"It's a different city, it's as alive as a newborn, and everyone has a look of confidence and happiness on their faces, isn't it that God is built in heaven on earth, not Rome but Antwerp?" I could see at a glance that Antwerp, with its business philosophy far exceeding that of other cities of its time, was far more than other cities of its time.

"That's right! Only here could the merchants have their own homes and retinues, and participate in politics openly and control their own destiny. Leonardo bathed in the warm sunshine, slightly closed his eyes and took a deep breath of free air, and the whole person glowed with a different look.

"So, that future father-in-law, Lord Baudouin, whom I have not yet met, is such an extraordinary and wise ruler that he allows merchant autonomy to appear in his city, and I think that having Antwerp, Leonardo, can help me fulfill this wish?" I liked Antwerp's more modern city atmosphere, freedom and fresh air, so I turned to him and asked him.

"Everybody wants to have it, and there are many who want to destroy it."

Leonardo stared at a knight who walked past him with deep eyes, and the other party pouted at the old man dressed as a merchant in disgust: "Possession of this place means countless gold coins, enough to pave the golden road to Rome, destruction here means the maintenance of the authority of the church, the best punishment for merchants who earn profits from others without work, the evil Simon wants to buy the scepter of the Holy Spirit with money, and is reprimanded by Saint Peter, let your silver and body rot together!" Rich people always carry more sins than ordinary people, so it seems that murder is a sin that can be washed away by repentance. ”

"There is no one who does not like gold, and the pursuit of profit is not contrary to God's teachings, as long as we use it for a pious cause, even if it is His Majesty the Pope, we need enough gold coins to hold our own great diffusion rituals, let alone ordinary people who eat, drink, and lazar?"

Not far away I could already see the spire of the Count's tall castle, and I reined in my horse and stretched out my arms as if to take everything in front of me into my arms.

"I want to have it, make money with money, and build a real heaven on earth!"

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The small square of the royal castle was full of people, and I got off my horse and handed the reins to the little squire who had been waiting for a long time, his thin and tall body was covered with a thick gray woollen gown, his slightly curly hair was neatly combed, there was a cute little freckle around his nose, his chin was covered with the fine fur of a young man, and his childish face was full of maturity that did not fit his age.

"Please come with me, Lord Count."

The little attendant saluted me in a proper manner, and then spoke at an even pace and spit out elegant sentences like poetry, using a grammar that is not common in ordinary life, derived from the aristocratic style of ancient Latin, with a beautiful and pleasant tone, but obscure.

I nodded, lowered my head and straightened my clothes, trying to put on a posture that matched my identity, so that I could concentrate on getting the aura I deserved, turned around and handed the saber to my cronies who were guarding outside the lord's hall, and I beckoned Kohler who was qualified to enter to walk in together.

According to the customary rules, when attending the aristocratic banquet, except for the small dagger used to cut meat, any sharp weapons that may cause danger are not allowed to be brought in, so as to prevent everyone from drinking and drinking and then drawing knives against each other, causing some irreparable tragedy.

"Count Nijmegen, the Justicedoom of Bandits, Lord Randy the Wise!"

The attendant standing in the doorway, wearing a floppy hat decorated with exaggerated feathers and a robe with two purple tassels hanging down, knew my arrival without squinting, and tapped the floor twice and loudly announced the dazzling name.

"Isn't this Lord Randy, who has made great achievements? Hurry up and take a seat, please! ”

A middle-aged man sitting in the main seat raised his wine glass and greeted me warmly as if he had just come in, as if he were my long-lost brother.

The thick and dense dark brown beard hung down on his chest, making his whole person look a lot more majestic and tall, this person must be the Count Baudouin of Flanders, and he really lived up to the reputation of the beautiful bearded man, and indeed had a little beard and fluttering Lord Guan, from the moment I entered the room, I was attracted by his beautiful beard, and I couldn't help but admire.

"Your Excellency Earl, it really makes me ashamed that you praise me so much, as if you praise the charm of riding a horse with a thousand miles of good horses, all the adults here, who is not here for the prestige of the Count of Flender, and the only thing ordinary people can do in front of the mountains is to look up and show the humble respect of the dust."

Compliments on this kind of thing for me, completely familiar with it, without thinking about it, I can spit out a very useful sycophant with a lotus flower, and the fragrance is floating thousands of miles.

