Alexander VI has been hesitant for a long time.

There was an empty piece of paper on the table in front of him, and several crumpled balls of paper were thrown on the ground.

The Pope was in a mixed mood at this time.

As Alexander VI, he should have written this letter, but as Rodrigo Borgia, it was difficult for him to bow his head to a woman who had killed his son.

A soft knock came at the door, and Alexander VI quickly rubbed his face, and then said in a dignified tone: "Come in." ”

The door opened, and Ulliu appeared in the doorway, followed carefully behind him by two servants carrying a tight wooden box.

The Moorish man wisely did not look at the paper balls on the ground, but walked to the table and stood down not far from it, and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the men from Valaried Doud have brought the portraits of the Duchess and Miss Estelles and the young master Giovanni. ”

The Moorish words made Alexander VI, who was still serious, immediately show a trace of anticipation on his face.

The servants quickly opened the box, and a huge portrait appeared before the Pope.

In the portrait, Lucrezia, sitting in a chair, holds her son in her arms and stares ahead, and behind her, two angelic hands hang in the air with a halo hanging over her head.

On the side, Estles looked up at her mother with longing eyes, and two little angels were closely cared for by her side.

And the most striking is little Giovanni in Lucrezia's arms.

The child, with brown hair and black eyes that was distinctly characteristic of the Borgia family, was holding out a chubby little hand that seemed to touch something invisible in the air.

Opposite him, an angel descended and gave a crown to his hand.

Looking at the painting, Alexander VI was silent for a long time.

Finally, after a long time, the Pope slowly looked back at Uriou.

"Tell me, what are the conditions of the Queen of Sicily?"

Uliuu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Before coming to Madrid, Jossa had told him that whether or not he could convince Alexander VI was the key to everything.

Now it seems that things should be going well.

"Your Majesty, Lord and Her Majesty the Queen both think it is important to ensure that there is a pope in the Vatican who supports us at this time."

"This person is Giuliano della Rovere?"

Alexander VI asked with a gloomy face.

"Your Majesty, as you know, the prestige of the Cardinal is very high, and many people think that if they vote, the Cardinal can win by a landslide."

"Unless I'm dead and can't see his farce," Alexander VI said fiercely, but then waved his hand helplessly, "Say something useful, tell me how you are going to place me, whether you are going to put me under house arrest or just give me a glass of poisoned wine?" ”

Ulius stood there respectfully, listening to the Pope's complaints with his brows bowed.

Although he knew that Alexander VI was bluffing, he only remembered that Lucrezia might cry to the old man because his father had been wronged. And the old man obviously ate this set, and the Moors reminded themselves that they must serve the old pope comfortably, otherwise they will not have a good life for themselves in the future.

"There is a solution to this problem," replied Ulliu, cautiously, "that the Lord has proposed to the Cardinal that you will retain your papal title and that Valencia be your refuge." ”

Despite his preparations, Alexander VI's cheeks trembled when he heard this.

His eyes were fixed on Uliu, and after a moment he asked softly, "Tell me, do you think Giuliano della Roverre will agree to this proposal?" ”

Ulliu thought about it carefully, and then replied carefully: "Your Majesty, the cardinal has always wanted his son to become the Duke of Milan, and the Duchess is about to become the queen," Speaking of this, Ulliu shrugged, "And the Cardinal himself can become the Pope, which is a good deal." ”

Alexander VI stared at Ulliu's face for a moment, then slowly leaned back in his chair.

"That sounds good, but is there anything else?"

The Pope looked at the Moors with a suspicious expression, he always felt that old Rovere would agree to such a condition was really a little unbelievable, although he himself thought that this was the only way, and even hesitated to ask the Queen of Sicily for help, but when he heard that old Rovere really agreed, he felt really incredible.

"Yes, Your Majesty, but Her Majesty thinks that because of the importance of the matter, it is inconvenient to cover it in the correspondence, so it should be explained to you by the lord himself."

"Let your master remember his promise, Pisa, Florence, Bologna and even Rome, which he promised to the Borgia family, which I paid for giving up my revenge for Caesar," said the Pope slowly, and then his gaze turned back to the portrait, "so even for this, I pray for his peace and victory." ”

…………………………………………………

The wind blew from the river, whipping up a cloud of fallen leaves and smoke.

Musketeer Uomoto rubbed his eyes, opened his mouth and moved his jaw again.

As a veteran of the Model Army, this was the first time he had been on the battlefield, and Uomoto couldn't remember, but he knew he would soon have enough years to serve.

Uomoto had already planned that he would go to the Sicilian army as soon as the service period was up, because the Sicilian mercenaries had a high remuneration, and if they were willing to become official so-called volunteers, they would not only have money to pay, but also wear the Sicilian military uniform, which looked beautiful.

