Hidden under his robe, Massimo held the thick diary, the crusty side of which had dried out in some places, and his hands ached.

Savonarola was not locked up with his comrades, they were kept in the dungeons of the small castle not far from the docks, built on a huge reef that jutted out from the land directly into the sea, and the sturdy structure made it serve as both a lookout post and a dungeon.

Savonarola was kept in a separate house behind the town hall, built entirely of stone, with a wooden fence fixed to the windows except for a door, which was originally used to imprison prisoners who could not afford to be put into prison.

A dozen guards were stationed here, these were not mercenaries but those who were "enraged", and let these people, not mercenaries, guard them in order to prevent anyone from either bribing or fighting to the death in order to save Savonarola.

Everyone knows that whether it is money or knives, mercenaries are always unreliable.

Guided by an official, Mashimo walked into the house, where the light was a little dim, mainly because the curtains of all the windows were tightly drawn, and the sunlight from the outside could not shine in.

By this time the house had been lit up, and the dim light made the house look somewhat warm, but Massimo knew that it was all fake.

Just by the expressions on the faces of the "enraged ones" standing everywhere in those houses and the glittering weapons in their hands, it was clear that these people were ready to execute all the prisoners at any time.

At the time of Savonarola's capture, there was a call to execute him on the spot, not out of anger and hatred, but out of fear of the man.

Savonarola had an astonishing provocative power and a charismatic speech that resonated and responded to his sermons, and many people were drawn to follow in his footsteps, some of whom became staunch supporters of his faith.

The "enraged" also use incitement to coerce the population, but it is because of this that they are more aware of the terrible and enormous power of such incitement.

So many of them would prefer to put Savonarola to death immediately rather than give him a chance to turn back.

Mahimo stopped at the door of a room and watched as the official whispered a few words to the captain of the guard standing at the door, and then showed Sazi's warrant before opening the door with the key.

Massimo walked through the door.

The room was bright, with two large wax tables illuminating the table in the middle, and there was nothing but a few chairs and a table, at which Savonarola sits.

The short coat he wore backed up and down confirmed Massimo's earlier inference that when the rioters broke into the house, he was taken away without even having a chance to put on his clothes.

Savonarola was half-crouching at the table writing something, and when she heard the door knock, she looked up at the door.

Then Massimo saw a face with obvious scars from being beaten, but rather calm.

Savonarola's face was fully contoured, with high brow bones and a high bridge of the nose, which almost straight down from his forehead to the tip of his nose, made him look determined and unusually serious.

His lips were thick, and he was not one of those who could speak well, but anyone who knew him a little well would not forget his provocative ability for language, which gave him a great fame that no one else could have achieved before he became an archon.

Seeing Massimo, Savonarola looked at him with a hint of confusion, and after looking at it for a while, he put down the pen in his hand and said in a calm tone: "Forgive me for my stupidity, you are very familiar, but I can't remember where I have seen it." ”

"Lord Abbot, it seems that I am really an insignificant little person in your mind," Mahimo smiled self-deprecatingly, but he was not surprised, after all, he had always been a small person before he met Alexander, "Let me remind you that I spent a short time at St. Mark's Monastery a few years ago, and you took good care of me during that time. ”

At this point, Massimo had a strange smile on his face, and at the same time he reached out his left hand and gently stroked his right shoulder.

"I remember, Asseimo." Savonarola showed a hint of realization on her face, and then smiled as if she remembered something interesting, "Actually, I should have thought of you a long time ago, but you have changed a little bit, and I didn't expect to see you at this time, speaking of which, you left a deep impression on me." ”

"I was not as impressed as you," Massimo looked at Savonarlo, "especially every time you ordered someone to beat me with a whip." ”

Savonarola smiled, as if she was not in the slightest worried about the fact that the person in front of her was now apparently able to decide her life and death.

"I remember that you always broke the rules, drank alcohol, gambled for money, and fooled around with women," Savonarola leaned back in her chair and looked at Massimo seriously, "My monastery of St. Mark's is serious and pure, but during your time you destroyed this atmosphere, and some people could not resist the temptation to fall with you, and I must correct all this." ”

Massimo nodded silently, he would not deny these accusations, in fact, Savonarola said only a small part of it, although he was kicked out of the monastery of St. Mark after not long, but the reputation he left behind can definitely be called smelly.

"But have you thought about it, Lord Dean, I only stayed in Mak's life for a short time, but why are your monks, who have worked so hard to maintain their precepts for so long, fall so quickly because of me as a person, is my behavior more powerful than the Benedict you follow?"

