The Tiber had a small branch south of Rome, which branched east from the main channel and narrowed into a small valley between two hills, forming a small bay that interspersed the streets of Rome.

The Romans called it Little Venice because of the fact that there are several streams that divide the streets and alleys, making the city look very similar to the city of Venice.

It was a gathering place for the wealthy of Rome, and was unusually secluded because of its elegant surroundings and the fact that it was surrounded by a river bend that isolated it from the rest of the city.

The Medici family has a residence in Little Venice, this place called by the Romans is not large, but it is quite magnificently built, whether it is the exquisite sculptures in the courtyard or the magnificent decorations and furnishings of the house, all of which show outsiders how rich the owner of the house is and has a refined taste for art, especially some of the works, for various reasons, even when some of the most famous masters are still alive, it has become a sought-after masterpiece.

For example, several of Botticelli's masterpieces hanging on the wall are clearly at their peak, which have become extremely precious because the master burned most of his important works at the time of the false fire that Savonarola had kindled, and several sculptures of figures from ancient Greek mythology are regarded as tributes to retroism and rare masterpieces that are flourishing in contemporary times.

Giovanni de Medici and his brother Giulio now live in this house.

In the years since they fled from Florence, the Medici brothers have been looking for opportunities and help, spending almost all of the money they can on revenge, but they have gained little, many of them are very enthusiastic about them but do not want to help, and some are simply indifferent and refuse directly.

People treated the Medici not because their family was unpopular in Florence, but simply because they didn't think well of their brother.

Giovanni is now a cardinal, and Giulio is already an archbishop, which seems to prove that they are in high power in the Vatican, but in fact, because Alexander VI has always wanted to subdue Savonarola in Florence, whether for reason or threat, the pope has focused on Savonilola himself, and because of that person's great popularity, neither the pope nor anyone else thinks that the Medici brothers have a chance to be a rival to Savonarola.

No one wants to invest in a business that is not favored, so the Medici brothers are forgotten in their mansion in the wealthy part of Rome, Giulio can still run around often, and Giovanni has not left the house for a long time, and his size has expanded a lot more than before because he eats too much.

When Giulio returned to the Petit Medici Palace, he saw the light shining from the candle-lit dining room, and he walked to the door and saw Giovanni sitting at the table with half a roast goose in his hands, his mouth was now full of sparkling goose fat, and every time his teeth were forced, he would tear off a large piece of meat, and then the piece of meat would quickly disappear into his mouth, and at the same time, the restaurant would remember the chewing sound of "baw, chirp".

When Giulio pushed the door and walked in, Giovanni was grabbing the cup and pouring it into his mouth because a piece of meat was stuck in his throat, but the glass was empty, so when he saw Giulio Giovanni, he screamed in his mouth while gesturing to ask him to hurry up and hand him the bottle.

Giulio handed him the bottle, and Giovanni snatched it and poured it into his mouth, and as the red wine ran down his neck and soaked the clothes on his chest, Giovanni's face slowly improved from the red face of the food.

"You're going to see that Gombray, how's it going?" Giovanni patted his full breasts, which were not inferior to a woman's, with his hand before he hiccuped, seeing the strange look on Giulio's face, Giovanni frowned slightly and looked at his brother, "What, didn't it go well?" ”

"I can't say," said Giulio, who seemed a little sure, poured himself a glass of wine, took a sip, and looked at Giovanni with a puzzled look, "and promised to give Florence back to us." ”

Giovanni, who was about to reach out again to grab the roast goose on the table, stopped, and then slowly picked up the roast goose from the plate and tore off the meat little by little, and then twisted the minced meat with his fingers and dipped it in a plate of black bean sauce next to him and sent it to his mouth in small bites.

Julio didn't say anything, just waited for his brother's reaction, and the restaurant fell silent for a while.

"What does he want?" It seemed that after a while to make sure that he had not heard his brother's words correctly, Giovanni asked in a low voice, no one will help others for no reason, all kinds of human feelings encountered over the years have already made their brothers understand this truth, and sometimes Giovanni even thinks that their family's generous act of helping others seems to be a big joke.

Of course, the Medici family is not philanthropists, and they are willing to spend a lot of money for others, but they never thought that many of the people they helped before would treat them like that when they were down, which is what made Giovanni feel disheartened.

"He promised to return Florence to us, but we must support his daughter to become Duke of Romagna." Giulio whispered.

Giovanni was a little stunned, probably because he didn't expect that Cambrai to have such ambitions, and for a while he didn't know how to answer.

"It's too important for me to decide, I want to know what you think."

