The cold winter wind blows from the river and pours into the neckline of the clothes, giving people the pain of being scraped through the skin by a sharp object, and although the winter in the Mediterranean is warmer than in the north, the cold is still unbearable.

There were many beggars in the streets, most of them unclothed, and when a magnificent carriage passed through the street, these people would stretch out their hands and beg for alms, but they were often scolded and abused, and some were simply whipped by the guards escorting the carriage.

Rome is a city of prosperity and glory, but it has never been a paradise for the poor.

As the carriage crossed the bridge across the Tiber, Alexander saw a ring of walls on a high hill to the west of the riverbank.

Behind the walls, towers and patches of buildings loomed over, and Alexander knew that this was where the Vatican Palace was located.

In the early days, the Vatican Palace was not surrounded by such a wall, and since Pepin of the Carolingian dynasty sacrificed a large area of land centered on the city of Rome to the church centuries ago, Rome has become the direct domain of the church, and with the coronation of Charlemagne by Pope Leo, the wealth and power of the church have been like wild horses on the loose, all the way to the top.

So for a long time, the pope who lived in the Vatican Palace used the walls of Rome as the boundary of the city, but this changed only after the 13th century.

The Vatican Palace became more and more important and insecure, in fact, both the Holy Roman Emperor and the King of France seemed to gradually see entering Rome as a sign of their power, which made Rome gradually become an undefended city in front of these powerful European monarchs, so that the Vatican Palace became the only place where the Pope felt safe at night, although Rome was still nominally owned by the Church, but gradually in people's minds, the hill on the west bank of the Tiber, But it is the Pope's refuge.

It's just that newcomers find it unbelievable that when the carriage is driving on the bridge, the scenes they see are quite surprising.

Groups of flowery, or rather wandering, women walked up and down the bridge, and as the carriage progressed, there were more and more such women along the way, and as the carriage slowly passed through the doorway of the wall, it was even surrounded by a group of women.

The women kept sending autumn waves to the soldiers guarding the carriage and the retinue who seemed to have a lot of status, showing off their amorous feelings, and some of them simply tore open the neckline that was almost exposed, and showed the large mounds of flesh with white flowers on the graves in front of the soldiers' eyes.

"Who are these women?" Although he knew it in his heart, he still felt a little incredulous, and when a woman chased after his mount, constantly rubbing his thighs against his bulging chest, Carlo couldn't help but feel a dry mouth, but he knew that it wasn't because of the dryness of winter, "Are they all prostitutes?" ”

"Didn't you already guess," Alexander smiled slightly, "don't look like this, maybe you'll see something more spectacular soon." ”

"But this is the Vatican, the place where the holy St. Paul began to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and where he rests." Carlo muttered a little unacceptably, although he had also participated in wars and seen some of the world, but this was the first time Rome had come, and it was the first time he had seen this kind of scene in front of him, which completely overwhelmed him, "How can these women do such things in the Vatican!" ”

"So what do you think the Vatican should be?" Alexander glanced at the hunter and saw that he was still dumbfounded, and Alexander had to whisper to remind him, "Remember my advice, if you don't want to die inexplicably because of some strange disease all of a sudden, it's better not to touch these women, even if it is to spend a little more money to find a less beautiful country girl than these women." ”

Carlo nodded a little sluggishly, thinking about Alexander's words, he suddenly shuddered, and quickly urged the horse to break free from the few women who had been following him, and caught up with the old man who was about to move away.

Joanna sat in the carriage and didn't look outside, in fact, she knew exactly what was happening outside, and when she thought that the Vatican was even more depraved than she had seen the last time she came, Joanna couldn't help but wonder if the Pope would be more extravagant and greedy than the last time she saw him.

The carriage drove along the stone road beside a somewhat old palace into a corridor sandwiched between a number of low, crowded houses, and on the left side of the large number of houses, the decrepit palace was in a semicircle mixed with a slightly cluttered building, and on the right a rather majestic building came into view.

"Vatican Palace." Joanna muttered softly, her eyes focused on hope and longing, as if the hard work of the journey had made it worth it to get here.

"Your Majesty, according to His Majesty's arrangement, you will wait in the side palace of the Carolingian Palace for a while, and then someone will invite you to meet His Majesty the Pope," the priest who came with Joanna again whispered to Joanna about her itinerary, "and if you have any important documents that need to be presented to His Majesty the Pope, you can explain the handover to the messenger who will greet you in advance. ”

Joanna nodded, she knew that the priest meant this to imply that she was giving what she was going to give to Alexander VI, and she had heard that the pope often decided the length of the summons and the attitude towards the visitors based on the number of gifts they received.

"Also, your guards can only stay here, and you can lead an attendant to protect you, but this person must also stay outside the palace when you are in the audience." "Let me say more," the priest reminded again, "His Majesty's guards are personally selected by the Archbishop of Valencia, which may not be the same as the last time you met His Majesty, but the loyalty of these guards to His Majesty is absolutely unquestionable, so you must make sure that your attendants do not cause displeasure among the guards, otherwise it may cause some surprises." ”

As he said this, the priest's eyes looked consciously or unconsciously at Nashan, who was not far from the carriage, and the ambiguity between the strangely dressed bohemian and the queen had already caught his attention, and at this time he had to give a direct warning.

Joanna, who had instinctively looked at Nashan when she heard that she could only bring one guard, had to withdraw her gaze after hearing the priest's words, and then she looked at Alexander, who was standing a little farther away and was giving orders to the Agri.

