"I'll arm the army for you, and you will solve the trouble of the Hungarian copper mines for me."

After Gurt Fugger made this suggestion to Alexander, he waited patiently for his reply.

Gurt was not in a hurry, he knew that Alexander would definitely agree, although this was obviously too far from the previous quid pro quo proposed by Alexander, but Gurt knew that the final result would definitely be as he thought.

Bargaining is a compulsory course for businessmen, but Goult knows that if the difference in strength between the two sides is too great, then there is no possibility of bargaining at all.

The only thing Alexander could accept was not to settle the problem of the Hungarian copper mines in exchange for the plan to support him, but to agree to build an army for him.

That's what he can get, and Gurt believes it's exactly what he needs right now.

The essence of bargaining is not how to force the other party to accept their own terms, but to know exactly what the other party can accept.

It is evident that, according to Gurt's observations, he found that an army of sufficient numbers and well equipped men was now more urgent for Alexander than his plan, as can be guessed from what he had heard that Alexander was not satisfied with the number of soldiers he had recruited.

And to get such important news, Gurt only spent a few paltry gold coins.

"You want an army, and I can meet your requirements," said Gurt slowly, "believe me, these are the things you need now, and I can provide you with enough money to arm an entire army." ”

Alexander was silent, weighing the pros and cons of the matter.

For the Fugger family, he actually had great expectations.

In addition to their enormous wealth, the Fugger family is also a formidable behemoth because of its complex and vast network of relationships.

The family was free to enter the court of any European monarch and was hospitalized, and the Medici family, who were also famously wealthy, were now in exile and almost destitute.

Because of this, Alexander did not consider going to the Medici family, because he knew that it was impossible to get any real help from the Medici family now.

But the man in front of him was obviously not easy to deal with, and his offer was very harsh, and his promise was almost as if he were exchanging a copper coin for a gold coin compared to the hope of getting an investment in the port.

It's just that Alexander knew that Gurt Fugger obviously put forward this condition after inquiring a lot of things, and it was because of this that he could sit across from him so easily after making a random offer, because he knew that he obviously couldn't refuse this price.

"How can you help me?"

Alexander pondered for a while before finally asking.

A slight smile appeared on Gurt Fugger's face, and although he told himself not to relax so easily, he couldn't help but be happy that things were going.

It was obviously more cost-effective to invest a sum of money in Alexander to help him build up his army than the plan to expand the port, and even negligible compared to the Hungarian copper mines.

"I can provide you with a sum of money sufficient to equip at least 6,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry, including a collection of artillery," said Gurt Fugger earnestly, "I have noticed that there is a large number of soldiers in your army who use muskets, and I can provide you with all the copper and other materials you need to make firearms." ”

"You're talking about my Agri musketeers." Alexander nodded.

"Well, I can see that you are proud of your musketeers, so I can provide them alone with an extra sum of money that will make them better equipped," said Gurt Fugger generously.

He felt that Alexander was no different from other petty nobles who were trying to get patronage from their own family, who always wanted to get more money, and the Fuggers were generous to them, because, as his uncle Jacob Fugger said, every copper coin spent could be rewarded a thousand times over, so the Fuggers were never stingy in this regard.

Alexander looked at Gurt opposite, of course he knew what this man was thinking, in fact, compared to him, the Fugger family had already invested astronomical money in those large and small nobles, and Emperor Maximian alone had made the Fugger family almost all their savings in the treasury.

However, compared with the Fugger family's huge spending of 700,000 ducats in order to support Charles V on the throne of the emperor many years later, the Fugger family is not so daunting today.

However, it was precisely because they had not yet become such behemoths that Alexander cared more about having them join his plans.

Alexander knew very well that when the Fuggers completely monopolized the entire European market by relying on the Hungarian copper mines, as long as they perceived the huge potential hidden in his plan, then the Fugger family, who had always liked to eat alone, would definitely spend a lot of money with him to grab market share in those ports, and at that time, whether his plan was successful or not, he was not sure to compete with the largest wealthy family in Europe.

So Alexander's plan was to take the initiative to lead the rapidly expanding beast of wealth in the direction he hoped for, rather than wait for them to find out and compete with him.

But now it seems that things are not going well, and the chips that Gurt Fugger has put forward are too small, or completely disproportionate to what Alexander can give.