"Hehe, sure enough, he is a young talent who is not born in the world, not only shrewd and capable but also humble and polite, your brilliant deeds in Italy have long become the main topic of conversation after dinner, how many aristocratic ladies dream of getting your favor, and the sour smell of jealousy permeates the whole Christian world."

Although the Count Baudouin brought the compliment he had just brought with him, his face was undisguised with a smile like a flower, and he put a high hat on me without being rude, and the words were meaningful.

"It's just that I don't know whose young lady can have such a blessing to marry the Count of Nijmegen, who has both strength and courage, and His Majesty the Pope and His Majesty Otto."

"You're laughing ......"

I tacitly accompanied him and giggled, and the scheming in my heart has been seventy-seven-eighty-eight, it seems that Leonardo is working well in this matter, and there are some doorways.

The little attendant led me to his place and sat down, and immediately cast unfriendly hostile glances on both sides, like invisible swords, guns, feathers and arrows, which instantly stabbed me to the heart.

I pretended to be calm and picked up the wine glass in front of me and tasted it as a cover-up, and looked around with the corner of my eye.

The middle-aged man who sat closest to the Count of Baudouin was a man who drank with a depressed face, and it must have been Henry, Count of Brabant, whose most obvious feature was that he could never stretch his eyebrows.

Although it controls a rich Count territory, Brabant is a country with a weak sense of existence, and the strong pressure from the Île-de-France has always put the Count family in a position that is not embarrassing.

The ruler is not strong, and the domination is full of powerful people, and he hooks up with the youngest son of the Capetian family, and the direct officials of the royal family have far more power in the local area than the count's edict, which is why the Count of Henry hugged the thigh of the Count of Flanders tightly, and he dreamed of becoming a lord like Baudouin, the de facto king of the kingdom.

Moncado, Count of Lille, stared at everyone around him with a gloomy expression, as if he harbored a deep hatred that was difficult to eliminate, and everyone was viciously unpleasant.

Flender's strong rise made him have to cling to this beautiful bearded man who can play with his ridiculous country in the palm of his hand, although he is so eager to get rid of Baudouin's shadow and get the support of the forces from Paris, but after all, far water can't quench his thirst, how can people not bow their heads under the eaves? Thinking about it this way, I feel a little sorry for his stormy and dilemmad fate.

Richard II, Duke of Normandy, was an energetic young man!

The Black Earl's nickname is well-known throughout the North Sea, although his skin does not look very dark, and his hearty and sunny smile also shows that he is a man with a bright heart.

The fine blood of the Nordic people makes him different from the slightly dull dark hair of most nobles, and the blue eyes as clear as the lake are enough to charm the women of a regiment and make them fall into a deep blur and find it difficult to extricate themselves, not to mention the long golden spiritual hair and the strong body of Kong Wu.

The Duchy of Normandy is only a vassal of the king of France in name, he and his ancestors from Northern Europe in dragon ships have been governing themselves in the fertile land centered on the mouth of the Rhône, integrating with the local Franks to establish a strong Nordic dynasty, the little children of the Capet family in Paris are just the joke on the dinner table of the descendants of Odin who are still eager to conquer, and Richard II even calls himself a duke, forcing the king to acquiesce to his trespassing.

The Duke himself came to the party to show his respect for his powerful neighbor, but it was privately understood that they could never be friends with each other, but if some blood ties could be established, the north of Paris would no longer be at the mercy of the descendants of Huguet-Capet.

Duke Richard, who was only about ten years older than me, was the age of competitiveness, and he looked at me twice from head to toe, his face almost overflowed with disdain, and he raised his glass and asked loudly: "Lord Randy, I heard that you have a marriage contract with the Duke of Crescenti in Italy, and will be married by His Majesty the Pope, why are you still here?" Are you ready to break God's testimony of the sacred covenant? ”

Although he did not say much, he challenged me aggressively on the invisible battlefield, and the nobles, who had just been drunk and unconscious, continued to stagger and pretend to be confused, but secretly all pricked up their ears and waited for my answer, and it would be good for everyone to be able to kill a competitor before the final choice of the Count of Baudouin was announced, although they were also inseparable from each other.

I stared at his long smiling face and thought for a moment, the fierce collision in my mind was no less than a real fight with a real gun, no matter how this question was avoided, it would give people an ugly image of a treacherous and unscrupulous man, but it was not as bright as telling the truth.

(End of chapter)