Romagna was struggling with the flames of war, but it did not seem to affect the lives of the Romans.

If there's one thing to talk about in the city of Rome lately, it's the story of a brave young man challenging the now-famous Michelangelo.

The young man's name is Rafael Sandy, a rising star from Urbino.

However, although this young man was only 16 years old, this young man with a face that attracted the hearts of many noble ladies had an extraordinary talent and an amazing talent for painting, and it was because he attracted the attention of many people soon after he arrived in Rome.

And because the young man brought a very special painting, he soon attracted the attention of Pope Alexander VI.

The appearance of the Virgin in that painting makes it easy to learn the origin of the painting, especially when one thinks of the rumor that Caesar seems to be trying to take Lucrezia away from Pisa.

Because of this, Alexander VI decided to meet the painting and its author, and the Pope, who had no special intentions, after seeing the "Trinity", groaned a little, and let people bring a heavy money bag.

"This is a reward for you, although there are some aspects of this painting that you may be trying to flatter, but I must admit that this is indeed a good work."

The Pope said to the young man standing in front of him that his gaze never took off the portrait, so he did not see that the young man, though silent, stubbornly refused the money bag that was handed to him.

"Your Majesty, I am very grateful for your reward, but I can't accept it," Raphael's voice trembled a little because of nervousness, he didn't dare to look directly at the Pope's gaze, he could only stare at the Pope's toes in front of him, "I am very grateful for your praise of this painting, but I can't accept what you said that I was deliberately flattering." ”

Prato, who was standing next to Raphael, looked at Raphael in astonishment, he had the impression that his friend's personality was as slender and fragile as his appearance, perhaps he had a talent in art that ordinary people would never be able to achieve, but he was a somewhat weak person, especially in the face of those big people, he always seemed to lack courage.

But now facing the Pope, Raphael actually confronted him face to face, which made Prato wonder if he was dizzy.

"Everything I paint is something I have seen and remembered with my own eyes, and I will never forget the scene I saw, so I want to present it all on the canvas, so that more people can worship the most sacred idol in my heart, not for money or vulgar flattery." Raphael bowed to the Pope and saluted, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for offending you, but this is my original intention, and I cannot disgrace this portrait and the sacred scene in the painting in order to receive a reward." ”

Nomelo, who was standing beside Alexander VI, opened his mouth slightly to reprimand this young man who did not know the height of the sky, but he just opened his mouth and silently retreated slightly.

Nomelo noticed the look on Alexander's face as he looked at the painting, and with his familiarity with the Pope, he knew that Alexander VI would not be so quiet if a man really offended and annoyed him.

The Pope is never a person who is moody, and sometimes he will show anger or joy in his expression and demeanor, although many times he does it more in acting, but for a small person like the young man in front of him, he does not need to be so bothered.

So if he's really angry, then he's going to show real anger.

"Your idol, young man, it is not appropriate for you to say that, but I can forgive you for your youth, but I remind you that it is not so easy to become the darling of Rome," Alexander VI sighed as if remembering something, and then waved his hand to the servant standing aside, "Since money has made you unhappy, I can give you another reward, and now you can leave." ”

Raphael bowed deeply and nervously, and he seemed to be frightened by what he had just said, so that he looked a little uneasy when he left.

"A very smart young man," Nomelo chuckled at Alexander VI, who had been looking at the painting, "and he has managed to get your attention, Your Majesty." ”

"Young people are always forgiven, just as when you first came to me, you tried to get my attention." Alexander VI smiled disapprovingly, "But he reminds me of my own youth, when I was just as impulsive and energetic, but now I'm old." ”

Nomelo looked at the Pope with some surprise, he didn't know what made Alexander VI suddenly have such an exclamation, he couldn't help but look at the painting.

The tranquil Virgin sits reclining in a chair, and the Son in her arms raises her hands slightly, as if to embrace and wave to the viewer outside the painting.

The Son's eyes were unusually clear, and he had an innocent and infectious smile on his face, as if he was observing the world with innocent eyes that were not tainted by the filth of the world.

Nomelo seemed to understand the Pope's emotion a little at this moment, which made him secretly turn a few thoughts in his heart.

"That Cambrai, why did you name this kid Estles?" The Pope seemed to be a little curious and asked, "I never think that the past era was bad, nor do I think the future will be good, you must know that many people always think that the Vatican is degenerate, but they never thought that it was only them who really changed, and the Vatican has always been like this." ”

Nomerlo listened silently, knowing that there was no need for him to interject at this time, or perhaps the Pope himself did not know what he was talking about.

"Is Caesar almost in Paris?" The Pope asked, then waved his hand slightly to stop Nomelo from speaking, "I know you want to defend him, but this is a lesson for him, he is so stubborn in his treatment of Gombray that he forgets too many more important things, which will not do him any good." ”

Perhaps it should be said that he was too stubborn in the matter of Lucrezia, and Nomelo wanted to say it, but he knew that the sentence could only be kept in his stomach.

