Chapter 785: A Life That Did Not Go Smoothly

Through his tireless efforts, he soon read through every scrap of miscellaneous knowledge the academy had collected, and also learned Latin, Spanish, Italian, and several other languages then current in Europe. At the same time, he caught the eye of a teacher, and eventually, on that teacher's recommendation, Louis de Rochefort went to Rome after graduation and became a cleric under a bishop of the Holy See — who was also a friend of his teacher.

Seeing a path to advancement, Louis threw himself into rising through the Church hierarchy to win his fortune, working twice as hard for this bishop, earning the man's regard and approval, and becoming his trusted right hand.

Just as Louis felt his future was boundless and that he would soon make a name for himself, the first blow of his life struck without warning.

Because they had come from the same seminary, Louis and the bishop both belonged to the Dominican Order. At that moment, within the Holy See, the Jesuits were rising forcefully as a new faction, doing everything in their power to push out clergy who did not belong to their group — and the bishop, Louis, and their associates naturally became the first sacrifices.

The ferocity of the power struggles within the Church and the ruthlessness with which the clergy tore at one another surpassed anything young Louis had imagined. Before long, the bishop and Louis were packed off to Venice to serve as local clergy.

After this blow, Louis had no choice but to abandon all hope of seizing power within the Church, turning instead to the prosperous commercial hub of Venice in search of a chance to make his fortune.

Though Venice at this time was no longer as extravagantly wealthy as in its heyday, it remained one of the richest regions in Italy, its merchant ships reaching every corner of the Mediterranean and its financial industry highly developed. In order to earn money, Louis slowly began to learn the rules of commerce, and he put his meager savings into commercial speculation.

In Venice — a city known as the Water City and one devoted entirely to profit — Louis often took a skiff from exchange to exchange and harbor to harbor, wandering and pacing, feverishly hunting for speculative opportunities, without the slightest regard for the dignity of a clergyman. It was precisely through this nerve and persistence that he gradually mastered the workings of commerce and built up a considerable fortune.

Yet the blow that followed plunged Louis, for a time, into despair.

In 1605, the Republic of Venice, aiming to strike at the Church, deliberately arrested two clergymen on minor charges and enacted laws restricting the Church's right to hold landed property, bringing it into conflict with the Church once again. Pope Paul V held that these actions violated canon law and demanded the rulings be revoked. When the Republic refused, the Pope issued an interdict against Venice. The Republic ignored the interdict and ordered its priests to continue performing the sacraments. The Republic's actions triggered a sharp conflict with the Church. France intervened and proposed a compromise; a year later, the interdict was lifted, but the local clergy were punished by the Church — and the fortune Louis had painstakingly accumulated was almost entirely wiped out in the upheaval.

Caught between two colossal forces, Louis had to face the reality of being ruined once again. Unable to rise within the Church system, unable to make his fortune in Venice — blow after blow drove him nearly to despair.

After a long period of despondency, the fire in Louis de Rochefort's heart blazed up again, and he found himself a new land of opportunity — the Netherlands.

At this time in the Netherlands, the Protestant United Provinces, led by their Stadtholder Maurice, Prince of Orange — son of William the Silent — were locked in a raging war for independence against the Catholic Spanish Empire. The Spanish cry of "Better a poor Netherlands for God than a rich Netherlands for the Devil" had been ringing out for decades. Using his status as a clergyman, Louis called on the bishop and his other connections within the Church, and at last was dispatched to the Netherlands as a priest. Without the slightest concern for the dangers of the war, he threw himself with fanatical zeal into the Spanish Empire's suppression of the Protestant rebellion in the region, repeatedly gathering intelligence for the Spanish army and even guiding Spanish troops in putting down the rebels on several occasions. He did this, of course, not merely to help God purify the Netherlands, but also to rescue the property of these heretics for himself.

In all his years of wandering, the first place that reminded him of home was a village of scenic beauty in the southern Netherlands. That day, he arrived there. The place grew different varieties of figs and fruit; melons and licorice covered the ground, along with Spanish irises, Italian oleanders, and jasmine from the Azores — everything was there. Beneath a gentle, clear sky, the windmills of the mill turned slowly in the warm spring breeze.

