Vol 6 Chapter 1: Venice

In Venice, the capital city on the water and the castle of wealth, there have been countless people who have pursued their dreams here and eventually broke their dreams. There have also been people who have fallen into poverty but have reached their peak in life.
Venice is a beautiful but dangerous city, where ambition and ideals are separated by water, and success and fiasco are often only overnight.
This is the richest city in the whole of Europe and the most powerful country in the European navy.
At this time, the wind has risen on the sea, and between the waves, you can see the undulating sails appearing from time to time, the warships gathered in the port are terrible and horrible, if someone is from the black mouth of the gun owner and the boat gang Looking in, one wonders that they can spray flames of death at any time.
The collision angle of the warship gleamed in the sun with a faint luster, because the over-weighted ship hovering from time to time with the water waves seemed to plunge into the dark sea at any time. This is among these terrible sea giants. In the meantime, countless boats shuttled all kinds of supplies to the ship.
The Venetians made all preparations for the war. The government spent a lot of money to build the fleet. At the same time, the armed merchant ships that recruited the merchants were flooded with active duty. Many Venetian merchants also generously sacked. They had to rent their own ships to the Venetian navy, or they would free The ports along the coast contributed their own ignorance reserves of the Chamber of Commerce. At this time, the Venetians showed an unprecedented unity, and their common enemy is the Ottoman Navy!
The threat of Ottomans to Venice is too great. Whether it is their overseas colonies or the maritime routes that the Venetians rely on for survival, they are now under serious threat from the Ottomans.
Although Crete, the largest maritime colony, is not in danger of falling for the time being, the estrangement that has been caused by the siege and the Venetian mainland has made the Venetians feel that the control of Crete is becoming increasingly difficult.
Although there are rumors that some people seem to have taken the opportunity to erode their influence on Crete, these rumors have been suppressed by the Venetian government.
This is a very strange phenomenon to say. Although the power of Venice has been firmly in the hands of the largest oligarchs such as the Barbaric family, unless it is critical to the safety of Venice, conquest often does not control the people. They all said something, but this time the government came forward to punish some people who were too enthusiastic about things in Crete. Although these people were arrested and paid a fine, they were released immediately, but people Still smell something unusual from it.
It's just that the shadow of the war has always been over the sky of Venice, which makes many people forget to think about too many things, because soon they will have a decisive battle with the powerful Ottoman Navy.
For this battle that almost determined the future fate of Venice on the Mediterranean Sea, all Venetians invested a great deal of enthusiasm. In addition to building warships, some chambers of commerce offered to offer the government mercenaries or simply provide nothing. Interest-bearing loans, as for returns, are the most successful investment for them to keep Venice's future trade safety at sea.
In this war for wealth, every Venetian is making his own contribution, and even some artists have been involved in this fierce preparation for defending the interests of the sea, which is very rare in many places.
A pretty-looking little boy walked quickly along the street. He wore black top and bottom farmer clothes. This is often the clothes that farmers only pass on. Many families also wear this for children because they are always naughty. It makes the clothes dirty, and this farmer's outfit is easy to change.
The boy's clothes also looked dirty, but it was not mud but stained with various colors of dyes. This is not new in this era or in Venice, although it has a full artistic atmosphere with Florence The places are not comparable, but there are also many outstanding art masters in Venice. From the dress of this boy, it can be seen that he should be a student of a painter or an apprentice of a gallery.
Students and apprentices are not always the same, students are more pure, and apprentices have to assume certain work obligations, but many later famous painters also started from apprentices, so for people because of his slightly sloppy and full of laughter , The boy did n’t feel any embarrassment at all, on the contrary, he raised his head and sang the song he heard from the buskers on the street the other day. He leaped across the narrow Linhe Street and then ran across two small bridges. And a doorway, came to a small but lively small square.
The small square is semi-circular. In the middle of the square stands an ancient stone sculpture. The statue is full of exotic styles. A fountain is just below the stone statue, and the water spouting just under the stone statue.
The square is surrounded by a circle of houses, and there is a stone road paved with masonry to form a circle that allows the carriage to run around the square. However, because there is only one street for the carriage to enter and exit, there are few carriages for convenience. Enter the square.
But today is not the same. When the boy walked through the doorway, he happened to see several cavalry soldiers hugging a carriage slowly through the crowd into the small square.
This is a black carriage, which looks very strong, and there is no sign on the body to indicate who is sitting inside, but the strangely dressed guards around the carriage can tell that the identity of the people in the car is different.
Because there were many people in the square, the carriage was moving very slowly. When the carriage passed by the boy, he seemed to vaguely see his unusually bright eyes in the slit of the curtain slightly floating from the window.
The boy continued to walk forward, to his surprise, the carriage in front seemed to be in the same direction as him. When he was about to walk in front of his teacher ’s gallery, he was surprised to find that the carriage had stopped in front of the gallery, and several The guards have dismounted, segregating the people at the door between the carriage and the gallery door.
