"This is something that Christians cannot do. The Holy See does not allow interest-bearing loans among Christians... The Jews do not abide by the Bible's regulations, so Christians do not like these people very much." Although they were talking to Hong Tao in Chinese, Carl still lowered his voice.

"Haha...hahaha...hahaha...I finally understand, dear Carl, do you think I need to strictly abide by the Bible?" After hearing Carl's answer, Hong Tao's expression on his face was very strange, both like laughing and crying. It took him a long time to laugh a few times.

Hong Tao felt that he was not a qualified businessman. He had never discovered such a good way to make money before. He was worried about what business he was doing in Europe. He didn't have to do any business, just lend money, or establish his own banking system, and he didn't need any strong ships and cannons. He was the Rothschild family in Europe! If any European government wants to spend money, he had to ask himself if he was happy! And he had one more advantage than the Rothschild family, that is, his old nest is not here, and he still had enough arms to protect his interests. If the financial oligarchs were added with cannons, would there be a more perfect, more effective and lethal combination in the world than these two things?

The most important point is that the banking, financial lending and credit system is developed by Europeans. This kind of thing is in line with their culture and social standards. It is much more convenient to play in Europe than in any part of the world. Because they will not conflict too much, this thing is designed for them. This is called talent skills and talent bonus!

Especially the credit issue, Hong Tao was not worried at all. He had heard a historical story in later generations. It was said that Charles I, the King of Lionheart, was defeated during the Crusades and walked back in dismay. He was captured by the Germanic Emperor Henry II on the way, and asked him to pay a ransom of tens of thousands of gold coins. Although the King of Lionheart sounded quite awesome, he was not much better than Carl's cousin. European countries in the Middle Ages were poor. His annual income was only more than 20,000 gold coins, which was several times worse than the ransom.

What should I do? The Lionheart King and Henry II said, "Brother, I don't have that much money. I'll give you some down payment first. Brother Rong, I'll go back to the UK to get together, and then installment? Guess what happened in the end? Henry II actually agreed and collected the down payment of the Lionheart King, and then put him back. The matter came here. If it were changed to the ancient Chinese emperor, maybe what I raised after returning to China would not be the ransom but the army. This face cannot be lost, and it is too embarrassing not to give up until Henry II dies.

But Lionheart King and Henry II didn't think so. After Lionheart returned to England, he levyed heavy taxes, not to raise military expenses, but to raise ransoms. He would rather let himself be scolded by British nobles and people than to break his promises and must pay the ransoms. In this way, he felt that it was not embarrassing and shameless. On the other hand, Henry II wanted to fight with Lionheart King face to face, and he really dared not say that he could beat Lionheart King, but he was not afraid that Lionheart King would be owed to the debt, so he waited at home to wait for the ransom to come to his door. As a result, the ransom was indeed sent, and a penny was not enough.

Hong Tao doesn't know how authentic this story is. He saw it from history books. It's not unofficial history, but official history. With the existence of the church in Europe, many historical materials have avoided the destruction of war, and many historical materials are much more complete than China. Therefore, Hong Tao thinks that although this story cannot be said to be 100% credible, it is at least very credible.

Well, what did you see from this story? A habit that later generations call this the spirit of contract, which is also the spirit emphasized repeatedly in the Bible. Agreement is very sacred in the West, and even God and man must make an agreement in advance. The agreement with Christians is called the New Testament. The agreement with the Jews is called the Old Testament, so no matter what the mortals do, they must make an agreement. What is the agreement? That is a contract! It is not that Westerners are naturally trustworthy than Easterners. It is their society. Religion forces them to do this, otherwise you will not be able to survive in this society.

If a Westerner escapes this environment and goes to the East to live, he can learn the essence of Chinese culture within a few years, which is flexibility! All kinds of flexibility! Things are urgent and power! As for whether there is an agreement, it doesn’t matter. As long as you make a profit, you are smart and will be praised by the entire society. On the contrary, it is a rigid, stubborn, and synonymous with two fools. Such people cannot survive in society.

The two cultures are incompatible, who is good or bad? Hong Tao is not clear. He only knows how to freely swim between the two cultures. When he arrives in Europe, he abides by European culture, and when he arrives in China, he lives according to the habits of the Chinese. There is no good or bad in the absolute sense in this world, only suitable or inappropriate from a certain perspective.

"Of course not, you are not a Christian... But if you do this, you will probably make people here unhappy, including the Pope..." When Carl saw Hong Tao's last smile, he knew that Hong Tao was not holding back his weight. He also smiled like this in Kalamba Port, and then the surname was Hong there.