The Rhine lay at his feet; from the heights he could overlook its vast, surging waters. Canals built by the locals over centuries channeled the river so it would not flood the land, guiding it into the fields for irrigation. Across the azure sky, wisps of cloud drifted by from time to time, and no matter where one stood, one could see the infinite variations those clouds lent to every detail of the magnificent landscape.

What a beautiful place — it was almost like home...

After suppressing the involuntary surge of emotion in his heart, he led the Spanish soldiers and burned the village to the ground, and also looted a large sum of money from the wealthiest family there.

Because he had been dealing with the army all along, this once-devout seminary graduate gradually picked up some basic knowledge of military affairs and weaponry, and even took to carrying a gun for self-defense. He seemed more an adventurer than a servant of God; he even visited workshops and foundries where guns and cannons were made, and saw water-powered machinery in operation — after all, in wartime, making and selling arms was a hugely profitable business...

Not long after, contrary to Louis's wishes, the Spanish began to show signs of decline in the war against the Dutch. Their offensive operations grew fewer and fewer, making Louis's activities increasingly difficult. It was around this time that, in a unit he was close to, an old soldier injured his right hand in a skirmish. The veteran had never saved much money and so received no decent care. On a rare impulse of charity, Louis paid to have him treated. After the old soldier recovered, he did not return to his unit but instead followed Louis and became his servant.

As pyre after pyre blazed across the land of the Netherlands, Louis also reaped a huge windfall from his service to the Spanish Empire's army, making himself a rich man once again. At the same time, with a large sum of money in hand, Louis, wanting his wealth to multiply, invested most of it in the then-emerging shipping industry and maritime trade — though most of those engaged in overseas trade were northern Protestants, Louis did not care.

However, Louis's good luck soon ran out.

The Spanish, exhausted by decades of war, finally wearied of fighting and were forced in 1609 to sign a Twelve Years' Truce with the northern rebels, effectively recognizing the independence of the Republic of the United Provinces. The newborn Dutch Republic officially brought Louis's good times to an end.

Without the war, the Spanish no longer needed Louis's services, while the Dutch still remembered the crimes he had committed earlier. What drove Louis even deeper into despair was that, due to a shipwreck, most of his investments in overseas trade went down the drain. To save his own life, Louis, once again reduced to nearly nothing, had to flee the Netherlands in panic with his servant and search for a new opportunity.

This time, he did not remain idle for long before finding himself another chance.

Through his own channels of information, he heard a rumor: the ministers of the Ottoman Empire were recruiting personnel across Europe to expand their navy. Without much hesitation, the passion boiling in his veins and his dreams of wealth made Louis's decision for him.

Though the Ottoman Empire was already in gradual decline at this time, it still maintained the scale of a vast empire and continued to vie with the Republic of Venice for supremacy in the Mediterranean. To this end, its ministers were determined to expand the navy at all costs.

The Ottomans were infidels and had occupied Constantinople, the holy city of Christendom, but Louis did not give this any consideration whatsoever when making his decision. As long as it would let him make a great fortune, he did not care about serving heathens — and there was the added factor of striking at the Venetians to avenge himself.

After a long journey, he arrived in Constantinople with his servant, and there, using the knowledge he had acquired in the Netherlands, he secured employment with the Ottomans. As he traveled around Constantinople, the magnificent palaces of the Ottomans and the extravagant lives of their ministers filled him with awe and further steeled his determination to rise to the top.

That's right — he had not come to the Ottomans merely to serve as some technical advisor; he was also thinking of winning the favor of the Ottoman Sultan and becoming his counselor or even his servant. If he could become an Ottoman minister, wouldn't all the glory and riches be his for the taking?

Soon, thanks to his knowledge, after an audience with an Ottoman minister, he really was taken into service by the Ottomans as a shipbuilding consultant. The Ottomans gave him a generous salary and even the occasional chance to meet with the minister. Seeing new hope, Louis redoubled his efforts, wanting to put down roots in this heathen land and realize his dream.

Yet once again, things did not go as he wished.

Only one update today. It was only when a certain reader cursed and demanded an update just now that I realized what holiday it was yesterday.

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