When I heard that I was going to let myself go, no one cared about the woman who was so frightened that she immediately scattered and fled.

The road below the col was obviously farther than expected, so after waiting for a while, a figure that couldn't stop shaking appeared in front of me.

There weren't many people coming, so when they saw Alexander's procession, they immediately stopped at a distance, except for one man at the front who came out of the line and slowly moved forward, everyone else watched from afar.

Carlo led the horse forward, looking at the other party's fat face full of suspicion, and he said loudly, "This is the team of Lord Alexandre Juliant Cambrai, lord of Agri, who are you?"

Lord Agri? Cambrai?

The person on the other side looked dazed, he obviously didn't know where this lord came from, but when he saw that he actually brought such an army, that person's face became solemn.

"We're Sanroni's escort, where are you going?"

"That's great, we're on our way to Suniro's coal mines," Carlo looked back at him, and then said to the man in a low voice, "You'd better lead the way quickly, our lord is not in a good temper, and we are from Rome, and this is not a good way, so he is angry." ”

"You're from Rome?" The man looked surprised, he couldn't help but look behind Caro, and when he saw the baskets on the ground, his face showed anger, "Then you must have seen those coal stealers too, let me cut off their hands first." ”

"Wait, what's the matter with you, didn't you hear what I said?" Carlo's face became gloomy, "My lord is waiting to go to your coal mine on the orders of His Majesty the Pope, but you only care about a few thieves stealing coal, you are blatantly ignoring a pope's envoy, do you know?" ”

The fat man was a little stunned, as if he had been blinded by the charge of ignoring the papal emissary, and he glanced at the team behind Carlo with some concern, and when he noticed the bohemians, he could not help but stretch out his hand and draw a cross on his chest, and then muttered something and immediately turned his horse's head and ran towards his companions.

In a few moments, a knight in this thick velvet robe came out of the line and walked up to Caro.

The man's hair was short and stiff, and the purple fleece robe was a little dirty, but even then you could tell that the dress was very precious.

But Carlo didn't know this, and he noticed that the man had a musket hanging from the side of his saddle.

Although it was only an arquebus, it was already a bit of a surprise to Carlo.

Although the vast majority of armies still use cold weapons, and arquebuses are not yet fully popular, they are no longer a particularly surprising weapon.

In many places, because of their preference for firearms, some nobles will also find some skilled craftsmen to make more elaborate firearms for them, which can be called works of art, as their personal collections.

There is still a debate about the power of firearms and bows and arrows, but many people with a little discerning have already realized that firearms are obviously much more powerful than cold weapons.

So no one can say for sure that in the future firearms will completely replace bows and arrows, or even all other cold weapons, but at least in Europe, firearms are not a particularly surprising thing.

Alexander's team was armed with firearms, which didn't cause much of a stir, but it was the first time Carlo had seen anyone other than his own using firearms.

Seeing Carlo's puzzled gaze, the man smiled a little meaningfully: "I noticed that many of you have brought muskets," the man said and glanced slightly at the army behind Carlo, "I'm little Colombo, Hoza Colombo is my father, I want to know why you are here, let me talk to your lord." ”

Carlo looked at the man named Colombo Jr. carefully before returning to Alexander.

"My lord, this man has a musket." Carlo whispered, and although he didn't think the arquebus was too threatening, he still reminded him.

Alexander was also a little surprised, this was the first time he had met someone who was also interested in firearms.

"I am Alexandre Juliant Cambrai, lord of Agri," Alexander said as he walked to the front and looked at the man who claimed to be Little Colombo, "I have come by order of His Majesty the Pope, and I want to see your father at once." ”

"Someone sent by the Pope?" Colombo Jr. did not seem to be deterred by the papal emissary, and seemed more interested in the army behind Alexander: "I'm sorry my father is not here, but if there is anything the Romans command, you can tell me." ”

"I suppose we'd better go to your coal mine first," Alexander said in a deep voice, and he could sense that the man didn't seem to care, or rather despised orders from the Pope, which made him further confirm his previous suspicions, and it was clear that the people of this place didn't seem to care about Roman authority.

