The cold wind of January blew through the broken door, making people feel chilly all over. When the surrounding civilians heard the noise, they extinguished their lights and locked their doors and windows. No one showed up, and no questions were asked. The lonely starlight shines on the simple houses in the suburbs, as if they are at the end of the world.
"Woo, ow! Damn devil! Help! Sheriff, help!..."
"Columbus, stop yelling. The agreement you signed with your own hand, even if the sheriff is called, you still have to pay back the money! The merciful Lord will not allow any injustice!"
The Jewish merchant Eleazar smiled and took out a leather account book from his thick linen robe. Then he opened the account book and turned from the last blank page. Soon, the Jewish businessman turned to the latest page of the record. When he saw the spices, ivory and gold jewelry in the transaction records above, he paused and nodded with satisfaction, paying no attention to the shouts at his feet.
"Haha, goods from the Southern Continent! At this price, as long as they are shipped to Venice and found among the noble councilors of the city-state, it is twice the profit! And if it can be connected with the luxurious Roman bishops, it is three times the profit!" ..”
Eleazar thought about it for a moment, his eyes full of smiles. In this transaction, he used the mortgaged manor of a ruined nobleman and made a good deal with the upstart captain who had returned from the voyage, which was equivalent to making two profits. And there will be more business like this in the future as long as sailing continues!
"Tsk, tsk, the Moors of 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 easiest to do business with! ... However, these Castilians The knights of Leah and Aragon are too fanatical, so they have to find a local businessman to come forward on my behalf and buy the trophies. The profits here are huge!"
"...Right! After the Holy War, a large number of Holy War knights will be dismissed and will no longer receive wages from the kingdom. They have no Moors to rob, and many of them owe money to buy weapons, plate armor and horses. A bunch of debts... By then, 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. We can only rely on... the priests of the trial! "
After flipping through the account books and taking just a dozen breaths, the 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 people to make money are the urban civilians at the bottom and the low-level knights in the middle.
In the past few decades, the Holy See has become increasingly decadent, 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 for it from the business groups. In return for taking money from various business groups, powerful priests at all levels will also provide other conveniences. After all, if there was not a huge church power behind the loan-lending Jewish business groups, they would have been torn to pieces by nobles everywhere. And these business groups themselves actually served 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 cannot be leaked, otherwise it will be a dead end!
Thinking of this, Eleazar shuddered and wished he didn't know these fatal secrets.
"Compared with us who lend loans and help the common people, the corrupt Holy See is the one who is really going to hell!..."
After a while, Eleazar finally found Columbus' loan records. With a smile on his face, he read it to the captain who was pressed to the ground with his face pressed against the soil.
"Columbus, eleven years ago, you borrowed 20 ducats, deducting 25% of the advance payment, and the annual interest rate was 48%. Five years ago, we calculated the account once, and the interest accumulated into the principal was 210 ducats. 3 grossos of silver coins and 16.5 denarii of copper coins. Then, unable to repay the loan, you signed a new loan agreement, agreeing to a loan amount of 211 ducats and agreeing to increase the annual interest rate by half after default."
Speaking of this, Eleazar fumbled for a while and came up with a loan agreement with complete procedures. He showed a devilish smile, shook the life-threatening paper in his hand, and took it back. Then, cold words came, without any emotion.
"A loan of 211 ducats, with an annual interest rate of 60%. The interest accumulated over five years is added to the principal, which is..."
Eleazar reached out, picked up the pen and paper on the table, and began to calculate on Columbus's letter. 211 multiplied by 1.6 five times in a row is a daunting...
"2212 gold ducats, 9 silver grosses, 21.8 copper denarii."
Eleazar sneered and pronounced his sentence. He looked at Columbus, who turned pale instantly, as if looking at a dead man.
"2,000 gold ducats?"
Columbus was lost in his thoughts, thinking about this terrible number. At this moment, it felt like a heavy mountain was pressing on his back, and it was like a bottomless abyss opening under his feet.
"...Eleazar, you...you devil!"
Eleazar was unmoved. He looked at the wooden table, glanced at the two ancient books, and then looked at the unfolded map, but didn't take it to heart. Then, his eyes caught sight of the ceramic beer bottle under the table, the small basket of bread in the corner of the room, and the paper and ink for writing.
"Huh? Columbus, it seems like you got some money?"
The Jewish businessman paused for a moment, then stretched out his hand and took out a piece of exquisite letterhead, which turned out to be made of small parchment.
