Aztec Eternals

The cold wind of January, blowing through the broken gate, made people feel chills all over. When the surrounding civilians heard the sound here, they all extinguished the lights and locked the doors and windows. No one showed up, and no inquiries were made. 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 shouting. The agreement you signed with your own hands, even if you call the magistrate, you still have to pay back! The merciful Lord will not allow any injustice!"

With a smile on his face, the Jewish merchant Eleazar took out a ledger made of parchment paper from his thick linen robe. Then he opened the ledger and turned from the last blank page. Soon, the Jewish businessman turned to the page of the latest record. When he saw the spices, ivory, and gold ornaments on the transaction record, he paused, nodded in satisfaction, and didn't care about the shouts under his feet.

"Haha, goods from the Southern Continent! At this price, as long as they are transported to Venice and found by the noble councilors of the city-state, the profit will be doubled! And if they can be connected with the extravagant bishops of Rome, then the profit will be tripled! . "

Eleazar thought for a moment, smiling. In this transaction, he used the manor mortgaged by a ruined nobleman and the upstart captain who returned from the voyage to make a good deal, which was equivalent to earning two ends. 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 about to die. Their orchards and farms will all fall into the hands of the knights of the southern jihad. Haha, knights who don't understand arithmetic are the best for doing business! However, these Castile and The knights of Aragorn are too fanatical, so I have to find a local businessman to replace me and buy the spoils. The profits here are huge!"

"By the way! After the holy war is over, a large number of holy war knights will be dismissed, and they will no longer receive the salary of the kingdom. They have no Moors to grab, and many people owe a lot of money to buy weapons, plate armor, and horses. Butt debt. At that time, there will be another batch of mortgaged manors and houses. However, it is still a bit troublesome to collect debts from these knights who can kill people. You can only rely on the priest of the trial office!"

Flipping through the account books, and within a dozen breaths, 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-making people are the low-level townspeople and the middle-level low-level knights.

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

The current pope, Innocent VIII, lives an extremely 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 business group in Rome. Of course, this news can't be leaked, it's a dead end!

Thinking of this, Eleazar shivered, wishing he didn't know these terrible secrets.

"Compared to us who extend loans and help civilians, the corrupt Holy See is the one who will really 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 with his face pressed against the mud.

"Columbus, eleven years ago, you borrowed 20 ducats, deducting a 25% advance payment, and the annual interest rate was 48%. Five years ago, we did a calculation, and the interest accumulated into the principal was 210 ducats. 3 grosso silver coins, 16.5 copper denae. Then, unable to repay the loan, you signed 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 fumbled around and took out a loan agreement with complete procedures. He showed a devilish smile, shook the life-threatening paper in his hand, and put it back. Then, indifferent words came, without any emotion.

"Borrowing 211 Ducats, the annual interest rate is 60%. Five years of accumulating interest into the principal, that is."

Eleazar stretched out his hand, picked up the pen and paper on the table, and casually calculated on Columbus's letter. Multiplying 211 by 1.6 five times is daunting

"2212 gold ducats, 9 grosso silver coins, 21.8 copper denae."

Eleazar sneered and pronounced the sentence. He looked at Columbus, whose face paled instantly, as if looking at a dead person.

"2000 gold ducats?"

Columbus was distraught, talking about this terrible figure. At this moment, it seemed like a heavy mountain was pressing on his back, and it was also like a bottomless abyss splitting open at the soles of his feet.

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

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

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

The Jewish businessman paused for a moment, then stretched out his hand, and took a piece of exquisite letter paper. It felt smooth in his hand, and it turned out to be made of parchment.

"...Honorable King of the Kingdom of Castile and Leon, Holy, Great and Generous Queen Isabella, by order of the Castile Nautical Council, to issue to Your Excellency a reward of 14,000 Maravidi ? (maravedis)."

After reading this, Eleazar's expression changed.

1 Venetian Ducat gold coin is about 400 Castilian Malawidi copper coins, 14000 Malawidi is 35 Ducats. This is roughly equivalent to the annual income of a senior sailor, or an assistant to a business group. Not a lot, but not too little, enough to live comfortably.

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

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

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

"Ah! Damn it, you maggot crawling out of Hell! Don't rummage around!."

"Slap him on the mouth!"

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

The Slavic attendant stretched out his big hand and slapped Columbus three times in a row, until Columbus was so dizzy that he didn't dare to make a sound anymore.

"What's this?"

Eleazar held the letter and looked at Columbus, who had a bruised nose and a swollen face.

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

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

"oh?"

Hearing this, Eleazar's eyes lit up. He stretched out his hand with a smile, beckoned to the Slavic followers, and helped Columbus up from the ground.

"Columbus, since you have money, we can talk again. Bring it! Although you can't afford the principal, you should still have the interest of dozens of gold coins, right?"

".you!"

Columbus trembled all over, looking at Eleazar with a kind smile. After a long while, he bent down and took out a jingling cloth bag from the linen interlayer of the leather jacket.

"Um?"

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

"So little? Only twenty ducats!"

"...Castile Nautical Commission, sent 13,000 Malawidi copper coins. I used some more, and there is only so much left."

As for the 14,000 copper coins designated by the Queen, why only 13,000 were sent? There is no doubt about this, fire loss 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 boasted that you married an unmarried Castilian girl the year before last and gave birth to a son in Córdoba, Castile? The Sultan of the East In our court, there is always a lack of obedient boys."

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

Hearing about his newborn son, Columbus suddenly went limp. The courts of the sultans do not lack boys, but eunuchs from the world of God. The process of castration violates the teachings of the Xingyue and is 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 is an annuity! I can receive it every year, and I can pay the interest of... thirty gold coins every year."

"Annuity?"

Hearing this, Eleazar was a little surprised.

"Why? The queen gave you an annuity, but it's so small? Hasn't the Castile Navigation Commission been considering your proposal to sail westward, but hasn't approved it?"

"."

Columbus pursed his lips and remained silent for a while. After receiving the queen's annuity, he spent some days in ecstasy and thought about it. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he was forced to answer.

"The queen's annuity is because of the success of the Portuguese voyage. Diogo's fleet brought back the token of John the Elder's country the year before. This news has spread among the senior captains and sailors! The queen also has a great influence on the voyage exploration. Interest. She generously gave a sponsored annuity to all the captains in the Navigation Committee who had submitted proposals”

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

"But, only I, only I am right! If you go to the west, you will definitely find India, which is rich in spices, and Celis, which is as rich as the heaven! Lemi's Earth Map!"

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

Eleazar smiled faintly, stretched out his hand, and weighed the rattling cloth bag again. Twenty ducats, although a little small, exceeded what he had expected when he came. Moreover, it can be collected many times.

"Columbus, this is just interest. When your annuity comes out, I will come to you again. You'd better raise more money. Otherwise"

The Jewish businessman shook his head, stretched out his hand, and straightened his black round cap. Then, he turned around and walked away with two Slavic followers.

The cold wind in January blows in the simple hut. The broken wooden door creaked and shook constantly. The winter snow and the icy wind blow into Columbus's arms, making him shiver all over.

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

"Damn it, I can't stay any longer! The Portuguese court has no hope! The only one who can accept my sailing plan is"

Thinking of this, the experienced and heroic middle-aged captain suddenly stood up and looked to the east. The royal palace of Madrid in the East is just thirteen hundred miles away!