"Of course, my lord," perhaps seeing that the other side was an army, Colombo Jr. did not deliberately stop it, he turned his horse's head slightly, and then walked side by side with Alexander, "Please forgive us for not knowing in advance that Rome would send an army, so we didn't prepare enough food, so we ......"

Is this a hint that you are not welcome here? Alexander thought to himself, he knew that although the importance of coal was not fully grasped in this day and age, and most people regarded it as some kind of fuel that could be used in the same way as wood, this did not mean that those with foresight could not see its use.

At least the craftsmen of Milan used the increased temperature of burning coal to create the world-famous Milanese armor.

Wait a minute, what did the woman say before, the Colombo family is the nobles of Milan?

Thinking of the woman's words, Alexander began to feel that his errand was not so simple.

Clearly, Caesar Borgia was hiding a lot from him.

These thoughts only flashed through his mind quickly, and Alexander looked at the man next to him: "I think my men can solve it themselves, they have brought enough food, and you should notice that there are many bohemians in my ranks, they are known for their toughness and ability to endure hardship." ”

Little Colombo couldn't help but look back at the Bohemians who were still riding leisurely on their horses even in such cold weather, and he nodded a little approvingly: "That's right, I've heard of their names a long time ago." ”

Speaking of this, little Colombo's hand holding the reins of the horse suddenly retracted slightly, and the mount couldn't help but stop, and then he looked at Alexander who was walking towards the front with some surprise: "Bohemia, I remember that you are the Sicilian, and it was you who established the Council of Order with Caesar Borgia, right?" ”

"That's right, I'm the Sicilian." Alexander looked back at little Colombo, smiled slightly, and then turned his head and continued on his way.

So why did you come to Sanroni?

Looking at Alexander's back, little Colombo's expression became cloudy.

As a branch of the western foothills of the Apennines, the Sanroni is not very high, but in the whole of the hills, it is already a standout.

Even if you walk up to the mountainside, you can completely look down on the whole land below, and there is no higher ground than it, which makes Sanroni look like a lonely giant.

The coal mine is located in the col of Sanroni, and along the way you can see groups of workers carrying frames passing by on the roads that have been blackened.

"That's how all the stones are carried here," said Colombo as he walked, "and most of the people who work in the mines are hard laborers, and many of them are sent here after committing crimes." Saying this, he looked at Alexander, "I think you must have met some stone thieves on the way, so give them to me, and I will let them know what they have done and what punishment they deserve." ”

"How much coal can be produced here every day?" Alexander ignored little Colombo and asked, "I think Rome is interested in this." ”

"O Rome," said little Colombo, with a meaningful smile, "the Borgia must be in a hurry now, for such a heavy snow must have caused them a lot of trouble." So they let you come. ”

"It's not Borgia, it's Rome," Alexander looked at little Colombo "Rome needs a lot of things, and now the people there are fighting the cold winter, this is not an exaggeration, the Pope ordered me to open the road from Rome to here, the heavy snow has caused a lot of trouble for Rome, I hope this visit will be fruitful." ”

"Of course, there is no doubt about it," said Colombo Jr., with a slight upward hand, "and we have always been happy to obey the orders of His Majesty the Pope, for Rome and Milan are close and close relatives. ”

Alexander noticed Calombo's slightly sarcastic tone when he said this.

Indeed, Rome and Milan were close relatives, or to be more precise, the Borgia family was close to the Sforza family of Rome.

When Alexander VI ascended the papal throne, the highly diplomatic pope felt he needed a strong alliance.

Then the Sforza family of Milan came into his sights.

After much haggling with Cardinal Monteiro's high-ranking broker, Alexander VI finally decided to marry his beloved daughter Lucrezia to Giovanni Sforza, the illegitimate son of Duke Costanzo Sforza I of Milan.

The marriage seemed good, after all, Lucrezia was an illegitimate child, no matter how favored she was, which made it somewhat difficult for her to marry an heir with an orthodox status.

