A very ordinary murder, which did not attract much attention from Alexander, who really focused on the merchant exchanges in Seville.

No one could have imagined that just a few decades later, this humble exchange would become Spain's largest colonial commodity exchange.

For a long time, Seville's merchant exchanges became an important barometer for the Spanish and even European markets.

It was not until nearly two centuries later, with the gradual decline of the Spanish colonial empire, that it gradually lost its glory.

Alexander had heard of this exchange for a long time, and had been keeping a close eye on it.

As far back as he could remember, it was the place where the first colonial stock was sold, a clear first in its time.

In contrast to the Spaniards, who had a keen interest in colonies from the outset and had firmly set their sights on the new world, far from their homeland, the Portuguese were much more sluggish.

While it is true that there were such luminaries as Prince Enrique and later Eriodore Don Antonio, the head of the HNA firm, there were far too few of them, and even those who had so far only wanted to open up new routes that would bring wealth.

In other words, the Portuguese were not so interested in the new colony itself, they just wanted to bring back enough gold, gems and ivory from there, and as for the establishment of a permanent colony, not too many people had thought about it, at least until now.

It was not until more than 50 years later that the Portuguese began to slowly build the first large-scale grain processing plant in the place they named the Holy Cross, and it was only then that they began to seriously consider doing something in the vast world they occupied, rather than simply plundering all kinds of resources from the local area and doing nothing.

This was not the case with Spain, who plundered and were equally greedy, but they clearly knew what they were doing, and they were plundering in a similar way to squeeze every drop of oil out of the colonies, and in order to make this squeezing more efficient, they had invested their due capital in those places.

The Portuguese prosperity came quickly, but their over-reliance on new shipping routes led them to neglect their vigilance on land, and when the French challenged them, the Portuguese colonists, who had been busy harvesting mahogany all day and did not even have a decent city, were quickly driven out of the colonies.

Then the Portuguese were threatened by the Dutch, and although they barely managed to hold on to their territory after decades of colonial wars, the British era followed.

Alexander was well aware of these problems of the Portuguese, and it was because he knew these Achilles' heels that Alexander knew better what he should do next.

"James, you should be a respectable admiral, it's too bad for you to be a pirate," Alexander said with a smile as he looked at the second floor of the Merchant Exchange, "Imagine what it would be like for you to lead a mighty navy across the Atlantic, and I'm sure your parents will be proud of you." ”

"They are already proud of Krestov."

James Columbus said indifferently, which made Alexander smile.

In the Columbus diary that James sold to Alexander, in addition to detailed records of the logbook, there are also some records of Columbus's private life, although these records from himself are inevitably suspected of self-boasting, but they can also be seen from some small things about the relationship between the Columbus family.

Among them, there was one thing that impressed Alexander very much and interested him.

As the eldest son in the family, Columbus had two younger brothers, except for James, who did not have a good relationship with him, and the other was Giovanni Columbus, with whom he was quite harmonious.

Columbus's father was a typical man with low eyesight, who dreamed of getting rich all his life, but every time he lost a mess.

When Columbus was 16 years old, his father was once again in debt because of a failed business, and it was a large sum of money that would have bankrupted the family.

It was this debt that changed Christopher Columbus's fortunes forever, and he had to drop out of the school where he was studying to help his father solve the debt troubles, and he even went to the creditors alone to explain that they would have a grace period or allow a slight change in the way they repaid the debt in order to get through the trouble.

It's hard to imagine how a 16-year-old boy could have haggled with the creditors, but surprisingly, he did get there, and the creditors not only agreed to his request, but some of them also warmly invited Christopher to his home and said that he would be willing to provide him with funds if he did business in the future.

Apparently the 16-year-old boy had their trust.

Christopher Columbus's performance made his father suddenly have endless hopes for this eldest son, and he simply announced that his son would inherit his family business, and at the same time told his son that he must become a great businessman in the future, and that those who had sarcastically and ridiculed him should see that there were also big businesses in Columbus's family.

Christopher Columbus remembered his father's advice, and although he survived the debt crisis, he did not return to school, but left his hometown of Genoa.

Many years later, he fulfilled his father's wish and made a big deal with an Iberian couple, which sold a new world.

Listening to James's vague complaints now, Alexander could feel James's deep resentment towards Columbus, who was not valued as the second son in the family, and the tension with his brother made him unwilling to live in the shadow of Columbus like his other brother Giovanni.

"I'll let Tiego come here," Alexander said to James, "and he's bringing money, with which every door can be opened, and you, James, you're going to use your cannon to show these merchants that they have a chance to make money only if they work with us, otherwise they'll get a succession of failures and a final bankruptcy." Believe me, any wish can be fulfilled within the range of the cannon, and if it can't be realized, it can only mean that the range of the cannon is not long enough, or the caliber is not large enough. ”

Alexander looked at the house, his eyes gradually looked upwards, down to the window on the second floor, and then to the snow-white cross on the roof, and then to the blue sky overhead.

This building will go through countless changes in the future for many years, and it will also be a proof of the rise of the Spanish colonial empire from its rise to prosperity, and then gradually to decline and decline, and even many years later, the precious colonial documents preserved in this building will become a precious material for future generations to study this era full of romantic passion, but also full of madness and sanity.

"My lord, what will we be in the future?" James suddenly asked, and when he saw Alexander looking at him, he thought for a moment and said, "I mean, what will people say about us in the future?" ”

"What would they say about us," Alexander nodded, "they would say that we are pioneers of the unknown, heroes, colonists, predatory bandits, or greedy usurpers." ”

Seeing James' cheeks twitch at the last words, Alexander smiled, he knew it was time to let James know something.

"But we're making history now, maybe you don't think so yet, but soon you'll know I'm right, believe me that the new colony is far more incredible than any of you ever imagined, it's not just a new land that anyone could have imagined, it's not even just a land, it's a whole new world, so whatever the price is worth it, because we're destined to be the ones who make history."

James looked at Alexander in a daze, he still didn't fully believe Alexander's words at this time, although the experience of the new colony for two years made him vaguely aware that Christopher seemed to have made a big mistake, and that the place he regarded as an archipelago off the coast of India should have a more exciting secret, but he didn't know whether to affirm such a conjecture that made him so excited that he couldn't sleep every time he thought about it.

Now Alexander's words made the cranky thoughts in James's heart that he had always been unable to calm down come back to his heart, looking at Alexander, James suddenly asked in a low voice: "Then my lord, if everything is really as you say, what are you going to do?" ”

"What would you do if you had a chance to be your father's favorite son?" Alexander's rhetorical question stunned James, and seeing that he seemed to be lost in thought, Alexander raised his hand and patted James on the shoulder, "Trust me, when that day comes, we all know what we should do." ”

As he spoke, Alexander looked in the direction of the palace on a slightly higher ground in the distance: "Fernando Carollet is waiting for me there, I think he must have a headache now." ”

Carolet is indeed having a headache, and the inexplicable disappearance of Don Bavi makes him feel in crisis, although he doesn't know what Don Bavi is going to do, but he realizes that this nobleman, who has always been regarded by Isabella as a big trouble, should be planning something.

But his men to Bukhalanse found nothing, not even the nun who was said to have been inspired by God, although he knew that the nun was supposed to be in a convent deep in the swamp, but when his men arrived there, they were told that the nun named Alfurt was "dead".

The news was enough to make Carolet almost go crazy, but the bad thing was that the people who sent him had brought him another piece of news that worried him even more, the appearance of the Duke of Rometesia from the Vatican made Carolet realize that maybe there was something more troublesome waiting for him.

The Queen's delicate relationship with the Vatican made Carolet worry about the trouble caused by the arrival of the Duke of Rometesia, and if it had to do with Don Bavi, things might get complicated.

In this case, he had to report to the queen what had happened in Andalusia, and although doing so would make Isabella feel incompetent, it was nothing compared to the queen's commission.

Carolet was a very conscientious man, he didn't want to delay the queen's assignment because of his own face, and his wariness of Don Bavi made him know that he should not take this man lightly.

It's just that it takes a long time for Valladód to reply, and what will Don Bavi do in the meantime?

Carolet had to gather his generals, and although Isabella had never told anyone what was on her mind, as a close confidant of the Queen, Carolet knew the Queen's thoughts very well.

Powerful nobles became a stumbling block to the unification of the future kingdom, both Castile and Aragon, who were openly and covertly opposed to the merger of the two kingdoms for their own reasons, and this resistance grew stronger as the kings grew older.

Carolet knew that the queen clearly wanted to solve this problem in her lifetime, because if she or Ferdinand died, the future kingdom would likely fall apart or even civil war if she or Ferdinand died.

Carolet, like many of the Queen's cronies like him, comes from an old aristocracy, but is the new nobility of the new powerful kingdom of the future, which makes them destined to follow Isabella all the way.

All for the Queen, this is the goal of these new nobles, and it is their only direction in the future.

So anyone could betray Isabella, but Carolet and his followers wouldn't.

An attendant walked into the room and saw Carollet's immediate look, the attendant first instinctively shook his head, saw the consul's disappointed look, and nodded inexplicably.

"Found Don Baviy?" Carolet rounded the table with agility that was completely incompatible with his slightly fat build, while staring at his followers with blazing eyes.

"There is a Duke of Rometesia who asks to see you," the attendant said, seeing Carolé's mouth suddenly open, with a look of surprise on his face, and the attendant nodded vigorously and accentuated his tone, "Yes, my lord, it is the Duke of Rometesia." ”

Carolet paused slightly, and he calmed himself down before he said to his retinue, "All right, I'll go to the duke, but I want you to pay attention to his entourage, I mean to see if there are any Don Bavi's men in there." ”

"My lord, do you think Don Bavi's men might have infiltrated Seville?" The attendant asked worriedly.

"I don't know, but this duke was the last person to see Don Bavi, so we must be careful, wait a minute," Carolet said, walking back and forth, and then he ordered, "Order the defenders of Philips' Castle to be on guard, God knows what will happen, and don't forget that it is Don Bavi." ”

With a series of orders, the Andalusian consul's residence immediately came alive, and Carolet finally relaxed a little.

He had him dressed in an ornate hood and a gold ornament representing his status as an archon, and after clutching a scepter about his height, the Andalusian consul walked out the door.

However, despite all the preparations, he was still surprised by Alexander's first sentence after the meeting.

"Consul, I have brought a message from the Duke of Don Bavi," Alexander said to Carolé, who looked stunned, "and he wishes to meet you." ”