() I paid attention to Wen Dier's expression. There were surprises, astonishments, and puzzlements, but there was no anger that I didn't want to see. This is good, and it shows that the wife is not a fanatical believer so far.

The ugly-faced church deacon's cheeks twitched and he turned his head. His eyes suddenly became crazy. What caught his eyes was a large piece of snow-white chest. Wen Dier took out three gold coins from his small handbag and put the money away with a charming smile.

When the wooden plate made a crisp sound, the deacon holding the plate seemed to have suffered a serious delay. It took several seconds before he reluctantly left.

After serving the sacrament, Wendel and I stood in the aisle in the middle of the church hall. She asked me to wait. I looked over suspiciously, and heard her eyes flashing with brilliance as she chuckled: "I can't just wait in the church hall.

Irina Cathedral donated three gold coins to the bishop, but what about His Highness?"

"I am a poor person." I have given up the idea of ​​striving for a good performance in front of her, and with a business mentality, I will do whatever I want...

"So you only donated one silver coin to the church?" The smiling woman actually blinked her eyes playfully like a little girl. Her eyes were very pure, her exposed teeth were very white, and she paired with a red lip, which was amazing, "I

But remember the Bible says that donation is a part of our income, and that part is one-tenth."

I smiled incredulously. You must know that the one dinar just now is money. In terms of living standards, although it cannot buy too many things, if you use it to send beggars away, you can still get a grateful thank you.

of.

This widow of the Leonidas family should have given a lot to the Bishop of St. Irina Cathedral. The bishop who maintained a sanctimonious look from the beginning to the end of his sermon, put down the dignity that a bishop should have and actually offered to retain her.

She suggested coming down to have a meal, and after learning that she had no time, the bishop of St. Irina's Cathedral took the initiative to send us both out of the door of the cathedral.

"Okay. Where should we go next?" Wendel and I stood at the door of the cathedral waiting for our groom to drive the carriage over.

Just as I was thinking about it, she quickly made a suggestion: "Go to the outer port area on the side of Perama Gate. There is a very good restaurant over there."

"Okay." I noticed that she had a look of relief on her face when I approved her proposal.

She is afraid.

A 25-year-old woman is actually afraid of a minor? This is a bit ridiculous, but it is the fact. This is the difference in status and status that creates superiority, even if this woman named Wen Dill can easily control men of all ages.

, but she has never faced Prince Theofano's son, even if I am still a minor.

However, these are not the main reasons why she is afraid of me.

After getting on the carriage, we started the topic of today's meeting.

Blind date?

Don't be kidding, I'm afraid that if I reveal that the hidden purpose behind everything the Theofano family is doing is to marry her, I'm afraid Wen Dill will roll his eyes and faint. So my cheap dad made a plan for me and her.

For a long time, a thick fig leaf has been put on to discuss business.

Well, this is the real reason why the beautiful widow of the Leonidas family is afraid. Think about it, one sleepy morning one day, you, who is quite wealthy, suddenly learned that the world's police and the world's largest arms supply

If a businessman sends someone over to tell you that he wants to do a business deal with you, what will be your first thought? I think it's definitely not a surprise anyway.

After the service of the Holy Liturgy in Constantinople, the bright sunshine penetrated the white clouds, casting light and shadow on the ancient building domes and the increasingly lively streets.

There were many profitable businesses in Constantinople. This was especially true for the Roman Empire, which was located on the two continents of Asia and Europe as a transit point. A thousand years ago, reselling silk imported from the Han Dynasty was a hugely profitable business.

Later, Emperor Justinian stole silkworms from bald donkeys, and the silk that survived on the Greek Peninsula gradually occupied the market at a relatively low price. Later, the most profitable business became reselling spices.

Pepper, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon... Those things that cost ten or two pounds in the 21st century were worth as much as gold at the time, and they are about the same even now. However, the trade route of spices no longer goes through India, the Middle East, Ankara, and Constantinople.

This is an old road, but like the history of the world in the past, it traveled by sea and land. Along with the spices, porcelain, damask, silk, tea, ivory, rock sugar, musk and other valuables were transported to Western European countries.

But various changes do not mean that Constantinople has lost its function as a transit point between the east and west. Today, the most profitable businesses in Constantinople are five: silk, wool processing and uniforms, coffee, perfume and saltpeter.

Silk has been a major tax revenue source of the Roman Empire since ancient times. As for the wool processing industry and the uniform industry, as early as when England's ancestors, the Celts and Saxons, were still savages in the mountains, the Greeks began to herd sheep, so wool processing is

The empire developed an industry based on geographical environment and historical traditions. Coffee, this is the root of the empire.

