Alexander didn't see Caesar when he came to the Sistine Chapel, of course, because he deliberately avoided the awkward meeting.

Seeing Alexander, the Pope did not show any special expression, he still calmly inquired about the old Rovere's side, when he heard that Caesar's small Papal Army had been disarmed except for those who participated in the rebellion, Alexander VI did not show displeasure, on the contrary, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"I don't need them," said Alexander VI in a low voice, "they are a burden to me, and they can't do anything but keep consuming my money." ”

Listening to the pope's complaints, Alexander didn't say anything, because he knew that this was not actually the old man's heart.

Alexander VI had a strong desire to establish an army belonging to the Papal States, or to be more precise, to the Borgia dynasty, and he did so in history, Caesar relied on this small but strong army to make waves in central Italy, and even after the unexpected death of Alexander VI, he still led that army to continue to fight everywhere, if it were not for the fact that Louis XII found him more and more difficult to control, He also noticed that he seemed to be trying to secretly collude with Aragorn and stopped supporting him, and even later acquiesced in the encirclement and suppression of him by the Italian nobles, and perhaps he would do more unexpected things.

But even so, one need only recall the series of places that Caesar conquered by that army, and it can be seen that the strength of this Papal State army cannot be underestimated, and without the full support of Alexander VI, Caesar could not have done so many amazing things.

So Alexander did not answer after listening to the Pope's words, but asked Nomelo, who was on the side, to whisper a few words.

Nomelo groaned for a moment, then stood up and bowed to leave.

Watching the figure of the secretary disappear outside the door, when the door closed, Alexander VI let out a breath of stuffiness that had accumulated in his chest.

"I have done as you ask," said the Pope, in a tone of weakness and weariness, "I only hope that you will keep the agreement between us, and that you will not forget Alexander, Caesar is not only my son, but also Lucrezia's brother." ”

"But you know he doesn't think of me as his family," Alexander was unmoved, he knew that this was indeed the time when Alexander VI was at his weakest, but it would be a mistake to think that the old man, who seemed to have been battered, would be devastated by this, and Alexander was sure that whoever thought so, probably did not know how he would die next, "He has been directed against me more than once, as far as I know, he not only wants to kill but also wants to take my territory, and he is also in collusion with the FrenchI think if possible he would even want to murder my daughter. ”

"Caesar wouldn't do that!" Alexander VI refuted loudly, but looking at Alexander's unblinking eyes, the Pope's tone finally softened a little: "I will not allow him to murder my granddaughter, you know my feelings for my family, I will not let this happen." ”

"But you still watched him murder me."

"What can I do? He's my son! Alexander VI roared angrily, but then waved his hand helplessly, "We are a family, aren't we, Caesar is being punished for his mistakes, I believe he will know what to do after this time." All you can do is give him a chance. ”

"I've already given him a chance, and more than once," Alexander stood up and looked down at the tired Pope, "so I'm not going to forgive him this time, he has to take responsibility for what he did, and you should know that it's actually for his own good, otherwise I can't guarantee that I won't cut off his head with my own hands next time." ”

Alexander VI wanted to say something, but he couldn't say it after opening his mouth for a long time, he knew that Caesar really provoked Alexander this time, thinking that Alexander deliberately offered to imprison him on the island of Elba, not far from the coast of Tuscany, the Pope could feel Alexander's irrepressible anger and his determination to take revenge on Caesar.

"You promised me that I would not hurt him," Alexander VI had to try to impress Alexander in a compromising tone, "I have promised you that you will not try to rescue him, and that he will stay on that island for a long time until you think that he is no longer a threat to you, and I will compensate him for his mistakes." ”

Alexander was silent for a moment, looking at the Pope's longing eyes looking up at him, Alexander's lips tensed and groaned slightly, and then nodded: "Okay, I promise you, but during this time Caesar must be under my guardianship, and I will send someone to guard him on the island until he is indeed no longer a trouble." ”

Seeing that Alexander was finally relieved, the Pope exhaled.

Although Alexander agreed to use captivity in exchange for Caesar's punishment, then he should no longer threaten Caesar's life, but this does not mean that he is completely forgiven, so Caesar's life on Elba Island should not be easy, and now Alexander can agree to his request again in person, indicating that at least during the time he is imprisoned, Alexander will not be unable to live with Caesar.

"And what about Rovere?"

When it was confirmed that Caesar was safe, the Pope's expression immediately darkened, and he was the same Alexander VI who used a papal meridian to divide the world in two and set the rules for the future colonization of the two seafaring powers of Iberia.

