With a gloomy face, Sazi walked into the Sazi Palace, which was behind the prayer hall.

The previously sealed places have not yet had time to be demolished, and there are not many rooms in the entire Sazi Palace that can be used for human activities.

In the past, in response to Savonarola's promotion of a simple and impoverished lifestyle, Sazi had to have people close off most of his home, but now he had no time to think about repairing the palace because he wanted to take over the troublesome mess of Florence.

It's just that after becoming the consul, more people come to visit every day, and the whole house becomes crowded, which makes Sazi have to seriously consider whether to renovate the house.

The Sazi Palace is not very large, with only about 20 rooms, and the whole palace is a concave shape that faces the gate symmetrically along the left and right sides of the middle line, and in the middle of the concave shape, there is a small garden.

Sazi now lives in a house on the right wing of the palace, and not all the other members of the Sazi family live here except himself, some of them live on the street not far from the Sazi Palace, and some are further away.

Not all of them were so lucky, and Gurvio Sazi was able to enter the city government of Florence only because he knew better than anyone else how to gain the trust of Savonarola.

The first thing he did when he returned to Florence was to announce his break with his former vulgar and depraved self, and at the same time he had most of the Palazzo Sazi closed off as "symbols of the depravity and ugliness of the past", and then he inquired about an almost legendary friendship between Botticelli and Savonarola.

Botticelli, the worldly master of art who was most hated and hated by Savonarola, found a way to cleanse his depraved mind from Savonarola, and then the master resolutely gave up his artistic achievements and devoted himself to the cause of persuading others who were addicted to art to stay away from the wrong path.

It was at this time that Sazi became friends with Botticelli, and then approached Savonarola through this rebellious artist, and finally gained his trust.

Officials of the city government, treasurer, then co-government, and now the overthrow of Savonarola as the supreme governor of Florence, Sazi seems to have reached the highest point of his life.

But Gurvio Sazi himself knows that the truth is not as simple as many people think.

Alexander VI's offer made him even more angry, but even in front of Nomerlo, he almost exploded into a rage.

The condition that the currency issued by the Holy See be allowed to circulate in Florence made it seem as if a pair of hands had reached out from Rome to grab him by the throat.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense knows the importance of coinage, and understands what it means for a region to be in the hands of someone who has the right to issue market money.

Especially in a place like Florence, where Sazi could not even imagine the consequences if the papal law was allowed to flood the market.

Sazi was tempted to refuse, and he felt that it was not only his duty as the Florentine consul, but that he could not tolerate such a thing, even if it was for personal gain.

But in the end his reply to Nomelo was: "I need to think about it." ”

As a former treasurer, Sazi knew better than anyone what was going on in Florence.

If Florence is a mess today, Sazi doesn't think it's belittling or slandering.

If he had to be serious, he even thought it was even worse.

From the time when the Pisans began pouring cheap goods into Florence, in the months of turmoil, the Florentine money poured out, and no one could stop this frightening wave, and as the Florentine merchants who hoarded goods were drowned by this tide of goods, they were awaited one bankruptcy after another.

And then there was the appearance of that James Columbus, which Sazi himself participated in, and even promoted with his own hands.

It was because of his connections that James Columbus was able to set up his exchange so smoothly, and then it was the looting of the remaining merchants who were not yet bankrupt.

This was what Savonarola needed at the time, first he wanted to be a more important figure in the city than Savonarola, and then as the situation changed, he saw that Savonarola's rule was crumbling.

Now that Savonarola had been overthrown by the revolt, he had become the ruler of Florence, but now he found himself in a trap that had been set up a long time ago.

Loot the Florentine market, plunder the city's wealth, and then deal a fatal blow to Florence by issuing currency when the city is almost paralyzed!

Sazi even wanted to sincerely admire this series of actions, but under this admiration was endless bitterness.

What to do? Sazi had been thinking about it since he left the town hall, and he knew that if he refused, what awaited him or Florence might be an attack by the Montina army now stationed on the king, and he knew very well what the mercenaries were, as he had seen when he had instructed the "enraged" to revolt.

When the mercenaries knew that there was a riot in the city, the first thing they did was not to rush to the place of the riot immediately, but to pack up their belongings and retreat into their respective forts, and they did not come out until the riot was over, and the reason for this was that their task was only to guard against foreign enemies, and they did not care what the Florentines wanted to do.

