Continental Warriors Yoo Ma

"Hey, it's a pity that these bonds have fallen to worthless now. All the wealth in the hands of the old man has been wiped out, and the mortgaged property will also be taken away by the St. George Bank. At that time, his newly married 19-year-old bride I'm afraid I can't keep it. Is there any other way for him to go besides jumping into the river?"

"Yes, besides jumping into the river, is there any other way to go?" Luca repeated this sentence with a dull expression.

Isn't the end of the old man that the onlookers are talking about, not my own tomorrow?

I have no other way to go.

He was the bank manager in charge of the Victory Bond business and knew many of Giovanni's secrets.

In order to compete with his elder brother for the position of the next Medici Patriarch, Giovanni was quite active in this wave of jihadi bonds.Not only did he fully promote the Medici Bank to develop related businesses, but he also privately mortgaged the Medici family property to the Genoa Bank, and then hired an agent to buy many victory bonds from the Medici Bank.

And not only the Medici Bank, Giovanni also purchased similar jihad bonds in banks opened in Milan, Bologna, Siena and other states.

Now that the flashy financial bubble has burst, Cosimo, the current ruler of Florence, will definitely be furious when the Bank of Genoa comes to ask Giovanni for a debt.

In order to calm his father's anger and shirk responsibility, Giovanni must push all the faults to Luca, the specific handler of the transaction.

Not only do you have to face the ending of going bankrupt and your wife and children are separated, but you also have to be pulled by your immediate superior to take the blame.

The more Luca thought about it, the more desperate he felt.

In the end, he climbed up to the railing of the bridge with despair...

Pfft!

"Oops, jumped, jumped again!"

"The water splash is a bit louder, and the sound is more dull. How much does that fat man weigh?"

"I must have eaten good food. Even if I die now, my life will be better than ours."

"Hmph, suicides cannot go to heaven. We must be happier than him in the afterlife!"

……

Because of the bursting of the financial bubble of jihad bonds, there are many speculators in the Italian region who went bankrupt, burdened with heavy debts, and chose to end their lives.

For example, in Pisa, which is also under the control of the Republic of Florence, many people ran up the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, and then jumped to escape the cruel reality.

It’s just that, unlike the suicides who jumped off the Arno River in Florence, those who committed suicide by jumping off the Leaning Tower of Pisa made a “poof” sound when they landed, as if a puddle of ooze was spread on the ground.

Giovanni was undoubtedly much luckier than these unlucky ghosts who had nothing but ended their own lives after their speculation failed.Who told him to cast a good pregnancy, he is the third member of the Medici family.

However, the Medici Bank suffered such a huge loss in this financial turmoil, Giovanni must give the family an explanation, and also need to discuss a way to deal with the ensuing creditors, as well as those who want to find the Medici Bank A victorious bond buyer for an explanation.

Fortunately, Luca's incompetent fat man has committed suicide, and Giovanni can take advantage of the situation to push all the faults on him.Dead people don't justify themselves anyway.

On the second night after Luca committed suicide by jumping into the river, Giovanni endured the torment caused by gout and came to Palazzo Vecchio where his father lived.

His brother, the heir to the family, Piero de' Medici, will also be present at this small family gathering.

But the meeting place was not in the study, but in Cosimo's bedroom.

The justice who is in charge of the Republic of Florence is much older than the historical line that Ma Youfu is familiar with, and he is now in his 60s.

Old age and frailty, long-term toil in political affairs, coupled with extravagant food and unrestrained diet, caused Cosimo to suffer from frequent gout symptoms, and now he can only work in bed.

Coincidentally, Cosimo's eldest son, Piero, had a gout attack today because he ate a whole lobster last night.

Giovanni, who was pushed into the bedroom by a servant in a wheelchair, saw his father and elder brother lying on the bed. He was taken aback for a moment, and then he also lay down on another bed under the service of the servant.

Thus, a special bed meeting of the Medici family began.

However, Cosimo, the head of the house, couldn't laugh at the rather funny scene in the room.

The health of the three men in the Cosimo family is all worrying. How can this make people not worry about the future of the family?

Sighing, Cosimo said, "Giovanni, after the failure of the Eastern Crusade, how much damage did it cause to the Medici Bank?"

"The head office of the Medici Bank in Florence has a total of 24 florins for jihadi loans to individuals. If you add branches in other cities, this number will rise to 46 florins. This is almost a bank 90.00% liquidity." Giovanni said this figure with great difficulty.

"San Giovanni!" Cosimo shouted the name of the patron saint of Florence, and then gave his second son a hard look, "Do you know why I named you 'Giovanni'? I just hope you become Guardian of Florence, let the Medici family and this city prosper together! The result, you idiot!"

Giovanni couldn't say anything, just shut up and was scolded.

After Cosimo scolded his second son bloody, he continued to ask: "What else?"

"What else?" Giovanni was taken aback for a moment.

It wasn't until he saw his father's cold eyes that he said hesitantly: "In addition, the Medici Bank also purchased Jihad bonds with a total price of 15 florins from other banks. But now with the Eastern Crusade A fiasco, and these jihadi bonds are worthless."

