In 1499, many major events were happening and about to happen. People far away in the inland Europe had been fascinated by the smoke of wars of religion and foreign races, so they would not know that in a corner of the world, a Portuguese was taking his fleet back to his hometown by wind and waves. Before leaving Portugal, many people were not optimistic about his journey, and some even thought that he would die on the dangerous sea. But now this returnee is returning with countless rare treasures brought back from the far east.

In a house in Lisbon, a businessman from Bali has been waiting for a long time. Since he came to Lisbon nearly half a year ago, this person has been moving around in the palace in Portugal. No one except doing business knows what this person has done. However, many people know that this businessman from Castilla has a good relationship with the famous Gamma family.

No one knows that when Southern Europe is facing the threat of the Ottoman army, another storm is brewing among the mountains and ridges of Western Europe. It is a storm that has not shaken any country but has actually shocked many countries.

On February 26, 1499, in a remote village in Switzerland, a group of Frenchmen fought a battle with the army under the command of the governor sent by Emperor Maximian because they sheltered a group of local squires against the Holy Roman Empire.

This was originally a seemingly inconspicuous conflict, because there were many conflicts between the emperor and the French king of France, so although the battle caused casualties, neither the French, the emperor's governor nor the local gentry who caused the conflict regarded the battle as a big deal.

No one would have thought that such a small conflict would cause a real trouble soon, and this trouble began to become serious in April. The forces and people involved in the conflict between the two sides and even several sides were increasingly involved in the conflict. Finally, one day in mid-April, Schwaben, who supported Emperor Maximian, had a large-scale battle with the army of the Swiss Confederate who had long wanted to completely break free from the shackles of the empire.

The result of the battle was that the Swabian army was completely defeated after only 2 hours under the fierce attack of the Swiss. The Schwabian, who suffered heavy casualties, even did not even bother to take all the injured soldiers away and fled from the battlefield in a hurry. Until a long time later, there was a satirical comedy among the Swiss people that Swabian fled in a woman's clothes and twisted his butt and fled in panic.

This battle completely shocked Emperor Maximian. He noticed the crisis of the situation and felt that if he could not quickly suppress the increasingly arrogant Swiss, then his Holy Roman Emperor would be discredited in the minds of the German princes. At that time, although he was still wearing the title of emperor, the Holy Roman Empire might become neither sacred nor Roman, let alone the invisible empire.

So Emperor Maximian decided to personally lead the army to teach the Swiss barbarians a lesson. At the same time, if possible, he hoped to help his son, the beautiful Philip solve the troubles about the Netherlands. Since the incident of the departure ship blocking the port of Amsterdam the year before, his son seemed to have been in a series of troubles, and the prosperity of another small fishing village called Rotterdam seemed to make things worse.

It’s just that the fishing village was supported by a very prestigious ancient home in the Netherlands, and more importantly, it seems that there is a shadow of the Hanseatic League behind it.

The emperor seemed to smell some conspiracy, which made Maximian a little uneasy. He was worried about whether his son could properly handle his relationship with the cunning Northern Merchant Guild, so he decided to take advantage of the opportunity to suppress the Swiss and help Philip solve the trouble in front of him as soon as possible, because as far as he knew, it seemed that the health of Prince Juan, the only son of Queen Castilla, was getting worse.

If there is anything unexpected happening to Prince Juan, then Philip's wife and prince's sister Juana will be the only heir to the two kingdoms.

This means that Emperor Maximian's grandson may become the future kings of these two kingdoms.

Maximian hoped that his son and his wife should wait for the final news in Castilla, rather than tangling with the northern merchants in the swamps of the Netherlands, so the emperor decided to come forward and do both of them together.

It was so disturbing from the beginning of 1499, but what really attracted the attention of the entire European continent was the invasion of the Ottomans.

In April, the Ottoman fleet suddenly bypassed Crete, which was still mostly controlled by the Venetians, and went westward across the Mediterranean midline. The soldiers directly threatened the Venetians' many colonies in the Mediterranean. This action immediately shocked the Venetians.

The Venetian ruling group passed several decrees to increase taxes and expand armaments almost unprecedentedly. The Venetian merchants were obviously aware of the huge threat brought by the Ottomans. They generously donated money and ran around. Some even took the initiative to transform merchant ships into temporary warships and joined the Venetian Navy.

The Venetians were ready to fight against the invasion from the sea.

The actions of the Ottomans also scared Rome and the Vatican. Many people had previously thought that Alexander's opinion that the Ottomans might come across the sea and directly threatened the Vatican was alarmist and sneered, but now the entire city of Rome is panic and cannot be kept alive.