"Constantine's army has already set off," said Alexander with a thoughtful look on his face, "believing that he will soon occupy Forlì." ”

"That Rovere will really take the opportunity to talk about the conditions," Alexander VI grumbled in a low voice, and he looked at Alexander with a little suspicion and asked, "Tell me that this is not your idea for him, do you, to occupy Forlì in exchange for the forgiveness of Caesar?" ”

"Of course not, you forgot that it's obviously not a good thing for me to have someone else occupy Forlì."

"Yes, if you take it instead, you will cut off the whole of Rome from it." Alexander VI nodded.

Alexander VI was not only surprised but also angry when he heard that the elder Rovere had proposed to exchange the security of Caesar, although Forlì seemed to be a small part of eastern Italy, but to occupy it would mean to have a faint control of a large part of the coast of the Italian peninsula in the east of the Adriatic side, and because it could follow the coastline all the way north to the area controlled by Venice, and to the south it could connect with southern Italy, so Forlì is very important.

It's just that Alexander VI didn't expect that old Rovere would be so brazen to ask for Forlì, after all, it is the famous tigress Caterina Sforza who rules Forza now.

Because of the hatred of the French, the Sforza family is still an ally of old Rovere, but this obviously does not stop old Rovere's determination to take advantage of the opportunity to seek Forlì for his son, and now old Rovere is obviously ready to take advantage of the Sforza family's own self-care and has no ability to help their Foley relatives, so he intends to take advantage of this rare advantage in one fell swoop.

"But in that case, your Romagna and Tuscany don't seem to be able to cover the whole of central Rome," the Pope's voice was slightly low, and when he saw Alexander looking at him, the Pope waved his hand as if he were just saying casually, "but that's nothing, after all, it's only a very narrow area, and it doesn't affect you much." ”

Listening to the Pope's words, Alexander just smiled, he knew that Alexander VI obviously did not want to let go of any opportunity that might provoke contradictions and suspicions between him and old Rovere, although this was a bit deliberate, but when old Rovere proposed to use the possession of Forley as a condition, Alexander was indeed surprised and felt a little strange.

Historically, it was Caesar who defeated the Forlì tigress, who, after capturing Foley, took Caterina Sforza back to Rome and imprisoned her for a long time, until he was sure that the woman was no longer a threat.

Now the person who did so has become Konstantin, but I wonder if the famous grumpy tigress will still be as legendary, raising her armor against the enemy who is using her son as a threat, and slapping her belly and shouting: "As long as I have this thing, I can have as many sons as I want, so your threat is completely useless." ”

As for Alexander VI's hint that the occupation of Forlì would prevent him from cutting Italy off as he wished, Alexander didn't really care, after all, for a peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides, the most important thing was convenient transportation.

Alexander, on the contrary, was interested in old Rovere's calculations.

After all, thinking about Forlì's proximity to the Venetian control made Alexander think that old Rovere was playing with fire.

When Alexander got up to take his leave, Nomelo, who had left earlier, knocked on the door and walked in, to Alexander's VI's surprise, Nomelo was followed by a soldier holding a flag, which the Pope recognized at a glance as the flag of the Papal Army, which was inlaid with a bull motif with a triple crown as the main symbol on one side.

"Your Majesty, I think you still need this flag," Alexander took the flag from the guards and bent down to deliver it to Alexander VI, "The status of the Vatican is related to the existence of the whole of Christendom, so it is imperative to have an army that can protect the Holy See and yourself, and I believe that Lucrezia also wants an army to protect your safety." ”

Alexander VI looked at his son-in-law holding the flag in front of him, and the pope's expression changed slightly at this moment, but then he took the flag from Alexander's hand: "You're right, child, I really can't disarm yet, although such an army always causes trouble, but God needs its own arms, after all, it is not the time when everyone regarded the voice of the Vatican as the only one that can represent God's will." ”

Hearing that the Pope had made such a far-fetched excuse for himself, Alexander didn't care, in fact, when his army raided Caesar's barracks, he had already realized that Caesar had obviously worked this army, and the Pope had obviously invested a lot of money in building the Papal Army.

In fact, this can be regarded as one of the conditions for Alexander VI to "betray" Caesar, in exchange for Caesar's freedom to retain a papal army that obeys the Pope's orders, which is the only way that Alexander VI considered after careful consideration to minimize Caesar's trouble.

Alexander took his leave, and when he left, he clearly felt the unusual atmosphere in the church, and although the people tried to be as natural as possible, their eyes involuntarily showed all kinds of strange looks, which made Nomelo who was beside him shake his head slightly.