Giulio looked at his brother, unlike others who thought that Giovanni had sunk and lost his fighting spirit due to repeated setbacks, he knew that his brother had never given up the dream of restoring the status of the Medici family in Florence, but now because of the complicated situation in Rome, Giovanni has become much calmer than before after starting to touch a series of nails, he has not only learned to temporarily put away his hideous tentacles, but also learned to observe the Roman magnates who deal with him with words and colors, so as to quickly take advantage of it when needed.

Giovanni was still eating the goose meat in small bites, but he was almost out of taste by this time, and after a while he stopped to look at Giulio.

"Do you remember, you once suggested that Piero's son Lorenzo Jr. marry the daughter of Cambrai," Giovanni smiled slightly at the look of confusion on Giulio's face, "Maybe you were just saying it casually at the time, but I haven't forgotten it." ”

"Do you really think it's possible?" Giulio asked a little excitedly.

"At the time, it seemed more of a joke, after all, although our Medici family is down, it is not just a nouveau riche can climb to it, but now it seems that things are somewhat different," Giovanni looked at Giulio with a meaningful gaze, "Do you remember what you heard about Venice the other day?" ”

"Do you mean the agreement between Cambrai and the Venetians?"

"Not only that, but there are also rumors that the Fugger family borrowed a large sum of money from the Venetians, although this matter is not so certain, but it should be true," Giovanni stood up with some difficulty and walked to the basin of water while washing his hands and pondering, "Although some things seem to be irrelevant, if you think about it carefully, you will find that there are many very strange connections, although I don't know what Gombray is thinking, but I am sure that this man is planning a big plan, And with his current strength, there is a good chance that he will succeed. ”

"Are you saying he really plotted against the whole of Romagna?" Julio was still somewhat unconvinced.

"Romagna? Hehe," Giovanni smiled with a slight disdain, "if I'm not mistaken, his appetite is much bigger than getting a Romagna, Romagna, Tuscany, or even bigger, Giulio, do you believe this man is probably the biggest careerist we've ever met." ”

Giulio de Medici gasped slightly, he knew what Giovanni was talking about, and because of this, he also began to feel the heart of his half-joking proposal before.

"If little Lorenzo can really marry Gombray's daughter, then we not only have a strong ally, but maybe in the future we can get greater benefits than the recovery of Florence," Giulio looked at his brother a little excitedly, but when he saw only silence on Giovanni's face, Giulio slowly calmed down, "It's just that it's not time for us to bet." ”

"No, it should be said that we are not qualified to bet at this time," Giovanni sighed softly, "since we can't provide Gombray with money or troops, then he won't have a good position with him, and he may even see our proposed marriage as an opportunity to take advantage of him, which will not be beneficial for future cooperation, if we can really cooperate, so we must let Gombray see our sincerity and role, and we must make him understand that we are a strong ally, at least worth looking forward to." ”

Giulio nodded, he knew that his brother had always been rational and strong, as could be seen from the fact that he had never been discouraged since he fled from Florence and had always been thinking about how to return to Florence, so he also had extraordinary confidence in Giovanni's judgment.

"We need to let that Cambrai know the role and influence of the Medici family, even if our family is in such trouble that we can't even go back home, but the surname Medici itself is enough to make people trust us."

Giovanni said with some excitement that he did not look decadent at this time because of setbacks and failures, on the contrary, his wide body seemed to contain great strength, and when he opened his two thick arms, he wanted to take everything in front of him into his arms and crush it with force.

"Maybe we have a chance to prove our impact now," Giulio said suddenly.

"What is it?" Giovanni, who had just looked excited, calmed down as soon as he got to the bottom of the matter, and he watched Giulio wait for him to tell him what he had planned.

"Before his return, Cambrai revealed to me that he was trying to support the current abbot of St. Mark's Abbey Massimo in his quest for a position in the Vatican." Giulio looked at his brother and saw that Giovanni's eyes flashed because of his obesity, and he continued, "That Massimo was sent by the Pope to succeed Savonarola as Abbot of St. Mark, and now that man must have come to Rome, but it seems that the Sazi government sent him in the hope of getting help in the Vatican." ”

Alexander VI was previously indifferent to the Medici's requests for help, which does not mean that he supported the Sazi government, but at least it shows that the Pope was not optimistic that the Medici would return to Florence.

However, the Medici family has deep roots after all, especially since although he was expelled from Florence, Giovanni still has a noble status as a cardinal, and Giulio's activities in the Vatican for a long time have also made him a well-known person in the city of Rome.

Perhaps these positions and fame did not help much in their return to Florence, but that does not mean that they did not play a role in other ways.

"We're going to show Cambrai what the Medici family is doing," Giovanni said to Giulio, a hint of excitement in his voice as he grasped the key to the matter, "and it would do us more than one good to help that Massimo fulfill his wishes." ”

Giulio nodded, he knew what the benefits of Giovanni were all about, an ally who was reliable in the Vatican and Florence could help them a lot, not to mention that behind this person stood that Cambrai.