"...Your Majesty, the Holy, Great and Generous Queen Isabella, King of the Kingdom of Castile and León, has commissioned the Commission of Navigation of Castile to issue to Your Excellency a grant of reward... 14,000 maravedis? (maravedis)..."
After reading this, Eleazar's expression changed.
1 Venetian gold ducat is equivalent to approximately 400 Castilian Malavidi copper coins, and 14,000 Malavidi is equivalent to 35 ducats. This is roughly equivalent to the annual income of a senior sailor or a business assistant. Not a lot, but not a little either, enough to live a subsistence life.
Thinking of this, Eleazar stretched out his hand again and took the letter wet with ink on the table.
"To the holy, respectful, pious, wise, goddess-like beauty...Queen Isabella?..."
Seeing this scene, Columbus on the ground struggled instantly. He exerted all his strength, like a fish flapping after landing. That was his hard-won hope!
"Ah! Damn it, you maggot crawling out of hell! Don't mess around!..."
"Hit him in the mouth!"
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
The Slavic entourage stretched out his big hand and slapped Columbus three times until he was dizzy and dared not say anything anymore.
"What's this?"
Eleazar took the letter and looked at Columbus, who was bruised and bruised.
"Don't lie. You only have one chance."
"...That's a reply to Queen Isabella of Castile. The Castilian Navigation Commission has just sent a sum of money..."
"oh?"
Hearing this, Eleazar's eyes lit up. He smiled and stretched out his hand, signaling to the Slavic entourage to help Columbus up from the ground.
"Columbus, now that you have money, we can have a good talk again. Bring it! Although you can't pay the principal, you should have the interest of dozens of gold coins, right?"
"...you!..."
Columbus trembled all over and looked at Eleazar who smiled kindly. After a while, he bent down and took out a jingling cloth bag from the linen layer of his leather jacket.
"Um?"
Eleazar took the bag, weighed it, and frowned. He opened it and counted for a while, then his expression turned cold.
"So few? Only twenty ducats!"
"...The Castilian Navigation Commission sent 13,000 Malawidi copper coins. I used part of it again, and there was only this 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 consumption and transaction 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 had an unmarried Castilian girl the year before last and gave birth to a son in Córdoba, Castile?... .There is always a lack of obedient boys in the courts of Eastern sultans..."
"Ah! No, don't! Please, Eleazar...for the sake of knowing me for so many years, give me more time!"
Columbus suddenly felt weak when he heard about his newborn son. The courts of the sultans were not short of boys, but eunuchs from the world of God. The process of castration is against the teachings of the Star and Moon, and is also done by Jews. Therefore, there was indeed a connection between Jewish merchants and the Sultan's court.
"This, Queen Isabella gave me, 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 she gave you so little? Wasn't your proposal to sail westward been considered by the Castilian Navigation Commission and not approved?"
"..."
Columbus pursed his lips and was silent for a while. After receiving the annuity from the Queen, he was overjoyed for several days and also thought about this issue. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he was forced to answer.
"The Queen's annuity is due to the success of Portugal's voyage... The year before last, Diogo's fleet brought back a token of John the Elder's kingdom. This news has spread among senior captains and sailors!...The Queen's response to She also has a great interest in navigation and exploration. She generously gave annuities to all the captains who had submitted proposals to the Navigation Committee..."
Speaking of this, Columbus paused for a moment 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 you will definitely find Seris, which is as rich as heaven! I have compiled books with Marco Polo's travel route and Thomas Polo's travel route. Lemy’s map of the earth!..."
"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 clattering bag again. Twenty gold ducats, although a little small, was more than he had expected when he arrived. Moreover, it can be collected many times.
"Columbus, this is just interest. I will come back to you when your annuity is paid. You'd better raise more money...otherwise..."
The Jewish businessman shook his head, stretched out his hand, and straightened his black round hat. Then, he turned around, took two Slavic attendants, and walked away in a leisurely manner.
The cold January wind blew in the simple hut. The broken wooden door kept creaking and shaking. The winter snow and the icy wind blew into Columbus's arms, making him shiver all over.
Columbus touched his swollen face, sat on the ground, and looked at the empty door, his heart full of grief and anger. After a while, he gritted his teeth and felt fierce in his heart.
"Damn it... we can't stay any longer! There is no hope for the Portuguese court! And the only people who might accept my sailing plan are..."
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 1,300 miles away!
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