"Special Economic Zone? This is the second Venetian city-state! The empire didn't have that much money to do this. It has to be said that the Duke's idea is indeed very clever." This time, Emperor Frederick II directly met Hong Tao in the meeting hall. There was no one present except Queen Isabella. It seemed that the emperor knew about the things Carl said in advance, so he was waiting for Hong Tao to come to talk to him.

"What if the merchants invest themselves? The empire only needs to pay a portion of the preliminary investment, such as the cost of repairing the port, leveling the road surface, and building enough warehouses. There is no such money?" Hong Tao did not expect that the emperor was so shameless. He cried poorly as soon as he came up, so he had to take another step back.

"The treasury is empty now, including my own property. For the sake of war, I have borrowed 20,000 Liver with the Venetians." Frederi II is a dead pig and is not afraid of boiling water. He is quite happy to be a poor emperor.

"What about the funds raised by other lords of the Empire? Everyone invests in shares and will be dividends according to equity in the future." Hong Tao felt that he had been cheated by Carl and his cousin, or that Carl and himself were cheated by this emperor who seemed harmless. He wanted to make money by nothing! Stop talking nonsense, if you don't have money to do bad business, if you have money, you belong to Jinhe Company. Why should you throw it in Europe to help them restore their economy? Profits are worth it, and it's a later story. It's impossible for you to make 100% advance in the early stage!

"They are not optimistic about this war, and it is difficult to convince them to invest in me. Moreover, the German lords did not like me. They wanted me to fall and surrender to them. Investment was impossible." The Emperor Fredrich II did not seem to be here to negotiate, but to undermine the situation. Hong Tao said that he would not let him go if he opposed anything.

"Then I don't understand. If Carl and I don't come, your majesty, how do you plan to engage in this war?" Hong Tao turned his eyes and started to fight back.

"I'm ready to surrender." Frederick II was even more bachelor than Hong Tao, with his shoulders thrust and his hands spread out.

"Okay. I'm convinced. Your Majesty can be my master in being straightforward. I can borrow some gold from Your Majesty as a private friend, but I want to know what collateral your Majesty can come up with. Let's declare first. Carl is not worth so much money. He is a human, not a goods, so don't use him as collateral. I need real collateral. If Your Majesty can take it out, let's continue talking. If Your Majesty can't take it out, we don't need to continue talking. I am a businessman, not a philanthropist." Hong Tao was really convinced. He wanted to say that he had seen a thick-skinned person, and never saw a thick-skinned person, but this sentence was very troublesome in Latin.

"Karl told me about your past experience, and it can be seen that you are a smart businessman. I think I have a collateral that you are interested in, land! A large piece of land. My wife's fiefdom, I plan to mortgage it to the Duke." Hong Tao came prepared, and Emperor Frederick II was also well prepared, and while speaking, he took out a parchment.

"Barcelona! Is it the queen's fief? Oh, yes, Princess Aragon mentioned it to me. But I can't ask for this land, I know very well what it means to you. There is a saying in our country that gentlemen do not take away what others like. If I take this land, we may become enemies in the future because of it. I hope you can understand." Hong Tao stretched his head and looked at the parchment that the emperor opened, which was a map of Spain and southwestern France.

Although the map was drawn a bit freehand, Hong Tao still recognized the area where the emperor's finger was. This was the fief of his first wife! The northeastern region of Spain, which is the triangle formed by Barcelona, ​​Valencia, and Zaragoza in later generations. It is currently the Kingdom of Aragon. For this emperor who lost his parents since childhood, raised by his wife when he was young, and grew up with his education, this fief is his eternal longing in his heart. If he took it away, he would always be thinking about it for the rest of his life. As long as he freed up his hands, the first one he had to deal with would definitely be himself, and he would not run away.

"Thank you very much for your kindness, but as far as the country is concerned, I can't come up with anything else. If you can see it, I can mortgage the palace to you." Hearing Hong Tao's rejection, the emperor's eyes were a little lost, and the spirit inside also darkened. It can be seen that he was indeed desperate, just like a person lost in the desert. He finally waited for a passing person, but the other person was unwilling to exchange with him what he thought was the most precious thing. This feeling is at ease and pain, which is hard to describe. Hong Tao can figure it out, but he can't understand it. He has never experienced it.

