Chapter 169: The voyage in 1492 AD, the recovery under the pine bridge, and the exploration of the Atlantic Ocean!
"What? You only borrowed 20 ducats at first?! What? The other party has been chasing you for debt, and if you don't pay it back, you will die?... In order to avoid the creditor, you went to this pagan land to find the support of the queen.
And blessing? Well... you can ask the queen to give an order to directly help you cancel the debt. It's just a matter of the queen's words..."
"Ah? He's not that lowly moneylender? He also collects debts for the church and nobles, and has a lot of Slavic guards?...What?! He's actually a Jew who betrayed Jesus?!"
Sparse pine trees stand by the river, like God's spear piercing the sky. The long river bridge sways the shadows of the trees, and there are human shapes in the shadows. Only when you raise your head and look carefully can you find that there are hanging hanging trees on the pine trees.
Three hanging skeletons. The three skeletons were two large and one small. They were obviously killed by the Cross Judgment, a family of Moorish pagans.
From 1482 to today, this cruel Crusade has lasted for a full ten years! The one or two million Moors in Andalusia were not killed by the locust-like Crusaders in these ten years of blood and fire.
Death means being completely buried in the dungeons of the Inquisition in the next few decades. In the Kingdom of Castile, which was founded on devout faith and fanatical jihad, even the benevolent promise made by Queen Isabella,
It could only protect a small number of Moors, and only shelter them for a short period of twenty years.
Of course, when such a trial scene falls in the eyes of everyone by the river, they will not have any emotion or emotion. The mercenaries of Shinra even kill Christians and rob businessmen of the city-state, so why would they care about any strange things?
The life and death of the believers. As for Columbus's moral bottom line, I'm afraid it's not as good as the mercenaries of Shinra...
"Holy Mother! The Venetian Jewish merchants really deserve to go to hell! Verdammt!..."
"Vaffanculo! The Venetian merchants should be damned! The Jewish merchants should be damned even more!..."
Beside the river bridge of pine trees, the shadow of a skeleton fell. The mercenary captain Reinhard and Columbus cursed from the bottom of their hearts the "Jewish merchants who deserve to go to hell." And Reinhard even waved his hand in anger.
The long sword slashed into the air.
In this era, the HRE countries were the hardest-hit areas exploited by the church. They had a large number of church fiefdoms and were filled with tax-collecting priests and church merchants. Germany was even more of the "pope's cow" and was the most cruelly exploited country.
area.
The reason why there are so many mercenary groups and mercenary knights in the Holy Roman Empire is precisely because of the general economic poverty of various states and they can no longer support these sword-wielding classes. And the sword-wielding class will not be like those in Germany.
Just like farmers, they stayed in the village and starved to death. Naturally, they had to carry weapons and go outside to find a way out.
However, for these mercenaries from the Shinra, although they hate the Catholic Church, they are afraid of the majesty of the Lord and their destination after death, so they only dare to hide their hatred in their hearts. As white gloves of the Catholic Church,
The Jewish businessmen who lent and collected loans for the church and bore the hatred of the people were the outlet for their anger.
According to the practice of the German mercenary group, as long as cities and villages are conquered, all the Jews caught will be tortured and killed. The church does not pay attention to it. Jews are not considered Christians anyway, and they have no status in holding wealth.
.The old white gloves have been killed, and a new batch will be replaced...
"Verfluchte Schei?e!"
"Vaffanculo!"
The mercenary captains Reinhard and Columbus scolded the Jewish merchants together. Surprisingly, they felt some sympathy for each other. After scolding for a while, Reinhard lowered his sword and, still unfinished, reached out and patted Columbus.
The left side of the face.
"Hey! You're a city-state citizen with a donkey face and a crooked mouth. Now I look at you a little bit. Forget it, I was going to wait for you to come out with the money, then I would slap my neck, chop off your face, and take off your clothes.
The body was thrown into the river..."
Hearing Reinhard's unabashed words, Columbus trembled violently and his heart was filled with fear. His face instantly turned pale, and he was about to kneel on the ground and beg Reinhard for mercy.
"God bless you! Dear knight, I beg you!..."
"Don't kneel! There's no point in kneeling! Master, I won't do this. I've never let anyone beg for mercy..."
