The sky in the mountains is as blue as water and as broad as the deep sea, reflecting everything in the world. Under the sky of Granada, the young knight Giovanni was trembling all over, pointing at the bewildered Moorish noble captive with a look of disbelief on his face.
"300,000, 300,000 gold ducats!"
"That's right! Giovanni, you can calculate quickly and accurately. You will be an excellent successor to old Sylvester and an outstanding Venetian parliamentarian. Even, with the relationship between the Emperor of Shinra, the Republic It’s not like you don’t have a chance at the ten-member group meeting.”
The corners of the old knight Lorenzo's lips were raised, and his voice was soft and inviting. Then, with a "dang" sound, he pulled out the knight's sword from his waist and stuffed it into Giovanni's hand.
"Go, child! For the sake of the Venetian Republic, kill him, kill this heretic messenger!"
"Ah! Kill him!"
The young knight Giovanni subconsciously took the sword and walked in front of the Moorish noble prisoner. He slowly placed the long sword on the prisoner's neck, looking at the other party's frightened expression and listening to the other party's anxious shouts, his whole body trembled.
His hands were shaking slightly, and the balance in his heart was swinging from side to side. On one side is the faith of God, the honor of holy war, and the spirit of chivalry. On the other side are the interests of the Republic, the interests of the family, and the interests of oneself.
"O Lord! 300,000 gold ducats."
The young knight Giovanni murmured, his eyes gradually changing. The old knight Lorenzo is here, and he already has the answer in his heart.
After a moment of dead silence, a shrill scream and the Moor's plea for mercy suddenly came. Then, there was deathly silence again, with only blood flowing.
"Very good! Very good! Giovanni, you did a great job!"
Seeing the bright red splashing, the old knight Lorenzo perked up and smiled on his face. He looked at the young knight's blood-stained sword and looked at the other person's lowered eyes, feeling quite contented in his heart. Although he couldn't see the other person's eyes, he could definitely feel that at this moment, something that had persisted for a long time in this young knight finally broke with a "click".
"Praise the Lord! Haha!. God says, 'Repent therefore and turn to the Lord, and He will take away all your sins. He will give you a new day, and will send forth the coming of Christ Jesus, whom He has chosen in advance for you. .'"
Lorenzo, the old knight, smiled and read a verse of atonement to the Lord in front of Giovanni like a priest. Then, he took away the sword from the young knight's hand, wiped the blood from his hands and face, and comforted him gently.
"Giovanni, good boy! The Lord forgives you! From today on, you are a qualified and true Venetian noble!"
Young Giovanni pursed his lips, remained silent for a moment, and nodded slightly. He didn't speak, silently jumped on the horse and turned the horse's head completely. Before leaving, the former knight raised his head and took one last look at the sky over Granada. Then, he wanted to say something, but when the words came to his lips, they turned into another question.
"Lorenzo, what if the Holy War ends and the Kingdom of Castile pays back our debts?"
"Giovanni, you don't have to worry. The city of Granada is the royal capital of the Moors on the peninsula, which has been run for more than seven hundred years! The wealth and treasures there are piled up in the Alhambra Palace, and there are countless It’s clear. As long as Granada is captured, the Castilians will have a large amount of loot that can be sold to us!”
"Lorenzo, what if these trophies are still not enough? You know, many of the knights from various countries who participated in the jihad have lost everything and owed debts, so they collected enough horses, armor, travel expenses and supplies to come to the peninsula to participate in the jihad. They also always I want to share some of these spoils and work hard to repay the debt."
At this moment, what Giovanni was talking about seemed to have changed, and he became like a real Venetian.
"In addition, the bulk of the spoils should still go to the lords of Castile who sent troops. The spoils that the two kings can distribute may not be enough!"
"Ha! There are so many Moors in the city of Granada. There are even more Moors in this land! If the loot is not enough, then completely confiscate the Moorish property and then turn them into slaves and sell them, no That’s it! Don’t worry, Castilians don’t have any scruples at all when doing this kind of thing!”