The Sicilian army was unlike any army Ouormoto had ever seen, at least they had more firearms than any army he knew, and only Lord Gonzalo's elite model musket corps could match them.

However, that army was the most powerful in the hands of Lord Gonzalo, and in Italy he had defeated a fierce attack by the French cavalry, only to learn later that the Frenchmen who rushed in front were almost all noble knights.

That's why Lord Gonzalo treasures that force and always uses it when it matters most.

But the Sicilians were different, and even the cuirassiers, who seemed to be the most elite, had surprisingly heavy firepower, as can be seen from the large and small supply carts that the Sicilians carried.

Uomoto had gone to see the supply team, and despite the Sicilian's strict scrutiny, he had seen a lot of good things.

Among them, the Sicilians used to transport gunpowder for the musketeers, which made him envious.

Uomoto always collected as much gunpowder as he could, and although it was dangerous, Uomoto was always very careful, and he was clever enough to wrap the gunpowder in various quantities in advance, and then glue it firmly with soaked breadcrumbs, so that every time he quickly tore open the wrapper, he could immediately pour the gunpowder into the pit by quickly tearing open the wrapper.

Uomoto had told a few of his good friends, but none of them seemed to be enthusiastic and didn't understand why they were bothering about it.

As long as we do what the officer tells us, we can't be soldiers forever, so we always think that it is better to collect more loot, so that we will not go home empty-handed in the future.

Friends always told him this, but he thought that as soon as the service period was up, he would go to the Sicilians, who he had long envied for the muskets used by the Sicilians with a fast rate of fire, long distance, and no small power.

And, of course, their beautiful military uniforms.

A sharp whistle came from the left side of the line, and Uomoto stepped forward and stepped out of the line, then raised the musket holding the triangular flag above his head so that his small team could see it.

After returning from Madrid, he became a squad officer, presumably in reward for his work in finding Juana and his wife.

It was also on that occasion that he met the regent.

The wind was a little fierce and swaying, and Uomoto squinted his eyes and walked in front of the squad, and he heard the constant whistle on the left side of the line, which made him realize that according to the traditional habit of where the commander is, the main force is often there, and the center of gravity of the entire front is about to his left, that is, the whole front is near the center.

Uomoto narrowed his eyes and looked across the side, seeing a blur of shadows.

It was the Aragonese army.

When Alexander came out of his tent, he saw Gonzalo standing not far from the tent and walked towards him.

Gonzalo bent slightly, and for a moment he was in a slight trance, as if he had returned to the scene when he first met Isabella many years ago.

At that time, Gonzalo was young and frivolous, and in addition to messing around with a group of fox friends and dogs all day long, he was dressed like a male peacock in heat, and flirted in front of beautiful ladies and ladies, hoping to attract their attention.

His father was worried about him for this, and now that he thinks about it, his father did not deprive him of his inheritance, which has to do with the appreciation and love of his cousin, Count Raúl de Padica, who shined in the Reconquista.

The Earl is a close vassal of the Queen, with a prominent status and power

At the same time, it was Count de Paddica who introduced Gonzalo, who had nothing to do all day at the time, to Isabella, and the Count's purpose was just to help his cousin have a good future in the queen's court.

At that time, even the Count de Pardica would not have imagined that Isabella saw in this playboy a characteristic that no one else had, and that under his uninhibited and restless appearance, he actually had an ambition to pursue honor.

Isabella found and trusted the young man, and Gonzalo didn't disappoint her either.

The current Alexander is very similar to the original Isabella.

Gonzalo suddenly had a strange thought in his heart.

"It's not a good day," Alexander looked up at the dark sky, then smiled at Gonzalo, "but who cares, a brutal battle will break out here soon." ”

Gonzalo nodded, and walked forward with Alexander.

The neighing of the horses mingled with the "puff" of their boots on the clammy ground.

Except for the occasional voice in the ranks that conveyed orders, no one spoke, even the veterans looked solemn.

Everyone knew that what was about to start was going to be a terrible battle, especially when it became known that King Ferdinand of Aragon had also arrived at the front, and the coalition soldiers could not help but become even more nervous.

"It's a very important battle for all of us," Alexander said to Gonzalo beside him, as he rode his horse slowly, "and the Castilian need to establish trust in me, and Ferdinand needs to regain the trust he has lost." ”

Gonzalo glanced at Alexander, and although he didn't say anything, he agreed with him very much.

The Castilian people had mixed feelings about the new monarch who was a foreigner, despite his Astalamara blood.

