The Rise of the European Emperor

Marin, Julius II and Ferdinand II conspired for a long time in the secret room of the Lateran Temple, and finally, all three showed a satisfied expression.

However, before leaving, Ferdinand II suddenly asked a question:

"Sir Pope, we Spain have withdrawn from the wild continent, so, as the wild earl of Spain, will Marin also withdraw from the wild continent?"

Julius II was stunned, but quickly answered:

"He didn't have to quit, because he sent troops to help Rome 'recover' Florence. So much credit, enough for him to keep those islands."

"Didn't you give him two bishoprics as a reward?" Ferdinand II asked suspiciously.

"The two bishoprics are so poor, are they comparable to the Florence area?" Julius II asked rhetorically.

Ferdinand II was speechless for a moment, and Julius II was right. Compared with Florence, where industry and commerce were developed, Münster and Osnabrück were really out of the way and completely unequal.

"Then he, the barbarian earl's territory in the barbaric continent, still belongs to Spain?" Ferdinand II asked with concern. This was a matter of sovereignty, and he couldn't help but ignore it, even if it was nominal sovereignty.

"It doesn't belong, but Morocco will be part of Spain in the future. Doesn't he have a small oasis called Laayoune in the south of Morocco? You can just make him Count of Laayoune, or your vassal. Of course. , in name."

"This is also a solution... Then, Mr. Pope, how will the Wilderness Continent be dealt with in the future?"

"Whoever has contributed a lot to the Holy See will be rewarded with a part of it. For example, if you give the Holy See the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, then I can give you all the Savage Continent..."

"Cough, let's change the subject..." Ferdinand II regarded the two kingdoms as his lifeblood, so he was not willing to hand it over.

"Or, if you helped me conquer Venice, I can also give you the Savage Continent..."

Ferdinand II rolled his eyes directly - Nima, Venice is so rich, if I can conquer Venice, I must have swallowed it myself, and a fool will exchange it with you for the dangerous wild continent...

"Of course, help me retake the Rimini area, and I can also divide a part of the territory for you. For example, a piece of land no smaller than the Iberian Peninsula..." Julius II tempted.

Ferdinand II directly changed the subject. He was turning against France on his side, and he needed to guard against the French counterattack. If you mess with Venice again, it will be difficult. You know, Venice is so rich, it's not a good thing...

However, Marin reminded:

"Your Majesty, the spice trade was originally the interests of the Venetians. You have already offended the Venetians by sending someone to snatch the share of the spice trade..."

Ferdinand II thought it was true, in the past, the European spice trade was monopolized by the Venetians. Spain sent a ship directly to India to buy spices, isn't it just a tiger's mouth to eat... Moreover, because there is no exploitation of Arab and Egyptian merchants in the middle, the profits of the Spaniards in the spice trade are much higher than that of the Venetians...

Historically, the Portuguese fought the famous "Battle of Diu" with the combined fleet of India and Egypt supported by the Venetians because of the spice trade.

The cause of this naval battle is very simple, it is to compete for the monopoly of the spice trade.

Per year,

The spice flows from India to Europe amounted to 3.5 million pounds. Among them, most of the spices were transported by Arab merchant ships to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, and then transported to Alexandria by land in Egypt. Then, the Venetian merchant ships arrived at Alexandria, packaged the spices, and sold them all over Europe.

The huge profits were shared by the Venetians, the Mamluks of Egypt and the Arabs. The Portuguese bypassed the African continent and went directly to India to buy spices, which means that the origin is directly linked to the market, and they have obtained higher profits than the Venetians.

Moreover, Da Gama was very immoral, leaving 5 warships on the coast of India to intercept the merchant ships of the Arabs, causing public anger. Later, the Venetians supported several Egyptian warships, which were split along the Mediterranean coast of the Sinai Peninsula, and then sent by land to the Red Sea, where they were reassembled so that they could go to Indian waters to fight the Portuguese.

It was a pity that the main fleet of the Venetians could not reach the Indian coast. Moreover, the Venetian galleys were inconvenient to place artillery because they had to paddle on the side. Therefore, artillery can only be placed at the bow and stern, and it is not an opponent of the Portuguese warships.

In the end, the Portuguese won the "Battle of Diu" and monopolized most of the spice trade... Since then, the Portuguese can make super profits of more than one million gold coins every year in the spice trade...

Now, under the influence of Marin, the Spaniards have joined in, and the situation is more complicated. But one thing is certain - a naval battle will inevitably break out in Indian waters.

If nothing else, whether it is the Spanish or the Portuguese, they will choose to destroy the merchant ships of the Arab merchants who go to India to purchase spices. In this way, not only can I buy more spices myself, but also the Venetian's purchase channel can be cut off. You know, the total amount of spices flowing to Europe every year is about 3.5 million pounds. For every pound Spain and Portugal bought, Venice lost a pound. Conversely, the Venetians charged an extra pound of spice, and Spain and Portugal charged a pound less. Even, because of competition, it will increase the purchase price of spices and reduce profits.

Therefore, the simplest and crudest way is to send fleets to destroy those Arab merchant ships and make competitors disappear. In this way, Spain and Portugal can swallow the annual amount of 3.5 million pounds.

After Ferdinand II left, Marin and Julius II said that Julius II even planned to support Spain and Portugal to form a joint fleet to completely cut off the import channels of spices for the Venetians.

why? Because Venice occupied the Rimini area, it made the Pope unhappy. Anything that brought bad luck to the Venetians, Julius II was happy...

However, before that, the Holy See and Spain need to get the Portuguese first...

Sure enough, after the official start of the first round of negotiations, the Holy See and Spain's conditions made King Manuel I of Portugal angry. Manuel I blushed after reading the "Treaty of Humiliation" in his hand, but didn't say a word for a long time...

After a long time, the Portuguese King Manuel I, who was blushing like Guan Gong, suddenly threw the draft of the treaty that Julius II and Ferdinand II cooperated to revise on the table. roared loudly:

"I don't accept Portugal (Portuguese Ritian)!" 8)