【The Aztec Immortal】【】

"The Lord witnesses! Sir Alonso, did you persuade Captain Juan de la Cosa to take the Santa Maria and participate in this voyage?..."

"Blessed Mother! Father Talavera, this is Juan's own decision. Of course, I did communicate with him in advance. The Crusades on the peninsula have ended, and the royal family owes huge loans to the Roman Church and the Republic of Venice. To repay...opening up a new shipping route in the Atlantic Ocean may be a solution!..."

"Sir Alonso, the Royal Commission has already reviewed the last sailing proposal. The new Eurasian route to the Atlantic Ocean is far more than 4-5 thousand kilometers, but four times the distance! Such a remote and unpredictable new route is by no means It can be developed in a short period of time! In order to support Columbus's voyage, the royal family has to spend about 5,000 gold ducats, which is a full 2 ​​million Malawedi copper coins..."

"Ahem! Father Talavera, you understand. 5,000 gold ducats are nothing compared to the 500,000 gold ducats the kingdom owes. What's more, we don't need to take out any cash. Ships, manpower and supplies can be directly recruited from various coastal towns...Many towns have not paid the increased taxes for the Crusade, and they really cannot get the money..."

The bright light falls from the magnificent dome, as if it is the glory given by God. However, many nobles and priests of the kingdom under the light did not discuss the sacred faith or the missionary opening of the new route... They were trapped in the desire and quagmire of money, arguing about money figures one after another, making no secret of their Desire for wealth.

At this time, the Castilian royal family was also like a traveler who fell into a deep pit, mired in huge war debts. Queen Isabella's empty treasury and heavy loan documents are a direct manifestation of financial difficulties.

Auditor General Sir Alonso turned his head cautiously and glanced at Queen Isabella who was deep in thought. Then, he lowered his voice, leaned towards Talavera, the Queen's confessor, and spoke sincerely.

"Father Talavera! Even if Columbus's voyage never returns this time, the royal family will only lose the ships and manpower recruited from various towns... But as long as there is a discovery during the voyage in the Atlantic, even a transit island, Just like Cape Verde in the hands of the Portuguese... they can mortgage 100,000 or more gold ducats to the Church of Rome and the Republic of Venice!... After all, that is the transit island for the new western route! Then The future value is completely immeasurable..."

The Crusaders in the southern part of the peninsula began in February 1482 and ended in January 1492, lasting for ten years. The Holy War Army of the United Kingdom of Castile and Aragon, plus the Holy War knights and attendants from various countries who prepared their own dry food, and hired HRE and Italian mercenaries... The Crusaders in the peninsula once amounted to more than 100,000 people! The standing army maintained daily was at least 60,000 in size, and maintained a cavalry of more than 10,000 people. Only then did they destroy and conquer the Moorish Kingdom of Granada with a population of two million people!

The logistical distance between these 50,000 jihadi infantry and 10,000 jihadi cavalry is close to about a thousand miles, one-third of which is in the difficult mountains of Granada. The logistics consumption of materials and property during the war alone is a terrifying astronomical figure. Not to mention the salaries and pensions of the army during the war, the annual expenditures of mercenaries, the plagues and diseases encountered, and the losses of those long and difficult sieges...

This chapter is not finished, click [next page] to continue reading -->>

【The Aztec Immortal】【】

Excessive army mobilization, long war time, difficult logistical support, sudden plague disaster... This series of encounters in the Holy War were completely devastating to the finances of the two Spanish kingdoms!

The reason why this holy war lasted for ten years relied on financial loans and blood transfusions from the Roman Church and the Republic of Venice... The debts that can be borrowed must always be repaid. At least the two kingdoms currently do not have the ability to tear up the IOUs of Rome and Venice, the two big creditors, based on their strength...

At this moment, in 1492, the end of the war, the Castilian royal family, as the main force of the Holy War, already owed a debt of at least 700,000 gold ducats to the Church of Rome and the Republic of Venice. The royal family of Aragon is in much better shape. The amount of debt owed is less than 200,000 gold ducats...

Of course, with the guarantee of the Roman Church, the interest on these jihad debts is very low, less than 10%. Compared with other loans of the same era, this number is really not high. But multiplied by the terrifying amount of one hundred thousand, the annual interest paid by the Castilian royal family is at least 60,000 to 70,000 gold ducats. And this huge number is several times the measly financial revenue of Castile. It is completely insolvent, and the debts are getting bigger and bigger.

The annual debt interest of the Aragonese royal family is 20,000 gold ducats. The Kingdom of Aragon's financial revenue is healthier. If it is squeezed in all aspects, squeeze more of the poor farmers and craftsmen, confiscate more of the property of minor nobles and small monasteries, and try and burn more heretics and Jews... it can still be repaid. In debt.

"The debt of 700,000 gold ducats is equal to the loot and ransom of 200,000 gold ducats looted throughout Granada... Now there is still a debt of 500,000 gold ducats, with an annual interest rate of 10%, and 50,000 gold ducats have to be repaid a year. 10,000 interest…”

"No! After I become the Archbishop of Granada this year, I will immediately try and clean up all the Moorish pagans in Andalucia. I will confiscate all the property of the pagans...at least I can squeeze out another 200,000 gold ducats. The royal family's debt has been reduced to 300,000 yuan!... In this way, there is still a way to pay off the 30,000 yuan interest every year..."