The boy was a bit hesitant about whether he should continue to move forward, but thinking of the teacher's sternness, he could only walk past daringly, but he was naturally blocked by the soldiers who didn't look so annoying.
The boy was a little uneasy but looked at the guard in front of him with curiosity. He had never seen a military uniform that was so strangely dressed but was not in the uniform of a Venetian soldier.
The red military uniform looks very eye-catching, and the white feathers hanging from the back of the helmet sway back and forth, but what fascinates him most is the half-body armor on the soldiers that is tied with the brass buckle. power.
The door opened and a young noble came out. Then he turned slightly and extended his hand, but then the boy and a lot of people around him were accidentally a girl who suddenly jumped out of the car.
It was indeed a sudden jump, and she jumped out of the carriage with a "poof", and seemed to cheer when she fell on the ground.
This is a girl who looks full of health and vitality different from any noble lady. Although her dress is gorgeous, but these dresses seem to restrain her, although she immediately straightened up and handed To the young man, at the same time try to make a look of weakness, but her flexible deer-like expression still "sell" her.
The young man has been laughing, whether she jumps out of the carriage lively or strives to keep quiet, it seems to be as pleasing as the picture of the same activity in the eyes of the young man, so he has been smiling, and it seems that he has been watching so It doesn't matter if the girl does nothing for a day.
The boy was a little dazed when he saw the girl jumping out of the carriage. He stared blankly at the girl who was nearly a head taller than him. Although he knew that it was very impolite to look at people, and he was obviously noble, but he still Still seemingly ignorant of the immature heart still seems to be poked hard by something.
"This is Master Bellini's gallery?" The young man asked a guard, and after getting a positive answer, he took the girl's hand and was about to enter the house.
"I'm sorry," a voice that sounded like courage was heard from the side. The young man looked back and saw a boy standing on the side of the road trying to make himself look calmer. Do you have anything to do with Mr. Bellini? "
"Are you a master student?" The young man didn't rush into the gallery but turned and walked towards the boy, which seemed to make him more nervous, but from the glance he couldn't help glancing sideways, the boy seemed The girl who cares about being held by the young man looks at him.
"Yes, adult." The boy hesitated and felt that he should add honorifics. "I am a new student from the teacher, and I am learning with the teacher."
The young man nodded, then he looked down at the boy who kept peeping, and then tilted his head to look at the curious girl looking around. He seemed to remember something, so he bent down slightly and squinted slightly with his hands on his knees He asked with curiosity, "Can I know what your name is?"
"Vecellio," the boy replied slightly proudly, but he seemed to feel that the surname didn't sound so loud and could not attract the attention of the girl next to him, and he continued with a louder voice. "Titian Vecelli Oh!"
The young man slowly stood up straight, lowered his head and looked at the little man in front of him with a weird look. After a while when the boy started to feel uneasy, the young man slowly nodded and said something strange, "Yes, You are, of course, Titian Vecellio, and you can see it from such an early age.
Giovanni Bellini, a well-known painter in Venice, is probably the longest lived among all the people named Giovanni who are known by the pressure mountain.
At least this year, this master who is known as a mountain figure of the Venetian school has been 70 years old, and according to Alexandria, this master will continue to create many excellent works in the next ten years, which is also for his future The two most proud students laid a solid foundation for bringing the Venetian School to glory.
Bellini, Giorgione and Titian are the founders of the Venetian School, and the heroes that enabled the Venetian School to occupy a place in the splendid history of Italian art.
It's just that although Bellini is already famous, Giorgione is still just as famous. As for Titian, this guy who likes to get into the boudoir to paint private rooms for ladies in the future, is still a dare to peep. Beauty's little fart boy.
Looking at the young man on the opposite side, Bellini is respectful and cautious. He knows the power of this young man and what kind of influence this person has.
Alexandre Juliant Gumbre, Count of Montina and Regent of Pisa, Lords of Naples and the Kingdom of Sicily, and perhaps other identity titles, Bellini is not very clear, but these are not the most important.
Bellini often doesn't care much about matters other than painting, but even this is something he has heard of this person.
When news came about the war in Bucharest, there was a name associated with the war.
Alexander Juliant Gumbre, the defender of Bucharest and the hero who resisted the invasion of Ottomans, about the name was known even before this person had reached Venice, and when this person arrived, it was five hundred from Venice The grand welcoming ceremony held by him in the name of the Academy of Human Resources created the highest specification for welcoming foreign nobles and generals in Venice for many years.
So when Bellini saw that the young conquistador, who was even called the conqueror, came to his studio unexpectedly, the aged painter showed undisguised surprise.
"Master, I hope my arrival does not interfere with your work," Alexander said to Bellini, who had gray hair and deep wrinkles covering her cheeks. "My bold visit is to hope you can draw a picture for us portrait."
