The dispatch of troops to Montina, so no one thought of it.

When he heard that the Montina had sent troops to intervene in the war in Ferrara, Caesar initially thought that he had heard it wrong, or that the rumors were wrong.

But it soon dawned on him how wrong his assumptions about the female regent of Montina.

Montina's entire army ranged from 8,500 to 9,600 men, and the difference was mainly between the Balkans and the Bohemians, who were sometimes ordered to leave the army for a while to work in the countryside.

After all, Montina's territory could not provide nearly 10,000 extra men to eat and drink at once, so when the army was in the middle of rotation, Alexander did not want to let those mountain farmers idle all day, if they did, they might have nothing to do.

So there will always be about 1,000 Balkans who will work in the fields every few days, and at this time, those 1,000 people are not counted in Montina's defense plan.

This was a deliberate arrangement on the part of Alexander, who, in his opinion, was the only one who could confirm the number of his troops literally, and who would probably have been able to mobilize on the map many years later the shell troops who looked at the numbers but had in fact been completely annihilated by the enemy.

So when Gompati led three Montina regiments towards Ferrara, he actually led only 3,500 men, while the other 1,000 were sent to another place by Gompati after being recalled from the fields by Barendi.

When he heard that there was an army of about 1,000 men of Montina marching on Bologna, Caesar almost suspected that he had really misheard.

Bologna is a papal protectorate, this small city with beautiful streets and unique brown-red buildings due to the local geographical features, the city is warm and unrestrained, you can feel the great influence from the Vatican, and the city that has been under the papal protection for many years can be said to be one of the most docile cities in dealing with those depraved popes.

Because of this, when Caesar sent troops to Ferrara, he put a lot of his supplies in Bologna, and he knew that although the Bolognese would not send troops to help him attack Ferrara, they would definitely be able to protect his logistics and supplies dutifully.

But now, when he heard that there was an army of Montina marching on Bologna, Caesar was surprised to find that he had miscalculated the reaction of the old Rovere's daughter, who had not only sent troops to intervene in his movements, but had even tried to cut off his retreat.

"What is that woman going to do?" Caesar roared to the messenger who brought the news, "Does she want to destroy me?" ”

As he spoke, he walked over to the map and looked at the directions in which the Montinas might appear as indicated on the rudimentary map, and when he noticed that the army, which was said to be commanded by one of Alexander's most capable generals, did not appear directly towards Ferrara, but first in the direction of the lower Renault River, not too far south of Ferrara, Caesar could not help but look at his officers with some disbelief.

"Look at what this man is doing, he is trying to cut off our retreat, this man is not just trying to defeat, but trying to eat me."

Caesar finished speaking in annoyance and began to slap his head with the hilt of his sword, his previous guess that no one would come to Ferrara's aid at this time was proved wrong so quickly, which made him not only surprised but also feel shameless, but compared to face, he felt that the woman of the Rovere family was even more hateful.

Obviously, whether it was at the behest of Barenti or the personal decision of the general named Gompati, Montina's intervention in Ferrara was not intended to be as simple as relieving Ferrara or simply to sabotage his wedge into Romagna.

The Montina man's litany of activities can only prove one thing, and that is that they are going to destroy his army!

This made Caesar wonder if Alexander's claim that he was not in Montina was a hoax, and perhaps he had sneaked back and hid in his castle under construction, waiting for him to take the bait?

The series of accidents made Caesar a little cranky, and then he made a decision to suspend his advance towards Ferrara, after all, I don't know how determined the Montina people are to provoke a full-scale war that may be on both sides, and he can't easily expose his back and retreat to the enemy, so everything must be solved first.

Just as Caesar had to mobilize his army to meet Gompati, the movement of Montina's army caused quite a stir in Rome.

Alexander VI was amazed by Barentia's fortitude and decisiveness, but he couldn't help but be a little worried about Caesar's situation, he knew more about Montina's army than Caesar, especially after several collaborations with Alexander, he knew how terrible this army was supported by Alexander's abundant financial resources.

"Perhaps this is the only army that can stand up to the French." This was Alexander VI's private assessment of Montina's army, and although he knew that Montina's army was obviously inferiorly in terms of numbers, this did not affect the Pope's reverie.

The key is that the person who has such a powerful army is his "son-in-law", which makes the Pope feel relieved and at the same time can't help but have some subtle changes in his heart.

