In May 1499, in a castle in the beautiful Loire Valley of France, a young couple was happily married.

The young couple, the man is 23 years old and the woman is 19 years old, so it can be said that this age is the age of youth, and they should enjoy their newlywed life for a long time, and perhaps forget everything around them because they indulge in this too sweet little day.

But in fact, the young couple separated in a hurry after less than a week together, so that the young wife did not even know what kind of person this husband was who her cousin and brother were looking for for her.

The couple was Caesar Borgia and his wife, Charlotte, cousin of King Louis XII of France and sister of King of Navarre.

Everyone knows that Caesar is anxious to return to Italy to make a career, but there is a secret in his heart that no one can tell.

Even during his newlyweds, whenever he was intimate with his wife, Caesar thought that his sister Lucrezia was also showing such charming tenderness and intoxicating charm like his current wife.

But when he thought that it was the Cambrai who enjoyed all this, Caesar was so jealous that he could not control himself.

Therefore, when he heard that the King of France had decided to invade Italy, he immediately approached Louis XII and asked him to return to Italy to fight the front station, despite the fact that he was still among the newlyweds.

Of course, Louis was very happy with this suggestion, although he felt that it seemed a little uncomfortable for his cousin to do so, but seeing that Caesar was so stubborn, he could only accept Caesar's suggestion on the grounds that the boy was ambitious.

So only a few days after his wedding, Caesar Borgia secretly left the Château de la Loire with his small team and quietly returned to Rome with the French invasion.

What Caesar didn't expect was that his decision made him almost fulfill a wish, that is, to kill Cambrai!

But in the end, this wish was only "almost fulfilled".

When he unexpectedly appeared before Cambrai, and then imprisoned him, Caesar's excitement was not at all as calm as it seemed, and he was sure that he had mastered the man's fate, and just as he wondered whether to poison his most hated opponent with Cantarella, Caesar was surprised to learn from his father what was behind the victory that seemed to him to be a sure victory.

Caesar's mood at that time was indescribable, he suddenly felt like a clown, and when he tried to perform as much as he thought the play was about to enter the climax, others suddenly told him that in fact, the scene had already ended.

Caesar even complained about his father, Alexander VI, who he felt was contrary to the Borgia family that he had been preaching, which made Caesar resentful of his father for the first time.

However, Alexander's sudden departure from Rome made Caesar seem to see hope again, and he thought about taking this opportunity to repair his relationship with Lucrezia, after all, he almost kidnapped her last time in Pisa, which caused some estrangement between their siblings.

Lucrezia, however, did not stay in Rome for long, and on the fourth day after Alexander's departure, Lucrezia left Rome in a hurry to return to Pisa, and at the same time news came that the French had marched from the Nice barracks to Lombardy.

This left Caesar with no other concern, and he immediately asked his father to give him the power to mobilize the papal army, and he needed to take advantage of this opportunity to send troops immediately.

Caesar's idea was simple but practical, his eyes had already set his sights on a very valuable place, if it had been before he might not have dared to act rashly, but now he believed that no one could stop him from realizing his ambitions.

Caesar has his eye on Forlì, the territory of Caterina Sforza.

He had long coveted that land, and he thought it was a springboard for him to conquer larger territories in the future, but compared to that tigress, his strength was inevitably very thin, and even if he spent a lot of money to build an army that he thought he was satisfied with, Caesar still knew that it would not be so easy to take Forlì.

But now he felt that he could do it, because the French invasion had deprived Forlì of Milan, an important patron, and more importantly, the French king had given him generous support, which convinced Caesar that he could achieve his goal with his present strength.

Alexander VI showed enough support for his son's ambitions, and it can be said that apart from the Pope's disobedience to Caesar's wishes in dealing with Alexander, Alexander VI did not hesitate to give him anything he wanted.

Caesar's army was quickly organized, and the result of a large amount of money was that a small but experienced army of mercenaries was quickly established.

Although there was still a certain gap between such an army and Caesar's mind that it could be compared to the Montina army, which had shown great combat effectiveness in Livorno, Caesar believed that it should only be a matter of time.

He had enough money to keep his soldiers loyal to him, and he could also provide them with fine weapons, and although he vaguely heard that the money his father had given him seemed to have something to do with the Gombray he hated, it didn't stop Caesar from building an elite army out of them.

Caesar's army left Rome after learning that Louis XII had won a crucial victory in Lombardy.

According to the person who sent the message, the French army defeated the allied army of Italian nobles, mainly Milanese, almost with ease, and after killing and capturing a large number of enemies, the French army repaired a little and then began to march in the direction of Milan.

Caesar was overjoyed by the news, he knew that Louis was a great king, but his achievements on the battlefield still made Caesar both envious and jealous.

When the news of the heavy defeat of the Milanese army came, many people could not help but pay attention to the attitude of the elder Rovere, because it was known that the Rovere family had a deep relationship with the Sforza of Milan.

