Accompany Da Vinci's Super God Day

Prices throughout Florence began to change uncontrollably - and beyond the imagination of many people.

Some merchants once exchanged gold and silver into pepper for investment, expecting to sell it at one go when it soared to the highest point. However, with the return of the fleet, the supply of more than ten tons of pepper began to be stable, and there were various types and good taste. .

The once-rich man has become pauper overnight, and there is almost no way to sell the things in the cellar-at such a cheap price level, selling them is like cutting his own flesh alive.

But there are still some poor people who have begun to turn around and counterattack, owning more and more wealth.

The prevalence of tea culture has led many nobles to follow suit, although most nobles in Florence have a stable source of supply, enough to drink for two years - and by that time, the new cargo ship may have already returned from China.

The business-minded people in the city began to think of ways to buy and sell tea, buying tea from the black market or noble servants at a rather high price, and then using even more expensive and outrageous prices to please the wealthy people in distant cities.

I heard that in Genoa alone, at least four noble families directly requested to exchange gold for tea.

What's more interesting is that the price of lumber and manpower has been rising steadily, and at one time many young people rushed to the dock to find a job.

Having tasted the sweetness of long-distance trade, the nobles began to court the queen and surrender, expressing their willingness to invest in the establishment of fleets and the operation of commercial firms.

The Italian Empire itself has always been heavily burdened in military affairs and maritime trade. If it weren't for the confiscation of a large amount of stolen money swallowed by the Holy See, the government may have fallen into financial difficulties long ago.

This money was directly used for the establishment of the navy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Navy also began to operate simultaneously, and in the future plans will trade with more countries.

The nobles couldn't find the erratic queen at all, but they obviously knew where Prince Da Vinci was—

The mountain-like gifts were sent to Da Vinci's former workshop and Ducale Palace, and some people even tried to stuff them through the walls and windows.

Going out to sea, you can not only buy a lot of exquisite and gorgeous silk embroidery, but also such a wonderful tea that is only produced in the East. What a bargain!

Because of this, the Ministry of Commerce and Trade was formally established, and the relevant laws and regulations were finally promulgated by the House of Lords——

Establishing a fleet is a completely free matter, but if you want the fleet to travel with the official fleet, you must conduct qualification audits and ship performance inspections, and the relevant requirements are quite strict.

Even though the scope is constantly tightening, the nobles rushed to take out a lot of gold and silver, and rushed to apply for licenses and certificates.

All of a sudden, from Genoa to Pesaro, many deep-water ports in the southeast and northwest have entered the upsurge of official and private shipbuilding. I heard that the size of the imperial fleet has tripled compared to the plan at the beginning of the year, and the capital behind it There are more than ten nobles!

Timbers such as paulownia began to be imported and traded rapidly, and sailors and boatmen were recruited everywhere with huge sums of money.

The Venetians, who were still somewhat rebellious, have been happily hired away with a lot of money to guide the construction of ships for different forces.

Many foreign laborers and refugees also came to inquire, trying to find a living in this brand new country.

Coincidentally, the Empire is surprisingly kind and tolerant in this regard.

——As long as you have worked in Italy for more than one year, you can get a residence permit for up to ten years.

And as long as you have worked for five years and have no criminal record, you can directly own the nationality of this country, and enjoy various rights of Italian citizens after registering your identity.

All these developments were flourishing, and even the captain and crew members who returned from China were like triumphant heroes, and even poets and writers went to them to interview materials and wrote many works to record this great moment.

Heidi has been distracted to accompany the growth of her two children recently, and also took time to rest for a while.

She made an agreement with Leo that the two of them would take turns to spend some time with the children to read and speak every month. No matter how busy the government affairs were, they would not miss the time for the children to grow up.

Leonardo originally wanted to stay with her and the children for a while, but because the development of the fleet far exceeded the planned plan, he needed to spend more time checking the data records and reviewing related items in a timely manner.

Financial statements are always a mess, and even if it takes a lot of time to sort them out, staring at them for a few more seconds can turn your head dizzy.

Leonardo rubbed the corners of his brows and flipped through the reports from different regions, and suddenly noticed something was not quite right.

"Niccollo."

"Teacher, what's the matter?"

"Why is the price of lumber on the west coast ten percent higher than on the east coast?"

Niccolo was at the side helping him check other data, but when he heard this, he froze for a moment, and leaned over to read the comparison of several reports.

He was also a little puzzled.

"If this is a fake account for tax avoidance, it shouldn't be so consistent..." The young man shook his head and said, "It's just like the agreement between Genoa and the Port of Pisa. The types of wood are different, but the rate of increase is the same. unanimous."

"This is not normal..." Leonardo tapped the form with his knuckles, looked up at him: "Is there anyone who came back from the West recently?"

"Butch! He just went to visit his family!" Niccolo said quickly, "I'll call him back now!"

Butch is no longer the poor, cowardly and bully boy he once was.

He was taken to Rome by Leonardo da Vinci's people at the beginning, and after returning to Florence, he also got a small official position. He was diligent and serious in doing things, and soon won the respect and recognition of more people.

Although this boy is still very young, after two years of hard work and growth, he has become more and more confident and independent.

When Baqi came to the office, he greeted Da Vinci with a bright smile: "Sir! What can you do for me?"

"Look at this." Da Vinci looked up at him and said, "It's grown a lot taller."

The young man smiled and came over to look at the documents he pushed out.

"Indeed, the wood in the west is more expensive, and the imported ones are not cheap." Baqi turned two pages and said, "If it was three or four years ago, the situation would not be like this at all."

"Why?" Nicolo wondered: "The Spaniards and French didn't cut down trees before, did they? Are they restricting exports to us recently?"

"No," Leonardo shook his head, "The trade status of these countries is normal."

"I heard that Spain has been importing wood since the end of last year." Baqi sat beside him and said, "When I was resting in my hometown, some people in the tavern scolded me that I shouldn't sell it so early. Maybe it’s enough for my wife.”

"Spain is importing wood?" Leonardo showed alert eyes: "Where is France?"

"There are some logging areas in France and our country that are sending timber to Spain," Bazi said uncertainly, "Maybe it's because of the war?"

Spain has fought wars for more than 200 years, which is more tossed than Britain and France.

Strictly speaking, it should be the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Aragon—but just 19 years ago, Princess Isabella of Castile married Prince Fernando of Aragon, and in the following few days During the years, they successively ascended the throne and became kings, giving this country the title of Kingdom of Spain.

From 1479 until now, the Kingdom of Spain has rapidly completed the development of order and scale, and is also quietly encroaching on the nearby weak city-states.

"When the people of Pisa talk about the two His Majesties, they call them the 'Double Catholic Kings'," Bazi shook his head slightly. "It's not a good place there—people have been sneaking out by boat."

Leonardo belatedly realized that they had been so busy all these years entangled with France and the Holy See that they had completely ignored this potential threat.

He signaled Baqi to go down and wait for orders, and signaled Niccolo to call some people from the intelligence agency to come up.

Some things need to be confirmed in time... At best, the situation is not as bad as he imagined.

The officials in charge of monitoring the situation in the west soon arrived here, carefully explaining what they had observed.

"France and Spain... It is true that trade and connections are very close. It seems that there have been some big orders in the past year."

"Spain..." He glanced at Leonardo's expression with some hesitation, and he didn't know where to start: "Spain doesn't respect the Queen very much."

Niccolo directly turned cold, and asked a step forward: "Isn't it very respectful? What's going on?"

These officials have discovered these small situations a long time ago, but they don't know what their priority is—

Spain itself is not considered a big country nowadays, and there is France in the middle, and there is no connection with Italy.

That country has been making some disturbances, but they are all internal affairs of the country, but it is relatively unfriendly to Italy.

This kind of information is reported in a muddle, and it is easy to be scolded by the people above - it has neither commercial value nor can it be regarded as hostility and dissatisfaction on the surface, which is really not easy to handle.

"The specifics are..." the official lowered his head and stared at his toes, "They are revival of the old religion."

"What?!" Da Vinci and Niccolo repeated at the same time: "Reviving the old religion?!"

In fact, due to its many advantages, Protestantism has begun to spread like a prairie fire.

It has many benefits—while respecting people's beliefs, it also respects the value and existence of people themselves.