Maybe it was because of too much bad news, Cosimo had no energy to get angry.He continued to ask with a facial expression: "Isn't all the bank's liquidity going to issue jihadist loans? Where did the money for buying jihadist bonds come from?"

"Uh... it was obtained by mortgaging the fixed assets of the Medici family." Giovanni mustered up the courage to say this.Then he added, "These things were all done by Luka without authorization, otherwise, he wouldn't commit suicide in fear of crime..."

It's a pity that Cosimo didn't accept Giovanni's statement, but just snorted coldly.

He led the Medici family to rise in Florence, defeated challengers one by one, and finally became the tyrant of the republic. His vision was so vicious and his political sense was so keen, how could he be deceived by the lie of his second son.

Giovanni dared not defend himself any longer.

At this time, Piero, who had been silent all this time, sighed and said: "If you had followed the advice of the Duke of Bar at the Genoa bankers meeting, perhaps the Medici family would not have faced this difficulty today. I heard that Domenico Negroni, the president of the San Giorgio Bank, loaned at least 40 Genovinos to bond speculators at extremely low mortgage rates.

Now, jihad bonds are all scrap paper.There are more and more speculators who can't pay their debts.St. George Bank acquired a large number of high-quality real estate at a very small price, and its assets have at least tripled..."

Although Piero was the eldest son and the natural heir of the family, Cosimo had to consider the possibility of his eldest son's early death because of the genetic disease of gout.So he is also deliberately training his second son, Giovanni, and letting him take charge of the banking industry, which is very important to the family.

As a spare tire, Giovanni naturally had the ambition of "he can replace him".

It is a pity that Giovanni not only suffers from the genetic disease of gout like his elder brother, but also this desperate speculation failed completely.

What Piero said now is clearly giving his father eye drops, criticizing himself for lack of sufficient wisdom and making a wrong choice.

Giovanni recalled the last time in Genoa, when Domenic tried to persuade himself, but he was indifferent and even retorted the scene, and couldn't help but regret it.

If he had listened to the advice of the other party at that time, followed the example of St. George Bank, and transferred all the business focus of the Medici Bank to the business of lending to speculators, then now he has made a lot of money by buying bottoms at low prices. People are themselves.

At that time, presumably my father would be very satisfied with his outstanding ability.

Too bad we can't go back in time.Even if his elder brother is secretly slandering him now, Giovanni can't refute it, so he can only keep silent and let the regret devour his heart.

"Okay, Piero. You should know that the most important thing for us now is how to minimize the adverse effects of bank losses." Cosimo waved his hand weakly to prevent the eldest son from continuing to The second son is in trouble.

He added, "Do you have any ideas?"

Piero, who has always behaved indifferently at home and left most things to his father and younger brother, was particularly active tonight.He said: "Father, and younger brother, the foundation of our Medici family is the land, the peasants, the army, and power. We are not the same as those citizen bankers who cannot protect themselves. So if those who bought the victory bonds If investors want to come to settle accounts, they can just deal with them with spears and bayonets. Didn’t the Duke of Barr say that finance is risky, and investment must be cautious. In this financial disaster, including our Medici family, Everyone must pay for their greed."

Piero paused, and then said: "However, the debt owed to St. George's Bank is a bit difficult."

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The San Giorgio Bank in Genoa and the Medici Bank in Florence were different from other commercial banks. Their original intention was to provide financial support for the political and military actions of the country’s ruling class.This kind of public-owned, or semi-public-owned bank, backed by the state's forceful endorsement, can naturally be armed to renege on debts and ignore those bond buyers who come to the door.

Of course, doing so will lead to the bankruptcy of the bank's reputation, and it will never be able to do business in the future.

It's just that the Medici family has now consolidated its rule in Florence, and has begun to transform from a merchant family to a traditional feudal aristocratic family. As long as they have the two hard powers of land and population, even if the bank disappears, it will not be hurt. The degree of musculoskeletal.

But the accounts of ordinary investors can be relied upon, but can the accounts of St. George Bank be relied upon?

Everyone knows that Ma Youfu stands behind the St. George Bank.The armed force in the hands of the Duke of Barr should not be underestimated. It would be extremely risky to renege on him.

Historically, why was Spain under Philip II frequently bankrupt but still able to get loans from Genoese bankers?Why did the Genoese bankers have to agree to convert the original short-term debt into long-term debt after each bankruptcy, and then continue to lend money to the Spanish emperor?

Isn't it just because Philip II has big fists, and the Spanish square is invincible in the world.With a matchlock gun on your head, you Genoese dare not borrow money?

Therefore, the choice that the Medici family is facing now is to either repay the money honestly, or let the St. George Bank take away all the mortgaged assets without paying the money.Or just be armed and renege on debts, waiting for the French cannon to collect debts.