It is not clear what the relationship with the French will be in the future, although Caesar married Louis XII's cousin, but this does not prove anything, after all, Alexander VI himself has killed a son-in-law, so it is not clear how long this alliance maintained by marriage will last.

Because of this, the Pope attaches great importance to the relationship with Alexander, but Caesar's attempt to invade Ferrara did get his support, the reason is very simple, as Caesar guessed, the Pope also thinks that the daughter of the Roveret family should not cause more trouble at this time, as for the Venetians, as far as the Pope knows, their attitude towards the French invasion of Italy is quite ambiguous, and they have been pretending to be deaf and dumb for Milan's plea for help, and then think about the inside story of the Venetians' involvement in the sacking of Fugger's house that Alexander revealed to him before, which gave Alexander VI reason to believe that the Venetians should not easily offend their son, who was now fighting with the French.

This series of speculations determined the choice of the Pope's father and son, but it was precisely because of this speculation that Alexander VI was surprised to hear that the Montina had not only sent troops to Ferrara to intervene, but had even sent troops to Bologna, and Alexander VI had to decide to have a good talk with old Rovere.

The two sides met in a cold and stiff corridor in the Sistine Chapel, and after a reserved slight salute, old Rovere looked at the Pope with an indifferent expression.

Speaking of which, the relationship between the two is a bit peculiar, before Alexander appeared, they were simply two representatives of the family and the people in power who had fought each other for many years, so the relationship between them seemed much simpler, and they could not hesitate to kill each other if possible.

But Alexander's presence complicated their relationship, especially with regard to the appointment of Massimo, the current Metropolitan of Tuscany and Romagna, and they even worked together happily.

However, this does not seem to alleviate the deep-seated contradictions between the two sides, for example, the lack of expression in old Rovile's eyes has made Alexander VI realize that in order to keep things from becoming a mess, he may have to pay a high price, even unacceptable.

But even then he couldn't walk away, because it might make things completely out of control.

Alexander VI did not really see how strong Montina's army was, but he could guess a few things, including the booty that Alexander had brought him from the Ottomans.

"There is no need for another war," the Pope finally spoke first, although it stands to reason that he should have spoken first to conform to the rules of etiquette, but Alexander VI was still secretly a little frustrated in his heart, he knew that this actually proved that he was more composed in this matter, "I can consider preventing Caesar from conquering Ferrara, but Ferrara must be under the protection of the Pope." ”

Old Rovere was a little surprised, he knew that this should be the last bargaining chip that Alexander VI could accept, but what he didn't expect was that Pressure Mountain VI actually threw this bargaining chip directly at the beginning.

Is this an ambition, or is it a matter of urgency?

Old Rovere did not want to delve into the difference, he knew that Alexander VI would say this would mean that he would not make any more concessions, and if he still refused to compromise, the only thing left would be war.

And starting a war at this time, regardless of the scale, is actually not a good choice for both sides.

Alexander VI did not want to consume his strength too much, which would make him insignificant in front of the French.

And old Rovere didn't want to do it either, at a time when having an army was everything, and it was a good result to be able to force the Pope to compromise when he was so sure.

In addition, old Rovie was also very satisfied with this result in his heart.

Alexander's influence on the Romagna region is increasing, which makes the old Rovere somewhat unhappy, and now the appearance of the Papal Army has made the situation more delicate, at this time he has the opportunity to take the opportunity to infiltrate his own forces into the Romagna area, sending Constantine to Montina is the beginning of this series of activities, and then the old Rovere intends to take advantage of this rare opportunity to let the power of the Rovire family quickly penetrate, and maybe take root in Montina.

Nodding silently, old Rovere bowed and turned to leave, never saying a word.

Looking at the back of old Rovere, Alexander VI groaned slightly, and then waved his hand to call the private secretary who was standing far away in the corridor.

"Write a letter to Nomerlo, you can weigh the wording yourself, but I want you to describe the cardinal's attitude clearly, I think you know what I mean," the Pope said with a purse of his lips, and there was a hint of mischievity in his eyes, "The letter should be written sincerely, and we can also say what we think, which is nothing, but the key is the cardinal's efforts in the matter of Ferrara, which is very important." ”

"Then Your Majesty, to whom is this letter addressed?"

Although he had already guessed, the private secretary asked in a slightly confused tone.

Sometimes being an overly shrewd subordinate is not necessarily a good choice.

"Alexander," the Pope smiled, "writing the letter to Count Montina. ”

Nomelo nodded slightly to show that he understood, and by this time he had begun to conceive in his mind a convincing letter, and the content of the letter was to impress the Count of Gombray with the description of old Rover's small actions.