Bellini looked at Alexandria unexpectedly. He heard the meaning of "we" and couldn't help but keep silent to the count, but the young girl who seemed to be full of curiosity looked at it.
Bellini knows this girl, or the biggest topic in Venice now is her.
The last blood of the Eastern Roman Empire, the lonely girl, the fleeing life of exile, and the legendary experience in Bucharest that inspired and inspired countless warriors to fight for the enemy, although they could not utter a word People regard this incredible girl as a miracle.
"Portrait of us," Alexander stretched out his hand to embrace Sophia next to him, and then glared fiercely at the nasty little fart boy next to him.
Speaking of it, if Titian Vecellio is still young, Alexander is really not at ease to let Sophia meet him. After all, think about this guy who has been famous for painting beautiful ladies all his life. Alexander felt Itchy at all.
Of course he would not admit that this was jealous, and he was not generous enough to allow this guy to stare at his woman all day long, so even if he saw Titian Vecellio today, he still couldn't help it. Hates this little fart boy.
Bellini glanced at Alexander a bit strangely. He could feel that the count did not seem to like his proud pupil, but he did not care too much, and he was seriously considering the count's request at this time.
Making portraits for noble characters was originally a way for many painters to use their fame or seek funding. Many painters have racked their brains to get such a good opportunity.
The Earl of Montina and the Grand Duchess of Wallachia believe that anyone who has the opportunity to paint for them will be agitated and unable to sleep.
But Bellini was not thinking about himself.
The aged master knows that he is too old, and the reputation he deserves is enough to maintain his glory for the rest of his life. He hopes to leave this rare opportunity to his proud students.
However, Bellini also worried that such a suggestion might make the count uncomfortable. He first accepted it, and then carefully said, "His Royal Highness, Master, it is my honor to paint for you, but I am afraid I will let it You are disappointed. I ’m so old that I ca n’t even take the brush, and my eyes are about to see clearly, and sometimes I ca n’t tell the difference between red and black.

Following Bellini's words, she was curiously looking at Sophia around her and slowly turned her head. She was a little puzzled, and then quickly gestured to Alexander to ask. When she got a positive answer, Sophia's There was an instant anger on his face.
The exercise in the Prague court and the experience in Bucharest made Sophia at this time very different from the bohemian girl who only uttered angrily when she was angry, watching the dissatisfaction instantaneously change from innocent romance. The majestic Sophia, Alexander suddenly felt that she did not know which one she wanted to see more.
"Please forgive Your Highness, I think there is a misunderstanding," Bellini bowed slightly to Sophia. "I am old, but I can recommend you another painter who can satisfy you, my student Giorgione. . "
The master said to give way to the side, reaching out to introduce the young man beside him to the two young nobles in front of him.
Looking at Bellini's undisguised pride, and then looking at the young painter who seemed to be slightly restrained, Alexander couldn't help but smile lightly.
Before he came, he had guessed this possibility, just as Giorgione helped and encouraged his teacher to create the masterpiece "The Banquet of the Gods" when Bellini was nearly 80 years old. Bellini also He has spared no effort in supporting and helping his proud students to get more opportunities.
And Alexandre also has to admit that in his impressions, whether it is painting style or artistic conception, Giorgione is indeed more suitable to be the author of this portrait, while Bellini is more in line with a painting he envisioned later.
As for Titian, Alexander shook his head, letting this little fart kid play while playing. In the future, he would go as his promising private painter.
60 Florin, when Giorgione was frightened to offer the price of painting ~ EbookFREE.me ~ He didn't have any hope, but in this painting, after all, it was to draw portraits of two monarchs, maybe money The lack of it would make these two distinguished guests unhappy, but when Alexander saw the price slightly stunned, the young painter immediately prepared to change his mind.
Just without waiting for him to speak, Alexander had already said, "There are only 60 florins. Should I be happy to save myself a sum of money, or should I be annoyed that I am worth so little?"
Seeing the embarrassment and embarrassment of the young painter's face, Alexander had already waved his hand. "Okay, I paid 100 florins, but I hope to see this painting in four months. . "
Giorgione glanced at Alexander a bit strangely. He didn't know why the count asked for this time, but the 100 Florin's remuneration made him completely unwilling to ask why.
"Then Sophia, you will be in Venice for some time," when returning to the carriage, Alexander whispered to Sophia around her waist. "I will leave soon, because time is running out, but before that There is something to do. "
"Ah?" Sophia suddenly pointed her finger at Bellini's studio that had gone away, revealing a questioning look.
"Yes, Sophia, I'm not here just to draw a portrait," Alexander's eyes also looked through the car window toward the studio that was drifting away. "So some guests will visit us tomorrow."
Sophia's head tilted sideways, and there was another kind of suspicious expression on her face.
Seeing her like this, Alexander's heart jumped uncontrollably, and immediately hugged her tightly in her arms.
"You are such a terrifying little devil."
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