Caesar is back!

This is something that Alexander could not have imagined.

This trip to Rome was not the result of a whim, but a deliberate decision made by Alexander.

So he thought of all kinds of possibilities, but the only thing he didn't expect was that Caesar would suddenly return to Rome.

It was previously reported that Caesar was in France with his new wife, because Louis XII could invade Italy at any time, so it is unlikely that Caesar would leave his new wife behind at this time, but should enjoy this rare time to the fullest.

But Caesar suddenly returned, which not only surprised Alexander, but also made him realize that because of this accident, not only himself, but also his family was in unprecedented danger!

Looking at the father and son in front of him, Alexander's heart quickly turned to the thought, he knew whether he could leave Rome safely, whether his family could be free from the possible confinement, and whether he could quickly find a chance to get out of the current crisis.

Calm down Alexander, it turns out that you really have to calm down!

He kept reminding himself in the bottom of his heart, and at the same time quickly looked for clues from Caesar's look that he might grasp.

"You ought to say yes," said Caesar again, as he placed his finely woven hat on the table and looked at Alexander, "do you think I will forget the humiliation you have inflicted on me in Livorno and Pisa, or do you think that I may have lost all my courage because of those two failures?" ”

Excitement flashed in Caesar's eyes as he spoke, and he stepped forward and stared at him with eyes closed on Alexander's chest.

"You're wrong, you know what, those failures have stirred up my fighting spirit more than ever, and I've been thinking about how to beat you all the time, even in my dreams."

Caesar's heavy gasps echoed in Alexander's ears, and he walked slowly around Alexander, his eyes revealing indescribable excitement.

"I can guess you're trying to figure out how to escape right now, but you can't jump anymore, and while I do want to defeat you on the battlefield, I'll be happier if I can solve your problem in an easier way,"

Caesar and Alexander, who had gone around to the front, looked at each other, he narrowed his eyes slightly and carefully observed Alexander's expression, and after a while he said in a somewhat regretful tone: "Do you know that we could really be a family, Giovanni Sforza is not worthy of Lucrezia, but you are different, but you finally chose to be the enemy of the Borgia family." ”

"It's your enemy," Alexander began, meeting Caesar's gaze and looking at the face in front of him, which Machiavelli remembered as having an angelic look, Alexander said slowly but forcefully, "I can love the Borgia because Lucrezia loves the Borgia family, as you said we are a family, but you are my enemy will not change anything," said Alexander took a step forward and whispered in Caesar's ear, "because I know that you have feelings for Lucrezia that you should not have." This is something I will never tolerate. ”

Caesar looked at Alexander in disbelief, he didn't know how Alexander knew this secret in his heart, even Lucrezia herself should have never noticed that he had such feelings for her.

Caesar quickly looked at Alexander VI, who was not far away, not wanting his father to hear what they were saying, as it might cause anger or concern to Alexander VI.

"What are you talking about, how dare you lay such a charge on me," Caesar said angrily, lowering his voice, "you are done with Cambrai, you will not be able to get out of Rome, you will never see Lucrezia and your daughter again, I will make you regret coming to Rome for a long time, and then you will have to go to God." ”

Caesar said as he slowly retreated to the Pope's side.

"You will live in the Potico Palace for the time being," Alexander VI said slowly, seeing Alexander's flashing eyes, the Pope nodded as if a little helplessly and said, "I have to admit that it is indeed not easy to deal with you, the heroes who resisted the infidels, the people who almost completely ended the fate of the Ottoman Sultan, these are enough to put a layer of armor on you to protect you, probably because you think so, you dare to come to Rome." ”

Looking at Alexander VI's disapproving expression, Alexander could not help but admit that the Pope had guessed accurately.

It was because of his impressive record of resistance against the Ottomans in the Balkans that Alexander thought that the trip to Rome might be troublesome, but not dangerous, for neither Alexander VI nor anyone else would openly act against a hero who had almost saved Europe while the Ottomans were still in high demand.

But now, with Caesar's sudden appearance, Alexander was not sure.

Alexander was certain that he had been placed under house arrest.

Although there is no need to worry about his life for the time being, because as the Pope said, it is a very troublesome matter to deal with him, but listening to Alexander VI actually say this unabashedly straightforward, Alexander knew that the father and son should have been very resolute in their desire to kill him.

After all, it came to this point, and Alexander sighed helplessly in his heart.

His relationship with the Borgia family was so delicate that even he could no longer distinguish between relatives and enemies, which Alexander had never imagined.

Perhaps everything was in chaos from the moment he kidnapped Lucrezia from the convent, and he never imagined that he would be entangled with the women of the Borgia family, let alone that Lucrezia's beauty and charm would become a "trap" from which he could not extricate himself.

At least on their way to Pisa to escape the Venetians, the entanglement that made both of them completely lose themselves was something he had never thought about before.

