After a while, Congressman Magriya suddenly raised his head and said:
"Is it possible to spend money to bribe Maximilian I and make him give up attacking Venice? As everyone knows, Maximilian I was most short of money..."
Everyone present suddenly had a bright eye - Yes, Venice is the least short of money, and spending money to buy is their specialty!
But Marin shook his head firmly and said:
"This is impossible, Lord Magriya, do you know? Maximilian I valued the throne so much. As long as Lord Pope helps him crown him, he will be the only legal emperor in Europe!"
"There is always a price that will allow Maximilian I to give in," argued Magria.
Marin thought about it and decided to make a big deal:
"You are right, that's under normal circumstances. But this time, it may be useless to pay Venice!"
"Why?" Magria didn't believe it.
"Okay, I want to tell a secret here, and I hope everyone can keep it secret. Otherwise, the Pope will not spare me."
After seeing the people present nodding, Marin said:
"I stayed in the Holy See for a while and learned a huge secret. Do you know? In order to invite Austria to send troops to attack Venice, His Majesty Julius II planned to take out a condition that Maximilian I could never refuse, as a bargaining chip for Austria to attack Venice with all his might..."
"What kind of bargaining chips can allow Austria to attack Venice with all its might?" Leonardo Lore asked curiously.
"In addition to crowning His Majesty Maximilian I, we can authorize the Holy Roman Empire. From then on, the emperor will not need to come to Rome, but will be crowned by Archbishop Mainz in China..." Marin slowly spoke out the killer weapon of Julius II.
In fact, this incident has not happened yet. In the original history, when the "Cambré Alliance" was formed, Julius II gave this condition in exchange for the full cooperation of Maximilian I. As a result, Maximilian I stood on Julius II without hesitation and sent troops to attack Venice.
"Is His Majesty the Pope crazy? Giving the right to crown is equivalent to lifting the ban on the Holy Roman Empire! In the future, the Holy Roman Empire will still take the Holy Roman Empire seriously? You must know that the right to crown the emperor has always been an important means used by the Holy Roman Empire to check and balance the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire!" Leonardo Lore exclaimed.
"Yes, Governor. Although doing so will untie the constraints tied to the Holy Roman Empire. However, the situation in Europe is different now. After the French became stronger, the Holy Roman Empire was no longer the overlord of Europe. Even if the Holy Roman Empire wants to seize Italy, they have to ask the French whether they agree or not..."
Marin's explanation is very reasonable. Since the rise of France, Shinra has no longer been the overlord of the continent. Moreover, the French pose a greater threat to Italy. Julius II lifted the ban on Shinra because he wanted Shinra and the French to argue with each other. However, Julius II did not expect that Shinra and Spain merged. Then, with the support of Spanish gold and silver, Shinra beat France for decades, captured the French king alive, and then listed the Holy See under the protection of Spain...
After Marin told the "secret" that Julius II had not made a decision, the dozen Venetian bosses present were shocked. It can be said that if the Pope not only promised to crown Maximilian I, but also allowed him not to be crowned by the Holy See in the future, it can be imagined how desperate Maximilian I would have been. Because the Holy Roman Emperors of the future will no longer be restricted by the Roman Catholic Church. For this reason, it is worth the Habsburg family to fight for the Holy See, and they are willing to fight for the Holy See...
...
The conference room was silent for a long time, and the Venetian giants were all feeling a little depressed. At this time, General Marino, who was in charge of Venetian military, suddenly said:
"If we go to Switzerland to hire a large number of Swiss mercenaries? Can we stop the enemy's attack?"
"Yes, this is a good idea!" Councillor Alani immediately became excited and supported Marino's suggestion.
"I'm afraid it won't work!" The second-person figure of the Venetian Republic military, Nicolo Pierre-Liu No. , who emerged in the Battle of Fornovo, shook his head and said.
