Chapter 2677

Georgiana still remembers that the last time Brussels Mayor Lupe gave her a genre painting by Jan Stern. At that time, she thought that the artworks in Brussels had been looted, so she had to use his painting to "replace" it. up.

However, when she and St. Tirell were wandering in the museum, they still found many excellent works, but they were reduced to "supporting roles" in the museum with the theme of ancient Egypt, and few people paid attention to these "common" works. Renaissance art.

"How many Egyptian artifacts did you bring?" Georgiana asked St. Tyrell.

"Not many, most of these exhibits are provided by Belgium itself." Saint-Tirrell replied.

Georgiana was a little shocked. She thought that the "Egyptian craze" would take a while, but she didn't expect the Belgians to start collecting so early.

"Tomb robbers are not unique in modern times, madam. In the 9th century, Ibn Tulun Khalifa established an army specialized in tomb robbers in Egypt, and extensively excavated the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs and Nubian black pharaohs. They flowed into the hands of the caliphs of the Abbasid Empire through the Silk Road, and were brought back to Europe as trophies during the Crusades." St. Tirell explained, "The primary goal of the Crusaders was gold, and then It's silver, with these precious metals, Florence and Venice..."

"And Genoa." Dominique said aside.

"Yes, and Genoa, the knights with their arms brought conquest and destruction, but also a large number of European merchants and travelers, who also bought things from the tombs of pharaohs in the bazaars of Baghdad and Damascus ’ said Saint-Tirrell.

Georgiana nodded.

"That's how you see the Egyptian expeditionary force?" Dominique asked Saint-Tirrell. "Just brought conquest and destruction?"

"Who is Ibn Tulun?" Georgiana asked.

"He used to be a slave of the Abbasid Caliph Mamun. He was born in Baghdad. When he grew up, he became the commander of the court guards. Later, he became the assistant of the Egyptian governor and acted as an acting governor. The Abbasid Empire and the Tang Empire broke out. After the Battle of Ross, although Abbas finally acquired the precious metal mines in Talas and the river area, he still could not make up for the consumption of the war, so the caliph ordered Egypt to hand over enough gold and silver, and the tax collector appointed by Ibn Tulun from the caliph It seized all of Egypt's financial power in its hands, and only turned over a small part of its annual revenue to the treasury, plus the pharaoh's burial objects obtained from his tomb robbery, it formed an army of 100,000 people and made Egypt independent."

"That's all?" Georgiana asked.

"What do you mean, ma'am?" St. Tyrrell asked.

"What else did he do?" Georgiana asked.

"I remember, he built a mosque in Cairo, and it still stands," Saint-Tirrell replied.

"I mean what did he do for the Egyptian people?" she asked again.

"He built a hospital, a naval base and water conservancy, but his eldest son, Abbas, was rebellious during the caliph's reign, so the caliph succeeded his second son, a spendthrift monarch, who reigned for ten years He was killed by the guards, and later the descendants of Ibn Tulun fought endlessly for the throne, and the riots in various places accelerated the decline of the dynasty. After only 37 years, the Tulun dynasty perished."

Georgiana was silent.

"Do you think grave robbery is shameful?" Saint-Tirrell asked.

"In the past," said Georgiana icily.

"Why not now?" St. Tyrrell asked.

"In ancient Greek mythology, Hades, the god of the underworld, was very rich. Human beings spent a lot of effort just to dig out the gold from the ground and then bury it back into the ground?" Georgiana asked.

"You are right," said a Genoese. "Prosperity comes only when gold coins flow."

"And new base currencies, like the Spanish dollar and the Levantine thaler," said another Genoese.

"But it will be considered disrespectful to the dead." St. Tirell hesitated. "I heard the locals often mention the curse of the pharaoh."

Georgiana sneered.

Goblins also like ancient Egyptian things, but they are afraid of curses, so Gringotts in Egypt understands the profession of curse masters.

At this time, she passed a small lapis lazuli sculpture, which had the style of ancient Egypt, and above that sculpture was an ordinary oil painting.

"Which of you has been to Padua?" asked Georgiana.

But she didn't want other people's answers so much, and said self-sufficiently, "I saw Giotto's frescoes there, and he used expensive materials such as lapis lazuli, because the merchants who built the church hoped to pay for usurers. Father's atonement."

"Will it work?" St. Tyrrell said.

"Ibn Tulun built a hospital with the proceeds of tomb robbery, but his dynasty was not blessed. Maybe you are right. There is indeed such a thing as the curse of the pharaoh, and those pharaohs who carried a large number of burial objects are not blessed by the country. Zuo long."

No one spoke.

"Speaking of this, thanks to the Pope's wealth, Florence and Tuscany are so rich, and so many artworks and artists have been born." Georgiana said with a smile, "But compared to Medici, Da Vinci Seems to prefer François of France."

"Madam likes Da Vinci?" Dominique asked politely.

"Not only Da Vinci, but I also like Titian."

"What about modern ones?" Dominique asked.

"I've found that's why it's easier to talk about the dead than the living, because they don't jump out of the grave to argue." She smiled easily.

"Madam should know how the Medici family got rich." A Genoese said suddenly.

Georgiana looked at him.

"When will the First Consul fulfill his promise?" the Genoese continued.

"May I have your name?"

"Cavallo, Leon Cavallo," said the Genoese.

When Florence established the Republic, Pope Alexander VI helped the Medici family return to Florence, and the pope came from the Borgia family.

It seems that Borgia has no reason to help the Medici, but the Pope still used the arbitration issue of the prime meridian to reach a deal with the Spaniards, allowing the Pope to admit that this "India" belonged to Spain, and then Spain helped the Medici in Florence to restore Returning to his hometown, he did not take the opportunity to occupy Florence.

The Pope doesn't seem to get any benefit out of it, as if he's just.

The Medici were not alone among the pope's financiers. Only after the financial crisis in the 14th century, such as the bankruptcy of Peruzzi Bank, other banks stood on the stage again. Chi and the Cavallo family of Genoa.

And this is also one of the conditions Napoleon offered to the Genoese. He promised to "help" a Genoese become "Master of Rome".

But he didn't intend to fulfill it, at best he treated the Genoese more than other Italians, although his approach was like what he himself said: an admirable liar does not lie in how scheming he is, or how well-planned and perfect , but because he inspired the people and changed the face of the world.

If Georgiana is so honest and trustworthy, she will help him fulfill this promise, otherwise, she is just like him.

Even to defeat Voldemort, Pomona chose Neville the "loser" when Harry lied.

In a biography, Napoleon's second wife, the Austrian princess, described him as "the scum of hell", but Georgiana doesn't think so now.

After all, Lucifer was also the brightest morning star before his fall.