"That's because your actions have always followed the desires of your heart," Savonarola leaned forward slightly, "Massimo I probably didn't tell you, you are one of the smartest people I have ever met, and I have been surprised by your ideas, your sophistry of the canons and even your doctrines, because you are always able to make excuses for yourself with all sorts of specious reasons, but because of this I think you are more dangerous. ”

"So you always give me a taste of whips," Massimo smiled, "and you want me to be exactly like everyone else, one of the ones you preach." ”

"I'm helping you on the right path," Savonarola interrupted Mashimo, then he looked Mashimo up and down, "I heard that the Vatican sent envoys, so you came with them?" ”

"It seems that even if you are locked up here, you are very well informed," Massimo looked back at the door, "let me think, some of those people outside have reported to you, right?" ”

"They just told me something insignificant," Savonarola said calmly, "you don't have to worry that they will secretly release me, they told me this just to ask them for mercy out of fear." ”

"Are you afraid, then?"

"Fear," Savonarola nodded without hesitation, "Although it is the wish of every devout person to ascend to heaven, the fear of death is always unavoidable. ”

"I may be able to save you from death," Massimo thought for a moment and took out the diary and placed it on the table, "I have taken the liberty of reading these things of yours, and I want to know what you would use in return if you could avoid death." ”

Savonarola was silent, his gaze fixed on the journal, and after a moment he reached out and picked it up from the table.

"Now that you have seen it, you should know a lot about me," he said, flipping through the journal and looking at the already indistinct handwriting, "I have seen people destroy themselves and their families because of moral depravity, and I have seen the rich taking away the only food for the poor for a small fortune, and is it not God's arrangement that the clergy, who enjoy the reverence for their status and the desire to receive God's guidance from them, but they are unbridled and wanton, they keep mistresses, and they are expropriating, Is all this the power God has given them? ”

Even at this point, Savonarola's voice was not excited, as if he was just narrating the facts, but because of this, Massimo could feel the anger from the heart of the person in front of him.

"I've seen great masters who can dedicate their talents to the sacred church, but they prefer to paint things that are shameful, because they know that this is the only way to get the people's encouragement."

Savonarola shook her head slightly.

"God created our bodies, but God did not bind our souls, and He gave us the power to return our bodies to His glory after death, and if you could, you could go to heaven, or you would go to hell."

Under Mashimo's gaze, Savonarola stood up and walked around the table, and he reached out a finger and tapped it lightly on Mashino's chest.

"Tell me, monk, when you enjoy the pleasures of depravity, will you feel empty, will you feel at a loss for your actions," Savonarola bowed her head slightly and looked at Massimo, "give up the Benedict and the teachings I have given you before, those things are actually illusory, you just have to ask your heart, do you know that all this is actually despicable and shameful, do you feel that all this is tasteless after every extravagant pleasure, if so, you can ask yourself again, What exactly do you want to pursue? ”

Massimo looked down at the finger pressed against his chest, then slowly raised his head.

"My lord, I have to admit that what you said does make my heart move, but my depravity is my own choice, and it is also their choice for others to be influenced by me, and you are trying to force us to obey your orders, do you know that life in Florence is very hard, do you know how difficult it is for a family outside to fill their stomachs, and whose fault do you think it is all this?"

Massimo's questioning silenced Savonarola, who slowly stepped back and sat down in front of his chair, his eyes resting on the notebook on the table.

"I know it's all my responsibility, I'm not a qualified consul, and even my abilities may only be within the walls of St. Mark, beyond that is someone else's and my own disaster." Savonarola smiled self-deprecatingly, "But I still want to help others, especially the poor, no one should be poor." ”

Savonarola's always calm mood suddenly became a little agitated.

"If you ask me if I know that the Florentines are suffering, I will tell you that I not only know but know very well that I know that the little food I save every day is useless, but all I can do for them is to arrange for them to go into the factories as much as possible, and barely support their families every day on a low salary, while the merchants are doing what they are doing, they are mercilessly eroding the blood and sweat of the poor. Those people hollowed out almost all of Florence, they put everyone in misery, and was that how it should be? ”

Massimo was silent, feeling a little unsure of what to answer, at least in the matter of putting the Florentines in trouble, he felt that he really had no right to criticize others.

"Why are the poor poor, are they stupid or are they lazy, I have seen workers who work 17 hours a day, they don't even eat bread every day, but they are still poor, why is that, are they not diligent enough or are they destined to be poor?"

Massimo opened his mouth slightly, and he felt a little difficult to answer.

"In the time of the Metizi, they ruled the Florentines as tyrants, and their wool mills earned their family an immeasurable fortune, but they were never satisfied, and almost no one escaped their oppression, and the wool workers had almost all their hands disabled because of the perennial immersion in hot water, while the Metizis had never done anything for them. Their money was used to buy the paintings and sculptures, and they wanted to get a good name by sponsoring the arts, but in reality they only made the word art more depraved and even dirty. ”

Savonarola's voice was not agitated, and even when she spoke of the most indignant, it was as if she was just talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

But his eyes were unusually focused, and when he spoke, his eyes always stayed on the face of Massimo opposite, and that serious look made his whole person look full of determination and unyielding.