Reinhard smiled, stretched out his hand and pulled the trembling Columbus up. He put the heavy sword back into the scabbard, raised the corner of his mouth, and patted Columbus' right cheek.
"Ah haha! You courageous city-state poor man! But, the Holy Mother still takes care of you... I look at you, and it is true that you can't make any money. Kill Isabella for these dozen tattered silver coins
The navigator the Queen knows, the risks and rewards are not worth it..."
"Tsk tsk! The queen's great navigator is going to the endless stormy Western Sea to find the Khitan and India in the west!...Ahaha! I'm laughing so hard!...Forget it, I'll let you go today and just think I've found someone.
Have fun!”
"Ah! Praise the Virgin! Dear knight, thank you..."
"Haha! It's so funny. I robbed you and almost killed you, but you still thank me?... As expected, my sword can cut harder than your bones!..."
Reinhard smiled and shook his head, turned over and mounted his horse. Then, he looked down at the grateful Columbus, thought for a while, and then said.
"Hey! Your name is Columbus?..."
"Yes! The Lord witnesses! My name is Christopher Columbus, and I am a great navigator who is destined to discover Khitan and India and discover new sea routes!..."
"Ahaha! Okay! The great navigator, my name is Reinhard von Ritter, and I am quite famous in the Holy War Army. Well, I have more than a hundred brothers under me, and they can all charge on horseback.
, a master who knows how to kill people and behead them!…”
Reinhard touched his chin, looked down at the poor "great navigator" Columbus, and casually gave a suggestion.
"Blessed Mother! It is impossible for you to repay the usurious loans of Jewish businessmen! If the interest rate continues like this, you will pass the debt to your son even when you die. This is the hateful thing about Jewish moneylenders, like
Like a leech that sucks blood and knocks out your marrow, I will eat you dry and wipe you clean. Master, I saw a lot of that when I was in my hometown!…"
"It's just that! If one day you can collect two hundred gold ducats and find me... I can't help but lead my brothers to take action and cancel your debt for you!..."
"What? How to pay it off, you ask? That's not easy! ... For us Bavarian knights, no matter how much money we owe and we can't afford to pay it back, as long as we kill the creditor's family, the debt will be gone! ... He's just a Jew
Businessman, if you do it in a secretive manner and take care of the body, what's the trouble? Dead people don't speak... Ahaha!..."
Reinhard laughed loudly and left Columbus with a German-style debt cancellation method. Then, he wanted to curse the Jews a few times, but he heard an exclamation from the mercenary next to him.
"Ah, captain! Look to the east! Someone is coming from the east! Look at the flag, it looks like a few royal cavalry!..."
"Huh? Are they really royal cavalry? That's weird, they don't usually come here?... Let's go! We won't deal with these troublesome guys!..."
Reinhard turned his head and looked, and sure enough he saw smoke rising in the distance, and a faint royal flag of Castile. He frowned, glanced at "The Queen's Great Navigator" Columbus, and prepared to
He rode away. Columbus suddenly gritted his teeth, puffed up his chest, and summoned up the courage to shout loudly.
"Reinhard!"
"Um?"
Reinhard narrowed his eyes, looked at Columbus, and silently pressed his hand on the hilt of the big sword.
"God bless! If... I mean if! If one day, I discover a new route to Khitan and become the Queen's Admiral and Governor-General of India!... Are you willing to come over and follow me?!...
"
"What?! What the hell?..."
Hearing this, Reinhard's eyes widened with disbelief on his face. He almost thought he was hallucinating. He looked at Columbus, who was so ordinary but so confident. After being surprised for a few breaths, he suddenly laughed loudly.
"Ahaha! Ahahaha! It made me laugh to death!...You want me? Let me, the leader of a big mercenary group, follow a poor guy like you?...Ahahaha! It made me laugh to death!..."
"Reinhard! Marco Polo said that Khitan and India are full of gold and spices, and milk and honey flow everywhere. They are the rich lands promised by the Lord! ... And if I discover Khitan and India, you can follow me to make a fortune there.
, there must be far more money than you who robbed and killed these Moors!…”
"Ahaha! Khitan and India? Follow you to make a fortune there?...Ahaha! It's so fun! I'm so happy!..."
