A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

A middle-aged man in his thirties, he looks Italian, maybe a bit mixed-race.

However, mixed-race people weren't discriminated against much these days. In fact, the concept of ethnicity wasn't even widely accepted. Religious beliefs, not anything else, were the true dividing lines.

The sergeant was clearly a little awkward facing the Grand Commander, even though Thomas was over a decade younger than him.

"Your Excellency, Grand Commander... um, I'm here to receive..."

"I know," Thomas smiled. "Take it easy, sit down first."

Judging from the voice, this person is obviously the one who insists on the "magic advancement theory".

"I won't waste your time. I have a safe way to advance to the elite ranks, but there's a condition," Thomas said sternly. "You must swear in the name of Christ not to tell anyone else about what happened today."

The soldier stammered and swore that he would never tell anyone.

Then Thomas took out a bottle of potion from his pocket.

"Is this... a magic potion?" The sergeant had obviously heard of this kind of thing, and he couldn't hide the disappointment on his face.

Although this thing is rare, it is not precious.

Even a fool can understand that potions are worse than fighting for life and death on the battlefield!

Although there is not much difference in actual effect between the two.

"It's a potion, but it's not as simple as you think," Thomas said. He shook out his magic banner. "You're under the protection of Christ here, so your life isn't in real danger."

The sergeant suddenly understood.

"Drink it, then stay here overnight. I expect you'll be an elite warrior by tomorrow," Thomas said. "I've already ordered a room for you. Tomorrow morning, I hope to have another elite warrior in the Knights Templar! If you're willing to become a full knight of the Knights Templar, I'd welcome you!"

The sergeant was so excited that he was speechless for a moment.

After he left, another sergeant came over and Thomas did the same thing.

Can two people keep a secret, even if they swear by Christ?

No matter, secret or not, Thomas had fattened up the bait.

Sooner or later you'll catch a bigger fish.

These are all layouts, but what comes next is the real business.

I guess the businessman should be here soon.

In this era, the status of businessmen was not high.

However, if the business reaches a certain scale, it is indeed qualified to sit in the lord's VIP seat.

After all, not every monarch can say that he is independent of businessmen.

Especially for a small lord like Rhodes Island - although Thomas is independent, it is ultimately only at the level of an earldom.

The only difference is that he did not swear allegiance to a higher lord and did not bear those feudal obligations.

After all, Rhodes Island only has one earldom. No matter how wealthy it is, it cannot produce everything it needs.

Many materials need to be purchased from outside.

The food supply was not bad, as the island's land was fertile and suitable for farming. However, the country was very dependent on imports for weapons and equipment.

Thomas also remembered clearly that in the history of his previous life, facing the army of the Ottoman Sultan, the Knights Hospitaller were exhausted of ammunition and food in Rhodes Island.

Although the Ottomans fought extremely hard, suffered heavy casualties and low morale, the elite Chenieri Guards had to rely on officers' swords to force them to launch an attack.

But the situation of the Knights Hospitaller was even worse. They had run out of ammunition and food - actually they had run out of food, but they had run out of ammunition.

The gunpowder and arrows were really exhausted.

Otherwise the Knights Hospitaller would not give up.

This time it is Thomas' turn to face the Crescent-Creature coalition, and he will certainly not make the same mistake as the Knights Hospitaller.

Before the war comes, we must stockpile enough ammunition and arrows! Of course, other weapons are also necessary.

And we can’t just follow the usual routine of placing an order and then receiving the goods a year or two later. We have to deliver fast and in large quantities. The sooner the better, the more the better.

After all, Thomas didn't know when the Byzantines would be defeated.

If the Byzantine navy is destroyed today, the warships of the Crescent-Cranoid Alliance may arrive in the waters of Rhodes tomorrow.

With the navy Thomas currently has, it is impossible for him to even offer a little resistance.

Once Rhodes Island is blocked, it will be too late.

The businessman Thomas is going to meet today is called Leonor, a famous arms dealer.

However, he is not a citizen of any of the famous Mediterranean republics, but a Portuguese. In other words, his backer is the Portuguese royal family.

Venice, Genoa, Milan, and other Italian commercial republics were powerful, but information leaked easily. Thomas wanted to avoid them as much as possible and quietly purchase arms.

Otherwise, if the news gets out, the Star-Moon Cult will definitely come out to cause trouble.

The Portuguese, who had less involvement with the Knights Templar, became a good choice.

According to Thomas's memories from his previous life, as well as intelligence gathered from various sources, the Portuguese should be currently mobilizing their forces and preparing for expansion. This would inevitably require them to recruit craftsmen and learn technical skills. Unfortunately, their financial resources are limited.

Therefore, there must be a demand for selling second-hand (?) arms in this process.

However, in this era, the most advanced military technologies were still in the commercial republics, so it was not easy for the Portuguese to export weapons and equipment. They had no choice but to lower the prices and focus on cost-effectiveness.

The Knights now want cost-effectiveness, not high performance.

After all, money is limited.

Business at this level is different from daily trivial matters. The subordinates cannot make the decision, so only Thomas, the commander-in-chief, can step in.

Sure enough, Thomas didn't have to wait long before the businessman named Leonor arrived.

To show his sincerity, Thomas chose to meet with the distinguished guest in a private reception room.

Incense was rarely lit in the reception room.

Leonor was a man dressed in a gorgeous robe and a gray sheepskin hat trimmed with gold, exuding the air of a nouveau riche. He was younger than expected, around forty.

