Aztec Eternals

The cold wind of January, blowing from the broken door, made people feel cold all over. When the surrounding civilians heard the sound here, they turned off the lights and locked the doors and windows. No one showed up, and no questions were asked. The lonely starlight shines on the humble houses in the suburbs, as if at the end of the world.

"Woo, woo! Damn devil! Help! Sheriff, help!..."

"Columbus, stop screaming. The agreement you signed with your own hands, even if you call the sheriff, you will have to pay back the money! The merciful Lord will not allow it, any injustice!"

The Jewish merchant Eleazar smiled and took out a vellum account book from his thick linen robe. Next, he opened the account book and turned forward from the last blank page. Soon, the Jewish merchant turned to the latest page, and saw the spices, ivory, and gold ornaments in the transaction records. He paused, nodded in satisfaction, and paid no attention to the shouting under his feet.

"Haha, goods from the Southern Continent! At this price, as long as it is shipped to Venice and the noble councilors of the city-state are found, it will be twice the profit! And if it can be connected with the extravagant Roman bishops, it will be three times the profit! . ..”

Eleazar thought for a moment, his eyes full of smiles. In this transaction, he used the manor mortgaged by a dilapidated nobleman and the upstart captain who returned from the voyage to do a cost-effective business, which is equivalent to making a profit. And this kind of business, as long as the voyage continues, there will be more to do in the future!

"Tsk tsk, the Moors on the peninsula are dying. Their orchard farms will all fall into the hands of the knights of the Southern Holy War. Haha, knights who don't understand arithmetic are the best business! ... However, these Castiles The knights of Leah and Aragorn are too fanatical, so they have to find a local businessman to come forward for me and buy the spoils. The profit here is huge!"

"...By the way! After the holy war, a large number of holy war knights will be dismissed, and they will no longer receive the kingdom's salary. They have no Moors to rob, and many people owe money to buy weapons, plate armor and war horses. A lot of debts...At that time, there will be another batch of mortgaged manors and mansions. However, it is still a little troublesome to collect debts from these knights who can kill people. It can only rely on...the priest of the inquisition!"

Flicking through the account books, after only a dozen breaths, the Jewish businessman Eleazar had two more good ideas for making money in his mind. For him, making money is an innate instinct, and the best money is made by the low-level urban civilians and the middle-level low-level knights.

In the past few decades, the Holy See has become more and more decadent, and its ties with various Jewish business groups have become much closer. When the bishops of the Holy See were short of money, they would ask for it from the business group. In return for taking money from various business groups, priests at all levels with real power will also provide other conveniences. After all, if there was no huge church power behind the Jewish business group that lends money, they would have been torn to shreds by nobles from all over the world. And these business groups themselves actually acted as the white gloves of high-ranking priests and great aristocrats of the city-state.

The current Pope, Innocent VIII, lives a very luxurious life and has more than a dozen illegitimate children to support. He was often short of money, and even secretly pawned the Pope's triple crown and the treasures of the Holy See to the Jewish merchants in Rome. Of course, this news can't be leaked, saying it is a dead end!

Thinking of this, Eleazar shuddered, wishing he didn't know these deadly secrets.

"Compared to us who gave out loans and helped the commoners, the rotten Holy See is the one who is going to go to hell!..."

After a while, Eleazar finally found Columbus' loan records. With a smile on his face, he read to the captain, who was pressed to the ground, his face pressed against the dirt.

"Columbus, eleven years ago, you borrowed 20 ducat gold coins, deducted 25% advance payment, and the annual interest rate was 48%. Five years ago, we calculated an account once, and the interest accumulated into the principal, which was 210 ducat gold coins, 3 grosso silver coins, 16.5 denaus copper coins. Then, you can’t pay the loan, and you sign a new loan agreement, agreeing to the loan amount of 211 ducats, and agreeing to increase the annual interest rate by half after default.”

Speaking of which, Eleazar groped for a while, and came up with a loan agreement with complete procedures. He showed a devilish smile, shook the paper in his hand, and put it back. Then, indifferent words came, without any emotion.

"Borrowing 211 Ducat, the annual interest rate is 60%. The accumulated interest for five years is accumulated into the principal, which is..."

Eleazar stretched out his hand, picked up the pen and paper on the table, and casually calculated on Columbus's letter. 211 times 1.6 five times in a row is intimidating..

"2212 Ducat Gold, 9 Grosso Silver, 21.8 Dinaus Copper."

Eleazar sneered and pronounced the sentence. He looked at Columbus, whose face was instantly pale, as if he were looking at a dead man.

"2000 Ducat Gold Coins?"

Columbus lost his mind, chanting this terrible number. At this moment, it was like a heavy mountain was pressing on his back, and it was like a bottomless abyss that cracked open at the bottom of his feet.

"...Eleazar, you...you devil!"

Eleazar was unmoved. He looked at the wooden table, glanced at the two ancient books, and then looked at the unfolded map, not paying attention. Then, his gaze saw the clay beer bottle at the bottom of the table, the small basket of bread in the corner of the room, and the paper and ink for writing.

"Huh? Columbus, it looks like you got some money?"

