Looking at Alexander, who was standing at the door and smiling at himself, Niccolò Machiavelli had mixed feelings.

Seeing Alexander again in Pisa, the Florentines not only felt as if time had passed, but also that many things were different from before.

When they first met outside Pisa, Machiavelli thought of the young man as a young man who had eloped with the woman he loved.

Later, in the city, Machiavelli saw the riot that surprised him.

Unlike the others, Machiavelli did not think that Alexander had anything to do with the uprising.

This was because he did not believe that an important count would risk such a thing, let alone the daughter of Alexander VI, which made no sense to Machiavelli.

He preferred to believe that it was a coincidence, but what happened next made him unbelievable.

It was such a coincidence that the young man in front of him seized the opportunity, and then in the next series of dazzling changes, the young man took advantage of the situation to seize Pizza!

Machiavelli felt that he had been through what he had been through in the past few days, and even for a long time after returning to Florence, he was constantly pondering everything he had seen with his own eyes in those days.

Machiavelli had an inexplicable premonition that he seemed to be able to see something different from other nobles or monarchs in this young count, and that there should be something more crucial for him to discover besides the courage and tenacity necessary to be a monarch.

Machiavelli began to pay attention to the young count, and the events that followed made him realize that his premonition was completely correct.

The young earl did have something to catch his eye.

From Pisa to Oral, from Montina to Chimone, and then to Giovanni's death, which surprised almost all the Italian city-states, Machiavelli watched the young man's movements closely.

And the more he watched, the more surprised the Florentine became, and he could no longer distinguish between what Alexander had done was a pure coincidence and which was a premeditated plan.

He even had the urge to record and study the young man's actions and write a book.

It was only when he heard about the assassination in Pisa a few days earlier, and the subsequent major events in the city of Pisa, that Machiavelli knew that he could no longer stay in Florence.

He needed to see what was happening in Pisa with his own eyes, and he needed to understand what this event meant for Florence as soon as possible.

Therefore, he did not hesitate to have a rare argument with a leader who admired him, and then, with his stubborn insistence, he was offered the assignment to Pisa.

Now the young man stood in front of him, but perhaps it was different from his previous thoughts, and looking at Alexander's smiling face, the Florentines always felt that there seemed to be something hidden under the smile of this young man.

Standing in front of Alexander, Machiavelli bowed respectfully, unlike the first time they met, when Alexander was only the nominal Count of Montina, and now he was even the de facto ruler of Pisa.

Machiavelli was not optimistic about Tomneo at all, which is one of the reasons why he insisted on coming to Pisa, he needed to know how much power and influence the Duke of Pisa really had, so that Fiorentina could make the right decision in the future.

Pisa is so close to Florence that the Pisan people feel that they are always living in the shadow of the Florentine behemoth, but for the Florentines, the changes in Pisa also make them feel vaguely uneasy.

Especially at this time, the Florentines are vigilantly watching the news from the Vatican, and the sudden change in Pisa has caused the Florentines to panic a little.

"Please don't salute yet, I want to know who you are now." Alexander stopped Machiavelli: "It would be nice if you were to visit me in an ordinary capacity, but if you are coming to Pisa as a diplomat, I suggest you go and visit the Duke instead of me." ”

As he spoke, Alexander turned sideways and raised his hand outside the door.

Machiavelli's expression was slightly sluggish, he did not expect Alexander to be so wary of him from the beginning, or that this young man had always been very cautious, and would never get carried away because he was in a good situation.

"My lord, I'm visiting you as a person," Machiavelli explained, "and in fact many people don't approve of me coming to Pisa. ”

Savonarola ......

Alexander had the name in his mind.

If there was anyone who was adamantly opposed to Machiavelli's trip to Pisa, he felt that person must be Savonarola.

As the de facto ruler of Florence, Savonarola had an almost unbelievable political purity, hating all ambiguities and compromises with the extravagant and depraved aristocracy, and disdaining to use false pretenses to find companions to rival the Vatican.

In Savonarola's view, all those who made a deal with Alexander VI were like making a deal with the devil and selling their souls.

"And what are you here for?" Alexander asked with interest.

"I hope to bring about a friendship between Pisa and Florence," Machiavelli said first, and when he saw Alexander's indifferent expression, he could only add with a little helplessness, "What happened in Pisa affected Florence, and I would like to hear with your own ears an explanation of the relationship between Pisa and Florence." ”

Alexander nodded, he still admired Machiavelli's keen diplomatic sense, and at the same time he couldn't help but be slightly vigilant.

