October 1432, Port of Cossoaia.
The cold wind from the Abyss Strait swept the high and low rock buildings. This is the headquarters of the core Brotherhood of the Five Harbors Alliance. This city is the richest city on the southeast coast of Legrand, it has the best harbor, the most ships, and the most shrewd merchants in the whole empire.
From day to night, merchant ships with canvases of various colors come and go, and gold is rushing in this net-like ship.
Like the Alliance of Five Harbors itself, Kossoia City has a special political status in the Legrand Empire.
It is the largest autonomous city in Legrand.
Today, Kossoya's largest port is blocked, and ordinary merchant ships can only moor elsewhere. The patriarch of the Guros family, who was sitting in the city of Kothsoa, was waiting in person at the port. The Five Harbors Alliance is centered on five southeastern coastal commercial cities, and each city has its own invisible control family.
Kothsoya's most powerful family is the Guros family.
Patriarch Guros is also the president of the Brotherhood.
"They're here."
The bright red carpet has been spread from the mooring platform to the shore. The white-haired Patriarch of Ancient Ross closed his eyes slightly, leaning on a sinking wooden cane inlaid with many gems. With his signature hooked nose, nicknamed "The Eagle's Beak", he is a terrifying eagle in the shopping mall.
The secretary behind him reminded the tough old man softly.
He opened his eyes.
Four extremely splendid and gorgeous ships slowly entered the port, each like a small fortress floating on the sea. If it hadn't already been cleared in advance, the port would have become crowded at this time. But even so, their presence made the entire port glow.
There was some tacit understanding between the four ships, and they arrived at the port at almost the same time. When they were lined up, there seemed to be some kind of sharpness in the air.
The pedal is down.
Step off from the boat with the cobweb emblem, a gorgeous lady wrapped in a black dress, get off the boat with an ancient snake, a middle-aged gentleman with an ordinary face, get off the boat with flamingo wings, and tie a bunch of hair behind her head feminine man. The person who got off the last boat was the youngest, with brown hair and brown eyes, and he was more low-key than the others.
"Welcome to all of you"
Patriarch Guros slowly revealed a smile, although the smile was not amiable, but rather gloomy.
The Hong bell in the port was struck.
Everyone knows that the Five Harbors Alliance, the urgently convened Brotherhood has begun.
The headquarters of the Five-Hong Kong Alliance.
In the luxurious hall, the patriarchs of the families who represented the entire Five-Port Alliance took their deacons and sat down on the long table. The meeting was held as usual, first to discuss the commercial volume of the various ports, and the disputes within and outside the alliance during this time. The Five-Port Alliance was established in the eleventh century. After three centuries of development, they opened a large net along the southeast coast.
In 1312, at the height of the League of Five Harbors, the Parliament of Legrand passed the relevant "Regulations of the League of Ports", and since then, the League of Five Harbors has had legal jurisdiction, autonomy of the herring fairs, and most importantly, self-government right.
The Brotherhood held today is a microcosm of the autonomy of the Five-Hong Kong Alliance.
The meeting went on and on, but there was always a tinge of anxiety in the air. The people in charge of the important business families who attended the meeting knew exactly why today's meeting was held, but none of these business veterans was willing to be the first to pick up the topic.
Patriarch Guros swept his eyes from his allies, and was disappointed to see that even the youngest Patriarch Dawson was smiling as if nothing happened.
In the end, Guros, as the president of the Brotherhood, coughed.
"I think you all know the real purpose of today."
Finally said it.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"The Gru family has taken refuge in the king." Guros said lightly, "They chose to abandon the purpose of the Chamber of Commerce Alliance and betray our supreme freedom. Since everyone here is willing to rush here, they are all worried at the same time. matter - what the king will do with us."
He didn't say it directly, but everyone sitting at this long table knew what they had done some time ago.
Smuggling the heavy cavalry of Gulendi, transporting military supplies for Grand Duke Glace, picking up the Pope's envoy... These things are enough to anger the king.
"The old gentleman has something to say."
The lady in the black dress spoke up, she looked charming like a courtesan at any ball, but whoever would really take this famous "poisonous spider" as a courtesan would probably not end well.