As for the subsequent changes in Pisa, and the dazzling changes that followed, Alexander could only sigh that the impermanence of the world and life were like a play.

But now he has put himself in danger because of this changing world.

Caesar looked at the back of Alexander, who was taken out by the two guards, a look of incomprehension flashed in his eyes, his hand clenched the armor-breaking sword at his waist, and the corners of his mouth moved slightly, as if he was silently reciting something.

"Are the French okay with you?" Alexander VI suddenly asked, for the Pope, Alexander's is no longer a problem, so he does not want to waste energy and time on that person, if there is anything left unresolved, that is, Lucrezia may be emotional because she can't accept this fact, but she is a Borgia after all, and things will pass.

Now Alexander VI's real attention was on the French.

Although Louis XII showed unusual enthusiasm for Caesar, even brokered his marriage to his cousin, Charlotte, the sister of King John of Lavana, and gave him the title of Duke of Valentino as a sign of respect for the young former Bishop of Valencia, the Pope knew that all of this was a good thing for Louis XII.

What the King of France really needed was recognition and support from the Vatican for his own marriage.

Louis feared that France would once again have a figure like Charles the Bold who had nearly torn France apart, and he would never tolerate that.

What worries Louis is that Emperor Maximian is married to the daughter of Charles the Bold, which gives Maximian enough reason to intervene in French affairs.

So when Charles VIII died, Louis immediately decided to accept not only his throne, but also his wife, Brittany's heir, Anne, in order to ensure that Brittany would not be separated from the French territory.

And all this needs the support of the Holy See, because before Louis can legally divorce his wife, Charles VIII's sister Jeanne, before he can openly marry Jeanne's sister-in-law.

All this requires the recognition of the Vatican, or rather Alexander VI.

Louis XII paid a high price for this, not only by giving the Pope's son great courtesy, but more importantly by promising to support Caesar's conquest of Romagna.

"The king has been very good to me, and the point is that he is willing to help me much more than I thought." Caesar said with some excitement that he had come back in a hurry, although he had already reported to his father some important things about this trip to France, but many details had not yet had time to report, "But I should go and see Lucrezia now, I am afraid that she may be a little excited about what happened to Gombray." ”

"Don't be in a hurry, tell me more about your time in France, it's important."

The Pope did not accede to Caesar's request, motioned for his son to sit across from him, and began to listen attentively as Caesar reported his experience in France.

The room where Alexander was placed under house arrest was not on the ground, but underground.

This was actually a basement at the end of a long underground passage, and when he saw this passage, Alexander couldn't help but think of the rumors that the Pope had built a secret passage between the Potico Palace and the Sistine Chapel in order to switch identities between the Pope and his lover at any time.

And it explains why Madame de Mira and Julia Farne, both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, live in the Palazzo Potico.

The room was not large, and it was a little damp, it was not originally intended to be a place for people, but to prevent any guests from leaving when the Pope came, so he waited for the time being, but because of this, there were some utensils in the basement for temporary use when needed.

For example, a sturdy long-necked silver kettle that looked like it was placed on a wooden shelf in the corner, and when he saw the silver kettle, Alexander was already thinking that if he went far, he could use it to make at least two or three deadly weapons.

There were also a few rather delicate glass cups, which made him think that maybe he could make a simple dagger from the pieces of the cups by tearing off a few strips of cloth from his clothes.

It may be difficult to escape, but it's not impossible, especially when it's clear that everyone is a little unprepared.

Alexander had already guessed that Caesar would not come back for too long, because if that was the case, it would be impossible for his whereabouts not to be revealed, but unless it was Skop who was too good at acting, it seemed that he did not find anything unusual along the way, and there should not be many people who really knew that Caesar had returned to Rome.

This means that even if the Pope and his son wanted to be against him, they could not be so prepared.

Alexander sat down slowly, looking at the dark and damp basement, and he couldn't stop thinking about leaving the country now.

Caesar's hostility towards him was unquestionable, and even if Caesar hadn't had the idea of attacking him this time, the two of them would not have been at peace with each other.

The contradictions between them were so deep that neither the battle of Livornor nor the setbacks at Pisa could easily allow Caesar to forget the humiliation that Alexander had inflicted on him, but these were not the most important things.

The point is that the two of them have too many overlapping possession conflicts, such as Lucrezia and Romagna.

The French were not very greedy for Italy, just like Charles VIII, and Louis XII's plan for Italy was more to occupy a few important cities and form a suzerainty over the entire Apennine Peninsula.

This is of course related to the fact that the French did not have the power to completely rule all of Italy, and it is also inseparable from the reasons of the surrounding countries, whether it is Emperor Maximian or Ferdinand who loved Aragon, they will certainly not allow the French to annex the entire Apennine Peninsula.

Therefore, Caesar took this opportunity to annex Romagna with the help of the French as his best choice, but this conflicted with Alexander's purpose.

Therefore, even if Caesar did not take the initiative to show his teeth to Alexander this time, sooner or later they would become enemies between them.

It's just that Alexander didn't expect this conflict to come so quickly and so suddenly.

As for Lucrezia and Estelles, Alexander was less worried, believing that the father and son would not hurt their mother and daughter, just as they had not harmed the illegitimate son of Lucrezia and Pedro Caderon in history.

It's just that it's a bit unlucky to think so, after all, Pedro Cadero was killed by that father and son.

Now that I think about it, pitting sons-in-law is really a tradition of this family.

What worried Alexander was the Ofrei.

Caesar must have brought back to Rome a small retinue, otherwise it would be difficult for him to avoid the eyes and ears of others, and Alexander brought into Rome a 200-strong guard, and these soldiers were not only well-equipped, but also elite with long experience in battle.

What's more, it was Ofrei who led them.

Ofleiil actually didn't have much characteristics compared to the other officers under Alexander, and the key to his ability to become the marching captain of the Montina army, and even gradually becoming Alexander's temporary agent in the Montina army, was his carefulness and prudence.

The trip to Rome, though seemingly hasty, was in fact well prepared, and Ofleiil was in command of it, but he didn't know where he was going.

But because of this, for the sake of safety, Oflaiyi has made a rigorous plan as much as possible, which includes various ideas for how to deal with accidents in the event of an accident.

Would Alexander VI openly send men to attack Ofleiyi and them? Alexander doubted this.

For the Borgias, who prefer to get the most out of Cantarella, the problems that can be solved by intrigue are often not too direct or drastic.

In fact, when the name of the Duke of Poison gradually became known, the strength of Caesar's army did not change on a large scale, and it can be seen that although the Borgia family also tried their best to fish in troubled waters in the subsequent war, they obviously did not pin all their hopes on the battlefield.

For the Borgias, Alexander VI's diplomacy often played a more important role.

So Ofreil is not without a chance to escape from a possible trap.

Alexander pondered what might happen, and he knew that whether he would survive the difficult situation in front of him had a lot to do with whether or not Ofleiyi could smell the danger and escape in the future.

Can I put my hope in you, Oflair?

Alexander asked in his heart.

Oflair was a little overwhelmed.

The Count's orders, which had always been carried out to the end, were carried out very strictly, and he kept an eye on those soldiers who, in his opinion, might be troubled at any time by male instinct.

Especially the Balkans, who seemed to him to be no better than riffraff, and Ofreil was somewhat suspicious that the Count had brought those fellows to Rome with little good intentions, and was simply prepared to make trouble.

Alexander did not take Ofleiil with him to the Palazzo Potico, and the Montina Guard was placed on a hillside far from the palace and the Vatican's Grand Forum.

According to Alexander's plan, his stay in Rome would naturally be in Marino Palace, so Ofleiyi first sent people to Marino Palace in advance to prepare, and then because he was not at ease, he simply brought two people to rush over in person, and he planned to make all arrangements before Alexander's arrival.

Queen Joanna of Naples had moved out of the Marino Palace, and her cousin, niece and sister-in-law, Jeffrey's wife of the royal bear child, Sanxia, had found her a nice place to stay in Rome.

The point is that the queen is now talking about marriage with the Duke of Limonch of England, and it is obvious that there is a reason why Xia Sang suddenly cares about her.

The Marino Palace has changed slightly from before, and the north and south wings of the palace are being built at the same time with two prismatic auxiliary buildings connected to the main building, the auxiliary building is very large, and because it is prismatic, there are two sides that are inclined from both ends to the direction of the main building, and it looks like two wings spreading back and forth to protect the Marino Palace.

These were built at the expense of Zessa in Alexander's absence, and all of them were presided over by the master Bramont, whom he greatly admired.

Yes, the same architect who had almost beaten him up when Alexander first met him at Marino Palace.

But the real reason for Alexander's endurance was the master's extraordinary skill in building military fortifications.

But now he is putting this specialty on display in the expansion of the Marino Palace, and it is at this time that Ofleil came to the Marino Palace.

Ofreil personally inspected the palace, and after making some more arrangements, he prepared to return to the Vatican's temporary camp, and then to arrange for the Montina guard to be stationed in the palace.

Everything seemed uneventful, until a messenger was ordered to see Oflei.

"I'll give you the Count's orders," a squire in long black leggings handed Ofleiil a letter with Alexander's triangular coat of arms to Ofleiuil, "and the Montina soldiers told me that I needed to look for you, and the Count ordered all his officers to go to the Potico Palace to be on order. ”

Looking carefully at the order in his hand, after confirming it, Oflaiyi only groaned a little before giving the order:

"Tie him up."