Massimo listened silently, he didn't know how to refute it, in fact he knew that what Savonarola said was indeed the truth.

The experience of the Medici family in acquiring wealth is definitely not kind, and even if you look closely, you will find that many things that this family with great prestige has done are not honorable.

From the earlier Cosimo de Medizi's accumulation of wealth by lending usury, to Lorenzo de Medizi's bribery of parliament to gain power and then establish a tyrant status belonging to the family, all prove that the Medici family has not been innocent in the past.

"But what does that mean," Massimo met Savonarola's gaze, "do you think you are nobler than those Medici, the people suffer more under your rule, I have seen them look like, and it is not much better or worse than it was in the time of Metiqi." ”

"But I gave them hope." Savonarola's voice became slightly agitated, "Those people deceive the people with art, tempt them to make them forget what the real pain is with those illusory beauty and appetite, but I remind them with piety that they should not forget what really caused them to fall, I will not regret my choice, even if I am considered a heretic, I will stick to my faith, because I have seen the evil of depravity and greed, and I will erase this depravity with pure piety." ”

Assemo wanted to refute him, he wanted to tell this man that not everyone was willing to accept his set, not everyone thought that reciting hymns would solve the problem of rumbling in his stomach like him, and as for beautiful women and good wine, Massimo felt that he could not live without it in his life.

It's just that these words came to his lips but they were all swallowed strangely, and as for the idea of wanting to say something sarcastic about this one to take revenge on the whips he had received before, Massimo suddenly lost interest.

"You will be judged." Assemo slowly stood up, "But I think you should know very well that you have no right to defend yourself in this trial, and all your crimes will be listed in advance, so I just want to remind you that if you don't want to be humiliated at the last moment, it's better to confess all the charges against you." ”

"At the last minute," Savonarola whispered to herself, then looked at Massimo, "what punishment will I be sentenced to?" ”

"Blasphemy, heresy, slander against the Holy See and tyrannical rule," Massimo looked at Savonarola's face, "you will be punished with death." ”

For a moment, Savonarola was stunned, as if he had been frightened by Massimo's words, but soon his expression regained his composure.

"The punishment for heresy is not for me, and the one who really deserves to be punished is now holding up the throne of the Vatican," Savonarola picked up the pen on the table, and before continuing to bow his head to write, he looked at Mashimo again, "Monk, I would be grateful if you could keep those manuscripts of mine as well as this diary, and the things I am writing now, I don't want them to justify me for anything, but I hope that one day someone will know what is happening in our time through these things." ”

Mahimo nodded in agreement after a moment's thought, he was indeed a little curious about what Savonarola would leave behind for posterity.

And as far as he knew, at least for a long time, the man's name would be remembered as a heretic.

As Massimo left the house, he saw several Florentines hurrying past him and entering, and when he had not gone far, he faintly heard screams of pain coming from the house.

The Florentines were forcing Savonarola to confess, and the thought flashed through Massimo as he saw a group of people busily carrying various pieces of wood to the square opposite.

It was the execution table being prepared.

Massimo took a deep breath, he suddenly felt a little dazed, and even after shaking his head twice hard, he didn't throw Savonarola's words out of his mind.

"Poor man." In the end, Mahimo could only sigh softly and helplessly, and turned around and walked towards the town hall.

Meanwhile, in a room at the town hall, a man was handing a well-sealed letter to Sazi.

"This is the condition of His Majesty the Pope," Nomelo looked at Sazi with a little curiosity, he had not met the new consul before, but this was not the reason for his curiosity, what really aroused Nomerlo's curiosity was some of the things Alexander had asked him to say to Alexander VI.

"The benefit to us from the overthrow of Savonarola is not just the elimination of an enemy of the Pope, what really matters is that we can make the new Florentine government our friend, and for the new government, the fall of Savonarola has also made them lose the trust of the Florentines, so if they want to avoid being threatened by an enemy such as the Medici family, the only option is to cooperate with us."

"What is this?!" Seeing the open secret letter Sazi's expression change instantly, he suddenly raised his head and stared at Nomerlo, "This is the condition proposed by the Pope." ”

"Yes, my lord, this is the only condition of Your Majesty," Nomelo bowed slightly, "The Pope is eagerly awaiting your reply, all this can be done after the public trial of Savonarola, but this condition cannot be refused. ”

Listening to Nomelo's words, the expression on Sazi's face changed, he looked down at the letter again, and after reading it several times, Sazi's expression finally calmed down a little.

"So that's what he's for," Sazi muttered to himself, "I think I already know whose idea it was, and what it all is, the promulgation of the Vatican-issued currency in Florence?" That's a wonderful trap. ”