"Don't be disappointed, Your Majesty, there are many kinds of people in the world. What you think is precious may not be precious, but what you think is useless may be the treasure of others. This is the essence of merchants and whether they are mutually connected. Although I don't want this land, I am very interested in this area. I don't know if His Majesty can give it to Carl as compensation for his loss of fief." Hong Tao is a very soft-hearted person in his bones. As long as he doesn't hate someone who doesn't hate him and has no conflict of interest, he is willing to help. He doesn't hate this Emperor Frederick II. He can't see too many false thoughts of politicians from him. In fact, he doesn't look like an emperor, but more like an artist or scholar.

"This is not the land of the empire, nor even the land of the world of Christ. It belongs to the Berbers where the war is being fought, Christians and!" The emperor tilted his head and looked at the place where Hong Tao pointed, and immediately shook his head and refused. There were plenty of reasons. He could not control this area, and he could not even have the method of equivalent exchange. Who would exchange land with the enemy?

"Yes, I know that it is the territory of the Arabs. If Carl, the authentic Knight of Christ, defeated such a small piece of it, could it become his fiefdom?" Hong Tao refers to the Port of Gibraltar, an overseas enclave in later Britain. It is located on the north shore of the eastern exit of the Strait of Gibraltar, and it is a peninsula that explores the strait. On the west side of the peninsula is a large bay, which is great as a naval base. Later British people have occupied it here and firmly grasped the throat of the Strait of Gibraltar and kept the German navy out of the Mediterranean. It is a very dangerous place. But in Europe in the thirteenth century, this place was just a barren land and was always occupied by the Arabs in North Africa.

"If Carl can defeat the Pope, he must grant him the title. It is a borderless land for the Christ world. Whoever can occupy it from the pagans is his own. I don't want Carl to take this risk. If he is not 100% sure, I would not agree to use this place as a condition for exchange. Didn't the Duke say just now that Carl is a man, not a cargo, and this sentence also applies to you." No matter how smart Frederi II was, he could not think of what Hong Tao wanted this place, so he simply stopped thinking about it and questioned Hong Tao.

"I only need His Majesty the Emperor to prepare the necessary personnel to manage that land. Carl will definitely be able to defeat there, but he can't defend it alone. I think it is necessary to have an army of at least one or two hundred people. We will not ask His Majesty the Emperor to send troops in this matter, but can we ask His Majesty the Emperor to help Carl hire such an army, and the money will be paid by Carl himself. His Majesty's cousin is much richer than His Majesty." Hearing the emperor's question, Hong Tao was happy. Even if he could be granted a title reasonably and legally, he would have achieved his goal. As for the issue of war, no one needs to worry about it.

"Actually, I envy Karl's adventure, and even a little jealous. He could travel with the Duke in so many countries, but his emperor cousin wanted to stay here to guard this land like an old hen every day. Well, the imperial emperor came forward to ask Gregory IX for the fiefdom and title, and he had to promise me. But there was still a problem that had not been solved. How many loans could the empire get, and what were the conditions for the loan? Can the Duke say an accurate number?" Frederi II was not very adapted to Hong Tao's way of talking. He was too imaginary and uncontrollable, so he talked very hard and very tired. He hadn't slept much these two days and seemed very tired, but when he saw that the loan was immediately settled, he had to chat with him with force. What's the good of being an emperor?

"The first phase will be about 50,000 Livres gold, which will be delivered ashore on my boat tomorrow. After Carl's fiefdom is implemented, there will be 50,000 Livres gold. Half a year later, the third phase will be, and there will be 100,000 Livres gold. If it is not enough, I can double it. However, whether there is any additional amount depends on the construction degree of the Special Economic Zone. I hope it can be built within one year." Hong Tao had already calculated with Luo Youde just now. One Livre is less than five grams of gold, and one kilogram of gold can be made more than two hundred pieces. There are 500 kilograms of gold brought from Cape Town on the ship, which is enough to deal with the amounts that need to be paid in the early stage.

As for the later 100,000 livres, Hong Tao would ask the craftsmen to start mixing brass into gold after they arrived in Cape Town, and then directly cast Livres by the water press in Cape Town. Even the casting consumption was digested by themselves and they would transport gold coins directly. The 200,000 livres were not a waste of money, but a loan, and there was no interest for Carl's sake. As long as this special economic zone was built, the goods shipped from Cape Town could earn all the investment in less than two years. No matter how awesome the Venetian merchants were, they could not make whale oil, candles, soap, matches, and other high-tech products such as alloy utensils, silk clothing, perfumes, and cosmetics. There was no competition problem at all. We operate this exclusively!

(To be continued.)
Chapter completed!