"I can also provide a sum of money for the repair of your Château Montina," Furgar said slowly, watching Alexander remain silent, and then he shook his head, "Don't expect anything more from me, know that even if you can help, we don't know if it will be useful, and all that I can provide you with may not be able to get in ten years of struggle." ”

Alexander admits in his heart that what Gurt said is indeed right, but at the same time he secretly sneered disapprovingly.

It took more than 2 years for him to go from having nothing to becoming a lord now, so he didn't take Gurt's words seriously.

But if you think about the real goal in mind, Alexander has to admit that his words are actually useful.

Is it really going to take a few years for me to get to what Goult describes?

Maybe it won't take 5 years, or even less, to do it, but do you have that time?

"20,000 scale," Alexander said suddenly, he looked at little Fugger in front of him, "I want the Fugger family to pay me at least the funds to build a force of 15,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry, and the rest I want to build an artillery unit." ”

As he spoke, Alexander raised his hand to stop the vaguely unhappy Gurt Fugger from speaking.

"I suggest you come with me to see my army, and then you decide whether or not to agree to it."

"Your army, just those ragged southern mountain people?" Gurt Fugger said amusedly, "I know that your current army is very different from the others, but can you guarantee that all the people you recruit will be the same as these soldiers now, and if not, your army will be nothing more than that." ”

Seeing Gurt Fugger's disapproving expression, Alexander did not refute, but stood up and walked to the window, he gestured slightly towards the window, and then returned to the table and sat down.

"I want you to be so confident all the time."

Alexander smiled slightly, he picked up the glass on the table and counted silently, listening to the increasingly rapid and heavy footsteps outside, Alexander drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.

The moment the cup fell on the table, a strange drum beat suddenly sounded from the window!

Accompanied by the beat of the drum, a neat and oppressive step came from a distance, the pace rose and fell with the beat of the drum, with the beat of the drum approaching, when he came to the window, the sound of heavy footsteps had already made the face of Gurt Fugger, who was sitting there unimpromisingly, gloomy and vaguely restless.

"Want to see what my army looks like?" Alexander stood up and walked to the window, turned back and gestured to Guert Fugger, "You can see them with your own eyes now, and you can see how they face the enemy." ”

Gurt Fugger walked to the window, and only then did he realize that at some point a group of soldiers had gathered in the street outside.

They marched through the streets in neat and dense formations, halberds and spears gleaming in the sunlight, while among them squads of musketeers were raising their muskets, sticking their muzzles out of the shoulders of their comrades and aiming them at the clearing in the street ahead.

"What is this, what do you want to explain ......?"

Gurt Fugger could not finish his words.

Accompanied by a sudden burst of "Shoot!" from the street. The whole street was suddenly drowned out with a loud and terrifying sound!

Guert Fugger opened his mouth and let out a scream, he was completely frightened by the sound of the salvo of dozens of muskets, his ears were buzzing, his heart was beating violently because of the fright, and the pungent smell of the gunpowder that spread rapidly after the gunfire made him cough violently.

But his coughing had not stopped, and with another series of orders in the street, at the end of the heavy footsteps, Goult Fugger heard the terrible roar that made his face turn pale: "Shoot! ”

Then the deafening sound sounded again from the window, and the smoke that filled the whole street once again filled his nose, and Guert Fugger's face could not help but turn a little pale this time.

"My army is armed with the most advanced muskets and the best training, and if I need to, I can let them shoot like this until the barrel is blown up," Alexander looked out the window, "My soldiers can reload faster than other armies, and shoot twice or even three times as fast as theirs, I think you understand what that means, and my phalanx soldiers are recruited from my territory in Agri, they are my people and my warriors." They can be exempted from taxes by serving me, and once they have made meritorious service, they have the opportunity to obtain perpetual tenant rights, what do you think will happen to such an army once it goes to war? ”

Gurt Fugger looked at Alexander in amazement, he could understand the meaning of Alexander's words, and because he understood, he realized that he might really think seriously about what to think of the man in front of him and his army.

Gurt walked to the window and looked at the procession of people standing in the smoke-filled streets outside, and he had the feeling that the army stood like a pack of beasts hidden in the thick fog of the jungle, and at the slightest order they had an opportunity to rush out of the thick haze and pounce on their prey.

"Can you guarantee that all your armies will be as brave as you say, we all know that maybe a small army can do it, but a bigger army might be something else."