He wasn't alone; he was accompanied by two young people, a man and a woman. One could tell from their appearance alone that the three of them were closely related.

They should be Leonor's children.

According to intelligence, this time, Leonor did not come to Rhodes Island alone, but with his family. It is said that in addition to his wife, he has five or six children.

These two should be his older children.

While they were meeting in Thomas's reception room, a small boat came ashore on the other side of Rhodes Island.

A figure in a gray robe jumped onto the land.

Rhodes Island is too big, with too many places suitable for landing, and it is impossible to guard against one or two uninvited guests.

On the shore, someone was already waiting. "Sir Sayyid, you're finally here!"

Chapter 91 Merchant 2

The man named Sayid looked at the people who came to welcome him.

The other person was dressed in completely Latin clothing and didn't look like a member of the Star-Moon Cult at all.

However, considering the other party's identity as a spy lurking behind enemy lines, he could only snort coldly. "What's your name?"

This coast is surrounded by wasteland and sandy beaches, with no other figures in sight.

"You can call me Ali, sir. I have prepared clothes for you, please change into them," said the spy.

Said was dressed in ethnic clothes and even had a turban on his head, which was really eye-catching.

"No!" Said replied.

"Sir, this is Christian territory. Even you can't move freely here dressed like this."

"I won't wear those pagan clothes!" Said said disdainfully.

"Um...Sir..." The corners of Ali's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Everyone says that this guy named Sayyid has a weird temper, and now it seems that they are absolutely right.

"But if that's the case... there will be a lot of trouble..."

"I don't care. These are not my problems." Said replied coldly. "I come to kill people, take treasures, and leave immediately!"

"Sir! Even you can't just charge headfirst into the Knights' headquarters!" Ali sighed. "There are hundreds of knights and thousands of soldiers there! And this is just an island, after all. If we're discovered and besieged, there's nowhere to escape! We must be patient and wait for the Grand Master to be alone. Although I believe we won't have to wait long."

"I don't care about that kind of thing. I don't wear pagan clothes anyway!"

"Okay, okay, Lord Sayyid, I'll prepare a house for you in the suburbs, and you can wait there for me to report." The spy sighed again. "Don't go out normally!"

This would require him to spend more time figuring out Thomas's habitual route so that he could set up an ambush in advance. But there was no other way.

"Please come with me."

The boat had already sailed away, and the two figures slowly disappeared into the wilderness.

There is still a vast sea and sky here, and only God's eyes can know what happened here.

Meanwhile, at the Knights' headquarters, Thomas was chatting with the wealthy businessman Leonor.

There are two reasons why we found this person named Leonor. The first is that Leonor has the goods in hand.

In other words, the Portuguese royal family has the goods in hand.

The second is Leonor, who is said to have encountered some difficulties and he must have an urgent need to ship the goods.

So as long as the negotiation methods are appropriate, Thomas believes that the price can be lowered.

At this moment, Leonor and her eldest son and daughter were in the living room, enjoying Chinese tea, Indian incense, and oriental white sugar.

The two sides chatted, and as they talked, Thomas tried to get the topic back on track.

Unfortunately, the other party kept laughing and refused to get to the point.

Indeed, Thomas's level is not enough to negotiate business with such a veteran businessman.

After several exchanges, Thomas decided to admit defeat and stop wasting time, and instead get straight to the point.

"Mr. Leonor, why don't you tell me frankly? What conditions do you want in order to sell that batch of arms to me without raising the price?" Thomas asked sincerely.

"This... is actually very simple." Leonor smiled, and a classic businessman's smile appeared on her face.

"You should know that the goods I have are quite substantial and can be delivered directly. Many interested parties have already asked me for payment methods. So selling such a batch of goods is definitely not that easy..."

"That's easy. Mr. Leonor, please tell me the terms. I'll consider whether they're suitable." Thomas smiled. Waiting for the other party to quote a price first, then slowly negotiating, was his area of ​​expertise.

And to be honest, Thomas had no intention of delaying the payment.

Leonor smiled slightly and placed her palms on the table.

"Since the Grand Commander is so straightforward, I'll be frank. If you want the goods I have, you must meet several conditions. The first of which is to pay a sufficient deposit."

"How much is the deposit?"

"This number!" Leonor stretched out her palm and shook it a few times, front and back.

"Ten thousand florins? No problem."

"Two hundred thousand florins!" Leonor said. "The deposit must be at least two hundred thousand florins!"

He actually didn't want to sell these goods now because he had a feeling that a new large-scale war would break out and the price of these goods would increase.

However, due to several consecutive business failures, the cash flow became unsustainable and there were too many outstanding debts for the goods. In desperation, he could only think of cheating as much as he could.

First, get the money, and then refund it after the turnover is completed.

Let’s offset the debt first.

"Sure!" Thomas kept smiling.

Leonor was startled. Damn, the whole batch of goods was worth about 500,000 florins, and he directly paid a deposit of 200,000 florins, but the other party remained calm.

I heard that the Knights recently launched a large-scale attack, plundered Tobruk, and made a rich harvest. Now it seems that their rumors are true.

"Are you sure?!" he asked seriously. In his heart, he knew that his shipment was probably more important to the other party than he had imagined.

He knew what was going on. Damn, if the other party hadn't said "no price increase," he would have definitely raised the price.

However, the other party clearly stated that they would not increase the price, so we can only make up for it in other ways.

"Of course I am sure." Thomas replied.