Although he believed that the great man of thought who would become famous for his "Treatise on the Monarch" would never have noticed his plans, he only had to think of the prestige that this man would leave behind in later generations, and Alexander felt that he could not underestimate this now-inconspicuous Florentine diplomat.

"Are you looking for a promise?"

Seeing Machiavelli nodding, Alexander smiled lightly.

He could sense the urgency of the diplomats, and perhaps savonarola's kind of man who thought that he could be invincible by his pious faith and strong will alone would not have noticed anything, but someone like Machiavelli must have sensed some unsettling signs.

At least what happened in Pisa had already made them uneasy.

"A promise," Alexandre thought for a moment, motioning for Machiavelli to follow him towards the garden, "perhaps I could promise that Montina would not be involved in the operation against Florence, as long as the independence of Pisa was ensured." ”

For a moment, Machiavelli's face showed surprise and even uneasiness, but he immediately forced himself to calm down.

The hint in Alexander's words was already clear that there would be a conspiracy or even a war against Florence.

The diplomat felt that he had made the right trip, that at least the news was worth it, and more importantly, that he had heard something else from Alexander's words.

"Then Earl, under what circumstances do you think you can help us, apart from being neutral?" Despite his inner anxiety, Machiavelli made his tone sound less urgent.

"Diplomat, I don't think it's in my immediate interest to help Florence," Alexander, looking a little cold, and seeing the disappointment on Machiav's face, he continued, "You should know that His Majesty the Pope is quite dissatisfied with the Florentine consul, unless he is willing to give up his position in the Florence Abbey......"

"It can't be!" Machiavelli interrupted Alexander firmly, and the diplomat's face showed a look of indignation or annoyance, and he barely calmed down under Alexander's gaze, and then said, "I'm sorry sir, please forgive me for my rudeness and offense, but your request is completely unacceptable, and Florence needs not only an archon, but also a guide to our direction." ”

Listening to Machiavelli's slightly excited words, Alexander looked at the man in front of him with interest, which made Alexander feel that there was no one in the world who knew this person better than himself.

This is a pure pragmatist and loyal to his personal interests, and it is not an insult to this man to be considered utilitarian, but on the contrary, it is an endorsement of him, and it is precisely because of this idea that his ideas have been criticized for many years afterward, and this man's own life has not been smooth.

Even a few years later, his motivation for writing the book was simply to cling to the Medici family back in power, and not long before that, he was loyal to the Florentine Republic and at war with the Medici.

But when he fails, he changes his stance and clings to the family he had been calling for to be brought down.

Such a man was willing to work for Savonarola, which made Alexander's interest in the Florentine consul even stronger.

"Then you will persuade him to compromise with the Pope," Alexander said lightly, "you should not be naïve to think that you can fight against the Vatican." ”

"My lord, we do not dare to offend the high status of the Holy See."

The Florentine man tried to make his voice sound humble, he always thought that the attitude of the count was actually the attitude of the Vatican, or that although the count seemed to be at odds with Alexander VI on the outside, Machiavelli had a hunch that perhaps through this young man, he could find an opportunity to save Florence.

The talks with the Florentine diplomat did not last long, and Alexander, having invited him to dinner with him in the evening, ordered the guests to be sent off.

He knew that Machiavelli should still visit Tomneo, but it was estimated that by this time Tomneo's heart was completely filled with the ducal throne, and there was no room for Florence or anything else.

Sure enough, the Florentines were disappointed to receive the cold reception, or rather, after receiving Alexander's hints, Tomneo already knew what to do with the Florentine emissary.

For Tomneo, it didn't matter what Alexander wanted to do with Florence, the only thing he cared about now was the promise to legitimize his inheritance.

For this, he doesn't care even if it costs some for pizza.

The Pisans were busy, the Florentine diplomats were on the move, and Alexander was hiding in Lucrezia's house.

Seeing that he couldn't wait to catch Lucrezia, Alexander opened his arms to catch her pounce, and kissed her on the warm lips.

"You haven't come to see me for 2 days," Lucrezia was a little nervous, her hands gripping the huge brass buttons on the chest of Alexander's shirt, her eyes roaming over his face, "Are you tired of me?" ”

"How is it possible, you have fascinated me so much that I have forgotten so much, so I am going to punish you."

Alexander's hands were slightly forced, directly lifting Lucrezia's body off the ground, the 18-year-old little woman was so light that she could barely feel the weight, and in Lucrezia's struggle with laughter because of the itching in her waist, Alexander carried her into the room, and then closed the door behind her with his heels.

Outside the door, Uliu turned and stood in the hallway with his back to the door, knowing that his duty now was to keep no one from entering, even if the Duke of Pisa came.