The price of grain has risen, the price of gold has risen, and the price of copper has been refreshing the price list in people's minds at a price every day.

The exchanges in Rome were crowded with people, and Ashulk's home was full of guests. Among the crowds of people coming and going, some came to inquire about the news, while others hoped to get familiar with the celebrity in front of the Sultan first.

Perhaps not long after, everyone will have to rely on this Master Weizier to keep everything there, even their heads.

There are many people who have this idea, and Ashulk wrote proudly in his letter to his brother, "This is probably the most glorious day of my life. Even when I was around the Sultan, I was not so satisfied. Everyone was complimenting and flattering me, so I almost felt a little fluttering. So when I pray five times a day, I prayed that our fleet would win enough victory as soon as possible, so that my life in Rome will be more comfortable. As for the copper I mentioned to you before, I think my friend should not have succeeded yet, otherwise we might be completely buried by gold at this time."

It was already early May when this proud letter was delivered to Erup. Prato had left Zagreb to find the Croatian Darius for some time.

Erup patiently waited for news from Herva. He knew that Herva could not believe him so easily, so he was not in a hurry.

And he also knew that it was not him who could really make Herva determined, but the war in Bucharest.

When thinking about the war in Bucharest, Erupp was a little curious. He had already heard of the rumors that the Earl of Montina had publicly challenged the Sultan, and because of the descriptions of those present at that time, he knew much more details than those circulated among the people.

When Earl Montina heard that he was the one who could stop the Sultan, Erup was a little dull for a moment. He began to wonder if Ashulk had misunderstood. This man was either arrogant and lost his mind or was originally a lunatic. In Erup's opinion, the latter might be more likely because he actually thought he could stop the Sultan!

Even the Ashulk brothers were just because as Bayesette II grew older, they needed to think more about themselves. After all, the two sons of the Sultan were not good people. No matter who became the future sultan, perhaps others still had the chance to be valued by the new sultan. However, as two brothers who were favored by Bayesette II, it would be a miracle to be able to keep their heads.

Judging from the sultan's vague defense against his two sons, it may not be possible that the two princes would seize the throne in the most extreme way, and by then, things may become worse.

But even so, their brothers still believed that no one could stop the Sultan's ambitions, especially because he tried to completely grasp the entire Balkan plan. Now it seems that everything is developing according to the Sudan's previous arrangements, but this is a bit unfavorable to their brother's previous plans.

Therefore, Erup was not less concerned about the progress of the war in Bucharest than Herva. For this reason, he sent people to inquire about information from the front line, hoping to grasp the various changes that occurred on the front line as soon as possible.

"I hope that Earl Montina won't just say it's so happy," Erupp snorted. Although reason told him not to have too much expectations for that person, if the Sultan really successfully captured Bucharest and then took advantage of the situation to launch an invasion of Hungary, then it would be absolutely bad news for them.

Hungary's copper mine...

Thinking of this, Elupp's mood became hotter as soon as he calmed down.

Perhaps many people don’t know what huge rewards will bring about owning a large copper mine, but Elupp knew that it was a wealth that would make the most greedy person feel somewhat satisfied.

As for if he could rely on the greater power of copper mining and then influence and control the copper price market in Europe, as long as he thought about it, he would feel trembling because of excitement.

In fact, it's more than that.

Crete, whenever I think of that place, Elupp felt excited.

Among the many seasonings, sugar was the first to be accepted. The taste of sugar that made the taste buds linger was remembered long before there was a civilized record.

Sugar is a luxury in Europe. The lack of land for planting sugar plants and the scarcity caused by huge demand makes it less expensive than pepper, but the almost persistent pursuit of sugar by aristocrats and civilians has made sugar a thing one of the most intimate and expensive commodities in the European continent.

Some nobles once boasted of having enough honeycombs to make honey, but as for the common people, they simply regarded owning several jars of syrup made from beets as a symbol of wealth.

Crete owns the largest sugar cane plantation in Europe.

It is a place that can provide exquisite desserts and stimulate appetite for food almost all over Europe. It can be said that if the plantation in Crete is underpaid due to natural disasters, then everything from the Pope's table to the ordinary farmer's rice bowl will become boring.

Behind that sweet taste is an incredible huge wealth, the number that is too big to allow Ashulk to do his best to influence Sudan's decision for self-interest.

Although he knew that he should be patient, Erupp was still secretly worried that he had not received news from Herva.

