Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1766 - 1263: The Holy War of Castile, the Feast of the Italian States
"Oh! A sudden increase in the demand for spices by the City-State? By how much?…What! Yahweh, triple what it used to be?!…Tsk tsk, the profits from the Peninsula's Holy War are surprisingly rich? The merchants from various Apennine states have surely made a fortune!…Hmm, as the strongest commercial City-State among them, our Republic of Venice should claim the biggest piece of the cake. Surely we have earned hundreds of thousands of Ducats, right?…"
"Haha! Isaac, you are one of the Guild's managers, one of the parliament's insiders, so I won't hide it from you… the profit from this Holy War is roughly this amount!…"
In the small building by the harbor, the old knight Lorenzo was sipping red wine and discussing the profits of the Peninsula's Holy War with Jewish merchant Eliyahu. He smiled with contentment, raising a single finger, causing Eliyahu to gasp in disbelief and speak in a low voice.
"A hundred thousand Ducats? It can't be so little… so it's a million Ducats?! Yahweh! How is that possible? Is this the profit for us alone or combined with other states and the Church?…Ah! It's the profit for us alone? How could it, how could it be so much?! Impossible, how could there be such enormous profits!!"
"Aha! Isaac, nothing is impossible! The Peninsula's Holy War lasted for eleven years. The Castilians maintained sixty thousand regular troops and even mobilized a hundred thousand at one point… The shoes on their feet, the armor they wore, the weapons at their waist, the arrows they shot, the bread they ate, the tents they slept in, the gunpowder used when firing, even the saw hats used to saw off limbs when injured, couldn't be supplied by the Castilians themselves. They had to spend money to buy from us! These military supplies sustaining the Holy War were shipped in boats from various Apennine states across the Mediterranean, all the way to the eastern shores of the Peninsula!…"
"I remember some commander said the first necessity in war is money, money, and more money! Without the loans from our various Apennine states, the impoverished Castilians couldn't even pay their recruits… not to mention sustaining sixty thousand troops; they probably wouldn't even feed twenty thousand regular troops!"
"It's all about shipping crates of gold coins into the vast sea for war!…Witnessed by the Almighty! A war of such scale and duration, spending a million Ducats is normal… By the time Granada surrendered last year, the Kingdom of Castile had accumulated debts of at least 1 million Ducats, with around 400 thousand in interest! These 1.4 million Ducats roll 10% interest annually… The debt held by our Venetians accounts for about forty percent, roughly 600 thousand Ducats. Among the remaining sixty percent, it's estimated half is backed by Church loans…"
"The funny thing is, apart from a part converting into army wages staying on the Peninsula… the majority of these loans, in the form of purchases for military supplies, flowed into the various Apennine states, causing the Guilds and Workshops to thrive day and night! The Castilians only know war; they can't make anything. They can only buy, buy, buy, benefiting all commercial City-States and making all of Italy increasingly prosperous!…"
"Haha! Besides the Kingdom of Aragon with their nearly 100 thousand Ducats in debt, at yearly interest rates of only 10%, and loans to hundreds of Crusader knights with debts ranging from tens to hundreds at interest rates of 20-30%…and other commercial states, where the workshops and factories expanded their production due to the war's prosperity… All things considered, because of this Peninsula's Holy War, our City-State Republic holds a million Ducats in debt rights, with an average yearly interest of at least 15%, amounting to 150 thousand Ducats of annual income!…"
Discussing the lending and profits from the Peninsula's Holy War, old knight Lorenzo recalled it with ease, frequently breaking into hearty laughter. The smile on his face and the raised fingers both testified to the peak power of the Republic of Venice, that wealth force controlling the financial dominance of the Catholic World!
"Yahweh! A million Ducats debt right, with yearly 15% roll interest!…"
At this moment, Jewish merchant Eliyahu listened in awe, wishing he could turn himself into the secret treasury of the City-State Republic, storing all the debt instruments and gold coins… A while later, he snapped back and suddenly thought of something, asking with some curiosity.
"Loren, this million Ducats debt right… with the Kingdom of Aragon's good finances and King Fernando's great management, it's likely repayable. Once the Holy War ends, previously expanded workshops and factories are bound to see mass bankruptcies. But the fixed lands, buildings, and stockpiled goods can pay off and sell for money, sure not to lose but earn more… these two debt claims shouldn't be worrisome…"
"But the significant debt loaned by the City-State to the Kingdom of Castile, and those various debts loaned to those poor knights… how will it be collected back? I've stayed in Castile long enough; those foolish Iberians are hopeless in management. Even if they hold wealthy Moors' estates and orchards, they merely graze like pastures, without squeezing money out!"
"Haha! Isaac, you are naturally a superb merchant, proficient in business transactions and operations. But this business of war, the biggest and most profitable in the world, due to your background, is one you can't understand or turn around… Hmm, I personally participated in this Peninsula Holy War for two years, so I can share some of my experiences with you…"
With that, old knight Lorenzo extended his wine glass, and Eliyahu hurriedly and respectfully filled it up for him. The old knight drank it all in one go, obviously having drank quite a lot, his voice also louder.
"Witnessed by the Almighty! Isaac, don't underestimate the Castilians! They are terrifyingly brutal, the finest tool for squeezing oils even from bones!"
"The Holy War ended less than a year ago! Of the hundreds of thousands of Ducats in debt, the Castilians have already repaid more than half!…Tsk tsk! Just by breaking the Moors' Granada capital city, the Castilians dug several meters deep and broke into homes to kill, scrounging out 200 thousand Ducats in various assets!… Then they freely pillaged, in the Granada region, capturing 50 - 60 thousand young Moors, selling them as slaves to various Apennine states, offsetting 100 thousand Ducats! Among them were attractive Moorish noblewomen slaves, with their smooth wheat-toned skin and wonderful enticing appeal…ahem! And skilled Moorish royal craftsmen, all collected by the nobility of the City-States… And the four-hundred-year treasures and holy relics accumulated in Abu's Red Castle by the Moors' royal court, equated to 150 thousand Ducats, bundled and sold to the Roman Holy See, flowed into the newly built Vatican Treasury…"
"Haha! Calculate! Just in the rich Granada area of the Moors, the Castilians squeezed out 450 thousand Ducats worth of profits from the conquered Moors! And these low-cost debt-offset assets, slaves, and treasures, after entering the hands of the Republic, various City-States, and the Church, their actual value must have doubled! Simply a big profit!…"
"In this Peninsula Holy War, apart from the land conquered, the Castilians sold all they looted to us! Their so-called 'expansion', in the viewpoint of the parliament, was entirely for the war fought for various states of Italy. And as long as they can pay their debts properly, not default…our City-State Republic, along with the Roman Church, naturally will support them endlessly! In essence, on this ferocious Viking Longship of Castilians, the real captain directing their course is us, the various states of Italy and the Church…"
"As for those various Crusader knights, they all have mortgaged property in the hands of the Church, fully sufficient to pay off. As for unpaid interest, let them repay with their war craft for the Almighty, kill and loot for debts repaid with life!"
