The news of the defeat of the French on the outskirts of Piedmont was not stopped by the bad weather, and within half a day of the letter that annoyed him from de Charlon, the whole of Rome knew about the crushing defeat of the French army.

Even without having to walk out into the streets, de Charlaon could perceive the change in the atmosphere around him, and he even felt that the usually cautious maids seemed to have their heads raised before him, and could no longer see the caution of the conquistador.

What made de Charlain feel worst was that the news apparently made the Romans, who had been watching the wind, aware of the extremely bad situation of the French, including a few merchants who were very important to him.

Caesar's condition was that the French were not allowed to collect grain in Rome, which made de Charlain pay attention to merchants who did not usually care much.

In Charlon's view, these merchants could not only serve as a conduit for his military rations, but more importantly, they might allow him to pay a portion of his arrears on credit, since he obviously didn't have that much money to support a few thousand people through the winter.

But now, with the news of the disastrous defeat of the main French forces in Lombardy, the merchants who could have helped him gradually changed their attitudes, and when he sent people to make tentative demands to them, the replies he received were all kinds of excuses, and some even vaguely showed that they did not want to have anything to do with the French.

De Charlaine realized that this was a dangerous sign.

Apparently, the Romans had become agitated by the crushing defeat of the French army, and perhaps some of the previously hidden enemies had begun to encourage the Romans in the city to oppose the French occupation.

Or even if things weren't bad enough to go, it would be bad for the French if the Romans refused to cooperate, the weather was getting colder and colder, and the city was facing its coldest winter ever.

De Charlaine felt that the only one he could count on so far was the Roveres.

As a wealthy family who once produced a pope and was himself the archbishop of Genoa, the influence of the Rovere family in Rome is undoubted, as can be seen from the fact that even Alexander VI did not dare to directly act against the people of the Rovere family who openly returned to Rome.

And there was another reason for de Charlain to have confidence in the family's support, and he was very good friends with Giuliano de la Rovere's son, Constantine.

While many times friendships don't really make a difference, they don't make things worse, and Charlon believes that if there was anyone in Rome who didn't want the French to suffer a crushing defeat in Italy, the Roveres would certainly be one of them.

Of course, de Charlain didn't know that he had missed a person in his guess.

When the news of the Lombard war came, the whole city of Rome was almost boiling, and many Romans were jubilant even in front of the French, especially the Neapolitans who were stationed in the Marino Palace.

Speaking of hatred for the French, the Neapolitans are even more serious than the French, so when they hear the news, the Neapolitans seem even more excited.

So among these excited and inexplicable people, Alexander's indifference is somewhat conspicuous.

It's just that no one thought that Alexander, who heard the news, not only did not feel the slightest joy, but was a little annoyed.

The defeat at Lombardy would undoubtedly have prompted the French occupying Rome to surrender more quickly out of desperation, and considering the situation facing the French and the increasingly cold weather, Alexander even doubted that the French would survive the winter.

Alexander did not want the premature defeat of the French, and not only because of the task given to him by Modillo, but from his own point of view, the premature defeat of the French was also not good for him.

But how can he help the French, Alexander felt that his head was a little big.

Although he did not know as much about the details of the defeat of the French at Lombardy as he did from the letters of Charlon, he vaguely remembered that the generals of the main French army had taken a few bad moves before they landed in that field.

Alexander doubted that even if he could find a way to get food from outside the city to the French, it was doubtful that they would be able to hold the city of Rome in this situation.

After all, once the main force of the French army is really wiped out, the only way to wait for the French in Rome is to surrender.

Is it necessary to send food to the French who are under siege in Lombardy?

While Alexander secretly cursed the incompetent waste of the French generals, he was also at a loss for a while.

It was then that he received an invitation from Konstantin.

Because Joanna stayed in the Potico Palace, she had already called several of her relatives to her, and in order not to make people wonder why the Queen of Naples had not shown up all this time, Alexander, who was stationed in Marino Palace, became the queen's diplomat in Rome.

After meeting Caesar, Cardinal Monteiro once sent someone to the Marino Palace, although it was clear that Joanna was actually secretly controlled by Caesar, but in order to show outsiders, Cardinal Monteiro still expressed his concern for the queen through Alexander, and conveyed the news of the Pope's decision to summon Joanna again.

During this time, Giovanni also sent someone to deliver news to Alexander, but the news was only that Giovanni wanted to meet Alexander, but the reason was not explained.

Alexander knew that Giovanni was actually hinting to him, and thinking about the grudges between the Borgia brothers, Alexander was a little suspicious that Giovanni's death soon after might have more to do with Caesar, than with the jealous Jeffrey who had an affair with Giovanni.

Konstantin's invitation came in time, in fact, this young and romantic knight has never given up the offensive against Joanna during this time, but the assassination of the Archbishop of Frankfurt made many people confused for a while.

The Rovere family was apparently in trouble for a while because of this incident, and the relationship between the Roveret family and the French made them destined to attract much attention in this matter, and there were even rumors that the Rovire family was involved in the assassination.

This made the Rovere family very embarrassed for a while, and even the big thing of recommending Giuliano della Rovere as a cardinal had to be forced to stop temporarily.

However, Constantine was obviously always thinking about Joanna, so when only a few days had passed, he finally couldn't resist sending someone to invite Alexander to his villa in the north of Rome.

Obviously, the knight who is in love is in a hurry to find out how Joanna is doing, and he doesn't care what others think of him.

Constantine's villa is located on the highest mound in the north of the city, and from here you can look down on almost half of the city.

The exterior walls of the villa are embellished with numerous irregular mica stone flakes, which look quite ingenious, and the main body of the villa is a typical building with an oriental Saracen style, which makes this house look very different.

Konstantin was obviously anxious to know about Joanna, so when Alexander and the others had just appeared, he had already heard the news from the servants, so he hurried out of the villa.

Konstantin is undoubtedly a cheerful-looking man, enthusiastic, unrestrained, and daring to pursue what he aspires to, which is exactly the typical romantic perfect knight, and even in Alexander's opinion, if he had not pursued Joanna, perhaps his love story might have become a classic written by a certain theater master in the future.

It's just that now it seems that it is somewhat unclear whether this drama ended in a comedy or a tragedy.

The two Borgia brothers are undoubtedly eyeing Joanna, and it is unclear whether they are going to fight in person or find their own stand-ins, but the strength of Konstantin in front of him is obviously still a little different from the strength of the two brothers, which can be seen from the fact that he can only inquire about some news from Alexander now.

"I can't bear it anymore, maybe I should rush into the Potico palace to get the poor queen out," Constantine said to Alexander in an angry voice, "I know that the Borgia family did not have any good intentions towards her, and even the so-called assassination of the misunderstanding may have been the Borgia family acting in a play, so that there would be an excuse to take advantage of the opportunity to put the queen under house arrest." ”

Alexander was noncommittal to Konstantin's words, and since he was the one who had witnessed the assassination, he knew very well that it was not an act, and whether it was a manslaughter or not, the assassin was undoubtedly the target of his killing.

As for storming the Potico Palace, Alexander doubted whether he was doing so to rescue Joanna or to meet Lucrezia Borgia.

However, he was invited to meet Konstantin this time, although it was indeed related to Joanna, but the bigger reason was related to the French.

It's just that for a while he couldn't figure out how to make Konstantin believe him, after all, at this time, the Rovere family was also in deep trouble, and it was obvious that they would become even more cautious.

"It must seem cold this winter, and I am a little worried about the Queen's health, after all, Rome is different from Naples," said Constantine in a slightly anxious tone, "I will send someone to send you some good furs, which I have bought from the north, and I hope you will pass them on to Her Majesty." ”

"Of course, it's my duty." Alexander nodded in agreement.

Then he heard Konstantin say seemingly unintentionally: "This kind of winter must be more uncomfortable in the north." ”

"Have you heard about the defeat of the French in Lombardy?" Alexander decided to give it a try.

Sure enough, when it came to the French, Konstantin became cautious, and although he did not show any defensiveness, his gaze became a little deeper when he looked at Alexander.

"Of course, I heard that this matter is indeed a disaster for the French," Constantine did not say anything about this as a perfunctory remark of great good news, for the whole of Rome and even Italy knew that the Rovelles were the largest leading party, and if they did, it would not only seem hypocritical, but would also be ridiculed as a spineless wallhead, "Their generals are so stupid, it seems that without Charles' command, the French army would have become a rabble." ”

Alexander nodded slightly, Constantine was right, although Charles was carried away by the initial victory, so that he did make a lot of mistakes in the later command, but he was indeed a rare military genius, even in the face of a coalition of many countries, but also fought well, even in the face of a powerful figure like Gonzalo, did not completely lose the initiative on the battlefield.

But he returned to France, and his generals obviously did not have the skills of a king, and after exhausting the benefits that Charles had done for them, they were left with defeat all the way.

So much so that at the critical moment, they lost the possibility of safely withdrawing from the encirclement of the coalition forces because of their foresight.

This probably gave the Luo Weilei family, who were pinning their hopes on them, a headache.

Thinking so in his heart, Alexander couldn't help but think about the purpose of Konstantin's invitation to come.

Is it really just for Joanna?

"Do you think the French will be a complete defeat?" Alexander continued to ask.

"If they don't get help, their defeat is almost inevitable, everyone can see it," Konstantin shook his head, and when he saw that Alexander seemed to be surprised, he smiled slightly, "You may wonder how I could be so dismissive of the French, after all, if they fail, it will not do my family any good." ”

Alexander did not deny it, it was normal for him to think so, and the relationship between the Roveret family and the French was well known.

"Archbishop," Constantine paused, seeing that Alexander nodded to understand who he was talking about, before continuing, "the archbishop does not think that the French can truly conquer all the city-states, not only because of the strength of these city-states themselves, but more importantly, the empire and the Aragonese will not want to see such a situation. ”

"So what does the archbishop think should be done to solve the immediate trouble?" Alexander felt as if he had found a way, and it was clear that Konstantin had not come to him entirely to show that he had fallen in love, and that the previous mention of winter in the north was not unintentional.

"Negotiate with the French to demand that Charles give up the crown that should not have belonged to him, and that he can get his army back."

Constantine was very happy to state his purpose, which made Alexander feel that the young man in front of him was similar to Caesar in some way.

Obviously, they are the kind of people who think that once they need to tell each other, they will immediately cut to the topic and not drag their feet, this kind of person is either really straightforward and cute, or they have a firm determination that others can't match, and once they make a decision, they are not easy to shake.

Obviously, both of them belong to the latter.

"It seems that the king of France will not agree to such a condition so easily, and now that the coalition forces have gained the upper hand, who do you think on both sides will agree to such a proposal." Alexander looked at Konstantin, he was not worried that such a direct question would be unpleasant to the other party, because he had already guessed that Konstantin could say these things to him, and there must be a purpose.

"Indeed, this suggestion does not seem to benefit either of them," Constantine did not bother with Alexander's questioning, "but if I become Joanna's husband, and as a member of the family of Archbishop Juliano de la Roverre, who also has the status of bishop of France, and can swear allegiance to the King of France, do you think Charlie will object to such a suggestion?" ”

Constantine's words made Alexander somewhat silent, and he could not help but admit that this proposal could indeed be described as ingenious.

If Constantine could become Joanna's husband and Frederick had no heirs, then in the future Constantine would be fully qualified to claim Naples for his wife.

And if he swore allegiance to the King of France again, then Charles had every reason to intervene in the future struggle for the throne of Naples.

As for whether Frederick had a son the age of Alfred, and whether he would really lose an heir, no one really cared about it.

It's just that Alexander is a little strange that he doesn't understand why Konstantin told him about this idea, although it's not a secret.

As if to see Alexander's doubts, Constantine took out an open letter from a drawer, and looking at the familiar badge on the wax seal, Alexander finally knew why he was doing it.

"I'm glad to get to know the nephew of Count Mordillo, and the two of us are still cousins." Konstantin said to Alexander with a smile.