"Why not?" As the military leader, Marino was very dissatisfied with the second son's behavior of destroying his own positions.
"Don't forget that the largest employer of Swiss mercenaries is the French. If the French are disturbing them, we will not be able to hire enough Swiss mercenaries. Moreover, I sent someone to Switzerland some time ago to hire a group of mercenaries. However, I was told that Switzerland was hired by a mysterious employer last year and 20,000 people were gone. Now, there are probably not many mercenaries in Switzerland. The rest need to be left behind to guard against Maximilian I's attack on Switzerland from the direction of Graubinden..."
Nikolo broke out a shocking news, which shocked Marin:
"What? Someone hired 20,000 people from Switzerland? Is this a sure thing?" Marin asked in surprise.
Marin felt keenly that something big was going to happen...
The 20,000 Swiss mercenaries were hired and were definitely not taken to visit. A war was bound to break out. Marin didn't notice this, which made him feel something was wrong.
So, Marin decided to immediately send someone to Switzerland to investigate the matter after the negotiations...
"It's certain!" Nicolo nodded.
Marin didn't know that the information provided by Nikolo saved his life in the future...
...
At this time, Marin had no intention of continuing to circle around the Venetian tycoons. So he stood up solemnly and said:
"Venice is really dangerous. This is not me, Marin, who is scaring you. Here, I plan to tell you a great secret about the life and death of Venice. But first of all, please stroke the Bible and swear that you must not tell others that this news was revealed by me..."
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Seeing Marin making it so mysterious, Alani said dissatisfiedly:
"What secret is so important? It's too much to make a big deal if we make such a swearing?"
"If you are not happy, it doesn't matter if I don't say it. Anyway, Venice is unlucky, not me, Marin!" Marin said coldly. He didn't want to leak the secret later. If the Spanish found out, he would definitely hate him.
When Leonardo Lore saw that Marin did not look like he was lying, he persuaded others to accept Marin's opinion. More than a dozen big men stroked the Bible and made a heavy oath.
"Now, you can say it?" Alani said dissatisfied.
"It's so. I heard a shocking secret when the Holy See participated in the negotiations between Spain and Portugal on the revision of the Treaty of Todd Silas..."
"What is it? Say it quickly!"
"Spain and Portugal intend to reconcile, form a joint fleet, control the Arabian Sea in the west of India, and intercept all Arab merchant ships and Egyptian merchant ships that sell spices..."
After Marin finished speaking, she took a leisurely sip of water...
At the beginning, the Venetian tycoons present hadn't reacted yet. But soon, everyone's faces changed drastically...
"This... is to force Venice to the dead end..." Marco Barbarigo, the representative of the Barbarigo family, the nephew of Argstino Barbarigo, who was appointed as the governor of Venice, immediately lost his composure. You should know that the spice trade is an important business of the Barbarigo family and is also the main source of profit. If the merchant ships of the Arabs and Egyptians were intercepted by the Spaniards and the Portuguese, the Venetian merchants would no longer have spices to resell. At that time, the business of the Venetians would be greatly affected.
"It's indeed a confidential news about the life and death of Venice... Duke of Marin, can you guarantee that what you said is the truth?" Leonardo Lore asked seriously after sighing.
"I can stroke the Bible and swear to God, and what I said is true. But at the same time, please do not reveal that it was what I said. Otherwise, Spain and Portugal will cause trouble for me. So, I just asked you to swear..." Marin replied seriously.
Leonardo Lore nodded, knowing that this matter was of great importance, it was very reasonable for Marin to do so.
However, this news is too important. If one does not handle it well, Venice will really decline. After all, the more than a dozen big men here are in the family, basically all participate in the spice trade. Although there are many or fewer, everyone basically has a portion. If the source of spices is cut off by Spain and Portugal, the blow to Venice will be extremely huge.
"What should I do? What should I do..." At this time, the arrogant Councillor Alani murmured in a daze.
Chapter completed!