Alexander walked alone on the Tiber River, the icy river surface from time to time drifted over pieces of broken ice, looking at the surging river, Alexander's mind couldn't help but be like this river, it seems to be gentle, but in fact it is surging, as if at any time a wave rushes up, it can rush up to the embankment on the shore.

February, a very special month for Alexander, four years ago in February, he inexplicably appeared on a piece of driftwood off the coast of Sicily, at that time he was almost frozen, and he didn't even know how he appeared at sea, and how he crossed such a long time from such a long time into this era, and he didn't know if he could survive in this era at that time.

Everything was so confused at that time, except for the time when he was persistently trying to return to his own time, the life of the young man named Ding Mu was dazed, and then he fell into an unexpected conspiracy that he still had not figured out until now.

Four years passed in a hurry, and when another February came, Ding Mu was stunned to find that it seemed as if a century had passed, and he was no longer the ignorant young man who was both curious and wary of everything when he first arrived, and not long ago, he was crowned Duke of the Duchy of Romagna-Tuscany by the Pope, one of the most powerful men in Europe of this era, and this crowned person was still his daughter's grandfather.

Alexander sometimes wonders if if he is given a chance to return to his old self now, will he be willing to go back to the life that has to look up to his boss all day long, look at his boss's eyes, and have to intrigue with a group of company colleagues around him for performance, and is almost destined to be just an ordinary person for the rest of his life.

On the night he was canonized as a duke, Alexander was drunk, he had never been drunk, his self-discipline in drinking actually came from an insecure sense of vigilance, he couldn't tolerate himself leaving his fate to others so unsuspectingly, even if he was surrounded by hunters, he kept reminding himself not to get carried away, because this is not the familiar era when even if he missed work because of a hangover, at most he was fired and squid, but full of conspiracy, assassination, Betrayal and all sorts of unthinkable events could happen in 16th-century Italy.

But he was still drunk, and in his half-sleep he remembered that he still forced himself to be sober, until Lucrezia appeared and completely tore the last of his reason into pieces along with the clothes on their bodies.

But even so, Alexander woke up very early the next day, and despite his head that would be unusually uncomfortable after a hangover, he put on his clothes and walked out of the room, and when he saw Scheer, who was standing in the corridor not far from his bedroom, but could rush over quickly as long as there was a situation, Alexander looked a little dazed.

Then he immediately closed the door and looked back at the bed, and when he saw Lucrezia covered most of his body with a blanket and only one smooth arm exposed, Alexander seemed to finally be sure that this was not the imagination and dream of a man named Dingmu.

He was Alexandre Giuliante Cambrai, Duke of Romagna and Tuscany, and Count of Monttina, father of one child and man of four women.

And most importantly, he has a plan that is even more ambitious than everything he has obtained now, so that people of this age can never dream of it.

Alexander walked over to the window and opened the half-hidden sash to let the cold wind blow in, and then he took a deep breath of the cold breath that reached his heart and lungs.

Finally calming down, Alexander told himself, the headache and trance of the previous hangover quietly disappeared, he closed the window and walked back to the bedside to put Lucrezia's somewhat cold arm outside under the blanket.

When he walked out of Marino Palace, it was not completely light, and Alexander slightly signaled the guards who followed him not to follow too closely, he needed to calm down alone.

The capture of Forlì by Rovere the Elder is a testament to the fact that he had some kind of inhumane relationship with the Venetians, but it didn't matter, and with the Ottoman Navy's victory on the Greek Sea, the Venetians were now facing the greatest crisis since the founding of the city of Venice.

So for a while, even if old Rovelle had other moves, it wouldn't bring him any trouble.

And Alexander did not want to let the Rovere family just stop enjoying the fruits of the annexation of Forlì, he had already written to Normetti in Montina, believing that soon the Montina diplomat, who had been in the limelight in the Milan peace talks, would bring news enough to make old Rovere even more excited.

As for the Pope, although the suggestion to re-enter and establish the Papal Army has not yet been answered, Alexander believed that the Pope would eventually take his proposal, and he had already spoken several times with the Pope's private secretary, Nomelo, for which Nomelo replied, and the only thing the Pope had to worry about now was whether this army would become another Montina army.

For this reason, Alexander had decided to leave all preparations for the reorganization of the Papal Army entirely to the Vatican, which he believed would be sufficient to dispel the concerns of Alexander VI and the bishops.

The threat to Venice was obvious enough to contain the ambitions that the Venetians could never satisfy, and they should now have a headache at sea instead of making trouble for their neighbors from time to time, which would be enough to ensure that the northeastern frontier of the principality, centered on Montina, would be secure for a long time.

As for Lombardy, Alexander believed that although winter had hindered most of the operations, since he had broken the practice of the winter truce by his tutelage, even if there would only be some minor friction between the two sides due to the weather and provisions, and no major battles would break out, the two countries were still gradually trapped in the vortex centered on Milan, an important town in northern Italy.