"It's just a pity that Giovanni is gone," the Pope whispered a little lonely, "we all know that there was a deal between that Fischer and Giovanni, even when Charles was still alive, so it would have been better if it had been Giovanni who could have gone to Paris." ”

"But the French have shown their willingness to support you, haven't they," Nomelo paced slowly down the corridor with Alexander VI, "For the French, if they want to make another claim against Naples, they must have your approval, and that is why they have offered to ask you to send someone to preside over the coronation of the French king." ”

"You think so?" Alexander VI looked at the secretary beside him, and saw Nomelo raise his eyebrows, and the pope shook his head, "We all know that it's not like that, but we can't say it now, after all, we have enemies around us." Speaking of this, Alexander VI suddenly waved his fist hard, lowered his voice and said, "You know, I still can't forget that insult, it was a public humiliation to me, a humiliation to the entire Vatican." ”

"If the French send troops, I don't know if Ferdinand will send Gonzalo this time."

Hearing Nomelo mention that name, Alexander VI, who was already angry, looked furious again, and he turned his head to stare at Nomerlo's face.

"So I would rather accept some of the harsh terms put forward by the French, as long as they can help, and the Venetians, who are now fanning the flames of agitation against me, and I have even heard that they have sent men to Florence more than once to lobby, does that Barbareger think that he can speak to the Florentines against me?"

Nomelo listened silently, he knew that these topics that the pope seemed to be nagging about were some of the major events that had happened in recent times, especially about the movements of the Venetians, which had attracted a lot of attention.

The Romagna War in early 1497 brought the situation back to the way it was, and the only change was the rise of a previously unnoticed Count of Montina in Romagna.

Neither Venice nor Genoa received any substantial benefit in that war.

This situation is obviously not desirable for the Venetians, so just recently, the Venetians seem to have come alive again.

The reasons and excuses of the Venetians are not easy to refute.

They made demands on many cities on the grounds that they were at the forefront of the Ottoman invasion of Europe, and the threat from the Ottomans did frighten many people, including the consequences of the public opinion that Alexander had spread in Rome.

Relying on this great fear of the Ottomans, many city-states had to agree to some reasonable or unreasonable demands of Venice, and their only hope was that the Venetian fleet and their vast wealth would play a role in resisting the Ottomans.

"It must not go on like this," said Alexander VI angrily to Nomerlo, "the Venetians want to threaten me with the Ottomans, and I will not let them do so, and since I can make peace with the French, I can also make peace with that Bayezid II if necessary." ”

Nomelo looked at the Pope in some surprise, although he also guessed that this kind of thing might happen, but hearing Alexander VI himself say that he wanted to make peace with the Ottomans still made Nomelo a little surprised.

He knew that the Pope must have been extremely angry with the Venetians, otherwise he would not have spoken such thoughts.

As the Pope's secretary, Nomelo knew what he had to do, and by this time he was already thinking about how to help the Pope realize this idea.

"Do you need me to find that Ashulk?"

"No, not now, it's not that time, you know it's a bit of a problem, and you have to be careful," Alexander VI whispered to his secretary, "find someone who won't attract anyone's attention, who can gain the trust of the Ottomans, and who won't involve us if the matter is exposed." ”

"Your Majesty, such a person is not easy to find, although there is indeed a person who is very suitable, but as you said, if this person is exposed, we will also be implicated," Nomelo said a little helplessly, and when he saw the Pope looking at him, he continued, "Gombray is very suitable, it is said that he has a good relationship with that Ashulk, it seems that they are still doing business together, but ......"

"Damn," Alexander VI cursed angrily in a low voice, remembering that his daughter had taken the poor boy from Naples for nothing, and the Pope immediately looked furious, "Well, this matter will be put aside for the time being, and as for the painting, it will be very interesting to see it one day." ”

Nomelo bowed slightly and nodded, just thinking about the Pope's last words, he couldn't help but turn a few more thoughts in his heart.

When Proto walked outside, he shouted at Raphael almost regardless of the people next to him.

However, he was not completely dizzy, so he only shouted and immediately pulled Raphael to the side, and then he grabbed Raphael's shoulder with excitement and shook it.

"Raphael, I have to say that you really surprised me, you actually used this method to arouse the Pope's idea, did you hear that there will be another reward, believe me this is a golden opportunity, we will definitely be able to get ahead in Rome."

