[Henry VIII] Tudor Crown

Cosimo I was not a man of great wealth, because his predecessor, Alessandro de Medici, spent a lot of money to buy off Charles V and confidant of the Pope.In addition, after the death of Alessandro de' Medici, Lorenzino de' Medici, who coveted the throne of the Duke of Florence, in order to solve the problem of Cosimo, who was more suitable to inherit the career of Medici in terms of blood I, and entered the former residence of the Medici in Florence in advance, ransacked Alessandro de Medici's estate, and used it to recruit the army against Cosimo I.

And when Cosimo I finally defeated the usurper and was able to reorganize the remaining foundation of the Medici family, he found that the huge Medici had lost the demeanor of the "lord" decades ago, and even the foundation of the family Medici Bank is facing bankruptcy crisis.

In this regard, Cosimo I, in addition to gritting his teeth against the crumbling family, tried every means to obtain loans from Italian bankers and the Pope.

However, it was not only Cosimo I who had economic difficulties, but also the rest of the Italian lords, as well as the Habsburg and Valois families who had been fighting each other for decades.

The Pope dared not prioritize Cosimo I over the Habsburg family due to the iron heel of Charles V. Moreover, the current Pope Paul IV wanted to give Spain a little color, so it was the same as the previous Pope Paul IV. Like Clement VII, he secretly supported France, which was against Spain.

As for the other bankers...

To put it bluntly, if they are willing to lend money to Cosimo I, the latter does not have to take the risk of being wiped out by Charles V and get involved in William III's business with the Ottoman Empire.

But now, facing William III's reminder list, Cosimo I's mood is beyond the words "unpleasant".As a member of the Medici family, Cosimo I could not repay his debts and pretend to go bankrupt.

Besides, William III was not a man to be fooled.

If Cosimo I really dared to commit the act of not repaying his debts, then William III would definitely wear small shoes to the Florentine merchants doing business in England and the Netherlands, and then drive Cosimo I out of business with the Ottoman Empire middle.

Cosimo I didn't understand why William III had to come to this.Although he did not set an exact date for repaying the debt with William III when he borrowed money, according to European practice, it is difficult for nobles who hold their own identities to make reminders, and they all wait for the debtor to repay the debt silently. Or directly blacklist the party that cannot repay the debt, and then help the enemy of the defaulter to let the other party understand the fate of not repaying the debt.

Since William III sent the bill clearly, it is impossible for Cosimo I to pretend to be deaf and dumb.

Even if he is not paying off his debts now, he has to make a gesture that will satisfy William III.

"After such a long time, I should also send my most sincere greetings to the King of England." Cosimo I thought about the spices of the Ottoman Empire and the unfinished military equipment of Florence, and decided to use the most perfect smile, To cover up the uneasiness in my heart.

It was Francis Walsingham's subordinates who were responsible for discussing the debt repayment issue with Cosimo I.Before he left, he was told

Therefore, in the face of the Duke of Florence's uneasiness, he showed a very humble attitude: "For my king, the friendship of Florence is very precious. If it is not In order to take the pressure off England, he will not make this kind of decision that embarrasses you."

The English envoy also sighed helplessly when he said this, showing obvious embarrassment.

Cosimo I was also a smart man, he understood that what the other party said had already reached this point, if he still didn't understand that William III wanted to use his hands to achieve certain things, then he didn't have to be the Duke of Florence Continue to sit down.

"Mr. Ambassador, if you don't mind, can you tell us about the difficulty of the King of England." Cosimo I made up his mind not to repay the debt at this time, so his attitude was much more sincere than before: "As you can see , now Florence is also in a time of ruins. And I swear on the reputation of the Medici family, if I have the ability to pay back the amount of assistance from the King of England in times of crisis, then you can now bring my sincerity, and The friendship and gratitude of Florence, return to your king."

Cosimo I clasped his hands on the table, his eyes were as sincere as "Edward the Confessor": "So please tell me what difficulties William III of England has, and I need to do my best here."

The English ambassador finally showed a satisfied smile when he heard the words, and then took off his hat to Cosimo I, expressing his gratitude to the Duke of Florence: "I am really flattered by your understanding. If the Spanish If you can keep your promise like you, then the king of our country will not be forced to such a point."

If it wasn't in front of the English ambassador, Cosimo I would have laughed so hard at what the other said.

William III was cornered by the Spaniards?

This is really the biggest joke ever.