"The new king's nobles paid a lot of ransom, and the Gru family paid their loyalty, and the king forgave them."
"Isn't that very good?" The poisonous spider smiled. "We can also deliver money for the little king. If he wants, the Deakin family can even build him a real golden carriage. Sir, don't you? Would you like to have another conflict with that majesty?"
Her voice was soft, but her words contained a knife.
"If you really think that building a golden carriage is enough to make the king close his greedy pockets, then I have nothing to say." Patriarch Guros' expression remained unchanged, "Please allow me to remind you that the king has long ago put the "Port" Reinstatement of the Restrictions. What do you think we have to pay this time to get the king's forgiveness? Autonomy? Legal jurisdiction? Like the Gru family, to hand over all the freedoms we should have?"
The air suddenly tightened.
Everyone's face is not good-looking.
The Five Harbors Alliance is known as "the uncrowned king of commerce and the sea", which is something they are proud of. At its peak, in the mid-14th century, the naval fleet they provided to the royal family repeatedly defeated Blaisey's expeditionary force , At that time, any armistice agreement between Legrand's internal and external parties would be sent to the Alliance for comments. [1]
This has been changing since William III.
During the reign of William III, the Five-Port Alliance's privilege of holding the cover for the king and queen was withdrawn, and the title of Baron of the Alliance was no longer granted to the leader of the Five-Port Alliance. For the core family of the Five Harbors Alliance, it was simply a disaster of doom.
In "The Change of the Rose", the reason they chose Grand Duke Grace was not only because of the bargaining chips offered by the public, but also because the five families were trying their best to save themselves.
However, they lost the bet.
Things got more dangerous.
The king's "forgetting" does not mean nothing happens, but a more terrifying crisis. It means that the king probably does not want to reconcile with them at all, but intends to completely sink the big ship of the Five-Port Alliance.
Don't look at everyone trying to be brilliant when they arrive, but that's just to not expose their anxiety.
"Are you willing to accept the restrictions? Are you willing to hand over the legal jurisdiction and autonomy we deserve? We have faithfully provided our fleet to the royal family for hundreds of years, helping the royal family time and time again. To fight across the sea, without us, what will he use to build the castle in the north, and what will he use to fight Blaise?!" Goros roared in a low voice, with terrible anger in his voice.
"Are you willing?"
The faces of most of the people in the conference room were uncertain.
The youngest Patriarch Dawson swept his gaze across the faces of the others, and unsurprisingly saw the greed and unwillingness on their faces—interest is the most terrifying devil in the world, and it can drive most people crazy.
Patriarch Dawson sighed softly in his heart.
He suddenly stood up, and Patriarch Guros looked at him grimly: "Is Patriarch Dawson trying to express some high opinion?"
Patriarch Dawson smiled and bowed to everyone without being rude: "Where do I come from? Compared with you, I'm just a little boy. I just remembered some urgent matters, please allow me to say goodbye first."
"I remember that the fraternity didn't force members not to leave early, did they?"
He smiled and said softly.
The venue was silent, and Guros' face was so gloomy that water could drip.
Patriarch Dawson bowed again as if he had not seen him, and left with his deacons.
"Who else wants to retire?" Patriarch Guros asked coldly.
Whispering, eyes flashing.
In the end no one left.
Guros smiled: "Then let's continue."
The candle flickered.
…
"That damn old bone."
Walking to the dock, the deacon behind Patriarch Dawson cursed in a low voice.
"Of course he doesn't dare to expect the king's forgiveness - that fool's bastard is still in the royal prison. He has no way out and wants to pull everyone into the water. Are the others out of their minds?"
The deacon refers to the fact that the illegitimate son of Guros sent someone to rob a merchant ship and ended up robbing the royal family.
Although it is well known that the Five-Port Alliance is engaged in pirate activities at the same time, it is a typical fatality to openly loot the ships of the royal family's accompanying merchants. However, the ghost knows why Guros attaches so much importance to his illegitimate child, and even joins Grace's team for the first time.
"They're not brainless."
Patriarch Dawson said lightly.
"It's just that the benefits are big enough."