But to the disappointment, old Rovere did not seem to care about this at all, and he even sent back to Genoa his son, who was said to be ready to lead a group of mercenaries to support Milan, which made people talk about the cold and selfishness of old Rovere, and at the same time secretly frightened by the strength of the French.

Caesar, however, was ecstatic, and the fact that the French had dealt the Milanese with little effort reinforced his suspicion that the Italian aristocracy was not as powerful as they seemed.

Think about what that Cambrai did, maybe you just have to take the risk like he did, you can do what he did, and maybe you can do better.

With this in mind, Caesar eagerly set out with his fledgling army, but his first destination was not Forlì of Caterina Sforza, but a target that surprised many.

Ferrara is located northeast of Romagna.

When hearing the news of Caesar's march into Ferrara, many people can't help but think about it, but the most interesting of them is old Lauvere.

He first sent a clipper to catch up with his son Constantine, who he had ordered to return to Genoa, and then sent a letter to his daughter Barentia in Montina.

Then the elder Rovere appeared to the people with great pleasure, and the cardinal, who had always been unsmiling in the minds of the people, not only watched a rather grand and tasteless theatrical performance, but even openly sprinkled a large handful of Ladia gold coins already in circulation in many parts of Romagna and Tuscany on the head of a good-looking actor in front of many people.

Watching the gold coins fall from the pretty young man's head like rain and roll back and forth on the ground, people can't help but look at the cardinal's eyes a little ambiguous.

Obviously, old Rovere was in a good mood, and it was all because of Caesar.

At the end of July 1499, Caesar's army passed through the southern foot of the Muccine Mountain, where he paused for a moment to remember the time when his brother Giovanni had fought here, and then he led his army onward.

After the Papal army passed through the hill of Mochne, Caesar was reported that their movements were monitored.

Keeping an eye on them was the Southern Patrol of the Montina Army.

This is a small army with a small number of people.

In Montina, there were no troops dedicated to defending the border, and according to Alexander's code of military regulations, all units were to take turns on the duties of such border patrol units.

The presence of the Papal Army apparently attracted the attention of the patrol, and while sending someone back to report the news, the patrol followed not far from the Papal Army, as if it were a herd of hyenas staring at a herd of reindeer that might fall behind at any moment, according to the veteran who led the team.

Caesar was unimpressed by the Montina people's vigilance, knowing that as long as he didn't provoke them, the Montina wouldn't come to provoke him.

Alexander's infatuation with Lucrezia made Caesar jealous, but it was this infatuation that made Caesar somewhat dependent.

He believed that Alexander's tolerance of him was more because of Lucrechia, so as long as he didn't do anything that angered that person, he could take advantage of his sister's position in Alexander's mind.

As for when he and Alexander will eventually clash next, although Caesar does not have a shadow in his heart, he believes that it should not be too long.

Caesar was convinced that as soon as the French came, that Cambrai would be finished.

All he had to do was to take advantage of the present opportunity to try to put as many nails as possible around Cambrai, and when the time came, those nails would turn into arrows aimed at Cambrai's vital points.

The invasion of Ferrara is one of those nails.

As for whether the invasion of Ferrara would provoke a reaction from the Venetians, Caesar did not think there was anything to worry about.

The French, the French, everything is because the French are coming, and the Italian city-states at this time are panicking, unless they are directly threatened, no one will easily provoke a fight with others.

Caesar saw this opportunity and decided to take advantage of the chaos.

In addition to believing that Cambrai, like everyone else, will not take the initiative to find trouble at this time, another reason is that Ferrara's special geographical location gives him a great grasp of his adventure.

Ferrara is located right between Montina and Venice, and for either side, whoever occupies Ferrara means that it will become a bridgehead for invasion, which is absolutely inadmissible.

In this stalemate, Caesar decided to be the third person to take advantage of the situation.

However, the key to his decision to take the plunge was because he knew that Alexander was not in Montina.

This made Caesar feel that it was worth the risk, although the Venetians were now unclear about the arrival of the French, but I believe they should have known that the Pope and the French were now close, so how likely would the Venetians intervene in his invasion of Ferrara?

As for Montina, Caesar did not think that Barentia, who was guarding Montina for Alexander, was worth worrying about, if it were not for Alexander VI's repeated advice, and the Montina army had left too much impression on him before, Caesar even thought of taking advantage of Alexander's absence to invade Montina in revenge for the humiliation of being captured in Livorno.

However, he knew that this was just a thought, after all, Alexander's army in Montina was said to be nearly 10,000 men, and although Caesar did not consider this statement reliable, he was not crazy enough to verify whether this rumor was true.

In short, Caesar thought that his adventure was certain, and from the cautious attitude of the Montina people, although he had approached Montina's territory, he was even more sure that the woman who was guarding the new castle of Montina would not dare to act rashly.

The movements of Caesar's army also caught the attention of the Ferrarans, who immediately panicked when they determined that the target of the Papal army was indeed Ferrara.

