It doesn't really matter whether Alexander was sent to Rome by Modillo to do something.

Or even if it were, as Caesar said, that he was in the same tradition as the French, it was not too unexpected.

It is also no secret to the people that Modillo, Count of Naples, had a close relationship with the French.

As his nephew, it would not be unusual at all if he was really trying to deliver news with France.

Alexander's concern was who the whistleblower was, and to be sure that this was not Joanna's intention, at least considering that she had made the hard way from Naples to Rome just to accuse Modillo of colluding with the French tradition.

So who made her do this?

Or what is the intention?

Anyone who is a little smarter knows that even if Alexander VI cares a lot about this whistleblower, he will not really play a big role, after all, Mordillo is far away in Naples, and he has a lot of power in Naples, although the power of the Pope is also huge or strictly speaking, it is indeed not comparable to Modillo, but there are not many places that can directly affect Modillo.

But who exactly is going to do this?

Caesar didn't let Alexander think too long before he gave the answer.

"I think you'll be interested in the whistleblower, Hubert van Groningen, at least that's what he calls himself." Caesar said, seeing Alexander's surprised look, he shook his head slightly and sighed slightly, "I think you must think it's incredible, maybe this person is your friend, so you feel betrayed, but believe me, it's not a big deal, not being betrayed can only mean that you are just enough to make you jealous and hate." ”

Alexander was noncommittal to Caesar's statement, he just felt that things had become somewhat confusing.

Groningen's previous attitude of not hesitating to invest a lot of money in Joanna in Naples was obviously a retribution, and he was obviously very clear about Modillo's intention to send grain to the north, and at such a time he paid to encourage Joanna to come to Rome, and gave her such a large sum of money to bribe the Romans, was it just to tell the Holy See?

Alexander looked at Caesar with obvious suspicion, he certainly did not think that Caesar was deceiving him, because for the young Roman nobleman in front of him, there was no need to deceive himself into such a small person, if he wanted to, he could let himself be quietly killed at any time, like many of the Romans he had eliminated before.

Looking at Alexander's expression, Caesar suddenly smiled, he seemed to think it was funny, and patted Alexander's shoulder hard.

"It's funny to look at you," Caesar pointed to Alexander's face amusementingly, "I think Michelangelo would have thought it would be interesting to see you like this, maybe he would have used your expression as a model to make a statue, maybe he would have become famous for it." ”

"Bishop, if you were to be replaced by me hearing such news, my face would not be too good-looking," Alexander said deliberately smugly, and then deliberately looked a little resentful, "I just want to know what His Majesty the Pope thinks of this accusation, that Grogenen I know, but I really did not expect him to be an informer, and even more a liar." ”

"Is that a liar?" Caesar looked at Alexander with deep meaning, "As far as I know, Count Modillo of Naples used to have a deep relationship with the French, which made him one of the few Neapolitan nobles who could maintain good relations with the French when the French occupied Naples, isn't that true?" ”

"The relationship between the count and the French does not affect that he is a Neapolitan nobleman," Alexander said, knowing that although it is true that the Pope cannot make a decision on how to treat Modillo in this matter, such accusations are obviously very unfavorable, especially now that the situation of the French is not good, it is inevitable that someone may take the opportunity to attack Modillo, not to mention that this news was brought by Joanna, and it is more likely to be used by some people. Is it possible that the Bishop had an equally interesting close relationship with King Charles of France as evidence of collusion between the Bishop and the French? ”

"How bold are you," Caesar looked at Alexander with some surprise, surprised that he dared to say so to his own face, "don't you know that this will anger me?" ”

"At least it's better than making you think it's better to communicate with the French, and everybody knows it's not a good thing to be involved with the French at this time."

Alexander's words made Caesar's eyes twitch slightly, and he vaguely heard the meaning of his words.

"And when do you think you can get involved with the French?" Caesar said in an inquiring tone, "Or what do you think is worth getting involved with the French, you must know that the French are now going unlucky." ”

"Forgive me for not knowing how to answer your question," Alexander did not reply directly, "in fact I do not know why the Low Ground man would accuse the Count like that, the Groganin whom I know is a very wealthy Dutchman, but now it seems that he had other purposes than money, and if he was a snitch then I can only say that this man must have a deep grudge against the Count, for as far as I know he forgave Her Majesty the Queen a great deal of his debts, and also contributed generously to His Majesty's travel, But if he is willing to spend so much just so that His Majesty will tell the Pope, then I have nothing to say about it. ”

Caesar listened to Alexander's words with a little interest, he was obviously interested in the money that Grogenin had spent for Joanna before, and after a little muttering he lowered his voice and asked, "If you may, can you tell me the number of the debt, I promise to keep it a secret." ”

Alexander smiled slightly, and he knew that the mention of this would certainly arouse Caesar's interest, and he also began to suspect that Groganin might not have taken the opportunity to show Alexander VI his great wealth and strong supporters by going to such great lengths of effort.

So he also whispered a number in Caesar's ear in a slightly lower tone, and seeing Caesar's look of surprise instantly, Alexander continued: "As far as I know, the man is not alone, he is from the Netherlands, and has a deep relationship with the Hanseatic League, and he went to Naples for some purpose, but I suspect that he has any intention of denouncing the count. ”

"He did have intentions."

Caesar answered thoughtfully, but did not continue, apparently not considering it necessary to let Alexander know what he had discovered.

