Chapter 33

October 1432, port of kossia.

The cold wind from the deep channel blows over the high and low rock buildings. This is the headquarters of the core fraternity of the five port alliance. This city is the richest on the southeast coast of Legrand. It has the best harbor of the whole empire, the most ships and the most shrewd businessmen.

From day to night, merchant ships with various colors of canvas come and go, and gold rushes in this net like boat.

Like the five port alliance itself, the city of kossia had a special political status in the Empire of Legrand.

It is the largest autonomous city in Legrand.

Today, the largest port of kossia is blocked, and ordinary merchant ships can only berth in other places. The head of the gurus family, who is in the town of kosiya, is waiting in person at the port. The five port alliance takes five southeast coastal commercial cities as the core, and each city has its own invisible control family.

The most powerful family in kosia is the gulos family.

The gurus patriarch is also the president of the brotherhood.

"Here they are."

The bright red carpet has been spread from the berth to the shore. The white haired gurus clan leader slightly closed his eyes, leaning on a wooden crutch inlaid with many gems. He has a symbolic hook nose, nicknamed "eagle beak", in the mall, he is terrible as a falcon.

The Secretary behind him gently reminded the tough old man.

He opened his eyes.

Four magnificent ships slowly entered the port, each like a small fortress floating on the sea. If it had not been cleared in advance, the port would be crowded. But even so, their appearance still makes the whole port glowing.

There was a tacit understanding among the four ships to some extent, and they arrived at the port almost at the same time. When they were lined up, there seemed to be some spirit in the air.

The pedal came down.

From the cobweb badge boat, the gorgeous lady wrapped in a black skirt, from the hovering ancient snake boat, the ordinary middle-aged gentleman, from the Flamingo wing boat, the feminine man with a bunch of hair tied behind his head. The people who came down from the last boat were the youngest, with brown hair and brown eyes, and they were more low-key than others.

"Welcome to all of you"

the gurus clan leader slowly smiles, although the smile is not amiable, but rather gloomy.

The port bell was struck.

Everyone knows that the five port alliance, the urgent brotherhood, has begun.

Headquarters of the five port alliance.

In the luxurious hall, the heads of the families who represent the whole five Port Alliance sit down on the long table with their deacons. As usual, the meeting first discussed the trade volume of each port and the internal and external disputes of the alliance. The five port alliance was established in the 11th century. After three centuries of development, they have opened a large network in the southeast coast.

In 1312, when the five port alliance was at its peak, the Legrand parliament passed the Port Alliance Ordinance. Since then, the five port alliance has legal jurisdiction, herring market autonomy and the most important autonomy.

The fraternity meeting held today is a microcosm of the autonomy of the five port alliance.

The meeting continued to advance, but there was always a restless air in the air. Those who attended the meeting were the important business family leaders. They all knew why today's meeting was held, but none of these market veterans was willing to pick up the topic first.

Gulos's eyes swept over his allies, disappointed to see that even the youngest Dawson patriarch was smiling and nothing happened.

Finally, as the chairman of the brotherhood, gulos gave a clear cough.

"I think you all know the real purpose of today."

At last it came out.

Everyone was relieved.

"The Grus have gone to the king." "They chose to betray the purpose of the Federation of chambers of Commerce and betray our supreme right to freedom. Since all of you here are willing to come in a hurry, you are worried about one thing at the same time - what the king will do to us. "

He didn't say it directly, but the people sitting at this long table all know what they did some time ago.

Smuggle the heavy cavalry of gurendy, transport armaments and supplies for the Grand Duke of Glasgow, and transport the special envoy of the Pope These things are enough to make the king angry.

"The old man has something to say."

Mrs. Black Skirt Yingying opens her mouth. She looks charming like a socialite at any dance party. But if anyone really takes this famous "poisonous spider" as a socialite, it may not come to a good end.

"The new royalist nobles paid a lot of ransom, the Gru family paid loyalty, and the king forgiven them."

"Isn't that good?" The spider smiles, "we can also pay for the little king. If he wants, the Dickins can even build a real gold carriage for him. Old man, you don't want to have another conflict with your majesty, do youHer 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 pocket, then I have nothing to say." The gurus patriarch's face remained unchanged. "Please allow me to remind you that the king has long had the intention to raise the port restrictions Ordinance again. What do you think we'll have to pay this time to be forgiven by the king? autonomy? Legal jurisdiction? Like the Grus, give up all the freedom we should have? "

The air suddenly tightened.

No one looks good.

The five port alliance is known as "the uncrowned king of Commerce and the sea", which is what they are proud of. At its peak, in the middle of the 14th century, the naval fleet they provided to the royal family repeatedly defeated the expeditionary forces of Blaise. At that time, all the internal and external armistice agreements of Legrand were sent to the Alliance for advice. [1]

this situation has changed since William III.

During the period of William III, the privilege of the five Port Alliance for the king and queen was taken back, and the Baron of the five port alliance leader was no longer conferred. If William III had not died early, the port restrictions Ordinance [2] would have been passed. For the core families of the five port alliance, it was a disaster of doomsday.

In the "change of the rose", the reason why they chose the Grand Duke of Glasgow was not only because of his chips, but also because the five families were trying to save themselves.

But they lost the bet.

Things are getting more dangerous.

The king's "Oblivion" does not mean nothing happened, but more terrible crisis. It means that the king probably did not want to reconcile with them at all, but intended to sink the great ship of the five Port Alliance completely.

Although everyone tries to be brilliant when they come, it's just to avoid exposing their anxiety.