And then, in the midst of this stop-and-go attrition, the two monarchs soon found themselves expending their money in Italy more quickly than they did at home, and the war was like a bottomless pit that quickly drained the coffers of both countries.

However, they can't hold their hands at this time, if they stop, they will not only spit out the fat they swallowed before, but also mean that the huge investment they have made before has also been wasted, not to mention that they will soon find that there will be new opponents coming down to participate in this seemingly endless competition, which makes them have to grit their teeth and continue to persevere, until one or more of them can't hold on and are forced to go down.

These things may seem messy, but if you put them together, you will find that this is an astonishing web that is so tightly woven that it almost invisibly covers most of Europe.

And the beginning of all this was just the seemingly leisurely and casual chatter of a pair of young brothers and sisters in a villa in Naples.

The one who knows Alexander the most in the world is Josha, because almost half of what Alexander can do now is done for him.

"Dear sister," Alexander, returning to Marino, wrote to Josha, "I wish you could attend my coronation, without you I feel that the grand coronation is empty and without passion, and the Pope played a little trick when he coronated me, and when he was crowning me, he deliberately had a crown of duchess placed next to me, which was obviously not done in previous ceremonies." I knew of course what the Pope's intentions were, and it was clear that he wanted me to take advantage of the situation and put the Duchess's crown on Lucrezia's head, but he was obviously doomed to disappointment, and though I did not mind putting my own ducal laurel on Estles, for some reason it was impossible for Lucrezia to become the Duchess of Romagna and Tuscany. ”

As he wrote this, Alexander glanced at Lucrezia, who was still asleep, and felt a little sorry, but it did not shake his mind.

"We all know exactly on whose head I want this duchess tiara to wear, but it is probably not destined to come true, but I believe that there is destined to be another crown that will comfort the hearts of both of us," Alexander paused to think about how to express his thoughts, and after thinking of the wording, he continued: "I come from Sicily, which is like my homeland, and which has a more precious meaning to me than anywhere else, and I hope that one day it will be made possible by you, My most beloved sister came to rule Sicily, so that I would be comforted and delighted. ”

After writing this, Alexander exhaled softly, he took a candle from the table, burned the sealing wax to soften, and then stamped it on the sealed envelope.

This was actually the second letter he had written to Josa, and he had sent someone to Naples before the coronation had even begun, and he hoped that Josa would be the first to share the honor with him, even if she could not really be the first to know the news because of the long distance, Alexander still hoped that Josa would be the first to tell him.

However, the letter was made public, which was originally human nature, and the brother shared the good news of his dukedom with his beloved sister, which would not have caused any criticism.

And the second letter is what Alexander wants to say to Josa, which includes both complaints about the Pope's petty tricks and regret not being able to share this crown with his beloved sister.

More importantly, however, Alexander told him in the letter that the plan for Iberia was about to begin.

It was very cold in Rome at the beginning of February, especially in some Norman palaces that were more airy than other houses because of their architectural style, and the overabundance of tall doors and windows became the best place for the cold wind to blow in winter, even if it was painstaking to cover many places with thick blankets, it still could not stop the cold wind.

Fort Cheney, near the Colosseum, is a bit more modest than the Marino Palace, but it wasn't originally intended to be inhabited, but used to hold prisoners.

Caterina Sforza was imprisoned here, and just over two years earlier, another equally prominent figure at the time, Bishop Alfonso of Sicily, was imprisoned.

Caterina Sforza is also famous, but many know more about her because of her fierceness and courage than most men.

The Duchess of Forlì is known for her boldness and bitterness, whether it is the sudden death of her husband's uncle as Pope's sudden death to threaten the Vatican, or her bloody revenge on her enemies after her husband's assassination.

But now she didn't look good, and although Constantine didn't abuse her, but instead showed a true chivalrous and tolerant style, allowing her maid to follow her and serve her, Cheneyburg's innate gloom as a prison made it seem indescribably terrifying.

The place where Caterina Sforza was imprisoned was much better than the other cells, at least the windows of the room were tightly sealed, but perhaps because the cells were built without considering the need for lighting, the originally somewhat dim cells were even darker because of the tightly blocked windows.

So much so that when someone walked into the cell, the bright light shining through the door made the eyes of the two women in the cell glow.

"Who is it?"

A question that was accustomed to exude majesty and a hint of annoyance came from the dim cell, and even though he had become a prisoner, he still did not change his temper, so that Konstantin, who had not yet adapted to the sudden walk into the darkness, immediately recognized the owner of the voice.

"I hope you're used to being here."

Konstantin said to the vague figure in front of him, and when he saw the figure suddenly stand up, he instinctively took a step back.

Konstantin's action is not afraid, but a little helpless, the fierce character of the woman in front of her is really a headache, even if she won't pounce and bite desperately with her teeth, but if she is smacked hard by her face, it is enough to make people annoyed and helpless.

