking at a small portrait in his hand, the Count asked a little critically, "She doesn't seem to be very old, and I don't like those blonde girls, I always think they are too naïve, like a bunch of flies without brains but only rambling." ”

"Father, flies aren't indiscriminate, and according to a friend of mine, these nasty things have big eyes, and they always find food faster than people," Elliot corrected his father's fallacies in common sense, "As for this countess, I have to say that you only have to think that she inherited a large castle, and that her family has a very important influence in Naples, isn't it nice that she's one of those brainless blonde and blue-eyed silly girls you said." What's more, I can assure you that this young lady is absolutely smart. Speaking of which, he also added in a whisper: "Even the smart ones are sometimes not very likable." ”

"Then I'm even less interested," Count Horsen put down the portrait, picked up the letter on the table and looked at it, and snorted in his nose: "I know what Modillo has in mind, he hopes to use marriage to fulfill his great dream, he is thinking about making Naples the most powerful kingdom in the south, so that he can confront Rome, Venice, Genoa, and Milan, after all, the things he did when Charles was in Naples were not pleasant, if it was Ferdinand at the beginning, it would have been forgotten, but now it is Frederick who has succeeded to the throne, Modillo began to feel that life was not so easy. ”

"You're right, father," Elliott laughed, "I've told you before, I've seen Frederick's men use mercenaries to try to seize Cosenza's territory. ”

The Count snorted again, and he stood up and walked to the window to look at the bay in the distance, a fortress on the Ionian Sea, where the Count would look out over the strait when he was fine, and where he had spent more time than in his own palace.

"Frederick, too, is a nuisance, maybe he doesn't dare to do anything right now, but if he is given the opportunity to control Cosenza, he will definitely swallow the whole of the Agri Plain in the future, and then go all the way down to Taranto." The count knocked casually on the windowsill, then he turned to look at his son, "What do you think of that Gombray, I heard that he is now in Rome." ”

Hearing his father's inquiry, Elliot paused slightly, as if pondering how to answer, and then shook his head a little confused: "To be honest, father, I don't know how to describe that person, you have seen the proposals he gave us, as well as the merchants he sent to Taranto and the office he built in the port, these are all obvious that he is here to compete with us, but ......"

"But you know it's so, but because he's promised you enough benefits, you can't refuse his advice, can you?" "This is what worries me most," concluded the Count, for I could feel the change in the merchants, I mean those in our chamber of commerce, whose excitement for opening up new markets was so great that it could be smelled across the Mediterranean. The Count sneered sarcastically, "So that Cambrai really painted a beautiful picture for them, those merchants were against it, but in fact everyone hoped that this free trade zone could be established as soon as possible, and the irony was that it was because of this that they were even more disappointing to those merchants from Naples." ”

Eliota nodded, believing his father's gaze and knowing that nothing could be hidden from his eyes, and just as he was about to speak, a servant appeared at the door.

"My lord, the Venetian fleet has arrived," reported the servant, not forgetting to add, "and they have brought a double galleon." ”

"Is that the Venetian ready to do business in my Taranto?" Earl Horseen sarcastically asked, "In what name did they bring that ship, supplies?" ”

"No, it is said that it was a merchant ship captured on the way," the servant was evidently shrewd, and had already inquired before," but the Countess de Cosenza, who came with the ship, denied this claim, admitting only that the ship had come with them to Taranto for business, and that the Venetians had no authority over the ship. ”

"Wait a minute," Elliot suddenly rose from his chair, "what do you say, Miss Cosenza, who came with the ship?" Zhisa Kosenza? ”

Seeing the servant nodding, the earl father and son couldn't help but look at each other in surprise for a while, and both of them showed strange expressions of surprise on their faces.

"Father, your fiancée has come to see you, and perhaps you should dress up right now," Elliot teased with interest, "Believe me, Zha Cosenza is a pretty woman who can make any man sting, and I even feel a little jealous of you when I talk about that." ”

"Is that so, I'm a little interested when you say that, who would have thought that this Countess would just come to Taranto, and you go to the docks to meet this Countess, and as for me," Count Horsen picked up the portrait on the table, looked at it, and then touched the short, neatly trimmed white beard on his chin. ”

As she walked onto the gangplank, her body swayed slightly because of the wind, and a Venetian officer who followed her instinctively reached out to help, and when his hand touched the young girl's slightly bent arm, he felt the gentle temperature coming from her, and the officer's hand couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Josha turned around and smiled at the officer behind her, "Thank you, Mr. Barbaregg. ”

The officer immediately bowed slightly, and at the same time slowly walked down from the gangplank with a slight force in his hand, and when his feet stepped on the solid ground, an inexplicable disappointment rose in the officer's heart.