According to the manuscript left by my predecessor, the drink was introduced from Ethiopia and vigorously developed to combat tea. As for the perfume, it doesn’t take a second thought to know that it was invented by my predecessor, with the help of the large roses and roses at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains.

Manor, rose perfume of the Roman Empire replaced the imperial army and conquered women throughout Western Europe.

To be honest, I quite admire that predecessor. He made perfume, made gunpowder, and was ahead of his time in promoting eighteenth-century ladies’ clothing. God knows if he brought a solar-powered laptop with him when he time-traveled...

However, Rome's ability to survive for so long was more or less due to the new sources of wealth he created. Wasn't Byzantium in history gradually defeated because of the exhaustion of its financial resources.

The perfume industry is indeed hugely profitable. Although it has divided some shares among many kingdoms over the past few hundred years, the shining names of century-old brands are still there. Rich people still love perfumes originating in the Roman Empire, just like buying silk.

It’s the same as silk from the Celestial Dynasty. But the business our Theofano family wants to discuss with Wendel is not perfume.

Saltpeter! This is what we want to talk about. Of course, it is just a brief talk. The detailed projects are not my business. In fact, it is not difficult to make women’s money, and it is also easy to make men’s money. As long as it is related to war, there is

A lot of violent people like Alexander and Morris came over to buy them, waving gold and silver property. Who made a movie composed of black gunpowder?

Part of it is saltpeter. Later cars, armored vehicles, and airplanes were inseparable from oil, and now a country's army can't do without saltpeter either, unless they are willing to return their army's combat model to more than a hundred years ago. But I'm afraid this is

Impossible, everyone knows that today's era is no longer the Middle Ages where you could just put on a set of tin cans and run wild.

At the same time, not every country can produce saltpeter, and the Kingdom of England is the most famous example. Fortunately, they have the East India Company, which is responsible for trade in the Far East. As far as I know, the East India Company sometimes receives orders such as purchasing for the kingdom.

Saltpeter eliminates the task of half-year taxation. The annual tax paid by the East India Company to the British royal family is about 250,000 pounds a year. Half of 250,000 pounds is 125,000 pounds. The British fiscal revenue for a year is only

Less than three million pounds, converted into the common currency of the empire, it would be thirty-six million solidus!

The British Parliament was able to give such a huge discount because the amount they purchased each time was very large, around six to seven hundred tons, and in addition to the annual tax the East India Company had to pay every year, it also had to deduct trade tax from each transaction. As for those

Small countries with no navigation industry and lack of saltpeter could only buy saltpeter from the Dutch and English at large prices.

When I said that the item being traded was saltpeter, and then added a deadline granted by the cheap daddy, Wen Dier put away the elegant smile that had been waving on his face, and his eyebrows gradually fell into deep thought.

Only then did I have time to look at her carriage. The decoration layout is very tasteful, and the feminine atmosphere is very strong. The printed leather is bright and soft, and the carved curly grass and flowers are lingering and winding, and they are connected into one, giving people a delicate and soft feeling.

The feeling, and then looking at the uniquely shaped windows, the scenery outside is decorated like a pleasing painting.

"This is really a huge number." Wen Dier said.

I smiled and said nothing. I wondered if this beautiful woman had a corresponding level of wisdom besides her breasts.

Three to four hundred tons of inventory is enough to hit the entire English and Dutch markets!" The beautiful lady was a little excited, but it's no wonder that anyone who hears the huge number of three to four hundred tons will be shocked. After all, this is

But it is comparable to the annual purchase volume of a big country. And what is the huge profit of saltpeter? Let me give you a number.

The Indian company spent more than 16,000 pounds to buy local saltpeter at a low price in India, and then sold it in Europe for 730,000 pounds! Three times the profit can make people crazy and take risks, and the price of saltpeter after being shipped from India to Western Europe has doubled.

More than ten times more! This is because the price has dropped due to the lack of war in recent years!

The United Kingdom, which relied on trade lines to supply gunpowder, still clung to their long bow because it did not produce saltpeter. Other European powers had a large territory and were basically self-sufficient in saltpeter production, but like Prussia, Bavaria, and Saxony,

They were a second-rate power, and their armies basically relied more or less on the trade of the Dutch and English.

"In this way, we will inevitably annoy the English and the Dutch. The Dutch are not bad. Those English have not shed their barbarism and greed for centuries. A weak fleet and a lone ship only need to touch

It's inevitable if you fall in love with them

We have to be very worried." Wen Dier's pretty face turned red and she said angrily, "The Kingdom of England guards the English Channel. If we don't want to take a long way around and do saltpeter business for a long time, we must have a good relationship with them and give up our territory.

Some of the benefits come.”

"It's a very sincere suggestion." I nodded and asked, "How much does Madam think we should charge for the saltpeter?"
Chapter completed!