Constantine sat nervously in a chair by one of the doors of the Montina church, clenching his sword every time there was a sound outside the door, until the footsteps were far away.

Constantine did not expect that Montina would be involved in some kind of conspiracy this time, which was somewhat contrary to the chivalry he had admired in the past, but Toni della Rovelle seemed to seize on his weakness and lead him step by step into this trouble, from which there was no way out.

Engaging in intrigue against his sister made Constantine a little ashamed, but the desire to become the Duke of Ferrara made him involuntarily follow Bishop Tony's arrangement and gradually walked in a direction that was no longer under his control.

Toni de la Rovere obviously didn't do nothing when he was bishop of Montina, he used his high position to recruit a lot of people, from the military to the people, although these people may not do as much as he hoped, but Tony believes that if used properly, these people can still make a difference at a critical time.

There was another movement outside the door, and Konstantin had just listened carefully when he heard footsteps that had stopped outside the door, and he immediately stood up and stared at the door with his sword on the hilt of his sword, until he heard the voice of Bishop Tony outside the door: "Open the door, it's me." ”

Konstantin immediately hurriedly opened the door, and when he saw the bishop who walked in and several civilians dressed as people behind him, Konstantin looked at his cousin with some confusion.

"Don't worry, these people are reliable," Bishop Tony explained, seeing his nephew's displeasure, "Your father may think that I was a failure in Montina, because I didn't do anything when your sister kicked me out of here without shame, but I did something anyway. ”

Saying that, Bishop Tony waved his hand to those people, and watching these strangers in different clothes salute him, Konstantin looked at his uncle suspiciously: "So what did you bring them in?" ”

"Of course it's to find a way to deal with your sister and make her pay for what she did to me before." Bishop Tony did not hide the hatred in his tone this time, and it was clear that the humiliation that Barondi had left with him by driving him away from Montina was not as indifferent as he himself said, as could be felt in the anger and gnashing of his teeth when he heard Barondi.

"Uncle, you promised me that I wouldn't hurt Barenti in this matter," Konstantin became a little nervous, although he was also a little dissatisfied with Barendi, but he didn't think about hurting her, now looking at his cousin's appearance, Konstantin couldn't help but regret it a little, "You just need to help me find a way to get Barenti to recognize my power over Ferrara, and then let her obediently withdraw the army from Bologna, isn't it?" ”

Bishop Tony looked at Konstantin silently, and after a while he suddenly smiled and nodded: "Of course, my dear nephew, you are absolutely right, we just need to let your sister accept our request, as for the rest, I think you promise that I will not hurt her." ”

Konstantin still seemed a little uneasy, and he watched Bishop Tony make a gesture to remind him, and he received a smile from the bishop in response.

"But we must also hope that your sister will cooperate with us," said the bishop, "you know, once your father hears the conditions to the Pope, and Montina cannot withdraw his troops as soon as possible, it will be a bit of a problem, so I will use some means for your sake, right?" ”

Listening to the bishop's words, Konstantin looked at the men, and after a few moments of silence, he finally nodded silently.

Barenti looked at the secret letter from Pisa, which Ulliud had sent before leaving Pisa, in which the Moors reported to her the results of his mission in as subtle a way as possible, and seeing that Ulliu had said that Lucrezia had almost immediately agreed to her suggestion, Barentia let out a slightly meaningful but somewhat resentful "snort" from her nose.

Obviously, Lucrezia is a little girl who is carried away by love, and Barentia has never regarded the spoiled Roman princess as a rival, even though her daughter is now the Duke of Pisa and the co-lord of Florence, but Barentia still does not take her to heart.

A little woman who will do nothing but seduce men, Barendi does not think that Lucrezia will be a threat to her in the future, maybe Alexander will be infatuated with her beauty and even show some partiality, but Barendi is confident that she is the one who can work miracles with Alexander.

As for Sophia, Barendi thought it wise for Alexander to leave her in Wallachia, and let her have children and rule the poor and remote principalities in the distant Balkans, as long as she did not come to Rome to cause trouble, Barendi did not care very much.

Barondi was in a good mood, but when she saw the second half of the letter, her lead-gray eyebrows furrowed, and she crumpled the letter with some anger, and then simply lit it on the candle and burned it.

Barendi was very dissatisfied with the so-called warning given by Ulliu, and at the same time she wondered if it was time to warn the Moors in turn, which seemed to be too lenient.

Ulliu did not know the fate of his letter, and the Moorish sail from the port of Pisa, who had only rested for a few hours before boarding from the port of Pisa, sailed south along the coastline, and at the port of Pisa he found a large number of ships under the French flag coming in and out, which made him even more sure that the Count's decision to send him to quietly leak the news to Charlaon must have played a role, and it was evident that the French did not seem to be too greedy in their attitude towards Pisa for the time being.