Although Sazi was secretly relieved by this attitude of the city defenders, he also knew who these people were, and as for defending against foreign enemies, he did not think that those city guards would really fight to the death for Florence against the Montina army that had defeated the Venetians.

In addition, Sazi would not forget that the weapon used to start the rebellion was provided by the Count of Montina, which made him secretly wonder if there was anyone left behind in the city of Florence.

At least in his opinion, James Columbus was not a real pure businessman.

More importantly, he sensed a threat from Alexander VI.

If he refused, would Alexander VI turn to favor the Medici?

Gurvio Sazi shuddered at the thought of this possibility, he would not forget the bloody revenge that the Sazi family had suffered after the failed attempt to overthrow the Medici family, and even after all these years, he was still terrified at the thought of it.

Once the Medici family returns, all that awaits them is death!

It seemed that all roads were gone, and Sazi looked at the wine glass in front of him with a daze, not even paying attention to the servant entering the room.

"Sir, a man named Niccolò Machiavelli asks to see you."

Hearing this name, Sazi was stunned, there were too many people who had come to visit him in the past few days, and he had received those guests very warmly, whether he was preparing to leave the door to become an official in the new government, or he wanted to ask for asylum to avoid being arrested, he did not refuse those people.

He needed to get enough support quickly, but Machiavelli's arrival came as a bit of a surprise.

Sazi knew that Machiavelli was now on an expedition to Pisa, and it seemed that he had been on an errand with the Count of Montina and the army for a time.

Now this Machiavelli suddenly appeared, could it be on the orders of the Count of Montina?

When he thought of Count Montina, he couldn't help but think of Lucrezia, which made Sazi's heart stir slightly.

He didn't know why Machiavelli had come, but he didn't want to lose the opportunity, because he was desperate to know the Vatican's true purpose.

"Is that Machiavelli from the government department?" Sazi asked with a slight groan.

"That's how he declared himself."

"Then let him go to the main hall," Sazi continued, after a pause, "let him come here and meet me." ”

"Obey the order, sir." The servant was a little surprised, he knew that the people who could be invited to this room were very important people, such as the high-ranking officials in the government, and of course, the masterminds who had plotted to overthrow Savonarola.

Machiavelli was also a little surprised, he didn't expect to be invited to this obviously more private room.

In many cases, ordinary guests are more invited to the main hall, because it is more public, and the living room, which has a more or less private taste, is only accessible to very close guests.

Machiavelli didn't know Sazi well, either in the council or elsewhere, or the current consul was glad to know his name.

By the time he saw Machiavelli, Sazi was still wondering how to find out what he could do about the Count of Montina from this man.

However, he soon discovered to his surprise that this Machiavelli did not seem to have brought any news from the Count of Montina, but had come to him for help.

This made Sazi disappointed and puzzled, he didn't know if the man had really come to ask for help or if he had other plans, but thinking of his experience, Sazi decided to ask him about the truth about Montina's army.

"That's a real army."

Machiavelli was a little excited at the mention of this, he felt that this was his chance, and vaguely felt that in addition to freeing himself from the predicament of being a fellow party of Savonarola, he might also be appreciated by the new consul.

"They have strict discipline and bravery, which is rarely seen in other armies, I have seen the army of Pisa, they are more of a role to gather and intimidate the opponent, if their enemy is strong enough, they will soon be afraid, and then if the enemy shows a strong desire to fight, they will immediately flee."

Machiaf said in a contemptuous tone, and seeing the attentive and serious look on Sazi's face, he couldn't help but be secretly excited in his heart, he had heard that this consul from a great noble background was a very arrogant person, and if he was not interested in anyone, he would often show it mercilessly, without taking into account the other party's face.

So now that he showed such a serious look, it should not be just out of politeness but genuine interest.

Machiavelli made up his mind to take a slightly more adventurous approach.

Since his return to Florence, Machiavelli had not had a good time, always fearing that he might be dragged out of his house and out into the street, then beaten and then hanged on the rows of gallows that had just been erected.

He was nervous every time someone passed by or knocked on the door, and he thought that he might be driven crazy if he went on any longer.

So, having finally made up his mind, he ventured out of the compound, and after a little more hesitation, he decided to visit the new consul.

Machiavelli had made such a risky decision because he felt that his experience in the Pisa and Montina armies would help him, and Machiavelli was secretly relieved to see that things were as he had predicted.

He knew that if he didn't get the consul's appreciation, at least he wouldn't be sent to the gallows.

