The Empire, having been able to obtain information in advance through its best efforts, was thus able to make its own preparations behind the curtain.

Thanks to this, when Giovanni arrived and conveyed Florence’s business, they could pretend to be flustered while wearing satisfied smiles behind the scenes.

As a result, when Giovanni boarded the ship home, gleefully believing he had secured decent gains from negotiations with the Empire, the working-level officials gathered at Seoul’s pleasure houses to celebrate.

“We’ve caught a big fish, so let’s have a drink!”

“Hahaha! Indeed!”

“The wine tastes especially sweet today!”

“Bring out the colored wine! Colored wine! Even if the establishment collapses, I must drink today!”

“Indeed! We must drink today! If those fellows hadn’t accepted, I would have died from frustration!”

This was why the working-level officials held a feast shouting “Jihwaja!”

While none of the Empire officials’ work was easy, this particular task had been especially difficult. This was because Emperor Wan himself had directly expressed his will and given orders.

Of course, existing tasks also followed the chain of command. However, most work gradually climbed from bottom to top, received the Emperor’s permission, then came back down.

Therefore, this task was at least twice as difficult as others. If even the slightest gap showed, tongue-clicking would immediately emerge, and that day would become one filled with wailing.

And that’s exactly what happened.

With time constraints on top of that, the officials in charge of practical work literally ground their souls into the task.

Therefore, if the results produced after such hardship became useless, more than a few would have rioted, unable to overcome their frustration.

***

Meanwhile, Giovanni, who had arrived at Suez, was diligently moving toward Florence with his cargo.

“This is precious cargo! The seals must absolutely not be broken or damaged! Check properly!”

Whenever they stopped at stations installed along the railway, Giovanni’s subordinates meticulously checked the condition of the cargo loaded on the freight cars.

-These are absolutely necessary for Florence to succeed in its great undertaking! Others must never notice or damage them!

Giovanni had given orders, but his subordinates, having read the unfolding situation themselves, checked the cargo’s condition with utmost dedication.

Watching from the platform, Giovanni frowned and muttered.

“Compared to transporting by camel, this is much faster, but still inconvenient… Would it have been better to dig a canal as the Empire suggested then?”

***

When discussion arose about transportation routes connecting Suez and the north, the Empire’s first proposal was a canal.

However, the construction period, manpower to mobilize, necessary materials, and above all, the cost for everything was astronomical. Therefore, the alliance, unable to muster the courage, had rejected the Empire’s proposal.

And their choice was iron horses and railways. This also consumed considerable funds, but far less than a canal.

And through these iron horses, the alliance could see enormous profits.

However, when moving large-scale cargo requiring confidentiality like now, it was quite inconvenient, making them recall the canal again.

***

At some point, Giovanni, who had been calculating the canal’s profitability various ways, smiled wryly and assessed the situation.

“Among the Empire’s proverbs, there’s one about ‘pie in the sky,’ right? That’s exactly my situation now. With Florence’s current situation, we’d only repeat the same situation as with the iron horse. Only after completely controlling Italy and being recognized as a proper nation can we make demands confidently. To do that, we must first unite Florence.”

Peeeek!

As he was once again keenly feeling the necessity of Italian unification, the iron horse that had finished refueling blew its whistle announcing departure.

Boarding the passenger car again, Giovanni reaffirmed his resolve once more.

“Without fail…”

It was a vow laden with multiple meanings.

***

Giovanni’s party, arriving at ‘Prince Henrique Port,’ began loading cargo onto waiting ships.

The Medici family’s manager stationed at the port reported to Giovanni with a troubled expression.

“We don’t have enough ships. It seems we’ll need to send them in two batches.”

At the manager’s report, Giovanni answered firmly.

“Send word to Livorno! Tell them to gather and send all usable ships using my name!”

“But the time… Wouldn’t it be better to rent ships from other countries?”

“Do you know what kind of cargo we’re loading and still say such things! Send word immediately!”

“Yes, yes sir!”

“And stop loading operations right now and store everything in the warehouse! Double the guards!”

“Yes!”

The startled manager began hastily executing Giovanni’s harsh orders.

The loading that had been in full swing was halted, and all cargo was unloaded again and stored in the Medici family’s warehouse at the port.

Once all cargo was stacked in the warehouse again, Giovanni’s subordinates locked the warehouse doors and affixed seals to the main entrances.

“Deploy twice as many guards!”

“Yes!”

This activity drew attention from other merchants and foreign officials nearby.

“What’s all this fuss about?”

“Suspicious…”

“What did they bring from the ‘Land of Flowers’?”

Curious merchants and foreign officials stealthily approached the warehouse. However, faced with the guards surrounding the warehouse and the fierce attitude of Giovanni’s subordinates, they could only smack their lips and retreat.

“Really! Making such a fuss…”

“The boastfulness of these Italians…”

“You’re Italian too.”

“Shut up!”