"Let me remind you again, child," the priest told Alexander before leaving, "do not do anything that would make the guards suspicious, for for the safety of His Majesty the Pope, the Archbishop of Valencia has given orders to the guards that they may execute anyone suspicious at will, remember. ”

Alexander bowed slightly in thanks, and when the priest left, he turned to look at the Vatican Palace opposite.

He knew that the Archbishop of Valencia that the priest was talking about was none other than Caesar Borgia, the most favored and cunning and cruel illegitimate son of Alexander VI, known as the Duke of Poison.

Although according to Catholic law, the clergy forbade marriage and sexual relations with women, except for the earliest pious Christians, who regarded poverty and self-preservation as sacred, the more this kind of church fell on deaf ears, especially as the atmosphere became more and more degenerate, and the possession of wealth and mistresses was not only nothing new, but even many popes sought benefits and status for their mistresses in private.

But the most special of these people was Alexander VI.

Not only did he openly have mistresses, but he also openly recognized the status of his illegitimate children, and among these illegitimate children, his favorites were his second son Caesar and his daughter Lucrezia.

Even before he became pope, Alexander VI stubbornly sought all kinds of rights for his illegitimate sons, from military commanders to religious leaders, and he hoped that when he would one day ascend to the papal throne, his sons and daughters would become the most powerful pillars of the "Borgia dynasty", for which he conferred many priesthoods on his son Caesar at an early age, and even when he was 9 years old, he was given the title of bishop of Valencia. And he has just come of age and put on the cardinal's robe.

His daughter, at a very young age, was also offered several valuable marriages, and in the end she had just recently married the Duke of Milan, a member of the famous Sforza family.

Zhang Luo's family is none other than Cardinal Monteiro.

Caesar's guard for the Pope, Alexander's thoughts, thinking about the current confrontation between the French and the coalition outside Rome, Alexander felt that Caesar did not seem to be just to protect his father.

Joanna's gift apparently worked, and it wasn't long before a high secretary from the Pope's side came to greet Joanna, and after a little greeting, Joanna was told that she could have an hour to talk with the Pope.

This made Joanna happy, although the thought of the price to pay for this hour was really not small, and it was not known how much she would have to pay afterwards, but at least the current situation was enough to satisfy her.

Alexander accompanied Joanna along the narrow path between the cluttered buildings, which looked unclean and chaotic, and the people who were still climbing up and down the scaffolding of the unfinished Sistine Chapel looked blurry in the dust, so that when passing through the scaffolding, Alexander had to reach out and gently support Joanna to prevent her from falling because of the unsteadiness of her feet.

"One of the greatest buildings will soon be erected here," said the secretary as he walked to Joanna, "and many of the masterpieces of the famous masters have been transported here, and when they are fully completed, the collection of books and art treasures here will arouse the envy of all Europe." ”

"That's great, and I hope to be lucky enough to see this miracle again." Joanna echoed it, but her demeanor didn't show much interest, which made the secretary seem a little disappointed.

Alexander, however, looked with great interest at the palace under construction and the statues with different expressions that were being placed on a marble pedestal by many people in the smoke and dust.

The statues in the smoke and dust, either looking high or flying with passion, rose like a curtain of time breaking through the curtain, and at this moment Alexander realized what he was witnessing.

In the era of the Renaissance, he couldn't help but have a trace of reverie in his heart, until he heard the secretary walking in front of him gently remind.

A line of guards lined up the steps of the Vatican Palace, spears in their hands, their cold armor glistening in the sun.

"From here, you'll have to go in on your own, Your Majesty." The secretary reminded Joanna.

"Then you stay here until I come back." Joanna said to Alexander.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Alexander bowed and watched Joanna led by his secretary through the soldiers, and he couldn't help but pay attention to the guards that Caesar had organized to protect Alexander VI.

These men looked very strong, and Alexander could vaguely sense from them that these people were not so much used as guards, but rather a small but rather elite army, and as long as he thought that Caesar's army must have been more than just a few people in front of him, he could not help but think of the words of the French general named Henri de Charlon, whom he had met the night before.

"No armed forces other than the French army were allowed in the city of Rome."

Alexander thought back to these words, and then thought about the intricacies of the relationships that no one in Rome could fully explain today, and he couldn't help but secretly wonder what to do to keep Agri sustained in such a complicated situation in the next period of time.

For Alexander, Agri was too small, but in the current situation, it was not easy to keep Agri, especially if the French were defeated too early, which would not be a good thing for him.

Alexander thought as he walked aimlessly down the steps, and when he came to a statue that had just been completed, he stopped to look up at the sculpture that seemed to be somewhat familiar, he knew that he had seen this sculpture, but perhaps because the sculpture had not completely torn off the thick cloth wrapped in it, and the surrounding scene was different from many places in his memory, he did not see who it was at this time for a while.

"Hey, don't get out of the way, I can't see ahead."

An angry voice came from behind him, and Alexander turned his head to look behind him, and saw a young man with rough skin and messy hair swaying with his head swaying on top of his head, standing on a scaffold, holding a large drawing board in his arms, and holding a crayon in his right hand pointing at Alexander below, shouting loudly.

Seeing this young man, Alexander couldn't help but smile.

At this time, the young man also saw Alexander clearly, and he seemed to be slightly stunned, and then immediately jumped off the scaffolding with a scream!

"Who did I see, I didn't expect to see you in Rome!" The young man cried as he gripped Alexander's shoulders tightly with his thick calloused hands.

"My friend, are you modeling for me?"

So said the young Michelangelo. 10