"Don't worry, I'm much more advanced than them. Ultimate loan shark? Even your cousin is not happy to do something. Can I do such a thing as a great commander in the Song Dynasty? What I want to do is use my money to help the European people become rich, at least to make some people rich first! Then you can drive others. Is this the reason?" Hong Tao of course couldn't tell Carl that I want to slowly penetrate the European economy. Maybe I will directly control the European economy in the future. And it started from your cousin's country. Carl couldn't understand such a high-end thing, so he just skipped it.

Moreover, Hong Tao does not have to bear the guilt of lying to his friends. He is indeed going to invest in Europe or to invest on a large scale. This will stimulate the development of the European economy to a certain extent and has a short-term benefit to Europe. Why is it said to be short-term? Because capital is not a little white rabbit or a charity, it is never free to give you, and it is not even equivalent. It requires ten times, hundreds, or thousands of times to obtain profits. In the long run, whether it is Europe that has developed with its own capital, or is controlled by its own capital and becomes its own financial colony, it is unknown, so you can only see.

"I don't believe it at all. The better you say it, the more vicious it will be... But it's not my business. I'll go ashore and go home in a few hours. Don't you want to go to the palace with me to see it? I think many ladies will invite you to their manor to attend dances, ride horses and hunt, and the castle you have always wanted to see." Carl disdained Hong Tao's explanation, and he couldn't figure out what bad ideas this guy was planning. He was not surprised by such things. Instead of worrying about Europe, it's better to think about his own happiness.

"Hehehe, your last sentence convinced me. I want to go and see those castles, just castles! Of course, I will ask Huangya to prepare ransoms and shells. Once I can't come back, the entire Mediterranean will be my daughter and my burial. You have to think clearly and be sure to ensure my safety? Don't force it. If it can't be guaranteed, I will stay on the boat. Anyway, I'm used to it." Hong Tao really wanted to see what the medieval Europe looked like. This curiosity has suppressed the idea of ​​fear of death. This kind of personality cannot be changed at all. A person who likes novelty and adventure cannot completely become a very conservative person. Once he encounters a suitable opportunity, he has to change it back.

"Then you'd better stay on the boat. I'll go see my cousin first, and then let him send the Royal Guard to the port to pick you up..." Carl did not use what Hong Tao said as a joke. He thought that Hong Tao would actually give Huang Ya a more crazy order. In order to prevent the Mediterranean people from falling into the shooting of artillery, Carl decided to be more conservative.

There is a harbor city in the northwest corner of Sicily. Palermo, the Golden River and the Malacca followed the merchant ship and finally arrived here. Carl took a small boat and boarded the merchant ship to sail into the port. Hong Tao took two warships and landed sails outside Palermo's sea but did not lay an anchor, and was in a drifting state. No matter what Carl said, Hong Tao would not relax his vigilance, especially in a strange sea area, where the naval guns on both sides were loaded, and as long as there was a situation, the gun door could be opened at any time.

Palermo is the capital of the two Sicily kingdoms. Where are the two Sicily kingdoms? The southern part of the Apennine Peninsula + Sicily + Malta. In the thirteenth century, it was an independent kingdom, and the king was named Friedrich II-William Hohenstaufen. Carl went home to find his cousin. If he didn't go to the Holy Roman Empire, why did he go to Sicily? It's very simple, because his cousin's palace is here. The two Sicily kings Friedrich II-William Hohenstaufen were Carl's cousin, that is, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Frederick II.

"Brother Hong, is this Brother Ka's hometown Daqin? Why do I think it's not as wealthy as Zhenzhou Port?" Carl left, Luo Youde and Huang Ya, the child, had nothing to talk about, so he simply ran to the Jinhe again, standing on the stern building, holding a telescope to watch the Palermo Port in the distance. He was more than one of him in this way, Hong Tao, Jiang Zhuyi, the second pair, the sailor, and everyone who is qualified to wear a telescope was the same. Even Hong Yu was holding a telescope next to Jiang Zhuyi.

"I'm really poor. This is the capital of the Qin Dynasty in the actual sense. Their emperor lives here. The places with the spire in the middle of the city are probably the palace." The Jinhehe is only a few kilometers away from the Port of Palermo, and you can clearly see most of the scenery in the city with a telescope. The size of this port is indeed not much larger than that of Zhenzhou. As a person of thousands of people, most of the houses are light yellow flat-topped cottages, which are a bit like adobe houses, but many of them are two-story. There are several tall buildings in the middle. Judging from the style of the roof, they have both European style and rich Arabic flavor. The biggest one is probably the palace.
Chapter completed!