The Jewish merchant paused for a moment, then stretched out his hand and took a piece of exquisite letterhead, which turned out to be made of parchment.

"...Honorable King of the Kingdom of Castile-Leon, Holy, Great and Generous Queen Isabella, has entrusted the Castilian Nautical Council to issue a rewarding allowance to His Excellency... 14,000 Malavedis? (maravedis)..."

Reading this, Eleazar's expression moved.

1 Venetian ducat gold coin, about 400 Castilian Malawidi copper coins, 14000 Malawidi, that is 35 ducats. This is roughly equivalent to a senior sailor, or a trade association assistant, a year's income. Not a lot, but not too little, enough to live a life of food and clothing.

Thinking of this, Eleazar stretched out his hand again and took the ink-soaked letter on the table.

"To the holy, venerable, pious, wise, goddess-beautiful...Queen Isabella?..."

Seeing this scene, Columbus on the ground struggled instantly. He was exhausted, like a fish flapping after landing. That was his hard-earned hope!

"Ah! Damn it, you maggot that crawled out of hell! Don't rummage around!..."

"Beat him!"

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

The Slavic entourage stretched out his big hand and slapped him three times in a row, making Columbus dizzy and daring to speak again.

"what is this?"

Eleazar held the letter and looked at Columbus with a bruised face.

"Don't lie. You have only one chance."

"...that was a reply to Queen Isabella of Castile. The Castilian Nautical Commission just sent a sum of money..."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Eleazar's eyes lit up. He stretched out his hand with a smile, motioning for the Slavic entourage to lift Columbus up from the ground.

"Columbus, since you have money, we can talk again. Come on! Although you can't pay the principal, there must be some interest for dozens of gold coins, right?"

"...you!..."

Columbus trembled and looked at Eleazar, who smiled kindly. After a while, he bent down and took out a jingling cloth bag from the linen layer of the leather jacket.

"Um?"

Eleazar took the cloth bag, weighed it, and frowned. He opened it for a while, and his expression turned cold.

"So few? Only twenty ducats!"

"...The Castilian Nautical Commission sent 13,000 Malawidi copper coins. I used another part, and there's only so much left."

As for the 14,000 copper coins designated by the Queen, why only send 13,000? There is no doubt about this, fire consumption and handling discounts exist in both the East and the West.

"Columbus, this little money is not enough!"

Eleazar shook his head. he said with a smile.

"I heard from other sailors that you brag about having an unmarried Castilian maiden the year before and giving birth to a son, in Córdoba, Castile? . . . .There has always been a lack of obedient boys in the courts of the eastern sultans..."

"Ah! No, don't! Please, Eleazar... For the sake of knowing each other for so many years, give me some more time!"

Hearing of his newborn son, Columbus suddenly softened. The courts of the sultans did not lack boys, but eunuchs from the world of God. And the process of castration violated the teachings of the moon and stars, and it was also done by the Jews. Therefore, there is indeed a connection between the Jewish merchants and the Sultan's court.

"This, Queen Isabella gave this, it's an annuity! I can receive it every year, and I can pay... 30 gold coins in interest every year."

"Annuity?"

Hearing this, Eleazar was a little surprised.

"Why? The Queen gave you an annuity, but gave so little? Your proposal to sail west has not been considered by the Castilian Navigation Commission, but has not been approved?"

"..."

Columbus pursed his lips and was silent for a while. After receiving the Queen's Annuity, he spent many days in ecstasy and thought about it. Even if he didn't want to admit it, he was forced to answer.

"The Queen's pension is due to the success of the Portuguese voyage... The previous year, Diogo's fleet brought back the token of the Elder John's country. The news has spread among the senior captains and sailors!... The Queen is right There is also a great interest in nautical exploration. She generously sent a sponsorship annuity to all the captains who have submitted proposals in the nautical committee..."

Speaking of this, Columbus paused for a while, and his expression became frantic. He shouted excitedly.

"But, only me, only I am correct! Go to the west, and you will find India, rich in spices, and Sirius, rich in heaven! I have organized books~www.readwn.com~ There are Marco Polo's on them. Travel itineraries, and Ptolemy's map of the globe!  …”

"Mr. Christopher, I'm not interested in these. I'm only interested in gold coins."

Eleazar smiled lightly, stretched out his hand, and weighed the rattling cloth bag again. Twenty gold ducats, although a bit small, exceeded his expectations when he came. Also, it can be charged many times.

"Columbus, this is just interest. When your annuity comes down, I'll come back to you. You'd better raise some more...or else..."

The Jewish businessman shook his head, stretched out his hand, and straightened his black round hat. Then, he turned around and walked away with two Slav entourages.

The cold wind of January blows in the humble hut. The broken wooden door kept creaking and shaking. The winter snow, the icy wind, blew into Columbus's arms, making him chill.

Columbus touched his swollen face, sat on the ground, looked at the empty door, and was full of grief and anger. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and felt ruthless in his heart.

"Damn... can't stay any longer! The Portuguese court has no hope! And the only people who might accept my sailing plan are..."

Thinking of this, the experienced and heroic middle-aged captain suddenly got up and looked east. The Royal Palace of Eastern Madrid is just 1,300 miles away!

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