Standing outside the two fences, Elliot watched the scene with amusement, and there was a large open space between the two fences, which was used for immune isolation.

The horrors of the Black Death, which nearly killed all Europeans in the early years, forced Europeans to tighten immunization rules, especially in ports, where passengers arriving from a short distance such as Naples were required to quarantine for at least a day, while those arriving from elsewhere were allowed to leave the port for up to a week.

"Immunity is a must, but for many merchants, a week is enough for them to make a small fortune, and it is enough for them to bear huge losses that they simply cannot bear, so opening up a special temporary landing trading area in the port, so that they can trade freely here, as long as the goods here do not leave a specific area, they are exempted from the high docking fees, which is an irresistible temptation for all ocean-going merchants. Imagine my sister, how huge a market this trade alone can be, and the ultimate goal of this trade is to turn the entire free trade zone into a real whole, a trade alliance with Florin and Ducatt as the pillars. ”

Standing by the fence, Zhisa remembered the radiant look Alexander had when he explained the details to her, and she couldn't help but admit that she was a little fascinated.

Josa remembered what had happened at Agri's farmstead, when Alexander had clearly exceeded the boundaries of what an older brother should be.

Then she thought about the letter from Rome.

Alexander in the letter is not only bolder than when he faced her, but even shows a desire for exclusivity that his brother should never have.

Jossa tugged at the hem of her skirt, which was blown by the sea breeze, and she remembered vividly that Alexander had asked her not to wear the armor in front of others, like a stingy merchant who didn't want others to watch over his treasure.

Who exactly is Alexandre Giulian Gombray?

Is her half-brother George Mordillo?

Or just a stranger?

The thought lingered in Shosha's mind until she saw Elliott waving at her across the two rows of fences.

The Count's son bowed from afar, and he noticed the hostile gaze of the Venetian in half-armor standing behind him, and he nodded again to the Venetian.

"Would you like me to be with you?"

The Venetian asked with a little reserve, the pride of the family made him feel that he could not back down in front of the Taranto man, and the countess did make his heart move, and the thought of his status in the family made him somewhat confident, and felt that even if he showed his intention to pursue the countess, it would not seem rude and reckless.

Unfortunately, she didn't seem to want to give him too much of a chance, and after a slight grateful nod, she politely declined, leaving the Venetian, who was alone and looking at her back, to the side of the fence.

"I'm sorry Countess, but it's necessary, you know......" Elliot gestured helplessly.

Unlike travel by land, prolonged closures of sea travel often cause not only serious illness among the crew, but also a high risk of becoming a breeding ground for pathogens, which makes all ports and terminals have to be cautious, after all, it is impossible to be too careful to think about the terrible plague that killed almost half of the European population less than 200 years ago.

"Please tell the Count that I hope to meet him as soon as possible," said Elliott, "and I think that when the time comes, we may be able to sign some truly meaningful agreement." ”

"I hope so, too," Elliot bowed again, "my father wants you to live in the Palmetto Palace, where the past counts of Taranto lived, and where more than one king once stayed. ”

Josa nodded, speaking of which the trip at sea for several days in a row had indeed made her almost collapse, especially after the departure of the Venetians this time, although the route from Naples to Taranto was not very far, in fact, the Venetians did not sail directly to Taranto, but cruised and patrolled the sea for two days in a row before sailing to their destination.

And the experience of the past few days is really not very good.

There was a sound of footsteps coming from behind, and Josha turned her head to see the merchant from Bari Ali who was walking with Massimo.

"Dear Miss Count," said Mattheus Tiego, licking his lips first, then looking at the monk who was quietly pushing him next to him, and finally gritted his teeth, and said in the monk's tone, "I heard that you have a nice big ship in your hand, I wonder if I have the honor to come up?" ”