"."
Young Giovanni sat on the horse, remained silent for a moment, and then insisted on asking.
"What if, and I mean what if, the Castilians still don't have the money? What if these thousands of crusaders don't get enough loot to pay off their debts? By then, the church that guaranteed the debt, Will the church, which is actually a creditor, push them to a dead end?"
"Um?!"
Hearing this, the old knight Lorenzo's eyes moved. He understood somewhat, understood what Giovanni was worried about, and suddenly smiled in his heart.
"Ha! Even after making a choice, there is still a little bit of conscience left. Alas, you are still too young!"
The old knight Lorenzo didn't take it seriously, smiled and shook his head. But seeing Giovanni's serious and insistent expression, he pondered for a moment and then answered.
"It is impossible for the church to give up its debts and for the greedy senior priests to give up the wealth they hold in their hands! The most they can do is reduce the interest, while the jihadist knights who owe debts can sell their manors and land. Pay off the debt.”
"If these debt-ridden poor people have nothing to sell, then sell their lives! The Church will always find a way, and the Kingdom of Castile will also find a way. They can find a new robber. .Oh no, jihad targets! For example, on the southern mainland across the strait, the Wattas Dynasty in Morocco, which is also a wealthy Moorish kingdom. There is also the Kingdom of Tlemcen in Algeria, and the Kingdom of Hafsid in Tunisia. ). You can fight them all!"
Having said this, the old knight Lorenzo smiled and looked to the distant south, as if he had foreseen the destined future.
"Giovanni, you have to know that Castile, which was founded on war, is a Crusader country through and through! They don't know how to manage the land, they have never had that kind of inheritance, and they won't be patient enough to farm. . They are lavish and spend too much of the quick money they robbed. They are completely different from us Venetians!"
"Now, they have a jihadist army of 50,000 to 60,000 people, which has been tested for many years by war, and with the support of the navy of the Kingdom of Aragon, it is impossible and impossible to stop the war! The Holy See will support them to continue fighting, We, the Republic of Venice, will also support them in their fight, bring us a steady stream of wealth, and bring back more wealth. Haha!"
“So that’s how it is”
Young Giovanni was speechless for a long time. The real world suddenly appeared, and the imaginary faith and glory were just bubbles floating on the surface, which dispersed without a trace as soon as they were blown. After a while, Giovanni sighed and shook his head.
"Hey! Cross the strait and go to the southern continent shrouded in paganism. There is no way out from such a fight! It may even attract the intervention of the Ottoman legions."
"His! The Ottoman Legion"
Hearing this, the old knight Lorenzo lowered his eyes and felt fear in his heart. No one knew the power of the Ottomans better than the Venetians. After a while, he took a long breath and said with a smile.
"Who knows? God bless us! Maybe, the Castilians can find new jihad targets. Maybe they are rich, weak, and scattered like sand!"
"Ha! Rich, weak, and scattered into sand?"
Hearing this, Giovanni also smiled. He shook his head again, looking forward to it leisurely.
"God bless you! If there is such a country, it will be the land of Canaan 'flowing with milk and honey', the paradise promised by the Lord! By then, let alone the Castilians, Aragonese, and Portuguese People. Even we Venetians will attack and never let go!"
"Haha! Giovanni, you forgot, there is also the most greedy one, the Holy See!"
The old knight Lorenzo laughed heartily and added. Then, he pinched the horse's belly, whistled, and rode forward.
"Young man, stop dreaming! Get on the road! God bless, may this new plague not spread to the Republic of Venice!"
"Well, the Lord will definitely protect us! Amen!"
The soaring call to prayer, accompanied by the trampling of horse hooves, echoed far away in the mountains and valleys of Granada. The arid land was covered with long withered grass, and there was only a headless corpse with a gradually darkening red line flowing out. It was a life-and-death killing under faith and wealth, and it was also like a sign that no one knew.