Giovanni Sforza, although an illegitimate child, was very much liked by his father, and it was rumored that if it were not for his status, the duke would have liked this son to inherit the powerful Duke of Milan.

What's more, Milan was powerful enough to be a formidable ally, and the marriage did bring Alexander VI a lot of benefits in the beginning.

It's just that Alexander knows better than anyone else that the marriage will last for another year at most, and the young couple will break up after a year.

But that's not the worst of it.

What's really bad is that Giovanni Sforza, who lives with Lucrezia in Rome, almost loses his life.

Only now it seems that it may not be a year from now, when there is a rift between Rome and Milan.

Sanroni's coal mines were controlled by the Milanese, much to Alexander's surprise, who realized that it wouldn't be so easy for Caesar to let him here.

However, he is also somewhat curious about the coal mines of this era.

It's hard to imagine how people mined coal in the 15th century, but Alexander knew that Sanroni was known for being a shallow mine, which provided a rare and even a gift from God for mining coal in an age when technology and tools were so scarce.

So when he followed the little Colombo over a dirty hillside, although he was shocked by the magnificence of the large expanse of devastated mountains in front of him, he soon understood that this was a large open-pit coal mine.

Alexander wasn't good at mining, of course, but he also knew that open-pit coal was certainly not as good as deep coal mines, but this was rare in this day and age.

Even relying on this kind of coking coal, which is not the best in terms of fuel volume or production temperature, the Milanese still produced Milanese armor that is far more exquisite than other places, and the reason why Milan armor is regarded as the best armor of this era is not only because of its beautiful shape, but because of its strong texture and enviable craftsmanship.

It is conceivable that when a knight rushes into the enemy's line on horseback, a set of sturdy and reliable armor can not only resist the sword, but also block the attack of the enemy's powerful firearms, thus providing him with enough confidence and assurance to gallop and kill the enemy with confidence.

That's enough to make anyone who is going to battle crave such a set of life-saving artifacts like a talisman.

It's just that the staggering cost of Milanese armor is enough to discourage many people, and the ability to create this powerful armor shows the exquisite craftsmanship and forging skills of Milanese craftsmen.

However, this is inseparable from the dirty and chaotic looking mine in front of you, as if everything around you is shrouded in darkness.

Looking at the mines, which had been dug everywhere as if they had been smashed by meteorites, little Colombo smiled smugly.

"This is the mining land of Sanroni," Colombo Jr. said to Alexander, "whether Rome or Milan, or Venice or Genoa, everyone who wants to warm himself in winter or drink a hot soup must ask us." ”

"People can also cut down trees, use wood to warm themselves and drink hot soup." Alexander said quietly.

"But wood doesn't provide enough heat and it burns quickly, and in such weather," said little Colombo, looking up at the cold and dry sky where no sunlight was visible, "I think it would be a hassle to send a lot of people to cut down trees, and it would remind many people of the mines of Sanroni, or rather of us." ”

Little Colombo gestured to his attendant as he spoke, and the attendant picked up a large horn and blew it vigorously.

The sound of the horn drifted with the wind to the mine below, and soon all the people who were working stopped their hands, and the workers looked up at the small Colombo on the slope, and for a time there was no sound on the originally noisy mine except the wind.

"There is no comfortable and warm place to sleep without ore, no delicious hot soup, not even a pleasant hot bath," said little Colombo, looking at Alexander, his eyes flashing with excitement, "one day ore will replace wood to do all this, and whoever can master such a mine will be able to make others do whatever they don't want to do." ”

"And now this mine belongs to the Colombo family, right?" Alexander asked calmly.

"No," Colombo Jr. smiled, "the mine belongs to the noble Sforza family, and the Colombo family is the most loyal servant of the Sforza family. ”

After saying that, he again motioned to his entourage to blow the horn.

Hearing the sound of the horn, the workers took off their hats and bowed to the small Colombo on the slope, and then began to work silently.

Watching this scene, Alexander fell into deep thought.