As Caesar deduced, Ferrara was not annexed by its powerful neighbors for a long time, mainly because of the mutual containment of various powers.

Compared to Pisa, which has always been in the shadow of Florence, Ferrara can be said to be slightly luckier.

However, this luck seems to be gone, not to mention that the current Duchess of Pisa, Estelles, has become the protector of Florence, and some even say that she may become the first monarch to rule Florence as the Duke of Pisa, and now with the arrival of Caesar, the Ferrarians also perceive that their "good days" seem to be coming to an end.

Caesar's army was not moving fast, and he was cautious, and although he guessed that his adventure would not encounter much resistance, he decided to proceed with caution, including knowing that he could reach Ferrara faster from the south of Montina's territory, but in order not to irritate the Montina people too much, he chose to make a small detour along the southern foot of the Mozine Mountains before approaching Ferrara.

However, in the eyes of Barendi, who received the news, his move had a completely different meaning.

As Alexander's fiancée, Barendi has the most power in Montina besides Alexander, and in terms of work style, Barendi and her fiancé are also different.

The peasants were afraid of Barondi, because she was always cold, but also because she had a shrewd head, so it was difficult to play tricks in front of her.

Many of the village chiefs of the farms secretly said that they wanted the count to come back soon, and even some people who had been to Pisa would mutter, from time to time, "If only our hostess was the Roman princess".

Although she had heard of these rumors, Barendi was clearly dismissive of them, and she continued to rule in Montina in a harsh manner, while she placed the troops that Alexander had brought back from the Balkans in different directions in Montina according to Alexander's orders.

However, when this arrangement was made, Barendi was a little surprised, because she found that Alexander had placed the warlike Balkans southwest of Montina, and that direction was facing Pisa.

Barendi didn't believe that Alexander was guarding against Lucrezia, and in her mind, the only one to guard against that woman was herself, but the arrangement that Alexander left behind made Barendi feel inexplicable.

What is even more strange is that the Agri Regiment, which is considered the soul of Montina's army, was mainly composed of Agri, who were stationed in the villages and towns of Montina in the direction of Rome.

Alexander's series of arrangements made Barentia vaguely feel as if he was guarding against someone.

In fact, Alexander was afraid that the French might invade the Tuscan coast directly from the sea, and then Pisa, so he asked Gompati to inform Lucrezia in advance to take Estelles to meet him.

In Alexander's view, the city of Pisa actually has no real meaning, even if the city falls into the hands of the French, as long as his daughter still holds the title of Duke of Pisa, and the free trade zone alliance still exists, even if the city of Pisa is lost, there is no big loss.

Montina was different, Montina was the root of his role as Count of Montina and the proof of his influence over Romagna and Tuscany today, so he was prepared before leaving Montina, whether the French invaded Rome from the direction of Pisa or directly from the sea, and then detoured from the south, he had already decided to hold the borders of Montina's territory.

He even went so far as to fight the French in another battle of Bucharest if necessary.

It's just that neither Alexander, who had made this arrangement before going to Rome, but also Barondi, did not expect that they would be waiting for Caesar.

What made Barenti even more unexpected was the sudden arrival of Konstantin.

For her brother's arrival, Barendi has an instinctive vigilance.

And these vigilances were soon confirmed.

Constantine apparently knew about Caesar's invasion of Ferrara in advance, so he mentioned it to Barentia as soon as he arrived in Montina.

"Caesar is going to annex Ferrara, which must be a very bad thing for Montina," Constantine said to Barentie, "Do you think the Venetians will stop him at this time, and what will it mean if the Venetians remain silent?" ”

"So what do you think to do?"

Barendi bit her lip slightly, she was a very smart girl, even smarter than many men in some places, but as a woman, no one believed that she could face such a situation.

The thought that Caesar might capture Ferrara, and that it would become a dagger that threatened Montina at any moment, turned pale.

"Let me help you," Constantin said the purpose of his visit to Montina, "and you need someone to help you stabilize your territory, and you need to be able to command the army." ”

"Father asked you to come?"

Barendi looked at Constantine, who couldn't help but show eagerness when he said this again, and suddenly asked.

Seeing the unnaturalness on Konstantin's face, Barondi's face became even more ugly, and she slowly stood up and walked to the door, and when Konstantin opened his mouth to call her, Barendi stopped but did not look back.

"Alexander gave Montina to me, as his fiancée I know what to do."

After saying this, Barendi walked out of the room without hesitation, and when she returned to the vault, she immediately closed the door tightly, and then slowly sat down on the floor weakly.

However, she soon got back on her feet.

Walking over to the table, Barendi began to write on a piece of paper.

When she pressed hard at the end of the letter with the seal that Alexander had left her, Barondy held it up to her face and looked at it carefully.

It was an order addressed to Gompati, who was stationed in Pisa.

"In the name of Regent Montina, General, I ask you to be prepared to send troops to Ferrara!"