"The army in front of you was the same as the Agri you just saw, but now they are not only the masters of Montina, but also the masters of Pisa," Alexander smiled with satisfaction as he looked at his soldiers, "and this is just the beginning, I can assure you that your investment today will determine what kind of return you will get in the future, do you want to maintain a purely business relationship, or do you want to gain my friendship at the same time?" ”

Alexander said, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the troops in the street.

Guert Fugger stroked his short-bearded chin, and he decided to be cautious when considering whether it was worth investing in this young nobleman, although he was said to have performed well in the previous short Romagna War, and the scene he had just seen was also impressive.

"Does your friendship include your army?"

Gurt asked cautiously, admitting that he was very impressed by this army, or that the deafening gunfire and acrid smoke really stimulated him, which made Gurt have some new ideas.

"If it is satisfactory after seeing your army, and I agree to your terms, will you be able to sign a treaty with me?"

"What kind of enactment are you talking about?" Alexander asked.

"A contract of employment that is akin to a contract of employment, you know, just as the French often employ those Swiss, we can also sign a contract of permanent employment, but since I need to finance you, then this agreement must be more in line with my wishes," Goult looked at Alexander, "for example, you cannot refuse when I ask you to fight for me, and at the same time you will be asked to prohibit fighting with our allies, and of course we will pay you for it." ”

Alexander was silent, the development of things was now completely beyond his previous expectations, from just wanting to negotiate a deal, to now it was the Fugger family wanting him to be a mercenary, which made Alexander feel that this matter was really twists and turns, and it was a bit unrecognizable later.

"Let me look at the rest of your army, I don't want to hide that I do care about the Hungarian copper mines, and I think you know what that means to us in the Fugger family," Gurt said with a hint of warning, "so as long as you can really help us, we won't be stingy with our payment, and it's good for all of us to equip an army and sign an agreement at the same time, isn't it?" ”

Alexander's fingers tapped slightly on the windowsill as he looked at Gurt's slightly smiling face.

He noticed that this was the first time Gurt had shown an expression, and his face had always been so flat that he couldn't tell what he was thinking.

In fact, even his smile is very difficult to fathom now, but Alexander knows that he probably thinks that he has won the battle, so he deliberately shows this kind of expression that hints at victory.

The key to a cunning and determined negotiator is that the other party does have the bargaining chips in their hands.

For the Fugger family, the difficulties they were facing from King Vladislas II of Bohemia did not come suddenly, and when the Fuggers decided to turn over to Emperor Maximian, Vladislas II began to make things difficult for the Fuggers in Bohemia.

So whether it was the Hungarian copper mine problem or the conflict with Vladislas II, the Fugger family obviously had various plans, and even Gurt vaguely heard from his father that his uncle Jacob was ready to encourage Maximian to go to war with Bohemia if necessary, and use war to force Vladislas II to submit.

So for the entire Fugger family, whether Alexander could help them solve the Hungarian copper problem was not the only way.

For Alexander, the Fugger family's patronage was so important that it was a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Because of this, Gurt didn't mind a winner's smile on Alexander, because he already knew the outcome.

"It's the equivalent of 20,000 troops, but I don't need the Fugger family to help me build the castle of Montina, and I ask for that money to be exchanged for the Hanseatic League, as for the agreement you mentioned," said Alexander, looking at the army below, "I can agree to sign a treaty with the Fugger family, but I want this treaty to be signed for a short period of time, no more than three months at a time." ”

Gurt raised his eyebrows slightly, hiding the excitement that was almost revealed at that moment in his heart.

It was not difficult to finance the establishment of his army, but Gurt vaguely felt that something was wrong with the condition that he should exchange a sum of money for the Hanseatic League.

Just thinking about the significance of solving the Hungarian copper problem for his family, and especially for himself, Gurt felt that it was all worth it.

As for the proposal to sign an employment agreement between the two parties, Goult sees it as a step in the future to win the Fugger family for himself, and it is not clear whether it will play a role.

With a condition that seemed to cost a lot of money, in exchange for the other party's big trouble in solving the Hungarian copper mine problem for himself, when watching Alexander sign the draft contract he drafted, Gurt's face finally showed a look of joy that could not be concealed.

With the draft treaty, as soon as Alexander left, Gurt couldn't help but burst out of his heart with a low sneer: "Stupid, you don't know what you're missing!" ”

At the same time, outside the door, Alexander looked at the Entente in his hand and the corners of his mouth turned up, and he said to himself with sarcasm: "Idiot, do you really think I will be so easy to deceive?" ”