Borrowing Money

With the preliminary agreement reached, Di Maggio's attitude grew increasingly intimate, treating Vitus as if he were already half a member of the family. He lifted his celadon teacup, watched the wisps of steam rising from the tea, and asked about the other man's future plans.

Vitus: "Continue working as a mercenary. I am currently looking for an employer with a fair offer."

Di Maggio pondered for a long time and advised him to steer clear of Sigismund and avoid participating in the Hussite Wars in Bohemia. Facing the young man's puzzled gaze, he explained with earnest concern:

"I previously compared you to Henry V and Jan Žižka, saying you all possessed exceptional military talent. Alas, that was a slight exaggeration. You are indeed a capable fighter, but you lack the decades of combat experience that Žižka has.

Take my advice: remember not to join the Hussite Wars. Even the famous Black Knight Zawisza was captured. If you go scurrying through the mountains of Bohemia with cannons, you will fall into the heavy encirclement of the peasant army before you know it. Do you have the heart to turn my precious daughter into a widow?"

Do you think so little of me?

Sensing Vitus's eagerness, Giulio took a French letter from his drawer and began to reminisce about the past.

"In 1415, England and France went to war on a massive scale. I and several other banks in Florence provided funds to France, but I never expected the French army to be so incompetent. At the Battle of Agincourt, six thousand English troops faced twenty thousand French; the result was a total victory for England. The English suffered only hundreds of casualties, while the French lost over ten thousand, including fifteen hundred knights!

The night the news reached Florence, two bankers chose to jump into the river. Fortunately, I had enough assets to barely survive that ordeal. Later, France came to borrow money from us again, losing repeatedly until 1420, when England and France signed the Treaty of Troyes. Just like that, the four hundred thousand Florin lent by Florence became a bad debt that was never recovered."

Giulio hated his past self for that. Had he known, he would have been better off lending money to Henry V; if he had secured that deal, his assets would have long since surpassed the Medici family.

Not long ago, the French Dauphin remembered the suckers in Florence again and sent a letter with earnest words, requesting to purchase (on credit) a large amount of ordnance and cloth, and to recruit an army to continue the fight.

Giulio relayed the contents of the letter to Vitus, begging his prospective son-in-law to make a trip to France. It was partly for business, and partly to keep him occupied so he wouldn't join the Hussite Wars and die at the hands of some Bohemian peasant.

"Take your mercenary group and a small amount of ordnance to France to observe the local situation. If the French army has little chance of winning, find an opportunity to escape back to Italy as soon as possible. If there is still hope for the French to turn the tide, write to me, and I will sell the remaining supplies to them."

Putting me in charge of market research?

Vitus sipped the warm tea and agreed, half-reluctantly.

Over the next week or so, Vitus was busy recruiting Greek laborers from the vicinity, expanding the mercenary group to four hundred men. During this time, he occasionally dined at the Di Maggio estate and met Agnes twice, but due to various factors, the two did not have a private conversation, exchanging only polite greetings.

In late February, the Tuna Mercenary Group boarded riverboats and traveled west along the Arno River to reach Pisa.

After entering the city, Vitus's gaze was drawn to a white tower about fifty meters high. Without a doubt, this was the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The winter sun lazily spilled onto the marble exterior walls, and the tower cast a long shadow across the square, like the hand of a sundial. Vitus walked slowly toward it, counting the levels: one, two... seven, eight.

His palm touched the cold marble of the tower, and after walking around the base, he stood on the ground and looked up. That subtle sense of imbalance was unsettling, as if the entire tower were about to collapse.

At that moment, the church bells rang, startling a flock of pigeons. They circled the Leaning Tower before landing on the arcade at the top level.

After donating a sum of money, Vitus was allowed inside. He climbed the stone steps to the top and shouted down to the Greek mercenaries on the ground, "Guess which one hits the ground first: a large iron ball or a small one?"

Regrettably, the Greek mercenaries lacked interest in this. Damien shouted a perfunctory reply and continued talking to his companions about his lover back home.

The nearby residents were accustomed to the presence of the white tower and paid no mind to the shouting Greek, watching indifferently as he dropped two spheres from the top...

At one in the afternoon, the Tuna Mercenary Group left Pisa. Due to long-term silt accumulation, the condition of the port of Pisa was poor, capable of docking only small riverboats and coastal fishing vessels. They had to walk ten miles south to Livorno to transfer to larger seagoing ships.

This time, Vitus carried five hundred sets of brand-new armor, five hundred heavy crossbows with matching windlasses, eight siege cannons, and the eight three-pounder cannons equipped by the mercenary group.

With the development of engineering technology, a type of treadwheel crane had become popular in Italian ports. This machine stood over ten meters tall, with a large circular treadwheel at the bottom; workers stood inside the wheel, stepping on pedals to provide power.

As the wheel turned slowly, the massive siege cannons were hoisted onto the merchant ship's deck. Thanks to the high efficiency of the machinery, it took only two hours for Vitus to finish loading his baggage.

At dusk, taking advantage of the receding tide, four large sailing ships left the port one after another. Vitus stood on the stern deck, using a homemade charcoal pencil to draw a sketch. Assuming he could live until retirement, these notes and sketches would become his most precious memories.

During the autumn and winter seasons, the Mediterranean sea conditions were harsh. The fleet sailed slowly along the coastline, avoiding storms and rampant North African pirates.

In early March, the fleet arrived at the Port of Sète in southeastern France. Vitus handed the manifest and the Dauphin's letter to the harbor master. The harbor master sent a servant to report the news while he personally entered the damp, dark hold to inspect the weapons transported by the Tuna Mercenary Group.

"Only this much?"

Vitus ignored the dissatisfaction in the harbor master's tone and replied calmly: "Di Maggio only provided this much. Once you make the payment, he will send more supplies."

The harbor master said no more and arranged for the Tuna Mercenary Group to stay at an estate outside the city. "The Battle of Agincourt caused many noble families to die out without heirs; many estates have no one to inherit them, making them perfect for housing you. Don't cause trouble during this time; we will send supplies regularly."

Vitus: "And then?"

The harbor master scratched his hair irritably, "The Dauphin is handling affairs in Bourges (a city in central France). He has ordered the Italian mercenaries to station at the Port of Sète and wait for further orders. Many mercenary groups have been contacted this time; it is estimated they won't arrive until April. Damn it, you arrived too early; we still have to prepare extra food."