"Don't delay this matter, since Gombray has decided to help that Massimo, I believe he should not only look for us, you must know that there are many people who can help him, and we must rush to let Gombray see our actions before anyone else."

Julio nodded, grabbed the monk's soft hat on the table, although it was late and it was hot outside, Giulio couldn't wait.

Rome is a big vanity fair, everyone is desperately climbing up, and the slightest slack along the way will be surpassed or even kicked away by others.

Giovanni called the butler over and asked him to take a closer look at the family's possessions.

Seeing that the butler's face became ugly, Giovanni smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, this time you won't make any more money, and maybe you will make a fortune." ”

Massimo set out from Florence almost with Alexander, but by the time he arrived in Rome, the "Montina Guards Mutiny" that shook Rome had just come to an end.

The emissaries sent by the Pope to meet him were curious about the abbot, and the monastery of St. Mark's in Florence had become a stronghold for opponents in the eyes of many, and the courage alone to be able to serve as abbot in that monastery was enough to be admirable.

Assemo's arrival did not attract much attention in Rome, after all, there was so much going on for the Romans in the past few days, but the Pope summoned him quickly.

It was also the first time Massimo had an official audience with Alexander VI in the Sistine Chapel.

Although he had been summoned in private before, this summons not only left a deep impression on Massimo, but also deeply stimulated him.

So much so that when he came out of the cathedral and saw Oflair, who was already waiting by the side of the roadside, Massimo shook his head without knowing why.

Until he got into the carriage, Massimo kept saying, "This is the most exciting scene I've ever experienced." ”

The papal pomp and circumstance, Massimo, seemed to see a completely different world, and compared to Alexander VI, Sazi looked too shabby.

As an envoy of Florence, Massimo openly lived in the Marino Palace after leaving the Vatican, which surprised many people who knew the purpose of Massimo's trip to Rome and even secretly frightened.

Caesar, in particular, had to begin to listen carefully to his father's advice and treat Alexander more for Borgia than for his personal likes and dislikes.

Giulio also quickly learned about Massimo, and of course he was more concerned about the Medici family from Florence, especially at such times, when perhaps an inconspicuous little man could hide a secret that would surprise everyone, let alone someone like the abbot of St. Mark's.

And Alexander's public support for Massimo made the Medici family pay unusual attention to him.

Therefore, when he heard that Massimo had gone directly to the Marino Palace, Giulio did not even have time to tell Giovanni the news personally, so he sent his servants home to report the news, and at once sent his attendants in front of him to inform the Marino Palace: "The archbishop has taken the liberty of coming to visit. ”

When Giulio re-entered the Marino Palace for the second time, he met the famous architect Bramont, and after a few hurried words with the military architect whom he had admired for a long time, Giulio was immediately led by the servant to the room where he had been not long ago.

This time he met not only Alexander, but also Massimo, who was lamenting the grandeur of the Sistine Chapel and the majesty of the Pope.

And just before he entered the door, Alexander said to Massimo: "Don't worry, friend, if you do what I say, maybe one day you will have the opportunity to enjoy that glory too." ”

When he heard Alexander say this, Massimo first felt a little amused and pulled the corners of his mouth, but slowly his face showed a nervous, excited, and somewhat frightened look, so when Giulio walked into the room, he saw the abbot of St. Mark's Monastery with a strange expression.

This made Giulio de Medici unpleasantly surprised!

Although the abbot was supported by Alexander, if he was a staunch anti-Medici, it would have meant a tresome future for the Medici, especially if this man could have a great influence on Alexander, and perhaps the restoration of the Medici family would have died before it began.

Julio quickly pondered the situation in front of him, and then he immediately decided to strike first.

"My brother fully agrees that he should support an ally with a more brilliant future in the Vatican, so my brother has decided to make a proposal at the Council of Cardinals to nominate the Venerable Brother Massimo as Metropolitan of Romagna and Tuscany." Giulio looked earnestly at Alexander, and then at Massimo, who seemed a little surprised.

Massimo looked at Alexander in a daze, he didn't expect that as soon as Alexander's promise fell, someone actually took the initiative to recommend a high position for him, which made him feel like he was in a dream.

After all, just a few years ago, he was just a little ruffian who cheated around eating and drinking, and sometimes was often chased by his husband who caught him and ran around the streets naked.

But now he was the esteemed abbot of St. Mark's Monastery, a prominent figure in Florence, and he had just been summoned by the Pope.

And then, he actually had the opportunity to become a metropolitan again, and it was a cardinal who recommended him, a member of the famous Medici family.

"Maybe, in a few years, I will really be the Pope."

Looking at Giulio, who was eagerly conversing with Alexander, Mahimo began to seriously consider this tempting future for the first time.