Former King of Northern Bosnia, Rwa?? Exile in Moldova is well known, but it is difficult to say what kind of relationship this former king, who relied on the Ottomans to wear the crown, but was forced to flee with the defeat of the Ottomans in the Balkan wars, and Stefan, the Grand Duke of Moldova.

After all, although Rowa?? used to be a general under Stefan, but the two of them have obviously embarked on different paths, and even in the eyes of many people, Rova?? He has betrayed the faith he believed in the first place when he followed Stefan.

So when they heard that he had fled to Moldova, some people once wondered whether Stefan would temporarily shelter him with his old feelings, or would simply turn him away or even arrest him outright.

But many people clearly misjudged the situation, or overestimated the gap between Stefan's morality as an Orthodox Christian, and the norms of being a king.

Stefan took Rova ??, let him take his little exile court to Moldova, and then, after about half a year of rest, Rova?? At the beginning of January 1500 he led the army back to Northern Bosnia for the first time.

On that occasion, they embarked from Moldova, escorted by an Ottoman fleet, and then landed on the southern Bosnian coast of the Mediterranean Sea into the Balkans.

Rowa?? 's return was very surprising to Helva, and he was strongly wary of this fierce rival, except that he had the Ottomans behind him as a backer, in Bosnia proper, Ruva?? Not without supporters.

In about the treatment of Roya?? , Osman showed a rather flexible wrist.

In faith they allowed Rois?? They still retain their status as Orthodox Christians, and even allow them to celebrate public Mass, which makes many people who are interested in Rois?? There was hope, but Bosnians, who had some scruples for fear of being forced to convert, were happy.

And politically, the Ottomans gave the Rhova?? There was a great deal of freedom, except that he publicly renounce his sovereignty over South Bosnia, and that they only demand that the Kingdom of Northern Bosnia, like other conquered Orthodox states, recognize the suzerainty and dominion of the Sultan, and still give them the title of king in the name of the Sultan.

These are enough to make many people have no scruples, so for a while Rova?? The exiled courtiers were strong and strong, posing a great threat to Helva.

It's just that Herva, after all, was the king of Croatia and Northern Bosnia, and he quickly mobilized his army to Rhova, who was trying to return to the north?? An offensive was launched, and after several sizable battles, Herva managed to repel Riva who was trying to regain control of Bosnia??, forcing him to return to the south.

At that time Rois?? What kind of role did the Grand Duke of Moldova Stefan play in the somewhat reckless "Battle for Restoration", people do not know, can be used to contain Rova?? and his acquiescence to the development of his influence in his principality, and even the later permission of the Ottoman fleet to transport this army to Bosnia through the ports of Moldova, can already be seen in his attitude in this matter.

This annoyed Herva, who sent a stern letter to Stefan condemning the incident, and at the same time Herva had to temporarily suspend his territorial claims to Caniola, much to the relief of Archduke Karl of Caniola.

It's just that maybe the fleeing has been suppressed for too long over the years, and Helva's strong expansionist attitude after becoming king makes the surrounding countries a little nervous. It was lively, and some emissaries from unknown places began to sneak out of his small court in exile.

Among them is Prato, but Prato's goal at the beginning was not Rois?? It was Stefan, who had to settle for Rova after hitting a wall??。

Listening to Prato's report, Alexander pondered that the situation in the Balkans was much more complicated than he had imagined, and that the only advantage he had now was some foresight of what was to come, such as Stefan's decision to attach himself to the Ottomans because he had been worried about the threat from Poland, and that Moldova would eventually be completely annexed by the Ottomans in a few years.

Although Bayezid II's defeat in Bucharest may lead to some very different changes in history, at least Moldova is still following the inertia of history, which is why Stefan chose to show goodwill to the Ottomans immediately after defeating the Poles.

However, Alexander believed that Stefan's change of attitude towards the Ottomans was only a stopgap measure, and for him whether he had previously joined the Poles against the infidels or later relied on the Ottomans against the Polish-Lithuanian kingdom, his aim was only to protect himself.

For this, he can turn against any ally, and he can turn any enemy into a friend, but this is nothing new, after all, it will not be a few years before even France, the most pious knightly state in the Christian world, will hook up with the Ottomans.

"You offered it to Roy?? What are the weapons used in exchange? Alexander asked.

"It was the marble and glass sand he had promised, and some other minerals," Prato said with a slight disgust as a merchant, "they lacked useful minerals, and it is said that there were few copper mines in the whole country, which was not comparable to Wallachia and Hungary." ”

Alexander nodded slightly, he really didn't have any resources to be proud of in Moldova, and if it weren't for the country's sensitive geographical location, the surrounding powers would not be so interested here.