Meanwhile, at Giovanni’s fuss, some sent carrier pigeons with gleaming eyes.

About ten days later, ships arrived from Livorno. After mobilizing all the newly arrived ships to finish loading, Giovanni immediately raised anchor toward Livorno.

***

“It’s Livorno!”

“We’ve finally arrived.”

At the captain’s report, Giovanni went out to the deck with an expression of finally catching his breath.

Looking at Livorno’s scenery visible beyond the deck’s railing, Giovanni muttered quietly.

“They said developing the navy was important? Hmm…”

Muttering to himself while watching Livorno draw closer, Giovanni turned around.

“It’ll cost some money, but it’s better than Porto Pisano.”

Livorno began as a coastal fortress to defend Pisa. At that time, the Pisan navy’s naval base was Porto Pisano.

After Pisa’s defeat in the Battle of Meloria between Genoa and Pisa in 1284, Porto Pisano was destroyed and Livorno was abandoned.

Since Florence purchased it from Genoa in 1421, Livorno had been gradually growing.

Having heard the Imperial Army’s advice, Giovanni came to think of making this Livorno the base for Florence’s navy.

• -It’s a military strategic point where the old Pisans built a defensive fortress.

• -When the first census was taken, it was a small village with just over 400 people. The population has grown now, but they’re all outsiders. In other words, they have no sense of belonging to Pisa.

• -This is why Livorno is more advantageous than Porto Pisano. Porto Pisano, as its name suggests, is deeply connected to Pisa. Though Pisa is now subordinate to Florence, it cannot be completely trusted.

After this analysis, Giovanni had firmly decided to make Livorno the base for Florence’s navy.

“I should submit this immediately upon returning to Florence…”

***

“Good work.”

Receiving Giovanni’s report upon his return to Florence, Cosimo lightly nodded and praised Giovanni.

“Thank you. But your complexion doesn’t look good. Are you alright?”

Giovanni asked, looking at Cosimo with a face full of worry. While Giovanni had been staying in Seoul, Cosimo had grown even weaker. If before Giovanni’s departure he had been lying down for show, now Cosimo was lying down from lack of energy.

“Don’t worry. My mind is clear.”

As his words suggested, Cosimo’s eyes still held vitality.

“That’s fortunate. And the Empire’s Emperor sent advice for us.”

“Advice?”

“Yes.”

Giovanni handed Cosimo the document prepared and given by the Empire’s Ministry of Defense.

“Hmm… The problem with these fellows is their writing is too small…”

Grumbling while looking at the document densely filled with small writing, Cosimo picked up the magnifying glass beside him and began reading.

“Hmm… Hmm… Hm? Hm!”

As the pages turned, Cosimo’s face grew increasingly serious.

“Phew…”

After carefully reading to the last page, Cosimo let out a long sigh and turned to Lorenzo.

“You read it too.”

“Yes.”

Taking the document at Cosimo’s command, Lorenzo instantly became absorbed in it.

“Phew…”

Lorenzo, who had been so absorbed he couldn’t even breathe properly, let out a long sigh and raised his head to look at Cosimo.

“What do you think?”

At Cosimo’s question, Lorenzo answered with a bright face.

“It’s truly excellent advice. Even now we have systems following the Empire’s ways, but I couldn’t shake the feeling they were insufficient. However, reading this advice, I could understand why! Of course, we must examine and consider more carefully, but if we accept this advice, Florence can definitely succeed in its great undertaking!”

At Lorenzo’s answer, Cosimo turned to Giovanni.

“What do you think?”

“I think the same. If we apply the Empire’s advice well, we can achieve our great undertaking.”

“I see… I see…”

Repeating “I see” several times, Cosimo received the document back and waved his hand.

“Go out and attend to business. I want to read this again.”

“Yes.”

At Cosimo’s command, Lorenzo and Giovanni paid their respects and quietly left the room.

Left alone, Cosimo looked at the report in his hand and smacked his lips.

“Tsk! The Empire has noticed our weakness. The ‘absence of philosophy’…”

Cosimo felt bitter.

Lorenzo was young and full of vitality. He also overflowed with talent in diplomacy and administration. Though he lacked experience, that would be filled with time. He also had ambition.

Giovanni was the same. He had accumulated sufficient experience dealing with merchants from the Empire and Europe. His talent was ordinary, but he had enough ability to maintain and grow the family.

And he had enough ambition to share Lorenzo’s vision.

However, while both had ambition, they lacked philosophy.

-They had the ambition to unify Italy, but lacked the philosophy of how to govern that unified Italy.

“No, that lack of philosophy is all of Europe’s weakness.”

Cosimo muttered with a bitter smile.

“The Empire has properly noticed our, no, Europe’s weakness. They’ve noticed. Phew…”

Letting out a long sigh, Cosimo looked at the Empire on the map hanging on the wall.

“After the Huns and Mongols, is this another invasion from the East…”

Cosimo keenly felt that they had met a truly formidable opponent.