Daming Greedy Wolf Star

Chapter 396 Everything is profit

Papal State, Rome.

This meeting temporarily organized by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund was different from the last one, with some fewer people and more people.

The few are the kings of Bulgaria, Wallachia, and Serbia, because the Ming army has occupied Fort Niko in Bulgaria at this time, and even Tarnovo and Sofia have also fallen, and they cannot escape.

Logically speaking, it was initiated by the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope would also participate. They must participate in a meeting of this level, but now they dare not.

They were afraid that once they arrived in Rome, their home would be gone.

The most important person is Francesco Foscari, the Governor of the Principality of Venice.

In Venice, the Doge is the same as the King and is the highest ruler.

However, it may be a little different from others. Francesco did not come voluntarily, but because there was really no other way.

Because if he doesn't come, he will most likely be deposed by the ten-man group.

The Ten Men of Venice is a special existence, the same as the electors of the Holy Roman Empire.

It can be seen from the three words elector that this exists for the purpose of choosing the emperor. Similarly, the Ten Men of Venice also have similar rights.

They did not participate in internal affairs, but were responsible for electing the emperor.

Of course, this was the original intention of the Ten-Man Group and the Elector. As for whether it turned bad in the end...it's hard to say.

The reason why the Ten-man Group of the Principality of Venice put pressure on Francesco to attend the meeting in Rome was the threat of the Ming army.

However, unlike the threats faced by countries such as the Holy See and the Holy Roman Empire, what threatened the Principality of Venice was actually the maritime power of the Ming Army.

"Tell me what to do." As always, it was Sigismund who took the lead.

"This has nothing to do with us." As soon as Sigismund opened his mouth, Francesco took over.

"You all know the situation in the Principality of Venice. Our power is mainly concentrated on the sea. If we are allowed to fight on land, it will be no different from you randomly recruiting a group of civilians."

"We in the Principality of Venice can only guarantee that when the enemy uses sea power, we will go all out."

"Of course, you must have seen each other's maritime power, and you have even fought against it. You should know that our Principality of Venice has little chance of winning, so we will still need your help when the time comes."

"Of course there will be no shortage of help." As soon as he started, Francesco stepped forward to disrupt the situation, and Sigismund looked very embarrassed.

"But I hope you will also understand that the other party is not a good person. When they have enough power and enough land, the next thing to be eroded will be the sea. By then, you, the Principality of Venice, will have no way out."

"We will still have a way out then. At worst, we can retreat to Aachen, but what about you?"

"The sea routes, spices and sellers of all kinds of goods that you Venetians have taken more than 600 years to operate will be lost."

"So... I hope you can understand this."

"Of course." Francesco agreed readily, but felt very uncomfortable in his heart.

Why did the Principality of Venice not end up when the allied forces of the Holy See and the Holy Roman Empire blocked the Ming army's treasure fleet in the Adriatic Sea?Obviously their maritime power is stronger, and it is obvious that Venice, the capital of the Principality of Venice, is on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.

In the final analysis, it was because the Ming army did not touch Venice's fundamental interests.

The land area of ​​the Principality of Venice is not large, and except for the capital city Venice, most of the other territories are scattered in the Mediterranean, especially islands around the Aegean Sea.

However, when Zhu Zhanhe turned his attention to Europe, the first thing he saw was Castle Castle, and the second thing he saw was Fort Nico, the throat of the Danube River. As for the islands on the sea...

Not to mention the islands of the Principality of Venice, even places like the Ionian Islands and Crete were not taken seriously by Zhu Zhanhe. They were even prepared as after-dinner snacks when there was no room for resistance in the European continent. Then clean it up slowly.

In addition, the Principality of Athens did not respond to Zhu Zhanhe's request for help from the Ming Army, so there was no fundamental conflict between the Principality of Venice and the Ming Army.

Until...the appearance of the treasure fleet.

In this era, navigation is linked to huge interests. This is the European perception.

The reason why the Principality of Venice was able to prosper rapidly and occupy a place in Europe where all the heroes coexisted was because of business.

The main goods of the Principality of Venice are spices, sucrose, silk, muslin, etc. that are lacking in Europe. Among them, spices and sucrose account for the largest proportion.

Speaking of which, many people may not know what role spices and sugar played in medieval Europe, and how the Venetians who controlled this supply deceived those European white pigs.

In his book "Chronicles", the fourteenth-century English chronicler Joywell vividly described a misconception shared by many Europeans at that time, that is, sucrose, cinnamon and other precious spices were produced in a cane. In the mysterious river - the "Spice River" (ie the Nile).

A widely circulated saying in Europe at that time was that spices, sucrose and other things were all flowing in the Nile River. People would cast their nets on the river bed at night, and when they closed the nets the next morning, they would get ginger, rhubarb, and aloe vera. , cinnamon and sucrose, etc.

This statement is somewhat outrageous, but it also proves from the side the role that Venetian merchants played in medieval Europe.