As they walked out of the Sistine Chapel and Alexander was about to turn away, Nomelo suddenly called out to him.

"Count!"

The private secretary stood on the steps and looked at Alexander, who was about to turn over his horse, and after a pause, Nomelo walked down the stairs and said in a calm tone: "You are now the king of Rome." ”

Alexander looked at Nomerlo, who had turned and walked up the steps to the church after saying this, Alexander groaned for a moment, and then turned over and jumped on Pagasus's back.

"My lord, where are we going?" Schell asked.

"Go to see someone," Alexander pulled the reins and turned the horse's head around, "the king of Rome?" He glanced back at the Sistine Chapel, then let out an incomprehensible grunt from his nose, and with a hard grip on the horse's belly, Pagasus sped forward.

Although he has been here more than once, each time Alexander feels as if the eastern part of Rome is the sun-faced side of the city.

This is not to say that the East End is poor or dilapidated, but rather that there are many lavish palaces built by wealthy people, the most famous of which is Palazzo Istero.

The palace was built on the basis of a very old palace in the 12th century, and the whole palace has a distinctly Norman style, which is very special in the city of Rome.

After several changes of hands, the Palazzo Istero was bought by a wealthy businessman, who then gave the palace to a woman who was very famous in Rome, and who now lives in the Palazzo Istero, who is known as Lady Olgala.

When Grogenin decided to give her this luxurious palace, Lady Olgala was completely unexpected, first frightened by Grogenin's unimaginable gift, and then, to everyone's surprise, resolutely and even hysterically refused.

This really surprised many, and Lady Olgala seemed very emotional, and she wept incessantly but refused to accept the gift, until Grogenin finally understood why.

Lady Olgara was clearly worried that the gift would be a sign of the end of their relationship, and the woman, who had clearly fallen in love with Grogenen, did not want to end their relationship by going their separate ways after making a fortune.

This was a rare move to Groganin, and he assured Lady Olgara for the first time that it was only a token of gratitude for her faithful service over the years, and not some severance pay or anything like that, and it was up to Lady Olgara herself to decide whether she would remain with him or decide to find another way out.

With this assurance, Madame Olgara accepted this gift with joy, which seemed to many to be unimaginably generous, and for a long time she put all her heart and soul into the decoration of the Palazzo Estero.

Alexander's visit seemed to have taken Lady Olgala as a surprise, and although she knew that Alexander had arrived in Rome, it was evident that it was a very cumbersome affair to attend the Pope's birthday in a hurry, and what had just happened had caused the whole city of Rome to be uneasy because of the unexpectedness.

Although the surprise attack on the Papal camp could be described perfectly, the inevitable outbreak of a brief battle soon became known to the city of Rome.

This is evident from the strange gaze of the men of Montina, who had suddenly landed from the piers of Fiumicino and then marched almost all the way into Rome at noon, and it was the appearance of Montina's army, who had suddenly taken over the Roman defences from the few Papal guards, that made Nomelo say the title "King of Rome", which was almost never used.

Lady Oljara was visibly nervous when they met, the young man in front of her was still so familiar, but she knew that he had actually become a stranger now.

To Alexander's surprise, he saw a lot of furniture in the house where Lady Orgara had lived in the second floor of the palace, or the whole room was actually arranged as before, which gave him some insight into Orgalav's feelings for Groganin.

"Ma'am, I think you know what I'm here for." Alexander said to Madame Olgala: "I wonder how we are doing in Sicily now. ”

Lady Olgara nodded, she had apparently guessed Alexander's purpose as well, but she seemed to hesitate a little when she took out a few letters from a hidden drawer before sending them to Alexander.

When Alexander finally looked up at her, she seemed to have finally made up her mind and said: "My lord, I don't know what you are doing, and I won't ask easily, but I know that it seems that Aragon and Castile have been involved, please forgive me for not worrying about the safety of Lord Grogenin, you know that the nobles of Aragon are very harsh and even cruel, They were much more terrible than the Emperor's men. ”

"That's true, and as you might have guessed, we are not only in Sicily, but soon in Aragon and Castile."

Alexander did not prevaricate, but his answer made Lady Olgara even more worried.

Seeing Mrs. Orgara's worried look, Alexander took out a letter from those letters, which happened to be copied from Matthews Tiego to Groganin, and when he opened it and saw the contents, Alexander's eyes froze slightly.

"Philip, already in Castile?"

Looking at the letter, Alexander's heart swelled with excitement, he knew that after so long preparation, many things were finally beginning to come to light.