But is there really nothing at all?

A vague impression flashed through Alexander's mind, but he couldn't remember it for a while.

However, he didn't really care about this, and it was important to him that Prato had transferred the weapons that had been used to marry Stefan to Roy??, which was important.

Alexander believed in Stefan and Roy?? It's not just the superficial relationship, maybe Stefan's ambition was not very big, just thinking about how to preserve his principality, but sometimes when the opportunity comes, even a docile sheep will have the ambition to rule the savannah, not to mention that Stefan is not a sheep.

He tried to take advantage of Roa?? Yes, as for sure as to him just put Rois?? I don't know if he was a pawn that could be used to bargain with Helva, or if he planned to use this wild wolf who had lost his territory to let him out and bite people everywhere, but at least now he was willing to see Rois?? of the power has been strengthened.

As for the future, maybe with Roy?? 's strength will make him feel threatened, and maybe then it will be time for the two sides to become conflicted and finally turn against each other.

How long will it take for this to happen?

Alexander glanced at Prato, it might not be a long time before this happens, but with Prato and Rois?? In private, Alexander felt that the honeymoon period between the two "good friends" might be greatly shortened.

But before that, it won't be Stefan who will feel the headache first, but Herva.

Rova who has received strong support?? There will be an urgent need to regroup and then fight his so-called "war of restoration" again, which will pose a big enough threat to Helva, and in order to deal with this opponent, it is believed that Herva will try to change his attitude towards the surrounding countries in order to gain more support instead of pushing everyone else to his old enemy.

"Good job," Alexander smiled and approved, he didn't expect Prato to have grown a lot in the past year or so, just from his wit, he used the weapons that he was originally going to send out to make a good article, it can be seen that this person has some potential to be a diplomat, "You have indeed achieved a lot during this time, speaking of which, I thought it might not be appropriate for you to come to Wallachia, but now it seems that this decision is very correct." ”

Prato had an appropriate amount of excitement on his face, and then he looked at Alexander earnestly, as if waiting for his next step.

Alexander was a little baffled, he knew that his previous words were actually no different from the empty white teeth of the boss who said some worthless good things, but in his opinion, Prato is not a loss, after all, he has heard a lot of rumors about this man making a fortune in Wallachia these days, as for Prato's lavishly furnished palace in Bucharest, he has also seen it before, it can only be said that although this person is very greedy for money, but in terms of taste, he is worthy of being Raphael's friend, and has some artistic inspiration and aesthetic level.

So looking at Prato's expectant look now, Alexander felt a little strange, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

As if sensing that Alexander didn't seem to understand what he meant, a hint of hesitation flashed on Prato's face, but in the end the strong desire in his heart overcame the uneasiness, and then he said cautiously: "Your Highness, I have a small request......

"Well, what do you want to say?" Alexander asked with interest, he didn't mind that his men occasionally showed him the idea of asking for it, which was normal, after all, people were willing to follow you for something.

This is also the reason why many people are willing to see Alexander become the Duke of Rometesia, and as his status becomes more and more noble, his generals and retinues will naturally rise to the top, each taking what he wants.

"Your Highness, I hope to have the honor of attending your wedding." Prato immediately shut his mouth after saying this, and then looked nervously at Alexander's face.

Alexander opened his mouth slightly, but he didn't speak, but he almost understood what Prato meant.

As a merchant, Prato's current wealth can be said to have made many people crazy with jealousy, among which in addition to merchants, even many nobles have to smile at him in terms of his wealth, and it is said that he has begun to lend money to some nobles in Bucharest, and at the same time he has also taken over a large amount of Bucharest's post-war reconstruction projects through his connections with the court.

It can be said that Prato is mixing very well now.

But despite this, he was still just a businessman.

He could go deep into the Prague court and the mansions of the Wallachian or Croatian nobles, but he knew that there was always an insurmountable gulf between him and the nobles.

This chasm prevented him from truly standing with the nobles on an equal footing, especially as Alexander's status changed, and Prato felt as if he was getting further and further away from Alexander's inner circle.

He aspires to be a man of status, and he admires Cosimo Medici, who gradually transformed the Medici family from a purely merchant family to an aristocratic family.

He hopes that he will also become a representative of the founding of the Prato family, so that in the future his children and grandchildren can proudly tell others about the glorious history of their family.