"Are you here to persuade me to relinquish Forlì's reign?" Caterina Sforza looked at the man standing in the light, who had taken over her territory and imprisoned her, but after the armed occupation it was clear that he wanted to gain an irrefutable right to rule over Forlì by a more legitimate and gentle means, so he had been trying to convince Caterina Sforza to surrender to him openly from the beginning.

"Actually, I have another better suggestion," Konstantin said, and then, accustomed to the bright light in the cell, carefully examined the Forlì tigress, and wondered how many children he would have with this woman in the future, "I hope you will accept my proposal." ”

Although she was in her middle of life, and she had suffered a lot from her life as a prisoner for the past few days, a trace of surprise and astonishment crossed Catalina Sforza's charming face.

She hadn't actually thought about this possibility, she even thought that maybe the man in front of her would use force on her, so as to use the way of conquering her body to gain the dominance of Forlì, all of which she thought of, Foley's tigress is not just daring, she also has a smart mind, otherwise she would not have been able to deal with many enemies for so many years.

It's just that even if she thought about it, when she heard Konstantin's marriage proposal with her own ears, she couldn't help but be a little stunned.

"I have sons, and more than one, and they are all legitimate sons of my husband, who have an irrefutable right to inherit from Forlì, and neither they nor I will agree to give it up."

Instead of refusing, Caterina Sforza reminded Konstantin in an unusually calm and rational way that even if she agreed to marry him, neither he nor their children would have a chance to inherit Forlì.

Konstantin nodded, he somewhat admired this woman's frank character, although it would obviously put her and her son in a very dangerous situation, but Konstantin knew that she should understand her situation.

"You can think about it, I can guarantee you certain rights and interests with your ex-husband's children, and I will treat them as my children as well when I get married, so you don't have to worry about this at all."

Konstantin discussed the future of several oil bottles not a few years younger than him in a stepfatherly tone, and when he saw that Caterina Sforza did not immediately refuse, but seemed to wait for him to continue, Longstantin smiled slightly and was ready to continue persuading the woman in front of him.

But before he could speak, a rush of footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the entrance to the corridor in the distance outside, and as the footsteps got closer and closer, Konstantin heard a vaguely familiar voice that seemed to be talking to the guards he was guarding the door.

Then a man hurried in, and for a moment he was not used to the darkness in front of him, and the man almost crashed into Konstantin.

"What happened?" Konstantin, who had already recognized his father's retinue, grabbed the attendant's shoulder and asked.

"Young master, my lord, please go back, there is something very important." As he spoke, the attendant took a step forward and asked in a low voice, "Young Master, this woman hasn't agreed to your marriage proposal yet, has she?" ”

"Not yet, but ......"

"Very well," said the attendant, without waiting for Constantine to finish speaking, and hurriedly, "the lord told me that if the matter has not yet been settled, he wants you to stop making this suggestion at once." ”

Konstantin felt a little surprised in his heart, and persuaded the Forlì tigress to agree to marry that the old Rovere gave it to his son, but now the old Rovere told him, which made Konstantin a little confused.

Looking back at Caterina Sforza, who was staring at him and waiting for him to continue, Konstantin suddenly felt like he wanted to escape.

Konstantin, who had found an excuse to get out of prison in a hurry, hurried back to the villa in the middle of the mountain with his entourage, and when he saw his father sitting on the low wall in front of the flower bed and looking at the scenery down the mountain, Konstantin calmed down his cranky mood a little because of the accident, and then walked in front of his father.

"Father, why are you in such a hurry to call me back? I'm almost going to convince the woman, who is smart herself, and seems to be just waiting for what we can offer her and her sons. ”

"Don't think about Caterina Sforza anymore," old Rovere said, turning his head to look at Konstantin, "there is a more suitable marriage that will allow you to gain a much larger territory and wealth than Forlì, and the most important thing is that you can become a duke through this marriage." ”

"What are you talking about?" Konstantin asked in surprise.

"Normezzi, the plenipotentiary sent by Gombray to Milan, has come to Rome, and he has brought very surprising news that Ludvico Sforza's two sons, Massimiliano and Francesco, have both died in a battle with the French not long ago," said the elder Rovere, looking at Constantine, who did not seem to react for a moment when he heard the news, "Ludvico's sons are all dead, except for one daughter, he is almost dead. ”

Konstantin suddenly understood at this point, and his face showed irrepressible joy, and his body trembled slightly because of the excitement.

"That Normezi reported the news to Cambrai, and Gombray told me immediately, so do you know what that means?"

"Meaning I just have to marry Ludvico's daughter......"

"No, it means that Cambrai threw us a sweet bait, we don't know how much trouble there is, the only thing we know is that whether this thing succeeds or not, it will cause us a lot of trouble, but if it succeeds, you will be the Duke of Milan." Old Rovere said slowly.