"I'm just saying what I think, I can't accept suspicious flattery from others who think I'm doing it for the sake of benefit," Raphael's face was a little pale, in fact, he had been frightened by his actions before, and it was only now that he was really scared, "I actually contradicted the Pope, Proto, you must slap me, I want to know if I am crazy." ”

"You're not crazy, you're a genius," Proto said and really raised his hand and slapped Raphael, looking at his friend's smirk, he reached out and slapped him twice, "Listen, you're going to be famous, you're going to get fame and fortune, go to his painter's workshop, go to his Urbino, we're going to do something big in Rome." ”

"Yes, I want to do something big," Raphael said excitedly, "I want to be a master that everyone admires, and I want everyone to be proud to be able to collect my works, Proto, will you help me?" ”

"Of course, I'll definitely help you," Prato kept nodding, "so we first want everyone to know that you have become the patron of the Pope." ”

"But I'm not." Raphael shook his head blankly: "I just sold the Pope a painting." ”

"But he owes you a promise, doesn't he," Prato smiled slyly, "that promise is priceless, so it can be said that he sponsored you, and the Pope clearly likes your work, so there is a good chance that you will serve the Pope in the place of that Michelangelo." ”

"Nope." Raphael looked at Proto in surprise, "I just sold a painting, but you can say that it seems to be challenging Master Michelangelo, I don't have this idea." ”

"Raphael Raphael, you are so cute," Prato rubbed Raphael's waxy hair vigorously, "Listen, no one wants you to challenge that master, we just let others know that you are appreciated by the Pope, as for what other people think, it's not something we can decide, isn't it, not to mention that you also heard that Michelangelo is preparing to go to Florence, Rome is no longer important to him, and it's fair for everyone to take over his position in Rome." ”

Raphael looked at Prato a little confused, he always felt that there was something wrong with these words, but he couldn't think of what the problem was.

He knew that Prato was very smart, so smart that many of the problems he encountered were decided by Prato for him.

So this time, he was also accustomed to deciding to accept Prato's suggestion.

"We only said that the Pope bought my paintings?"

"Just buy paintings."

"And only to say that the Pope is willing to give me a chance in the future?"

"Just give it a chance."

"Well, but if Master Michelangelo asks, we must tell him the whole story, for he introduced me to His Majesty the Pope."

"Of course, we're grateful to that master."

Listening to Prato's full of promise, Raphael exhaled slightly.

He really didn't want to contradict that Master Michelangelo, he knew that the master had a bad temper, which made Raphael a little weak from the day he saw him.

What's more, Raphael didn't think he would be his enemy.

"I admire the work of Michelangelo, and I have never doubted my own talent," Raphael said to Proto, "but I don't think we'll have a conflict, because he's leaving Rome and he and I are likely to have different achievements in the future." ”

"Perhaps," Proto said perfunctorily, but then whispered to himself, "but don't be so confident in Raphael, who knows what will happen in the future." ”

Proto's voice was soft, so Raphael didn't hear it.

He was so immersed in his vision of the future that when he finally heard rumors about his relationship with Michelangelo, and then received an angry and questioning letter from Michelangelo, Raphael was completely stunned by the sudden turn of events.

"What's going on, why would Michelangelo write me such a letter?" When Raphael rushed into Prato's room, he saw that his friend was also writing a letter, and his desk was a mess of stationery.

"What did you say, what did Michelangelo say to you?" Prato took the letter and read only two short paragraphs before opening his mouth, "My God, he calls you an ungrateful man, and he calls me, a ......"

"Judas beside Judas," said Raphael, "tell me what is going on, why he suddenly accuses us so much, and what have you done?" ”

"What can I do, as you know, I just told some people about your appreciation for the Pope, and promised you some nobles that they could paint their portraits."

"Wait, are you just for those nobles?" Raphael walked to the table and picked up an unfinished letter and read it, but after a while, a look of surprise appeared on his face: "You actually went to rob Michelangelo's employer?!" ”

"How can this be called robbery, there are so many people who want him to paint, but he has no intention of staying in Rome now, those people will have to find other painters sooner or later, so why can't we replace him."

"But he hasn't left Rome yet," cried Raphael, in frustration, "God, you have made us that enemy of Michelangelo, don't you know how terrible he is, and he will come to us to look good." ”

"But doesn't that mean he's starting to feel uneasy, your talent makes him feel threatened, and that's enough."

Prato smirked, he had long thought of such a day, but looking at the letters on the table, he felt that it was all worth it.

"You will take his place in Rome, you will become the master of all eyes, and then you will be able to pursue what you love."

Prato paints a picture of a bright future for Raphael, until there is a knock on the door.

The two men in the room immediately fell silent, they looked at each other, and they both saw a hint of unease in each other's eyes.

"Somebody has to open the door."

Listening to the knock at the door, Proto walked over nervously, he took a breath before opening the door, and then he looked at the Moorish man standing in the doorway with some surprise.

"You're hard to find here," said Uliu, ignoring Prato, who saw him as if he had seen a devil, and squeezed forward into the room, surveying the two in front of him, and then said to Raphael, "I'm here to get you an errand, someone wants you to paint, master." ”

Please remember that the first domain name of this book is:. Nine Heavenly God Emperor mobile version reading website: