The cardinal's visit to the Pope again caused a little speculation in the Vatican.

There are many cardinals in the Holy See, but there is only one who is known to everyone if they only need to be called by title without having a surname, and that is Giuliano della Roverre.

The conflict between Alexander VI and old Rovere was open and undisguised, so that the two men could hardly be said to have interacted with each other, except for the necessary sacrificial ceremonies and cardinal conferences, and the two often met in the corridor only according to the etiquette, and then went their separate ways.

However, in just one month, these two Vatican bigwigs have met privately twice, which cannot but cause many people to have all kinds of doubts.

Alexander VI also wondered why old Rovere wanted to see him, he had the impression that the last meeting was not very pleasant, although the last two people did not get Ferrara, but thinking that it was the daughter of old Rovere who drove his son out of Ferrara after all, Alexander VI felt very depressed in his heart.

However, he didn't think that old Rovere wanted to see him this time to show off, obviously maybe the other party's heart was more aggrieved, so thinking about it, the Pope's mood was slightly better.

What Alexander VI did not expect, however, was that the elder Rovere would suddenly propose to favor the takeover of Ferrara by Massimo and that he would also rule Bologna.

This made Alexander VI feel a sense of anger that he had been betrayed.

Although this idea is a bit ridiculous, the Pope did think so at the time.

Everyone has a disobedient daughter, which should have been a fairly similar encounter between two old fathers who were hostile to each other, but now you suddenly told me that you were going to support your daughter, which is simply a huge betrayal of the son-in-law's natural enemy.

Alexander VI looked at the old Rovere standing opposite him with a stiff face, and said that they never sat down every time they met, but just stood and talked, firstly because there was no need for the two sides to sit down for a long talk, and secondly, to show each other that their bodies were still strong, and they did not want to show a little weakness in front of each other.

"Bologna and Ferrara are still under the name of the Papal Domain, but the governance of these two places is carried out by the Metropolitan of Massimo," old Rovere did not care about the gloomy face of Alexander VI who was about to drip, the proposal of Alexander brought to him by Ulliu before made him feel surprised to suddenly see a beautiful scenery that he had never noticed before, Ferrara is really not worth mentioning compared to Milan, if he can really make Constantine the Duke of Milan, old Rovere even considered to make Alexander feel at ease, he can support Massimo to become a cardinal as soon as possible, so that at least Alexander will have a reliable spokesman in the Vatican" so that everyone can save face. ”

The last sentence poked Alexander VI in the sore spot, everyone's face has already been almost lost, compared with the great power competition in Northern Italy, the Second Romagna War is really inconspicuous, but it is such an inconspicuous small war that allows many people to see the strong rise of a local prince.

Montina is now almost the true ruler of Romagna, but this is clearly not enough, and Alexander VI is already uneasy to see the faint signs of Tuscany and Romagna becoming a powerful state.

But this is also what makes the Pope feel strange, he does not understand why the old Rovere, who should have also seen this threat, would ignore this matter, is it because his daughter is Alexander's legitimate wife?

Alexander VI didn't believe that a person like Old Rovere would trust him because the other party was his son-in-law, otherwise he wouldn't have let his son fight Montina's idea, and finally ended up with a cousin who was lit by his own daughter.

There must have been a conspiracy in this, and Alexander VI was convinced of this, so he did not object to the proposal made by the elder Rovere, but put it off for the time being with the need for careful consideration.

Then the Pope immediately sent people everywhere to inquire around, and soon found out that a Moorish had been in and out of the hilltop villa of old Rovere.

"Cambrai."

Alexander VI realized the shadow of Alexander behind the old Roverley's abnormal behavior, but he didn't know for a while what price Alexander offered, which could make old Rovere so happy.

"Maybe you should summon the Metropolitan again."

Nomelo gave Alexander VI a thought, but he quickly rejected it.

"No, Nomerlo, you have to admit that if I did this, I would have fallen into the trap of the little bastard, he should have told that Mahimo what to say, I guess the monk is waiting to perform in front of me now, I don't want that little bastard to get what he wants so easily."

Nomelo shook his head slightly, he was a staff member and secretary, as long as he was responsible for putting forward his own suggestions, as for whether to listen to it or not, it was the Pope's own business.

It's just that Alexander VI didn't hear the slightly helpless muttering of Nomelo when he retired: "These Borgias ......"

The Pope had guessed right, and Massimo was indeed "ready to go" by this time, and according to Alexander's instructions to him, the Metropolitan had prepared for himself a powerful speech, and he was confident that those who heard it would be persuaded by his eloquence.

However, he suffered a setback before he could do so, and with a papal decree, Massimo was appointed as the visiting bishop of the Holy See, and then he was thrown into a carriage before he understood what was happening, and left the Vatican and Rome under the escort of a team of guards.

According to the Pope's order, Massimo was to visit at least 15 major dioceses as a Vatican envoy, and according to the itinerary, he would return to the Vatican in the next century.

Ulliu, apparently disrupted by the pope's sudden move, wrote letters to Alexander, Barentia, and Lucrezia to report the sudden turn of events, and quickly moved around the city of Rome.

In addition to the hilltop villa of old Rovere, Ulliu appeared in the homes of some Roman and Vatican magnates, and the attitudes of those magnates towards the former official of Montina and the head of the court of the Duke of Pisa were also different, some were enthusiastic, some were indifferent, but in any case, he finally heard some rumors about Mashimo's new errand through various channels.

And in the end, it was the Pope's private secretary, Nomerlo, who gave him a letter.

In Nomelo's residence behind Piazza Pacinimeche, Ulius met the papal secretary, who had managed to go home and rest after a long day.

Compared with the children of Alexander VI, Nomerlo, who was also raised by the Pope, was not so lucky, when the children of the Borgia family lived a life of poverty and luxury, Nomelo had already begun to help the Pope early, although he gained no less trust and closeness in front of the Pope than Caesar or Giovanni, but many times Nomelo even forgot his own life.

Seeing Uliu, Nomelo was a little jealous.

In Nomerlo's opinion, Uliu was undoubtedly lucky, because his master and he were not only master and servant, but also friends.

And he and the Pope, in addition to being master and servant, but also father and son, may sound closer, but Nomelo does not think so.

He was well aware of the importance of this Moorish man by Alexander's side, and sometimes Nomelo even wanted to suggest that the Pope should start with this Moorish man, thinking that he had a lot of secrets about Alexandria in his stomach, and it would be useful to pry those things out of his mouth.

However, Nomelo did not say this idea in the end, not because he was kind, but because he knew that the Pope himself must know the matter as well as he did, so since the Pope himself did not give such an order, it might be counterproductive if he rashly made this suggestion.

Nomelo was a clever man, he knew what he should do and what he shouldn't do, and it was because of this that he was able to stay by Alexander VI's side for so many years, unharmed by the eyes of the brothers Giovanni and Caesar.

"Secretary, do you mean that His Majesty the Pope is not happy with this matter?" Ulliu asked, "Can you be more elaborate?" ”

"It's not dissatisfied, it's angry," Nomelo corrected Ulliu's statement, "Your Majesty feels betrayed, you must know that Your Majesty has always regarded your master as his own child, but this son betrayed him, and even encouraged his daughter to disobey her father with him, which is so disappointing." ”

The secretary shook his head with emotion as he spoke, which made the Moors feel a little itchy at the root of their teeth.

"So what does Your Majesty mean?" Uliu, a little helpless, had almost guessed what he was going to say next.

"Can you tell me what the Count of Montina promised the cardinals?" It was only then that Nomelo asked the question he was most interested in: "Perhaps knowing this, Your Majesty will be in a better mood." ”

Of course, can it be better, and he will know how to bargain when the time comes. Ulius muttered in his heart, but he always had a cautious and respectful look on his face: "Yes, my master thinks that he can help the cardinal's son, Constantine, to obtain the crown of the Duke of Milan. ”

Nomerlo's expression was stunned, his appearance at this time was no more surprised than when old Rovere heard this suggestion, after all, this was much less affected than old Rovere because it was related to his own interests, but even so, Nomelo couldn't help but be surprised by Alexander's unexpected idea.

"Do you think your master can do that?" Nomelo asked cautiously after a moment, for he did not think that Alexander was making a promise, on the contrary, on the contrary, after careful consideration, he even thought it was a brilliant idea.

However, good ideas may not always be realized, and the throne of the Duke of Milan is not so easy to sit on, and even if it is already seated, it may not be able to sit firmly.

Ludviko Sforza is undoubtedly a striking example.

As for Alexander, who promised to put Constantine on the throne of the Duke of Milan, Nomelo thought he might have something else to rely on.

But this time Uliuu wasn't going to say anything to him again, he had said enough, and now it was time to reciprocate.

Nomerlo, who obviously saw Ulliu's attitude, did not disappoint the Moors, and he quickly gave Ullius an accurate answer: "His Majesty's intention is to ask the Count himself to come and negotiate with him personally, and His Majesty thinks that the Metropolitan of Massimo is not enough to be the agent of the Count, not to mention that the Metropolitan now seems to have the support of the Cardinal, which His Majesty absolutely does not want to see." ”

It was only then that Ulliu finally understood what had happened.

Alexander VI was a man who could think through everything, even if something had not yet happened, but he was often able to speculate in advance.