"Forgive the Archon, I would use our own city defense as a metaphor, but the analogy is not so pleasant," Machiavelli decided, deciding to take the opportunity to sell the Archon his observational conclusions, "Our city defense may be better than the Pisa, but I don't see any fundamental difference between the two, they are just a bunch of salaried foreigners, and they also don't care what will happen to Florence, or even who is ruling the city, For them, they work for whoever can pay them, and they never make real sacrifices because it's just their job. ”

Sazi admitted that he was moved by Machiavelli's words, he remembered the performance of the city defense army during the previous riot, and then listened to the words of the man in front of him, he couldn't help but nod slightly.

"The army of the Count of Montina that I have seen is the army that has always belonged to him, those soldiers are from his domain, and the rewards they get for fighting also come from the territory, and they will get a small piece of land in the territory or other rewards, but this is not the most important thing, the point is that the count has trained this army to fight only for him, he is their lord, commander and commander, and not just a simple employment relationship with them."

"You're saying he raised the army himself, rather than paying to hire them?" Saziro asked with interest.

"Not only that," said Machiavelli with some excitement, "Archon we must admit that we have never really taken the army seriously before, we always think that we can get everything if we spend money, so we don't know anything about soldiers or officers, and many of us don't even know how many of our own troops we have, and what kind of weapons they are using, but this count is not like that, he is very familiar with his army, both in their uniforms and in their weapons, Or the method of fighting, all of which was done at his behest from beginning to end, so that he could keep this army under his command. ”

"An army built entirely on its own," Sazi's expression changed slightly, and he pondered the meaning of this while looking earnestly at Machiavelli, "tell me, diplomat, what kind of battles have you seen, and are they brave and loyal?" ”

"This is exactly what I am talking about, bravery and loyalty, which are the characteristics of the army of the Count of Montina, and it is by virtue of this virtue that they were able to defeat the Venetians, as well as Caesar Borgia, and I had the privilege of taking part in the latter battle," Machiav replied in a slightly proud tone, "I have seen with my own eyes the pisa, who had previously been just ordinary sailors, with the courage of the enemy, and the near-madness of the count's Bohemian cavalry as they rushed through the open field, But what impressed me the most were the Agri musketeers, who fought with determination in the face of an enemy many times their size, and I remember even holding their ground when Caesar's army advanced in front of them across the open field. ”

Machiavelli's agitated voice echoed in the living room, and he seemed to have forgotten where and in front of whom, for with his peculiar contagiousness, Sazi even felt as if he were in the middle of a battle in Livorno.

"So diplomat, do you think that if Montina's army launched an attack on Florence, they would have succeeded?"

Hearing Sazi's question, Machiavelli seemed stunned, he looked at Sazi's lips and moved as if he was considering how to phrase it, and then he shook his head slightly: "Sorry Archon, of course I hope that Florence will be victorious, but if this answer is not in line with the honest duty that I should abide by in today's audience." ”

Listening to Machiavelli's roundabout answer, Sazi smiled faintly.

He admits that the man is slick, but he has already received the answer.

"How long did it take the Count to train such an army?" Sazi asked suddenly.

Machiavelli tried his best to hide his vague excitement, and he pondered how to answer, and finally decided to deal with the question in a more vague way.

"The Count was only a small lord of Naples when he arrived in Rome two years ago, when his army consisted of few Agri musketeers and Bohemian cavalry, and now the Count's army is almost the strongest in Romagna."

Sazi seemed to be lost in thought, and he slowly stood up and walked slowly, not caring that Machiavelli's eyes were always moving slowly with him.

After a moment, Sazi paused and thought about it, then turned and walked to the table.

Under Machiavelli's burning gaze, Sazi picked up a pen and wrote a few lines on a piece of paper, then handed the note to Machiavelli.

"Diplomat, I am very impressed by your words," Sazi gently tugged at the folds on his sleeve, "I will introduce you to the other consuls at the Governing Council, and before that you can go to the City Government Office to continue your old position, and if anyone wants to hold you accountable for your previous actions, you can show them my order." ”

As he took it, Machiavelli quickly glanced at the piece of paper, and he noticed a sentence that made him secretly excited: "This man is under my protection......"

Machiavelli, who had left the Sazi Palace, stood in the street and took a deep breath, and it was only now that he finally felt the tension that had always been suppressed disappearing.

"I have to send me a message, too," Machiavelli whispered to himself, and then he commanded his attendants, "you go out of town now, and send me a letter." ”