The news from Bucharest made him secretly annoyed. During this waiting period, Elyup finally learned that the long poem of the ancient poet Sufmann praising love, "the long wait will wither life."

But what he was waiting for was not his lover, but news from his enemy.

The Kulash brothers were also waiting, and they had tried their best to inquire about the Earl of Montina, but when they thought everything was almost the same, another news about Alexander made them decide to postpone the return to the camp for two days.

The Patriarch Bucharest announced his recognition and blessing for a engagement in the name of the first Patriarch outside the five major Orthodox Patriarchs.

The wonder of this engagement is that the parties involved have entered into a pagan form.

According to one of the parties, the marriage originated from a thrilling escape. On the way from Crete to Europe, in order to avoid the pursuit of the Ottomans, the invaded princess had to hide herself as a gypsy. It was at that time that in order to escape, they had to form a marriage contract in a pagan way.

When the news spread, there was an uproar in Bucharest. Although the Ottoman army outside the city only had a one-day truce before resuming the siege, the Bucharests still held fierce debates with unprecedented enthusiasm.

The topic of debate is whether such a marriage contract is in line with the doctrine and whether it can be blessed.

Many people joined this fierce debate for various reasons and purposes. They quoted the scriptures to admit or oppose the doctrine of the marriage from all aspects, and even debated whether the marriage can be blessed.

On the contrary, the two parties involved in this matter calmed down after spreading the news, and no one even saw them for two consecutive days.

This naturally aroused people's speculation. One of them was first circulated among the Greeks, and then the statement came from throughout Bucharest was that Ladislas II was very dissatisfied and even angry about the marriage, because it meant that his influence on Sophia would be greatly weakened. For this reason, he raised severe doubts about the legitimacy of the engagement, and even placed their princess under house arrest in the name of protecting Sophia from rumors.

As soon as this rumor came out, it spread throughout the city at an astonishing speed, and then Bucharest fell into various speculations and uneasiness.

People are very clear about the terrible destructive power of such a rumor, which can only be seen from the excitement of the Greeks in the city, and other nobles are also worried about whether the rumor is true. They are worried that if Ladislas II does this, it will likely trigger fierce conflicts or even divisions within the alliance.

Ladislas II was also annoyed by the rumor. He was indeed angry at the engagement, or simply disgusted.

At this time, he couldn't help but remember what Prato said about Alexander might have to do with the emperor, which made him regret why he had to arrange for Cepasse to rescue Dembvica when he arranged troops. If there was a exchange, perhaps the one who was missing now was Alexander.

Ladislas II was very worried that Alexander would make a big fuss about the engagement and then use Sophia's influence to compete with him. However, what he cared about was the attitude of the Patriarch Bucharest. The king did not think that the Patriarch would support such a very controversial engagement for no reason. It was obvious that Alexander must have made a promise to the Patriarch that was enough to impress him.

There were not many nobles who had similar ideas as the king, and they were also worried that Alexander would use his relationship with Sophia to influence them, which made many of them strongly question the legitimacy of the engagement.

These doubts made Sophia fall from the joy of the beginning. She was surprised to find that so many people opposed her marriage with Alexander, and there was no more important to her than this.

Sophia, who was furious, almost rushed into the venue where the hunting guards were arguing. But even though she did not do so under Alexander's dissuasion, she still angrily asked Alexander to tell the nobles that she would take back the flag of the Valleoluo family. At the same time, she announced that she would refuse to appear publicly in front of the people of Bucharest unless she admitted that the engagement was legal.

Of course, Ladislas II regarded both decisions as Alexander's instruction, which further strengthened his idea that Alexander had great ambitions.

Ladislas II decided to resist the marriage firmly, but at this time he heard rumors circulating around the city that Sophia might be under house arrest.

The king immediately guessed that it might be someone deliberately slandering him, and this person was undoubtedly Alexander.

This made Ladislas II furious. When he began to seriously wonder if it was really used to put Sophia in house arrest as rumored, another news from Hungary made him realize that he could no longer continue the stalemate.

The Bosnian army marched rapidly in Hungary. After crossing Mount Maizik without any resistance, the Bosnian army quickly approached Sosburg, the important city in southern Hungary.

Less than 120 Farls north of Southburg is the largest copper mining area in Europe.

At this time, Ladislas II seemed to suddenly understand why Alexander announced his engagement with Sophia at this time.

On May 5, in Bucharest Cathedral, the Patriarch of Bucharest used the examples in the doctrine as evidence, and announced the existence of a marriage contract that was not recognized because it violated the doctrine, but also announced through the examples in the doctrine that it received blessings.
Chapter completed!