The Rise of the European Emperor

Since he wants to make a fortune following the Venetian, Marin naturally needs to master the style of the Venetian mirror and carry out all-round imitation. In this way, others will think that it is a glass mirror produced in Venice, and will not suspect the North Sea country.

Therefore, the first step in Marin's plan to make money is to obtain the right to sell Venetian glass mirrors as an agent. Then, imitate Venetian glass mirrors and sell them quietly to earn huge profits.

As for the price, there is no need for Marin to hype it, the Venetian profiteers will figure it out by themselves. And what Marin needs to do is to follow behind them and make a fortune silently and swallow the benefits.

Therefore, after Marin received the invitation letter from Venice, he set off to the south with great face, and went to Venice to participate in the auction.

The Venice auction was held at the Doge's Palace on July 10, 1516. Because Venice had very high expectations for glass mirrors, the people invited to the auction were all the top nobles in Europe, most of whom were royal families. The worst is the Duke Earl. Moreover, the earls who have no money are not invited, only those who are rich.

In this way, the total number of people invited is more than a hundred, which can be accommodated in the hall of the Governor's Palace. Of course, other countries and nobles didn't know what the auction was about, so they didn't pay much attention to it. For example, the royal families of France, Spain, and England only sent ordinary diplomatic envoys to participate on behalf of the royal family, which can be regarded as giving Venice a face.

There are almost no monarchs who come in person like Marin. On the Italian side, some dukes and marquises from the Principality came. After all, the whole of Italy basically drinks Venice to have business contacts. Venice is a golden thigh, and those who want to make money are still happy to associate with Venice.

As a result, Marin's status turned out to be the highest among the guests. The governor of Venice, Loridan, personally entertained Marin. After all, Marin now has a crown of "King of America" ​​on his head. The standard lord of a country is not comparable to ordinary princes.

Even Venice, although it considers itself a sovereign country, is generally regarded as a powerful vassal state in the Italian region. Naturally, it is at the same level as Marin's Grand Duchy of the North Sea, a prince without full sovereignty. Therefore, after Marin arrived, Governor Loridan also accompanied and entertained him for a whole day with dignity.

Facing Marin, Governor Loridan boasted with a look on his face, saying that Venice "has ushered in a new hope of rising". Marin looked funny, but didn't point it out. After all, they were right. Relying on the glass mirror, the Venetians fought a big turnaround and continued to become a European power. After losing the economic pillar of the spice trade, it quickly returned to the ranks of the rich countries in Europe.

In fact, in the nearly two hundred years of war with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean, Venice was basically supported by the huge profits of glass mirrors. At the beginning of the 16th century, an ordinary silver-framed glass mirror cost as much as 8,000 pounds (calculated according to the later pound,

The later pound was 1 pound = 2 gold coins, which was cheaper than the current pound), which was equivalent to 16,000 gold coins. The side that was given to the French Queen Medici was worth 150,000 livres, or about 25,000 gold coins, because it was inlaid with a large number of expensive jewels.

In other words, Venice can earn tens of thousands of gold coins for an ordinary glass mirror. If you sell 100 mirrors, you will transfer one million to hundreds of thousands of gold coins... No wonder Venice's fiscal revenue in 1580 could reach 18 million ducats, as long as you sell more than a thousand mirrors, you can earn this amount...

Marin's saliva almost flowed out, so he had to wipe the corners of his mouth with a napkin to avoid embarrassment...

On the morning of July 10, the auction was held on time at the Doge's Palace in Venice. Although Marin is also a king with a distinguished status, the French envoys and Spanish envoys also come on behalf of their own kings, so they cannot be treated slowly. Therefore, Marin can only sit next to the special envoys of several powerful countries. Fortunately, it belongs to the first row. The first row is basically the monarch or the envoys of the monarch. The second row behind is the position of the independent princes or their representatives. In the back, there is the position of the dukes and earls or their representatives who have no autonomy... The hierarchy is clear...

Because the item was too expensive, the Governor of Venice took the place of the auctioneer this time and went to the auction in person...

"Dear guests, today, I would like to recommend an epoch-making product to you. This product is unheard of by everyone, and only we have it in Venice! Our big craftsmen Da Carlo brothers, after years of painstaking research (in fact, it was accidentally tried) out), and finally, an unbelievably wonderful product—a glass mirror!”

After finishing speaking, Governor Loridan waved his hand, and the messengers untied the silk gauze covering a row of glass mirrors on the stage, revealing the true face of the glass mirrors...

"Everyone, please come and see how effective this glass mirror is..."

Seeing Loridan's smug face, Marin felt amused—isn't it just a glass mirror? The effect of any two-yuan mirror in my later generations is much better than this one...

This is not bragging. According to later generations, this kind of glass mirror coated with mercury and tin foil is actually not bright enough because the tin foil has insufficient reflective ability. According to later generations, a 25-watt light bulb can only reflect 16-watt-level light with a Venetian mirror. In other words, its reflective efficiency is only 60 to 70%, which is much worse than the mirrors of later generations.

However, compared with the bronze mirrors of this era, this is indeed very impressive...

Sure enough, as Loridan expected, the envoys from various countries who came to watch were shocked when they saw themselves in the mirror! Especially the French envoy, Baron Hunter, who is a slut, wants to pick up the mirror and take a closer look at his "prosperous beauty"...Of course, he is indeed handsome, and he is also a "prince" in the eyes of ladies in Paris ...

Moreover, the French, regardless of gender, attach great importance to appearance. If it sounds good, it's called romance, but if it sounds bad, it's love for beauty...

Seeing the behavior of the French envoy, the Governor of Loridan clenched his fists fiercely—it's a joke!

In fact, Governor Loridan felt right. The French are indeed very fond of mirrors, and the reason why France sent people to steal the secret recipe of mirrors in later generations is also because France has too much demand for glass mirrors.

Gathered here, King Francois I of France liked mirrors very much. He once bought more than a dozen Venetian glass mirrors in one year. At that time, the price of glass mirrors was 8,000 pounds per side, which was 16,000 ducats per side. More than a dozen Venetian glass mirrors, with a total price of more than 200,000 gold coins, even once triggered a financial crisis in France...

Everyone's reaction was shocking, and Marin wanted to make a lot of money from it in the future. So, he cooperated very well as a babysitter...

"My God! Such a clear mirror? This... How did this happen? Could it be that this is a gift from God?" Marin yelled exaggeratedly...

Then, other people who participated in the auction were full of black lines - MMP, you are so boastful about this thing, how can we lower the price next?

And Governor Loridan watched the scene with satisfaction - the effect is really good... Well, that Marin is really a good child...