However, Nomelo did not immediately go to the errand assigned by the Pope, but still looked at Alexander VI and waited, knowing that the Pope still had something to order.

Sensing Nomelo's inquiring eyes, the Pope waved his hand as if he wanted to send him away immediately, but after a pause, the Pope's expression showed a hint of contemplation.

"Let Caesar pay attention to the Montina, but don't fight them lightly, I think Rovere will solve this problem for us."

Nomelo frowned slightly, and although he felt that the Pope's decision seemed inappropriate, he bowed again and accompanied Alexander VI in the opposite direction along the corridor.

Old Rovere walked slowly along the aisles of the Sistine Chapel, and where he passed, everyone first avoided him and bowed respectfully to him.

However, the cardinal's face was a little gloomy, and he did not have the rare smile of joy not long ago, and when he looked at the people he met, his expressionless eyes made everyone who met him feel a slight chill in their hearts.

Old Rovelle was very dissatisfied with Barendi, and this was the first time he felt that this daughter had disappointed him so much.

The elder Rovere did not hide his desire for the Romagna region, and he always believed that Barente should be the most supportive and understanding of him.

Even though Barente might have gradually leaned more towards her husband because of Alexander, old Rovere never suspected that she would go against his will.

But Barendi's approach to Ferrara made old Rovere aware of something that disturbed him.

It is clear that Barentia seems to have put her husband's interests above the family, although there have been signs of this before, especially during Alexander's expedition to the Balkans, when Barentia even drove her cousin out of Montina, so that during that time the diocese of Montina was presided over by an auxiliary bishop, but old Rovere still thought that it was just a young man's whims, and he knew very well what his brother was like as Bishop Montina, so old Rovere did not pay too much attention.

But this time, he finally felt that something was different.

Old Rovere was deeply aware. Barondi's decision to send troops to Ferrara at this time could not only be seen as anger or prevention against Caesar's invasion, but her greater intention was obviously to warn those who tried to take advantage of Romagna: "Romagna belongs to the Count of Montina!" ”

Among those who were warned, it was clear that both the Borgia father and his father were included.

This made old Rovere somewhat frustrated, and although the Pope's proposal seemed to be a concession, he knew that it would not be easy to do it.

Because he now had a vague feeling that he could no longer influence Barondy as easily as he had been.

There were not many Montinas marching towards Bologna, led by Paulo Busaco, who commanded the 2nd Balkan Regiment.

Since leaving Alexandria, Busako has been leading the 2nd Balkan Regiment, which is a big change for him.

Busaco has always given the Montina officers the impression of being more of a loyal chaser commander by the Count's side, and although the chasers are recognized by everyone as the most combat-effective core of Montina's army and even a symbol of the existence of the whole army, Busaco is less conspicuous than Busaco as a commander.

In people's hearts, they always think that Busaco is more just the hand of the Count commanding the chasers, although he has led the chasers to appear in the fiercest battles at critical moments more than once, and has saved the Montina army in danger again and again, but people are somewhat skeptical about Busako's personal ability to lead troops.

Even if his pivotal reversal of the war in Bucharest made him almost the legendary "Dragon Slayer" in Europe, it is still a suspense whether he will be able to become a regimental commander.

So when Gompati decided to let Busaco lead his troops into Bologna alone, many people couldn't help but be a little worried, and even Barondi, who had always shown great support for Gompati's arrangement, also made an exception because he was not worried about it, hoping that he would reconsider this decision.

But Gompati stubbornly insisted on his decision.

"Busako is a good officer, he used to be a pity only by the Earl's side, and I say this by no means because he wounded the Sultan with artillery, although it is indeed an enviable feat, but what I value more is his ability to carry out the Count's orders resolutely and decisively when he was the commander of the hunting guard."

In the face of Gompati's explanation, Barundi did not continue to insist, and before Busako set off, Gompati gave Busako an order that surprised him slightly.

"Don't get too close to Bologna, as long as you can maintain the speed of your march to the outskirts of Bologna in 2 days."

In response to Gompati's rather strange instructions, Busaco carried out them with perseverance, so that when Gompati's army approached the road to Ferrara on the south bank of the Reno River, at noon on August 2, the outskirts of Bologna also welcomed the 2nd Balkan Regiment of Montina's army, led by Busaco.

The Second Romagna War began in southern Romena.