Ullius thought that Louis XII's attitude towards the Counts could be attracted, at least by the fact that the French chose to let them transport the army fleet land in Livorno instead of Pisa, although he certainly did not know what really made Louis change his mind. But it wasn't just a little thing about him secretly tipping off the French.

In any case, the French fleet to the south looked much more aggressive along the way, and seemed to be much more than Uliu had previously suspected, which made Ulius a little skeptical that the French would not affect their military operations in Lombardy.

If there is one of the Montinas who is most familiar with the strength of the French in Italy today, it is Ulliu, apart from Alexander.

Therefore, the Moors would immediately think of the situation of the French in the north when they saw the troop transports heading south, and in this way, Uliu had a more comprehensive view than Gompati or Oflai.

The boat ride from Pisa to Rome was obviously much quicker than by land, and Ulliu even took the time to rest on the ship, knowing that he had to recuperate, because he would probably be busy for a long time.

Needless to say, Massimo has now had a place in Rome after stepping down from the Abbey of St. Mark's in Florence, because his status as a metropolitan was recommended by the Pope and the old Rovere at the same time, so all the appointment process was completely unsuspenseful, and to the envy of the Romans, it is said that the metropolitan has not had time to find his chair, and there are already rumors that he may be recommended as a cardinal at the next cardinal council.

Although the cardinal is no longer as powerful as it used to be, and sometimes it is more of an honor, such as Caesar, who was appointed cardinal before he was 12 years old, and who had not resigned from the priesthood, perhaps even earlier, it is known that with the status of Metropolitan of Romagna and Tuscany, Massimo became a cardinal, it was not just a false office.

When he moved into a large house not far from the Marino Palace, he thanked God for his grace and raised his glass to the shadow of the Marino Palace, which was under construction.

Massimo didn't really believe in miracles, but he couldn't help but admit that the young man he met outside Naples was a miracle, or that he had brought miracles.

Who would have thought that a crook who had been eating and drinking everywhere a few years ago would become a prominent figure in the city of Rome, Massimo remembered that when Alexander VI put the crown of a metropolis on him, the envious and jealous eyes of the nobles and bishops who had been regarded by him as unattainable in the past, for this Massimo even jumped into a whole barrel of wine that night in excitement and let himself have a good time.

However, the only thing that is a little embarrassing is that although the position of Metropolitan of Romagna and Tuscany is prominent, Alexander did not indicate where his Metropolitan Church should be located after proposing it, and neither the Pope nor the old Rovere seem to show any great concern for this, so Mashimo had to stay in Rome temporarily, and his beautiful house was bought for him at Alexandri's expense, and the former owner of the house is said to be Ludvico Sforza, Duke of Milan.

Assemo lived the extravagant life he had always longed for, and although he sometimes couldn't help but think of the humble cottage in St. Mark's Abbey and the manuscripts left behind by Savonarola, he was still immersed in this intoxicating life.

It's just that Massimo has always been very concerned about what kind of arrangements Alexander will make for him next, and Massimo knows very well that Alexander's recommendation to become this metropolitan is not just to let him enjoy the extravagance in front of him, but Alexander suddenly went to Naples, which made him a little overwhelmed to stay in Rome alone.

And the words that Alexander sent to him before leaving were also the reason why Mashimo could only indulge in extravagance during this time: "You don't do anything next, just wait." ”

Massimo knew that Alexander did seem to be too dazzling in Rome and elsewhere, especially since the war with the Ottomans in the Balkans had suddenly made him a figure of interest throughout Europe, or that he wanted to immerse himself for a while, and among those who were related to him, Mashimo was obviously in the spotlight now, so Alexander reminded him not to do anything too noticeable.

Mashimo didn't care too much about messing around like this, at least he liked the way he looked like he had nothing to do all day.

But the sudden arrival of the Moors shattered Mashimo's dreams, and when he saw Ulliu, who was covered in dust and tired, Massimo knew that trouble was coming.

Massimo never thought Uliu's presence to be a good sign, and in fact every time the Moors came to his door, it was not a good thing.

This time was no exception, Barenti's secret letter Massimo was only seen while reading it, and when he read the entire secret letter carefully, Massimo looked at Ulliu with disbelief and asked: "Are you sure that this is given to you by the countess, not by someone else, or by some disguised maid who dresses up as a countess......

Speaking of which, looking at the Moors who were staring at him like fools, Massimo also felt a little overwhelmed.

"Well, even if the countess meant, but does the count know about this, you must know that the order the count gave me is to honestly do nothing in Rome during this time, you must know that I have not even made love with those beautiful women outside for a week, but now you suddenly ask me to do such a thing, you must know that this is completely beyond my ability."

"But isn't it your business, I remember you are," said Ulliu, glancing at the string of Latin on the ribbon hanging from the room, "the Metropolitan of Romagna and Tuscany." ”

"I'm a metropolis, but I don't even have an auxiliary bishop yet, and it's whimsical that you want me to do such a thing."