"Captain! We have to leave. Those royal cavalry are not far away!..."
"Reinhard! Do you dare to answer me? Do you dare to bet with me?!...Do you dare to promise me? A self-proclaimed heroic Bavarian knight!..."
"Um?..."
Reinhard was riding a war horse and was about to leave when he heard Columbus's last provocative shout. He gave the other person a sharp look and looked at him coldly, causing Columbus to shrink his neck. After a few breaths, Reinhard's mouth curled up.
He got up, clamped his horse's belly and rode away, leaving only one meaningful word behind.
"Witness the Lord! If you can really discover the Khitans and come back alive and become some kind of bullshit admiral... Then send someone to the tavern in Barcelona and ask the owner there to contact us!... Remember, bring enough money.
!…”
"Da da da!…"
The sound of horse hooves crossed the pine bridge and gradually faded away to the west. The mercenaries with their blades licking blood soon turned into small dots in the western sky. The few royal knights in the east also turned from small dots into human figures and gradually ran towards them.
Get closer until you come to Columbus.
"Lulu!...Huh? They seem to be those mercenaries from Shinra?"
"There are a lot of people, they are running very fast, they are all good players...these hyenas are biting randomly!"
"Exactly! After the holy war, it's time to drive away these hyenas... What they took away was all our wealth!..."
The three armored knights stopped on their horses and looked at the smoke and dust disappearing in the west for a while, before looking at the two people in front of them with their packages scattered and in a state of embarrassment.
"God bless you! I am Alvaro de Salamanca, royal knight of the Queen. You are...Christopher Columbus?..."
The royal knight Alvaro jumped off his horse, looked at Columbus's appearance, and quickly confirmed his identity. As one of the Queen's loyal guards, of course he remembered Columbus.
This stubborn so-called "great navigator" has always held a sailing plan to explore westward. Year after year, he kept asking to see the queen. Even though Columbus and his absurd sailing plan, he has always been a royal knight.
It was a joke between them, but it did gradually gain some fame.
No matter what, being famous is better than not being famous. Even if you are famous for being stupid, stubborn and ridiculous, it is still easier for people to remember you, and you have the possibility of being thought of.
"Yes! God bless you! I am Christopher Columbus...Dear Royal Knight, are you looking for me?..."
Columbus pursed his lips and looked at the royal knights in front of him, a little uneasy. In front of the royal knights, he did not dare to call himself the "Queen's Great Navigator". Although he was a talker, he also liked to scold those "stupid fools"
". But when faced with real power, he can always adjust his posture in time and keep his head down.
"Oh! Dear Navigator... I am not looking for you, it is the esteemed Queen who is looking for you!..."
When he mentioned "The Great Navigator", the corners of Alvaro's mouth raised. But after professional training, he could quickly hold back his smile and spoke in an official tone.
"In the name of the Queen of Castile and the King of Aragon, we once again summon the great navigator Columbus to discuss the proposal to sail westward!"
Hearing this, Columbus stayed where he was, at a loss for a moment, and his voice stuttered. He wanted to laugh ecstatically, but remembering the humiliating scene where his proposal was rejected not long ago, he really couldn't laugh.
"But...but?...before...when we proposed...the Navigation Committee...didn't we say...reject?..."
"Oh! Dear Navigator, this time I am listening to your sailing proposal, which was jointly promoted by the King's Financial Advisor Luis de San Angel and the Queen's Comptroller Alonso de Quintanilla!
…”
The royal knight Alvaro blinked and said to Columbus with a smile. At this moment, in Columbus's eyes, he seemed like a belated but charming angel, telling the most soul-stirring and beautiful divine voice.
.
"Ah! The mercy of the Lord! What?!...The King's Financial Advisor and the Queen's Auditor-General jointly contributed to it?!...This, doesn't this mean? Lord! Ah!!..."
"Yes! Merciful God bless you! Congratulations, respected navigator!..."
Royal knight Alvaro smiled again. But this time, there was more sincerity in his smile.
"Praise the Lord! With the guarantee of these two distinguished financial officials, your proposal to explore the ocean westward has actually been approved in principle!..."