On the one hand, he was relieved that the throne had finally not fallen into the hands of the Aragonese and had been inherited by the Castilian royal family, but on the other hand, he was worried that the new king was doubtful that he could become a qualified monarch because of his foreign origin.

The army of Castile, in particular, trusted even more than the Queen of Sicily for his performance on the battlefield.

"So I give you the army, General," Alexander squeezed his horse's belly slightly, and let his mount leap to the top of a raised slope.

An even stronger wind blew, lifting the hood of Alexander's head backwards and shaking violently behind his back.

Alexander held his breath for a moment, then opened his mouth and inhaled hard.

Below the slope is a wide plain that stretches from the foot of Alexandria to the banks of the Ebro River.

Along the curved banks of the Ebro, the plain stretches eastward, and although there are one or two gentle slopes that rise slightly in the distance, the plain remains gentle and does not appear to be undulating.

The land here looks black and oily, and in the early years, the Ebro River, which had a huge drop in the upper reaches of the river, suddenly formed several large roundabouts, and the continuous impact here finally formed this small but very fertile plain.

The army below the slope was slowly advancing towards the riverbank, and the front line had turned and formed a formation not far from the riverbank.

On the other side of the plain, the Aragonese were also slowly marching in formation.

Although they were far away, they could still hear the sound of war drums, which were sometimes fast and sometimes slow.

"Ten thousand thousand," Gonzalo whispered to himself, gently stroking his thick horsehair, looking at the Aragonese army in the distance, and then he looked at Alexander, "Your Highness, I am very familiar with the Aragonese army, and believe me, they are definitely not to be underestimated." ”

Alexander nodded, knowing that Gonzalo was not exaggerating.

For more than a century, the Spanish army swept across Europe and dominated the continent, and it was only because of Spain's greater achievements at sea that it was easy to overlook their land achievements.

Aragon was one of the cradles of the Spanish army.

"So I hand over my army to the generals, and I am sure you will not let me down." Alexander said with a smile.

Although he had long since passed the age of being easily moved, Gonzalo's calm heart was slightly turbulent because of Alexander's conversation.

He knew that Alexander had chosen him as the commander of the coalition forces, naturally because of the Castilian doubts about his command ability, and Gonzalo, as a battle-hardened general, would naturally be respected by the army.

At the same time, in order to prevent the Sicilian army from possibly resisting Gonzalo, Alexander hurried from Barrialidotus.

Still, Gonzalo was moved in his heart.

Unlike the others, he was well aware of Alexander's commanding talents, and even from the command of Josha, he saw more of Alexander's shadow.

"Your Highness, if this war is won, this honor should be given to you." Gonzalo put his hand on his chest and made a rather Moorish salute.

"I have enough honor," Alexander smiled, turning his head to look at the Aragonese army across the plain, "General, believe me, defeating and killing the Aragonese may be a glorious victory for you, but it is not appropriate for me." ”

Gonzalo was stunned for a moment, then looked at Alexander with understanding.

It was clear that the young monarch shared Isabella's ambition to unite the two kingdoms.

It's just that Isabella can fulfill this long-cherished wish by marrying Aragon, what should the person in front of him do to realize this ambition?

After all, there are all indications that the Queen of Sicily is just as ambitious about Aragon.

Or is he pinning his hopes on the marriage of the next generation?

Thinking of the sudden pregnancy of the Queen of Sicily, Gonzalo felt that only this explanation made sense.

However, these are all things for the future, and perhaps Alexander, as the monarch, needs to consider the future relationship with Aragon at this time, but for Gonzalo, the current war is the most important thing.

One by one, the heralds galloped back and forth between the formations, and in the faint shadows, the formation that gradually opened up slowly advanced forward.

Schell rode quickly, pulling the reins hard not far away, and then looked back at the formation ahead.

"My lord, according to your order, Her Majesty's decree has been conveyed to the Sicilian army." Schell reported.

Alexander nodded silently, he knew that the Sicilian people had mixed feelings for him, which had to do with his delicate relationship with Josha, and more or less with his own past experiences.

At least nominally, he still has the title of Lighthouse Keeper, which makes him King of Castile and also a Sicilian courtier.

And this reminds many of the intricate relationship between Britain and France.

Perhaps, in the eyes of some, this is the hidden danger that could lead to a dispute over the Sicilian throne in the future, unless there is an outcome that is acceptable to all.

The war is short-lived, and everything is only the beginning.

Alexander sighed in his heart.

Suddenly the sound of fierce war drums faintly sounded, and Alexander looked into the distance, and as he slowly approached, the Aragonese army attacked first.

From Gonzalo's commanding position, the sound of horses' hooves was heard, and the trumpeters, who had received the order, began to blow their horns while urging their horses to run.

The battle is on!