How many people in this world are so immersed in the glory of the past that they forget to see the death scythe that is about to fall? Small chambers of commerce are developing, free ships are flourishing, the monopoly of the Five-Port Alliance is being provoked, and the profits of commerce are getting bigger and bigger.
Or, it's not that they can't see it, but they are reluctant to give up the long-held privilege.
"How do we do it?"
The young Patriarch Dawn raised his head, the sea breeze blowing on his face, with a damp and fishy smell: "Go and see what the king's commissioners have done."
For some reason, he always felt that this time the king was more than just a political reckoning for those who betrayed him. What exactly does the king want to do? Does the Dawn family really want to kneel before the rose badge like the Gru family
Their king is becoming more terrifying and unpredictable than ever, and the ancient glory of the Rose family seems to be slowly recovering.
He has to make a choice.
- Before the National Parliament convene.
…
The king's commissioners were running up and down the winter snow.
They all wore black cloaks, and the investigation was more detailed than ever. I don't know since when, rumors began to spread among the people.
It is said that the king was very angry with the New King's Party this time, and planned to conduct an unprecedented cleanup after collecting evidence. And the more sensitive people talked about it. They didn't expect the king to plan benefits for their commoners, but they could take advantage of the king's purge.
Report all the "good things" done by the territorial nobles that the king originally hated, and then take advantage of the king's opportunity to cleanse his enemies to change the sheriff.
This statement quickly spread like a flu, and when the nobles of the territory found out that it was not good, they couldn't restrain it. Those who were oppressed on weekdays always quietly walked into the tavern where the Gru family's carriage was parked in the dark, reported the evil deeds of local officials and poured out their grievances like the king's commissioners.
As long as you pay the commissioners a little labor fee, the commissioners will be happy to help them record these things into the account books.
Local officials, wanting to stop this from happening, expelled civilians near the commissioner's tavern in the name of security.
But when the commissioners, who were as greedy as the king himself, discovered this, they simply lived in carriages, which stopped and went to receive feedback from the commoners. What was printed on the carriage curtain of the Gru family at this time was no longer the logo of the Gru family, but the rose logo of the royal family.
The officials did not dare to block the carriage, which symbolized the king's own will, and could only watch it happen.
As a result, the king's commissioners were also called the king's "black wings", referring to them as the fallen shadows of the king's power.
However, what neither the commoners nor the local nobles could have imagined was that when the commoners who reported the crimes left, the commissioners immediately handed over the collected coins to the members of the Gru family who acted as supervisors, and they unified and clearly record it.
In fact, the so-called rumors that the king's anger could be used for the benefit of the common people were sent by the king himself.
The king knew exactly what his reputation was among the people. Of course, he was more aware of the natural vigilance and distrust of the government by the people. Only in this way can they be assured and bold to report.
And these are exactly what the king himself needs most at this time.
The commissioners who were in charge of the matter were in total admiration for the king's wisdom. As the main executors of the investigation, they witnessed with their own eyes how the representatives of the public were silent in the square, but they spoke incessantly in the "reporting" at night.
The king got what he wanted, and by the way gave out a fortune that made a lot of money.
As for the Gru family...
Thanks to the wiseness of the patriarch, they are so lucky to have pledged their allegiance so early. They didn't want to face the reckoning of such a king who had both the heroic blood of William III and the cunning of a viper. Trust them, it's definitely not a good thing.
I heard that their former comrade-in-arms, the Five Harbors Alliance, is still silent
The Gru family sincerely hoped that they had better stay stubborn, so that the king's attention would no longer be on them, and they would have fewer competitors who could perform well in front of the king.
It's better for someone else to go to hell than to go to hell for yourself, right
With this in mind, the Gru family tried their best to find those "talents" for the king.
Don't tell me, they really found some.
A few days later, the king saw the "talent" he wanted.
—In the prison of Metzl Castle.
The author has something to say:
[1] After the battles of Dover and Trafogel in 1216, Henry III decided that any armistice between England and abroad would be sent to the League for advice. Although it is only for opinions, it also shows its status. When Edward I conquered Wales, he also received vital aid from the Confederacy.
[2] In fact, in 1229, the British royal family once promulgated the "Port Doomsday Book"