In business, especially in the trading of goods such as sugar and spices, they have almost reached the level of complete monopoly, even to the point where they say whatever they say and people will believe whatever they make up.

The emergence of the Ming army will undoubtedly greatly impact the commercial monopoly of the Principality of Venice. This is something they cannot tolerate. This is also the main reason why the Ten-man Group of the Principality of Venice strongly requested Francesco to come to Rome to attend the meeting. .

In the final analysis, it is still an interest.

When the matter came to this point, Francesco actually had no desire to listen anymore. He had no interest in how the Holy Roman Empire and the Holy See mobilized their troops and how to fight against the Ming army.

All he cared about was money and the commercial status of the Principality of Venice.

Maybe he also cares about his allies, but...

Not an immediate ally.

However, Francesco did not realize that there was another person present who was not taken seriously but was as absent-minded as him.

Jeanne II.

The meeting in Rome ended soon, and there was actually nothing to talk about. It was nothing more than mobilizing troops through the influence of the Holy Roman Empire and the Holy See. The Kingdom of Naples had to make a little effort in this matter.

It was different from before. Before, they did not have a correct understanding of the strength of the Ming army, which made Martin V and Frederick III agree to Jeanne II's approach of not sending troops.

If they had known early on that their entire army would be annihilated, they would have dragged Jeanne II even if they were dragging their allies into the water.

But this time, Jeanne II and the Kingdom of Naples had no chance of peace.

But even so, as soon as she returned from Rome, Jeanne II sent people to sea to send Zhu Zhanhe news of the imminent end of the Principality of Venice.

However, time never stops. When you are moving forward, others are also moving forward.

Kingdom of Aragon, Zaragoza.

Yolanda was undoubtedly very surprised when she saw her daughter Mary coming back alone. After hearing her daughter's story about what she had experienced along the way, her shock reached an all-encompassing level.

She did not expect that the original mad emperor Charles VI was called a madman because he was forced to do so, but his son and son-in-law Charles VII turned out to be a real madman.

Yolanda, who was from the perspective of a benefactor, couldn't figure out why his son-in-law gave up his own help, and instead chose a person who had never understood him for help.

But anyway, it's too late now.

"I can promise him." After thinking for a long time, Yolanda made a completely different decision than when she faced her son-in-law.

"The Kingdom of Aragon can open the waters under its jurisdiction for them to pass through, and will persuade the Kingdom of Castile to make the same decision."

"Then... mother, what do you... need?" After receiving her mother's confirmation, Mary was overjoyed, but also a little uneasy.

She didn't expect that her mother would agree so readily, which was beyond her expectations.

"Need anything? No, my child, I want nothing." Yolanda stroked the top of Mary's head lovingly.

"It was not my wish to treat Charles VII with that attitude before. I just didn't want my child to suffer hardships with him, so he has to grow up and learn to accept humiliation, so that he can truly succeed."

"But I didn't expect that he would not be able to withstand this test."

"Now that he is dead, you, my child, are helpless. For you and your child, as a mother and a grandmother, I am willing to help my daughter and my grandson, because we are relatives, and this is unconditional of."

"All of this, I just hope you can have a good life..."

"Mother..." Mary's eyes were filled with tears, and the emotions that had been accumulated before were instantly detonated, causing her to hold her mother and cry.

"Oh, my child..." Yolanda stroked Mary's head with love on her face, presenting to the world a picture of a loving mother and a filial daughter.

However, if you look carefully, you will find that the corners of Yolanda's mouth... curled up.

……

This world and the people in this world are all manifestations of interests.

As a mother, Yolanda can give unconditionally to her daughter and her grandson, but the problem is that she is not only a mother, she is also Yolanda of the Kingdom of Aragon.

The death of Charles VII was a good thing for Zhu Zhanhe, because in his hands, Louis XI, the only legitimate successor of Charles VII, he had someone who did not need to pay too much and could also The right to enter the chessboard of the Kingdom of France with justifiable qualifications.

Moreover, he holds the only and biggest trump card in the Kingdom of France.

But Yolanda also thinks so, and in her opinion, her advantages are much greater than Zhu Zhanhe's.

She was the mother-in-law of King Charles VII of France, the biological mother of the Queen of France, and the grandmother of the future King Louis XI of France.

Charles VII is dead, and she is the most qualified person to take care of and help Louis XI deal with French affairs.

As for Zhu Zhanhe...

In her eyes, he was still slightly inferior to her.

Holding her daughter in her arms, Yolanda seemed to have seen the future in which the Kingdom of Aragon would gradually annex the Kingdom of France and even the Kingdom of England, becoming the new overlord of the European continent.

Therefore, there is true love in this world, but more than [-]% of the so-called true love cannot withstand the test of interests.

Even among the remaining [-]%, maybe half is because the interests are not big enough. When the interests are big enough, they will change their position.

There are probably very few people who truly believe in the supremacy of true love.

Everything is just profit.

(End of this chapter)