"Are you willing to accept the restrictions? Are you willing to surrender our legal jurisdiction and autonomy? It took us hundreds of years to provide our fleet faithfully to the royal family and help the royal family fight across the sea again and again. Without us, what would he use to build castles in the north and fight against Blaise? " Gulos growled in a low voice, with terrible anger in it.

"Are you willing?"

Most of the faces in the meeting room are dimming.

The youngest Dawson clan leader glanced over other people's faces and saw the greed and unwillingness on their faces. Interest is the most terrible devil in the world, which can drive most people crazy.

Patriarch Dawson sighed softly in his heart.

He stood up suddenly, and the gurus looked at him coldly: "is the Dawson clan leader trying to express his opinions?"

The head of Dawson's clan was smiling and bowed to everyone politely: "where do I come from? Compared with you, I'm just a little boy. I just think of something urgent. Please allow me to leave first

"I remember the brotherhood didn't force members to leave early?"

He said softly, smiling.

The meeting was quiet, and gulos's face was so gloomy that he could drip water.

But as if he didn't see him, Dawson bowed again and left with his deacons.

"Who else is going to leave?" Asked the gurus head coldly.

Whispering, eyes flashing.

In the end, no one left.

"So let's go on," gurus said with a smile

The candle flickered.

………………

"That damn old bone."

On the dock, the Deacon behind the head of Dawson swore in a low voice.

"He certainly didn't expect to be forgiven by the king - the bastard's son is still in the Royal prison. He didn't have a way out and wanted to pull everyone into the water. Do other people have no brains? "

Deacon refers to the case that gulos's illegitimate son sent someone to rob the merchant ship before, and finally robbed the royal family.

Although it is well known that the alliance of five ports is engaged in piracy activities at the same time, it is a typical case of recklessness to rob the Royal merchant ships. But, who knows why gurus attached so much importance to his illegitimate son that he even chose to be the first to join Grice's team.

"They don't have brains."

Dawson said faintly.

"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 falling scythe of death? Small chambers of commerce are developing, free ships are booming, the monopoly position of the five port alliance is being challenged, and the profits of business are growing.

Or, instead of being invisible, they are reluctant to give up their long held privilege.

"What do we do?"

The young daurn patriarch raised his head, the sea breeze blowing on his face, with a damp and fishy smell: "go and find out what the king's commissioners have done."I don't know why, he always felt that this time, the king was not just making a political reckoning on those who betrayed him. What on earth does the king want to do? Do the dawns really want to kneel down in front of the rose badge like the Grus?

Their king is becoming more terrible than ever, more difficult to guess, and the ancient glory of the rose family seems to be slowly reviving.

He has to make a choice.

Before the national assembly.

………………

The king's commissioners were running up and down in the winter snow.

They all wore black cloaks, and the investigation was more detailed than ever. I don't know when rumors began to spread among the people.

It is said that the king is very angry with the new king party this time and plans to carry out an unprecedented purge after collecting evidence. People with more sensitive minds are talking about it. They don't expect the king to plan for the interests of these civilians, but they can take advantage of the king's great purge.

Report all the "good deeds" done by the nobles in the territory whom the king originally hated, and then take advantage of the opportunity for the king to clean up his enemies to change the sheriff.

This kind of saying soon spread like the flu. When the nobles of the territory found something bad, they couldn't help it. Those civilians who were bullied on weekdays always took advantage of the dark night to sneak into the tavern where the Gru family carriage stopped, to report the evil deeds of local officials to the king's commissioners, and to pour out their dissatisfaction.

As long as a little service fee is paid to the commissioners, they will be happy to help them record these things in the account book.

Local officials want to stop this, expelling civilians near the Commissioner's tavern in the name of security.

But the commissioners, who were as greedy as the king himself, found out this and simply lived in the carriage. The carriage stopped as it went and received feedback from the civilians. On the carriage curtain of the Gru family, what is printed at this time is not the symbol of the Gru family, but the rose symbol of the royal family.

Officials did not dare to stop the carriage, which symbolized the king's will, but could only watch it happen.

Thus, the king's commissioners are also known as the king's "black wings", which means that they are like the shadow of the king's power.

However, what neither the civilians nor the local nobles expected was that when the civilians who reported in the dark left, the commissioners immediately handed over the coins to the members of the Gru family who acted as the warden, and they recorded them clearly.

In fact, the rumor that the king's anger could be used to benefit the common people was spread by the king himself.

The king knew all about his reputation among the people. Of course, he was more aware of the natural vigilance and distrust of the government by the common people. Only in this way can they confidently and boldly report.

And these are what the king needs most at this time.

The commissioners in charge of the matter were in a mess of admiration for the king's wisdom. As the main executors of the investigation, they witnessed with their own eyes how the representatives of the people were silent in the square, but they talked endlessly in the "report" at night.

The king got what he wanted and made a fortune by the way.

As for the Gru family

Thanks for the wisdom of the patriarch, they are very lucky to be loyal so early. They didn't want to face the liquidation of a king who had both the courage and the cunning of William III. Believe them, it's not a good thing.

I heard that their former comrades in arms, the five port alliance, are still silent?

The Gru family sincerely hope that they'd better be stubborn, so that the king's attention will no longer be on them, and they will have fewer competitors who can perform well in front of the king.

Is it better for others to go to hell than for themselves?

With this in mind, the Gru family did their best to find those "talents" for the king.

Don't mention it. They 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 Trafalgar in 1216, Henry III decided that all the armistice agreements between England at home and abroad would be sent to the Alliance for advice. Although it is only for opinions, it also shows its status. When Edward I conquered Wales, he also received crucial assistance from the alliance.

[2] As a matter of fact, in 1229, the British royal family promulgated the port doomsday judgment