"No, it's the Countess's whim," said Ulliu, who corrected slightly, "Miss Barendi, not a formal countess to be exact, but as far as I know, the Lord is ready to make a formal marriage ceremony with her." ”

Mahimo, who had been excited to hear the news, immediately remembered the problem brought by Uliu, and he opened the letter again and looked at it, looking at the unusually clear handwriting on it, and some special codes in the letter that only they knew, he knew that this should indeed be what Barondi meant.

It's just that Barondi's request made him feel a little unbelievable.

"Dear Bishop, the only thing I can ask for in this predicament is your help, in order to prevent Ferrara from falling into the hands of Caesar Borgia, which you know will inevitably affect or even undermine Alexander's rule over Romagna, and we all know that it is in the vital interest of each of us whether or not the House of Gombray can effectively rule Romagna, so in this case I ask you to propose to the Pope that you personally oversee Ferrara in the name of the Metropolitan of Romagna and Tuscany."

Looking at the content that was deliberately scratched by Barenti with a special dark red ink, Massimo reached out and groped to the side with a little dry mouth.

The empathetic Moor immediately handed over the glass full of wine, and looked at Assemo, who was staring at the letter and drinking the wine in one gulp, and Ulliu couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

"You can't do it, Massimo, it seems that you are really old, have you forgotten what we did in Naples, what are you doing now besides drinking?"

"Don't talk to me like that," Massimo yelled in annoyance, "look at yourself, Grand Master of Montina, Imperial Governor of Pisa, you really think that you are still the Moors who used to wander around like rats, and we are all different from before!" ”

"So you're scared, want to live a comfortable life now, and don't want to take any more risks? You must know that if you succeed this time, not only will you be able to solve Montina's troubles, but the lord may take advantage of the situation to rule Romagna and Tuscany, and you, will you really be satisfied just by becoming a metropolis," Ulliu pouted, "You must know that if I had a son like you, I would definitely give him more ......"

"Wait, what do you say? Who has a son? Massimo interrupted Uliu.

"Don't you know, the sister of the innkeeper in Naples, Barr, has given birth to a big fat boy, and is almost four years old now," Ulliu said, winking at Massimo with his right eye, "The boy looks like you." ”

Massimo looked at Uliu with a blank expression, looking at the look on his swarthy and shiny face that seemed to be smiling but not smiling, and it took a while for Massimo to burst out of his mouth a muttered full of annoyance: "Tell me, what do you want me to do?" ”

When the sudden request for an audience by the Metropolitan of Romagna and Tuscany reached the Pope, Alexander VI was having dinner with his private secretary.

Hearing Massimo's request, the Pope did not immediately reply, but asked Nomelo, who was sitting on the side: "The timing of this metropolis's arrival is a little coincidental, why do you think he came?" ”

"Ferrara," Nomelo said succinctly, "it is clear that the Countess of Montina has asked the Metropolitan to intercede. ”

"Hmph," Alexander VI rebuked in a slightly irritated voice, for purely personal reasons, and he was furious at the title of Countess de Montina, and when he thought that his daughter had left that daughter to that Cambrai as mistress, the Pope had the urge to pour a bottle of Canterella into that bastard, "then I have nothing to say to him." ”

"Your Majesty, the Metropolitan says he brought news of Pisa." The retinue, who was waiting for the return, was careful to say that if it were not for the fact that the metropolitan had repeatedly asked for a heavy money bag, the retinue would not have dared to tell the news about Pisa easily, because that would often cause the pope to be unhappy.

"News from Pisa, it seems that the Metropolitan does not know what he is doing," Alexander VI's expression became gloomy, he did care about Lucrezia, but this did not mean that he allowed anyone to take advantage of his daughter, not even Alexander, which made the Pope secretly annoyed, he looked at his entourage gloomily and said slowly, "Please come in, Metropolitan come in, don't go to the audience room, come here." ”

As he spoke, Alexander VI slowly poured a glass full of red wine from the crystal flask on the table.

A few well-dressed villagers stood in front of Barundi with some restraint, and they quietly exchanged glances to others from time to time to ask others to speak, and when Barundi's eyes fell on them, they immediately bowed cautiously.

"You want me to celebrate a small Mass?" Barendi looked at the men.

"Yes, ma'am, you know that the Bishop has been absent before, and although there is an auxiliary bishop to preside over the ceremony, this is not in accordance with the rules, ma'am," said a village chief, "We are going to hold a mass while the Bishop is back, and you will take us to pray, after all, there is a war now, and this is also to pray for the blessing of our army." ”

The villager's last words seemed to move Barondi, and she could feel the impact of Alexander's absence on the Montina people.

The army, in particular, was still able to maintain strict discipline, but Barendi could sense their suspicions about her, the countess.

A Mass does seem to have some effect.

Barendi nodded softly as she was so elusive.

"You promised Madame, it's great, we'll go and report to the Bishop."

The peasants looked excited.