There were no tithes, no indulgences, and no draconian ordinances that gnawed your brains out.

Now Italy is moving towards freedom and openness, and people can enjoy their desires and self-pursuit openly.

Make-up and wearing jewelry are normal behaviors, and there is no need to be condemned if they are not related to the bed of pregnancy, and parents should love their children and be cautious about pregnancy, and maintain equal kindness to life.

With the continuous expansion of literary and artistic creation in Florence and Milan, this trend has affected many surrounding countries.

The attitude of the rulers of those neighboring countries is also very ambiguous.

The Holy See is indeed dead, and the most important religious foundation has been completely destroyed by explosives.

Although they are not happy to reduce taxes, but hope that the gold from the tithes will flow into their own pockets, but at least this kind of Protestant development can also make their royal power more stable and silently eliminate them. of many sins.

"But in Spain...Queen Isabella is building an Inquisition."

"Not only do transgressors go to the stake, but Protestants . . . must die."

-2-

Niccolo's first reaction was that the queen was definitely a ruthless character.

He looked at the silent teacher, who had a dignified expression.

"You keep talking."

"About this Queen Isabella, her troubles are actually well known in the local area." The official said sullenly: "She was originally brought up under strict religious education, and since she inherited Cass Candidate for the throne of Tyre, once again the richest woman in Europe..."

"Then she resisted the marriage and married the King of Portugal, and eloped directly to Ferdinand of Aragon, right?" Niccolo suddenly remembered the past of this period, and speeded up his speech: "Later, the throne was inherited to Juana. , but Isabella publicly declared that the throne should belong to her, and then launched a civil war?!"

The official nodded with a complicated expression.

—she herself was not a devout Christian at all!

If she really regards the doctrine as the main purpose, she can neither escape marriage nor elope.

Moreover, this queen forcibly took away the throne of the legal heir, and forcibly annexed the two countries through civil war...

In terms of skill and determination, he is by no means an ordinary person.

Leonardo folded his hands in front of his forehead, and did not say a word for a long time.

He realized how serious the matter was.

Her husband, Ferdinand, was a cousin of the King of Naples who died tragically in prison.

"The Inquisition in Spain is even crueler than the Holy See in the past... Although it has nothing to do with us, it is indeed appalling." The official shook his head and sighed: "Its power has no boundaries, and it has Killed a lot of people..."

Jews, pagans, and even ordinary civilians who don't even know their names will all die tragically after being targeted by them.

There is no need to go through any legal procedures, nor does it require any evidence——

If the detainees resisted and denied anything, the court tortured them until they confessed.

In recent years, this situation has intensified, and the methods have become more and more extreme.

Not only were the political enemies of the queen and the king wiped out, but also a large number of Jews and Muslims were forcibly converted, and there was no room for breathing in that land.

"Are they obliterating the existence of Protestantism?" Niccolo said with a solemn expression, "Shoot to kill?"

"Shoot or kill." The official showed fear. "The Inquisition is controlled by Thomas Tongomada, that crazy ascetic, and the judges in the whole country are all crazy."

"This is related to Italy... We must strengthen the collection of information in this area, and we must never reveal our whereabouts." Niccolo glanced at the teacher and motioned him to retreat first: "Write a comprehensive report, and hand it in as soon as possible, the better .”

The official nodded hastily, and ran away as if fleeing.

After the man left, Da Vinci finally let out a sigh.

"What we have previously agreed with the House of Lords is to stop any expansion plans in the past few years, and to improve the prosperity and advanced level of multiple territories as much as possible."

Niccolo showed a puzzled look: "Teacher, this is not a conflict—we just know that there is a madman in the west."

"What do you think they are buying so much wood?" Da Vinci asked back: "Is it just to build enough courts and burn all those rebels to death?"

Niccolo froze for a moment, his lips turned pale: "Do you think that..."

"Have you noticed?" Da Vinci stared into his eyes, with resistance and disgust in his voice: "What this woman is doing is almost exactly the same as Heidi."

If Heidi is the white queen who symbolizes freedom and light, then Isabella is a dark existence who has degenerated to the extreme.

She grew up in a closed and conservative religion, but she was able to openly resist marriage and create rebellion, and finally used religion to strengthen her control over the country.