Then he smiled at Alexander and said, "I'm glad to know a lot of things from you, and probably you yourself can't imagine how much help you have given me." Seeing Alexander bow in response, Caesar smiled happily and continued, "As you can see, Her Majesty the Queen is very comfortable with my sister, which at least reassures some people, so you can go back and wait with confidence, and once the city of Rome is calm, I will send you to welcome Her Majesty back to Marino, where she lives." Speaking of this, Caesar glanced at Alexander, "As for my brother Giovanni, I think you must know how to reply to him, I believe you are a wise man." ”

Alexander nodded silently, he knew that the last sentence should be the key to Caesar's call to the Potico Palace today, and even told him about Groganin's accusations against Mordillo before, all for this last threat.

Obviously, Caesar guessed Giovanni's purpose for Joanna, which caught Caesar's attention, after all, because of Chassan's help, Giovanni might have a deeper influence on Joanna.

The conflict between the Borgia brothers really seems to have reached the point of being undisguised and even more contradictory.

When leaving, looking at the gradually departing Palazzo Potico, Alexander secretly laughed at the fact that this visit was not without gain, at least they had been allowed to leave the Carolingian Palace and return to Marino Palace.

And it also gave him a chance to think about what to do with the money he got from Joanna.

When I followed Joanna to meet the Pope before, there were a few soldiers left behind in the Marino Palace, but these people obviously didn't know what had happened in the Vatican in the past two days, and the sudden commotion in the city of Rome also shocked these peasants from Agri, so these people were very honest and the servants left by Joanna guarded the palace tightly, and for a while it seemed to have become a strong fortress they relied on.

And it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a fortress, when Alexander and the others appeared at the corner of the street, Carlo, who was walking in the front, keenly noticed the figures flashing in the vertical windows on the second floor of the Marino Palace, and as he got closer to the shadows and more figures, Carlo felt some kind of danger, and after signaling the team to stop, he first urged the horse to run in front until he rushed to the outside of the Marino Palace, and then heard a cheer from inside.

No sooner had the closed door opened than a group of servants ran out of it screaming.

The retinue brought by Joanna hurried past Caro and ran towards the slowly approaching procession, each shouting loudly as if the queen would not hear them.

To their disappointment, there was no Joanna in the procession, and when they heard that the queen would be staying in the Potico Palace for some days, the faces of these people became ugly.

"My lord, what are we going to do?"

"My lord, if this continues, maybe we will have to find someone to sue for help."

"Cardinal Monteiro sent someone to see us, but he left without leaving anything, and now we can't even eat."

The retinue of Joanna immediately complained to Alexander,

It was only then that Alexander realized that the men would be so happy to see him come back only because they had no money.

When those gangsters attacked Marino Palace before, in addition to targeting the many Durant in the wooden box that Joanna carried, they also took the opportunity to rob other belongings they carried.

And Alexander's people who appeared later also did not let go of these things, except for a few gangsters who escaped by luck, the other gangsters who were killed and captured have been looted by them, and I don't know if it was intentional, Alexander's people also took the opportunity to destroy some valuable things that were not easy to fish in troubled waters and take away, so that these entourages around Joanna instantly became a group of poor people who had nothing.

This result was actually exactly what Alexander needed, but he originally thought that this would allow Joanna to rely on herself, but what happened next was completely beyond Alexander's expectations.

Now it seems unlikely that poverty can be used to control Joanna again.

When he walked into the Marino Palace, he saw the tables and chairs behind the windows, and Alexander had a vague sense of déjà vu, and when he went up to the second floor, he couldn't help but be slightly surprised to see the two muskets placed in the window before they could be removed.

It was evident that the few remaining Agri musketeers had temporarily turned the Marino Palace into a makeshift fortress that was not impregnable, but still to be used, somewhat unexpectedly.

"My lord, there is a bit of chaos in the city of Rome at night," whispered one of the Agri musketeers as he squeezed in front of Alexander, "and just last night the Romans and the French fought here, and it seems that a few more people died. ”

"Oh?" Alexander frowned slightly, the location of Marino's Palace in the city of Rome was a little remote, and it was clear that the situation that was quickly controlled in the center of the city became a little out of control here.

This made Alexander feel intrigued, and he glanced at Caro, and the hunter immediately came over and followed Alexander to a corner.

"The money." Alexander asked in a low voice.

"Don't worry, my lord, we've kept them safe from anyone to find out," Carlo smirked at first, and Carlo's expression became slightly embarrassed when he saw Alexander's strange eyes slanting at him, "Of course, Sophia saw it, but you know it should have been an accident." ”

Alexander shook his head helplessly, Carlo might be a good cavalry commander, but it was clear that there were some things he might not be up to.

"Find a few small chests," Alexander whispered, "we must divide the money so that it may be easier to use it." ”

"Are you saying we're going to spend that money?" Caro's eyes began to glow slightly.

Carlo doesn't really know exactly how much money he's hiding.

Although the shock of that large box of golden Ducats was great, it was not very clear what the concept was.

After all, 5,000 ducats is too far for a hunter from Agri.

As far as Alexander knew, Alfonso II's dowry to his daughter Chasan was only 30,000 gold florins.

What was Groganin's purpose in giving Joanna such a large sum of money to lobby in Rome?

Alexander couldn't help but think about the meeting with Caesar during the day.

Although it seems that the accusations against Mordillo did not attract much impact, and it may even be that Alexander VI did not publicize the matter at all, but only told his favorite son, Alexander did not dare to take it lightly.

After all, this charge could become a serious charge against Mordillo at any time, or if it was necessary, Alexander VI might not have joined Frederick in fighting Modillo.

And now Alexander and Mordillo have long been closely linked, and the unstable position of the count will be harmful to him.

"I have a hunch," Alexander said, looking out the window at the early winter night, "maybe we'll need that money soon." ”