Being able to attend Alexander's wedding was seen by Prato as a sign of true integration into the Duchy of Romagna-Tuscany.

Especially if he could stand with such people as Gompati, Ofleiu, Ulliu, Grogenin, or talk and laugh with those nobles of high status, it would be a better thing for him than to make a fortune.

Looking at Prato's expectant eyes, Alexander pondered for a moment and nodded.

Prato had a look of surprise on his face, which was a bit of an exaggeration, but he was delighted.

Being able to get closer to Alexandria was important to him in Prato, and he had some other ideas in mind.

Prato still knew a little about Alexander's women, at least because he had made a fortune in the Balkans, so he had an almost natural affinity for Sophia, which made him wonder about his future path.

It is conceivable that he will be labeled as Sophia for a long time to come, which will certainly give him a lot of benefits, but as long as he thinks about who the Duchess of Rometesia is, he can't help but worry a little about the future.

So Prato still wanted to make himself look more like a duke than a Archduchess of Wallachia, otherwise he might not have a good time in the future.

The good days always pass quickly, and spring also walks lightly across the land of Wallachia on tiptoe, and then glances back slightly, giving this beautiful land to the summer that has been chasing behind her.

The weather is getting hotter, and the situation is changing across Europe.

After a winter and a spring of friction and conflict, France and Austria, which were successfully dragged into trouble, encountered the biggest test since the beginning of the war.

The French attacked Milan again, this time with Louis XII determined to win, while the French commander, Count Broger, who had recovered from his wounds, led the French army to launch a first onslaught against the Austrian army trying to aid Milan.

Maxi was no longer in the army, and after the failed negotiations in Milan, he handed over command of the army to his trusted generals and returned to Vienna.

Maximian was waiting for good news, which might make Louis XII bow down to him completely.

Sure enough, with the arrival of April, rumors of a possible entry into the war grew, and by the time the British had begun to talk about whether the British would send troops into Italy to fight the war, or whether they would land directly from mainland France, as they had done during the Hundred Years' War.

Louis XII, of course, was aware of this, and while he quickly sent a letter to Paris, ordering his close ministers who remained in Paris to spy on the English population, he ordered the rapid recruitment of a reserve army of no less than 10,000 men from all over the country in case of contingencies.

Rumors of the possible entry of the British into the war caused an uproar not only in mainland France, but also in Italy, fearing that the English might appear from the Mediterranean, Louis XII had to reinforce the defense of Genoa with a portion of the army attacking Milan.

This made the war against Milan much more difficult.

But before Ludviko and his Austrian allies could rejoice, something unexpected happened.

The Venetians, who had always been ambiguous, suddenly sent an army of about 6,000 men to Lombardy, and at the same time, the Venetian governor Barbarige took the initiative to write a long letter to King Louis XII of France.

In the letter, Barbarig changed his ambiguity and uncertainty, and clearly expressed his approval to Louis XII for the expulsion of Ludevico by the French, in which he did not shy away from directly calling the Sforza family a tyrant with ambition to usurp power, without any legitimate reason to rule Milan, so he recognized the legitimacy of the French army's actions against Milan, and suggested that a more qualified person should inherit the legal status of the Duke of Milan.

Louis XII was not only pleasantly surprised by the sudden olive branch of the Venetians, after all, at a time when it seemed to be an enemy on all sides, a powerful country was suddenly willing to side with him, which made Louis XII happy and even a little suspicious of the Venetians' purpose.

After all, Venice was fighting at sea with the help of the Aragonese and the Ottomans, and Maximian was the family of King Ferdinand of Aragon.

This made Louis XII hesitate to oversee the Venetian's overtures, but when he saw the letter of Babarig's recommendation for the future Duke of Milan, he couldn't help but have a headache.

Barbarig recommended Constantin della Rovere, who had just become Duke of Forlì, much to Louis XII's discomfort.

The relationship between the old Rovere and the French has reached the point where it is almost incompatible, which makes Louis XII unable to accept the result of letting the people of the Rovere family finally pick up the big bargain of the Duke of Milan, but Ludvico's two sons have died in battle, and with the extinction of the Sforza family, the Duke of Milan is bound to choose someone else.

Now the Venetians showed him kindness and also gave him a problem, which made the Dharma King, who was now facing all kinds of difficulties, lose his mind for a while.

Soon, however, Louis XII had to agree to Barbarig's terms.

In early May 1500, an English army of about 2,000 men was escorted by the Aragonese fleet through Gibraltar into the Mediterranean, where they stopped first in Corsica and then threatened Genoa.