Many things she does are the same as Heidi and the opposite.

Although they are all unifying the country, one is leading civilization and common prosperity, while the other is imposing bloody rule, causing the whole of Spain to fall into a neat dead silence.

Although they are all influencing religion, one is banning corruption and backwardness, while the other is amplifying extreme forces, luring confessors who indulge themselves to amplify the darkness of the Trial House.

"Think about it, Queen Medici is building a fleet now - and Spain also began to purchase a large amount of timber at the end of the same year, what does this represent?"

Niccolo took a breath, took a step back and said, "This is definitely not a good thing."

They managed to unify Milan, Rome, and Venice, and they are carrying out comprehensive post-war recovery work, but such an existence appears on the western island... and this existence is constantly expanding its weapons and power.

"Once the disbelievers are all wiped out, the rest... will be brainwashed with high loyalty." Da Vinci emphasized: "Extreme forces are paired with extreme believers, you know what it means. "

This matter has nothing to do with religion—religion is just a symbol in Isabella's hands.

And to make matters worse, Spain and France are neighbors, and the relationship between the two countries is now getting closer.

After Heidi revealed his life experience, he asked about the original direction of the period of history he was in.

At least in the time and space where Heidi lived, since 1478, too much blood and tragedy happened on the territory of Italy.

Lorenzo de' Medici died of gout in 1492, and then Charles VIII of France led an army across the Alps, not only occupying Naples, but also attacking Florence until they ceded Pisa.

Due to the cowardice and incompetence of the lord at that time, the Medici family was kicked out and replaced by another crazy monk, Savonarola. ' Burned countless masterpieces and smashed all 'indecent' sculptures to pieces.

Many of Botticelli's paintings were destroyed and burned, and he himself was moved between Milan and France during the war, and finally died in depression in France.

Charles VIII was a very ambitious young king.

If Heidi hadn't come to this era, he would have attacked Italy at the age of 24 and destroyed Florence.

But this person is now working hand in hand with the Spanish couple, not only providing them with enough strategic resources, but also giving up the port and the right of way to give Spain enough convenience if a war breaks out in the future...

Italy stands side by side with such a political enemy, and there are probably countless things to be on guard against.

"We need to tell the Queen about this right away." Niccolo shook his head and said, "Even if we slow down the construction of canals and roads, we must kill certain things in the cradle."

"I'm thinking about another question." Da Vinci whispered, "Do you feel that this Isabella has begun to deliberately imitate our queen?"

"You mean?"

"Religion, shipbuilding, and control of ports and commerce... She has collected so much wood, I am afraid she also wants to build a fleet of the same size, and then start global trade."

"If you think about the problem in this way..." Da Vinci took a deep breath and said, "I'm afraid there will be many spies in Florence."

"Florence Academy!" Niccolo said subconsciously: "She may choose to steal technology directly, this is the fastest way!"

At this moment, Da Vinci did not dare to imagine what would happen if someone got into Lorenzo's estate.

Thanks to Heidi who thought of setting up the secrecy agency, and put all practitioners in closed isolation from other cities.

Once such extreme lunatics have mastered the use of black powder and dynamite, they may experience all the havoc that befell the empires of the far east.

"We need to immediately control the trade with Spain and France, and at the same time control the matters of entry and exit." Leonardo got up and said: "The Queen is still resting, let's make a plan first, and then go to talk to her talk."

The West is spiraling out of control.

Niccolo immediately stood up and followed him to the door, preparing to summon more high-level officials.

The moment the door opened, Dejo appeared in front of them and almost bumped into Niccolo.

"Huh?" She rubbed her forehead and took out a letter: "The Queen is still sleeping, should I give this letter to you first?"

"Where is it from?" Leonardo took the letter and found that the inscription on it was a little strange.

"From the UK." Dejo said slowly: "Their ambassador is already waiting downstairs, and his attitude is quite good-and he also brought several boxes of gifts."

"This letter was written by Henry VII himself. It is said that it contains enthusiasm and sincerity in making friends with Italy, and the words are quite elegant."

Da Vinci was taken aback, and turned the envelope under the light.

The wax turned into the red and white Tudor rose, and there was a faint brilliance in his eyes.