According to normal thinking, choosing the first method is the best.Giovanni mortgaged assets worth 15 in order to take out the 32 Genovino loan from the San Giorgio Bank.Even if all these assets are lost, it seems that it is not unbearable for the Medici family with a large family and business, and they gritted their teeth and survived.

But things can't just be seen on the surface.

If you count the 46 cash lost due to the jihadist loan and other incidental losses caused by the financial turmoil, the assets of the Medici family have shrunk by millions in just a few days Florin!

This is not a dangerous situation that can be overshadowed by the words "grit your teeth and get through it".

In the divided Italian region, frequent and complicated military conflicts are always going on among the states.Traditional levies and feudal knights have long been unable to meet the needs of war, so mercenaries are popular.Relying on mercenaries to fight wars requires a lot of money.

And this financial turmoil has made it difficult for the Medici family to maintain their military strength in the past.

This will inevitably lead to the hostile forces of the family starting to move around.

Although Cosimo changed the political ecology of Florence in one fell swoop by virtue of his superior ability, from an oligarchic republic to a tyrant autocracy, but his rule did not form a stable practice like other European feudal countries.As long as the Medici family suffers setbacks, those hostile families that were suppressed to the point of dormancy will definitely reappear in an attempt to regain the power of the Republic.

There is an even scarier possibility.

What if Ma Youfu, behind the St. George Bank, wants not just the 10,000+ loan from Florence, but a further step?

After getting the manor, mansion, fields, houses, and workshops that originally belonged to the Medici family, Ma Youfu can justifiably send people to manage these assets.The power of the Seres can also be like a wedge, inserting into Florence, which was originally run by the Medici family.

Cosimo instinctively noticed that Mayouf's ambitions were by no means limited to France.Although the Sirisian was fighting against the heretics in the yellow sands of the Maghreb, his greedy eyes had been staring at the rich Italy.

Piero's short sentence made Cosimo think a lot.

Compared with Giovanni, who was still obsessed with the heavy losses of the bank, the eldest son obviously had a longer-term vision.

Cosimo took a look at the two sons and thought about it: "What do you two think about the 15 loan owed to St. George's Bank?"

"We must not allow the Genoese to confiscate the assets of the Medici family." Giovanni said first, "There are many important assets in the collateral, including... including this Palace of Vecchio. If we watch this palace, which symbolizes the history and glory of the Medici family, be taken away by outsiders, then our prestige in Florence will inevitably be wiped out, and opponents will gather again to try to challenge the rule of the Medici family. The consequences could be disastrous……"

Giovanni was able to see this, which comforted Cosimo.But the old man thought about it again, this guy was actually able to do the absurd thing of mortgaging the Vecchio Palace, he was really stupid and hopelessly stupid.

Giovanni didn't know that his father was more disappointed with himself, and continued: "However, St. George Bank is not like those ordinary investors who can rely on force to repay their debts. So we have to rely on other methods to save money. Overcoming difficulties. I suggest, contact Francesco and Vera. They have a good and close relationship with the Duke of Bar, and they can lobby for us to extend the loan repayment period. It will definitely be no problem.

We in Florence have the most developed handicraft industry in Europe, and the products we produce are popular all over Europe.It only takes a while to make enough profit to pay off the debt. "

However, this seemingly safe suggestion was directly rejected by Cosimo: "No! Don't let Antonio's branch have the opportunity to return to Florence."

Cosimo's resolute attitude can be traced back to a past event more than 60 years ago.

At that time, the wool workers in Florence could not bear the cruel exploitation of factory owners and guilds, and launched the first workers' uprising in European history.It was also during that uprising that the Medici family took advantage of the situation to rise and became a member of the oligarch family that monopolized the power of the republic.

At that time, the two brothers of the Medici family clashed in this uprising and finally parted ways.Cosimo's uncle went to France and started the French branch of the Medici family.

The two parties still maintain a cooperative relationship due to interest factors, and the main family of Florence provides various supports for the French branch.After the French branch gained a firm foothold in France relying on the assistance of the main family, it also spread the influence of the entire family to France, the Lowlands, and England by opening branches of the Medici Bank and other methods.

Although on the surface, the main family of Florence and the French branch are in a mutually beneficial and win-win relationship, Cosimo knows that the other party has never given up the idea of ​​returning to Florence and taking over the power of the Medici family.

Originally, Cosimo did not pay much attention to the ambitions of the French branch.

The original head of the French branch, Cosimo's cousin Antonio di Giovanni de' Medici, had died ten years earlier.He was succeeded by his son Francesco.

The ability of this nephew is mediocre, not as good as Cosimo's two sons.And the most important thing is that the other party only gave birth to two daughters, and one of them disappeared in an accident.

In contrast, Cosimo has four grandchildren.From the point of view of family continuity, the French branch has lost the competition.In a few decades, after the extinction of the French branch, the main family of Florence will be able to inherit the other party's property in a legitimate way, ending this long dispute between brothers.

But here is the problem.

Cosimo did not expect that Francesco gave birth to a good daughter.The amazingly beautiful grandniece Vera actually hooked up with the most dazzling political figure in Europe in the past two years.