Father Hernando de Talavera lowered his eyes and suppressed the boiling murderous intention against the heretics in his heart. He was Queen Isabella's closest confessor and the first Archbishop of Granada jointly appointed by the Church of Rome and the Kingdom of Castile.

As the most devout "Servant of God", he will never show mercy to pagans. And Castile's royal finances, which were on the verge of bankruptcy, would never allow him to be soft on the pagans!

"Witness the Lord! I originally invited Columbus to support his sailing proposal because I thought that the new route he calculated was really only 4-5 thousand kilometers... In this way, with only one or two years of investment in exploration, we would be able to have the same new voyage as the Portuguese The return of the voyage has greatly improved the Queen's finances... You know, the Queen has mortgaged all the crowns and jewelry passed down by the royal family!..."

Father Talavera glanced at the resolute and heroic Queen and silently lowered his eyes. Thousands of thoughts emerged in his mind, and finally turned into an indifferent glance, looking at Columbus who was anxious in front of the navigation chart.

"This stupid and stubborn navigator miscalculated the distance of the new route, which made me happy in vain! According to the calculation of the Navigation Committee, the navigation distance is four times...I am afraid that it is definitely not a year or two of exploration investment. It can bring direct returns... This is why I turned down his proposal..."

This chapter is not finished, click [next page] to continue reading -->>

【The Aztec Immortal】【】

"But according to Sir Alonso, even if the new Atlantic route does not succeed and only one or two islands are found on the way, they can be mortgaged to the Roman Church and the Republic of Venice... After all, the new route opened by the Kingdom of Portugal is of great significance to The stimulus from the Roman Church and the Republic of Venice is too great! Especially the Venetians, who have controlled the spice trade and coinage for a long time, are facing serious challenges from the Portuguese..."

"Lord, witness! This is indeed an opportunity to repay the debt! It is safer than crossing the strait and attacking the pagan kingdom across the sea... No, we can still attack the other side of the strait on a small scale, at least to defeat the bankrupt Crusaders. Carry all the knights over there! Let them harm the Moorish country across the sea, or die there, so as not to ruin the wealth of the Kingdom of Castile..."

Father Talavera pondered for a long time, his eyes flickering. He glanced at the Queen's Auditor General, Sir Alonso, who had a "sincere" look on his face, and then at the King's Financial Advisor Sir Louis, who had a "cunning" smile, and suddenly asked.

"Alonso, suddenly called Columbus back, proposed the voyage again, and then used the general trend to persuade me to compromise... This is not like your style!... Is it Sir Louis's idea? The king can benefit from the voyage, What benefits are gained?…”

"Well…"

Hearing this, Sir Alonso was stunned for a moment and nodded gently. Regarding this question, he was a little unsure and could only say hesitantly.

"The benefits of the king... are probably more to get a good reputation for supporting navigation, and to prevent Columbus from lobbying the French! After all, the king needs a good reputation more than the queen. And once the Atlantic exploration really discovers something, those Most of the honor and fame will belong to the king who initiated the support..."

"What's more, the three ships and manpower that supported Columbus's voyage were all provided by Castile, and the Kingdom of Aragon only provided some logistical supplies..."

"What! Alonso, how did you talk to Luis? Most of the cost of this exploration was borne by us in Castile?...How can this be? This cunning Luis!..."

"Ahem! Holy King and Queen, respected nobles of the kingdom, respected scholars, please be quiet for a moment!..."

The two were arguing when a gentle and friendly voice suddenly sounded. Father Talavera stared angrily as he watched the "cunning" Sir Louis stand up and walk quickly to Columbus. With a warm smile on his face, he first bowed to everyone. Then, he pulled Columbus and asked the "Queen's Great Navigator" to bow his head and salute everyone.

"Praise the Lord! He cares for us mercifully, and we are favored by God..."

As Sir Louis saluted, UU Reading www.uukanshu.com gradually became quiet in the noisy Abensalah Hall. Everyone may not care about the non-existent face of civilian Columbus, but the face of Sir Louis, the king's financial adviser, must still be given.

"The Lord is a witness! Do you, the noble kings, nobles and scholars, have any objections to the voyage proposal of the navigator Columbus?"

At this moment, facing Sir Louis' inquiry, the expressions on everyone's faces changed slightly. But after waiting for a while, no one finally raised any objections. Even the royal scholar Pedro, who had spoken out against it last time, and the respected confessor Talavera, all clearly nodded in agreement, even if the amplitude of the nod was small.

This chapter is not finished, click [next page] to continue reading -->>

【The Aztec Immortal】【】

"Very good! Praise the Lord! The voyage proposal of Columbus, the navigator, is approved!..."

"Ah? Ah this! My proposal was...passed?! Thank you, Queen Isabella! You are the most holy, pure, beautiful, and pious saint! ...Uh, thank you too, Fernando king…"

With a smile on his face, Sir Louis pulled Columbus again and bowed elegantly to Queen Isabella and King Fernando. Then, he looked at Columbus, who was confused and ecstatic enough to talk nonsense, and said with a friendly smile.

"Congratulations! The Queen's Great Navigator, honor Your Excellency Columbus! You have been unanimously recognized by the Queen and the King!... Next, maybe we should close the door and have a good talk. What benefits will you gain after discovering the new route? Issues with returns…”

(End of chapter)

Please remember the first domain name of this book: . Shuyuewu mobile version reading website: