When Lucrezia said "he's my fiancé", everyone nearby could only be described as excited, except for Alexander himself.

While many people wonder why the Pope would send his favorite daughter and her fiancé to Pisa at such a great risk, this is clearly not a good time to care about such 'little things'.

Whether they really believe it, or even those who have all kinds of suspicions in their hearts, they will not be stupid to openly question the identity of the two people in front of them at this time, especially those who are obviously calmer and more thoughtful than the people around them, and even shouted and raised a banner of pizza in front of Alexander, hoping that he could personally lift it and guide them in the direction of progress.

The mercenary who was called 'Daddy' by Alain Gompati was obviously such a person, when he heard Lucrezia's identity, he obviously didn't believe it, and even showed a playful look, he looked back at the other mercenary leaders behind him, and in a few eye contacts, these wandering veteran ruffians who had been mixing between the battlefield and various city-states all year round understood each other's meaning.

"We are willing to obey your and your fiancé's orders, ma'am." Daddy turned back to Lucrezia on his horse and said, "But we hope that you will fulfill your promise as soon as you take the town hall, and you will make sure that you don't hurt the people in the town hall as much as possible." ”

Lucrezia didn't speak this time, but looked at Alexander, an expression that clearly told everyone that it was her 'fiancé' who was in charge.

Daddy's eyes fell on Alexander's face again, and he wondered what to do if the other party didn't agree to the conditions he proposed, after all, there should be a lot of valuable things in the town hall, and if Alexander agreed, it would mean that instead of paying them salaries, they would be allowed to rob openly and legally.

Without letting Daddy wait, Alexander had already spoken: "You can get what you deserve, but only here." ”

His eyes fell on the town hall, looking at the sturdy building, and Alexander smiled lightly.

"Okay!" The mercenaries let out a furious shout, their eyes flashed with undisguised greed and tyranny, and at this moment they were supposed to be the protectors of the city of Pisa, but in an instant they became even more fanatical saboteurs than the rioting populace, as can be seen from a cannon slowly rolled out behind them with a shout and a shaking of the ground.

It was a small cannon mounted on a wooden gun carriage, and although it didn't look heavy, when the muzzle of the black hole of the cannon slowly turned to the closed door of the town hall, there was a burst of panicked shouts from the town hall!

No one could be calm in front of the artillery, and looking at the muzzle of the gun aimed at the gate, the officials hiding in the town hall only maintained their dignity for a few minutes, and then chose to throw away decency without hesitation.

First, several muskets and spears were thrown out of the building's window, and then someone poked out of the window a black flag made of something that I don't know what it was made of and shook it vigorously.

The last resistance of the Republic of Pisa completely collapsed without firing a single shot.

Although there is a cathedral between the town hall of Pisa and the leaning tower, if you stand on the top of the leaning tower, you can clearly see what is happening in the town hall.

When the mercenaries appeared, the officials who were standing on the leaning tower immediately let out cheers, especially after some of the good-eyed people saw the cannon following behind, and the officials immediately let out a cheer of victory.

These people had already begun to pack up the messy clothes they had fled, ready to appear in front of the people again at any time, announcing to the people the good news that the riots had subsided and that Pisa was still the pizza of the Pisa, and that some of the tribunes had even begun to instruct their secretaries to prepare a wonderful speech for themselves.

But what happened next made these high-ranking Pisa officials stunned, there was no bloody clash between the mercenaries and the mob, but negotiations, which already made them a little uneasy, when they saw the mercenaries suddenly go crazy and shouted while surrounding the leading thug and aiming the cannon at the city hall, the officials on the leaning tower couldn't help but look at each other and were speechless.

Then the Pisa City Hall raised its flag and surrendered under the dull gaze of these people.

Machiavelli had been standing silently in front of one of the tower's windows watching what was happening.

When he saw the mercenaries negotiating with Alexander, he already had a vague feeling that something might be wrong, he didn't believe that Cambrai didn't think about how to deal with those mercenaries, and sure enough, it didn't take long for the mercenaries to turn against him, but it confirmed his suspicion that "there must be a big conspiracy here".

"This is a perfect plan," Machiavelli said, taking out a small leather notebook with him, and dipped his sharpened pen in the ink in his leather pocket, noting that "inciting the enemy to revolt among the people hostile to his government is undoubtedly one of the most economical and dangerous means, and today I have had the privilege of seeing with my own eyes an example of this conspiracy being interpreted almost perfectly, and although it may seem unacceptable to us in our understanding, we must also admit it, If you can use smart means properly, you often only need to pay a small price, and as long as you succeed, you can get huge rewards. ”

Machiavelli stopped at this point, first listening in the direction of the town hall, and then getting the answer in the angry expletives of the Pisa officials next to him.

The mercenaries who have stormed the town hall are ransacking the seat of government of the Republic of Pisa.

From the faint shouts and excitement, and the occasional cries of the officials, Machiavelli could not even guess with his own eyes what kind of barbaric sacking was being carried out at the town hall, and he couldn't help but write it down in his notebook: "Disloyal mercenaries have proved to be more dangerous than mobs, for these well-trained men, who have no sense of honor or loyalty, can cause even more terrible disasters when they become accomplices of the mob." It can be seen that a small country is more suitable to have an army composed of its own citizens, because the honor and sense of mission of their homeland can ensure that they have enough loyalty, and this loyalty is the key to ensuring a strong army. ”

Machiavelli wrote here to close the notebook, and unlike the other pisbians who were either dejected or indignant, he calmly packed up his clothes, and after dusting off a few mud stains on his clothes and re-tying up the lanyard of his cloak that had been torn off in his hurry, he found a clean stone, closed his eyes, and began to recuperate.

Machiavelli was not worried about his fate, first of all he was a Florentine, and the revolt had nothing to do with him, and secondly, Pisa was now facing a threat from the Venetians, and at such times the Pisa, or the Cambrai, could not have hurt him if he had not gone mad.

Although he knew he would be released soon, Machiavelli had no intention of leaving Pisa immediately.

He suddenly became very interested in the Cambrai, or the Pope Alexander VI behind him, and because of the bad relationship between Florence and the Vatican, Machiavelli also thought that this was a rare opportunity to observe the papal intrigues at close range, and he even hoped that he could carefully observe the Vatican's diplomatic strategy through careful observation of this meadow uprising, so as to provide some reliable reference for future Florentine leaders.

Machiavelli's guess was correct, and if pizza today is too bad to describe, it would be more appropriate to say that it is already as bad as a burnt piece of pizza.

When the door of the town hall slowly opened under the threat of artillery, the mercenaries rushed in desperately, shouting and roaring, their eyes bursting with unconcealed greed, and almost in an instant, their roars full of savage and madness resounded everywhere in the town hall.

Alain Gompati had rushed inside, but after hesitating for a moment, he returned to Alexander's side, and the new captain of the city defense seemed to have entered the role, and he kept shouting all kinds of orders to try to direct the rioters, regardless of whether others listened to him or not.

Alexander rode on his horse and did not move, he just quietly watched the people who came out and went in, although he saw many people walking out with a satisfied face in their hands, but he did not stop it, until he saw the old man walking out with a bottle of wine in his mouth, he slowly led the horse forward.

"Immediately declare that all robbery will cease from now on," Alexander commanded, "that the previous acts may be considered legal, and that from now on any robbery shall be punished with the most severe punishment." ”

"Oh, that's just the beginning," said Daddy, nonchalantly, "there are a lot of rich people in Pisa." ”

"Looting civilians is not allowed," Alexander looked at the old man with a blank face, "I allow you to take what belongs to you from the town hall, and now it's time for you to serve me." ”

"Sir, don't you think you should pay us more, after all, we helped you take the pizza, and you are now the master of the city, so you should give us more." Daddy said a compliment, but there was a hint of coldness in his eyes.

"I don't think you understand," said Alexander slowly, "what you have to do now is to do my bidding, for as far as I know, you have not only received what you owe, but you have to take more than you ought to have," he said, looking at the string of jewels peeking out of Daddy's pocket, "so now you owe me." ”

Alexander slowly dismounted from his horse as he spoke, and he walked up to his father, his eyes fixed on each other.

"Listen, I know you people, your greed is not satisfied, but I will not allow you to harm ordinary people. I can guess that someone behind you is facing me with a dick, but I warn you that standing before you is not an adventurer who intends to make a fortune by inciting a riot, but an emissary from the Holy See and a lord of Naples, and if your men dare to act rashly, I can assure you that unless you flee to the side of the Ottomans, you and all your companions will surely be punished with the most cruel punishment. ”

Daddy's face twitched, and as soon as Alexander's words fell, there was a loud noise around him, and a group of pizza people, led by Alain Gompati, had already aimed all kinds of weapons in their hands at him.

Daddy and the others looked at the pizza people in amazement, they saw hatred in the eyes of these people, and what made Daddy stunned was that the cannon that had been thrown aside for the sacking of the town hall was now being pointed at them.

"I can sign a new city defense agreement with you," Alexander continued, looking at his father's stunned appearance, "As long as you abide by the agreement, you will be paid 30% more than before, and once we help us keep Pisa, you can also get 3 cents of the future Pisa tax revenue." ”

"3 points? 3 cents of the whole pizza tax? Daddy's eyes lit up instantly, and his breathing became short.

It is the job of the mercenaries to get paid to do things, and even those mercenaries who can be hired regularly all year round have the opportunity to get a fixed tax income from a city-state, which is a miraculous opportunity for the mercenaries, but it suddenly appears in front of them, which makes even the old slippery father a little uncomfortable.

However, after years of experience and confusion, he feels that even if the opportunity is rare, if he works harder, he may be able to knock out more benefits.

"Our men are the bravest soldiers," Daddy looked back at his men, "and I just heard that it seems that the Venetians are coming, and you need us, so the price has to be said separately,"

As he spoke, he paused deliberately as if he was considering, then stared at Alexander's face and said, "I want 10% of the tax." ”

A murmur of emotions rang out from all around, with the pistons angry and the mercenaries red-faced with excitement.

"Three and a half minutes."

"Nine points."

"Four points."

"Eight and a half minutes can't be less. We're making hard-earned money. ”

"Four and a half minutes, otherwise I won't be able to explain to the people."

"7 points, if you can't talk about it, let's leave, you can deal with the Venetians yourself."

"Five points, that's my bottom line."

"Give me some face, brothers are watching, six and a half minutes we are your people."

"I don't want to waste any more time, 6 points are certain, I won't bid again. But I have one condition, you must obey the orders of the Pisa City Defense Committee. ”

"Okay, that's 6 points."

The old man stared at Alexander fiercely with a resentful gaze, and then muttered back to the mercenaries who had already stretched their necks and said, "Negotiate it, this nobleman is really difficult to deal with, 6 cents of taxes!" ”

"Oh!"

The mercenaries burst into cheers, screaming and banging each other on the chest, these were strong men from the north, and some simply turned their heads, and Alexander guessed that they might be some Rus.

"Your Excellency, you promised them taxes, taxes from Pisa?" The rioter, who looked like a scholar, came up and looked at Alexander in amazement, as if he didn't know what to say for a moment, "You know, we can pay them, but why give them the taxes directly, they are not Pisaans?" ”

"You can get these taxes as long as you're willing to be a soldier."

Alexander smiled at the man, looking at the man still looked puzzled and even a little annoyed, at this time Alexander missed his old friend Brother Massimo a little.

He believed that if Massimo was here, no matter how ridiculous his idea was, the legendary monk would be able to help him make up enough reasons, and most importantly, Brother Massimo was very worry-free, and he could certainly help him lie if he could think of an excuse, but he could still give him an excuse that he couldn't think of.

"Looks like Mahimo and Uliuu have to be brought in as soon as possible." Alexander secretly decided.

A warm body leaned over, and Alexander looked back at Lucrezia beside him.

"Did you know that the Sforza family started out as mercenaries and then became dukes of Milan?"

Lucrezia asked in a whisper, and when she saw Alexander nodding slightly, Lucrezia smiled at him.

"Tell me, then, do you want to be the Duke of Pisa?"

On April 19, 1497, 12 years earlier than Alexander remembered, the Second Republic of Pisa collapsed, less than four years after it had been founded.

And the man who destroyed the country was called Alexandre Giulian Gombray.