Cosimo I resisted the urge to tear down the stage, nodded his head pretending to understand, and then followed the English ambassador's words, talking about the Spaniards: "I can understand William III's complaints about the Spaniards, after all, the United States Half of the loans in the Qi Bank are uncollectible because of the Spaniards."

Thinking that the war between Spain and France always caused Italy to suffer, Cosimo I's complaints were a little more sincere: "Even the Pope can't control the Spaniards who do whatever they want, so what can we do?"

"Maybe the Pope just can't control it, not that he doesn't want to control it." The English ambassador said meaningfully: "France has suffered a lot in Italy, and even lost a lot of territories. Do you think Henry II will let it go?"

"The current pope is a man with a strong desire for power. He hates Spain's monotonousness to the extreme, and even wants the Holy See to return to the era when theocracy was the most prosperous." The ambassador of England knew that the Medici family had intended to emulate the Borgia family. Just like the Habsburgs monopolized the throne of Shinra, they monopolized the Pope's seat.

It's a pity that in the era of Lorenzo II, the Pope's authority declined, coupled with the discontinuation of direct heirs, the Medici family's dream of papal monopoly was hit never before, and it also caused Medici Home and Spain lost control of the Papal States,

Charles V had intentionally made his cousin, the Duke of Gandia, Francis Borgia, the next pope, because the other party was the great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI, who was famous for his piety and knowledge when he was young. There is a natural advantage in succeeding the Pope.

However, the Duke of Gandia did not like the fallen Holy See and was determined to revive the Gospel of the Jesuits in his own way. Therefore, after entrusting the duties of the Duke to the eldest son, he and his wife went on a missionary tour and rejected the Holy See. awarded him the office of cardinal.

Seeing this, Cosimo I also wanted another pope from the Medici family. After all, their cousins ​​became popes one after another from the end of the [-]th century to the beginning of the [-]th century.

Moreover, Paul IV is now an old man in his eighties, and if Charles V and Philip II cannot find a Spanish Pope, they will support an Italian who is biased towards them and become the new Pope.

"His Majesty the King knows your ambitions, and he also hopes that your distant relative, Giovanni Angelo de' Medici, will be able to fulfill his wishes." The English ambassador said meaningfully: "But Paul IV does not like a successor who is biased towards Spain. , I think you also know that the Pope has arranged for his close friend Antonio Ghisleuli to become a bishop when he was the Grand Inquisitor, and then the next step is to push him to the position of a cardinal or even a candidate for the Pope. "

Francis Walsingham knew that Antonio Ghislauri was an extremist just like Paul IV, and he would never forgive and suppress heretics and places such as England that had separated from the Holy See. policy.

William III was not interested in the statement of this disease, but what he was most concerned about was that the Pope used his power to open the back door to France.

After all, a lean camel is bigger than a horse.

The thousand-year foundation of the Holy See cannot be reduced to ashes overnight.

After hearing what the English ambassador said, Cosimo I squinted his eyes again, thinking that the other party was deliberately implying that this Antonio Ghislauri had reached a certain consensus with Henry II of France in advance.

As the Duke of Florence, if Cosimo I had never heard the name of the Pope's confidant, then he would not even think about becoming the Duke of Tuscany: "You mean, France will recommend Antonio Ghislauri as the new pope?"

"Not only France, but also Spain will acquiesce in this move." The English ambassador added: "You are also a participant in the Italian war, so naturally you know the various agreements between England, France, and Spain after the war."

"If it wasn't for the Pope to deal in the middle, Philip II of Spain could not have lifted the trade restrictions on France so quickly. Moreover, Philip II is a very suspicious person, otherwise you will work hard for Spain. Why hasn't he given you the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany for so long?"

To know the ambition of the Medici family is to step into the real royal class.

To do this, they have spent hundreds of years breaking away from being merchants.

Now, Cosimo I wants to fulfill the dream of his predecessors and establish a grand duchy belonging to the Medici family.

William III was aware of this, so he wanted to stab Cosimo I's deathbed, and let him understand that what he did was not for dealing with England, but for the future of the Medici family.

"If Antonio Ghislauri becomes Pope, then Philip II can use ready-made reasons to delay the position of Grand Duke that should belong to you for several years or even ten years."

"Your Highness, why do you think that the Spaniards will not support Paul IV's cronies? After all, there are no permanent enemies or permanent friends in this world."

"If you can reconcile with the French and suppress the Protestants, then Philip II will be happy to sell France and the Pope a face."