The elder Rovere's support for Mahimo to govern Ferrara undoubtedly laid the foundation for the establishment of a strong alliance with Mahimo after he became a cardinal in the future, and at that time the elder Rovere's power in the Vatican was bound to rise, and Alexander VI certainly did not want to see this situation, so he would never easily let the old Rovere achieve his goal.

Moreover, the Pope was indeed curious about what had made old Roverley give up his ill feelings for his hateful son-in-law and help him.

Now that he knew the answer, Nomelo felt that maybe it was better not to know.

For he already had a vague sense that, perhaps, with the knowledge of Alexander's suggestion, which sounded a little whimsical, but which, if he pondered carefully, there might be another open and secret struggle between the pope and the cardinal.

They all have sons, don't they, they are all old fathers, aren't they, why can your son be the Duke of Milan?

Nomelo shook his head and threw this ridiculous conjecture to the back of his mind, and then he leaned forward slightly and said to Ulliu: "If you have the opportunity to see the Metropolis, please tell him that Your Majesty still has great expectations of him, and is impressed by his dutiful duty in Florence, so if possible he should know exactly whose side he will be on in the future." ”

Ulius bowed silently, knowing that Nomelo seemed to be referring to Massimo, but in fact the meaning of these words was entirely implied by Alexander.

It's just that even Uliu, at this time, didn't know what Alexander was thinking.

Alexander was concerned with only one thing now.

The war that finally broke out in early September, after a short standoff, is historically regarded as the beginning of the second phase of the Italian War, followed by the third, fourth, and so on, so that the war would continue intermittently for almost 60 years, and almost two or three generations of European blood would be shed.

The French who occupied Naples were very concerned about the war in the north, after all, for them, if Louis XII lost, it would mean that they would be alone in the south of Italy, and for Charlon, who knew the truth better, how the war would be in the north was even more important, because he had to also consider the threat that might arise from the Aragonese army at any time.

And for this war, Alexander was more or less happy to see it happen.

There can be no chaos without war, no disorder without chaos, and no chance without disorder.

How many heroes created by the so-called times rose rapidly in this disorderly and chaotic era, and fell as quickly as meteors.

But Alexander didn't think he belonged to one of them, not because of the arrogance of seeing the future, or because he was presumptuous about what he had just achieved, but because he knew exactly what he wanted.

Or rather, from the very beginning Alexander knew what he was going to do.

A Europe in chaos and no one can spoil it, this is what Alexander most wanted to see.

When all eyes were on the interior of Europe, and even when the dangerous couple far away in the Iberian Peninsula were drawn to the fruits of the competition for Europe, Alexander's purpose was almost fulfilled.

It was already September, which made Alexander vaguely anxious, at the beginning of the feast that devoured the Fugger family, he did not hesitate to share the huge profits with the Venetians, in order to get enough wealth in the shortest possible time to turnover, for which he lost how much Alexander did not even want to think about it, after all, it was a painful amount to think about.

But he never regretted that decision, because he knew exactly what he would get in return.

To this end, he not only invested a huge amount of capital, but also racked his brains during this time to make all kinds of preparations for future plans.

Across Romagna, expeditions to the Balkans, everything is for that plan, everything is for that moment!

On the first Sunday of September, Alexander accompanied Josa into the church of Billy Shell.

Just a few days ago, the wife of the Pope's youngest son, Geoffrey, sent a sternly worded letter of protest, in which he angrily denounced the annexation of Biliselli by the Naples royal family, and expressed strong suspicions about his brother's death.

Alexander did not immediately respond to Chassan's anger, but sent a letter to her papal father-in-law, asking the Holy See to send an envoy to Bilisherly to officially recognize the status of Queen Regent of Chassa.

"Do you think the Pope will grant your request?" Walking along the stone path leading to the church, Josha tilted her head to look at Alexander, who seemed to be full of thoughts.

"I guess it's okay." Alexander nodded.

"Why are you so sure that you are the father of the Pope's granddaughter?" Tsusha asked again.

"Ah, maybe......" Alexander replied absentmindedly.

As soon as he finished speaking, a hurried footstep came from behind, and at the same time someone in the crowd shouted urgently: "My lord, my lord! ”

Alexander stopped and turned his head to see a hunter hurrying over with a man who looked like a foreigner.

The man came to Alexander and hurriedly saluted, and then respectfully handed him a small leather bag that was tightly sealed: "My lord, I have been sent by Master Matthews Tiego, and he asked me to bring this. ”

Tiego!

Alexander's heart instantly swelled with waves!

Ignoring the fact that he had taken the purse from the man in the street, he opened the closed thread and took out a letter from it.

There was only one sentence in the letter.

"Your Excellency, as you commanded, I have made contact with Vasco da Gama and signed a contract, and your plan has succeeded! Your faithful Matthews Tiego. ”