It wasn't a difficult thing to do, but the thought of being questioned about the sight of the Countess in the future made the Moorish man's dark face a little sad.

"Alexander, aren't you supposed to ...... Send to Rome to ask my father for ...... Ask for forgiveness so that you can propose to him. ”

In the room, Lucrezia gasped softly, she felt a little difficult to speak, it was all because Alexander's hand had caused trouble on her, and the already hot weather now made her feel as if she was about to catch fire.

As Alexander's hand slipped through the collar, Lucrezia pushed hard against his chest.

"Shouldn't you listen to me carefully at this time, or are you only keen on this kind of thing?"

Seeing the little woman's cute look of annoyance, Alexander couldn't help but laugh and looked down and pecked lightly on the tip of her pretty nose.

"And what do you want me to hear from you," Alexander put his hands behind Lucrezia's head to support her little head, ten fingers gently slid into her silky thick blonde hair, and then held her head in place with a slight force, "Go and ask your father for forgiveness, propose to him and want to marry you to me, and then ......" Speaking of which, his hand wrapped around Lucrezia's hair was slightly forced, causing her head to tilt back involuntarily, while staring at her slightly nervous eyes, "Then you can give your father and brother a chance to murder me too?" ”

"No ......"

Lucrezia panicked and wanted to deny it, but she couldn't say what was going on.

Even though she has always lived a carefree life under the protection of her father and brother, she has seen too many intrigues of her own family, and even her closest family members and former husband are victims of these conspiracies, which makes Lucrezia understand even if she is naïve that what Alexander said can come true.

"Listen to me if that's not the case," Alexander's hand strained slightly, causing Lucrezia's head to tilt back again, revealing her fair and slender neck.

The veins and tendons in the neck are tightly crumbling under the translucent skin, and it seems that if you exert more force, they will burst out at any time.

Lucrezia let out a slightly uncomfortable moan, but as Alexander's lips covered the skin on the side of her tight neck, the sound of her throat turned into a low, seductive chirp.

Her body began to become soft and weak, as her legs, which had always been held in Alexander's arms and had nowhere to focus, gently rubbed against Alexander's body.

At the same time, a voice kept shouting in her heart: "That's it, don't worry about the future, now he belongs to you alone." ”

The voice grew louder and louder, so irritating that Lucrezia couldn't help but grab Alexander's shoulders and pull him towards her.

At this moment, Alexander's voice came to her ear: "Duke Billy Shelly may have arrived in Rome soon." ”

"What?"

Lucrezia, who was in the midst of passion, was stunned for a moment, she almost forgot that she had such a fiancé, and now she felt even more uncomfortable to hear this name.

"I mean, the fiancé your father found for you is coming to marry you," Alexander said disapprovingly, leaning himself on top of Lucrezia and looking down at her, "So now I want to hear your own thoughts, do you want to marry that Duke Billy Shelly?" ”

"Of course not! I'm not going to marry that duke! Lucrezia asked, a little angry and a little uneasy, "Do you think I'm going to change my mind so easily, or are you going to send me back?" ”

Staring into Lucrezia's eyes for a moment, Alexander lowered his head and whispered in her ear again, "Remember your words today, Lucrezia Borgia, you yourself don't want to marry Alfonso, Duke of Billyseri. ”

As he spoke, his lips completely encroached on Lucrezia's fiery and soft lips.

While Alexander was hiding in Lucrezia's little house and enjoying a tender moment, the Florentine diplomats were running around the city of Pisa.

Machiavelli was anxious, or rather apocalyptic, he didn't know if it was his own heart or what, but he had a very ominous premonition, both from the situation inside Florence and from the signs from the outside.

It seems that something bad or even terrible is about to happen.

This makes him anxious to get help, and wherever he comes from, he will find a way to approach negotiations whenever it is useful.

It's just that Tomneo, the Duke of Pisa, unsurprisingly disappointed him, and he found that this duke was actually no different from a puppet except for the title of Pisa monarch.

Even after meeting with the officers of the city guards, Machiavelli was surprised to find that the city guards were not hired to swear allegiance to the Duke himself, but only to receive a share of the supposedly generous tax amount.

This surprised and excites Florence, and that evening Machiavelli wrote in his essay diary:

"There is nothing weaker and most unstable in the world than to build one's power and reputation without relying on one's own strength, and the Duke of Pisa is clearly such a bad example. On the contrary, there are others who seem to be setting a good example, and I have great respect for their wisdom and talent in this regard. September 1, 1497, written in Pisa. ”